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.
Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
Here's my thing about the prima nocta joke: it's not, like, a blink-and-you'll-miss it historical footnote in an otherwise unrelated situation. It's literally the joke. If you know what prima nocta is, then the whole joke, from start to finish, is that Tony Stark wants to rape women.
If you don't know what prima nocta is, then there is no joke because the entire joke revolves around prima nocta. So now you have to go look it up or never get the joke. Which means you have to do homework to find out that Tony Stark wants to rape women.
Either way, you're still left with a joke that revolves around the idea that Tony Stark wants to be a rapist. And that is a bad joke.
Writers: as a rule, never suggest that your hero is a rapist. Why do I need to explain this?
Edited by TobiasDrake on Dec 23rd 2018 at 9:06:51 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Yup. And the only reason I tolerate Stark as one the greatest super villain of the Marvel Universe (despite the rape joke).
Though he does start using the triangle again in later movies I believe, so I guess he is more evil than I thought.
One Strip! One Strip!I don't think Downey ad-libbed it, because Whedon's made it his signature multiple times that he likes to sneak in obscure "dirty words" into his dialogue.
Seriously, just yesterday he was trying to show off his mastery of studying English
... and instead creeping everyone out.
Edited by Tuckerscreator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 8:17:59 AM
Edited by alliterator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 9:24:08 AM
Hasn't Whedon actually gotten in trouble recently for sexual harassment? I haven't been keeping up with his doings lately.
Like creepy stories? Check out my book!Edited by alliterator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 9:25:30 AM
![]()
Uh, he issued a mea culpa about mayyyyybe yielding to the temptation of actresses looking up to him, oh woe is me, I definitely didn’t abuse any power or creep on anyone....
“in a letter sent to Cole after his infidelity had finally been exposed, blaming the women he cheated with, calling them ‘beautiful, needy, aggressive young women’ who ‘surrounded’ him.”
And re: the tweet- he said he LOVES nubile because it means sexual and too young. That’s super creepy.
Edited by wisewillow on Dec 23rd 2018 at 12:46:36 PM
- Emily Nussbaum: I have determined the worst word and it is "nubile."
Joss: I love it because it means young (often too young) and sexual (or sexually attractive), but as a kid I found a definition from 1900 which defined it as "of marriageable age." So it's awful sort of double! English language, keepin' it creepy.
So 1) the "I love it" part is a response to someone calling it the "worst word," i.e. "I love how awful it is" and 2) he literally says it's creepy and awful.
At this point, I think you are just nitpicking to find stuff from him to hate.
Edited by alliterator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 9:55:01 AM
Re: the essay: I have no reason to believe she made it up or any evidence she’s a liar. Whedon didn’t say she fabricated that quote either.
Re: nubile: Tone is obviously going to be read differently by different people, but I got an incredibly creepy vibe from his tweet, as did a lot of other women, and I don’t appreciate the insinuation that I’m being unreasonable or nitpicky.
Edited by wisewillow on Dec 23rd 2018 at 1:01:31 PM
Whedon made no real attempt to deny anything his ex-wife dictated he told her. In a world where women victims are routinely gaslighted and undermined, I stick to believing the victim. From that POV, it's bad optics for him to chime into a conversation about preying on young women when he's implicated of something like that.
Also, Joss hasn't talked at all about the divorce, only having a spokeperson giving this response: "While this account includes inaccuracies and misrepresentations which can be harmful to their family, Joss is not commenting, out of concern for his children and out of respect for his ex-wife."
So I'm not sure what you want him to say.
Edited by alliterator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 10:09:23 AM
Unless she stood beside him with a recorder, her memory is as trustworthy as the memory of everyone else - meaning not trustworthy at all, we tend to misremember things. We have no idea in which context he said it. And him not saying against it, they are in a divorce, he cheated on her, is he really supposed to start a round of mud-slinging to make the whole matter even worse?
And really, can we not do this today? None of us know Whedon personally in the first place, and I think we really cross the line when we stop talking about his work in favour of talking about his private life. When he actually does something questionable on the job, we can talk about it. What people who divorce each other accuse each other of is really too yellow press for my taste.
Also, this is not about "believing the victim". We are talking about a divorce here. It's a private matter.
Edited by Swanpride on Dec 23rd 2018 at 10:15:18 AM
First off: he had affairs, yes, but she states that he had "inappropriate emotional ones" with actresses/fans/so on, which is different from having actual affairs. Second: the letter she quotes is from before she "knew the whole truth" and admitted to the affairs, but nothing else. You can read all of this on the actual essay she wrote.
Again: she never wrote that he had sexual affairs with actresses/fans/co-workers, only that he had "emotional affairs." And the letter she quoted never even admitted to that.
And, let's just be clear about this, her point with the entire essay was, and I quote, "I want the people who worship him to know he is human." Her point wasn't to say that he was a sexual harasser (he isn't) or accuse him of sexual abuse (she didn't). Her point was to show that he isn't a feminist superhero, he's just a flawed human being like the rest of us.
So, now can we move on?
Edited by alliterator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 10:32:05 AM
![]()
Same difference. That he wrote her a letter doesn't mean she still has the letter, so she was quoting from memory.
Thanks for clearing that up. Since there is nothing criminal about a f... divorce, I avoid paying attention to it, because frankly, this is not for public consumption.
Anyway, yellow press discussion. Private matter. And this is not a nice discussion to have over Christmas anyway.
So...since I already did my favourite moments of Age of Ultron, why not making a round of appreciation?
What I like about Ironman:
The whole first and second act. Everything about it is just perfect. But a special shot-out for the first ten minutes or so. The way they establish Tony as a character is just brilliant. I especially like details, like that Tony is tinkering around with one of his cars when Pepper goes to him. This way it doesn't look odd at all when she starts acting like a blacksmith...oh, and I just love how the score in this scene is used. It is awesome.
Is it weird that I even have a thing for those awkward product placement tie-ins?
Edited by Swanpride on Dec 23rd 2018 at 10:34:49 AM
No. She said "he hid multiple affairs and a number of inappropriate emotional ones that he had". She drew a distinction between two different types of affairs, making it clear emotional ones weren't the only ones he had. And emotional affairs are indeed very actual, as anyone who's been subjected to one can attest.
![]()
.... her not publishing the letter doesn’t mean she didn’t keep it/made it up from memory and I have no idea why you’d assume that.
![]()
![]()
Here’s what I’m referring to:
I figured that was what the person who asked about sexual harassment was referring to. Everyone from Buffy refused to comment if I remember correctly; no one damned Whedon or defended him.
Edited by wisewillow on Dec 23rd 2018 at 1:36:39 PM
![]()
Per the syntax of her essay, however, it seems as if the "actresses, co-workers, fans and friends" were part of the "emotional affairs" and not the other affairs.
In any case, again, all of this was her way of showing that he was a flawed human being, which we can all agree on. She never accused him of sexual abuse or sexual harassment and nobody else has done so, either, so can we please move on?
Edited by alliterator on Dec 23rd 2018 at 10:41:42 AM

I don't like the triangular chest piece in Tony's armour.
Go circle or go home Stark.
One Strip! One Strip!