Month: April 2025

Marvel Rivals “Gooner” Controversy Explained

AdamLeave a comment

Marvel Rivals has been the most talked about video game at the moment. Since it released for free back in December, Marvel fans and gamers cannot seem to stop gushing over how good this game really is. While the overall premise of the game is nothing more than “Overwatch but with Marvel superheroes” with a few live service elements from Fortnite throw in there for good measure, it’s overall variety in terms of it’s seasonal content and expansive, colorful roster of Marvel’s most iconic comic book characters has been the main features that has had folks keep coming back to it. From the immersive gameplay to the intriguing maps/setting to the appealing art style to the fun as hell banter that is played through every single match, this has perhaps been the most successful Marvel related thing since well……Avengers: Endgame. The one main Marvel feature of the 2020s that seems to have united Marvel fans, comic book fans, and gamers worldwide for this fun and immersive experience. I have put over 60 hours into this game since it launched and I still find myself keep coming back for more. If that’s not the sign of a great game with a ton of replay value, I don’t know what is.

However, that hasn’t stopped the game from running into it’s fair share of “controversies”. I put controversies in quotes because I don’t think it’s so much as big of a deal as what certain people are making it out to be but more of it’s not as big of a deal that certain people WANT it to be. In the sense, that this isn’t really being seen as outrage as angry YouTubers would want you to believe outside of some accounts on Twitter and Reddit along with an article or two that was clearly designed for rage bait clicks for folks that were stupid enough to take the bait.

You might be thinking I’m talking about the supposed censorship that took place with key words being banned from the game such as “1989”, “Free Taiwan”, “Hitler”, and “ISIS” or the cringeworthy modes of Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump as Captain America being taken down (Seriously, that was the most cringeworthy shit EVER!!!!!!). You would be……surprisingly wrong there. (Seriously, how in the world did that controversy just….drop off the face of the earth?!)

What I’m talking about are the eye opening designs of the characters that are presented in the game, most notably the female characters. With certain folks complaining that the designs are too sexualized, too male gazing, and too pandering to the “goon” squad. And with the recent season update that includes Emma Frost and the announcement of the game receiving swimsuit skins later this year, to tie into Marvel Comics’ revival of their Swimsuit special, there has been nonstop “gooner” allegations helmed against this game.

I get that certain folks need to have this conversation over this supposed “controversial” subject matter over this game because well…..it’s 2025 and literally everything needs to be a major talking point about something that is no where near as interesting as everyone is making out to be. All it takes is one clickbait tweet, a juicy quote from an article, or a rage-inducing title of a video to get certain folks fired up and feel like they need to defend something so trivial and minor or else……it will disappear forever because it made a certain someone upset. But in the case of Marvel Rivals, this “gooner” controversy is essentially of an example of a big snowball that certain folks feel the need to push down the mountain, making what should be a minor issue into something major because they couldn’t leave things well enough alone and just not take the bait. The whole “this game is made for the goon squad” is the main element that’s got certain folks triggered….and it’s absolutely hilarious.

The design of female characters in games has been a real toxic discussion over the years. For a while, certain folks have been complaining about women in gaming not being “attractive” enough. This has been seen as a response to backlash over the years of video games being sexist towards women and the majority of female protagonists in games being designed more with male gamers in mind as opposed to female gamers. Characters such as Kay Vess from Star Wars: Outlaws, MJ from Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and Ciri with the new upcoming The Witcher VI have been subjected to major controversy for their designs. The main talking points around them being that they didn’t look hot enough, had too much “masculine” features, and being made ugly “on purpose” for…..reasons I can’t even comprehend. So much so that there are folks that refused to play those games and many others just because none of the women in them gave them a boner.

Although, there have been some notable exceptions, particularly with games made by Eastern developers, in recent memory that have gone out of their way to make the women in their games as easy on the eyes and visually appealing as possible. Characters such as Tifa Lockhart and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII and the women from Stellar Blade being recent examples of this. Although, there’s has been some hype over the Western developed Grand Theft Auto VI because of how fine the new girl, Lucia, looks in it and…..I guess there’s that. However, there hasn’t been one instance in recent memory where you can tell the main playable female characters were made to look as good as the developers can possibly make them than with Marvel Rivals.

