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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

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#77226: Nov 30th 2017 at 12:51:37 PM

RE: “angry mob”

Don’t you mean also an army?

Just saying, “mob” has very different implications...

Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#77227: Nov 30th 2017 at 12:52:13 PM

Well, Thanos being Thanos, I kind of figure the "army of black people" is going to be slaughtered...

Unsung it's a living from a tenement of clay Since: Jun, 2016
it's a living
#77228: Nov 30th 2017 at 12:58:03 PM

Well, they do have some of the world's most advanced technology and greatest soldiers, they might be able to hold their own against Thanos's army while the Avengers keep Thanos busy. If Thanos himself even goes to Wakanda, that is. He might stick to New York, for all we know.

A lot depends on the range and maximum speed of the Thanoscopter, after all.

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#77229: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:01:09 PM

I am increasingly thinking Thanos may not set foot on Earth himself and that the various groups of heroes may not be entirely united onscreen together until the second movie. I think that's the point of having the Black Order in the movie. He can effectively go after multiple stones at once instead of having to do it one at a time.

edited 30th Nov '17 1:01:41 PM by comicwriter

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#77230: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:29:16 PM

I think that's fair. Thanos's henchmen fetch the remaining Infinity Stones on Earth while he stays in space dealing with the cosmic folks (Thor and the GOTG).

comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#77231: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:34:12 PM

In all the hype I forgot the most obvious question: who will be the Community cameo in this one?

SlavetoTropes Since: Nov, 2017
#77232: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:40:56 PM

So, sorry if it is kind of a dumb question, but can somone give me a short introduction who/what Thanos is, exactly? I don't read the comics and I'm kinda concerned that he can hold up one or even two movies as a villian.

I mean, from what I've seen so far, he sits around on his throne and has some underlings, like Gamora and Nebula, who do not seem to be that strong (they are not weak, but also not say Iron Man/Thor/Hulk-Level of strong).

And he himself seems more like a violett version of the Hulk, so it seems kinda hard to believe that he could be an enemy for freaking everyone the MCU has to over at once.

MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#77233: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:42:08 PM

@Slave Have you ever watched the DCAU shows? Do you remember Darkseid?

He's basically Marvel's version of Darkseid.

edited 30th Nov '17 1:42:26 PM by MadSkillz

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#77234: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:44:13 PM

[up] Only more proactive.

He is very much willing to get down & dirty

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#77235: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:44:34 PM

And he himself seems more like a violett version of the Hulk, so it seems kinda hard to believe that he could be an enemy for freaking everyone the MCU has to over at once.

He's stronger than the Hulk but every stone makes him many times stronger than he is in his base state.

Imagine a stronger but intelligent Hulk if he could warp reality, teleport things, open portals, turn back time, had the power to bust planets with one punch etc

SlavetoTropes Since: Nov, 2017
#77236: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:45:42 PM

Not really, sorry. I'm kinda new to this stuff. I watched Iron Man, Avengers, The Captain America:Winter Soldiers and Guardian-Films. And Spiderman. And the Netflix-Shows, but they dont seem to help that much with it. Basically things I got to over friends. :)

(Made the Account recently, but I'm normally more an Anime/Manga-type of guy.^^)

/edit: Also, Thanks for the answers. There were additional ones while I typed. So this was meant for the first one!

edited 30th Nov '17 1:46:23 PM by SlavetoTropes

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#77237: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:48:54 PM

He's a highly cunning (but also freakishly strong) Galactic Conqueror (in fact he's the page image) who usually has a infatuation with death itself and thus seeks to lay waste to everything to please his beloved death.

He's Darkseid if Darkseid was on the path of Love Makes You Crazy.

edited 30th Nov '17 1:49:19 PM by Gaon

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#77238: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:52:19 PM

[up][up] Thanos is in dire need of getting fleshed out - so far he has mostly be a giant tease - but I am not too worried about it because Marcus and Mc Feely have actually a pretty good track record when it comes to writing villains.

SlavetoTropes Since: Nov, 2017
#77239: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:57:08 PM

Well, it's a relief that he's intelligent. My impression from his cameos and the trailer was more that of a "Big Guy-Brute"-Blood Knight type of villain (which I don't find that interesting). Also, what is his actual powerbase?

I know he had Loki and this grey guy from Guardians in his command (which are both around asgardian in powerlevel) and Garona and her sister (who are more on the Captain America/Spider-Man-level) as his elite-assasins.

