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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.

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    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

spashthebandragon thebandragoness from USA Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
thebandragoness
#35676: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:02:28 PM

The other issue with the banter is that real human beings don't react that way to world-ending danger, and characters that don't act like real human beings tend to be harder for the audience to relate to.

I've got fanfics for Frozen, Spectacular Spider-Man, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro the Dragon.
higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#35677: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:03:20 PM

Sure, he does things that are bad. But nobody takes it seriously???? At all??

I'm not saying that the movie should be Dark and Edgy, but it should have more dramatic moments than humorous, espeically when Whedon's snarky humor is hit or miss.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#35678: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:03:30 PM

@Guy01: Right, thanks. tongue

But yeah, Thor and Jane's romance really does come across as little more than a shallow attraction. They just meet one day, hang out a bit, then maybe a day or so later they're buried in each other's faces after little more than a few talks.

edited 1st Jun '15 6:04:09 PM by Anomalocaris20

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#35679: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:04:46 PM

Thor is just really charming, y'know? But then again, I really like the Thor/Jane Foster romance.

edited 1st Jun '15 6:05:03 PM by higherbrainpattern

Zarek Rollin' rollin' rollin' from Jakku Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
#35680: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:05:18 PM

Okay, the relating thing is a bad argument, I think. I don't think anyone should need to relate to a character to find that character compelling.

I don't relate to Thor. He's an Asgardian immortal with a magic hammer, I am decidedly not that. But Thor is still rad. Not because I relate to him, but because I think he's interesting, and funny, and cool, and he's an Asgardian immortal with a magic hammer.

"We're home, Chewie."
Xopher001 Since: Jul, 2012
#35681: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:06:10 PM

@Zarek For a second I thought you were saying the Clinton's kids were calling Anna Chapman 'Auntie'

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#35682: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:06:18 PM

I don't really relate to anyone in the movies. But I love them because the characters are rad, funny, and kick ass.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
Mukora Uniocular from a place Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Uniocular
#35683: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:06:33 PM

Yeah, but when things were supposed to be serious, they were serious. Peter's dance-off was specifically a distraction, and the rest of the cast treated it as the weird insanity that it was, rather than participating.
They did that in AOU, too, though.

"I have a bow and arrow! None of this makes sense!"

And, like, Quicksilver dying was decidedly not funny. Or treated as such. Same goes for Vision's entrance, or Doctor Cho getting attacked. Those were all serious moments.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#35684: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:07:04 PM

I'm pretty sure that everyone is taking it seriously, even though they banter.

I mean, when Quicksilver dies, Hawkeye doesn't look at his dead body and go "Man, this was killer." Nope, he just looks at him with sadness and regret. And Scarlet Witch cries out in despair. That's pretty serious.

The fact that they also banter at times isn't really an issue.

Guy01 Since: Mar, 2015
#35685: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:07:28 PM

@Guy01: Right, thanks. tongue But yeah, Thor and Jane's romance really does come across as little more than a shallow attraction. They just meet one day, hang out a bit, then maybe a day or so later they're buried in each other's faces after little more than a few talks.

Peace yo.

That and she was depressed for how long after he left for Asgard? Darcy did comment that she was a mess for awhile. Actually, that brings me to another point, did Jane and Darcy ever think to go check on Selvig after the New York battle? The guy was kinda running around on his own being crazy. You'd think SHIELD at least would've gotten him some therapy.

Ok, who let Light Yagami in here?
Zarek Rollin' rollin' rollin' from Jakku Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
#35686: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:09:12 PM

I actually kinda like that Thor and Jane are in teenager-y puppy love with each other. It's cute.

"We're home, Chewie."
KJMackley Since: Jan, 2001
#35687: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:09:19 PM

There is nothing wrong with having humor, but there are other ways of doing it besides one-liners and talking to set up visual punchlines ("I need a bunker taken out." *Hulk smashes through it* "That'll do."). And if the movie doesn't trust itself to not have some verbal or visual humor to accompany the drama, that means the drama is not all that compelling to begin with.

I mean, for the life of me I'm not entirely sure what lesson Tony learned at the end. It was a mistake to play with the scepter, certainly, but Ultron's grand plan was so far away from what Tony intended he really can't be blamed for not seeing how this would happen ([protect the world from threats = the world is not worth saving] is like [go make pancakes = control the world's egg market]). I originally thought that Ultron might start targeting "gifted" humans regardless of their alignment, which is connected to Tony's intentions and would make it a great lead-in to Civil War (Tony wants to have all gifted humans on his list so he can protect THEM from threats like Ultron).

spashthebandragon thebandragoness from USA Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
thebandragoness
#35688: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:09:25 PM

[up]x6 But that's a pretty superficial reason to like a character.

