Michael*

I'd been prepared for this day for quite a while, so much so that by the time it eventually got around to becoming a reality, it was fairly painless. Ineptitude and an absence of fighting spirit is a deadly combination.

End of an era for Arsenal. If anything, the way Wenger stuck at it during the lean times, ensuring stability for the club, was most laudable. Especially as the 'mediocrity' he was accused of overseeing by so many bewilderingly entitled fans, was actually a level of consistency that most clubs should and do envy. Surely now though, the stage is set for Sam Allardyce to at last manage a big club. Hopefully he can attract some good players to help Arsenal compete. Youri, Ivan, Jay Jay, we're getting the band back together!

Yeah, it was quite fun, although it feels like they're reaching a bit now in trying to come up with reasons for the cast to sing. Perhaps appropriately though, Mon-El couldn't. I thought Laurie Metcalf was great as Winn's mother, both in their scenes together and with the other members of the cast. I kept waiting for some twist to happen at the end, where they revealed that she was working with a new Toyperson. It’s something that the 'Arrowverse' had been doing constantly, to the point where it's almost a relief to see a long lost relative just stay as a long lost relative.

Oh, most definitely. What I'd be interested to know too, although obviously it's not really something that can ever be measured, is how much the longevity of Panther was down to it being built on the foundations laid by the previous MCU movies. It's a superb movie in its own right of course, but to understand how we got it, how we got here and why so much faith was placed in the cast and Ryan Coogler, it's difficult to look at it in isolation from the successes of past titles and the way Marvel has been handling its properties. That being said, I thought one of the many great things about Panther was that it works as a standalone piece, and that you don’t really need to know anything about the other films to appreciate it. If that’s what’s keeping people from seeing it in cinemas, they shouldn't let it.

The weird thing is that even now, it doesn't seem to have run out of steam, so much so that it could still be in cinemas and still raking in money by the time Infinity War opens. I doubt even the most optimistic Marvel fan would have anticipated that kind of longevity. And as much as I think Infinity War will have the opening weekend title wrapped up, I'm not sure it'll have as much staying power as Panther.

Hello, good evening and welcome!

Thanks again @Shepherd I don't know how true this is, but on the MCU Facebook page there are some individuals who supposedly got to see the first thirty minutes of Infinity War. They couldn't go into specifics for obvious reasons of course, although they did say it was the scene where the Guardians meet Thor. In their brief synopsis, they mention that there were a lot of shifts in tone. The Guardians scenes with Thor brings out a quirky, unique, comedic, and bombastic cosmic feel, later on it switches over to more of the gritty, grounded, and darker aspects of the Captain America movies, with the Avengers in Wakanda and New York. So let's see.

Hopefully, the studios take heed from that and realise that the trick to making decent comic book films is as simple as letting talented directors deliver a vision. Growing up, I never read the source material wanting everything to look and feel the same, the shared world but with different styles and approaches was a large part of what made it such fun. It's strange now to think back to the Guardians being labelled "Marvel’s first bomb" prior to the release.

Thanks @Shepherd Here's a pretty comprehensive rundown of where we're currently at with the MCU, I believe from the same crew that brought us the Road to Civil War video a couple of years back. Really brings home how close we are to the culmination of ten years' worth of groundwork.

The prose in the books is really top-notch if you're into that sort of thing. It seems like some folks had a few issues with the story, which I can understand, but the guy can certainly write and I think there’s a deeper level of appreciation to be had compared to conventional sci-fi stuff.