My Fanship Awakens – The Least Sickly of 2015.

Before Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out in theaters at the end of 2015, I had questioned my interest in the Star Wars universe. I did not doubt my affection for George Lucas’ creation, just the depth of that enthusiasm. Yes, I loved and owned the Star Wars movies, watched and enjoyed The Clone Wars animated series, collected and played with a multitude of Star Wars toys, but I never truly felt like a real Star Wars fan. I never had a problem defending the movie prequels, I played a healthy dose of Star Wars video games, and I had often clothed myself in graphic tees supporting the Rebel Alliance. But still, I always felt like nothing more than an alien observer to this galaxy far, far away.

There could have been a few explanations for my inability to sense the real power of the Force. The main reason was that I had already invested more time and attention to my main fanship: the Marvel Universe. While I could name the majority of Marvel’s stable of heroes, I was less knowledgeable about the supporting alien races and droids of Star Wars. As a kid, I had never read any of the Star Wars comics and the few attempts I made to explore the novels of the now defunct Expanded Universe never lasted long. So growing up, I did not have much material to hold my attention between the movies. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012, they made sure that would no longer be a problem.

Thanks to Disney’s merchandising machine, Star Wars dominated the year of 2015, in and out of the box office. The heroes of the Resistance, and the antagonists of the First Order, were used in a range of promotions. When Disney scrapped the Star Wars canon outside of the movies, Marvel wasted no time in churning out comics to help set up the new lore for characters such as Luke, Leia and beyond. Collectors swarmed stores in September when The Force Awakens toys hit shelves on what StarWars.com called “Force Friday.” In 2015, the glut of goodies reignited the public’s Star Wars craze from years past, while at the same time reaffirming my devotion to the Skywalker saga.

My 15 Favorite Things from the Year 2015.

1) Favorite Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No surprises here. Unfortunately, many detractors would be quick to say that there were no surprises whatsoever in this movie, but that is also what made The Force Awakens a great Star Wars movie. Similar to earlier films in the series, it followed the same Skywalker-centric storyline which has always been the prototypical hero’s journey. Like the previous two trilogies, it introduced a galaxy full of rousing characters and memorable moments  and produced a new generation of Star Wars fans.

I will not go into too much detail, but I found a lot to love about this movie. Needless to say, The Force Awakens hit all the familiar beats of a monomythic plot. There was an under-achieving outsider presented with a great adventure, an old mentor figure who fell in battle and a menacing bad guy with connections to the main characters. The movie even ended with a few literal cliff hangers meant to set up future installments. Despite the familiarity of the  story, and the Internet spoiling the main climatic scene for me, there were still many modernized aspects to enjoy.

Newly created characters such as Rey, Finn and BB-8, meshed well with the heroes from the original trilogy. Poe Dameron, the Resistance’s ace X-Wing pilot, was one of my favorite additions. He featured in what may have been my favorite scene of the movie, where his squadron of fighter pilots zoomed across the surface of a lake to assault the First Order. In that assault, Poe skillfully shot down 10 tie fighters on his own in one continuous take. The Force Awakens was full of scenes like this; it had plenty of the action, humor and charm which has made Star Wars a global, cultural phenomenon.

2) Favorite Character: Darth Vader. The infamous Sith Lord experienced a renewed surge in popularity in 2015. Though Darth Vader did not feature in The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren’s fanatic devotion to the fallen Jedi was a crucial aspect of the film. Outside of the movie, Vader’s iconic, dark-helmeted mug graced a panoply of products, found on the usual apparel, toys and collectibles, including a toaster and a dark-helmeted coffee mug. Undoubtedly, Vader had to join my collection of Disney Infinity figures when the game’s latest edition incorporated the Star Wars franchise.

Darth Vader played a pivotal role in Marvel’s relaunch of the Star Wars comics, which took place after the events of A New Hope. Vader appeared in a few issues of the main comic series while also starring in his own ongoing series. These two comics built up to “Vader Down,” a crossover event which saw Vader defending his place as Emperor Palpatine’s right hand cyborg. On the small screen, Vader popped up a few times in the Star Wars Rebels animated series.

If rumors are to be believed, 2016 will continue to explore the depths of the fallen Jedi’s depravity. In Rebels, Vader is expected to finally confront Ahsoka Tano, his former Padawan, for the first time since she left his side during the Clone Wars. In film, the Sith Lord may also be the antagonist of Rogue One, Disney’s first Star Wars Anthology movie.

