TVTropes Now available in the app store!
Open

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Go To

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.
  • Spoilers for new releases should not be discussed without spoiler tagging for at least two weeks. Rather, each title should have a dedicated thread where that sort of conversation is held. We can mention new releases in a general sense, but please be courteous to people who don't want to be spoiled.

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

Cross (Don’t ask)
#53326: Mar 16th 2016 at 9:09:39 AM

Going by the normal criteria for it, the only MCU character that would fit would be Daredevil.

Khfan429 Since: Aug, 2009
#53327: Mar 16th 2016 at 9:10:47 AM

I think the first and foremost question of what makes a superhero is whether or not someone has powers. It's not a necessity, but it should be the first thing under consideration, and someone with powers fighting crime should be a superhero by definition. They have super powers, and therefore they are a super hero.

In the event that they have no powers, a codename or alternate moniker is a necessity. And I don't think "the Cavalry" counts as it. It's a nickname, and one that May herself can't stand.

The primary difference between Skye and May is that Skye has actual, genuine superpowers.

LordofLore Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Consider his love an honor
#53328: Mar 16th 2016 at 9:17:15 AM

Merchandising program focused on Black Panther.

They probably should've announced one for Black Widow after Ao U now that I think about it since there was so much talk about how she should be getting way more merchandise.

I wonder what release date Inhumans will end up with due to Indy.

edited 16th Mar '16 9:42:50 AM by LordofLore

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#53329: Mar 16th 2016 at 9:23:29 AM

The generic SHIELD agents are the only ones I wouldn't call superheroes.

edited 16th Mar '16 9:25:07 AM by VeryMelon

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#53330: Mar 16th 2016 at 10:06:33 AM

Fitz is a superhero?

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#53331: Mar 16th 2016 at 10:13:49 AM

That same criteria discounts Skye herself.
Except those three were caveats that were additional to the main things: 1) you have superpowers or 2) you are on a superteam. Daisy has superpowers and she's trying to assemble a superteam, meaning she is a superhero.

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#53333: Mar 16th 2016 at 10:56:28 AM

I'm not sure what about the Suicide Squad movie precludes Katana from being a superhero in it, either.

The blunt answer (no offense to Chloe) is that Quake probably gets passed over in a lot of these discussions because a lot of people stopped watching the show after Season 1.

edited 16th Mar '16 11:09:38 AM by comicwriter

DeathsApprentice The Ultimate Lifeform from The Ark Since: Aug, 2011 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
The Ultimate Lifeform
#53334: Mar 16th 2016 at 11:20:18 AM

[up] Well, Suicide Squad isn't out yet, so there's that. Though I'm not sure why Katana wouldn't count as a superhero in Arrow, either.

When we're done, there won't be anything left.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#53335: Mar 16th 2016 at 11:27:10 AM

Chloe Bennet may not be aware of Arrow. Hell, we don't even know what definition of superhero she's using.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
LordofLore Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Consider his love an honor
#53336: Mar 16th 2016 at 12:50:35 PM

Since we talked a lot about Hydra and if they'll keep returning in the movies and shows I just have to say that if there's ever a DC and Marvel crossover we need to see this scene.

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#53337: Mar 16th 2016 at 12:53:37 PM

[up][up]I don't blame her at all and I get her point. It was very well intentioned, even if it wasn't necessarily accurate. I just didn't quite understand the logic gymnastics from the fans going into "Well uh, Katana isn't technically a superhero."

Edit: Ha!

edited 16th Mar '16 12:54:43 PM by comicwriter

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.
#53338: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:06:01 PM

[up] Clint, what the fuck? [lol]

Oh God! Natural light!
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#53339: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:09:09 PM

"She did spy missions against Hydra. That's not crime fighting. "

Hydra was "dead" in the first season, they deal with other thread like Quinn(or like I call him, Tony stark#5) or that norse cult that use asgardian weapon.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Khfan429 Since: Aug, 2009
#53340: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:22:06 PM

Also, whether they were fighting HYDRA or Quinn, the stuff that their opponents were doing was most definitely illegal. As in, a crime.

