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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.
  • 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

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#57251: May 17th 2016 at 9:05:34 PM

I haven't quite finished it yet myself, but so far I feel confident calling it my favorite MCU production.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#57252: May 18th 2016 at 12:14:40 AM

Ao S has spend the last episodes stabbing eyes and melting humans....it is more than gory enough for my taste already.

And I don't buy it. I would get them moving it to another time slot since the Tuesday is very packed and the shows are cannibalizing each other, but why so late? Put that in context with ABC having someone knew responsible for the Program, who is currently undoing everything he predecessor did in order to realize his own ideas, I am pretty sure that Ao S will be off the schedule the moment it is syndicated, no matter what the ratings are.

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
#57253: May 18th 2016 at 7:11:37 AM

This. Is the greatest thing I've ever watched.

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#57254: May 18th 2016 at 7:43:20 AM

JJ is a very mature series. It handles mature themes and mature subject matter in a mature fashion. Its idea of "dark" means more than "lots of bodies, blood everywhere, check out these tits!" and its subject matter thoroughly explores material that most fiction likes to pretend doesn't happen.

As a thought-provoking analysis and exploration of rape culture and the many insidious forms in which it manifests, JJ is easily one of the best MCU productions in existence and, more to the point, it's a show that desperately needed to exist somewhere.

edited 18th May '16 7:45:47 AM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
thatindiantroper Since: Feb, 2015
#57255: May 18th 2016 at 8:41:33 AM

[up] I'll give you all that but there were a lot of pacing problems. Parts of it really dragged and for a significant amount of time it really felt like it was spinning it's wheels.

MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#57256: May 18th 2016 at 9:09:43 AM

It's weird that's the complaint I keep hearing since I didn't feel it both times I watched it and I know when I feel something is dragging.

Okay, there maybe is a pacing issue because there were multiple instances where it felt pretty clear we were ramping up to a finale but then there's still more episodes left but even then I didn't feel it.

edited 18th May '16 9:09:56 AM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art
hollygoolightly Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#57257: May 18th 2016 at 9:45:14 AM

[up]I had the same sort of "this kind of feels like it is leading up to a finale" thoughts in some of the later episodes, but there was really only one that seemed sort of superfluous to me. I had more problems with the way some of the characters disappeared for longer stretches - I know that that is usually related to actor contracts, but in some cases it just felt weird.

Generally speaking, it worked for me both as a series about (low-key) superheroes and as a show about a woman dealing with the crap that has happened to her in a way that felt meaningful, and that puts it head and shoulders over everything else in the MCU so far for me. (Which doesn't mean that I don't like a lot of the other content, too, obviously. Just in other ways.)

edited 18th May '16 9:46:22 AM by hollygoolightly

FictionWriterKing Since: Apr, 2016
#57258: May 18th 2016 at 9:56:38 AM

yes thatindiantroper. JJ had MAJOR pacing.

I knew independently from Jessica's beliefs that the whole idea of her trying to take down Killgrave this way was never going to workout. But her obsession slowed down plot, padding it as these troubled characters repeated their mistakes.

Secondly, everyone (secondary cast) but Trish had a habitual lifestyle, running around like hamsters on a wheel. They weren't very dynamic, which made the actions they did perform predictable and repetitive to watch until of course those revelations. Also they were flat.

The pacing wasn't bad because it went by too quick or slow. It just didn't move much once things kicked off. A kinda linear line.

Thank god season 2 news says Jessica takes a back seat so everyone else more sensory input on screen, reflections, and reactions. in other words they can move plot towards something new rather than Jessica being the main one.

other than this idk what to say... hnm i think it's the most important theme tackled in superhero media. rape abuse and addiction - case point people living in Fort Peck right now. this is a real epidemic. JJ made it entertaining

edited 18th May '16 10:24:32 AM by FictionWriterKing

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#57259: May 18th 2016 at 10:00:51 AM

I'll echo the sentiment that Jessica Jones had an Arc Fatigue issue, which was my only serious critique of it.

DeathsApprentice The Ultimate Lifeform from The Ark Since: Aug, 2011 Relationship Status: Is that a kind of food?
The Ultimate Lifeform
#57260: May 18th 2016 at 10:09:05 AM

I definitely noticed a pacing problem. I honestly think the season should have been a few episodes shorter. There are only so many times Kilgrave can get away before people get bored. But other than that, it was a very good series.

When we're done, there won't be anything left.
Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#57261: May 18th 2016 at 10:58:16 AM

Yeah JJ had issues with repetition of the Killgrave gets captured/defeated, plot.. The only other criticism I can think of (which isn't really one) is how badly it makes Ao S's handling of the same subject look by comparison.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
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
#57262: May 18th 2016 at 11:00:18 AM

I also found Jessica's noir private eye monologues to be badly written but that's a pretty minor nitpick considering they're very sparse throughout the show.

yellowturtle from Nowhere Important Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
higherbrainpattern Since: Apr, 2012
#57264: May 18th 2016 at 2:16:09 PM

[up][up] Really? I thought her monologues were great. Snarky, but in a dry way. It was a great way to showcase Jessica's personality, IMO.

hollygoolightly Since: Apr, 2012 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#57265: May 18th 2016 at 3:25:59 PM

[up]I liked them, too. And it is a noir staple.

