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

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
#54026: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:23:58 PM

I actually don't dislike Sucker Punch as most people, but yeah he really has no place saying anything when his movies have been divisive at best. It's one thing to be excited about your characters and say that you're offering something different, but Marvel calls DC their "Distinguished Competition". You could return some of that respect back to them.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#54027: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:25:49 PM

I hope DC starts stepping up their game too. I think the lack of any prominent competition besides the occasional X-Men film is starting to get Marvel Studios a bit complacent creatively. They practically own the superhero market right now.

edited 28th Mar '16 8:26:52 PM by KnownUnknown

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#54028: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:26:21 PM

Wasn't sure whether to post this in this thread or the BVS one, but I was thinking of a scene that really stuck with me- it's in Ant Man where Luis remembers that mook he knocked on conscious and drags him to safety before the building explodes.

It's such a great scene and demonstration of heroism, I think in part because the audience either forgot about the guy or might have expected the movie to have forgotten about him with bad consequences. So when Luis remembers him, it really has an impact.

Guy01 Since: Mar, 2015
#54029: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:27:30 PM

[up]What about all of the other mooks though?

Ok, who let Light Yagami in here?
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#54030: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:27:43 PM

[up][up] Plus it's from a character you wouldn't expect to have a genuine heroic moment like that, and the movie doesn't ruin it by making a big deal out of it.

edited 28th Mar '16 8:28:15 PM by KnownUnknown

dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#54031: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:31:21 PM

Looking at the (relative) coherence and consistency of MCU, it makes me even more baffled that Warner Bros chose Zack Snyder of all directors to kickstart DCEU.

Seriously, his most well known flaw is his inability to write a coherent story. He shouldn't be in charge of any film franchise whatsoever.

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
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
#54032: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:34:10 PM

[up] You and I are basically in full agreement there. Some exec at Warner obviously likes him because they keep giving him projects, and to be fair he has his strengths as a filmmaker (his action sequences are great for the most part) and a distinct directorial style, but if DC actually wants to have these films be these serious theme-driven dramas, Snyder is an awful choice for that. They needed another Nolan (in the sense of a filmmaker with a distinct style that can tell a functional and compelling story, not necessarily one with a similar style to him per se), not him. I still insist that if Nolan himself had been in charge of Man of Steel that movie would have probably been much better.

Regarding the MCU I would hope they don't get THAT complacent. Civil War will probably be pretty good, but I don't know what to expect from there.

edited 28th Mar '16 8:36:09 PM by wehrmacht

dRoy Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar from Most likely from my study Since: May, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Professional Writer & Amateur Scholar
#54033: Mar 28th 2016 at 8:37:55 PM

Actually, you know who I would have picked to direct BVS?

Michael Mann.

He's a master of consistency and logical flow of narratives, city and law/crime, as well as having two characters facing off each other. Also, Nolan refers him as one of his key influences.

edited 28th Mar '16 8:39:37 PM by dRoy

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
ultimatepheer Since: Mar, 2011
#54034: Mar 28th 2016 at 9:14:17 PM

[up]X6: I did like how Ant Man managed to make the characters genuinely heroic in spite of them otherwise being kind of... not.

Like, Scott committed Corporate Espionage and was being hired to do it again, and just wanted his Daughter's love. Luis was pretty much just a bro throughout and I loved ever second he was onscreen. Hank was genuinely remorseful even as he went through with a convoluted plan instead of just, you know, having Shrunk Ant Man and a bunch of Ants walk in and blow the building up.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#54035: Mar 29th 2016 at 12:21:09 AM

[up] I especially loved how Scott was called out on his Robin Hood act by pointing out that this one was actually not heroic but stupid and the easy way to get what he wanted.

I am not sure if Nolan would have been the best man for the DCEU. After all, the weakest part of the Nolan trilogy is Batman himself, and we are supposed to follow those character over multiple movies. It can't be some high-brow concept every time. But independent from who is actually directing those movies, they need a Kevin Feige, someone who has a clear plan which major plot points each movie needs to hit to get to the next one, while also being comfortable with mostly allowing the directors to do their job without forcing a very specific vision on them (despite what some people claim, the different franchises within the MCU all have their own tone).