Whether we are talking about Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Storm, Magik, Hela, Emma Frost, Sue Storm, Luna Snow, Mantis, Psylocke, Dagger, or Squirrel Girl (I left out Peni Parker for a reason!), the women in Marvel Rivals have tended to shine in more ways than one. This most notably comes from their gorgeous outfits, unlockable/buyable skins, flawless hair, and the thick..well….”layers” to their designs. Because of all that and more, I can’t imagine there are certain folks that did NOT want to play as any of those characters just because of how good they look. (There’s a reason that Storm has been one of my top 3 playable characters since launch). While many people have applauded the game for these appealing designs that makes it feel like these characters were ripped straight out of the comic books and stayed true to their original forms, there are those that have condemned it, feeling like it devalues the women of the game in any way or that it’s relying on sex appeal in order to keep the services going for the foreseeable future.

And these aren’t just the typical far-left extremists that certain folks are letting you to believe but even the ones on the other far end political stretch (A.K.A. the “woke” right) that have condemned the game for making the outfits of the female characters too revealing, too slutty, and too “inappropriate” for children. (I wouldn’t be surprised if these are the same kind of folks that constantly blame games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto for all of the world’s problems instead of….well….themselves!) And I don’t think I need to go into this recent “GoonerGate” controversy (Yes, that is a real thing!) that I’m sure the game itself has been dragged into because of that. While I can understand a viewpoint or two of this matter, I do think this whole thing is being blow WAY out of proportion by such a small minority.

Yes, I am someone that advocates for my ladies to be well written and fun to play as in games that amounts to them being more than just being sexy eye candy. Yes, I am also someone that doesn’t let how good (or bad) a pixeled female A.I. looks determine my feelings on a video game. However, I do NOT think whatsoever that the way that the women superheroes look in Marvel Rivals detracts from their characters or makes me think of any less of them as a part of their characters history. If anything, it makes me think more of them as characters.

While the game itself might not have it’s own campaign or characterization for the women outside of some good banter and visual flare, they do feel very in-line of how I (and many others) view them as characters in comics, movies, and even games. It’s not just their amazing looks that makes them appealing, it’s their special powers, unique gameplay, suitable voice work, and the way they play off the other characters that make them stand out in the best ways. And even the women with the most revealing outfits, you can tell they feel the most confident about themselves when they wear it. It’s their attractiveness and femininity that empowers them to be the best version of themselves and NOT the other way around. And the best part of it all is that it’s not just the women that look good in Marvel Rivals, it’s the men too.

While the male superhero counterparts may not be as hyper-sexualized as their female counterparts, they too have great and fitting designs that looks like they were ripped straight out of the comics. You can’t tell me that Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Panther, and many others don’t look the way they are suppose to and don’t fit them as characters whatsoever. I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of the designs of this game are considered the definite designs for many newcomers to the Marvel lore. And even the male superheroes that are hyper-sexualized well……they do have great wonders as well.

I can’t imagine how many women (and even some men) that have played this game found themselves themselves gooning over shirtless Namor, daddy Reed Richards, goldy Adam Warlock, completely worthy Loki, totally non-Sebastian Stan Bucky, and twerking Venom with his full cake booty. This is literally a game where both the men AND women get to have fat asses. THIS is the representation that matters!

When it comes to the “gooner” discourse surrounding Marvel Rivals, I see it more as a tongue-and-cheek kind of thing rather than something that should be taken seriously. Because, when playing through the game, you can tell this is all being done out of love, passion, and respect for the characters throughout Marvel’s history instead of pandering and desperation. It would be one thing if the game was bad and you can tell they are relying on attractive men and women to keep the game afloat but that is definitely NOT the case here.

If folks want to continue lambasting this game because of it’s appeal to “gooners”, let them. The game has been a success since it launched during the holiday season and will continue to do so for at least the next few years. I get how annoying online grifters can ruin the fun of something like this because it makes them believe they’ve “won” something and have to keep bringing up irrelevant posts and articles to make certain talking points feel much bigger than they really are. But for folks like us, who can enjoy any game we want without have some sort of bias or pride attached to it, we are the ones that get the last laugh at the end. And also the developers of Marvel Rivals of course.

I also want to keep in mind that if there are women (or even men) out there that do take issue with the way the characters look in the game and have a fair, not extreme, opinion on it, that’s all well and good. I just believe there are FAR worse examples of oversexualized characters in gaming and media that do take away from them as characters if you strip away how good they look. In the case of Marvel Rivals, I strongly believe that (for the most part) the designs of the characters compliment themselves and only adds to the variety of the game rather than take away from it. It’s that nice little icing on a very well made and properly put together cake that anyone can enjoy. And that is perhaps the best possible compliment I can give a game!

In the meantime, I’m going to continue to play the hell out of and enjoy Marvel Rivals! And I recommend you to do the exact same!

