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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

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#38201: Jul 19th 2015 at 4:11:37 PM

Yeah it's pretty much the same thing as calling the Cosmic Cube the Tesseract. They probably just thought it sounded less stupid.

Martin Freeman talks about his Civil War character. He says the character is ambiguous within the moral framework, and that his job is to oversee and regulate superheroes for the government.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#38202: Jul 19th 2015 at 4:19:35 PM

So he is allowed to reveal what his character is about, but not the name? That's...odd....

Xopher001 Since: Jul, 2012
#38203: Jul 19th 2015 at 4:44:04 PM

It also makes more since since the 'Quantum Realm' is really on a scale much smaller than microscopic

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#38204: Jul 19th 2015 at 4:48:52 PM

[up][up]Hmm... 'Ambiguous within moral framework'... 'overseeing superheroes'''... and a British actor.

Mad Jim Jaspers? (And props to Allit for being the first one to guess.)

edited 19th Jul '15 4:49:22 PM by kkhohoho

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#38205: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:04:29 PM

Haven't seen Ant Man yet, but thought of something from some of the above posts- in Mightiest Heroes, Pym!Yellowjacket used a shrinking gun as a tool/weapon rather than shrinking himself. I wonder if that will come up in future films as a nonlethal application of some of Cross's tech.

edited 19th Jul '15 5:04:39 PM by Hodor2

Eagal Since: Apr, 2012
#38206: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:09:12 PM

[up]Hank gives Scott a bunch of shurikens that can make stuff shrink or grow. It's how Scott escapes the microverse or whatever it's called after going subatomic.

edited 19th Jul '15 5:09:23 PM by Eagal

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#38207: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:09:42 PM

[up][up] I've changed my mind about Mad Jim Jaspers, actually. Back when it was stated Martin Freeman was supposed to be Prime Minister, I thought it might be possible, but since he's working for the US government, I think it's actually Everett K. Ross.

Also, Mad Jim Jaspers might be part of the characters owned by Fox - he first appeared in Captain Britain, but is most associated with X-Men characters.

Eagal Since: Apr, 2012
#38208: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:12:08 PM

MJJ is a pretty big leap up from that fool with the magic glove.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#38209: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:13:58 PM

That's exactly why I never though he was Mad Jim.

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#38210: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:14:32 PM

He's sounding more and more like Gyrich too.

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#38211: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:16:38 PM

[up] I'm totally sure Gyrich is owned by Fox (he was in the first X-Men movie). I was thinking Mad Jim Jaspers sans powers, too, but again, now I think he's Everett K. Ross.

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#38212: Jul 19th 2015 at 5:27:23 PM

He works in conjunction with the superheroes, and certain agencies that help to tame the superheroes power I suppose. So you’re not quite sure which side he’s on. It looks a little bit like he’s playing one game when actually he’s playing another. It’s the kind of character I like because it’s ambiguous and because you don’t know whether he’s good or bad. I like that area that isn’t black or white, I like the grays, because I think there’s just more fun to be had in not playing one obvious line.

The other obvious answer is he could just be a Composite Character. He sounds a lot like Gyrich but since they can't use him, he could be another character who is essentially an Expy of Gyrich.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#38213: Jul 19th 2015 at 6:44:02 PM

Got back from seeing Ant-Man. Very good movie.

Quantum Realm was trippy as shit.

Is it wrong that I thought the death of Ant-ony was one of the saddest things in the whole MCU?

Also, this sums up the final battle scene.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
edvedd Darling. from At the boutique, dear. Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: We finish each other's sandwiches
Darling.
#38214: Jul 19th 2015 at 8:49:21 PM

[up] Quantum Realm was just the best.

Anthony died a hero. Never forget.

edited 19th Jul '15 8:56:19 PM by edvedd

Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau Project
TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#38215: Jul 19th 2015 at 9:26:04 PM

Is it weird that Frank's death by shrinking and goo-ification is playing on repeat in my head and is probably going to appear in my nightmares for the next few days?

edited 19th Jul '15 9:26:44 PM by TrashJack

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
LDragon2 Since: Dec, 2011
#38216: Jul 19th 2015 at 9:33:56 PM

On the note of The Matrix and The Wachowskis on the previous page, I object to calling the characters boring and forgettable, but that's an entirely different story (I feel like The Matrix has gotten a lot of undeserved criticism as of late ever since that fricken Nostalgia Critic video).

