Agents of SHIELD – S2E15 – One Door Closes – Recap

Tonight’s episode is told in two time periods. We have the ongoing conflict between Coulson’s SHIELD and “Real” SHIELD in the present, and in the past, we see where Bobbie, Mac and Gonzalez were during the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

We open in the past. Mac is bloodied, on his knees with his hands on his head. Other agents are too. We’re in the middle of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Bobbie breaks in and is a one woman wrecking crew. She takes almost everyone out. Lucy Lawless gets the last guy. Remember when Lucy Lawless was on one episode of SHIELD this season and then died? Well, she’s back! Probably just for this episode, but still, she’s back! This scene is shot in a weird blue light, as if to yell, “Hey! This is the past!”

The lighting gets normal and we jump to the present. Bobbie returns to Coulson’s base. She’s up to something. She installs some hardware int he server room. While she’s doing that, Coulson is letting Mac work on Lola, supervised of course. Coulson confronts Mac. He asks Mac who he works for. Mac, not lying, says SHIELD. But Coulson thinks he’s being difficult.

Skye and Simmons are getting in the FaceTime session planned last episode. Simmons explains how the gloves work, but doesn’t mention any side effects, which is weird, because Coulson said last episode that the glove would have side effects and that Simmons would explain them to Skye.

Bobbie laser drills into where Coulson is hiding Fury’s toolbox. She steals the toolbox. May catches her in the act. They fight, and I have to admit, as soon as May walked in, I was looking forward to this fight, as both characters have been in some of the most athletic fights on the show. This fight was a bit of a letdown as Bobbie quickly flees. When May catches up to her, she sets off an EMP, which gives her and Mac the opportunity to escape.

In the past, Bobbie and Mac are on an aircraft carrier. The pace is in shambles. They find Gonzalez. His leg is badly messed up.

injured gonzalez one door closes shield

In the present, Bobbie reports in to Gonzalez. Gonzalez wants Skye. Why?

At her cabin, Skye tries on her power dampening gloves. The gloves are making her woozy. She calls Simmons, but gets her voice mail. Skye notices a blue wire under her desk and follows it to the wall. It’s a hollow panel, which she pries off. Under the wooden panel is reinforced metal that looks like the wall of her cell on The Bus. There’s a giant fist print in the wall. Did The Hulk stay here?

hulk hand one door closes shield

 

Skye is startled by something outside. She’s freaked out. If I was alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, I’d be freaked out too.  Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Skye and I divert over how to handle this. She answer the door. I would have ran and hid under my bed. Gordon, the blind teleporter, is at the door. Well, he’s not really blind. He can kind of see. I’m guessing he has a radar sense similar to Daredevil. He and Skye debate about the nature of her powers and why she should join him and his group. She’s not interested. He eventually takes the hint and leaves.

agents-of-shield-one-door-closes-gordon

Back at the base, Bobbie runs into Simmons, who doesn’t know what’s going on. Simmons thinks she can fix the power outage. She just needs to find the right tool in her bag. She hands Bobbie a bunch of stuff, one of which stuns Bobbie. She basically takes Bobbie out in the cutest way possible, and then draws her gun on Bobbie. It reminded me of Hooks from Police Academy. Well played, Simmons! Her espionage game has grown so much since she awkwardly infiltrated Hydra at the start of the season. Coulson retrieves the toolbox from Bobbie. May searches her locker and finds a gas mask. Ruh-roh.

hooks police academy

In the past, Bobbie and Mac need to move Gonzalez. Mac distracts Gonzalez with a story about his childhood coin collection so that another agent can pop Gonzalez’s leg into place. This aircraft carrier has too many secrets on it to fall into Hydra hands. Fury ordered Bobbie to sink it. Bobbie tells everyone to escape. Gonzalez argues that somehow them joining her will mean she’s be able to get out faster. Not sure how a severely injured old man isn’t going to slow things down, but I only have Level 7 clearance.

Fitz finds Bobbie’s device in the server room. Mac finds Fitz. Mac tells Fitz he isn’t going to hurt him. Fitz, rightly so, doesn’t trust Mac. gas starts filling the entire base. Mac pleads with Fitz to move away from the wall. Mac jumps on Fitz, saving him as the wall explodes. Gonzalez, Weaver and that shaved head guy who only plays jerks in movies burst in in gas masks.

