Marvel Cinematic Universe

I do like they're filling in more of the before times.

I assumed that Chitauri was outraged at the Avengers for destroying their Leviathan.

That also works.

But my interpretation is funnier, so that's what I'm going with.

Thanos: This is why I will have to use the Outriders, the chances of them complaining about their workplace issues is slim to none.

Nope, I don't want to go backwards with the MCU. Natasha is an interesting character now, way more interesting than some trained female agent who manages to escape her organisation. If I want to see some female spy killer, I can rewatch La Femme Nikita.

I kind of want to see Budapest.

And honestly I have a hard time imagining some run of the mill spy adventure with Black Widow after The Snap. I have a hard time imagining going to another comedic Ant-Man adventure with Scott after the Snap.

Like, why on earth is any government doing anything that would require Natasha's specific skill set and nobody else's after half of the freaking world collapsed.

Ant-Man works because it's condensed, kept away from the big happenings in the MCU. Thor Ragnarok takes place in another realm and when it comes back to Earth, Strange gets involved, if briefly. Infinity War goes off-world. GOTG is in space. Black Panther was focused in Wakanda.

Where will Black Widow be focused after The Snap so that most of the Avengers have an excuse for not being there, and what sort of world-ending plot will occur that only Natasha can stop?

A prequel might be far more plausible. Captain Marvel, too, is happening Before The Snap, Before New York - because trying to shoehorn Captain Marvel in-between Age of Ultron and Spider Man/Infinity War/Doctor Strange would be a little awkward.

I'm still having a hard time imagining why Fury didn't call her in for The Incident and Sokovia. She must have been doing something important, or retired immediately after the events of Captain Marvel because there really wasn't a good reason not to call her - he decided to recruit a Norse god and Bruce Banner of all people.

Plus we've yet to see a great deal of Natasha's origin - Budapest, meeting Clint, all of the red ink, her discovery of the Winter Soldier.

If they do secret invasion, a secret mission for Black Widow is exactly the kind of movie to introduce the notion.

I can agree that Black Widow would be a good way to segue into Secret Invasion.

Also, fucking let the Budapest thing go. It was a simple joke about Black Widow and Hawkeye talking about different things. Black Widow was talking about being in a shoot-out, Hawkeye was talking about aliens. That was it, there's no big mystery there, nothing interesting to see beyond Black Widow and Hawkeye being in a shoot-out. Stop jumping to wild and stupid assumptions that make no sense out of a simple joke.

I read that as more a joke about their worldviews than anything else. Not "remember that other time we fought all those dudes?" vs "I remember that time we fought all those humans who were not even remotely similar to these goddamn aliens" but more like "remember that other time we dove into the middle of a chaotic situation to fight the good fight and beat the bad guys?" vs "I remember that time where things our mission got completely screwed and we ended up fighting desperately for our lives against an overwhelming enemy force".

I'm happy to see the latter half of the MCU 20th century fleshed out, it's why I love the idea of a 1960s FF MCU film so much.

However, if Avengers 4 does the dirty and kills off Tony and Steve, it would be interesting to see how Nat deals with outliving those superhumans.

Moreover, I'd still like to see a spy thriller that looks at how the world is dealing with superheroes being common place now. Black Widdow might take place in a post Avengers world as well.

My excitement for a black widow film is kind of crushed by Scar Jo constantly getting into controversies. I'd happily give her solo film slot to Scarlet Witch.

Well, the movie is not just about her, it is also about a lot of other females getting a shot at proving themselves.

Anyway, is ANYONE but me watching Cloak and Dagger? If you don't, you are missing out, big time. That show...it deserves higher ratings and all the attention in the world. This last episode happened in the mind of a coma patient and it was awesome from start to finish.

I really enjoyed the looping metaphor for being trapped in a coma. For some reason, I like it when comic book media depicts the mindscape in weird ways like that.

Have not bothered with a second of Cloak and Dagger. Isn’t it being watched by next to no one?

And I keep wondering if a Latino Mr. Fantastic is in the cards. As far as representation goes, it’s infinitely preferable to the other option. Of course, odds are Comcast derails everything and this is all moot.

Edited by Beatman1 on Jul 13th 2018 at 3:13:55 PM

Frankly, your loss. It is great. And it will be a shame if it gets cancelled simply because nobody gave it a chance in the first place.

And if you are into diversity, there is even more reason for you to watch it.

Edited by Swanpride on Jul 13th 2018 at 12:14:25 PM

I can’t imagine it being on Freeform is doing much for it either.

Sure, but sadly even for Freeform the ratings are low. Unless they have a special deal for the show I don't see it surviving this way. Which is too bad, because it left Runaways in the dust.

I couldn't care less about a Black Widow movie at this point.

I could never really see Black Widow in a leading role. I know Scarjo is like the second highest paid actor in the cast, right after RDJ, but she just has so little charisma and emotional range. She's okay as a supporting character, if a little forgettable, but I can't see a Black Widow movie blowing me away with its awesomeness. It might be good, but I have a hard time picturing it as great. I've always been much more of a fan of a Scarlet Witch/Vision movie.

I more or less agree. Scarlet Johanssen is a fine actress and has done some great work, but as Black Widow the character is just not that interesting and she is not that charismatic as the character to hold a solo film. That said, if they do a genuine spy thriller with next to no comic book stuff (in other words more car chases and close-quarters fist fights instead of superpowers and a big property damage climax) then it could work. Something radically different than what the MCU has put out in theaters, like a big budget version of the Netflix shows.

I'd like to watch Cloak and Dagger, but it's not available online in Canada.

As I've mentioned before I think a Black Widow movie would work better as a team film backdoor pilot than a solo vehicle. In general the character is not the most emotive and would be more effective as a Supporting Protagonist with other characters to bounce off of. I believe the character is interesting enough, but unless we're dealing with an incredible director Johansson just doesn't have the skill to pull off Natasha in a film that revolves completely around her.

Edited by AlleyOop on Jul 13th 2018 at 6:30:40 AM

I'll assume you weren't talking to me since I wasn't stressing "please show us Budapest" in that wall of text, but regardless now that you've said all of this:

Never. I will never let this go. The MCU will be on Avengers: The Quickening and Spider-Morales 3 and I will still be asking for Budapest.

Until I get some sort of Word of God that it was not in anyway important or worth flash-backing to, it's a missed opportunity and you know it.

Edited by Soble on Jul 13th 2018 at 3:36:30 AM

Oh please. Sca Jo has starred in movies before and has carried them just fine. And Black Widow is interesting enough to build a movie around her, too. You just need the right story and supporting case.

Budapest was a one-off joke. Generally speaking, taking very minor things from the plot and trying to expand them into a whole elaborate shpeal usually results in very stupid contributions to the universe. Just look at Star Wars.

Good storytelling does not consist of taking a funny joke a character said one time and trying to blow it up into a two-hour film about how it was totes a super-serious plot point all along, you guys! All that really accomplishes is ruining the joke. We don't need a feature-length live-action film exploring the nature of The Cake and truly diving into whether it is or is not A Lie.

Also, the Snap doesn't mean anything. There's a giant glowing neon sign over it that reads, "WILL BE REVERSED". It's impossible to miss. It doesn't matter whether or not a post-Snap world has much need for super-spies since there will only be a post-Snap world for like a year. Black Widow's movie isn't coming out until after the inevitable reversal, so the Snap has no bearing on it.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 13th 2018 at 5:16:32 AM

OK, I'm really confused. Why does Marvel hire a comedy writer and then a drama director?