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Ken and Genchu meet face to face for the first time since Ken was a wee angsty boy! I’m sure their first conversation in years will be full of pleasant recollections.

SPOILERS

I saw that Thor Ragnarok movie that everyone seems to like. Guess I liked it too! This film is super into its comedy. the whole thing is a barrage of jokey jokes, which start to land to more resounding effect the further in you get. I don’t think I really started laughing until Bruce Banner showed up about two thirds of the way through the film and  began bromancing it up with Thor. A lot of the jokes revolve around marvel fanservice, with characters referencing previous film events, especially the original Avengers. Much of the big coliseum battle between Thor and Hulk was shown in the trailers, so all the jokes in that scene fell flat for me, as I’d seen them all. That’s also the only coliseum fight in the movie, it does not push its Gladiator trope very far.

Infact, there may be TOO MANY jokes in Ragnarok. There’s some big, dramatic stuff that happens in this movie that SHOULD carry heavy emotional weight, but that’s generally not the case due to frantic editing or undercutting cornball one liners. That’s not to say it’s BAD, it’s good! Ragnarok is a fun time; flashy, colorful, Jeff Goldblum infused, and even legitimately hilarious here and there! It’s easily the best of the Thor movies, although that’s not a terribly difficult bar to reach, and it establishes some big, new paradigms for the MCU. But it’s also kind of a sloppy film, full of loose logic, convoluted world building, and vague relationships and timelines. When exactly did the Valkyries try to kill Hela? How quickly do people age in Asgard? Why did Odin die, or is he dead, or what? Are there only, like, 100 citizens of Asgard? What was Hela’s long term plan again? How come Odin and Loki didn’t share a single word between them even during Odin’s big death scene? Awkward! But, whatever, I’d still recommend seeing the thing, it’s good.

Dramatic stuff that was given little to no emotional weight:

  • The death of Thor’s buddies from the previous two Thor films (Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral)
  • Thor’s disfiguring wound.
  • The destruction of Asgard (the joke that undercut it was pretty funny, though)

 

 

 

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  • Kid Chaos

    “Hey guys, let me introduce Genchu, my old sensei. Sensei, these are my friends; Cho, Ina, Lord Masuhiro, those other two guys…oh, you remember Ken, if course…” 😜

    • clogboy

      “Hey guys, I brought someone with a clue. Our troubles are over! But we had to kill someone more respected with a bigger clue, so… yeah.”

      • Turul

        “And then we took his clue so now we have two! Look, here! – Oh, no, wait, that’s a sword! Well, I like swords!”

        • AGV

          Specially the broken kind

  • Amakawa Yuuto

    Ken dropped his alcohol.
    Also, Cho is as helpful as the cloud that sometimes spends shade and sometimes spends rain, but is always carried by the wind.

    • animalia555

      Spends or spreads?

      • Sabine

        Both.

    • Kid Chaos

      Clouds are occasionally helpful; Cho is usually just confusing. 😵

      • Purphoros

        Cho later published his philosophy under the name “Confusius”.

    • Turul

      This is an accurate assessment of the situation.

  • LordBolanderFace

    Cue Yori and Ken playing tug of war with Genchu’s arms.
    “He’s my long lost hero and inspiration to fight!”
    “No, he’s MY long lost hero and inspiration to fight!”

  • Crestlinger

    Nothing to worry about. That bottle was empty.

  • White Rice

    The marvel movies (at least the ones since they decided to do a shared universe/have them all play together) have always thrown some humor in there, but Ragnarok took it to the next level, turned it up to 11, then kept pushing for more. Ultimately, I enjoyed the movie, goofy jokes & all.

    I think they were doubling down on the whole 80’s aesthetic they had with the early trailers (as ever action movie of the 80’s was full of corny one liners & undercutting of serious events). I mean, that opening bit with Thor’s conversation felt pretty fitting (some intense cocksure attitude) even with the goofiness thrown into the mix.