In the past, Lucy Lawless goes all Xena on a bunch of Hydra agents.

In the present, everyone on Coulson’s team, save May, is captured. Gonzalez sends the shaved head jerk and a bunch of agents to “the house that Banner built” to retrieve Skye. Bobbie insists on going. It’s clear that she doesn’t trust these guys to not kill Skye.

Speaking of Skye, she decides to take the gloves off. She washes her hands and unitentionally makes the water spiral out of the faucet. It’s a cool effect.

At the base, FitzSimmons silently reconcile. This is broken up by Agent Weaver. You might remember her as the former head of the Academy, aka SHIELD Hogwarts, aka SHIELDwarts. She lets them know what went down at SHIELDwarts during Winter Soldier. They don’t show anything, but I’m guessing it’s similar to the Death Eaters’ invasion of Hogwarts in Harry Potter 6.

Gonzalez is meeting with Coulson in Coulson’s office, now Gonzalez’s office. Coulson gets the best line of the episode when telling Gonzalez he has good taste in offices and “you haven’t even dived into the record collection.” Gonzalez doesn’t plan on staying. He has the toolbox. He wants Coulson to show him how to use it so that he can hunt down superhumans. Coulson, unsurprisingly, refuses.

May gets to a comm and warns Skye that SHIELD is coming for her. She tells Skye how to escape the cabin’s security features. Bobbie and company show up at this time. Bobbie orders icers only, but shaved head jerkface definitely cocks a gun right after she says that. I’m pretty sure you don’t cock a night-night gun.

In the past, Mac wants to save the ship. They’re successfully fighting back, even if Hydra has them severely outnumbered. Gonzalez says they need to follow orders and blow the ship. Bobbie chooses to save the ship. Gonzalez says, “I hope we don’t live to regret this.” Xena says, “Let’s just hope we live.” Sorry, Xena…

Hartley-Bobbi-and-Mack-fighting hydra one door closes shiled

In the present, Gonzalez really lays into Coulson, practically accusing Phil of being Fury’s Frankenstein Monster. Gonzalez thinks Fury had too many secrets. Phil responds with “Fury’s secrets didn’t bring down SHIELD, Hydra did.” May ends the debate by icing Gonzalez and his guards. May helps Phils escape the base and immediately surrenders. She’s staying behind to make sure nothing happens to the team.

Skye and a “Real” SHIELD agent fight. He fires on her. Definitely not an icer! Bobbie and the shaved head jerk find Skye. Shaved head jerk then shoots at Skye, despite Bobbie saying not to. In an act of self defense, Skye unleashes her vibration powers on the bullet…and on the surrounding area. She destroys the area. Trees are powdered. I have no idea what her power is doing to Bobbie and shaved head guy’s insides. I think they might be dead. Skye looks like she’s worried they’re dead too. She whispers, “Gordon, help.” Amazingly, Gordon immediately appears. How did he hear that? He ports her out. Bobbie gets up. She’s okay, but looks shocked by the devastation Skye caused.

skye on the attacks one door closes shield

In the final scene, Coulson is at a tiki bar on the beach. There are palm trees in the background. Hunter joins him. They’re officially a team. Phil and Hunter vs. Real SHIELD. I can’t wait.

 

Guardian of the Galaxy – Review

Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Poster-High-Res

I had been counting down the days until the release of Guardians of the Galaxy since last year’s New York Comic Con Marvel Unlimited Plus Members Only panel. It was in that panel that we were shown, months before others were, an extra long trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy. Twice. I remember walking out of that panel and telling my friends, “Guardians of the Galaxy is the movie I’m looking forward to most in 2014.” I was convinced that even though many superhero movies were making their way to the theater in 2014, Guardians would be the best.

Guardians of the Galaxy totally lives up to the hype that I built up for it in my head. This is awesome news for regular folks. I don’t think the average guy on the street built this movie up in his head the way I did. Most people I talked to in the weeks leading up to Guardians of the Galaxy’s release date were a mix of cautiously optimistic or just flat out confused. One person told me, “Bradley Cooper voicing a raccoon? I don’t know how I feel about that.” I wanted to say, “I’ll tell you how you feel about that. Awesome. That’s how you feel. Awesome.” But every now and then I like to keep the obnoxious craziness inside me and I just smiled.