LordofLore Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Consider his love an honor
#54036: Mar 29th 2016 at 1:06:34 AM

I'd actually say that while the movies have mostly the same tone(which works for some and don't for others)the TV series and Netflix have different tones and changes it up enough.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#54037: Mar 29th 2016 at 5:43:42 AM

I'll see Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman since Zack isn't directing them, but after that I'm comfortable leaving the DCEU behind and sticking to the Arrowerse.

TrashJack Confirmed Doomer from beyond the Despair Event Horizon (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
Confirmed Doomer
#54038: Mar 29th 2016 at 6:35:02 AM

@wehrmacht: Not sure about executives, but one of the producers on both Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman (and 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, the upcoming DCEU films, etc.) is Snyder's wife, Deborah. She probably plays a major role in getting these movies made with Zack in the director's chair in the first place.

"Cynic, n. — A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be." - The Devil's Dictionary
Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
#54039: Mar 29th 2016 at 8:17:41 AM

[up][up]I don't know. To the risk of shocking people, so far even with all its flaws I still prefer the DCEU to the Arrowverse.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#54040: Mar 29th 2016 at 8:21:59 AM

Nothing shocking about that. There are plenty of reasons someone could have that opinion.

Discar Since: Jun, 2009
#54041: Mar 29th 2016 at 8:33:28 AM

Yeah. I prefer the Arrowverse, but it has a lot of problems. No one is going to hold it against you for liking the DCEU more.

Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.
MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#54042: Mar 29th 2016 at 8:46:42 AM

I don't like the Arrowverse but I at least genuinely enjoyed decent amounts of Arrow and Flash which is more than I can say for Man of Steel.

I opted not to see Bv S because I wanted to see Zootopia and I'd rather not encourage WB's poor behavior by making Zack Washed Out Greys Snyder the director to start out this franchise thing with.

The Blog The Art
comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#54043: Mar 29th 2016 at 9:04:26 AM

There's several different threads for DCEU stuff and at least two for Batman V. Superman specifically. Does it really need to be the topic of discussion here too?

edited 29th Mar '16 9:13:04 AM by comicwriter

Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
#54044: Mar 29th 2016 at 9:41:47 AM

Sorry, didn't expected it to expand that much.

Anyway, back on Marvel, looking back, which phase would you say was best between 1 and 2?

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#54045: Mar 29th 2016 at 9:47:18 AM

  • Phase 1: Iron Man and The Avengers were great, Captain American: The First Avenger was good, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man 2 were average.

  • Phase 2: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy were great, Ant-Man was good, The Avengers: Age of Ultron was decent, Iron Man 3 and Thor 2 were above average.

I'd personally give it to Phase 2.

higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#54046: Mar 29th 2016 at 9:50:12 AM

Going back and having revisited The First Avenger, it really is a pretty good, solid movie for Cap. And Winter Soldier does a great job of actually making the first movie even better, since there's all kinds of foreshadowing in The First Avenger regarding Bucky eventually becoming the Winter Soldier.

In fact, I wish the MCU would bring back Joe Johnston and give him another movie to direct, since he did a great job with first Cap movie. :(

edited 29th Mar '16 9:52:39 AM by higherbrainpattern

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#54047: Mar 29th 2016 at 9:57:57 AM

I don't think Marvel has made a movie yet that topped Iron Man 1, but Phase 2 has an edge over Phase 1 because I connected stronger with more of the films (Particularly Winter Soldier, Iron Man 3, and Guardians of the Galaxy). Even though there were a few disappointments, I thin it worked more often than not.

higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#54048: Mar 29th 2016 at 10:01:35 AM

Didn't The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy do a lot better than Iron Man at the box office though? I think that would qualify both of them for topping Iron Man 1, honestly.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
Wackd Since: May, 2009
#54050: Mar 29th 2016 at 10:04:55 AM

I'd say Phase 2 is better by leaps and bounds, as while I liked some of Phase 1 well enough the only one I'd rank among my favorites of the franchise is The Avengers.

Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.

Total posts: 186,763
Top