Marvel Cinematic Universe

Hopes only exist to get crushed, kid.

Edit: Nihilistic page-topper for the win!

Edited by fredhot16 on Dec 2nd 2019 at 10:33:51 AM

I guess the only question left is whats is a man?

A miserable pile of secrets?

But enough talk. Have at you!

Eh, whatever. I need to sleep anyway.

I forfeit. You win by default.

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Is there such a thing as a happy pile of secrets?

Man, I put a lot of time and effort into researching for that post about Cap and Bucky's history.

It is rather impressive how relatively recent iconic portrayals of characters can be.

I recall watching a video from the Ultimate Avengers animated movie where Cap visits an aging Bucky & the comment section was filled with confused questions along the lines of "Wait that's Bucky, why isn't he the Winter Soldier?"

I never saw anyone bringing up that Stan Lee came up with the mutants for convenience and he also very clearly intended to use them as a metaphor for the ongoing Civil Rights Movement right from the start.

These two doesn't have to be mutually exclusive, you know. Y'all are acting as if Stan Lee could only think of one thing at a time.

A metaphor slightly hampered by how the initial team was very WASP. Stan Lee was inspired by the Civil Rights movement, but it mostly manifested in other works such as Black Panther.

Indeed. I never said Lee did a good job of it, just that it was clear that the X-Men was always intended to be a stand-in for the fight against bigotry.

Edited by Nightwire on Dec 2nd 2019 at 11:39:16 AM

I remember in Stan Lee's comic autobiography he mentioned often being asked which real-life group the Mutants were supposed to represent; racial minorities, sexual minorities, ect.

Stan's answer is that they weren't meant to be a specific metaphor, but more of an all-encompassing analogy applicable to anybody feeling discriminated against or outcast.

Something that was perhaps more prevalent in Spider-Man. It arguably hit harder in that one since Peter was more or less alone while dealing with public scorn.

it's amazing that people still love JJJ despite some of the crap he pulls really

Heck, he's directly responsible for the Scorpion in the mainline comics. He also bankrolled the Spider-Slayer robots.

Edited by M84 on Dec 3rd 2019 at 3:53:21 AM

Black Widow Teaser Out!

Aw man, Tasky's got a bow! Wonder if we'll see him whip out any other fighting styles. Black Widow's own would be pretty great and I doubt they can resist the Mirror Match.

I hope they have him get a late-game "power up" by realizing he can watch recorded fight footage on fast-forward and imitate it at that speed, leading to a final battle where he's insanely powerful but literally tearing his own muscles apart the longer he keeps it up. It could be a cool rope-a-dope style battle.

Edited by Anomalocaris20 on Dec 3rd 2019 at 3:55:30 PM

Instant prediction: they're going to Legacy Character Widow. This movie is in part going to set up Yelena, who will be Widow in the MCU's future.

Can I just say how great it is that Marvel has been embracing the absurdity of comics books a lot more in the last few years? The quirkiness of hardboiled superspy characters sitting down at a table with an intentionally silly Silver Age hero-type? That's cool.

I'd be fine with replacing Scarlet Johansson's Widow with a different actress's Black Widow. Never was a fan of Johansson, her work or her on a personal level. Frankly, I always cared more for pretty much every other female hero in the MCU over her.

Shame we can't just replace Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts as easily.

So is Yelena the White Widow is that Natasha now cause of her suit?

I thought Black Widow was pretty OK in the first Avengers film. Rounded for a female superhero known for Ms. Fanservice at the time and compelling in a way that gives her agency, but obviously that isn't enough on its own these days. I only loved the character in the second and third Captain America films which I think was a case of strong writing plus the directors playing to Scarjo's rather limited acting strengths as well as making the most of her and Chris Evans' natural charisma, but obviously since neither of those are present in the MCU anymore, I'm fine with a Legacy Character replacement that switches to a stronger actor.

Assuming they don't go the Adaptational Villainy route with Yelena.

I predict there will be least one scene where she mentions red in her ledger

I read an essay once that argued that the metaphor for early X Men was the Jewish struggle. Which if true would make them less WASPy

I will say that I dislike Scarjo as a person MUCH less than Gwyneth Paltrow. At least Scarjo isn't actively endangering lives with misinformation.