I'm reminded that I'd meant to say something about Marvel Zombies and Eyes of Wakanda, two of animated Marvel D+ shows that I watched a little while back. (I mean to say something about pretty much everything I watch -- though I might entertain other distractions and ultimately forget, my impulse after I view most movies/episodes is to sit down and write a 600-1200 or longer post about said program.) Both were definitely watchable.

I'd expected to be bored by Marvel Zombies. For me, the true horror of the premise is the heroes turning on their creed and being *powerless* to resist -- especially as, during the few lucid moments they experience when sated, they're capable of regretting their actions and lamenting having torn innocents apart in their frenzied hunger. (Spider-Man eats both Aunt May and Mary Jane, and he's really very not okay with that.) In contrast, when we've seen Marvel Zombies content on D+ (notably in the What If? series), we've just gotten ho-hum alt-universe action with characters who aren't the characters we actually care about. This Marvel Zombies series was more of that, but somehow it worked better for me? Instead of simply being "the MCU but with zombies," it did a bit more to show how the zombie plague had affected that world and how the few survivors had responded; it also featured some character twists that I really dug. (Frex, in this universe, presumably because Marc Spector perished in the zombie plague, Khonshu chooses Eric Brooks as his avatar. Squee once you know who that is.) Though the show still felt kinda pointless by the end, I liked it well enough (and would happily buy a figure of Moon Knight as he appeared in the series).

Eyes of Wakanda was probably overall the better series, but somehow it felt less compelling -- partly because, whereas Marvel Zombies had alt-universe versions of "our" characters but did still have *our* characters in some respect, Eyes of Wakanda featured Wakandans from earlier generations to whom we have no attachment. I guess we're supposed to be attached to *Wakanda*, such that learning about the history of the nation and its people (or at least the historical exploits of its military/spy network) is a draw? And I guess I found it so to *some* extent, but I can't deny that I'd much rather have been watching a flashback story about T'Challa or M'baku or Shuri or Killmonger.

I also wasn't especially a fan of the content of the stories: basically Wakandan artifacts had been stolen and distributed throughout the world, and therefore -- because those artifacts were dangerous and could perhaps expose Wakanda if they were properly analyzed -- Wakanda sent the War Dogs into the world as spies to identify and retrieve said artifacts. Which is all well and good, but it led to stories with Wakandans deceiving those around them -- infiltrating their cultures, becoming close friends, even entering into romances -- only to ultimately betray their new connections in service to their homeland. And while I'm not certain the show *intended* to make a deeper point about resisting assimilation and placing cultural loyalty above all, to the extent that it *felt* like it was trying to do that I was definitely not a fan.

It is, however, worth noting that Wakanda ultimately abandoned those efforts and their isolation -- and that the final episode of Eyes of Wakanda sees the War Dogs intentionally failing a mission in order to secure the future in which Wakanda reveals itself to the world and cooperates with other nations. So the show as a whole seems to resist the notion of retaining cultural isolation even as earlier episodes seem less committal on that point. If you're going to watch it, watch all four episodes. (I'd buy toys from this show, too -- there's a female Iron Fist in one episode that would make a kickass action figure.)

My thoughts about Marvel Zombies and Eyes of Wakanda have now been recorded. Thank you for reading. XD