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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

MapleSamurai Since: Aug, 2014 Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
#58001: May 27th 2016 at 7:12:17 PM

[up][up]Fanfic writers! TO YOUR KEYBOARDS!

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#58003: May 28th 2016 at 1:11:41 PM

That's so cute. Having an action figure of yourself has to be pretty cool.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#58004: May 28th 2016 at 1:42:40 PM

Fun bit of trivia; Hugo Weaving would purposefully take roles so that he could get action figures of himself.

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
#58005: May 30th 2016 at 9:18:32 AM

Random rambling.

I just...I just want to gush about Zemo. He's...exactly the kind of villain that I wanted in this series. He's just so damn perfect (in my standards, that is) it actually brought tears to my eyes. [tup]

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
yellowturtle from Nowhere Important Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
#58006: May 30th 2016 at 9:40:35 AM

I liked Zemo. He was excellent for Marvel villain standards, and they didn't kill him off after one movie.

Did Zemo hire Crossbones? I can't figure out why he wanted a bio weapon.

edited 30th May '16 9:41:03 AM by yellowturtle

Crow: There's a plot?
nervmeister Since: Oct, 2010
#58007: May 30th 2016 at 10:21:53 AM

Zemo was in Civil War? Funny, I didn't see him once in the film......tongue

edited 30th May '16 10:25:42 AM by nervmeister

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#58008: May 30th 2016 at 11:43:03 AM

I've seen nothing that indicates that Zemo and Crossbones were working with each other.

Got the Agent Carter Season 1 Declassified book for my birthday, and I learned a bunch.note 

The idea for the series was McFeely and Markus's idea, aka the Captain America screenwriters, while walking around a mall killing time between a meeting.

A bunch of Hayley and D'Arcy's banter was inspired by them messing around on set, including a bit where they pretended to be a cranky elderly couple in wheelchairs. They said they have video of this. How have they not released it already.

Angie was going to be the one to voice "Betty Carver" on the radio show, though they kept a Development Gag of her saying she auditioned for the part.

Roger Dooley being named after a minor character from She-Hulk was a coincidence. His actor ad-libbed the part in the second episode where he's napping while Thompson drives, because now's his only chance to get some extra rest.

The writers sought to give Peggy her own stakes in the mystery besides just Howard's reputation, as they point out worst case scenario is he flees to South America but still lives rich.

The "beating a guard with a stapler" bit was almost cut to make room for another scene where Peggy drops the nitramene bomb and the guests on the dance floor nearly step on it as it rolls along. That scene was then discarded for being too silly and "impossible".

We don't get a good look at the "flasher" device Peggy uses in the power plant because the prop was accidentally dropped down some stairs and shattered.

The self-typing typewriter was done by hiding a second typewriter under the desk and connecting their keys with strings while a hidden stagehand typed underneath, kind of like a reverse piano.

There was a scene where Peggy tries to beat Jarvis to opening her own car door, saying a penguin could walk faster than him, but it was cut for too much of a Mood Whiplash with the previous scene of Peggy turning down Angie's offer to stay at the Griffith.

The bit of Peggy beating up a guy while the radio show plays was originally going to end with Peggy shooting the radio, but it was cut because the set location didn't allow guns fired on set.

Peggy being surprised at Jarvis having a shotgun in the second ep was a last-second rewrite because they had already shot the truck fight but realized they forgot to explain where Jarvis got a shotgun.

Peggy's argument with Howard was originally going to be intercut with Dottie killing Otto Mink, but the scene was deemed strong enough that they left the two scenes separate.

The Red Room was designed as an Evil Counterpart of the Griffith, and filmed at the Hollywood Studio Club which was the real-life inspiration of the Griffith.

Finding trees in southern California that looked like Russian ones was tough, and budget cut out a bunch of inventions that were originally in the secret mission, like zip lines, superheated bolt cutters, knockout gas, and crossbows.