    I was bummed by them offing the warriors 3, and how it was barely even an event for 2 of them (though that’s the 80’s again: off the protagonists friend/partner/whoever, 3 seconds of sadness, revenge/action time)

    But, for all the shortcoming, it was still a really fun movie, and they switched some things up enough that yielded in some surprises (like a character or two redeeming themselves when it really mattered). I will concede the whole “Asgard is barely 100+ people” thing, that was weird (unless all the others were already killed by Hela, and she had just been excessively busy offscreen)

    As for the comic update: emotional Ken incoming (along with some exposition and/or an overpowered punch or hug)

  • IDPounder

    I gotta say, I never really figured Ken for alcohol abuse.

    • Turul

      Spilling it on the ground is abuse of it, though!

      • animalia555

        That is the joke

  • Jordan Hiller

    Yeah, I was sad with how they handled the deaths of the Warriors Three, but I’m guessing that Thor’s going to have plenty to angst and rage about in Infinity War, considering that most, if not all the other Asgardians are probably going to die due to that massive ship in the post credits scene.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      no, we’ve gotta see an Asgardian village on that Norway beach where Odin died. I’m actually SHOCKED that the movie didn’t end with that scene, would’ve been a much more satisfying end credits bit than what we got with the big ship.

      • Jordan Hiller

        Unfortunately, the teaser for Infinity War shows Thor floating in space when the Guardians find him. Things are going to get worse for the Asgardians before they get better.

        • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

          I’m sure they will, but I’m also feeling pretty confident that it will be a mass kidnapping scenario, and Thor will save the Asgardian citizens and transplant them neatly to Norway at some point!

          • KungFuKlobber

            Norway, eh? It’s a darn good thing that Everybody Speaks English.

  • endplanets

    Ina has the best definitions.

  • CaptXpendable

    I’m pretty sure that Obi… er I mean Odin was completely dead when he sent Thor the message in his head to use the, um, power that was in him all along.

    • Kid Chaos

      In Marvel, there’s “dead” and then there’s DEAD (SEE: Coulson in “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”). Odin’s body may be gone, but his soul is still out there…somewhere… 😎

    • Arkone Axon

      Well if he’s completely dead, then there’s only one thing to do. Go through his pockets and look for loose change.

      • Kid Chaos

        He doesn’t even have pockets anymore; his body disappeared! 😵

  • animalia555

    Question as someone unfamiliar with the franchise. Is Hela related to the norse goddess Hel (with one l) by any chance?

    • Kid Chaos

      In the classic Marvel mythology, Hela rules the realms of Hel and Niflheim. She is the daughter of Loki (it’s complicated), and occasionally tries to take over Valhalla and other realms like it. Naturally, she fought Thor several times, but (naturally) Thor always won in the end. There was one really epic fight in Thor #373 (1980s). She almost tore his face off! 💀

      • animalia555

        I don’t know bleep about marvel mythology but in Norse Mythology Hel rules Hel and is the daughter of Loki as well so I am going to assume Marvel changed her name for obvious reasons.

        • Kid Chaos

          Correction: The big showdown with Hela was in Thor #361, and the conflict was finally resolved in #381, where Thor’s soul possesses the Destroyer somehow. Yes, I know, I’m a huge geek, so sue me. 😎

    • Merlin

      Hela *is* the Marvel version of Hel, period.
      I’ve only seen one instance of her in the comics, but Thor referred to her exactly as “Hel,” no “a” at the end.

  • Major Tom

    And so Ken fails the Hoshiguma Yuugi Test of Sake Not Even Drop!

  • Sunwu

    And so ken gave up alcohol forever after that day

    • Xinef

      But alcohol didn’t give up on Ken.

  • Nos Rin aka CTCO

    whaaaaaaaat, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral are dead?! TOTALLY LAME!!! Oh well, the rest of the movie sounds good. looked hilarious.