3) Favorite Comic Book Series: Star Wars/Darth Vader: When Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise, they wasted as little time as possible in returning the comic license back to Marvel. The House of Ideas did not disappoint with Star Wars and Darth Vader, their initial flagship books. Marvel tapped some of their top talent to tell fresh stories set during the original trilogy, chart out the modern Star Wars canon and create new characters. Jason Aaron introduced Sana Starros, a former associate of Han Solo who frequently posed as his wife, and Kieron Gillen gave readers Dr. Aphra, a rogue archaeologist who Vader recruited to hunt down Luke Skywalker.

These new characters and story lines came to a head in “Vader Down,” arguably one of Marvel’s best crossover events in recent times. Outside of these main comics, Marvel mined Star Wars’ expansive supporting cast for more mini series which varied in quality. Classic heroes, such as Leia Organa and Lando Calrissian, received their own comics, as did characters from before the original trilogy, such as Kanan Jarrus from Rebels, and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker during the early days of their training. Marvel is set to continue their success in 2016 by churning out more character-centric comics, including a series planned for ace pilot, Poe Dameron.

4) Favorite Comic Book Event: “Secret Wars.” Jonathan Hickman spent the better part of a decade writing grand stories for some of Marvel’s most iconic characters, specifically Reed Richards and Dr. Doom. Because of his critical success with writing Fantastic Four and Avengers comics, Marvel tasked Hickman with writing a brand-shattering event in 2015. “Secret Wars” promised to change the landscape of the Marvel Multiverse and succeeded at doing just that. It was also an appropriate capstone to Hickman’s time as a Marvel architect.

Critics and fans compared Hickman’s sprawling epic to Game of Thrones and praise was given to Esad Ribic’s high-quality of artwork. In fact, the event grew so big that Marvel added an extra issue to accommodate Hickman’s grand vision. Naturally, a story of this caliber would be considered a shoe-in for Marvel’s top event, but the publication delays and unnecessary tie-in comics almost dragged down the overall story. Fortunately, Hickman managed to deliver a rousing, climatic battle between Richards and Doom, Marvel’s oldest rivals. Because of this, “Secret Wars” should deservedly be viewed as one of Marvel’s most memorable Fantastic Four stories.

5) Favorite Animated/Musical/Variety Show: Star Wars: Rebels. I created this category with the explicit intent to somehow recognize The Muppets, but upon further reflection, I realized there were more shows which fit this category. I was glad to see the Muppets return to television, but they fell a bit short and ABC decided to retool the show at its midway point. Galavant, ABC’s medieval musical, was an enjoyable show, but also not everything I hoped it would be. In the end, the winner turned out to be a show I was not expecting to like at all.

I did not watch Star Wars: Rebels when it first debuted since I did not initially care for the animation, story or characters, but I gave it a chance at the end of the year. I enjoyed the show and the crew of the Ghost so much that I became interested in eventually purchasing their Disney Infinity figures. Ezra Bridger, the show’s main point of view character, resembled Disney’s Aladdin, but set in space; that helped me appreciate the show a bit more. By the second season, Ahsoka Tano joined the cast of Rebels and connected the show to the successful Clone Wars series. Going forward, even more characters from the original trilogy are expected to appear as the show barrels toward the events of A New Hope.

6) Favorite Show: Daredevil. In recent times, Netflix has been at the forefront of original content programming and in late 2013 they sensed that Marvel could help elevate their brand. In 2015, the two entertainment companies kicked off their partnership with a reboot of Daredevil, the Man without Fear. With this new series, Marvel furthered their goal to have their characters dominate all genres and platforms. This “gritty,” noir Netflix series fit their lawyer-turned vigilante perfectly, as well as establishing a hardboiled world for their street level heroes.

Daredevil took full advantage of the serialized format and established the super hero’s background and his motives throughout thirteen, hour-long episodes. The series explored the dynamic of Matt Murdock’s supporting cast, their thrilling crime dramas and Daredevil’s no holds barred brawling. This slow burn made characters like Wilson Fisk, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson just as important as the titular character. The pulse-pounding series culminated in a satisfying showdown between Charlie Cox’s Murdock and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin of Crime. Daredevil’s success over Fisk, and Netflix subscribers, paved the way for more Marvel characters, such as the Punisher and Elektra, to appear in Hell’s Kitchen.