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#53341: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:33:21 PM

[up] Not really. Nothing Quinn did (aside from kidnapping Franklin Hall - which Hall himself orchestrated) was a crime, since he was living in Malta where the laws were lax. That was the whole point in their mission, since they couldn't do anything overtly.

Khfan429 Since: Aug, 2009
#53342: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:43:21 PM

[up]If kidnapping someone doesn't fit a strict enough standard of "illegal", I don't see what will. And Hall only provided the opportunity, he didn't call up Quinn and say "Hey, I want you to spring me, here's the plan". Quinn still had a SHIELD convoy attacked for the sake of removing someone from their protective custody, all under the impression Hall didn't want to be found. Regardless of what Hall wanted, that's still plenty illegal.

unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#53343: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:45:22 PM

Look, he is a bad guy and SHILD was the good guy, as superhero morality goes, he deserved whatever it go, pretty simplegrin

edited 16th Mar '16 1:45:34 PM by unknowing

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#53344: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:47:43 PM

Superhero media leaves the definition of superhero a bit vague.

Are Star Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy superheroes even though its less crime they fight and more preventing the universe from ripping itself a new asshole slash whatever the hell they do under bendis still haven't gotten back to that.

Half of them use their real names instead of codenames and they have uniforms instead of costumes.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#53345: Mar 16th 2016 at 1:55:55 PM

If kidnapping someone doesn't fit a strict enough standard of "illegal"
Except Quinn himself didn't kidnap Hall, he had other people do it. And he could (and did) use tricky legalese to make sure that he didn't end up in jail — after all, the people who apprehended him were SHIELD agents and SHIELD turned out to be super corrupt anyway, so all the evidence against him might have been forged. Fruit from the poisonous tree and all that.

I mean, yes, he is guilty as sin, but I'm just saying that the things he did couldn't exactly be construed as "illegal." And he used that to his advantage. That was kind of the point of his character.

edited 16th Mar '16 1:56:24 PM by alliterator

Khfan429 Since: Aug, 2009
#53346: Mar 16th 2016 at 2:05:29 PM

And if we're going to count "fighting crime" only as "that which is overtly and blatantly illegal and can be proven in a court of law", we're cutting out a positively ridiculous number of things.

Does that mean that whenever Superman tangles with Lex Luthor, he isn't acting as a superhero since Luthor can weasel his way out of any lasting legal repercussions? That idea strikes me as just absurd.

May's not a superhero because she doesn't have powers, and she doesn't have an actual alternate moniker, since "the Cavalry" is less a codename and more a nickname she hates. It has nothing to do with whether or not she fights crime.

edited 16th Mar '16 2:05:56 PM by Khfan429

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#53347: Mar 16th 2016 at 2:06:08 PM

[up][up]I generally find the in-universe definition of a superhero different from the out of universe one. To use the example someone posted earlier, there's really no world where I wouldn't consider Black Widow, Falcon, and Hawkeye superheroes, even if you wanna technically make the argument that they were using military tech and uniforms.

That goes for most people. I don't know very many people who don't consider the Guardians superheroes either.

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#53348: Mar 16th 2016 at 2:08:19 PM

I don't know if I would construe the Guardians as superheroes. Perhaps "space heroes"?

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#53349: Mar 16th 2016 at 2:10:04 PM

That might hold true for some people, but to most (at least from what I've seen), they're superheroes. Heck, part of the joke and appeal is that they were like a very fucked up version of a traditional superhero team.

edited 16th Mar '16 2:10:46 PM by comicwriter

DeathsApprentice The Ultimate Lifeform from The Ark Since: Aug, 2011 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
The Ultimate Lifeform
#53350: Mar 16th 2016 at 2:20:49 PM

Well, relative to humans, most of them have enhanced abilities, i.e. "superpowers." But, then again, they're not humans, so maybe they don't count as having superpowers, since they're not necessarily more powerful than other members of their species? (Except for Gamora or Rocket, I suppose.) Because, if all aliens counted, Lady Sif and the Warriors Three would count, and I don't think many people count them as superheroes.

When we're done, there won't be anything left.

Total posts: 186,763
Top