So does he have more named characters that work for him or is it more a big mass of mooks with a few elites thrown in? (like the army he lend to Loki?)

edited 30th Nov '17 1:57:33 PM by SlavetoTropes

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#77240: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:59:14 PM

[up] He has also named character working under him which have been changed to now being the siblings of Gamora and Nebula.

He is also quite powerful. He has already destroyed multiple worlds. Basically he is the reason why Gamora is the last of her kind.

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#77241: Nov 30th 2017 at 1:59:15 PM

He seems to have the Black Order, which appears to be a group of master assassins of sorts.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#77242: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:00:08 PM

It looks like his main lieutenants are the Black Order. These are probably the brothers and sister that Gamora and Nebula have referred to.

Unsung it's a living from a tenement of clay Since: Jun, 2016
it's a living
#77243: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:06:45 PM

Thanos in a nutshell:

He's more hands-on, less formal, a more personalized planet killer. If you want to understand the difference between the two, remember all the times we saw Thanos sitting on a throne in space, surrounded by floating rubble, resting his big purple chin in his hand and looking bored? If that were Darkseid, that'd be an actual room, blocky, orderly, maybe a few monitor screens in sight, fingers steepled in front of him. If there was an army at the gates, Darkseid would be standing on the ramparts, arms folded behind him, shooting Roboteching EyeBeams at them, and Thanos would be jumping right down on top of them, throwing punches that left craters.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#77244: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:11:52 PM

The short of it is, Thanos the Mad Titan is Marvel's biggest, scariest bad guy. He's physically stronger than the Hulk or Thor, highly intelligent, and motivated by his infatuation with the abstract personification of Death. He seeks to curry Death's favor and be accepted as her lover via elaborate annihilation projects.

This is a guy who once overcame the reality-warping extradimensional god-entity, the Beyonder, by punching it into submission.

A guy who once abducted Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, bound him in colossal shackles, and used him to power a planet-killing weapon of mass destruction.

Here he is shattering Captain America's shield into pieces with a backhand.

Beating Thor into the dirt.

Just straight up manhandling the Avengers.

Hi, Spider-Man.

Blasting Galactus.

...yeah, this is basically his thing. Thanos is just about the biggest name Marvel has in its stable to make fans go, "Oh, f*ck, shit's about to get real," which is what made him such a great reveal at the end of Avengers. Problem is, they haven't done enough to get casual moviegoers as hyped for Thanos as the comic readers are.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#77245: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:13:44 PM

I don't think we know as of yet that the MCU version of Thanos has that crush on Death motivating him. So far, thinking about it, he kind of reminds me of General Zaroff from The Most Dangerous Game (the story's take on him as opposed to the somewhat more sympathetic or at least human movie version), except that all of humanity/the universe is his prey. I make the comparison because of that similar factor of believing Victory Is Boring and wanting a challenge to be entertained, but at the same time, making sure that they are are in a much stronger position than their opponents that they always/inevitably win.

Something I liked in the trailer, that is illustrative, is how calm and almost indifferent Thanos is, while everyone around him is freaking out. He's not angry or even gloating, because he knows he's the best and will make sure you do to before he kills you.

edited 30th Nov '17 2:16:48 PM by Hodor2

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#77246: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:16:02 PM

We've gotten a hint, but it could just be a cute Shout-Out. At the end of Avengers 1, The Other insists that to challenge Earth "is to court death". This prompts Thanos's reveal, in which he smiles at the suggestion.

It's nothing conclusive, but it's at least there. Personally, I'm hoping they run with his infatuation, but stop short of revealing whether or not Death is a real cosmic entity or just some kind of delusion in his mind. I would love it if we're left questioning whether Thanos truly is wooing some cosmic god-being or if he's just nuts.

edited 30th Nov '17 2:16:29 PM by TobiasDrake

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#77247: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:17:10 PM

[up][up]

Yeah, if you're not a comics fan they've basically done a lot of cameos of the guy (following movies about his henchmen being defeated) with the implication of "you should be excited about this person", but havn't given the casual viewer any reason to be excited. They're relying pretty heavily on Pop-Cultural Osmosis.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#77248: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:17:13 PM

Yeah. In today's filmmaking climate, I would not have been surprised if Scarlet Johannsen was playing Mulan. But I'm so happy she's not.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#77249: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:17:34 PM

He mentions "balancing the universe".

This song needs more love.
Hodor2 Since: Jan, 2015
#77250: Nov 30th 2017 at 2:18:14 PM

Based on what we know of Gamora and Nebula's "childhood", my sense is more of a really powerful and bored sadist than a crazy death-worshiper.


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