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*HEAVY Spoilers be Crashing Through the Multiverse*

Moon Knight: Birth of the Scarlet Scarab

Before discussing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we gotta talk some Moon Knight. Episode 6 is in the books and we need to talk that diversity and inclusion talk! We’ve already covered the big spoiler-free, mid-season reasons you should get down with Moon Knight but the spoiler shackles are off and we’re goin off! The series season? finale wrapped up and gave us more than most fans would’ve ever expected, especially our Marvel fans that identify as women and little girls across the planet.

I could dive into Marc and Stevens trip to the afterlife, tear inducing balancing act and, or resurrection. I could go off about the Beast Wars savagery that Ammit was on when she beat the brakes off Khonshu. But naaa we here to talk about the Scarlet Scarab baby!

Layla El-Faouly has been popping up all throughout this series, flexing her next level hand to hand combat game, saving Marc/Steven every now and then, being baffled at what’s going on with her husband then BOOM. Episode 6 we see her finally give into the request to become an avatar, but she doesn’t become Khonshu’s next envoy like it’s been hinted at all season. Instead, she agrees to being Tawaret’s. Sporting Archangel type metal wings, gold swords and a sick ass costume, the Scarlet Scarab is born!

In an instant, Moon Knight goes from an extremely diverse show with brown folx all over the place to crushing the inclusion game by introducing the world to the first Egyptian female superhero and allowing people in the show to fan girl out on our behalf! The moment the Scarlet Scarab saves that girl from being crushed by the car with her bare hands, then gets ready to jump back into the Arthur Harrow ass beaten action, we see a young lady on the sideline ask her if she’s an Egyptian superhero. The reaction that goes down after discovering her home also has someone to call their own in this superhero world was absolutely priceless and worth the Moon Knight watch for that moment alone.

Doctor Strange: America Chavez’s Coming of Age Story

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is not the movie it is marketed as. It’s not even the Doctor Strange movie I wanted to see, but it was the movie that was needed for this pivotal moment in the MCU. After Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse introduced us to the land of layered universes and Loki expanded on that groundwork in the MCU, we were ready for a full length feature. That seems to ultimately be the reason Doctor Strange is more of a direct follow up to WandaVision and Spider-Man No Way Home than a wildy extended episode of What If…?

I said it at the top and I’ll say it again, the spoilers will be coming at you rapidly and Thorkell relentlessly, so unless you prefer to bask in the spoil, please direct your attention elsewhere until you’ve seen Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

This movie is being packaged as a good Stephen vs. an evil Stephen so powerful that the good doctor needs to recruit Wanda to win, kind of a movie.

Instead, this movie is Scarlet Witch meets Nightmare on Elm Street, and it was awesome. As each act continues to unfold, and Wanda gets more and more desperate, the horror elements continue to ramp up and look more like a Freddy or Jason chase film with spells, creatures, and heroes. 

America Chavez is the hunted and, ultimately, the thread that ties the entire movie together. The opening scene sets the stage as Chavez and Strange are chased down by a demon chases from another universe before they could obtain the book that they needed to defeat the person hunting the young hero. Guess what? It’s Wanda. She’s the evil magical monster mob boss sending mystical goons after the kid to steal her powers. What powers you say? The power to traverse the multiverse of course!

This movie becomes a direct follow-up to the mayhem and trauma that resulted from Wanda having to shoot a hole through the head of her husband and live with the fact that she enslaved an entire American town. That pain and loss of family manifested in her Chavez hunting ways because stealing America’s powers would allow her to find a universe where her children are still alive and love her.

Easier said than done when the girl you’re hunting falls into the protection of the Master of the Mystical Arts and Sorcerer Supreme. Strange and Wong spend a pretty hilarious afternoon getting to know America Chavez, and it’s there that the heart of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness lies. America is dealing with perhaps the heaviest version of loss; one that was caused by her own hand. A child shouldn’t have to fathom what it’s like to lose not one parent but two. They shouldn’t have to relive the memory of using their powers for the first time and opening a portal to an undisclosed universe that their parents got sucked into and most likely died in. But America Chavez shoulders that burden and the actress who plays her, Xochitl Gomez, does a dam good job of showcasing a range of emotions in this superhero movie about family, grief, and growth.

Before we wrap up, I gotta give a *hood nod* to Marvel for leaning into the diversity they invested in. After the whole whitewashing of America Chavez casting, they didn’t let the fans’ anger and backlash stop them from making her a badass Boricua with a decent character maturation arc, that is proud of her Spanish speaking heritage.

