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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
Zola if we're counting side villains.
I don't know if I agree with the Hulk's article completely, but he did really touch on something that has been kind of sparse in the last few MCU movies; a lot of the character arcs are gone. In Civil War, the only one who actually has any kind of definitive character growth (a number of characters, like Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Spidey get some, but it's really unfocused) is Black Panther. No one else really grows or changes as a result of the events of the film. This also kind of clarifies some of the problems I had with season 2 of Agent Carter, maybe Daredevil season 2 as well.
Also, I agree with his point about the Infinity Stones, we know from supplementary material that each one is different, but I don't know if enough is done to differentiate them onscreen.
Although, I'm surprised he didn't mention GOTG; I remember his article about it being really positive.
The gimmick isn't to solely roleplay the Hulk, it's to prevent quick skimming.
Regarding the article, I partly agree that the MCU does have issues with resetting progress and diminishing stakes, but Civil War was a better example of avoiding it rather than succumbing to it. The writers made it a point to explain how Tony remaining Iron Man had badly affected his personal life, when they technically didn't have a need to. They avoided the cliche of "the feuding good guys get distracted by the evil bad guy monster and reconcile" and instead aimed for a smaller and more personal betrayal of trust. And they ended it with the Accords still active, Bucky still at risk of mind control, and most of the Avengers fugitives. Age of Ultron is a closer example, to me, of consequence-less spectacle than Civil War was.
edited 24th May '16 6:03:11 PM by Tuckerscreator
Well the MCU will never truly go dark, so the worst possible outcome fades away before it can turn into a full blown story of its own. However, the affects have been used enough to impact these new films. Also the protagonists are written in an optimisic light. They refuse to scum to the harsh reality surrounding their consequences. Hulk didn't really go into what stakes mean, so I'm not going to comment on it much even though I can.
edited 24th May '16 6:40:32 PM by FictionWriterKing
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I think a lot of people are getting Arc Fatigue from the Infinity Stones in general. A lot of the mixed to negative reviews I remember from AOU basically said they disliked how much of the focus was on the Infinity Stones when they honestly didn't give a shit about that plot point anymore.
My worry with Infinity War is that after 6 years of teasing it, it won't live up to the hype.
It's something the Walker bros made me realize. For a movie like Go TG, it absolutely needed a villain who played everything straight because it made moments like that all the more hilarious. Like, I like to think that Ronan is a Stealth Parody of how generic the MCU villains can be.
edited 24th May '16 8:22:18 PM by Lionheart0
The movie didn't take itself too seriously, so it really benefited from having a Large Ham villain.
Also, Ronan comes off as really threatening throu the whole movie. Unlike with some other villains, I actually buy that he is nearly impossible to defeat.
Villains which are still alive are Abomination, Justin Hammer (if you count him as a villain, he is more an antagonist in a lot of ways), Loki, Red Skull (maybe...depends on where he got sucked to by the time stone, and what happened then), Thanos, Nebula, Hydra Guy who escaped at the end of Ant-man and Zemo. There have been a few which have been killed during their second appearance, like The Other. As it stands, Loki and Thanos are the only ones who were in more than one movie, and Thanos was mostly in end credit scenes.
Whedon Says He'd Consider Directing a "Jessica Jones"-ey, Female-Led Marvel Movie

This scene...this scene just never gets old.
Personally, I consider this one of the Top 10 moments in MCU, because it's just all around brilliant.
Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.