Warning: this blog may contain spoilers. Don’t read if reading spoilers will ruin your day…

It’s almost become an unholy SIN to badmouth certain things in social media such as – Game of Thrones, Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans of all of these things have essentially become a cult. Whenever a new Star Wars or MCU movie is released, it’s almost as though moviegoers become…mesmerized. They become so dazzled by the special effects that they believe they’ve seen the absolute best f—ing movie of all time. And they will not shut up about it!

I saw Black Panther in a second-run theater last year. I was unimpressed. I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief about there being a completely “hidden” and highly-advanced country RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF AFRICA. Plus, I found the protagonist to be kind of… boring. I haven’t really been impressed with any MCU movies as of late, the new Star Wars movies have essentially left me feeling empty inside – and I have never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones. Does it count as “watching it” when someone is playing it at their house and you pass out drunk on their couch while it’s on?

I really don’t want to sound like I’m hating on these things that people… obviously love. Avengers: Endgame has grossed $734.1M and Captain Marvel $424.1M. The DC offering Shazam has grossed $137.2M. I DID see that last one – and enjoyed it!

It’s apparent that moviegoers LOVE their superheroes! The capes, the flowing hair, talking raccoons that sound exactly like Bradley Cooper, the weapons, the witty banter, saving entire cities from destruction, stopping runaway trains, stopping invading aliens and vanquishing the “bad guys.”

Do moviegoers want ALL people blessed with superpowers to be good aligned? I’m guessing that the producers of the upcoming movie Brightburn (Memorial Day release) are banking on that answer to be “f— no! Give me an evil superhero…err super villain – like RIGHT NOW!”

Cute, innocent little boy? NOPE! Jackson A. Dunn plays a “bad seed” superhero in Brightburn.

The basic premise is similar to Superman – an alien boy (Jackson A. Dunn) falls to Earth and is taken in by human parents (Elizabeth Banks and David Denman). Only this alien boy… is no Boy Scout! [SPOILERS AHEAD] – He chooses to use his powers for evil – instead of good.

Since I’m not an evil person myself – I find the concept of pure evil…fascinating. The ingrained will to destroy life – to maim, show no mercy on your enemies, show very little mercy on the few people who try in vain to love you for who you are, to just be utterly Hell bent on inflicting non-stop destruction, chaos, suffering, pain and despair on every single person you meet. Maybe you’re into all of this for the utter thrill of it – or maybe this is just the way you’re “compelled’ to be.

Truly evil folks look out for only Numero Uno in their daily quests to dominate, enslave and ultimately extinguish – all human life. Or maybe it’s not domination, enslavement and killing that drives you- maybe it’s the pursuit of money (greed). Evil manifests itself in many ways. I’m not going to pretend I understand it, since I’m not an evil person. I do – however – have a “dark side.” I really don’t let that side of me “come out to play” too much – though it can help fuel my imagination!

I read a novella by Stephen King probably about 25 years ago called Apt Pupil which – IMHO – is an EXCELLENT character study in evil. An impressionable boy winds up being seduced by his own dormant inner dark side when an ex Nazi moves in next door. And the evil life the Nazi tried to set aside years ago…resurfaces with a vengeance. THIS BOOK GAVE ME NIGHTMARES!

Evil isn’t just a creation of Stephen King’s wildly imaginative mind. I read a story today  about a 9-months pregnant woman who was lured to a house in Chicago because someone on Facebook was offering free baby clothes – and a stroller. The woman was killed – and her unborn baby sliced out of her womb. Yeah – I would have to say that’s pretty…evil. Read more about that developing story here.

In other evil news, the DC character  Lobo will be featured in Krypton (season 2) on SyFy. I will definitely be tuning in for that (I love Lobo)!

Lobo! 😍

I’ll be very interested in seeing Brightburn when that comes out. Its “R” rating might keep it from doing too well at the box office – or it could very well be another Deadpool in terms of box office success!