What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?

 "'Twas only two hours prior, and the Tower was not yet on fire..."

I know, it's late January, and I'm doing the Christmas episode of What If?. I still have Echo to go, plus all the non-MCU stuff I'm doing. This may not quite be the furthest behind I've ever been but, well, I'm juggling all this with Twin Peaks, Fool Me Once, Better Call Saul, Batman and really need to get back to Robin of Sherwood soon. Aaargh.

Anyway, this is a nice little comedy episode with lots of witty lines, lots of fun and allusions to just how many years Darcy has been at uni, just how many intern placements she's had, and how little Happy (or "Hulk Hogan", as jhe's nicknamed by a very naughty Justin Hammer) is probably being paid for all he's going through.

This is all a bit of a subtle allusion to the not-so-good old days before David Michelinie's first run on the Iron Man title, when Happy would regularly turn into a bizarre creature called, yes indeed, "the Freak". But the episode manages to get away with it, mainly by just being very funny indeed.

Good stuff. Although not necessary the standard programming...

Secret Invasion: Resurrection

 "Take his face. Now take his mind."

So it begins, a one-off mini-series for which I'm thoroughly unspoiled: I'm fairly familiar with Marvil comics up to about 1993-94, hardly at all after that. I'm aware of the general premise of the storyline- Invasion pf the Body Snatchers, but worldwide, with Skrulls- but no more than that.

So Talos, mourning his wife, is still on the side of the humans, but younger Skrulls, led by young hothead Gravik, seek to take over the Earth- naturally- by seemingly causing a nuclear apocalypse that will destroy all human life but which they can survive. Gulp. And they certainly succeed in detonating a dirty bomb in Moscow.

This is what brings Nick Fury literally down to Earth, but as we're told by several of his old friends- Maria Hill, his old friend Sonya of MI6, an awesomely charismatic performance from the wonderful Olivia Colman- he's seen to have lodst his mojo after Thanos' snap, no longer the Fury who was always three steps ahead. It's a great little character stufdy, and a superb performance from Samuel L. Jackson as a septuagenarian Fury, still the witty spy of old but with a newfound vulnerability.

There's a superbly generated sense of uncertainty and paranoia throughout: trust no one. Talos' daughter Gi'ah has divided loyalties, and my gut reaction is she's likely to die Everett Ross is a Skrull... for how lomg, I wonder? Shockingly, though, Fury kills Maria Hill, deciding she's a Skrull... and she isn't. ouch. It's a moment that packs a punch.

I'm not sure this is quite first rank stuff yet, but I'm enjoying it. Interesting to set something like this in Russia these days, mind, even if it was filmed in Czechia..

What If... Thor Were an Only Child?

 "We never get to fire the nukes...!"

I think it's fair to say this is a lighter episode in both senses. Yes, it's light-hearted and yes, it's funny... but it's not that funny. And, as it's fairly lightweight in every other respect, having little of substance to say, it nearly needs to be funnier than it is in order to be more than ok.

The premise is that Frigga and Odin never adopt Loki, and Thor therefore develops into a bit of a frat boy, spending the whole episode partying on Earth.

The episode plays everything for laught. Countries are emblazoned with their names, as we see Thor hurl Captain Marvel from land named "France" to land named "United Kingdom". The characterisation and dialogue are funny; Jane Foster and Darcy are a great comedy double act. Yes, people act out of character for the sake of having witty lines and visuals, but an episode like this can get away with that.

This isn't unfunny. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just... well, ok.

The Lego Movie (2014)

"Wiping your bum with a hook for a hand is really hard.."

This is the perfect Lego movie. Not only does the all-Lego animation look great (even the water in Emmett's shower is Lego!) but the message is perfect and splendidly anti-conformist: don't just follow the instructions- build whatever the hell you like. But preferably spaceships.

This being a Warner Bros films we get cameos from Star Wars characters (the Millennium Falcon gets gobbled up by that asteroid beast from The Empire Strikes Back) and DC characters are available for a bit of mickey taking, especially Green Lantern whose film recently flopped.

The baddie, President Business, as well as being improperly linked to business for a politician (ooh, but of politics there), has a secret agenda to glue everyone together as per the instructions for all eternity, a fate worse than death. Against him are a random assortment of "master builders" including Batman(!), a very sensible spaceman who wants to build spaceships, quite sensibly, and whose family has the crack at the bottom that Lego spacemen always have.

There's also Vetruvius, half Gandalf and half Obi Wan Kenovi who, in the funniest scene, comes back as a ghost for some very serious advice for Emmett and then flies away with a "woo-oo"!

I loved this film, and I don't even like Will Ferrell. It's probably my favourite animated movie of recent years and definitely a must-see.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Nothing Personal

"Who or what is a Man-Thing?"

Episode 20 of 22; not far from the finishing line now and, while it`s all very exciting what with Ward and HYDRA and no SHIELD, I have no idea what things are going to look like when the music stops.

We start with Maria Hill on the phone to Pepper Potts; there is no SHIELD any more so she intends to work in the private sector for Tony Stark, an initial hint that this episode may feature her selling out. She just has time for a quick chat with the recently AWOL Agent May before she is arrested as part of a crackdown against those associated with SHIELD. This does not bode well for Coulson and Co.

 Still, Coulson and his team are no fools, soon realising that Ward is a baddie, Skye is with him, Garrett must still be at large and Hand must be dead. Fitz`s reaction is one of absolute denial, and his later insistence on Simmons telling him outright that she isn`t HYDRA. He loves her, and yet he`s such a big kid that one can`t help but think of this as just a crush. Things seem to get very pear-shaped as sellout Hill arrives with a load of US soldiers, but Coulson ultimtely persuades her to see sense.

 Skye, doing the decoding for Ward and knowing he`s HYDRA, has a plan to get him arrested.  It`s a good plan and nearly succeds but for Deathlok. Mike Peterson is a truly tragic character, a good man forced against his will to do bad things, although it`s fun to see him stop Ward`s heart for a bit. Nothing personal. The highlight of this whol sub-plot, though, is the conversation between Skye and Ward; he still likes her; she despises him as a Nazi and a traitor. What he did was "nothing personal", apparently. And yet... my wife has a theory. Could Ward in fact be a double agent?

We end with an exciting sequence with a flying Lola and some crap CGI. As Hill says to Coulson, there is no back-up, no SHIELD. They are alone and homeless.

And then, just when we think it`s over, May returns with a bombshell; the person ultimately running the TAHITI project was none other than Coulson himself...