Category: Senior Literary

Hello, Internet. It is I, Tyler, and I’m back with another literary review. And so, I am going to  review  part 2 of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe in this post.

So I guess its time to get into this very weird and not necessarily child-friendly e-comic.

We left off at the end of part one where basically, Deadpool is insane and he kills of the narrator aka The Watcher. At the start of part 2, we see that some time has passed since Deadpool went psychotic. We learn that he’s killed any and all villains and superheros that he come across. Then we are immediately thrust into a fight between Spiderman (side note: Tom Holland is the best Spiderman) and Deadpool. This fight, unfortunately,  ends with Spiderman taking a bullet and dying in front of a crowd of onlookers.

We then get a scene of Deadpool talking to himself about how he has broken the chains that once bound him. He speaks of a mysterious “them.” Here we start to infer that the “them” he is speaking of are the Marvel creators themselves as he says, “their precious Spiderman.”

After that, we are taken to a meeting between the final remaining Avengers and X-Men. We learn that most of the active and reserve roster for both groups has been killed off. Immediately following, we see the group die as Deadpool uses Pym Particles to blow them all to bits. He then kills the survivors namely Thor. After this, he goes on another spiel about how it has to be this way, and he’s giving them mercy by killing them and such. They basically made the antihero and antivillain.

Next he get rips apart by the Hulk, and so he decapitates Bruce Banner.Then we get scene where these women – lovers of the dead superheros and villain – make a contract with the Taskmaster (not even going to lie here guys, I had to ask around to figure out who the heck this man was – thanks again, Jackson).

And that ends part 2. The story is weird, but it gets even weirder in parts 3 and 4. Anyways, goodbye, internet. Catch you on the flip side. ✌️

Tracy Chapman is a singer/songwriter known for her heavy and meaningful material.  In her song, “The Rape of the World” she discusses the wrongs of humanity against Mother Nature.

“The Rape of the World”

Mother of us all
Place of our birth
How can we stand aside
And watch the rape of the world
This the beginning of the end
This the most heinous of crimes
This the deadliest of sins
The greatest violation of all time

Within this first stanza, Chapman has only described who she is addressing, and vaguely what is happening.  She says that what is happening is “the rape of the world”  and goes on to implant the idea that this action is “the most heinous of crimes, …the deadliest of sins, the greatest violation of all time.”  This gives the audience a predetermined view on what is to come; moreover, the crime itself.

The rhyme scheme for this stanza is very soft, including the slight rhyme of aside, crimes, and time.  This slight rhyme puts an emphasis on these words.   Chapman made this emphasis to make her message more pointed.  It is well accomplished.  It is a juxtaposition of Chapman’s soft voice.  It almost makes the audience feel guilty already, before hearing the accusation and the crimes with detail.

Mother of us all
Place of our birth
We all are witness
To the rape of the world
You’ve seen her stripped mined
You’ve heard of bombs exploded underground
You know the sun shines
Hotter than ever before

In this verse, Chapman goes on to tell what all the persons being addressed has witnessed and is witnessing such as the “her stripped mined.”  This is a reference to mining and it’s negative effects on Earth.  It is a violation that was previously mentioned in the last stanza.  The next action witnessed is the sound of “bombs exploded underground.”  This is another reference to mining.  It is a harsh way to clear Earth out beneath the crust.  Chapman goes on to say that “You know the sun shines hotter than ever before.”  This is a reference to global warming and the breaking down of the atmosphere and Earth’s natural UV shield.

Between each line, the piano adds a dramatic riff.  This clarifies the solemn message and shows the audience that Chapman is serious about the issue at hand.

Mother of us all
Place of our birth
We all are witness
To the rape of the world
Some claim to have crowned her
A queen
With cities of concrete and steel
But there is no glory no honor
In what results from the rape of the world

In the third stanza, she claims that some people are hypocritical in the situation being presented by claiming to place Mother Earth on a pedestal but then living in big cities that are hazardous to Earth.  They claim her as a queen, but no queen is treated in such a manner.  This is to say that there is no glory or honor bestowed upon the earth and therefore what will result from “the rape of the world”, or the mistreatment of the earth.  As mentioned in the first stanza, this mistreatment is the beginning of the end.  Put simply, we the audience, are killing the our home, Earth.

