Chris Vogel
@chrisvogel.bsky.social
He/Him. Grad student, educator, researcher, writer, editor. China and gender. A queer historian and a queer historian.
So not to sound like an old man, but I actually engaged with that post a bit at the time and I don't think the guy was trolling, either. He kept contorting himself to try and get around the fact that his statement was entirely untrue. A LOT of dedication to the bit. I think he was sincere.
November 26, 2025 at 10:36 PM
So not to sound like an old man, but I actually engaged with that post a bit at the time and I don't think the guy was trolling, either. He kept contorting himself to try and get around the fact that his statement was entirely untrue. A LOT of dedication to the bit. I think he was sincere.
I also liked Sue a lot, though a lot of that may be down to me really liking Vanessa Kirby
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I also liked Sue a lot, though a lot of that may be down to me really liking Vanessa Kirby
Also, they've never come up with a good reason why he'd tolerate Red Hood.
November 26, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Also, they've never come up with a good reason why he'd tolerate Red Hood.
I feel like there's in general more hunger for a new and more tightly-connected series of X-Men film franchises than there is for more hunger for a post-Krakoa series of comics, definitely. I think they're a lot like Spider-Man that way.
November 26, 2025 at 12:56 PM
I feel like there's in general more hunger for a new and more tightly-connected series of X-Men film franchises than there is for more hunger for a post-Krakoa series of comics, definitely. I think they're a lot like Spider-Man that way.
Oh man did I love Thunderbolts. I also thought FF had problems but still really, really enjoyed it.
November 26, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Oh man did I love Thunderbolts. I also thought FF had problems but still really, really enjoyed it.
I was never concerned with 'why doesn't Steve or Tony just call Thor' post-Avengers, for example, because to me that would just be the death of the franchise. Everything becomes an undifferentiated mass. Since you can't have these stories any other way, I've just lived with it, haha
November 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
I was never concerned with 'why doesn't Steve or Tony just call Thor' post-Avengers, for example, because to me that would just be the death of the franchise. Everything becomes an undifferentiated mass. Since you can't have these stories any other way, I've just lived with it, haha
I've never grappled with that all that much because I guess for me that's just how these characters work. If you just call in Wonder Woman, Superman, or the Flash for every problem, well, then you kind of just can't have Batman comics, and I like Batman comics.
November 26, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I've never grappled with that all that much because I guess for me that's just how these characters work. If you just call in Wonder Woman, Superman, or the Flash for every problem, well, then you kind of just can't have Batman comics, and I like Batman comics.
You're absolutely right there, and even Spider-Man comics themselves have often had trouble figuring out what's controversial about Spider-Man. They've offered approximately eighty-four million different explanations for Jameson's hatred of him alone.
November 26, 2025 at 12:51 PM
You're absolutely right there, and even Spider-Man comics themselves have often had trouble figuring out what's controversial about Spider-Man. They've offered approximately eighty-four million different explanations for Jameson's hatred of him alone.
The Arrow problem!
November 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
The Arrow problem!
And I'm open to it, personally. But then again, I remain about the most MCU-pilled person I know, in spite of all the difficulties. I think the only project I won't go to bat for on SOME level or another is Love and Thunder.
November 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
And I'm open to it, personally. But then again, I remain about the most MCU-pilled person I know, in spite of all the difficulties. I think the only project I won't go to bat for on SOME level or another is Love and Thunder.
Yeah, Sam worries me too.
Most of my affection for Jen actually comes from how well she fits into Fantastic Four, my personal favourite series, than a deep familiarity with her solo stuff. But I've always dug her whenever I've encountered her.
Most of my affection for Jen actually comes from how well she fits into Fantastic Four, my personal favourite series, than a deep familiarity with her solo stuff. But I've always dug her whenever I've encountered her.
November 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Yeah, Sam worries me too.
Most of my affection for Jen actually comes from how well she fits into Fantastic Four, my personal favourite series, than a deep familiarity with her solo stuff. But I've always dug her whenever I've encountered her.
Most of my affection for Jen actually comes from how well she fits into Fantastic Four, my personal favourite series, than a deep familiarity with her solo stuff. But I've always dug her whenever I've encountered her.
Also, given his resources, it makes sense that other heroes would reach out to Batman for stuff, whereas 'oh my gosh, we need to kind of low-powered teenaged guy from Brooklyn (because readers love him)!' doesn't make as much diegetic sense.
November 26, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Also, given his resources, it makes sense that other heroes would reach out to Batman for stuff, whereas 'oh my gosh, we need to kind of low-powered teenaged guy from Brooklyn (because readers love him)!' doesn't make as much diegetic sense.
That's fair, and I don't know DC as well.
I think, for example, Batman's friendship with Superman is kind of baked into the character (they've been hanging out for almost 100 years at this point!) whereas attempts to retrofit Spider-Man to be pals with Captain America or Wolverine just feel off.
I think, for example, Batman's friendship with Superman is kind of baked into the character (they've been hanging out for almost 100 years at this point!) whereas attempts to retrofit Spider-Man to be pals with Captain America or Wolverine just feel off.