Example: Simba's a lion. We're not lions, but we can still relate to him because his dad died and Simba reacted to it by being upset, which is a very human reaction. Therefore, the audience finds Simba sympathetic and cares about his personal struggles, which in turn makes Lion King an awesome story. It still had humor in it, but it would've lost all its weight if Simba had been cracking one-liners for no reason while battling Scar.

I mean, when Quicksilver dies, Hawkeye doesn't look at his dead body and go "Man, this was killer." Nope, he just looks at him with sadness and regret. And Scarlet Witch cries out in despair. That's pretty serious.

...Except Quicksilver cracked a joke right before dying. So I guess he found his own eminent death pretty hilarious.

edited 1st Jun '15 6:13:20 PM by spashthebandragon

I've got fanfics for Frozen, Spectacular Spider-Man, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro the Dragon.
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.
#35689: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:10:09 PM

I agree that Age of Ultron had plenty of serious moments; I just feel that there were a few scenes here and there that had a bit too much humor than was best for them.

[go make pancakes = control the world's egg market]

Now see, a villain like this is someone I could enjoy.

edited 1st Jun '15 6:11:17 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Zarek Rollin' rollin' rollin' from Jakku Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
#35690: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:10:09 PM

but i would've lost all its weight if Simba had been cracking one-liners for no reason while battling Scar.

I disagree. I would have loved that.

"We're home, Chewie."
higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#35691: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:13:09 PM

[up][up][up] People can like characters for superficial reasons. Nothing wrong with that.

Zarek Rollin' rollin' rollin' from Jakku Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
#35692: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:17:16 PM

And, I mean, the fact that Thor has a warhammer that shoots lightning isn't the only reason I like him. Like I said, he's also funny and interesting.

And I guess you can make an argument for part of him being interesting are the parts of him that are "relatable," yeah. He feels feels sometimes like us mortals, and that makes the audience feel feels, and I respect that.

But I think the cracking-one-liners-in-dangerous-situations, for me, falls under the superficial stuff I like. The factor of the character that's not based on relatability, but on radness. I think there's room for both. I mean, it's a super hero movie; you're not supposed to watch for the parts where the characters are vulnerable (not that there's anything wrong with watching them for those reasons), you're supposed to watch for the parts where they're triumphant badasses.

"We're home, Chewie."
Mukora Uniocular from a place Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Uniocular
#35693: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:18:37 PM

...Except Quicksilver cracked a joke right before dying. So I guess he found his own eminent death pretty hilarious.
Gallows Humour.

Like, one of the character deaths that's affected me most involved said character singing right before they were blown to bits, and if anything, that made it sadder.

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."
higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#35694: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:20:30 PM

[up] Mordon? :(

Oh, my poor heart. ;_;

edited 1st Jun '15 6:20:46 PM by higherbrainpattern

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#35695: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:20:55 PM

In answer to the question a few pages ago, I'm not even slightly excited for Ant-Man. There's nothing about the movie that draws me in, and the choice to kill off a female Avenger in the backstory in order to introduce a fairly uninteresting guy annoys me. The trailers haven't captured my interest, and the departure of the original director is another warning sign.

If it gets rave reviews like Guardians Of The Galaxy did, I'll go see it, though I found Guardians to be okay but overrrated. Otherwise, I'm skipping this one.

edited 1st Jun '15 6:22:04 PM by Galadriel

Zarek Rollin' rollin' rollin' from Jakku Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
#35696: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:22:48 PM

I mean, I don't approve of backstory-killing Wasp either, but I don't think they did it to introduce Scott Lang (that's his last name, yeah?). I'm pretty sure Scott was already a thing, and would still be th main character even if Wasp were alive in this continuity.

"We're home, Chewie."
Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#35697: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:23:10 PM

What amuses me is how the movie is blatantly setting up Hope van Dyne to be Wasp but people still think Wasp is well and gone.

Come on people, we're tvtropes. Genre Savvy is our bread and butter, we shouldn't be caught offguard by this kind of shit, man.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Mukora Uniocular from a place Since: Jan, 2010 Relationship Status: I made a point to burn all of the photographs
Uniocular
#35698: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:26:27 PM

WELL YEAH BUT I WAS TRYING NOT TO SPOIL IT, DUDE

[up] I don't care about Wasp. I'm upset about Janet.

edited 1st Jun '15 6:27:32 PM by Mukora

"It's so hard to be humble, knowing how great I am."
KJMackley Since: Jan, 2001
#35699: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:27:17 PM

I know! Right! Five minutes on this site and you should know Captain America was going to swear later in the movie.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#35700: Jun 1st 2015 at 6:27:27 PM

A few years ago, I wouldn't have bothered with seeing the planned Ant-Man film because of superficial reasons. Now I really want to because of all the Troubled Production issues.


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