In “LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails” from Disney Plus, Earth’s mightiest heroes face their most chaotic enemy yet—not Thanos, not Ultron, but something far more sinister: social media. This same force that can make a dance trend go viral now threatens to unleash a catastrophic apocalypse.
The story begins when a mischievous influencer livestreams Magneto tossing bricks (literally) at the Avengers. What starts as clickbait spirals into a global event, culminating in a “Cats vs. Avengers” showdown. Amid the memes and mayhem, Hawkeye realizes that this battle isn’t about saving the planet—it’s about keeping the algorithm.
The voice cast expertly captures the tone: Troy Baker brings dry wit to Hawkeye, keeping things grounded, while James Mathis III gives Black Panther a regal gravitas. Jason Alexander’s portrayal of Magneto, which combines ego and exhaustion, steals scenes like he’s auditioning for a stand-up special titled “Mutants and Microphones”. Meanwhile, Alia Shawkat’s Meryet perfectly embodies influencer chaos, channeling a mix of Loki and Logan Paul.
Director Ken Cunningham, along with writers Eugene Son and Henry Gilroy, clearly understands the magic of LEGO: they take the absurd, add self-aware humor, and never forget the heart beneath the plastic. The result is an adventure that serves as both a commentary on our obsession with likes and views and a love letter to Marvel’s animated legacy.
Final Grade: B
“LEGO Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails” is available to stream now on Disney+.
This week’s Second Listen Sunday pick takes us back to 2006 to revisit “So Amazin’,” the third album from Christina Milian. Arriving in stores on April 19 of that year, the project was produced largely by Cool & Dre, sans one song, and saw the singer earn writing credits on nine of the album’s songs.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I want to showcase love for Rahsaan Patterson and his album track “Can We Wait a Minute” from his self-titled debut album, released in 1997.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to take a trip back to 2000 and show some love to the R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and their third album, “X,” which was released in stores on December 5, just in time for a holiday stocking stuffer. Arguably, the group suffered from the sophomore slump with their second album, as only two singles were successful.