Marvel Madness: Endgame Region – Round 1

I know it’s been 6 months since I initiated this bracket and I haven’t followed through with it, but, 2020. So, now that it’s 2021, let’s get started on the right foot and FINALLY get this show on the road. so without further adieu, here’s round 1 of the Endgame region of the Marvel Madness Bracket!

The Endgame Region:

1 vs 16 Getting the Play in game out of the way, Howard the Duck is so terrible that even a non-event like Punisher: Warzone gets the pleasure of being walked over by the juggernaut (see what i did there?) that is Avengers: Endgame. No need to spend anymore time on this matchup.

8 vs 9 Not much of a match-up here, Iron Man, the movie that launched the MCU has no problem disposing of one of the more disappointing outings in the up-and-down X-Men franchise.

5 vs 12 Another no brainer here, Deadpool 2, while weaker than the first, floats past the Rise of the Silver Surfer, one of a plethora of failed attempts at bringing the Fantastic Four to the silver screen.

4 vs 13 All though there’s nothing wrong with this version of the incredible Hulk, it’s fairly forgettable in the pantheon of MCU films for various reasons (not the least of which being that Mark Ruffalo’s version of the Hulk is so much more compelling than Edward Norton’s). However…. It’s going up against Spider-Man 2, arguably the best Marvel movie that’s not part of the MCU (no comment on how it stacks up against the best of Disney Marvel, that’ll have to wait until at least the Sweet 16).

3 vs 14 Ok we’ve got our first really competitive match-up of the tournament here, Blade II is totally underappreciated as both an action movie and a horror movie. Ron Pearlman and the rest of the “good-guy” vampires are a great team-up with Blade before that whole thing had been overdone in the likes of Underworld, Twilight, True Blood, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention the Reapers are a truly unique and compelling villain. Spider-
Man: Far From Home, while not as brilliant as Tom Hollands’ first solo outing, is none-the-less a quality film, and provides the perfect denouement to phase 3 of the MCU, setting up some really compelling questions to be answered in phase 4. It’s a great torch-passing from Iron Man to Spider-Man, and Jake Gyllenhaal totally delivers a great performance opposite Holland. Ultimately, Spidey’s Peter Tingle ekes out a nail biter.

6 vs 11 First Upset! I happen to love Kingsman, it’s so bonkers, but it works. Taron Edgerton and Colin Firth have great chemistry and I love Mark Strong in pretty much anything. Samuel L. Jackson turns in a brilliantly absurd performance as a villain with one of the most insane world domination plots ever put to screen, not to mention a final sequence that has to be seen to be believed. Doctor Strange is fine, but it ultimately kind of get’s lost in the middle of the MCU films, and I find the Mystical Arts angle a little bit out of place amongst the science-heave basis in the rest of the franchise.

7 vs 10 Things are heating up, here’s our second upset in a row. I like Men in Black 3, it’s a good movie and Josh Brolin does a dead-on Tommy Lee Jones impression as young Agent K. But X-Men 2 is the movie the solidified the superhero movies as a bankable genre and basically paved the way for this whole thing. Brian Cox is incredible, Hugh Jackman staked his claim to the role of Wolverine as long as he wants it, and basically everybody in the cast is on their A-game. It also leans into the prejudice angle hard, and the scene with Bobby’s family where it plays out like a gay young man coming out to his conservative parents is absolutely perfect.

2 vs 15 Not much to say here, Captain Marvel is a great superhero movie, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence is… not.

Ultron Region – Round 1 results

If you want to go back and see the original post setting up the bracket, it’s here