7) Favorite Streaming Show: Seinfeld. As a high school teenager of the mid-nineties, I watched Seinfeld sporadically. My parents did not care for the “show about nothing” and they did not want their children to idolize the series’ apathetic characters, such as George Costanza and Elaine Benes. However, as I aged and went through college, I performed my pop culture duty and habitually viewed the syndicated reruns. I still knew that the “moops” invaded Spain, understood what it meant to be “sponge-worthy,” and appreciated how thirsty pretzels could make you.

Needless to say, I was elated when Hulu obtained the rights to stream Seinfeld in 2015. I could finally watch the show from beginning to end. From coffee shop to jail cell. In fact, I enjoyed the show so much that I immediately watched it again upon completion. I remembered the series finale being met with some negative feedback in 1996, but it was not until the back-to-back binge that I realized how perfect the ending was.

Throughout the series, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer showed so little regard for the feelings, health and sanity of other, that it was not surprising they were arrested for failing to be good Samaritans. The eccentric character witnesses brought forth in their trial, including the Soup Nazi, Baboo and Lt. Joe Bookman, sealed the characters’ fates, as well as the show’s place in sitcom history.

8) Favorite Show Which Ended: Parks and Recreation. While the characters of Seinfeld did little to help their fellow New Yorkers, the bumbling bureaucrats of Pawnee, Indiana lived to serve their citizens – at least most of the time. Led by Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation offered up several memorable characters who worked for the fictional Midwestern town’s local government. Parks and Rec started off slow and short, but the show really took off by the end of the second season. Rob Lowe and Adam Scott joined the cast as city managers and improved the town and show.

In addition to Lowe and Scott, the rest of the cast settled into funnier grooves once they grew more comfortable with their characters. Nick Offerman broke out as the anti-government, pro-meat Ron Swanson; Aubrey Plaza delightfully delivered April Ludgate’s deadpan humor; and Chris Pratt melted hearts as the loveable, goofy Andy Dwyer. But in a show full of hilarious performances, I preferred Scott’s Ben Wyatt. Minus his interest in government work, Ben was probably the closest I have come to being portrayed on television. I easily related to his nerdy hobbies and his obsession with font formatting, not to mention his inability to grasp the appeal of a small horse.

Spread your wings and fly, Parks and Recreation.

9) Favorite Book: Jurassic Park.  The Jurassic Park franchise roared back into theaters, thanks in large part to a velociraptor-wrangling Andy Dwyer Star-Lord Chris Pratt and an enjoyable, climatic, three-way dinosaur battle. In preparation for this movie, I decided to finally read the OG JP, a book I enjoyed immensely. It helped that Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster was a fairly faithful adaptation of the book.

The movie helped me visualize the dialogue and scenes from Jurassic Park, but even without it, Michael Crichton’s writing style possessed a natural flow and it was easy to read. My enjoyment of Crichton’s signature novel has even encouraged me to look into more of the late author’s stories I may have otherwise overlooked.

10) Favorite Game: Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I have not played an Assassin’s Creed game in some years, but I enjoyed the series’ game play mechanics so much that I once advocated for a Spider-Man game in the same style. That has not happened yet, but fortunately, another fantasy franchise heeded my call.

Set in the Lord of the Rings universe, Shadow of Mordor featured a ranger named Tailon who was killed by one of Sauron’s lieutenants. Following his death, Tailon avenged his murder by running around assassinating Orcs and using his new wraith powers. Similar to Assassin’s Creed, there was plenty of parkour-style navigation, hiding from pursuers and scaling large towers. And while I enjoyed killing Templars in Assassin’s Creed, there was something much more satisfying about slaying wave after wave of Orcs, just like Legolas.

11) Favorite Tabletop Game: Tripoley. A Bradley family gathering which does not feature some sort of game to pit siblings against one other is considered a dull affair. (Not really, I just wanted to paraphrase a popular Game of Thrones quote.) In 2015, my family added Tripoli – a card game which combines hearts, spades and a bit of poker – to our rotation of games. This game was also notable because it was simple enough that Kate, my six-year old niece, could join in on the grown-up fun. My mother even provided her own personal touch to the game by crafting and designing a wooden, Lazy Susan game board, which spun around and allowed for easier betting.

12) Favorite Toy/Collectible: Where’s Waldo? Puzzles. My puzzle craze of 2015 began when I decided to buy the 1982 Marvel Super Heroes Fantasy Jigsaw Puzzle from Amazon. This puzzle was one of the first ways I cut my teeth on the Marvel Universe as a youth, but sadly – like many of the things from childhood – the puzzle was mistreated, misused and misplaced. Unexpectedly, that purchase kick-started a spending spree on puzzles!

