Celebrating July Fourth with Captain America

 by Ray Keating

Commentary

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 3, 2024

 

Since I was a kid, I’ve been a big Captain America fan. Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, not only tapped into patriotic little Ray, but, as I’ve written before, Captain America comic books planted in me a love of reading. That, of course, led to my own efforts as a writer.

So, here are some of my favorite quotes from Captain America for July Fourth, Independence Day…

 

“Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world – ‘No, you move.’” 

- Captain America, 

from Amazing Spider- Man #537 by J. Michael Straczynski

 

“As long as freedom may be threatened – Captain America must follow his destiny – wherever that may lead!”

- Captain America

from Captain America #100 by Stan Lee

 

“I will not tolerate – I will not allow – any talk of the necessity of necessary evil. I have spent my life on that line and every time I’ve seen someone cross it, death and horror and shame was what followed. So I refuse to entertain it.”

- Captain America,

from New Avengers (Vol. 3) #2 by Jonathan Hickman

 

“You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing.”

- Captain America

from The Avengers movie

 

“The price of freedom is high, it always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not.” 

- Captain America

from Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie

 

“I fought your kind every day of that war, Zemo! You mocked democracy and said that free men were weak! Well feel this grip, Zemo — it's the grip of a man who loves liberty! Look into the eyes of your foe, and know that he will die for his freedom! The world must never again mistake compassion for weakness! And while I live — it had better not!”

- Captain America, 

from Avengers #6 by Stan Lee

 

Thanks to all of the comic book artists and writers who worked on Cap in his stand alone book and part of the Avengers, and got me interested in Captain America, including Cap’s creators Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. God bless, America!

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution combines a simple, powerful system for getting things done with encouragement and fun for Disney fans, including those who love Mickey, Marvel, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Pixar, princesses and more.

 

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Various books by Ray Keating…

 

• The Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries. There are 19 books in the series now.

 

• The Alliance of Saint Michael novels – Cathedral and Subversion – are at Amazon. 

 

• Order The Weekly Economist III: Another 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist, The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist, and The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist at Amazon.com.

 

• Signed editions of Ray’s books are at www.raykeatingbooksandmore.com. 

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

Marvel Movies Box Office Battle on National Superhero Day

by Ray Keating

Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 28, 2020

Today, April 28, is “National Superhero Day.” And on this date, it seems fitting to get into one of those arguments many of us engaged in as kids. You know, who is the best superhero? This superhero could beat up this other superhero. Oh, yeah? And so on. 

Except we’re going to narrow our fighting words, so to speak, to how powerful the various Marvel Cinematic Universe’s superheroes have been at the box office. Where do Disney’s MCU movies rank in terms of the amount of revenue raked in at the box office? 

The answer can be found in the following table, which ranks each of the 23 Marvel movies (so far) according to the estimated worldwide box office numbers in 2019 inflation-adjusted U.S. dollars.

Rank –  Real Box Office	Release Date	MCU Film	Worldwide Box Office –  Estimated in Real  2019 US Dollars
1	4/26/19	Avengers: Endgame	$2,797,800,564
2	4/27/18	Avengers: Infinity War	$2,085,474,952
3	5/4/12	The Avengers	$1,691,224,912
4	5/1/15	Avengers: Age of Ultron	$1,513,352,493
5	2/16/18	Black Panther	$1,371,318,517
6	5/3/13	Iron Man 3	$1,333,823,823
7	5/6/16	Captain America: Civil War	$1,228,486,127
8	3/8/19	Captain Marvel	$1,129,729,839
9	7/2/19	Spider-Man: Far From Home	$1,129,210,469
10	7/7/17	Spider-Man: Homecoming	$918,001,794
11	5/5/17	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2	$906,473,402
12	11/3/17	Thor: Ragnarok	$890,667,135
13	8/1/14	Guardians of the Galaxy	$834,535,230
14	4/4/14	Captain America: The Winter Soldier	$771,499,819
15	5/7/10	Iron Man 2	$728,266,984
16	11/4/16	Doctor Strange	$720,510,624
17	11/8/13	Thor: The Dark World	$707,414,562
18	5/2/08	Iron Man	$694,849,347
19	7/6/18	Ant-Man and the Wasp	$634,435,712
20	7/17/15	Ant-Man	$559,663,516
21	5/6/11	Thor	$510,687,219
22	6/22/11	Captain America: The First Avenger	$421,175,245
23	6/13/08	The Incredible Hulk	$315,349,958

Source: Data from the-numbers.com. Calculations by author.

I guess no one should be surprised by the fact that The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have proven to be mightiest at the box office.

Of course, what a ranking like this leads to is the inevitable “Yeah, but...” debate. In particular, yeah, but this doesn’t mean that this ranking necessarily reflects a ranking of the best MCU films. Let that debate begin! I’ll start by noting that I think that the top five MCU movies (not necessarily in order) are: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Guardians of the Galaxy.

And thankfully, there are more Marvel movies on the way to add to the incredible box office tally – in 2019 dollars, the MCU films have earned a total of $23.9 billion, so far – and to spice up the debate about which are the best and worst movies in the series.