Speaking of Spanish, this may not seem like a big deal to you, but the fact that we not only saw America Chavez and her family speaking Spanish on another planet, but the opening scene features Chavez and an alternate universe Strange speaking Spanish back and forth for a bit. Wong drops a line or two, and he and Chavez clown Stephen 616 for not knowing the language. That was a really dope moment that no one should take for granted. There was definitely some intentional as well as natural inclusion throughout Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that bonding moment between Wong and America takes the cake for me!

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The post Marvel Wins the Diversity and Inclusion Award of the Week appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

http://www.afronerd.com/2022/05/controversial-youtuber-kevin-samuels.html

Afronerd Radio can now be heard LIVE courtesy of Apple Music/Itunes

First off, Happy Mother's Day to our passionate and consistent Afronerd Radio listenership!  Next up, check out the latest installment of The Grindhouse, airing this Sunday at 6 p.m. on the BTalk 100 internet broadcasting platform.  Listen to the inner thoughts and musings of your AFROnerdist hosts as they decipher the following issues:  rising and polarising YouTube sensation, Kevin Samuels, has passed due to a heart attack, and social media can't stop wondering what happened and how does this affect the burgeoning "Black Manosphere?"; and regrettably another person of note leaves our mortal plane, iconic illustrator and graphic novelist, George Perez succumbs to pancreatic cancer at the age of 67; Finally....Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness premiered this weekend to a stellar post-pandemic box office ($450M) and we give your our first impressions; Dburt was able to get a good look at the upcoming and oft-delayed trailer for Top Gun: Maverick, the 36-year old reprieved sequel to the '86 Top Gun original; 

 

Well, there's a new (the 14th) Dr. Who coming up on the horizon, and the UK's iconic sci-fi character will be, for the first time, portrayed by a Black actor-Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education); noted author/graphic novelist, David Walker has yet another interesting and provocative independent and crowdfunded project entitled, Imposter Syndrome that appears to be worthy of discussion (and investment); Lastly, the first episode of Paramount plus' Star Trek centered Strange New Worlds premiered this week and again, we give you our thoughts.

 

One thing that Dburt is doing (finally) is investing in cryptocurrency, courtesy of Roundlyx. We would implore our followers to investigate, discern and then explore by using our referral code: afro-87A4BF

https://blacknerdproblems.com/strange-in-the-best-way-possible-doctor-strange-in-the-multiverse-of-madness-review/

Remember when Marvel tried so hard to explain away magic by being ‘science we justified don’t understand?’ In a world with super advanced tin-man armor, Gods, and super soldier popsicle men, actual magic was just a step too far. Thankfully, Marvel began letting magic into their worlds. And now, we have Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and let me tell you, it’s out there. Like, WAY out there. We’ve come a long way since the very first Iron Man and Doctor Strange continues to keep things fresh and exciting keeping us looking forward to future films.

They Got the Magic in Them

One aspect of Multiverse of Madness (MoM) that really stood out to me was the acting. Benedict Cumberbatch still brings the smarmy charm to Strange to the multiple Stranges he gets to play. There’s a lot more introspective for the character this time around, and Cumberbatch does put his all into it. But the real standout is Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch. Wands has been broken since the end of Infinity War, and her journey was one I wasn’t quite expecting but was pleasantly surprised to see. To say anymore would spoil the movie, but her journey is really enjoyable to experience. It is important to watch her Disney+ show WandaVision to get the full experience.

Benedict Wong gets a little more to do this time as the Sorcerer Supreme, and Rachel McAdams is a bit underused as Christine but still brings it in every scene she’s in. I really want to spotlight Xochitl Gomez as newcomer America Chavez. Someone is after Chavez’s power, and she has been hopping universes trying to stay alive. It could have been real easy to have this character be the generic “spunky with attitude” trope but they wrote her well. Xochitl Gomez portrayal is full of heart, and I’m excited to see her not only in future Marvel flicks but grow as an actor and be more out there.

Scary Good

MoM has been pushed as Marvel’s “horror” movie and honestly, yes and no. This is by far the scariest Marvel movie out there, but no one is going to choose this movie for their scary movie night. You’re not going to be nervous in your seat or anything, but there is an overall dark and creepy vibe throughout the film that I think works for it. A lot of that has to do with the director Sam Raimi in the best way. It’s dripping in his signature style, and that adds on to the general vibe they wanted. I was surprised in how dark and violent it got at moments, but it’s never so bad that kids in the theater will be traumatized.