I picked up an 80’s Disney puzzle in similar fashion to the Marvel one, and then turned my eye to the Where’s Waldo? puzzles I remembered enjoying as a child. My sister called me a “Where’s Waldo? hipster” for my nostalgic obsession, but I did not let that deter me in my quest to collect as many as I could. These 550-piece, 18’x24′ Where’s Waldo? puzzles were just the challenge I needed while sitting around binge watching Netflix shows. But it’s worth noting, piecing together the “Land of Waldos” puzzle while binge watching The Walking Dead was an unfortunate combination for  nightmares.

13) Favorite Podcast: The Mixed Marvel Arts Podcast. I think it is about time for me to shamelessly plug my show as my favorite podcast of the previous year. The MMA Podcast did not explode in downloads or popularity in 2015, but I felt the show gained some grounds in quality and consistency. Most of that urgency to improve can be contributed to the Fantasy Comic League. The League became the center piece of the podcast and brought in more listeners interested in following along with the monthly comic book challenge. Besides the League, The MMA Podcast still featured the same nonsensical ramblings about life, complaints and praises for Marvel Entertainment, and as always, the endearing, antagonistic friendship between me and my co-host, Shaun.

14) Favorite Music Album: Brandon Flowers – The Desired Effect. In a year which saw new albums released by Death Cab for Cutie, the Decemberists and Mumford & Sons – three of my top artists during the previous decade – a solo effort by The Killers’ frontman, Brandon Flowers, upset them all. The Desired Effect, Flowers’ sophomore solo album, melded the Killers’ typical alternative rock beats and brass instruments – as well as the common theme of longing for elusive, ex-girlfriends – with subtle, catchy synth-pop music.

“Dreams Come True” and “Still Want You” were great examples of the ablum’s overall style. Thankfully, Flowers kept the auto-tuning to a minimum, and it was only noticeably employed a bit too much in the otherwise fun “Lonely Town.” “Diggin’ Up The Heart” was my personal favorite song on the album. The song included wonderful examples of catchy rock beats, Flowers’ distinct vocals and his flowing, sing-songy story lyrics; my perfect trifecta for a great song.

15) Favorite Background Music: Fable video game soundtrack. One of the best things about a Spotify subscription remained its ability to stream albums of music I would never normally buy (e.g., any video game or movie soundtrack). The music of Fable, one of my favorite video game series, provided the perfect, playful background music for a wannabe fantasy writer. Danny Elfman, one of pop culture’s premiere composers, wrote the opening theme for Fable and undoubtedly inspired Russell Shaw’s work on the rest of the game’s soundtrack. Elfman’s signature sounds – the whimsical woodwinds, playful strings and trumpeting horns – fit perfectly with the artistic, fantasy world of Albion. One cannot help but be transported to a fictional world full of excitement, danger and adventure.

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Honorable Mentions: There were no shortage of upsets in 2015. Game of Thrones, which has held the title of Favorite Show since its 2011 debut, remained a strong show. This season continued to push the boundaries of what it’s viewers were willing to tolerate. The murder and rape of popular characters, while nothing new to the show, enraged many who said the HBO series finally went too far. But as unpleasant as some of the scenes were to watch, the rest of the story continued its slow crawl to the intriguingly inevitable battle between White Walkers and dragons!

While not totally Star Wars-related, Ex Machina, a thrilling sci-fi movie dealing with artificial intelligence gaining sentience, featured two of the main actors from The Force Awakens, Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac. I also enjoyed the time I spent playing Star Wars: Battlefront and the Disney Infinity Star Wars expansion, but neither game could secure a win for the popular franchise in the gaming category. I had more fun playing Tomb Raider, the 2013 reboot of the popular Lara Croft series, which may have placed higher had the end game been more friendly to collecting missed achievements and upgrading your character.

Marvel continued it’s plans to dominate the world. They released another Avengers movie, which I enjoyed for its continuation of the MCU, and they introduced Ant-Man, as portrayed by the delightful Paul Rudd. I appreciated both of Marvel’s movies, but they had a tough challenge facing their Disney-owned sibling, Star Wars. Agents of Shield also delivered a satisfying conclusion to its second season and started off its third with an out-of-this-world threat, literally. Dr. Doom could have challenged Darth Vader for character of the year thanks to Doom’s pivotal role in Secret Wars, if not for the bastardized version of Doom in the ill-conceived Fantastic Four reboot.