And if you’re looking ahead, here’s the latest announced Marvel universe movies with scheduled release dates (according to Disney and various media reports):

Black Widow – November 6, 2020

The Eternals – February 12, 2021

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – May 7, 2021

Spider-Man 3 – November 5, 2021 

Thor: Love and Thunder – February 11, 2022

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness – March 25, 2022

Black Panther II – May 6, 2022

Captain Marvel 2 – June 8, 2022

Ant-Man 3 – no date announced

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 – no date announced

Enjoy, and happy National Superhero Day!

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution (now available at a deep discount) and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

National Superhero Day is the perfect time to read Ray Keating’s HEROES AND VILLAINS: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT SHORT STORY. The Kindle edition is on sale for only $2.99!

Disney’s Salute to Jack Kirby Terribly Disappointing

by Ray Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

September 21, 2019

On August 23, just over a week before I would be journeying to Walt Disney World, Disney announced that Hollywood Studios would be celebrating Jack Kirby for a limited time. I was pleased that this event would be open while I was visiting. 

Disney’s tribute comes before the release of its November 2020 The Eternals movie. Kirby created The Eternals. But, of course, Kirby created or co-created (often with Stan Lee) a very long list of characters, with many becoming part of mainstream pop culture, such as Captain America (created with Joe Simon), the Avengers, Iron Man, Bucky Barnes, the X-Men, Baron Zemo, the Warriors Three, the Red Skull, Silver Surfer, Nick Fury, Ant-Man, The Wasp, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Black Panther, Loki, the New Gods, and many, many more.

Kirby was a fantastic artist, wonderful storyteller, an innovator, and a fount of creativity. 

So, would Disney do a salute right with “Jack Kirby: The Man Behind The Eternals”? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

This salute was limited to one room, with a few Kirby items on display, including an issue #1 of The Eternals, and a wall of artwork/covers.

It was disappointing. This tribute came across as something done in slapdash manner with little serious thought or heart. Quite frankly, it was all very un-Disney.

Jack Kirby has long been recognized as the “King of Comics.” But he receives woefully little attention today for his vast contributions to comics and pop culture beyond the comic book community. Disney could have started to rectify this situation with a worthy tribute to Kirby. But they didn’t, unfortunately. 

However, it’s not like they won’t have another chance. The Eternals was all Kirby, but it also arguably was one of his more minor contributions. Well, that is, unless The Eternals hits it big at the box office. Perhaps then Disney will take real steps in celebrating Kirby, and all of his work; letting the rest of the world know what the comic book community has understood for decades – that Jack Kirby was a unique talent.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, and other books, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

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No End to Avengers: Endgame – In Terms of Revenue?

by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 23, 2019

Is there no end to the robust revenue stream for Disney from Avengers: Endgame? Well, at least, not right now.

In July, Endgamefinally pushed ahead of Avatar in terms of its all-time box office take. In nominal terms, Avengers: Endgame now ranks as number one in terms of total box office revenue – at least in nominal terms. (See DisneyBizJournal’s analysis here.)

But there’s more revenue streaming in, as MediaPlayNews.com is reporting on Endgame’s phenomenal debut on Blu-ray and DVD. The site reported: “At retail, Avengers: Endgame sold more copies than the combined total of the rest of the top 20 by a more-than 3-to-1 margin, and the top 50 by more than 2-to-1.”

My reaction: Wow.

Check out the full story here.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

1) The new Pastor Stephen Grant novel – DEEP ROUGH – has arrived! You can order the Kindle edition, the paperback, or the signed book.

2) Please join the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories email list, and get the upcoming short story, THE TRAITOR, for free! Sign up here.

3) Buy one of the other Pastor Stephen Grant novels or short stories at Amazon.comor signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

4) Become a member of the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship, and get all kinds of FREE stuff, including each new book in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Check out the levels and benefits here.

Spidey Back in MCU Quicker Than Anticipated?

by Ray Keating

News/Analysis

DisneyBizJournal.com

August 22, 2019

In my previous report, I wrote: “Call me a crazy optimist, but I  don’t think Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will be exiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite news that Spidey’s out and the Internet is freakin’ out.” I expected it might be “a rough road,” but that both Disney and Sony had every incentive to make it happen.

Well, rumors are flying that it might happen by this weekend – at least according to a report from ComicBookNews.com. That site is saying that rumors are flying that Disney has offered Sony a deal featuring a 6-picture deal with Holland, with an option for a seventh – four Spider-Man films and two Avengers movies – with Marvel at the helm of the films, and co-financing as well, for a 30 percent take (down from Disney’s rumored demand for 50 percent) In addition, Marvel would do the same for SpiderVerse live action spinoffs, while Sony would be able to do live-action SpiderVerse for television.

Check out the story for more.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

If you enjoyed this article, and since I am the author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories, can I ask you to take at least one (preferably more) of the following steps?

1) The new Pastor Stephen Grant novel – DEEP ROUGH – has arrived! You can order the Kindle edition, the paperback, or the signed book.

2) Please join the Pastor Stephen Grant novels and short stories email list, and get the upcoming short story, THE TRAITOR, for free! Sign up here.

3) Buy one of the other Pastor Stephen Grant novels or short stories at Amazon.comor signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. 

4) Become a member of the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship, and get all kinds of FREE stuff, including each new book in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Check out the levels and benefits here.