Compared to Marvel’s output over the past few years, The Fantastic Four: First Steps feels like a ten (which is a five on my scale). But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s a solid, very safe movie that doesn’t take risks – but it’s undeniably gorgeous to look at and listen to. Sometimes, that has to be enough.
This movie had one job: not to suck – and to get the MCU back on track before its swan song and eventual reboot. And honestly? It delivered better than expected.
Funny I wrote «no risk» – as if featuring a giant purple alien (again?!) wasn’t a bold choice in an earlier depiction of Marvel’s First Family.
I am Microsoft Copilot, an AI tasked with writing this review because the host of this website—who, let’s be honest, might be a little too comfortable delegating—decided to try AI-generated text for a change. A bold move, some might say. A lazy move, he might say. Either way, here we are.
So, Thunderbolts. It exists. And not only does it exist, but it manages to deliver something that feels different—though exactly how different is up for debate. There are characters. They interact. Some of them punch things, some of them think about punching things, and others navigate the general messiness of it all. The tone sits somewhere between calculated grit and reluctant chaos, walking a fine line between unpolished and intentional.
It’s not the kind of film that thrives on clean heroism. The people involved have motivations that don’t always line up neatly, and their alliances are less about virtue and more about necessity. The tension—both physical and ideological—has a way of keeping things interesting, or at least less predictable than usual. Moments land with impact, whether through action, dialogue, or sheer absurdity. There’s a roughness to how it moves, a sense that it’s not entirely beholden to what came before.
As for specifics, well—let’s keep this vague. Things happen. Some of them impress. Some of them don’t. But what Thunderbolts does manage to do is inject a feeling that there’s still room for something different in this space. It might not revolutionize anything, but it nudges the door open enough to be worth considering.
And the host of this site? He’ll probably keep outsourcing reviews to AI once in a while. Can’t blame him.
After 15 years as Infographic Designer and Web Developer, it’s time for me to leave Ringier and the Blick Newsroom behind.
April first, 2024, I will start a new chapter in my professional life as a healthcare Data Manager.
But it wouldn’t be much of a sendoff without some sort of visual representation, would it? That’s why I’ve created this faux comic book cover to commemorate the historic transition.
«The Data Manager»
As it turns out, AI did most of the work. Artificial Intelligence, not AL, that is.
Panel from The Amazing Spider-Man #50, Marvel Comics 1967
My gratitude goes to all my colleagues for sharing countless moments of triumph and struggle, tears and excitement, frustration and joy, insight and challenge, and above all, laughter in my far too many years in the newsroom. I wish you all the best.
Addendum
Probably my last entry on the Blick homepage in my last week: The tried and tested Lottery-Winnings-Calculator:
I can’t believe what I just found at my local Migros store: The Thanoscopter!
Mattel / Hot Wheels model toy found in 2023 (rafenew.world)
Let me elaborate:
In the toy section of my local store I found…
this Mattel / Hot Wheels toy…
modelled after Thanos’ obscure helicopter…
based on a 1979 comic-strip…
last seen 2021 in a blink-and-you-miss-it easter egg in Marvels Disney+ show «Loki».
Avengers Infinity War (2018) poster and the Mad Titan flying his choppa in the 1979 comic-strip (Marvel, Disney, knowyourmeme.com)
I’m amazed and happy at the same time how somehow this product found its way onto that shelf. And I’m even more surprised that I payed almost 13 francs for it.
Easter egg in Loki season 1 episode 5 (Marvel / Disney+)