Sam Raimi really nails that Doctor Strange weirdness as well. The initial multiverse hop is trippy as you’d expect, but it is a little short lived. Don’t expect to visit a ton of different dimensions; however, this was a smart move. You get time to really take in the worlds we go to. Marvel packed a lot in each location, so you never feel like you’re missing out. In fact, there are some cameos that even with all the “leaks” and speculations still blew my mind. They get a lot of mileage out of time in each world, so you get a lot without feeling like it’s over stuffed. And there is a lot here.

Do Your Research

In fact, that might be an issue for some. With over 10 years of movies, fans know you gotta keep up, but it’s always been in the movies. Now, with the Disney+ shows, there’s so much more to keep up on. You NEED to watch WandaVision to get a full understanding of her choices in this movie. If you don’t, you simply won’t understand the choices she makes. And will that become a barrier for some? The Marvel movies are finally starting to feel like the comics where you have to read multiple titles to get the full story. At some point, that may end up collapsing in on itself when audiences don’t want to keep up with it all anymore. For now, it only adds to MoM.

The Magic Touch

Sam Raimi fully leaves his footprint in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Maybe the darkest and most violent Marvel film to date, it’s just a whole lot of fun. It gets you really excited for what next in the 616 universe, and I, for one, can’t wait.

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“When your Most Feared Adventure Falls into your Hands” 

As someone who is afraid of the idea of having children, I get the emotional pressure from those around you; family insisting that upon marriage one must be prepared to give into “nature’s will.” The Baby covers the internal battles of being at odds with societal pressure to have kids and what that looks like metaphorically. The responsibility of parenting as a concept versus the cliché “it takes a village to raise a child” becomes burdensome to Natasha, and it’s personalized through her consistently trying to hand the baby off to other people. Problem is that the responsibility (no matter how brief) eventually leads to their demise. The ideology of not wanting to be a parent but having societal pressure and commentary boomerang back into your hands is personalized in each episode. What happens when you’re offered responsibility you never asked for, and how do you handle the grief that comes with it?

My idea of motherhood and what that would look like as it was explored through The Baby felt conflicting. Part of me noticed that Natasha’s character was put in an irresponsible or cold light because of their lack of enthusiasm for children and parenthood.

When responsibility literally fell into Natasha’s hands, the community’s lack of awareness became evident. From law enforcement to retail employees, it became clear that she was supposed to take the responsibility of this child, because people around her (not including family and close friends) were not “worthy” enough to take care of the baby.

Natasha was forced into motherhood for somebody’s white child. Hilariously haunted by the one thing she did not want, this, in turn, made me reflect on white children and the BIPOC nannies. The Baby reflects on the lack of support for Black folks having kids, and Black queer folks looking to adopt. The Baby’s comedy derives from pushing the boundaries of absurdity in parenthood. It takes the fears of common innocent occurrences and gives it a homicidal spin. 

The Baby’s Comical Screams 

Though The Baby explored the comedic horrific of parenthood by haunted offspring, I often struggled with trying to figure out what the show was aiming to do. The Baby is a comedic thriller where an infant is the horrifying subject that causes demise, but it was difficult to follow the plot because it seems like it was too caught up in the demise the child was causing. When we finally got to Natasha, and we’re settled in with her as a character, the viewpoint is shifted to the baby’s origin story.

The series does a great job with metaphorical commentary but has trouble luring in the audience beyond its comedic gags. The bits are repeated and doesn’t do much to push forward the story line. I would’ve appreciated more extensive comedic gags on how parenting can feel debilitating. There were instances where jokes could have been heightened, but it refocused on the child creating turmoil wherever it goes. It was hard staying invested in characters because it took too long to show me who “Natasha” was beyond not wanting this haunted white baby.

The Baby’s best work is its commentary on the tribulations surrounding parenthood. When it makes fun of day care culture and responsibility? Pristine. When the characters face everyday issues, and it just breaks them apart? Same. The scream to the ceiling, the “why me?” The Baby poises itself as a comedic thriller, but its scariest moments are the ones that hit close to home.

I’m grateful for The Baby’s discussion on not wanting children and a society who shames women for not wanting to be parents. What I hope shows like The Baby continue to do is showcase “fear” of the required. But it felt longer than it needed to be. The show stretches across many episodes, when its strength lies in its brevity. It would’ve made its content more concentrated and easier to follow. Through its comedic approach, I hope that it brings relief to those that also do not want kids. I hope they find discomfort in feeling responsible for another being. Hope that they find that this show, its screams and mild gore, cathartic. The Baby is streaming on Sundays through HBO Max.

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