The characters in Guardians of the Galaxy are not household names. This movie could have easily flopped. I think it’s the strength of the script, director James Gunn and the stellar cast that made it work big time. Chris Pratt is awesome as Star-Lord. I’m currently reading a Guardians of the Galaxy comic, and Chris Pratt’s is the voice that hear in my head for Star-Lord. I love Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, but Andrew Garfield is not the voice I hear in my head when I read Spider-Man comics. Neither is Toby Maguire. Maybe it’s that Star-Lord hasn’t had countless iterations on film and television the way Spider-Man has, but whatever the reason, Star-Lord is Chris Pratt to me.

star lord gotg

One of the reasons that I made sure to see Guardians on opening weekend was that AMC was giving away Guardians of the Galaxy pins to their Stubs Card members if you saw it that weekend. You had the chance of getting Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora and Drax. There was also a rare 1 in 100 chase pin of the Guardians insignia. I really wanted that pin. Luckily, I got my second choice, Rocket. Unfortunately, so did my wife. I wanted to trade one of our Rocket pins with a friend who got Groot, but didn’t have a chance to do so before the movie started and he saw how awesome Groot is.

i am groot

Groot steals the movie. He’s like a more awesome Hodor. I would totally go see a Groot and Rocket buddy movie. Just the two of them out in space ripping shit up. Yes, please. I would see that movie in 3D, possibly even twice. Marvel, give us a Rocket and Groot movie, or even better, a season of Rocket and Groot on Netflix!

In case there was any question, Zoe Saldana is just as hot green as she is brown. Yeah, I wasn’t surprised by that one either.

zoe saldana gamora

Can we talk about the soundtrack for a minute? Hooked on a Feeling, The Pina Colada Song…this is my favorite soundtrack of oldie but goodies since Reservoir Dogs. Sorry, The Big Chill

If you haven’t seen Guardians of the Galaxy yet because you don’t think it counts because the Avengers aren’t in it, stop thinking that and go see it. Thanos, the mastermind bad guy of The Avengers film, is the mastermind bad guy of this movie. I don’t think Guardians necessarily plays into what’s going to happen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but it definitely contains a lot of necessary exposition for The Infinity Gauntlet movie that we are undoubtedly heading towards.

Yes, Guardians of the Galaxy is worth seeing in the theater, and worth seeing in 3D at that. Sadly, it is not the best superhero movie of 2014, but that is only because Captain America: The Winter Soldier was so damn good. Go see Guardians of the Galaxy. And then see it again.

Agents of SHIELD – S1E18 – Providence – Recap

paolo rivera agents of shield provedence

It was interesting watching this episode to see how much posturing SHIELD agent turned traitor Grant Ward was doing. Was this just overacting on Brett Dalton’s part? Is Ward really as callous as he was acting here? Or is Ward overdoing it in front of Hydra on purpose, in order to sell his betrayal of SHIELD to them when he’s actually playing Hydra?

Part of me wants Ward’s betrayal to be a long con to infiltrate Centipede and Hydra set up by Coulson and Victoria Hand that would make Danny Ocean proud. But I just can’t figure out a way that makes logical sense for that to be the case.

Here’s why I think Ward might still be on the side of the angels. Rewatching last week’s episode, Turn, Turn, Turn, I noticed that Ward shoots Hand in the gut on his first shot. His second and third shots into her are while she’s on the ground off-camera. Could these have been non-fatal shots too? That, combined with how over the top he was trying to prove himself as not a nice guy this week, made me think that maybe he’s still SHIELD.

My Ward still being a good guy theory is completely blown apart by a few things. One, I’m pretty sure that before he shoots Victoria Hand, he shoots the two other agents of SHIELD on the plane in the face. And once inside the Fridge, Ward goes out of his way to unearth the hidden gravitonium, which even Garrett didn’t know was there.

It was interesting listening to Ward explain how deliberately he conned everyone. Pretty much everything he did this season he claims was to further infiltrate SHIELD and keep suspicion off himself, going back to his recruitment by Coulson. Even his sexual relationship with May was a way to keep May, who his considered the most dangerous member of the team (with good reason), from suspicious of him. Ward told people what they wanted to hear from him, whether they realized that’s what they wanted to hear or not. Clearly, thinking of Ward as just the guns and muscle of Coulson’s crew has been a mistake. He’s a serpent. And to drive it home, he even carries a new expression on his face now that he’s a villain.

agents-of-shield-providence-ward-scar

Evil Ward, complete with bad  guy scar.