Dum-Dum Dugan was going to be a Sergeant, but Neal McDonough didn't want to lose the Corporal insignia on his bowler (he'd kept the prop ever since The First Avenger). The other Howling Commandos from the film were busy with other movies or TV.

Percy Pinkerton (the Commando with the beret that resembles James Falsworth) is gay.

One of Stark's slapping exes slapped D'Arcy for real, because her actress was nervous about whether her faked ones looked right so D'Arcy told her to just actually do it.

One of the section headers is called "Angie x Peggy". Seriously.

Yauch (the SSR agent who commits Psychic-Assisted Suicide) was going to be hit by a bus, but the production couldn't find any 1940s buses that would get to impressive speeds, so they used a truck. This, combining with budget and driving difficulties, was the same reason a car chase was cut.

There was research to make sure the fonts used and even the type of paper used were accurate to the time period.

Howard's suits were designed to be distinctive in color and in black and white. Green Suit has two green suits, one teal green and another olive to resemble the Russian field uniform.

Also it is sad every time they speculate about later seasons or try to make the ratings sound like they were good by using Overly Narrow Superlatives. tongue

edited 30th May '16 8:23:15 PM by Tuckerscreator

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#58010: May 30th 2016 at 1:30:07 PM

They really need to hire better guys to graphic design their posters.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#58011: May 30th 2016 at 1:40:39 PM

And then Team Iron Man buried Team Cap up to their necks out in the desert, near an ant colony.

And they were still less awful than the comic book pro-reg side.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#58012: May 30th 2016 at 2:56:28 PM

Honestly, I first thought "What a strange idea to have one team looking at a poster of the other team"

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
#58013: May 30th 2016 at 3:01:26 PM

Well, Captain HYDRA sure would bury his enemies like that. evil grin

Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#58014: May 30th 2016 at 3:02:32 PM

[up]You know, I starting to like that name, Capitan Hydra...it have a nice ring to itevil grin

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#58015: May 30th 2016 at 3:06:49 PM

I laughed at one of the comments: Captain America: Shovel War.

PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#58016: May 31st 2016 at 7:29:44 AM

I bit ago I posted my rankings of the MCU movies. Now I'm doing it again, with short notes on what I like/dislike about each, because why not.

1. Avengers Age Of Ultron (10.9/10) It feels like a fantastic three-parter season finale to a great superhero cartoon and I love every second.

2. Captain America Civil War (10/10) THE AIRPORT FIGHT SCENE. As well as every single character being awesome and the conflict being EXTREMELY two-sided.

3. Avengers (9.6/10) Seeing all these characters together and done so well is magical.

4. Iron Man 3 (9.2/10) I don't mind the twist, as I never cared for the Mandarin, and Tony Stark fighting outside the Iron Man suit shows how much he's grown as a fighter and person, as well as the final fight being amazing.

5. Captain America The Winter Soldier (9.0/10) The fight choreography is amazing, as is the plot and characters.

6. Guardians Of The Galaxy (8.8/10) Great sound-track, great comedy, though a couple jokes weren't as strong as I initially remembered them, and fantastic emotional beats.

7. Ant Man (8.5/10) A smaller scale heist film that has great action, some really funny jokes with perspective, and strong emotional connections throughout.

8. Thor The Dark World (8.2/10) Loki's parts are great, Frigga's death and funeral is legitimately heart-breaking, Thor is pretty good, and Malakeith and the Dark Elves are also good.

9. Iron Man (8.0/10) Tony Stark is perfectly cast, and the movie perfectly captures everything about the character, though the action scenes are a bit uneventful in the middle.

10. Captain America The First Avenger (7.6/10) Really solidifies who Captain America is and why we should care. Great war scenes and Steve's reaction to losing Bucky is tragic.

11. Iron Man 2 (7.0/10) I like Tony reverting back to an asshole because he's dying, it emphasises his biggest flaw in a way we haven't seen before, and the fight scenes with him and Rhodey are great.

