Valhalla Kayo sa Buhay Niyo!

GMA is back at it again with their “original” characters, and this time, they bring us something that has “never” before been touched by the pop culture in the recent years as they “introduce” us to the Norse Mythology.

GMA will be releasing their new superhero primetime series, Victor Magtanggol, and just recently they had released promotional images and videos that showed the main characters, their costumes, and their background. And of course, a lot of people are not pleased about it. It’s Alyas Robinhood, all over again.

Well, before the show starts, I want to talk about it and share my thoughts.

Public Domain. Technically, Marvel doesn’t own the Norse Mythology, and legally, GMA has the right to use it. But it doesn’t automatically mean they should have gone for it. Though it’s kind of disappointing though that some MCU fans seem to think that Marvel created the Thor character.

Creativity. Sure. Marvel doesn’t own the Norse Mythology but it’s still pretty obvious that they got this whole idea from the MCU. I mean, is this the best their whole creative team can think of? Is this all their combine brains can muster? Now that everyone loves Thor, they suddenly felt the need of making their own Norse superhero, instead of actually creating an original outside-the-box one. They’re basically just riding the “Thor hype”. Well, probably for the cash flow, because it’s usually “money > art” in this industry. It’s all about business, which is really sad. And it will look like just another parody/rip-off.

Support. The supporters of this show will tell you, “Suportahan niyo nalang ang gawa ng kapwa Pinoy”, “Kung ayaw niyo manuod, eh di wag” or “Eh di kayo kaya gumawa, akala niyo naman kaya niyo”. Of course, we would want to see the Filipino shows to be on the same level as the foreign shows and we would want to support the Pinoy-made, still we would want to see some quality art first. At least, some good quality in concept ideas and storytelling. Plus if their creative team wants to use an existing source for a superhero or any other story, they could have looked for local Komiks or novels. There are still a lot of great Pinoy superheroes out there. Komiks industry isn’t dead.

Superhero Genre. They said that Victor Magtanggol isn’t a rip-off of Marvel’s Thor, but Norse Mythology is about the story of gods and goddesses not superheroes. But why bring Norse Myth into a superhero story? Hmmm… do you know who have done that already? MARVEL! Marvel was the one that turned the god of thunder, a Norse god into a superhero. So don’t tell me they’re not watching Thor or Avengers when they the idea of this Victor Magtanggol came into their minds.

Masterplot. Based on what they have already shown, I can tell that they are going to have that generic concept. The protagonist is the kindest, most loving, selfless, helpful, family-oriented person you’ll see but he is poor who needs to work extra hard for the people he cares about, and he has a lot of problem which he will face with extreme positivity, but on the good side, he is also destined to inherit something mystical that will give him super powers so he can save the people around him. This is basically the plot of their Captain Barbell, Darna, Super Twins, Zaido Green’s story in Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan, and probably a lot more. They’re just reusing this formula again and again. And seeing the cast, I’m betting that there’s going to be a love triangle, comic-relief sidekick(s), an even more kind-hearted, overly moral, probably religious parental figure to the hero, and of course a token cute kid. Just throwing in whatever cliché ideas that they could fit in. I wouldn’t be surprise if Victor is a secret son of Odin or Thor, or maybe somewhat related to Loki.

Hammerman. C’mon! The name is pretty lame. Now I do get why they named the show Victor Magtanggol instead of using his “made-up name”. It’s like someone from the creative team went home, showed a photo af Magtanggol in his superhero suit to his 10-year old son and asked, “Son, what do you think is this guy’s name?” or who knows, maybe Dr. Wiley is part of the team and the one who threw the name on the table. And What about his catchphrase? “It’s hammer time”? And oh, Mario and Luigi? Why not name them ExB1 and ExB2 instead to make it even more lamer.

Visual Effects. Well, to be fair, based on what they have shown. I do think that the visual effects are a bit better than their previous shows, so I’ll give them that. But I read that some supporters were saying that it already rivals the Hollywood-made shows. Seriously? Don't make me laugh. We are not there yet! But please! Please! Please! Prove me wrong. I challenge you to prove me wrong!

Actors/Actresses. Just to make it clear. I’m not hating on the actors and actresses. I don’t blame them for this. They’re just doing their jobs as actors. It will still depend on how they will perform on the show.

Victor Magtanggol stars Alden Richards (Victor Magtanggol / Hammerman), Andrea Torres (Sif), Janine Gutierez (Gwen Regalado), John Estrada (Loki / Dr. Mikolai), Coney Reyes (Vivienne Magtanggol), Al Tantay (Tomas Magtanggol), Yuan Francisco (Carmelo “Meloy” M. Domingo), Chynna Ortaleza (Lynette Magtanggol-Domingo), Dion Ignacio (Percival “Perci” Domingo), Lindsay De Vera (Anne Magtanggol), Pancho Magno (Modi), Kristofer Martin (Lance Espiritu), Reese Tuazon (Honelyn De Mesa), Benjie Paras (Abelardo), Freddie Webb (Renato), Eric Quizon (Hector Regalado), Maritoni Fernandez (Alice Regalao), Lucho Ayala (Lucho Ayala), Fabio Ide (Baldur), Miguel Faustmann (Magni / Magnus), King Badger (Mario), and Flow-G (Luigi).

Well, if you still want to watch it, it will be released later this day, July 30. Valhalla kayo sa buhay niyo!