The other most interesting part of this week’s episode for me was seeing Raina’s reaction to meeting The Clairvoyant and finding out that he wasn’t the mystic she thought he was. Garrett seemed to revel in having tricked her. Ward too. There was just something so classic movie villain about the way Garrett and Ward acted this episode that it slightly irked me. I half expected them to say “Mwa-ha-ha” after each of their lines.

agents of shield all the bad guys providence

Garrett gets the whole gang back together. This is the SHIELD equivalent of the Iron Sheikh, Nicholai Volkoff and Ted Dibiase teaming up.

I really liked seeing Patton Oswalt as Agent Eric Koenig, the head of Fury’s secret base, in this episode. As he was giving the tour of his very isolated base, I couldn’t help but think that he was the Desmond of Agents of SHIELD. I kind of wish his first scene showed him working out to the sweet sounds of Mama Cass’s “Make Your Kind of Music.”

PATTON OSWALT

“Lanyards for everyone!”

The past few episodes of Agents of SHIELD have been great. I’m really enjoying this series, and really like how the creators of the show intertwined it with the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I can’t wait to see how this season turns out, especially now that Ward is reunited with Coulson’s team, and they have no idea who they’re dealing with. 

Winter Soldier & Agents of SHIELD

MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW. If you haven’t seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet, see it first and come back. And if you’re an Agents of SHIELD fan, make sure you watch Winter Soldier BEFORE you watch the tonight’s  episode! But if you don’t plan on watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier before tonight’s episode, this post should catch you up with everything you need to know.

agents of shield winter soldier

I feel more than it affects any of the other Marvel movies, Captain America: The Winter Soldier dramatically affects the Agents of SHIELD TV show. In the most recent episode of Agents of SHIELD, Coulson figures out that the villain The Clairvoyant is a SHIELD agent or has SHIELD agents in his employ. In Winter Soldier, it’s revealed that SHIELD is even more deeply compromised than Coulson suspected. Hydra has secretly taken over huge parts of SHIELD (and the government) from the top down, including the senator played by Garry Shandling in Iron Man 2 and long time SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell!

photo (10)

The Doctor and Rose reenact the pivotal scene between Senator Stern and Jasper Sitwell from Captain America: Winter Soldier.

Sitwell appeared briefly onscreen in Thor and Avengers, but has seen the majority of his screen time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the Agents of SHIELD TV series, including in last week’s episode, where he was still thought to be a loyal SHIELD agent. The revelation that Sitwell is in fact an agent of Hydra is a huge bombshell. Before Winter Soldier, there was no reason to think Sitwell was a traitor. Now, unless he’s revealed to be a triple-agent, Sitwell will be remembered as a traitor. I doubt he survived being thrown into oncoming traffic by the Winter Soldier on a busy DC highway. That said, he may be in part of tonight’s episode, as he was still alive in last week’s episode, and we don’t know yet how much of tonight’s episode takes before or during the events of Captain America: Winter Soldier. 

sitwell

We also don’t know how much of last week’s episode took place during or after Winter Soldier. Remember how hard a time Coulson was having trying to get in touch with Nick Fury last week? Could the reason for Coulson’s difficulty be the assassination attempt on Fury’s life in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Coulson’s crew has been isolated and on their own recently. Unless they hear something from Victoria Hand or Agent Garrett (Bill Paxton), there’s a good chance they won’t hear it. And it was revealed last week that Hand has her own agenda counter to Coulson.

victoria hand

Could The Clarivoyant from Agents of SHIELD be part of Hydra? The tagline “Everything is Connected” that ABC has been running in their advertising for Agents of SHIELD certainly makes it seem so. In the most recent episode of SHIELD, Coulson deduces that the Clairvoyant isn’t actually a psychic, but it rather someone with deep access to information, who uses that information to predict the future.

clairvoyant shield agent

Could the Clarvoyant be the now computerized Arnim Zola? It fits, as Zola was using everything from Facebook and Gmail to predict how people would act and who needed to be taken out. The main thorn in this theory is that I feel we’ve seen the Clairvoyant in silhouette already, unless that was just the man in the wheelchair who Ward killed in last week’s episode.