To conclude this piece, here’s Knuckles approval ratings of the “mommies” of Marvel Rivals!

Ranking The Films of Alex Garland

AdamLeave a comment

Alex Garland is one of the most interesting filmmakers in recent memory. He tends to make film that is able to deliver beyond anyone’s expectations for both the better and the worse. Regardless of what you think about his films, you can’t deny the man is usually not afraid to go all in on controversial matters or explore hidden depths within the sci-fi genre. Results always vary but no doubt, it’s always compelling to see a filmmaker always swing for the fences even if it always doesn’t work off.

With what is perhaps his biggest film to date just coming out in theaters in Civil War, let’s take the time to rank his four films released up to this point that he has been credited as a full-on director.

However, I would like to give one honorable/unqualifiable mention to this list.

Dredd (2012)

Dredd (2012) is one of the most underrated/overlooked gems that has been released for the past decade. A solid, intense, and incredibly enjoyable sci-fi action flick that’s able to improve on nearly every shortcoming that the original Judge Dredd had and be something even more than that. The main reason I can’t add this to the list is that despite writing the screenplay for it and did help complete the film, Alex Garland did NOT get any credit as director, that goes to Pete Travis.

Still, Dredd (2012) is a gem and it tanking at the box office still remains one of the biggest cinematic tragedies in recent memory! Hopefully, the cult following for this remains so strong that one day a sequel will be greenlighted!

Now that mention is out of the way, let’s get to ranking the official four films in Alex Garland’s directing library!

5.) Men

Alex Garland’s first film set outside his comfort zone in the sci-fi genre attempts to explore the inner depths of toxic masculinity and the mental state that abused women go through when having to deal with it. It’s just a shame that Garland couldn’t think of anything compelling to go along with that or provide an engaging narrative to get this obvious point across.

Men is ego-filled filmmaking at it’s absolute worst! The message of toxic masculinity is thuddingly obvious and not well handled, sequences are way too drawn out and repetitive as hell, it’s own attempt at shock value gets old very quick, and the final act remains one of the most infuriating climaxes of a film that I’ve ever suffered through in theaters. Even commendable performances from Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear along with a handful of stand out sequences (particularly the haunting tunnel scene) can not save Men from being the preachy and pretentious mess that it is!

Men was always going to be a film that was controversial no matter what given it’s subject matter but the end results of it just gives certain folks more ammo to support their own grift-filled narrative. Between this and the next film I’m about to talk about, it’s for the best that Alex Garland does more research on the subject matter he is tackling so the films don’t come across as distractingly obvious or inaccurate as it does. Plus, having a woman co-write or co-direct this film likely would have helped to! Just saying!

4.) Civil War

On the surface, you think you know exactly what you are going to get with a film like Civil War. In a year with yet another controversial election for America that is expected to arrive in the coming months, what better way for A24 to coast on this hot topical year than putting their own spin on an America that we are dangerously close to approaching to in real life? The kind of film that leaves no stone unturned and be unafraid to tear into every single realm of America politics and inner turmoil of the U.S. governments! The kind of film that is basically guaranteed to earn it’s F rating on Cinema Score like a pride badge of honor! The kind of film that would likely cause fights from hard core liberals and devoted conservatives during theater screenings! However, when you sit back and look at Civil War with an open mind, it’s surprisingly as apolitical and pointless as they come.

It’s doesn’t amount to being the political cringe fest that most viewers envisioned it as. It doesn’t commit to being the overblown disaster flick that it constantly flirts at throughout the entire picture. And it doesn’t even seem to be interest on exploring it’s own take on what a modern day civil war set in America could or would be like. Civil War just acts as a typical America murder porn flick with not much rhyme or reason do it and will likely leave viewers wondering what point Alex Garland was trying to make here.

It’s certainly as well made and well acted as you would expect from Garland himself but it lacks any creativity or boldness that this director is usually unafraid of showing off. I don’t know if this was because Garland was unsure which kind of movie he wanted to make or if he just didn’t want to piss anyone off but Civil War just seems as confused as all the people that are fighting in the movie are. Even if this movie’s overall theme is about how all war is pointless and nobody wins, that doesn’t justify this film’s existence any better.

3.) Warfare

Remember how I said that it’d be better for Mr. Garland to do more research on the subject matter he tackles with this films? Well, he apparently took that advice to heart with Warfare, easily the best non-related sci-fi work he has done to date and one of the better war films in recent memory. Based on the real-life experiences of Ray Mendoza during his service in the Iraq war as a U.S. Navy SEAL, the film act as an re-enactment of an encounter he and his platoon experienced on November 19, 2006, in the wake of the Battle of Ramadi. To keep the film as accurate as possible, Garland collaborated with Mendoza and real-life vets apart of that conflict by taken the film’s material exclusively from the testimonies of the platoon members, and is presented in real time beginning from the main title.

