Comic Book Movie Madness: Elite 8

Comic Book Movie Madness: Elite 8

The Elite 8 is here a few major shockers to be sure but most of the 1 seeds are still standing.  I hope everyone that's been participating has been enjoying the tourney thus far.  Will we have all 3 1 seeds remaining make the Final 4, can Spider-Man 3's Cinderella run keep going?  We'll find out in the next couple of days.

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New York Region

1 The Avengers vs 3 Spider-Man

It's no surprise to me that the blockbuster that is The Avengers would make the elite 8.  The Spider-Man trilogy is definitely proving to be a force to be reckoned with, seeing how all 3 have made the elite 8.  Before The Avengers brought true comic book action to life it was done by Spider-Man.  Not and steeped in shadow, like The Avengers Spider-Man was bold and in your face.  While director Sam Raimi's webhead didn't quite nail that snappy Spidey dialogue it was full of action and effects that truly brought the character to life.  The Avengers was an incredible gamble that had a massive payoff.  No one had even tried anything as ambitious as Marvel's The Avengers 5 different movies by different directors all culminating with one ensemble film.  The most insane thing was that they were able to pull it off, finally we got to see Captain America interacting with Iron Man and Thor.  It took you to that moment when you would read a comic book and imagine what a crossover would feel like, then to actually see it GREATNESS!

Gotham Region

4 Iron Man vs  2 Spider-Man 2

This was a match-up I just didn't see coming.  Look I love Spider-Man 2 it doesn't surprise me it's here without question my favorite of the original trilogy.  But Iron Man taking down The Dark Knight absolute craziness!  Honestly I pictured an epic throwdown between Batman's greatest movie and The Avengers, but to everyone's shock The Invincible Iron Man won out.  I've said it before Iron Man deserves tons of praise for giving birth to Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The success of which has taken us into this fantastic shared universe of films that come out yearly now.  But can ole shell-head take down what to me is by far the greatest Spider-Man movie to date?  Look I've had this debate with one of my younger brothers Spider-Man 2 was a masterpiece.  By adapting Stan Lee's classic Spider-Man No More, Spider-Man 2 captured the essence of what makes Spider-Man so great.  He's not a rich billionaire with the world as his oyster he's a hard working guy trying to make ends meet all the while trying to save the world!  He can't get the girl not because he doesn't want her but because he can't put her at risk what he want's is irrelevant as long as he's Spider-Man because with "Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility"!

Xandar Region

1 Guardians of The Galaxy vs 2 Avengers:Age of Ultron

We just passed the 1 year anniversary of the release of Marvel Studio's surprise smash Guardians of The Galaxy.  A surprise to even the director himself James Gunn that he detailed this week in an awesome heartfelt letter to the fans.  Guardians was that movie that had that sweet balance of action, laughter, and heart.  All the while setting the stage for even bigger thinks to come in Marvel Cinematic Universe(MCU).  The next stage for those bigger things started with this year's Avengers:Age of Ultron!  Which was flat out amazing! If you didn't lose your mind at the sight of Vision I'm going to need someone to check your pulse because you must be dead.  I mean from the Scarlet Witch's crazy powers.  To Hawk-Eye stealing the show, to Captain America showing why he's the leader of Earth's mightiest heroes. This movie was off the charts for me.  The scale of it was fantastic while it took place on a global scale and just like Guardians laying the groundwork for the future of the MCU, with even more thrills to come.

Metropolis Region

1 Captain America:The Winter Soldier vs 7 Spider-Man 3

I've said it before I've never really been a fan of Captain America.  I always compared him to Superman big corny boy scout but even worse because he didn't even have cool powers like Superman. That was at least until Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out last year. While I know my expectations for the film were low after seeing some of the trailers and hearing early reviews of how Cap 2 was the best Marvel movie yet.  It still didn't prepare me for how great this movie was.  I mean just taking the movie on it's own forget that it's Captain America.  If was a spy action thriller it'd fit in good company with other spy films like Jason Bourne or Tom Cruise's Mission Impossibles.  You can a conspiracy thriller loaded with action that would make any action junkie lose their mind.  Throw in even more cool Marvel Easter Eggs and you've taken it to another level. CORRECTION: The fact that I forgot that Spider-Man 3 actually won it's Sweet 16 match-up just shows how unlikely it was for this movie to be here! The least likely of the Spider-Man trilogy to make it here to me was Spider-Man 3 yet here it is. And after watching it again I've gotten a new found appreciation for this movie!  Yet here's Emo Peter Parker still standing going through the toughest road taking down the 2 seed 300 and the 3 seed Sin City.  I still see The Winter Soldier slaughtering it but Spidey 3 has been defying the odds.