I’m guessing that one of Coulson’s team will be revealed as a Hydra agent. But I can’t think who I would want that traitor to be. I’ve grown to like every member of Coulson’s crew this season and will be devastated if any of them are traitors. Right now, I’m hoping it ends up being Garrett or Triplett if it has to be anyone. I do not think Agent May is a Hydra agent. I think her suspicious behavior is a red herring and that her secret phone line is a direct connection to Fury. And I don’t know what to make of Hand. Is she a Hydra agent? Or is she operating her own agenda?

agents of shield trust no one

Tonight’s episode of Agents of SHIELD is going to be huge! Do not miss this episode!

 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Review

winter soldier poster

When it was announced that the follow up to Captain America: The First Avenger would be Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the comic book fanboy in me was beyond excited.  The Winter Soldier is one of my favorite characters of the last 10 years, and as long as Marvel Studios didn’t drop the ball, this had the making of an awesome movie. They didn’t drop the ball. Captain America: The Winter Soldier rocks.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the Captain America movie we deserve. Captain America: The First Avenger was decent, but I would put it at the bottom of the list of  Marvel Studios’s movies thus far. Winter Soldier, on the other hand, rockets to the top, with maybe Iron Man 1 and Avengers ahead of it.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW. If you haven’t seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet, see it first and come back. And if you’re an Agents of SHIELD fan, make sure you watch Winter Soldier BEFORE you watch the tonight’s episode!

winter-soldier-catching-shield

I’m a huge fan of Ed Brubaker’s decade long run on Captain America. It was in this run that Brubaker debuted the mysterious Winter Soldier, whose identity remained hidden for awhile. Comic book fans are aware of the revolving door between death and resurrection among heroes and villains. Remember when Superman died, only to came back less than a year later? But there were two characters who seemed to be the exceptions to the revolving door rule: Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben and Captain America’s partner Bucky. Not only did Brubaker bring back Bucky, in the form of new Cap villain Winter Soldier, but he did it in a masterful story that seemed 100% plausible ( in a world inhabited by mutants and gods).

The movie is handled perfectly. Besides superhero fans, I’d recommend Captain America: The Winter Soldier to anyone who loves thrillers, espionage and movies like The Bourne Identity and Taken.

The opening hostage scene seemed to echo the opening of the PS2 video game Metal Gear Solid 2. The way Cap sneaks onto the boat, the ways he silently takes out the terrorists, I couldn’t help but feel like I was watching what could have been the opening of Metal Gear Solid: The Movie. And I loved it. I like that this movie from the start was more Bourne and Bond and less Superman and Thor.

The action scenes in Winter Soldier were fantastic all around. I really felt like I was on the edge of my seat as I watched the movie, or at least as close to being on the edge of your seat you can be in one of big recliners at the AMC on 86th and Broadway. The fight between Winter Soldier and Cap on the Helicarrier seemed reminiscent of Cap’s scenes on the mothership in The Avengers, but it didn’t seem repetitive at all. That’s a nice balance to strike.

I thought Marvel did a great job with keeping the identity of the Winter Soldier a mystery leading up to the debut of this movie. Yes, if you read the comic books, you knew it was Bucky, but for anyone new to the story, Marvel did a good job of keeping the cat inside the bag.

The big stand out in the movie for me is Anthony Mackie as The Falcon. Mackie is just perfect in this role. He makes The Falcon so likable and cool that I hope we see Falcon in Avengers: Age of Ultron and don’t have to wait for Captain America 3 for his return.

falcon mackie

If you saw the movie, hopefully you stayed for both end credits scenes. How many Marvel movies have to come out before everyone realizes that you do not get up until the very end of the credits? I’ve already talked to a few people who missed one or both of the end credits scenes. Stay in your seats!

