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Welcome to the main discussion thread for the Marvel Cinematic Universe! This pinned post is here 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.
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If you're posting tagged spoilers, make sure that the film or series is clearly identified outside the spoiler tagging. People need to know what will be spoiled before they choose to read the post.

    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 Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#143651: Jul 8th 2022 at 1:41:48 PM

Yeah, being a Nice Guy is not a requirement for Green Lanterns. What they need is Willpower.

And Cyclops has a shitload of that.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#143652: Jul 8th 2022 at 1:44:53 PM

[up]

Adding onto that, he can ricochet his green lantern blasts off walls like he does his optic blasts.

Or do something really crazy like ricochet a lantern construct off walls. Imagine a green boxing glove hitting one dude in the jaw and then bouncing right to the next one.

Oh. He can create ruby quartz visors with his ring instead of needing to wear one all the time.

Maybe the ring could even let him create something let obtrusive for when he's walking around.

One Strip! One Strip!
Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#143653: Jul 8th 2022 at 1:56:14 PM

Yeah, a Ring would probably be the perfect solution for his Power Incontinence.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
HasturHasturHastur from Wheah the fahkin baby wheel is, Jay Since: Nov, 2010
#143654: Jul 8th 2022 at 2:42:19 PM

Frank Castle and Elektra are also Sinestro Corps shoe-ins.

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#143655: Jul 8th 2022 at 2:43:56 PM

Frank in particular. His Skull Emblem already makes tons of criminals shit their pants without him having any powers.

Can you imagine a Frank Castle with a weapon like that? Imagine all the creative ways he'd use it for torture.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#143656: Jul 8th 2022 at 2:44:27 PM

Yep. Hawkeye is the one and only character in the complete history of comic books to be a member of both the Avengers and the Justice League.

Meanwhile, Chun-Li is over here being an honorary X-Man.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Jul 8th 2022 at 2:44:46 AM

MatthewWayne The Tapestry Weaver from Camp Echo One Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
The Tapestry Weaver
#143657: Jul 8th 2022 at 2:57:50 PM

What is it that the X-Men fight against specifically? Is it always mutant-related issues, or are there other conflicts they become a part of?

I've been trying to figure out what separates each heroic group from each other when it comes to Marvel. Like, what line of work the Fantastic Four covers vs. the Avengers, and where they intersect.

"I'm Mr. Blue, woah-woah-ooh..."
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#143658: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:00:44 PM

[up][up] Chun-Li and Ryu are also Power Rangers. tongue

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#143659: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:07:16 PM

Between Malcolm Spellman being a mediocre writer and Julius Onah's work on The Cloverfield Paradox also being mediocre, I don't have a ton of hope for Captain America 4 being good. Shame, because I like Sam and think he deserves better.

While I'm not conspiracy-minded Fan Dumb like Sam's online fandom, who are convinced Feige is deliberately seeking out less-qualified figures to sabotage and bury Sam by making all the shows/films he's in bad on purpose for some reason, I do think it's fair to argue that they're not putting sufficient effort into finding folks with a particularly strong pedigree either.

Edited by AlleyOop on Jul 8th 2022 at 6:07:56 AM

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#143660: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:10:12 PM

[up][up][up] They are also associated the Shi'ar alien empire.

Recently they've been doing some Game of Thrones stuff and are dealing with the nation of Arakko, an offshoot Mutant race hailing from another dimension that resulted in a brutal Social Darwinist culture.

Also Captain Britain Avalon stuff cause Psylocke is Brian Braddock's sister and also CB herself at times.

Edited by slimcoder on Jul 8th 2022 at 3:15:33 AM

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#143661: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:14:31 PM

And sometimes they go to the Savage Land and fight dinosaurs.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#143662: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:16:45 PM

X Men does any story it wants because Claremont cast a wide net when he was making the X Men actually popular

Occult shit? Multiple people the X Men know have been messed with by demons or trapped in a hell

Spy shit? Sure, let Logan put on his stupid eyepatch and head to Madripoor.

Metaphor for whatever minority you want? Yes

Normal superhero action? Of course

Space opera? Xavier’s girlfriend who lives in Canada is empress of a space empire

Political intrigue? Genosha says hi

Bad Futures? X Men basically invented the trope as we know it

X Men does it all

Edited by Bocaj on Jul 8th 2022 at 6:17:48 AM

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#143663: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:22:06 PM

And the franchise was all the better for it. There's a reason X-Men was one of the most popular Marvel properties in the 90's.

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#143664: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:22:17 PM

Yeah, the X-Men are the most versatile Superhero group.

Well, they aren't really ONE group.

