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Welcome to the main discussion thread for the Marvel Cinematic Universe! I'm editing this OP and pinning it to establish some basic guidelines. All of the Media Forum rules still apply.

  • This thread is for talking about the live-action films, TV shows, animated works, and related content that use the Marvel brand, currently owned by Disney.
  • While mild digressions are okay, discussion of the comic books should go in this thread. Extended digressions may be thumped as off-topic.
  • Spoilers for new releases should not be discussed for at least two weeks. Rather, each title should have a dedicated thread where that sort of conversation is held. We can mention new releases in a general sense, but please be courteous to people who don't want to be spoiled.

[Edited by Fighteer]

    Original post 
Since Thor and now Captain America came out this year, I wanted to get what Tropers thought of the concept and execution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general. Personally I love the idea and wonder why this idea hasn't been seriously tried before. It sorta seems to me like the DCAU in movie form (And well, ummm, with Marvel), and really 'gets' the comic book feel of a shared universe while not being completely alienating.

Edited by Fighteer on Dec 15th 2022 at 9:55:58 AM

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#18626: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:07:26 PM

Danny's spent the majority of his life in asia; why doesn't he have an accent when he returns to New York?

Personally if I was going to race lift a character, it would be the ones who dealt the least with the topic of race and culture. Interestingly this rules out all four protagonists of the Defenders, as Matt is really catholic, Luke is knowingly a black role model, and Jessica and Danny both have inter racial marriages.

If I was going to do race lifts in the MCU I would make Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch Romani (Which they should be anyway in my eyes) and I'd race lift Stephen Strange and one or both of Hank Pym and Janet. The Inhumans personally I wouldn't want a single white actor in the royal family.

WarriorEowyn from Victoria Since: Oct, 2010
#18627: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:10:36 PM

There's lots of non-white Catholics.

edited 18th Sep '14 6:03:33 PM by WarriorEowyn

kostya from Everywhere Since: Apr, 2011 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#18628: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:10:57 PM

I thought the twins were already Romani.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#18629: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:19:17 PM

[up] But their actors?

Actually, probably it's dangerous to get too particular about this. We'll end up asking if people are ethnic enough.

[up][up] Certainly of the four Matt would be the one I'm most comfortable with giving a race lift too, but without having read much of him I'd play it safe. I know of friends, some of which don't even like comics on the whole, who name Daredevil as a brilliant exploration of Catholicism. Race and culture intermix in strange ways, so without more knowledge on Matt I'm not willing to comment.

(Actually, that's a point. I can't help but think that the priority in media representation should be culture not ethnicity. At the end of the day skin is just skin.)

edited 18th Sep '14 5:20:47 PM by Whowho

MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#18630: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:21:43 PM

I thought they were Romani and Jewish.

EDIT: oh I see what you mean now.

edited 18th Sep '14 5:22:18 PM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art
TargetmasterJoe Since: May, 2013
#18631: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:21:59 PM

Hey you guys know how a lot of DC animated movies have episodes of DC cartoons that involve the stuff that the movie they're packed in with (e.g. "Son of Batman" had episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold involving Thalia Al Ghul, Ra's Al Ghul, Damian Wayne, etc.)?

I've had the idea that it might be pretty cool if Marvel tried something like that. Like Guardians of the Galaxy had the episodes of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Avengers Assemble involving the Guardians and The Avengers: Age of Ultron had cartoon episodes that involved Ultron and The Vision and so on.

kostya from Everywhere Since: Apr, 2011 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
#18632: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:25:37 PM

I don't think we need to get so specific that we expect the actors themselves to be the race or ethnicity they're portraying. As long as they can pass for that race/ethnicity I'm fine. No Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan bullshit.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#18633: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:26:59 PM

Danny's spent the majority of his life in asia; why doesn't he have an accent when he returns to New York?

The same reason Beast Boy doesn't have a West African accent, presumably.

"The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy, paraphrasing Mark Twain.
Whowho Since: May, 2012
#18634: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:27:34 PM

[up][up][up]Cross medium advertising? I like the sound of that.

Heck, include a comic with it why not.

[up][up] I'm just cautious because I know this very thread has descended into arguments about whether Chloe Bennett was ethnic enough for our tastes.

Personally I think characterisation is probably more important than appearance when it comes to representation. But I'm British, I suspect we have a different approach to ethnicity to, say, the US.

edited 18th Sep '14 5:32:23 PM by Whowho

Wackd Since: May, 2009
#18635: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:35:49 PM

It's great to toss around all these "it shouldn't be about race" and "x y and z shouldn't have negative implications" but that's kinda not the world we're living in? I mean, yeah, these things shouldn't be happening. We should live in a world where we're past the racial implications of certain media stuff. But we're not. Race is still an absurdly powerful social construct that shapes the way people see other people, and one of the best ways to make this less so is representation. More works that make Black people and Asian people and Native Americans and Hispanic people actual, y'know, people, rather than just a collection of racial traits.