The first end credits scene involved Baron Von Strucker, a compatriot of the Red Skull. The two twins he has imprisoned are Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Flash Fact: They’re Magneto’s kids. Though you probably won’t hear that mentioned in any Marvel Studios movie until the X-Men franchise rights return to Marvel. In the comics, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch started out as X-Men villains, but reformed and became early members of the Avengers. Because of this, they’re in the interesting place of being used by both Marvel Studios for their Avengers franchise and Fox for their X-Men franchise. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will both appear in the upcoming X-Men: Days of Futures Past, but played by different actors than they’re played by in Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Also in that scene, Baron Von Strucker is in possession of Loki’s staff, which is powered by a glowing blue ball of energy. Like the Tesseract and the Aether, I believe this ball of energy is another of Marvel’s Infinity Gems. I’m guessing this one is the Mind Gem, since Loki used that staff to control people’s minds in Avengers. In the excellent comic book series, Infinity Gauntlet, villan Thanos (purple dude from the end of The Avengers movie) gathers the 6 Infinity Gems and gains power over pretty much everything. I think Avengers 3 will be based on Infinity Gauntlet. You should give it a read. It’s a great series.

In the second scene after the credits, Bucky is reading about himself at the Captain America Smithsonian exhibit. I’m already excited for Captain America 3, and more Cap/Black Widow/Agent 13/Falcon action. I’m guessing the four of them will team up to track down Bucky and rehabilitate him, with Crossbones and someone else as the big bad guys.

More Comic Book Connections:

crossbones

Brock Rumlow, played by Frank Grillo, is the Hydra agent in charge of taking down Captain America. At the end of the movie, he’s recovered from the Helicarrier crash, badly burned and barely alive, and  put into the back of an ambulance. Brock Rumlow is the alter ego of longtime Captain America villain Crossbones. In the comics, Crossbones was the Red Skull’s right hand man and later was involved with the Skull’s daughter, Sin. I expect we’ll see Grillo return as Crossbones in Captain America 3.

agent 13

Agent 13, played by Emily VanCamp, is a huge part of Captain America’s life. She’s been his partner in the field and his lover.  She is Captain America’s Lois Lane; if he ends up with one woman, you can expect it to be her. She’s also the grandniece of Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers’s best gal from the 1940s, the old woman Stever Rogers visits in the hospital in Captain America: Winter Soldier.

the_falcon

Sam Wilson/Falcon, played by Anthony Mackie, is another huge part of Captain America’s life. Falcon even shared the title on the cover of Captain America’s comic in the 1970s, when it was rebranded Captain America and the Falcon. Like many of the heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Falcon in this movie derives his costume and origin more from Falcon in The Ultimates  than from the main Marvel Universe.

Overall, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the best, if the not the best, movies to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and one of the best superhero movies of all time. I cannot recommend seeing this movie enough.

For more on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, be sure to listen to this week’s episode of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast, where Dave and I discuss the movie in depth.

Comics Podcast Episode 14 – New Comics, DC Deities, and Winter Soldier

Episode #14 of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast is packed!

Copra-13-Cover-674x1024

 

First, Billy and Dave preview new comics being released on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. Then Dave and Billy review last week’s books, including Copra #13, She-Hulk #3, Detective Comics #30, Earth 2 # 22, Aquaman & The Others #1 and Stormwatch #30. Dave then explains deities and dimensions in the DC New 52.

winter-soldier-catching-shield

To end the show, Billy and Dave go in-depth on Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and its effects on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD!

Geeky Holiday Gift Guide

The holidays are right around the corner. Are you looking for the perfect gift for the geek in your life? Tuesday Night Movies is here to help!

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled Boxed Set

This box set comes with all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies leading up to and including The Avengers. You get Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers. What really makes this set cool is that everything is packaged in a SHIELD-branded briefcase that contains a light-up tesseract inside!

marvel cinematic universe

Captain America: The Winter Solider Ultimate Collection

Next year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie is largely based on Ed Brubaker’s run on the Captain America comic, where he introduced Cap’s mysterious new enemy, the Winter Soldier. This collection has stunning art by Steve Epting and Michael Lark, and an amazing story by Brubaker.

cap america winter soldier

Doctor Who: Series 1-7 Limited Edition Gift Set

BBC has finally released the Chistopher Eccleston and David Tennant years of Doctor Who on Blu Ray. This set includes all of those seasons, plus seasons 5-7 starring Matt Smith as the Doctor. The set also includes an awesome fully functional sonic screwdriver universal remote control. You can use it on your TV, blu ray player, speakers, anything that will work with a universal remote.  This is the closest you’ll get to feeling like a time lord without having a second heart implanted in you.

doctor who box set

Doctor Who Tardis Beach Towel

Sure, it’s cold out now, but summer will be here soon enough. Or maybe the Doctor will show up to pick up you and friends for a weekend getaway to the Caribbean in the middle of January. In either situation, this Tardis towel is a must-own item.