November 26, 2025 at 12:44 PM
That's fair, and I don't know DC as well.
I think, for example, Batman's friendship with Superman is kind of baked into the character (they've been hanging out for almost 100 years at this point!) whereas attempts to retrofit Spider-Man to be pals with Captain America or Wolverine just feel off.
I think, for example, Batman's friendship with Superman is kind of baked into the character (they've been hanging out for almost 100 years at this point!) whereas attempts to retrofit Spider-Man to be pals with Captain America or Wolverine just feel off.
FWIW I would be surprised if the MCU was *dead* dead; Secret Wars is already an opportunity to do a soft reset and pivot, and shifting focus to mutants and X-Men without abandoning the Avengers could also function to pull people back in and maybe generate new viewers. I'm cautiously hopeful.
November 26, 2025 at 12:42 PM
FWIW I would be surprised if the MCU was *dead* dead; Secret Wars is already an opportunity to do a soft reset and pivot, and shifting focus to mutants and X-Men without abandoning the Avengers could also function to pull people back in and maybe generate new viewers. I'm cautiously hopeful.
Damn I hope we see She-Hulk again. I didn't think her series was perfect, but I liked it, and I ADORE She-Hulk.
November 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Damn I hope we see She-Hulk again. I didn't think her series was perfect, but I liked it, and I ADORE She-Hulk.
This is, incidentally, a needle that DC has managed to thread with Batman, whereas Marvel has never figured out how to reconcile the small-scale nature of Spider-Man with his enormous popularity.
November 26, 2025 at 12:39 PM
This is, incidentally, a needle that DC has managed to thread with Batman, whereas Marvel has never figured out how to reconcile the small-scale nature of Spider-Man with his enormous popularity.
My absolute biggest concern is that they'll walk away from Carol, Kamala, and, to a lesser extent Monica after The Marvels, a movie that I think was pretty unfairly maligned.
November 26, 2025 at 12:38 PM
My absolute biggest concern is that they'll walk away from Carol, Kamala, and, to a lesser extent Monica after The Marvels, a movie that I think was pretty unfairly maligned.
Like, whenever Captain America is all "Oh my gosh, Spider-Man is this amazing dude and I adore him," or *whatever*, I roll my eyes, because it doesn't feel lived in like, for example, Spider-Man's relationship to Johnny Storm, the FF writ large, or Daredevil.
November 26, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Like, whenever Captain America is all "Oh my gosh, Spider-Man is this amazing dude and I adore him," or *whatever*, I roll my eyes, because it doesn't feel lived in like, for example, Spider-Man's relationship to Johnny Storm, the FF writ large, or Daredevil.
If you ask me, one of the reasons that Spider-Man has been more or less unreadable for the last ~20 years has been that the character is fundamentally a street-level hero whose popularity nevertheless lead to him being sort of connected to everybody.
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM
If you ask me, one of the reasons that Spider-Man has been more or less unreadable for the last ~20 years has been that the character is fundamentally a street-level hero whose popularity nevertheless lead to him being sort of connected to everybody.
And since, according to Feige, they were already concerned about Kang early on and before Majors' turned out to be Like That, a 2023 or 2024 Avengers film could've been a good opportunity to shuffle Kang offscreen and start to pivot towards Doctor Doom.
November 26, 2025 at 12:35 PM
And since, according to Feige, they were already concerned about Kang early on and before Majors' turned out to be Like That, a 2023 or 2024 Avengers film could've been a good opportunity to shuffle Kang offscreen and start to pivot towards Doctor Doom.
Providing interesting linkages between these characters is key and I think that more than anything else is where they fell apart during this saga. It's not for me so much that the universe was in fact always deeply connected, but they used to be better at making it FEEL deeply connected.
November 26, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Providing interesting linkages between these characters is key and I think that more than anything else is where they fell apart during this saga. It's not for me so much that the universe was in fact always deeply connected, but they used to be better at making it FEEL deeply connected.
It would've been an excellent opportunity to pair a character who's already well-loved or was unexpectedly well-loved (like Shang-Chi or Yelena) alongside characters who were struggling to find the commercial reception they'd hoped for (like Ms. Marvel). I mean, remember science bros?
November 26, 2025 at 12:30 PM
It would've been an excellent opportunity to pair a character who's already well-loved or was unexpectedly well-loved (like Shang-Chi or Yelena) alongside characters who were struggling to find the commercial reception they'd hoped for (like Ms. Marvel). I mean, remember science bros?
I think the biggest mistake they made was turning Avengers films into huge event movies and not doing 'smaller' Avengers films like Age of Ultron. They didn't appreciate how much the Avengers filmed served to make the universe feel tied together and tell the audience who to care about and how.
November 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I think the biggest mistake they made was turning Avengers films into huge event movies and not doing 'smaller' Avengers films like Age of Ultron. They didn't appreciate how much the Avengers filmed served to make the universe feel tied together and tell the audience who to care about and how.