4 Razors

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – The Star Spangled Man

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – The Star Spangled Man
  • wiki: link

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - The Star Spangled Man television review

After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier kept them apart for the entire opening episode, “The Star Spangled Man” throws Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) together so quickly you almost wonder if you missed an episode in-between. Finally playing to the strengths of the odd couple pairing, and offering a more consistent narrative that doesn’t ping pong around nearly as much as the show’s opener, the second episode gives us a team-up not just between Bucky and Sam but, unexpectedly, working alongside the new Captain America (Wyatt Russell) and his sidekick (Clé Bennett) who discover the gang of Flag Smashers they’ve all been chasing (well, except for Bucky who just tags along to bug Sam) turn out to be super-soldiers.

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Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1

/ / Comics

Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1 comic reviewI’ve always liked Marvel’s Black Knight, the mix of super-hero and Arthurian legend (although I must admit my favorite version wears a leather jacket on top of chain mail armed with a lightsaber). Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1 offers some insight into the mental and emotional state of hero and part-time Avenger Dane Whitman who is in possession of the cursed Ebony Blade which offers him the chance at heroic action but only by diving head-first into dark emotions and power he doesn’t fully understand.

While there is still quite a bit of story to get introduced, the first issue does showcase the Black Knight’s role on the team, why he feels the need to play the fool, and the concerns some of the other heroes have about him. It also features the character’s death at the hands of an unknown assailant in front of the Avengers (but don’t fret, a bit of blood and our hero is back in action by the issue’s end).

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The Pretender – Once in a Blue Moon

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Pretender – Once in a Blue Moon
  • wiki: link

“Sometimes, even the Devil deserves a little privacy.”

The Pretender - Once in a Blue Moon television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to another episode featuring a man who can be anyone he wants to be. A ghost from the past comes back to haunt Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) when a child is kidnapped in a manner that matches that of a serial killer he helped catch as a boy. Although the original Blue Moon Killer (Michael Des Barres) is still incarcerated, someone new is following his patterns which means the kidnapped girl only has a couple of days to live. Under the role of Special Agent Jarod Ressler of the Justice Department, Jarod talks with the original killer (whose mind he couldn’t get into years ago soon enough to save his last victim). The set-up is obvious nod to The Silence of the Lambs as he attempts to get into the man’s head who proves able to push Jarod’s buttons as well.

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Batman: The Animated Series – The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Batman: The Animated Series – The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy
  • wiki: link

Batman: The Animated Series - The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy television review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to Gotham City for another episode of Batman: The Animated Series. There are several interesting aspects to “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy” including the show’s introduction of the Bat-Signal, giving us multiple death traps, featuring a villain forcing Batman (Kevin Conroy) to unmask, and offering Batman the opportunity to out think a villain whose modus operandi are in some ways similar to the Riddler (i.e. the core Bat-villain who received the least appearances on the show). In many ways, such as the villain’s attempts to lure Batman into danger through outrageous riddles, I wonder if “The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy” may have started as a Riddler episode or may have unintentionally evolved into something similar.

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Samurai Jack – Episode XXIII

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Samurai Jack – Episode XXII: Jack vs. Demongo, The Soul Collector
  • wiki: link

Samurai Jack - Episode XXIII television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the adventures of the time-displaced samurai and his quest to make his way home. Aku (Mako) calls on Demongo (Kevin Michael Richardson) who he hopes may succeed where his other minions have failed and deal with Samurai Jack (Phil LaMarr). Demongo turns out to be an interesting change of pace for the show, not only because he isn’t a robotic warrior of some kind but because rather than fight Jack himself, the soul collector sends out the essence of previously defeated heroes to battle the samurai. This provides a heavy amount of action for the episode. It doesn’t matter how many times Jack beats them back, Demongo simply releases the warriors again and again (until Jack discovers the way to defeat them is to free the trapped warriors from the soul collector’s control). Demongo is one of the familiar faces who will return for a cameo in the show’s final season.

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