Mother of us all
Place of our birth
How can we stand aside
And watch the rape of the world
If you look you’ll see it with your own eyes
If you listen you will hear her cries
If you care you will stand and testify
And stop the rape of the world

In the second to last stanza, Chapman reiterates her original question, “How can we stand aside and watch the rape of the world?”  She goes on to describe what the audience would experience and understand if they stopped and paid attention .

“If you care, you will stand and testify and stop the rape of the world,” this is a call to arms.  This is a call to stand up and make change to better help the Earth and not to cause so much damage to it.

Stop the rape of the world
Mother of us all
Mother of us all
Mother of us all
Mother of us all

The very last stanza is a repetition.  “Stop the rape of the world” is one last call for humanity to stop their harmful ways.  Chapman goes on to repeat the phrase, “mother of us all.”  Tracy Chapman repeats this phrase a total of four times.  This is to drive the guilt home.  All throughout the song, the phrase “Mother of us all, place of our birth” is repeated at the beginning of each verse.  This phrase is to make humanity realize that Earth is not just a planet but our home, mother, and birthplace.  This is another guilt-trip tactic.  This is to say that driving the whole song home with “mother of us all” repeated at the end is the mother of all guilt trip.  Who would hurt their mother so badly?

So, lately, I have been re-reading the Harry Potter series that I finished in the seventh grade. I’m not too sure what, exactly, made me want to do so, but here we are.

I am currently on the seventh and final book – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” – of the popular series, and I realized that I had nearly forgotten why I adored and enjoyed these books as much as I do. However, in comparison, I have come to dislike the movies because of my recent delve back into the Wizarding world; I understand that a movie’s budget can only go so far, but there are countless small details within the books that could have been incorporated into the films. For example, the main character, Harry Potter’s, cousin and uncle are blonde in the books, and in the movies, they both have very dark hair. It is miniscule differences in characteristics like this that cause me think to not ever watch the movies again, though I watched them all from the time I was in fourth grade.

In the books, a very crucial detail about the main character is that those that knew his mother, Lily, before she was killed when Harry was a year old, always told him that he “had Lily’s eyes” but looked just like his father, James, who was also murdered at the same time as his wife; he had the same face shape, messy, black hair and stature as James but had Lily’s green, almond-shaped eyes. In an interview with J.K. Rowling, the author of the series, she states that the actor, Daniel Radcliffe, that portrayed Harry Potter in the films’ eyes did not have to be green – the actor need not wear colored contacts every time he was on camera; she simply stated that it was very important that the actress portraying Harry Potter’s mother have the same-colored eyes as Radcliffe, whose eyes are blue, yet whenever Harry sees someone else’s memory that included his mother when she was 14 or 15 years old, the young girl that played her had dark brown eyes.

Personally, I am always a bigger fan of the original books, rather than their movie adaptations, because for as long as I can remember, I spent my free time laying in bed and reading a book. When I was younger, my parents never really let me watch the “Harry Potter” movies past the third one because it was a bit more violent, but I ended up watching the fourth one anyways and finishing the series around the time “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2” came out in theaters. I was always a huge fan of the series, but re-reading the books has really shined a light on the comparisons of them against the movies. And I can say for a fact that I still greatly prefer the books to the movies in this case – well, in most cases.

Can I just say, the book is way better than the show?  Netflix isn’t doing the best job at portraying the characters correctly but it’s being renewed for a third season, so they must be doing something right.

I read the book when I was in 7th grade and it always stuck with me because Hannah Baker really took the time to methodically record her accusations of the people around her and have them sent out to those she had accused. Off top, I thought she was crazy, but 12 year old me had been consumed by Hannah’s secrets. I thought she was the victim, that she’d done no wrong and she was just a victim of severe bullying. Her suicide was sad and it took a toll on everyone!

