NOTE: I wanted to keep both of the original introductions included below because another trailer ended up coming out, and not only did it come out, it was my favorite one of the week. So. Yeah. It was a roller coaster.

NOTE: I wanted to keep the original language I had drafted for this post, because I think it’s extremely funny in light of basically nothing else released a trailer this week. Or if it did, Collider didn’t post it (other than a Kenneth Branagh movie about Shakespeare that I’m fairly certain is only being released in LA and New York, which, pass).

I like to imagine other production companies reacting to the news that their trailers were coming out in the same week as two Marvel movie trailers. “It’s early December, prestige movies are coming out, we’re for sure going to sneak in and stand out this wee…what’s that? TWO!?”

Captain Marvel

Y’all like elderly individuals getting beat up? Great news, that’s the first twenty seconds of this baby. It also confirms what we already guessed, that the elderly woman is a Skrull. We also get some nice exposition of who exactly Captain Marvel is, and we get some genuinely really excellent shots of her in all her glory. Especially that shot of her standing up, all aglow, which they should make a poster out of somehow. I still feel like they’re holding back the best of Larson’s performance, which is fine because the visuals are really doing the heavy lifting on this one. Her mohawk costume looks great, and it looks like they have finally figured out how to digitally de-age someone without them looking like a wax figure. All in all, this continues to get me excited to finally see Marvel have a standalone female hero. It’s taken too long, but it seems like they’re coming through in the best way.

Avengers: Endgame

So this is a much more subdued trailer than I ever would have guessed. We get zero action. It’s basically just people talking to each other, or to themselves. The first half of it is basically just Tony coming to terms with the fact he is likely going to die in space, potentially alone (it’s never made particularly clear if he and Nebula are together). The rest is Tony and Natasha coming to terms with what has happened and what they are going to need to do. This works for me in a lot of ways. It’s not necessarily telling us anything we didn’t know (with the exception that Scott is fine, which, duh and that Hawkeye has seen some things, and some stuff. Wouldn’t recommend it). I think to me, though, the choice that really stands out is the reveal of the title and logo. To me, it looks like dust particles coming back together. It’s a small shred of hope before we get the bigger shred that Scott is alive (we see him as one of the people the OG Avengers believe are dead). It’s also striking to me that the Infinity War trailer’s big moment of hope was an epic hero shot, including Cap, Nat, T’Challa, Okoye, War Machine, Bucky, Falcon, and the Hulk (which, obviously, never happened and was just a cruel tease). Here, our big moment of hope is Paul Rudd by a van. Not Captain Marvel rescuing Tony (which would have gotten a huge reaction). Brian Fantana on a security camera. Crazy what a year can do to us.

Brightburn

Holy shirt, this was bonkers. First, I will say, that this trailer is a very good example of why we shouldn’t include teasers of trailers before the actual trailers on YouTube, because it kind of gave away the tone, which is a bummer. That said, this is a pretty excellently executed trailer, as it seels its Superman-esque vibe before it just turns everything up to “murder” in a really effective way. I mean, the opening minute or so is basically a copy of the Man of Steel trailer, score included, showing this alien kid come to “heart of the country America” and then slowly finding out who he is. Which he does by chomping on a fork, working on some horrifying etchings, and floating outside a bedroom window like he lives in Jerusalem’s Lot. You know. As all superheroes do. Extra points for mentioning James Gunn alongside GOTG, which 100% feels like shade at Disney for succumbing to the bad faith efforts of some white nationalists.

Rankings and Summaries

1. Brightburn– Even though its a murderer-child, this still feels like it will be a better Superman movie than anything Zach Snyder did.
2. Avengers: Endgame– A wisely subdued introduction to the follow-up to Infinity War, it looks like we’re going to be in for a hell of a rough time come April, and I’m so excited.
3. Captain Marvel- Giving us more of what made the first trailer stand out (Captain Marvel shining, elder abuse), the MCU is on the right track to hype us up for its first standalone female hero.

Photo Credit
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