  • KungFuKlobber

    What I would’ve liked to have seen in Thor: Ragnarok, and knew even as I was watching that it wouldn’t happen, is Bruce sticking to his guns and *not* Hulking out at the end– and helping to save the day using comic-book science instead of massive green rage. It would have been a courageous move by the creative team, and strengthened the major point of contention between him and Thor earlier in the film.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      That would have been great. It’s not like Hulk was that instrumental to success,anyway. He just wrastled with a big dog that seemed to exist in the film soley to give Hulk something to wrastle in the big climax. Banner is far more entertaining than the Hulk, but maybe that’s just my preference of witty banter over slapstick comedy.

      • Arkone Axon

        I THINK that was supposed to be the Fenris Wolf. The creature that would be unshackled when Ragnarok took place in order to devour Odin’s body. In the original mythology (and apparently in the comics) Fenris is the offspring of… Loki. Also, in both the comics and the original mythology, Fenris was bound with a mystic chain put upon him by the god Tyr – who volunteered after everyone was warned that the wolf would bite off the hand of whoever did the deed. This made Tyr the god of Justice – Tyr the One Handed, whose courage and readiness to sacrifice gave him a moral authority that no one could ignore (Zeus never put himself on the line like that… then again, the Greek pantheon in general were hypocritical asshats compared to the Norse deities).

        Personally, what I’D like to see is interplay between Bruce and Hulk. Using meditation or lucid dreaming or just a series of post-it notes left to each other. Here’s a link to a classic from the Bronze Age, where Hulk has set himself up as Joe Fixit and Bruce Banner finds himself in the perfect position to destroy Hulk’s happy new life…

        http://slaymonstrobot.blogspot.com/2009/04/marvel-1989-week-incredible-hulk-354.html

        And here’s one about Hulk and Bruce having it out in a mindscape:

        http://rebloggy.com/post/comics-hulk-bruce-banner-the-hulk-comics-marvel-hulk-season-one-this-was-so-go/33093744764

  • Arkone Axon

    I’m hoping hoping that this will lead to them taking Thor and Loki to a place that dates back to the original mythology: buddies having adventures together. Think of every buddy cop and buddy adventure film and show you’ve ever seen. Thor and Loki INVENTED that. The original myths were about those two having all kinds of wacky hijinks.

    Just imagine it… Sif and Thor finally falling in love, getting together… Loki shaves her head, Thor gets pissed as hell, but Loki wins their forgiveness with a new wig made of magic gold that makes Sif look better than she did as a brunette… :p

    And you know those episodes where one of the two buddies has to dress in drag and flirt with a man as part of their madcap scheme? Loki invented that – only he went ALL the way. Come season three, people walk in and see a big furry wolf napping on the couch and ask about the pet. At which point the wolf speaks, “I’m NOT a pet. I’m Loki’s kid. Speaking of which, where is Mom? I haven’t seen her all day…”
    “Her? You mean him!?”
    “Him, her, whatever… she’ll always be Mom to me…”

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      How has Disney not hired you yet?

      • Arkone Axon

        You say that as a joke, but… my coauthor and I are shopping a project around (a children’s show about autism and a magical dog). Our managing producer has approached a number of individuals… and Disney’s one of them. They didn’t bite… yet, because of all the stuff already on their plate, but we’ll see what the future holds.

        • winger

          one slight problem the wolf kid Loki is dad to it was the horse kid Loki is the mom and with the the world snake is also a kid of Loki

      • Kid Chaos

        …And then there was the time Thor got turned into a frog (somewhere around #372 [the 1980s], I think). Yes, a FROG. A Thor-sized frog that had all of his intellect and powers, but still… 😜

    • Ebonbolt

      Loki was Fenrir’s dad, by all the stuff I picked up (the Midgard Serpent & Hel were also Loki’s kids, by a Jotun wife IIRC). Loki’s first child, however, was Sleipnir, Odin’s eight-legged horse (& the only one who would call him “Mom”).

      • Arkone Axon

        I know, but the joke works better with a wolf on the couch rather than an eight-legged horse eating from a feedbag in the kitchen.

        …Though there is something to be said for the idea of Loki and some friends faced with some full frontal male nudity and one of them marveling at how well endowed one of them is, only for Loki to murmur, “…I’ve had bigger…”

        “…Wait, seriously?”