Warfare is a war film that has no agenda than showcasing the life-changing events that shattered the life and mental stability of a group of hard fighting soldiers. There’s no traditional Hollywood war tropes, no forms of military propaganda, and never tries to waste your time of filler of any kind. It’s 90 minutes of horror, intensity, and filling you in the shoes of being an everyday soldier in the army. The cast works, every sequence will have you on the edge of your seat, and this is more than worth the extra bucks to watch it in full IMAX.

While I’m not sure Warfare will be as memorable or rewatchable compare to other war movie classics and even Garland’s other work, it works well enough on it’s own that you won’t regret spending your time and money with. If Garland wants to continue making films with real-life and important subject matter, hopefully he takes the rights notes from this film and he might just get even better in the upcoming future.

2.) Ex Machina

Alex Garland’s directorial debut that came out in 2015 was about as perfect of a first impression as you could imagine. Ex Machina is able to be an imagative, creative, and engaging tale about the emergence of A.I. and how the human race responds to being in a world with technology as their overall counterpart with the realization that there is not much different between the two. The film has big ideas that it executes tremendously well, while also leaving a lot of room for further analysis. 

You also have to credit the stellar performances given by the main players here which consists of Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and ESPECIALLY Alicia Vikander, who all carry the entire picture on their backs all the way through with little to no hassle. Seeing Ava’s transformation from being a mindless robot to an artificial intelligence that is perhaps more intelligent than either Nathan or Caleb realize is really fascinating to see play out and keeps leaving you guessing on what will come next. Even the somewhat iffy last stretch isn’t enough to derail the impressive achievement that Ex Machina is.

Ex Machina is the best kind of sci-fi. The kind that treats it’s audience like human beings and doesn’t need to rely on pure action and spectacle to make for a satisfying experience. Masterfully directed, smartly written, and wonderfully performed by it’s main cast, Ex Machina was able to start Alex Garland’s directing tendure on the best note possible. Even in a year that saw the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ex Machina remained as the best sci-fi film of 2015 that happened to star Oscar Issac and Domhnall Gleeson.

1.) Annihilation

For as great as Ex Machina is, I still don’t think it tops the absolute sci-fi horror masterpiece that is Annihilation. This still remains not only the best film in Alex Garland’s filmography but one of the best sci-fi films of the 21st century thus far. Even when facing release problems by Paramount and Skydance and criticism from the original Author, Annihilation is Alex Garland at his most creative, ambitious, and pure visionary!

This is a very engaging and complex story of a group of female scientists who are summoned to an enchanted forest to uncover a mystery as to what happen to a group of male scientists during this phenomena. The mystery as to what is happening on screen is intriguing and full of hidden details that beg for repeat viewings, the characters are well defined and engaging, the visual imagery is mind blowing, the slow pacing feels well utilized and earned, the tension is felt the whole way through, the score is absolutely mesmerizing, and the final 20 minutes contains one of the best and haunting climaxes I’ve seen in any film. It also feel refreshing to have an all-female cast done in a way that makes sense for the story it’s telling and not strictly to try to earn a few brownie points.

I understand it’s divisive to some but Annihilation still remains my favorite work from Alex Garland and one of my personal favorite sci-fi movies. It remains one of the most engaging and mesmerizing theater experiences that I could recall. There wasn’t a single moment where I wasn’t blown up away by the visuals, tension, performances, plot turns, score, and just plain attention to details. I sure hope that author Jeff VanderMeer comes to his senses one day and realize the absolute brilliance that is the film, Annihilation. This isn’t just Alex Garland or sci-fi at it’s best, it’s pure filmmaking and cinema at it’s best! Annihilation remains a sci-fi film that I’ve gone back to many times and will continue to do so in the future!

Ranking The Filmography of Ryan Coogler

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If there’s one director currently working in Hollywood that I would say qualifies as being the most overlooked, that honor would easily go to Ryan Coogler. Despite being only 38 years old, he’s already achieved more behind the camera than most directors working in Hollywood would ever dream off. He was able to get a big-screen outing for his directorial debut with less than a million dollar budget at at the age of just 27, he was able to revitalized the Rocky saga when it felt like that series had ran it’s course, and he made history in making two smash box office hits involving the most popular black superhero in the history of Marvel Comics. And now with the release of Sinners, he has been given a blank check to craft his own original flick, involving vampires, religion, and lots and lots of blood and gore.