Certified: 48.0% West Asian, 6.5% South Asian, 15.8% North/West European, 15.7% English, 7.4% Balkan, 6.6% Scandinavian
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#143665: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:30:24 PM

Its not an exaggeration to call them an entire company

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
dcutter2 Since: Sep, 2013
#143666: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:38:14 PM

I've never felt the X-Men series really suffered from being split into it's own verse. It's arguably better when they're the own superpowered group in town. So they can be the oppressed minority and you don't have to wonder why other non-mutant powered people and groups have a much better relationship with the public. (the Avengers and FF most prominently)

the only thing you really lose is not giving Rogue her classic powerset and attitude. That is a pretty big loss though tbf.

MatthewWayne The Tapestry Weaver from Camp Echo One Since: Oct, 2014 Relationship Status: 700 wives and 300 concubines
The Tapestry Weaver
#143667: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:59:02 PM

I'm planning to look at that 90s show sometime soon just because I'm curious, so it's kind of neat hearing what the X-Men could be a part of in the future.

The reason I was curious about them is because I've been thinking about DC seems to have only a few superpowered groups that primarily focus on any kind of heroism, whereas Marvel tends to have multiple groups that can focus on different areas. At least that's how I see it.

I also was thinking about the Illuminati, since the group is made up of representatives of other groups, including the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Inhumans and Avengers, and it's fun to think how the groups would/wouldn't get involved with each other any other way.

"I'm Mr. Blue, woah-woah-ooh..."
Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#143668: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:59:25 PM

Between Malcolm Spellman being a mediocre writer and Julius Onah's work on The Cloverfield Paradox also being mediocre, I don't have a ton of hope for Captain America 4 being good. Shame, because I like Sam and think he deserves better.

Granted, Onah apparently directed a very well-received thriller called Luce, so it's possible there may be a hope yet. I didn't watch it, though, so my opinion on Onah's work is entirely on Cloverfield Paradox (and Spellman being a disaster), so it's not particularly inspiring.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
uncertanSearcher It's always Season of the Witch from Germany Since: Oct, 2017
It's always Season of the Witch
#143669: Jul 8th 2022 at 3:59:57 PM

It is debatable how well the X-Men movies hold up, but they played a vital role in paving the way for the MCU by actually building public goodwill to the idea of superhero movies again, after their reputation had pretty much tanked post Batman and Robin.

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#143670: Jul 8th 2022 at 4:02:01 PM

The Foxmen really focused on the grounded realism so every threat was basically about Mutant hatred and stuff

The more out there stuff like Mojoworld never got adapted

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
HasturHasturHastur from Wheah the fahkin baby wheel is, Jay Since: Nov, 2010
#143671: Jul 8th 2022 at 4:06:45 PM

Mojoworld would be fun to have in the MCU.

uncertanSearcher It's always Season of the Witch from Germany Since: Oct, 2017
It's always Season of the Witch
#143672: Jul 8th 2022 at 4:11:49 PM

Would fit right in with all the other multiverse shenanigans going on.

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#143673: Jul 8th 2022 at 4:15:12 PM

I think the Fox-men on the whole aged relatively badly precisely due this ultra-sleek, comically solemn take. Last time I rewatched the first movie I was noticing just how afraid the film is of really embracing the gonzo qualities of its chief premise. There's a tepid reluctance to just accept what's going that makes the first half of the movie pretty dull, and the action scenes still reek of "it's the 00s, we have very little experience with superhero showdowns". It's still a solid film with some great moments (the introdutory scene of Magneto in Auschwitz is incredibly striking, as well as Xavier and Magneto's chatting scenes as a whole) but I don't think the years were very kind to it. In the age of the MCU, X-Men's veiled embarassment of being X-Men feels quaint.

X2 held up better overall but it's also very much just a Wolverine movie with the other X-Men co-starring. Generally I think First Class is the strongest of the bunch last I rewatched.

From the early 00's crop I think Raimi's first Spider-Man aged much better with its earnest tendency to embrace the absurdity of the premise without mocking it. The mix of slick action scenes (the Goblin vs Spidey final showdown is amazingly brutal in a level few superhero fights can compete), campy comedy shenanigans (Bonesaw is readyyyyy) and utterly heartfelt human melodrama are still incredible and a fantastic reflection of the experience of reading superhero comics as a whole. I think that movie paved the way for the MCU more than any other superhero movie.

Edited by Gaon on Jul 8th 2022 at 4:18:43 AM

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
HasturHasturHastur from Wheah the fahkin baby wheel is, Jay Since: Nov, 2010
#143674: Jul 8th 2022 at 4:21:50 PM

I'd kill to have Raimi do an X-Men or Starjammers movie.

Forenperser Foreign Troper from Germany Since: Mar, 2012
Foreign Troper
#143675: Jul 8th 2022 at 4:23:48 PM

Blade, X-Men and Spider-Man were really what brought comic book movies back from the trash heap.

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