And really, the "it should be about culture not race" thing sounds nice on paper, but it's materially not the problem at hand. No one's complaining that there are too many Americans in American films. No one's complaining that it's awful that an American is better at Asian stuff than Asian people. It's about the skin color, because, again, the fact that judging people based on skin color is shitty does not change the fact that it happens on a grand scale and needs to be combated. People shouldn't get cancer, either, but saying that doesn't stop it happening.

Also, with regards to Daredevil—do Catholics really need representation? Is there a dirth of them in popular culture? Are they at a societal disadvantage? You want more diversity in culture, make Matt Murdock Buddhist or Jewish or Hindi or Islamic or something—hell, maybe make him an atheist.

edited 18th Sep '14 5:39:00 PM by Wackd

Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#18636: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:50:54 PM

Isn't the whole Catholic thing a major part of his identity? I mean, I don't particularly care, Christian is Christian is Christian to me, but wasn't the context for Daredevil a time when being Catholic was sort of a big deal and a negative ie controversy of JFK's election? I mean, it isn't an issue now that requires addressing these days but, isn't it like part of his thing? Wouldn't it fundamentally change the character by making him a devout Buddhist or something?

edited 18th Sep '14 5:51:50 PM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#18637: Sep 18th 2014 at 5:54:42 PM

[up] I'm not that familiar with Matt's character, so I wouldn't know. That said, I am actually Catholic (or at least raised Catholic) so...I don't know, I think that I'd be able to identify specifically with that, depending on how they did it. Not everyone would, of course.

Catholicism is rather different then certain other denominations, though.

Oh God! Natural light!
Wackd Since: May, 2009
#18639: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:03:32 PM

[up]Not saying that.

Well, okay, a little bit.

I mean, yeah, they may not line up with the rest of the denominations, but I'd hardly call them an oppressed minority.

Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
WarriorEowyn from Victoria Since: Oct, 2010
#18640: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:06:00 PM

I doubt that Marvel would focus on his Catholicism one way or the other - film and TV at present is cautious about making their characters religious in any real way, and more often than not anyone who's clearly Christian is one of the villains - but if they were, there's absolutely no reason why that would mean Daredevil couldn't be non-white. In particular, there's a huge number of Hispanic Catholics in the United States.

edited 18th Sep '14 6:09:03 PM by WarriorEowyn

MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#18641: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:07:42 PM

Yeah, unfortunately from my perspective Catholacism seems like just Christianity with more strict rituals, a boss, and was the second oldest version of Christianity

edited 18th Sep '14 6:07:54 PM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#18642: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:08:32 PM

[up][up][up] Well, I won't pretend I'm extremely knowledgeable about this, but I'm pretty sure there used to be a lot of bad blood between American Protestants and American Catholics. I'm sure it's been worse in other places, and I do think it's mostly passed, but I don't really know what goes on in the rest of the country.

[up] Second? I'm afraid I must express my ignorance here; what's older?

edited 18th Sep '14 6:09:40 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#18643: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:10:14 PM

Judaism.

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Sorry about that.

I hate this place so much.

edited 18th Sep '14 6:11:41 PM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
BadWolf21 The Fastest Man Alive Since: May, 2010
The Fastest Man Alive
#18645: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:11:59 PM

Judaism is explicitly not Christianity, what with the whole "Don't believe Christ is the Messiah'' deal.

Orthodoxy is older than Catholicism.

Wackd Since: May, 2009
#18646: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:13:17 PM

Well, I won't pretend I'm extremely knowledgeable about this, but I'm pretty sure there used to be a lot of bad blood between American Protestants and American Catholics. I'm sure it's been worse in other places, and I do think it's mostly passed, but I don't really know what goes on in the rest of the country.
Well, yes, Catholicism used to have it bad, but the thing about the majority is that it reaches outwards and assimilates folks that are just similar enough in order to keep itself in power. Same reason you don't see a lot of folks refusing to hire Polish or Irish people anymore.

[up]I mean, a Jew is the inadvertent founder. And they stole a ton of our laws and backstory. So.

edited 18th Sep '14 6:13:53 PM by Wackd

Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#18647: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:13:30 PM

Same gig, one of them just got a new guy to worship and a newer book.

The Blog The Art
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#18648: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:15:19 PM

[up] I...don't think most of us see it that way.

[up][up][up] You know, I'm pretty sure the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church both sprung from the same schism.

Oh God! Natural light!
BadWolf21 The Fastest Man Alive Since: May, 2010
The Fastest Man Alive
#18649: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:17:23 PM

Karkat: They did. But Catholicism is the one that heavily changed from the original version.

SonOfSharknado Love is Love is Love Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Love is Love is Love
#18650: Sep 18th 2014 at 6:17:33 PM

[up][up][up]That is just...staggeringly ignorant. Stick to talking about superhero cartoons.

edited 18th Sep '14 6:17:40 PM by SonOfSharknado

My various fanfics.

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