Because of that, we now have five films to rank! And thus far, he has yet to release an outright dud or anything that constitutes as being “mid” or “slop”. If that doesn’t say how talented this man is as a director, then I don’t know what does. Regardless, let’s not waste anymore time and get right to ranking!

5.) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is about as good and thematically rich of a sequel as it could have been given the circumstances surrounding it. Despite losing a main key piece and a few too many subplots that feel like they’re only here to tease future movie and shows, it is still able to follow the remaining characters and themes from the first one in a way that feels organic and right. It’s beautifully acted and made, the handling of Chadwick Boseman’s death is done to near perfection, and is certainly a film you will want to bring tissues too. If only the runtime had been trimmed down and there wasn’t subplots that put more focus on setting up future Disney Plus shows, then this might’ve have ranked higher on this list. Even so, the fact that Coogler’s weakest film can still qualify as being very good speaks volume to the superb quality of filmography this man has.

4.) Fruitvale Station

Ryan Coogler’s first ever feature film debut came with Fruitvale Station. Made on a budget of just 900k dollars, Coogler is able to explore themes surrounding life, tragedy, and police brutality. This is about a man that is just trying to make his way through the world to take care of the ones he loves but life always finds a way to make it difficult. While it’s fairly low budget is quite noticeable, this is still able to hold strongly together due to the top notch performance by Michael B Jordan and the sharp, clever direction from Ryan Coogler. Well acted and well directed with subject matter that is more than relevant over a full decade later, Fruitvale Station is about as good as these low budget debut films can be.

3.) Sinners

In a time where Hollywood desperately needs more creative voices than ever, Ryan Coogler comes on in to craft what is perhaps the most original and unique blockbuster in recent memory! Sinners is more than just an expertly well done horror period flick but it’s a glimmer of light of the creatively bankrupted nature in Hollywood. It’s prove that there are still distinct, creative voices in Hollywood and directors that are looking to push boundaries of what filmmaking can be in the year of our lord and savior in 2025! The cast is top tier from top to bottom, has the right mix of blood, gore, scares, and glorious amounts of sexiness, the production values are top notch, and nearly every single plot point and thematic arc gets a payoff of some sort by the end. It’s even impressive to have post-credits scenes that don’t just exist to give a tease for the sequel or a cheap gag but to actually expand upon the complete ending of the full complete picture. It might take a while for Coogler to much his chess pieces into place and I’m not sure it will have the cultural impact that the top two films on this list will have but nevertheless, Sinners is more than worth your time and money at the theaters.

2.) Black Panther

Yes the CGI isn’t that great. Yes, it does move a bit slow in the first act and quite fast in the third act. And yes, more time with the bad guys would have helped. Nevertheless, when it come to quality, filmmaking, and it’s overall impact on pop culture, I don’t think there’s been an MCU installment that hits quite as hard as Black Panther. The characters are all iconic, especially with Kilmonger being arguably the best MCU villain to date, everything that takes place in Wakanda is wonderful, the action is well done, especially that car chase, the aesthetic (minus the CGI) is a treat for the eyes, the music rocks, and the impactful themes are ones that still resonate with me to this very day. When looking back on it, you can tell the impact that Black Panther had with Marvel Studios and director Ryan Coogler and how it would be quite hard to replicated something with that one center piece now gone. Nevertheless, they can at least look back and witness the amazing achievement they were able to accomplish with the gem that is Black Panther. RIP Chadwick Boseman!

1.) Creed

About a month before the age of legacy sequels kicked into full gear with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there was Creed, which Ryan Coogler actually dared to take the Rocky franchise in a new direction by putting direct focus on the son of his old friend while Stallone himself acts as a secondary character. Easily one of the best movies to come out in 2015, this soft reboot is able to get everything right that these soft reboots tend to get wrong. It has the right amount of drama, right amount of emotion, right amount of fight scenes, right amount of legacy, right amount of inspiration, right amount focus on the villain, and just right amount of everything. Michael B Jordan is sensational as Adonis “Donnie” Creed and even Sylvester Stallone works just as well being a mentor figure as he was as the main boxer. And I will never be able to get over the MASTERFULLY directed boxing sequences and hard hitting drama that feels earned in every single bit. While all of Ryan Coogler’s films thus far have been impressive in every way, I don’t think there is one that speaks volume for his filmmaking talents and distinct voice than with Creed.