        “I… don’t like to talk about it…”

        Cue Thor snickering, “Is that stallion still sending you Valentine’s Day gifts?”

        “I guess. I mean… how would he even know when Valentine’s Day is? He’s never been on Midgard before. None of the Jotunn were. Hell, I think the only Asgardian familiar enough with local customs would be YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

        • animalia555

          Have you read Super Generation Valkerie Yuki ay sgvy.com ?

          • Arkone Axon

            Oh yes. Love that comic too.

          • animalia555

            I figured that series would be right up your alley. Are you a fan of the theory that Yuuki’s mom is Freya?

          • Arkone Axon

            I hadn’t heard that theory… but I can buy it.

          • animalia555

            They both certainly have red eyes take warning mode.

          • animalia555

            Speaking of which I love the part where Odin agrees with Yuki that Freya is a “Psycho-Bitch” and says to “Pay her no mind for she has clearly lost hers.”

        • Ebonbolt

          Where is your work published, & how much will it cost me to see it?

  • Eric

    This one cries out for a remix.

    I’m not sure if any of the other panels needs to be changed at all, but in in panel 5 Genchu’s lines need to be,

    “We eloped.”

    Looking at it, you could probably get a lot of good remixes out of it.

  • AGV

    Well, Loki mentioned that the asgardian lifespan is of eight thousand years or so
    So I assume that asgardians age as humans until they’re young adults, then their aging slows down dramatically

    Also, Thor have selective regenerative powers or what? Because Hela slashed his side, stabed him in the back a couple of times and pierced his elbow, yet the only wound that stayed was his eye

    • Kid Chaos

      It’s called the Rule of Drama (or is that Symbolism?). Anyway, Odin was minus an eye, now Thor is minus an eye; seems to be a typical price to be the rightful King of Asgard. 😵

  • LordBolanderFace

    Hello! I’m back here because I wanted to talk about Thor. I didn’t hate the third movie, but I didn’t really like it either. The two main things were: 1. STOP TRYING TO MAKE LOKI A GOOD GUY. HE TRIED TO DESTROY EARTH. HELPING THOR ESCAPE JUNKWORLD DOESN’T MAKE HIM A GOOD GUY AGAIN. And 2. I don’t really care for how every Marvel movie is trying to be Guardians of the Galaxy now. There’s nothing wrong with being serious. No need to throw in a corny joke every two minutes.

    • http://www.nn4b.com suburban_samurai

      I mean, Vegeta tried to destroy the earth, right? And he and Goku are buddies now? Bad guys turn to good guys all the time, and sometimes they even succeeded in killing innocents before they switch. As long as there’s a believable arc of repentance, the trope works great and can be a good time. Loki was always a sympathetic villain, in part because of Hiddleston’s acting, and in part because his back story sets him up as sympathetic, displaced, and misunderstood.

      I 100% do agree that the movie was too jokey. Apparently much of it was ad-libbed, which can sometimes kinda work in sparse instances, but considering films like the new Ghostbusters, or anything starring Will Ferrell, ad libbing makes for, at best, a chuckle-worthy script lacking in well timed, well edited, sharp jokes. I didn’t find anything worth laughing at in the movie until Bruce Banner showed up, and I got the distinct impression a lot of those scenes were scripted due to the complexity of the dialog. Most disappointingly of all, Ragnarok had the potential to be one of the most dramatic Marvel films to date, but it undermined all its drama with ho hum gags.

      • LordBolanderFace

        Ehh, I kinda disagree. I agree that bad guys can be redeemed, but I don’t agree that Loki *has been* redeemed. He was sympathetic in the first Thor movie, but in Avengers he went full on psycho. Since then, he’s betrayed Thor every chance he got. I really don’t think he deserved to stand beside Thor’s spaceship throne the way he did at the end, like he was some trusted adviser.

  • Frank Royce Harr

    I wonder if Ina also has the making of a Daimyo. Or just a field officer.

    I take it those two know each other.

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