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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.
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    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

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#63726: Oct 16th 2016 at 12:36:45 PM

That's pretty much confirmed. They had a lot of problems with the script constantly changing, and I remember reading about how things were going so bad at one point that they literally flew in Joss Whedon to try and fix the script while they were shooting.

[up]I think part of it is the decision to split his cast between Asgardians and Earth, as well as the fact that there's a limited number of things you can actually do with human characters in a story like this. To go back to what someone else said, Iron Man and Captain America's supporting casts have a lot more narrative flexibility when it comes to what you can do with them and where you can have them logically appear, whereas that's not really the case with Thor.

You either have to find some excuse to bring Sif and the Warriors 3 to Earth or somehow get Jane and her science buddies to Asgard, or just continue dividing the story's time between two different worlds, one of which is way more interesting than the other.

It's telling that with Ragnarok, the movie touted as a "cosmic road trip," the two major confirmed allies for Thor are other superheroes (Hulk and Valkyrie).

edited 16th Oct '16 12:37:40 PM by comicwriter

jakobitis Doctor of Doctorates from Somewhere, somewhen Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Doctor of Doctorates
#63727: Oct 16th 2016 at 12:48:05 PM

To be honest, with Thor they really ought to set it completely on Earth, or totally on Asgard but not flip-flopping between the two. There are plenty of great stories you could tell about Thor in either world (cf. Walt Simonson) but I can't think of many great Thor stories that involve lots of switching between Earth and Asgard.

The other problem Thor seems to have is that in his first movie he seemed to pretty much complete his character development. Steve has adjusted to 21st century life, BUT still has issues with authority to deal with. Tony has grown up a lot, but still has a colossal ego and control freak tendencies. Heck, even Bruce STILL hasn't completely mastered the whole 'massive green rage monster' thing. Thor though? He was a jerk, now he's not. He doesn't appear to be getting to rule Asgard in the immediate future. He's still fighting a lot, but that's because there's a lot of legitimate targets needing fighting. Where does he go from here as a character?

"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#63728: Oct 16th 2016 at 1:02:59 PM

Btw, I did some research...someone gifted the Marvel lexicon of Superheroes (specifically Avengers-related Superheroes) to me, and I went through the whole list. I threw out characters which already turned up as well as villains and ended up with 109 characters. Next I sorted out those which if they turn up, will turn up at Marvel Television...ie the missing Secret Warrior (still hope that Mantifold will eventually be more than just an eastern egg), or characters like Echo or Shang-Chi or White Tiger which will, if they turn up anywhere, will most likely turn up in the Netflix verse. And there are naturally those who are already announced for Television, like Squirrel Girl.

And then I went and put the characters which are left in Groups...IE there is a small group of characters which belong to the Namor franchise, so they will turn up as soon as the Disney Lawyers have managed to free Namor from legal limbo. Then there is the group of British characters, which are a little bit difficult to deal with, because their stories are so closely related to the X-men. Then a pretty large group of "cosmic" characters, which will most likely be folded into the Got G if they are used at all, and a smaller group of "mystic" characters (Doctor Druid, Doctor Voodoo aso) which I guess might turn up in the Doctor Strange franchise, should it take off.

And then I went and sorted out the rest into possible groups.....I ended up with 24 characters which didn't fit in any. Anyway, though, I have come up with a few properties which are currently pretty obscure but Marvel could tackle down the line (other than, naturally, The Inhumans and properties which haven't reverted back yet).

1. The Savage Land Honestly, why isn't that in development yet? It has Dinosaurs!

2. Thunderbolts Like I mentioned above, the MCU might set them up yet.

3. The Young Avengers That is more or less a no-brainer, if the MCU continues to go forward, they will eventually end up with the next generation...however they will call the team.

Those are basically the most important groups...well, there are also the Great Lake Avengers, but they are so wacky, I just don't see how Marvel would manage to put a guy who is constantly two dimensional on screen. And the Squadron Supreme, but it doesn't really make sense to put together a commentary on Justice League if Justice League itself didn't even make it to the big screen yet.

In terms of characters around which you could built another movie Franchise, I wold say Amadeus Cho, Ms Marvel, Nova, Red Wolf (honestly, couldn't they call him Grey wolf or ANY other colour?) and Two-Gun Kid are the most promising candidates. Can you imagine an outright Western in the MCU?