12. Thor (6.8/10) I like the Frost Giant fight and Thor barging through the complex, though the Destroyer armor fight was disappointing and the Loki/Thor fight was way too short and anticlimactic. Earth also comes across as boring as shit because it all takes place in the New Mexico desert. I like Thor and Loki's paralleling arcs.

13. The Incredible Hulk (6.3/10) Great fight scenes, good villain, meh plot and everything else.

Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
#58017: May 31st 2016 at 9:29:02 AM

[up]... yeah, clearly we don't feel the same about these movies. I personally place Iron Man 3 at the bottom, with maybe Thor 2 behind it (though I am a bit more forgiving of Thor 2 personally I agree it was forgettable). Also, Tony growing as a character my eye. That "growth" is kinda nullified when he immediatly returns to wearing his armors later.

Sorry, still having a hard time letting it go. Even taking aside my hatred for the Mandarin twist, I feel this movie was a big disappointment and waste and time. I mean, seriously, by now nearly everything that happened in it has been abandoned in later movies and one-shot.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#58018: May 31st 2016 at 9:53:08 AM

At this point, I tend to rank more franchise by franchise...like this:

6. The Hulk franchise No reason to explain that one, no matter how you think about the movie, it is the most skipable in the entire MCU.

5. The Thor Franchise Well, it gave us Loki, but as good as everything involving Loki is, as trite is everything involving Thor.

4. The Iron Man Franchise Great start, but the follow up movies were both disappoints for different reasons.

3. The Ant-Man Franchise I actually considered putting it one place lower because the Iron Man franchise had a stronger start. Still, Ant-man hasn't f... it up yet, even though the first movie was a little bit uneven.

2. The Got G Franchise could eventually become the top franchise, but with only one movie I feel comfortable to give the top spot to

1. The Captain America Franchise Unlike a lot of other people, I already loved the first movie, but I adore the Winter Soldier and Civil War. This is also the franchise which ties the best into the Avengers movies, and does the best just of giving all characters their due.

flameboy21th The would-be novelist from California Since: Jan, 2013 Relationship Status: I <3 love!
The would-be novelist
#58019: May 31st 2016 at 10:02:35 AM

So you don't count the Avenger franchise?

Non Indicative Username
Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
#58020: May 31st 2016 at 10:37:01 AM

I honestly don't really get why so many people love Guardians of the Galaxy. Don't get me wrong, it was a great movie and I enjoyed it, but... to the point of placing it that high on lists? Yeah, I am a bit reluctant.

[up][up]Actually I liked the first Captain America movie too. Felt it did a good job at taking the propaganda part that made me originally dislike the character and play with it. Plus the movie actually made Cap sympathetic to me.

edited 31st May '16 10:38:05 AM by Theokal3

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
#58021: May 31st 2016 at 10:41:41 AM

I like Guardians of the Galaxy mostly because I felt it was a bit more stylistically interesting than most of the other Marvel movies compared to it, what with the backdrop of oldies songs and the "quirky", offbeat tone of the film. I wouldn't say it was a super great movie but I hold it in higher regard than a lot of other movies in the MCU mostly for that reason.

Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
#58022: May 31st 2016 at 10:47:41 AM

Well, I agree that it was a Bizarro Episode in a good way and that made it refreshing compared to other movies. But I don't think that really makes it better than the other movies. Take that away, and it's a pretty standard flick with yet another forgettable villain. Not to mention I really don't like how they turned Gamora into a rather generic female character when he comic counterpart, from what I read, was much more interesting.

It was a fun and good movie, yes, but that doesn't really place it above other Marvel movies in my opinion. I feel fans were so happy to have something unusual with Marvel that they neglected the movie's flaws.

edited 31st May '16 10:48:20 AM by Theokal3

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#58023: May 31st 2016 at 10:55:17 AM

You call the film "great" but then get confused on why people like it so much?

Theokal3 Since: Jan, 2012
#58024: May 31st 2016 at 11:07:31 AM

Not really, I am okay with people loving it. I just don't get why you'd even consider putting it above, say, Winter Soldier.

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011

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