Variety
3 September 2019
The Collegian: 9
Spider-Man to leave Marvel Cinematic Universe Disputes between Disney and Sony on the rights to Spider-Man led to the tragic exclusion of the beloved superhero from future films. Lizzy Young Student Writer How am I supposed to look forward to the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with no Iron Man or Spider-Man? I have basically been crying since they announced that Spider-Man would no longer be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man interacting with all of the other beloved characters in the MCU was magical. What happened? How did the fruitful partnership between Disney and Sony just end? Many years ago, before Disney acquired Marvel, Sony secured the rights to SpiderMan for the foreseeable future. Before Tom Holland was Spider-Man, there was Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Little could most people imagine that Spider-Man would someday be part of a much bigger universe. However, in 2015 Sony and Marvel struck a deal that the famous webbed hero would be part of the global phenomenon that is the MCU. Fans rejoiced and soon Holland as Spider-Man came swinging on the scene, slinging webs and witty quips at breakneck speed. He became ingrained in the MCU. The latest installment of the superhero, “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” grossed over one billion dollars at the box office. It certainly seemed like Spider-Man was a pivotal and secure figure in the MCU.
So, when the announcement broke that Sony was taking Spider Man away from Marvel, fans were understandably upset. Everybody was quick to blame Sony, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
Disney and Sony’s deal from 2015 was expiring. Their former agreement was that Disney gave creative direction in exchange for a small cut, five percent of the box office proceeds. Sony shouldered all the produc-
“... and just like that, Spider-Man was no longer part of the Marvel Universe.”
Tom Holland plays Spider-Man in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
courtesy Alternative Press
tion costs, and Disney received all the proceeds for the toy sales. In the negotiations, Disney asked for a bigger box office cut, 50 percent to be exact, in exchange for paying some production costs. Sony refused, and just like that, Spider-Man was no longer part of the Marvel Universe. Since then, Marvel and Spider-Man fans have been in an uproar. The hashtag #savespidey has swept across Twitter as fans critique Sony for cruelly taking Spider-Man away. However, what fans are forgetting is that Sony does not need Disney to make SpiderMan a success. Long before the MCU was a pop culture phenomenon, Sony managed to produce two hugely popular Spider Man franchises. In addition, while Spider-Man has been swinging around space, Sony developed “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse,” a critical and box office success. So, although the MCU relaunched the Spider-Man franchise, now that Sony has other Spider-Man related movies and TV shows in development, it does not need Disney. Placing all the blame on Sony is not completely fair, after all Disney asked for a huge cut of box office proceeds. Disney cannot be totally blamed either, after all, they did make Spider-Man a success again. The tangled web to the rights of Spider-Man is the real issue here. Although I do not like that Spider-Man will no longer be part of the MCU, I understand Sony’s decision and will grudgingly accept that Spider-Man will not be hanging out with Thor anymore.
Tyler, The Creator’s “IGOR” sharp and sensitive Tyler, The Creator incorporates emotional intensity and complex sounds in“IGOR.” Emily Every Managing Editor Maybe this is a cheesy opening line, but I feel fully confident in saying that Tyler, The Creator’s 2019 release, “IGOR,” at least qualified highly as being the sound of the summer. It has the warbling, textured and emotionally complex nature that I feel has become so quintessentially late-2010s in its nature. Other artists that come to mind with this trend in hip-hop include BROCKHAMPTON and Earl Sweatshirt, the latter being especially relevant for his previous affiliation with Tyler through Odd Future, a rap collective that ended in 2015 but still has a looming sort of impact on the sound of albums being dropped this year. “IGOR,” complete with its millennial pink album cover and its accompanying semi-ironic, semi-completely-sincere music videos, seems devastatingly modern in its tone and visuals. Though it’s a break-up album on its surface, as evidenced by track titles like “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” and “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” there is this complexity of voice and sound
that goes beyond the topic of breakup and encapsulates the cultural zeitgeist of 2019. And what I mean by all that is that the album is capital-g Good and capital-r Relevant. Its production is fun and varied, from the synthy, dancey “EARFQUAKE” to the more pounding intensity of “WHAT’S GOOD,” the album keeps you on your feet, both literally and figuratively.
but there’s an uneasiness that lingers through the rest of the warped, layered soundscape. In fact, the tone of the record, though it shifts and changes through the 11 full tracks, is represented pretty well by the opening track “IGOR’S THEME.” Though not the strongest track on its own, it acts as a cinematic entrance to the album’s working world: part choir verse, part twinkling
“... there’s an uneasiness that lingers through the rest of the warped, layered soundscape ...” Tyler’s production, because he did somehow manage to write, perform and produce the whole release, has sort of sparkling moments of lightness and pop, especially on the ubiquitous “EARFQUAKE.” Tyler’s voice is pitched up for the first half of the song, giving it a real sense of lightness. Most of the album is intertwined with a sharp, dagger-like sense of something scary just beneath the surface of the song. “NEW MAGIC WAND” begins with an unsettling laugh layered in the background that falls out somewhere in the middle of the track,
Tyler, The Creator released “IGOR,” his fifth studio album, in May 2019.
keys and part dark, synthy intricacies. The opening track sounds like driving through a strange city at night, the different sights and sounds whirring past but each melting into the other in the way a city naturally breaks itself up between districts. One of the stronger, more distinctive sounds of the album is off the tracks “WHAT’S GOOD” and “NEW MAGIC WAND.” It makes me think of the more abrasive style that Tyler had in his pre”Flower Boy” days, but I think the high energy of these tracks works well to juxta-
pose the rest of the relatively subdued album. This is especially true in the case of “WHAT’S GOOD,” which is followed by “GONE, GONE/THANK YOU,” one of the softer and more melodic cuts off the project. I also want to argue that the final tracks of the album — “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE” and “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” — are weaker on their own than in the context of the album as a whole. I just don’t know if they surprised me as much as the rest of the tracks did, whether that be sonically or lyrically. They work well to round out the album’s sound and narrative as a whole, but I don’t see myself being excited to listen to those specific tracks when I return to “IGOR.” Like “IGOR’S THEME,” they don’t make as much sense when out of context. Vulnerable, serpentine in its sound and thoroughly surprising and enjoyable through its entirety, “IGOR” is completely worth your time. To return to a possibly corny line, if this album wasn’t the sound of your summer, you still have all of autumn to catch up. Highlights: “EARFQUAKE,” “NEW MAGIC WAND,” “A BOY IS A GUN*” Lowlights: “IGOR’S THEME,” “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?”
courtesy Pitchfork