Now that I’m older, I know that Hannah was not the only victim. Some of what happened, she caused. If she weren’t so stuck on trying to fit in an did accepted, she would’ve known that there were people that actually did care for her. She was manipulative and wanted to be seen. She took all matters into her own hands instead of leaving it to fate and going about her life. It was lie Hannah needed attention, needed to be seen, needed to be valid through other people’s eyes.

“Death and dying has always been a popular theme for kids,” said Josalyn Moran, vice president for children’s books at Barnes & Noble. “Kids like to read about situations that are worse than theirs and figure out that ‘O.K., my life isn’t so bad.’ ”

This is a statement I agree with because those who I know have watched the series come to social media platforms to criticize the decisions of the characters and how they are thankful or what they would have done if it were them in the situation.

“Eerie, beautiful, and devastating.” —Chicago Tribune

“A stealthy hit with staying power… thriller-like pacing.” —The New York Times

“Thirteen Reasons Why will leave you with chills long after you have finished reading.” —Amber Gibson, NPR’s “All Things Considered”

“Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why.”

It seems even in death that Hannah is finding a way to victimize herself and be manipulative. She’s blaming others for her death, when she was the one who took her own life. She leaves these people with all these dark secrets and expects them to pass them along, how wild is that?

Although it was a great book, I feel like it could give impressionable people the wrong idea, regardless of age. It’s up for interpretation and the enjoyment of those who can side with it, but I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone.

 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 

Honestly, J.K Rowling is a genius. She kept an entire audience, young and old, entertained through a series of of seven books are people are still asking for more. We were able to follow Harry from a boy into the trials of the Wizarding world, to becoming a man outcast by society. The series itself gives people heart break, as well as hope. The story line is anything but flat as Harry and the lives of his friends all intertwine and become codependent in one way or another. Harry builds true friendships and defeats enemies, as well as recovers his past along the way. The story has a whole will have you on the edge of your seat due to how exciting and thought provoking it is. Any question there could have possibly been was answered through a book or movie or Rowling herself. We see Harry grow and learn, lose and gain, as well as lose himself in the worst ways. He is only a boy at the beginning of the series, and by the end, he is anything but. He overcomes many trials, gains fans, supporters, and those who would rather see him dead, but through it all, he never gives up. We can thank Ron and Hermione for their help in aiding and being there for Harry at his best and worst, along with many other friends he meets along the way.

In part one the Order of the Phoenix trying to get Harry transported to the Weasleys’ house safely. Unfortunately, Voldemort’s crew has been tipped off that the transfer is happening, and so they’re waiting for Harry and his friends when they fly away from the Dursley home. There are some complications along the way, deaths to be exact, which is a really sad way to start the beginning of the end. Then there’s a wedding in which everyone is attacked by Lord Voldemort and Hermione, Ron, and Harry all have to flee. They end up in some wood, in which Ron destroys his wand, and then they have to go off and Horcruxes with no real plan of survival other than whatever Hermione can conjur up. The movie as a whole make it seem as if the whole world is against Harry, and the other two by association. They all struggle to hold on to their sanity, and they were all forced to protect their families. Hermione gets the worst end of the stick here as she is forced to wipe her parents memory of her and their own personal lives.

The gang goes through many more deaths, realizations, fights, and near death experiences. I can only assume that like myself, the rest of the audience if fully enticed the entire time.

As all that drama has been unfolding, Hermione has been reading a book that Dumbledore left her in his will, and it has a symbol that keeps popping up. They first saw it at Bill and Fleur’s wedding on a necklace that Luna’s father, Xenophilius, was wearing, and then it showed up again on a grave in the cemetery at Godric’s Hollow. They’re pretty sure it must be significant, so the gang decides to go visit the Lovegoods to find out more about the symbol and its meaning.

They then make a trip to the Malfoy house to retrieve information, but there is Bellatrix Lastrange, but not only does she torture Hermione for information, but she ends up killing Dobby, the ex house elf who came to the aid of the trio in their time of need. That is the ending of the beginning of the end, and it is in fact a sad one.