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#63729: Oct 16th 2016 at 1:16:18 PM

I'd love to see an adaptation of 1872 in the MCU. Just have an out-and-out AU movie.

nervmeister Since: Oct, 2010
#63730: Oct 16th 2016 at 1:22:55 PM

Crystal: Agent of The Inhumans (feat. Lockjaw).

edited 16th Oct '16 1:28:23 PM by nervmeister

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#63731: Oct 16th 2016 at 1:49:13 PM

The teen heroes are an interesting conundrum because there's the issue of potential redundancy. I wonder if they could merge several different groups under one banner like the team version of the Composite Character trope.

FoxBoxKid Philosophy Enthusiast from California Republic Since: Oct, 2013
Philosophy Enthusiast
#63732: Oct 16th 2016 at 2:12:26 PM

I think the Savage Land rights might be tied up with the X-Men.

Make mine Marvel.
comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#63733: Oct 16th 2016 at 2:28:39 PM

One of the big unexplored parts of the MCU that's left that I hope they get to eventually is Atlantis.

nervmeister Since: Oct, 2010
#63734: Oct 16th 2016 at 3:35:49 PM

[up]Once they do, they'll have to get a bit more creative than usual in order to differentiate it from the DCCU version.

nervmeister Since: Oct, 2010
#63736: Oct 16th 2016 at 4:12:04 PM

[up]Or make the place look more "geometric" or abstract-looking.

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.
#63737: Oct 16th 2016 at 4:15:18 PM

Oh, my god. Is that actually a thing Namor can do? I thought he just had speed swimming, super strength, the ability to breathe underwater, and fly with the wings on his ankles.

kkhohoho (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#63738: Oct 16th 2016 at 4:28:16 PM

[up]Yeeup. It doesn't come up much, but Namor technically has the powers of every fishy under the sea, which includes blowing himself up like a balloon. He can also generate electricity, but this doesn't get used that often either.

FoxBoxKid Philosophy Enthusiast from California Republic Since: Oct, 2013
Philosophy Enthusiast
#63739: Oct 16th 2016 at 5:00:03 PM

Even less well-known, Namor's built-in sprinkler system

Make mine Marvel.
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.
#63740: Oct 16th 2016 at 5:05:10 PM

I want Namor to get a movie, and to have all of those powers in it.

nervmeister Since: Oct, 2010
#63741: Oct 16th 2016 at 5:30:10 PM

I want him to look like an Innsmouth resident, but easy on the eyes. Like he can come off as handsome, fit, and not (entirely) scaly, but should give off this creepy "creature from the abyss in yoga pants and a vest" vibe. So, take Namor's comic design, and add some Abe Sapien.

edited 16th Oct '16 5:38:34 PM by nervmeister

Unsung it's a living from a tenement of clay Since: Jun, 2016
it's a living
#63742: Oct 16th 2016 at 5:36:38 PM

So...Rikuo from Darkstalkers, then?note 

nervmeister Since: Oct, 2010
#63743: Oct 16th 2016 at 5:40:53 PM

[up]Just add slick, black hair, make him more flesh-colored, and get rid of the overly large fins/webbing, and you'd be close.

edited 16th Oct '16 5:42:06 PM by nervmeister

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#63744: Oct 16th 2016 at 11:45:25 PM

Huh...I didn't know that Namor has all the powers of fish...that actually sounds really interesting....

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#63745: Oct 16th 2016 at 11:57:23 PM

Does this include the power of the blobfish?

Or the barreleye fish?

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#63746: Oct 17th 2016 at 1:04:23 AM

[up][up] It's from the Golden Age. It was a more wacky time. Captain America fought the literal Devil and won. There was a speedster called "the Whizzer" who wore an all yellow outfit.

He has never displayed those powers (or his "sprinkler" powers) in the current age.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#63747: Oct 17th 2016 at 1:24:11 AM

And Batman gleefully used guns and killed people.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#63748: Oct 17th 2016 at 7:03:12 AM

Captain America fought the literal Devil and won.

I haven't thought of that one in year. And I was the dude who posted the link to that very comic when it was posted on Scans Daily in the Crowning Moment Of Awesome page for Captain America....

They need to have something like that in Infinity War.

So says Rob!

One Strip! One Strip!
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#63749: Oct 17th 2016 at 7:03:30 AM

Was it Golden or Silver Age Superman that was all about pulling new powers out of his ass by putting "Super-" in front of ordinary words?

Super-weaving! Super-ventriloquism! Super-mathematics that are like regular mathematics except wrong!

edited 17th Oct '16 7:04:37 AM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#63750: Oct 17th 2016 at 7:04:50 AM

Silver age, I think.

The Golden Age Superman was more about kidnapping slum lords, destroying cars, and selling war bonds.

edited 17th Oct '16 7:05:41 AM by Bocaj

Forever liveblogging the Avengers

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