RBluefish Since: Nov, 2013
#57266: May 18th 2016 at 6:05:31 PM

Her monologues didn't really work for me most of the time. I didn't hate them, but they annoyed me a bit. I find that sort of thing tends to work better in a novel than a live-action show. Like, "I get it, you're bitter and snarky and stuff."

They didn't bother me when they were being used to genuinely showcase her thought processes and motivations, though, because that gave us some valuable insight into the reasons behind her decisions.

And oddly enough, the pacing doesn't bother me at all. And I say that as someone who generally is very critical of pacing in stories.

"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#57267: May 18th 2016 at 6:20:23 PM

My two major criticisms with JJ were the repetition/pacing, which we covered, and elements of Idiot Plot. Like, the third time Kilgrave escaped, it was because the support group randomly decided to attack Jessica in her own home for no sensible reason, toward no discernible end. How is going and beating her senseless going to make her catch Kilgrave faster?

An action Simpson also takes later, for seemingly no reason other than to end his own character arc in a comatose heap (Though at least he has the excuse of being hopped up on reds making him hyper-aggressive and short-sighted, but it's still a thought process I find kinda unbelievable).

I loved the show, I just prefer Daredevil for its tighter writing (and fight scenes, but it's understandable JJ would be less focused on those since it's more of a detective story).

edited 18th May '16 6:20:47 PM by Anomalocaris20

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
Shadao Dorzma Forever! Artwork by Kris Dobbins. (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Dorzma Forever! Artwork by Kris Dobbins.
#57268: May 19th 2016 at 1:39:23 AM

Well, I've finally got to see Civil War and all I can say right now is that I enjoyed it. Like the new Spider-Man. He was easily the best part of the whole movie.

Speaking of Spider-Man, I wonder if Marvel could make a deal with DC to have J. K. Simmons reprise his role as J. Jonah Jameson while also fitting with the Justice League film schedule. According to Simmons, his role is very small in the film. It should be easy for DC and Marvel to negotiate a schedule for Simmons to accommodate both movies.

ExplosiveLion Since: Mar, 2016 Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
#57269: May 19th 2016 at 2:06:33 AM

[up]

That's J.K. Simmons and Marvel's business, not DC's. They don't need any permission to cast him. They could just work around his schedule; and his scenes, depending on lenght and number, could be filmed in one to two weeks, tops. I hardly think that'll interfere with the JL shooting, moreso if his role is as small as Simmons has implied it to be.

But, to be fair, I really don't think he'll be J. J. Jameson again.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#57270: May 19th 2016 at 3:00:17 AM

I think they should simply go for a new version of JJ Jameson. Either way, I think it is too early to introduce him. Peter is still in High school, I don't think that he should start working as photographer before he is at least in college.

MousaThe14 Writer, Artist, Ignored from Northern Virginia Since: Jan, 2011 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Writer, Artist, Ignored
#57271: May 19th 2016 at 4:27:26 AM

Like, the third time Kilgrave escaped, it was because the support group randomly decided to attack Jessica in her own home for no sensible reason, toward no discernible end. How is going and beating her senseless going to make her catch Kilgrave faster?

Well that's because it wasn't about catching Kilgrave faster at that point. That's not what they were trying to do, they were trying to get to the person that "brought Kilgrave to their town" so to speak. Robin convinced them that he was pretty much only around because of Jessica Jones and because humans need something to blame and an immediate target she was perfect for enacting mindless rage fueled revenge on.

You know, mobs being mobs. Like you do.

[up]That doesn't make sense, in his living situation he'd take whatever work is available

edited 19th May '16 4:30:19 AM by MousaThe14

The Blog The Art
Cross (Don’t ask)
#57272: May 19th 2016 at 6:07:28 AM

They can follow Ultimate and gave him work on the website.

yellowturtle from Nowhere Important Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
#57273: May 19th 2016 at 6:22:29 AM

[up] I liked that part of Ultimate.

Maybe he'll be able to afford computer he didn't dumpster dive for tongue

Crow: There's a plot?
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#57274: May 19th 2016 at 6:28:18 AM

[up][up][up] The job of the photographer has changed a LOT since the comic was first created. Back then, newspapers had their own people they send to events. That has become increasingly rare, most photographers work freelance nowadays. And they have gotten quite a negative reputation. In any case, though, I can't see Peter Parker just walking into the Daily Bugle and getting a job, especially not as a teenager, at best the Daily Bugle would buy his photos and be done with it. BUT: If he is working freelance, there is no reason to sell to the Daily Bugle of all papers, instead of selling to the highest bidder. Unless the Daily Bugle IS the highest bidder, but that would go contrarian to the idea of JJ Jameson being extremely stingy. So whatever they do, they need to make a few adjustments.

edited 19th May '16 6:28:32 AM by Swanpride

Cross (Don’t ask)
#57275: May 19th 2016 at 6:39:43 AM

The Spectacular Spider Man had Peter start out freelance then JJJ offered him an exclusive contract after a rival paper outsold the Bugle with pictures he rejected.

edited 19th May '16 6:40:49 AM by Cross


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