Who Won the Summer Superhero Title?

Summer is coming to an end and it is time to look back and decide who won the superhero crown of summer 2017. In my opinion, there are 3 strong contenders. Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (GotG2), and of course, Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Wonder Woman was a great movie. As a father, I love the message it had for girls. She was beautiful and powerful. She was the master of her own destiny. Besides the message, DC delivered a superhero movie that was as good as any MCU film. One of the reasons I liked it so much was that it was not just a copy of a Marvel movie. It was an original story that included her origins, but did not only dwell there.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was my second favorite Spider-man film of all time. I actually liked parts of it better than Spider-Man 2. It choose not to rehash Spider-Man's origin, but instead, accept the fact that most of us know it.

GotG2 was a fun ride to take again. It did a wonderful job of recapturing most of the magic of the first one. The film picked up at the end of the other one and moved the story forward. The chemistry has only gotten stronger between this cast.

The crown ultimately goes to Wonder Woman, but just barely. All three of these movies were great.   

Movies for 2017

Here are a few of the movies that look interesting this year. I pulled my list from a website called firstshowing.net. I would encourage you to follow this link for a full list of the movies scheduled for 2017.

The top three movies coming out in 2017 that I am anticipating are Star Wars: Episode VIII, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman. There are many other movies I am very excited for, as well, including: Logan, Cars 3, Pirates, Spider-Man, Justice League, and others. The lead into summer looks packed and it continues until mid-July. I hope you enjoy my list of 2017 movies. Which ones can you not wait to see? Please comment below.

Release dates are subject to change.

JANUARY 2017 
January 6 (Friday)

Hidden Figures
A Monster Calls
Underworld: Blood Wars

January 13 (Friday)
Monster Trucks

January 20 (Friday)
Split
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

January 27 (Friday)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter

FEBRUARY 2017
February 3 (Friday)
Rings
The Space Between Us

February 10 (Friday)
John Wick: Chapter Two
The LEGO Batman Movie

MARCH 2017
March 3 (Friday)
Logan

March 10 (Friday)
Kong: Skull Island

March 17 (Friday)
Beauty and the Beast

March 24 (Friday)
CHiPs
Power Rangers

March 31 (Friday)
Ghost in the Shell

APRIL 2017
April 7 (Friday)
Smurfs: The Lost Village

April 14 (Friday)
The Fate of the Furious

Summer 2017

MAY 2017
May 5 (Friday)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

May 12 (Friday)
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

May 19 (Friday)
Alien: Covenant
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
The Nut Job 2

May 26 (Friday)
Baywatch
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

JUNE 2017
June 2 (Friday)
Captain Underpants
Wonder Woman

June 9 (Friday)
The Mummy
World War Z 2

June 16 (Friday)
Pixar's Cars 3

June 23 (Friday)
Transformers: The Last Knight

June 30 (Friday)
Despicable Me 3

JULY 2017
July 7 (Friday)
Spider-Man: Homecoming

July 14 (Friday)
War for the Planet of the Apes

AUGUST 2017
August 4 (Friday)
The Emoji Movie

SEPTEMBER 2017
September 8 (Friday)
It

September 22 (Friday)
Ninjago

September 29 (Friday)
Flatliners

OCTOBER 2017
October 6 (Friday)
Blade Runner 2049
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
My Little Pony

October 13 (Friday)
Friday the 13th

October 27 (Friday)
Cloverfield Movie

NOVEMBER 2017
November 3 (Friday)
Thor: Ragnarok

November 17 (Friday)
Justice League

November 22 (Wednesday - Thanksgiving)
Pixar's Coco
Murder on the Orient Express

DECEMBER 2017
December 15 (Friday)

Star Wars: Episode VIII

December 22 (Friday)
Jumanji
Pitch Perfect 3
The Six Billion Dollar Man

December 25 (Monday - Christmas Day)
The Greatest Showman

What Made Guardians Good?

Now that most of the planet has seen this movie, I thought I would weigh in on what made this movie good, or even great. If you haven't seen the movie, this will not contain many spoilers. I will mainly talk about three items that I believe added to the movie experience.

I have seen it asked, "How does a 'B-list' comic become such a major motion picture?". I agree that many people had never even heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before the studio announced they were making the movie. I have watched a lot of cartoons and read several comics and  I only knew a little bit about who they are. If no one knows who they are, how did the movie do so well? It is the power of Marvel. Marvel has proven themselves to movie goers since Iron Man. Not every movie is great, but every movie is well-made and has a story.

Three things I liked about Guardians of the Galaxy:

1. The Team - I believe that this team is very likable and approachable. Every one of these characters has their flaws. They also have great strength, and even more strength as a team.
2. The Fun - This movie brings back the joy of comic book movies. It does not take itself too serious and has only moments of inward contemplation and self-loathing. There is some stuff to do and we are going to get it done.
3. The Music - The mix of songs from the 70's and 80's on Quill's Walkman was an amazing way to incorporate an awesome soundtrack into the movie. The very name (Awesome Mix Vol. 1) of the tape says it all.

If you have not seen Guardians yet, I would suggest catching it while it is still on the big screen. It is a great movie, with great characters, and a fun team to root for as they battle impossible odds.