GETTIN’ GEEKY

Check out our list of winners and losers in geekdom this year.

Another year has come and gone, which means another year filled with geeky events, some good and some bad. From TV finales to movie deaths, there’s a bunch of stuff that happened this year that you may have forgotten so we’re here to help you out. Let’s take a look back at 2019, geek-wise.

WINNER MARVEL

Not only was it the year where they dominated the all-time box office with the release of Avengers: Endgame, but it was also the year where we finally saw a superhero movie nominated for an Oscar with Black Panther. It was also the year where we saw Disney buy 20th Century Fox, which meant that characters like the X-Men and Fantastic Four are finally, finally under the capable hands of Marvel president Kevin Feige and that we can expect them to be part of the MCU some time down the road. Plus, they announced their Phase Four line-up which made everyone go bonkers with excitement. I mean, Mahershala Ali as Blade? Yes please! And continuing on with things Marvel-related ....

WINNER TONY STARK

Avengers: Endgame marked the end of the Infinity Saga and it also meant us saying goodbye to a number of beloved characters, but nothing hurt as much as the sacrifice of Tony Stark. We still have feels about it and let’s be honest, we’ll never get over it. I know this has been said before, but can we also just once again appreciate just how perfect RDJ was as Tony Stark? There will never ever be another. We’ll always love you 3000, Mr. Stark.

LOSER DISNEY

I know I was singing the praises of Marvel just a paragraph ago and technically this is Disney’s fault anyway, but it would be a mistake not to forget the Spider-Man Crisis of ‘19. For those of you who don’t know, Spider-Man was almost taken out of the MCU because Disney basically went to Sony — who currently own the rights to the character, Spider-Man — and wanted to go 50-50 on the earnings. While there’s been debate about who actually caused Spider-Man to be pulled out of the MCU although only briefly, I’m going to go ahead and say that Disney was being too money-hungry here and didn’t have to go and say anything to Sony in the first place. They own Star Wars and acquired 20th Century Fox so it’s not like they need more cash. Thankfully though, Disney and Sony got back to talking and agreed to let Spider-Man stay on in the MCU, and it wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for...

WINNER TOM HOLLAND

According to Holland’s story on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was also confirmed by an earlier interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger, Holland talked with Iger and just wanted to thank him for the opportunity of playing Spider-Man, allegedly through tears and sobs. It was that call by an admittedly drunk Holland that convinced Iger to call his people and tell them that they needed to sort this out, get back to the table with Sony and make a deal. So if it wasn’t for Spider-Man himself, we wouldn’t have Spider-Man back in the MCU.

WINNER JOKER & DC

Marvel wasn’t the only one to have a good year though. DC, which seems to be doing better since its Justice League mess, released two films this year: the first was Shazam!, the latest movie set in the DCEU (which apparently still exists) and did pretty well, and the second was the critically-acclaimed Joker. Joaquin Phoenix was lauded for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime and the movie itself has got its share of accolades, the most recent one being its Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Drama. It also beat out Deadpool as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time which meant that DC actually dethroned Marvel in the box office. We’re hoping to see more great stories and films with DC characters next year.

LOSER GAME OF THRONES

Endings aren’t easy and not everyone sticks the landing. Sadly, that was the case for the final season of Game Of Thrones. The story seemed to be rushed, most fans were displeased at how certain characters’ stories were handled and the overall conclusion of the series was just meh. And let’s not forget that coffee cup that was left underneath the chair for all of us to see. But I do have to hand it to the showrunners and the whole cast and crew for a stellar show that ran for eight years. Despite the underwhelming final season, that doesn’t mean their universally-acclaimed previous seasons are suddenly swept under the rug.

LOSER BETHESDA AT E3

I wrote earlier in the year that this year’s E3 didn’t really offer anything exciting but it was Bethesda’s presentation and their “hype guy” in the front row that will most certainly be remembered as one of the cringiest presentations in E3 history. Bethesda wasn’t announcing anything groundbreaking — which, to be fair, seemed to be the trend — but it was this guy in the front that kept whooping and shouting in “excitement” that made the presentation worse than it already is. No one is that excited for a mobile card game, dude. However, there was one breathtaking redemptive moment from E3.

WINNER KEANU REEVES

We are living in the Keanussance. Yes, that’s a thing. Starting with his appearance in the Cyberpunk 2077 presentation where everyone basically went crazy for him, Reeves has had such an incredible year. He became a comedy legend with his appearance in Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe, won the hearts of the internet with the many stories being shared about his kindness, including a whole video diary of him helping a bunch of stranded travellers and travelling in a van with them, the announcement of a follow-up for the Bill & Ted series, as well as reprising his role as Neo for a new Matrix movie and to top it all off, he kicked ass as everyone’s favourite assassin in the latest instalment of John Wick. It’s the Age of Keanu and we love it.

LOSER ELON MUSK

It’s the second year Musk has been on the losing side but it’s not like that’s going to hurt his reputation or wallet. The Tesla CEO’s now infamous Tesla Truck presentation was a viral sensation and is now the epitome of what you don’t want to happen at a presentation. After bringing out the Tesla Truck, the design of which was memed to no end, Musk wanted to demonstrate just how sturdy the windows were by having someone throw metal balls at them and, well... they shattered. To be fair, they didn’t break, but it was enough to make the CEO exclaim “OMFG”. It was pretty entertaining to see Musk take it all in stride and not pretend that it didn’t happen, which perhaps some people would have done so props to him. However, that didn’t stop his stock from dropping a day later.

WINNER BABY YODA

Baby Yoda arrived near late in the year but won over all our geeky hearts. It doesn’t even matter if you watch The Mandalorian or not. You’ve most likely seen this little cutie on your feed and I think we can all agree that he deserves all the love and attention he’s getting. If you didn’t know, his official name is actually “The Child” but the internet deemed it fit to dub him “Baby Yoda” because he obviously he comes from the same species as the wise old Jedi. It’s safe to say that we will defend Baby Yoda to our last breath and if you say he’s overrated then shame on you.