tardis towel

Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite Bottle Opener

Transform your kitchen in Jabba’s throne room! This is quite possibly the coolest looking bottle opener ever, a highly detailed replica of Han Solo frozen in carbonite from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  And it’s functional too. The back of Han Solo is magnetic, so it will stick to your fridge. The bottle opener is solid metal, not some flimsy plastic, so it should last you a long time.

han solo bottle opener

 

Star Wars Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

I received one of these Tauntaun sleeping bags for Christmas when ThinkGeek first introduced them a couple of years ago. It is quite possibly the best Christmas present I ever received.  You should buy this for someone you love. And buy one for yourself too while you’re at it.

taun taun sleeping bag

Harry Potter Wizard’s Collection (Blu Ray/DVD Combo/Ultraviolet Combo)

There have been many Harry Potter movie collections over the years, but this is the mother of all Harry Potter movie collections. It is 31 discs in total,  including all 8 Harry Potter movies on both Blu Ray and DVD, and tons of special features. But what really sells this collection is how it’s contained. The box is a fold out chest of drawers. The discs are in book-like boxes. One disc is even hidden behind a secret compartment. The Ultra-Violet download codes are written on rolled-up scrolls. There are a couple of books included, The Catalog of Artifacts and The Label Collection, which really show off the detail that went into producing the props for the movies. There’s a map of Hogwarts and the surrounding area, and a blueprint of Hogwarts Castle. There’s even a horcrux locket! This is the ultimate gift for the Harry Potter fan in your life!

harry potter wizards collection

 

Harry Potter Triwizard Tournament Shirt

The perfect gift for the quidditch fan in your life. This is an exact replica of the shirt that Harry wears in the third challenge of the Triwzard Tournament.  Potter is embroidered on the back and the shirt has the Hogwarts school crest on the front.

triwizard tournament shirt

Star Trek Transporter Room Bath Mat & Shower Curtain Set

Modeled after the original Star Trek series, this bath mat and shower curtain set will transform your bathroom into the Transporter Room. Beam up to the Enterprise every time you step out of the shower!

Star Trek Transporter Room mat and curtain

Star Trek Spock Oven Mitt

This is just super. It’s an oversized Spock hand, giving the “Live long and proper” sign and it’s an oven mitt. I don’t know if this combination is logical, but it is definitely awesome!

star trek oven mitt

 

Game of Thrones Scarves

Winter is coming. A man needs a scarf.

game of thrones scarves

 

Game of Thrones: Iron Coin of the Faceless Man

Because a man needs a coin. This is a replica of the coin that Jaqen gives Arya. One side shows a faceless man. The other says reads: “Valar Morghulis, Valar Dohaeris,” which translates to “All men must die, all men must serve.”  This is quite possibly one of the coolest prop replicas I’ve seen from HBO’s hit TV series.

coin of the faceless man

 

The Walking Dead Season 3 Limited Edition Boxed Set

Winning the prize for the creepiest boxed set on the market is this version of AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 3. It comes packaged with a replica of The Governor’s collection of zombie heads in fish tanks. It even lights up from within to illuminate  the heads. You can even fill the aquariums with water! And it comes with all of season 3 of The Walking Dead.

walking dead season 3

 

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Funko Pop Vinyl Figure

Easily the coolest character on The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon can now guard office desks and bookshelves from walkers in the form of this vinyl figure from Funko.

daryl dixon funko pop

Batman: Arkham Origins Collectors Edition

The Arkham Asylum and Arkham City games have been my absolute favorite video games of the last couple of years. The latest chapter in the franchise was recently released, Batman: Arkham Origins. The collectors edition of Arkham Origins contains a slew of cool stuff, most notably a light-up statue of Batman’s archenemy, The Joker. You even get more game, as the collectors edition includes download codes for bonus content not included in the standard edition. When your thumbs are sore, you can watch the included Blu Ray of Necessary Evil: The Villains of the DC Universe.

arkham origins collectors edition

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Deluxe Edition

When DC first released the animated version of The Dark Knight Returns, they did it as two separate movies. The movies were very well received and DC has now combined the two of them into one epic movie. The Dark Knight Returns is one of the coolest Batman stories ever told.

batman the dark knight returns deluxe edition