Anyways, back on topic. Looking at the choice of directors Marvel chooses for their films, I noticed that they tend to go with ones that seem to best suit the tone and genre that the films have. Like, Joe Johnston was best known for old school style films like The Rocketeer, making him a perfect candidate for the first Captain America film. Kenneth Brannaugh is pretty much all Shakespeare with his works, making him suited to the first Thor. The Russo Siblings wanted to make a political thriller, which is exactly what The Winter Soldier was all about. James Gunn's offbeat and quirky way of filmmaking made him the perfect choice for Guardians of the Galaxy. Peyton Reed having a background in comedy and character interaction-driven films made him the likely choice to replace Edgar Wright for Ant-Man. And while I'm concerned about the choice for the writers, horror director Scott Derrickson is a fitting pick for the supernatural and magic themed Doctor Strange movie.

Basically, Marvel chooses the directors not based on previous pedigree, but on how well they do in their respective fields and genres. Note how most of the filmmakers didn't really have much in terms of previous experience or track record before this. You could argue that they do this so that they are less willing to object to the studio demands, but this could simply be that they see something in them, and want to allow them a chance to make a superhero film.

Compare that to DC/WB, where they seem to just be choosing based on who they feel had a really great track record before hand, not because they specialize in a genre. Granted, this can work out for the better (James Wan making Aquaman sounds great, as he made the transition from horror to action really well), but I'm not sure this will really differentiate the films in terms of tone and genre.

wehrmacht belongs to the hurricane from the garden of everything Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
belongs to the hurricane
#38217: Jul 19th 2015 at 9:44:31 PM

the only thing for me is that in spite of the differing genres most marvel films end up feeling similar and hitting familiar beats, almost as if there was some sort of "house style" of marvel moviemaking even though that's not reallly a thing. compare that to say, how batman 89 and the nolan trilogy have very distinct directorial styles to them that helped make them memorable (whether you like them or not you can't deny they stand out compared to other cape movies).

i'm not necessarily saying it's a bad thing (after all it does help make the mcu fairly consistent all-around), but it is something i noticed.

i think the most stylistically different films in the mcu so far would probably be gotg and winter soldier and that's part of why i really liked them.

edited 19th Jul '15 9:49:23 PM by wehrmacht

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#38218: Jul 19th 2015 at 9:53:34 PM

[up][up][up]Even though Darren Cross is one of the less-developed villains like Ronan, him reducing Frank to goo and flushing him down the toilet was so horrid that at the end of the film I was grinning when you can hear him screaming in agony as his suit implodes around and crushes him. tongue

edited 19th Jul '15 9:53:54 PM by Anomalocaris20

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#38219: Jul 19th 2015 at 10:23:01 PM

[up] I like to think that Cross had a suit breach when his arm shrunk before the rest of him, and he was turned into human-goo like he did to Frank and the lamb (and perhaps others before them). But because he was shrunk down to the point he would enter the Quantum Realm/Microverse, time would lose all meaning for him and he would experience the whole thing in super-slow-mo for the rest of time.

Serves him right, really.

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
edvedd Darling. from At the boutique, dear. Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: We finish each other's sandwiches
Darling.
#38220: Jul 19th 2015 at 10:54:50 PM

The goo thing was an unexpectedly gruesome way for anyone or any small animal to go.

Visit my Tumblr! I may say things. The Bureau Project
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#38221: Jul 19th 2015 at 11:06:25 PM

It's definitely one of the most unsettling ways to die in the MCU so far. Right up there with the other weapon capable of making a person implode into nothingness.

edited 19th Jul '15 11:06:35 PM by KnownUnknown

32ndfreeze Since: Mar, 2012
#38222: Jul 19th 2015 at 11:16:39 PM

What would happen if you used Pym Particles to affect an Infinity gem?

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#38223: Jul 19th 2015 at 11:17:18 PM

For the rest of his possible limbo in the Microverse, may he be haunted by vengeful sheep.

TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#38224: Jul 19th 2015 at 11:19:52 PM

[up] And Frank.

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#38225: Jul 20th 2015 at 3:03:13 AM

On a different note...we now had a political thriller, a space opera, a heist movie, a historical war movie, a monster movie...what kind of genre do we want to see Marvel tackle next? I guess they intend to go in the horror direction with Dr. Strange, and Spider-man is already confirmed to be a Teenager movie. But what about Black Panther? Captain Marvel? The Inhumans? Which genres should they fall into?

edited 20th Jul '15 3:08:47 AM by Swanpride


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