The Master of Illusions Appears

"Things aren't always as they appear"

I saw Spider-Man: Far From Home on opening night and was blown away at how awesome Jake Gyllenhaal made the character, Mysterio.

For those not into comics, might know him as the guy with the fish bowl head.  But in actuality, Quentin Beck is a mastermind.

I won't go into any of the details of the film, but if you see you must stay for the end credits scenes.  It is a mind blown reaction.

I mentioned that I have been getting back into my nonsports card collection recently with an emphasis on the characters I loved reading as a kid: Wolverine, Gambit, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Iron Man, Hawkman, and the Flash.

I showed off a Jambalaya Marvel Retro Daredevil a few weeks ago and one of my favorite Daredevil storyarcs is Guardian Devil.  It is written by Hollywood Direcor Kevin Smith (also acts as Silent Bob from Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma fame) with stunning art by Joe Quesada, former Marvel Editor in Chief.  The story features a stunning reveal of Mysterio just completely f***ing with Daredevil in a way that Kingpin, Bullseye, and so many other villains had failed in the past.  That arc made Mysterio cool to me.

And Far From Home makes Mysterio cool for many future generations following the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Mysterio is known for his illusions and I have shown a few of these off before when discussing Doctor Strange.

My latest parallel is the green one number 1/5.

Here are my other parallels including the gold

Along with the red, base, and blue.

Only the Gold Vinyl Superfractor 1/1 remains out there for me.

The Road Trick

I don't watch a lot of "live" tv.  Quite honestly, I am usually too busy to make sure I am home at a certain time to watch something daily or weekly.

I am however a Netflix and chill kind of person.  Well....Netflix anyway.

One of the shows I have been watching lately is a documentary about Adam Trent called The Road Trick.  Adam is an American magician who takes his magic act to Europe and films his interactions with Europeans while he basically sees what that part of the world has to offer in terms of culture.

Man do I wish I had that guy's life just for 2 weeks.  In the first four episodes he has partied hard in Budapest, met one of the most recognized grafiti artists of Germany, spent an entire day courting a super model around, met a family run circus, and made one of those stoic royal guards actually smile and talk.

There is only six more episodes for me to watch and I am now considering watching his show in Atlantic City at the end of August.

His act is described as Justin Timberlake meets David Copperfield.  Seems appropriate.

The guy is a modern day illusionist.

I snagged another 2016 Optic Illusions parallel.

It is the gold numbered to 10 and joins the other three I showed what seems like forever ago last November when discussing the trailer for the Thor movie and linking the characters to cards of Cutch.

Cutch: Ragnarok!

I have always been interested in Norse mythology.  I think it started when I went to Epcot as a kid and got to ride the Viking ship.  The part of the ride that suddenly goes backward was so much fun when I was just 11 years old.

I bring this up because Thor: Ragnarok was released over the weekend!!!!  I'm a huge Marvel Cinema fan and am really looking forward to this movie, which I am on my way to see soon.

Let's take a look at some of the key characters from Ragnarok and see if I have any Cutch cards that can tie into the movie.

Thor, God of Thunder

This was a no brainer.  This 2013 Select Thunder Alley (and all the color parallels) lends itself perfectly to the main character.  I showed it off last Friday so it may look familiar.

Hulk

When you think of the Incredible Hulk there are probably two words that come to mind, "Hulk SMASH!!!". The Hulk is green just like this 2015 Donruss Dominator insert numbered to 999.

Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme

The Sorcerer Supreme is a master of the mystic arts.  Conjuring up a variety of astral images, the Doctor is clearly into Illusions, just like these 2016 Optic Illusions inserts and parallels.

Loki

The step brother to Thor, Loki is a shape shifter that is known to cause mischief and havoc while being very manipulative.  I was trying to find a card where Cutch was up to some mischief.  This 2012 Topps photo variant looks like Cutch and the Parrot are up to no good in the outfield.

Lady Sif

One of the greatest female warriors in the Marvel Universe, Lady Sif knows how to swing a sword to defeat her enemies.  This 2012 Bowman Cutting Edge Stars has the same razor sharp edges as the Asgardian Warrior.

Valkyrie

Also known as Brunnhilde, Valkyrie was selected by Lord Odin to lead the Valkyrior.  The sword wielding warrior is like a Marshall for the Asgards.  I've shown this Diamond Marshall before, but it represents her role nicely.

Hela

When you think of Hell, you likely have images of fire and pain.  I have a few readers that have sent me some 2017 Topps Fire cards in the mail, but for now I am going to just show off the insert from last year's Update Series insert.

Thanks everyone for checking out my Cutch cards and how I see them relating to some of the key characters from Thor: Ragnarok.

I encourage anyone to do a post featuring a card and try to make it have some Thor: Ragnarok tie ins.  Please no spoilers about the movie here though.  I won't be seeing it until tonight.