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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

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#93776: Jan 4th 2019 at 9:57:47 AM

Maybe it doesn't, but what I was saying before is that the story doesn't establish that fact. Heck, we specifically see Wong use a Portal Cut to chop off Cull Obsidian's hand in New York. To have that particular Chekhov's Gun set up and not fired is a pretty severe violation of story logic.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 4th 2019 at 12:58:09 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#93777: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:01:24 AM

Stormbreaker can be explained as remedied by the Time stone.

Portal cuts... maybe if you have the Space and Reality stones, you could counter it immediately.

chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#93778: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:02:12 AM

One thing about Thanos in the comics is that subconsciously, he wants to lose. Deep down, he knows he doesn't deserve to win and will find some way to sabotage himself, even if its in very subtle ways.

So, assuming the MCU Thanos has the same psychosis, this explains why Thanos doesn't use the Infinity Gauntlet to instantly defeat his foes. Of course, we'd have to wait until Avengers: Endgame to see if the MCU will make this canon. He could be holding back for the reasons others have suggested.

Edited by chasemaddigan on Jan 4th 2019 at 1:03:47 PM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#93779: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:13:38 AM

I think the thing with portals cuts is that whatever is there might be something that comes through the portal while your doing the cut

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comicwriter Since: Sep, 2011
#93780: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:30:05 AM

He doesn’t just use the Infinity Gauntlet willy nilly because it takes a physical toll on the user.

At this moment in the audio commentary for the movie, Joe Russo comments, "See there, with his Gauntlet and the arm, the power that it takes to use all six Stones is significant, and clearly damaged the Gauntlet and damaged Thanos permanently."

This is presumably why the only shot we see of him in the Endgame trailer has him still limping.

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#93781: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:35:19 AM

Pretty sure the reason Thanos doesn't try in most of his fights (like not using the Power Stone to just kill the Hulk) it's because he's immortal and, therefore, bored.

It's not incompatible with neither Toby's theory or the fact that he was 101% done on Earth; and regardless, if you end up living as long as Thanos does it is merely natural to look for ways to pass the time, what better than a fight to the death? It's very Dragon Ball-esque.

Which means, of course, that Thanos is Beerus, right down to the purple skin.

wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#93782: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:38:30 AM

I see where you're going, but that's a HFIL of a reach, especially considering we know he isn't immortal, as just stated.

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#93783: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:45:21 AM

[up]Ah, a tropes of culture, I see!

And even if he's not literally immortal, he's clearly very long-lived, thanks to whatever mutations he has, so boredom is bound to settle in sooner or later.

I mean, Beerus is not immortal either.

PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
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#93784: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:46:39 AM

To be clear, I meant "immortal" as in "lives forever" not as in "unkillable".

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#93785: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:50:33 AM

Where does anyone say that Thanos is immortal? I mean, he comes from a race of people who were wiped out by ecological disaster (according to him), so...where does this "immortal" stuff come from?

Edited by alliterator on Jan 4th 2019 at 10:51:09 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#93786: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:52:42 AM

He's a celestial so being immortal is what everyone is assuming

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alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#93787: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:54:32 AM

Again: where is that coming from? And why you are spoiler-tagging it? If it's from the comics then 1) it's not a spoiler and 2) it's not applicable to the films unless expressly stated. Also, in the comics, he's not a Celestial, he's an Eternal. And nobody ever calls him an Eternal in the films.

Edited by alliterator on Jan 4th 2019 at 10:54:58 AM

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.
#93788: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:58:20 AM

Maybe not literally immortal, but close enough to it. He's clearly been around for a very very long time. He might be immortal in the same way Thor is, where he has a definite lifespan, but it won't be reached at any practical point in the MCU.

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#93789: Jan 4th 2019 at 10:58:41 AM

I dont really read comics so I dont really see a difference between a celestial or Eternal aside from what they imply

[up] [up]

Spoiler tagged out of habit

Edited by Ultimatum on Jan 4th 2019 at 6:59:11 PM

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Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#93790: Jan 4th 2019 at 11:17:50 AM

Stormbreaker can be explained as remedied by the Time stone.

Portal cuts... maybe if you have the Space and Reality stones, you could counter it immediately.

I would imagine that Thanos can use either the Time Stone or the Reality Stone to reverse/heal any injury he receives. That doesn't concern me particularly. I'd also imagine that the Space Stone can counter attempts to use portal magic on him, but only if he actively uses it, and he can be taken by surprise.

Again, he can be injured. We saw this explicitly. So having his hand cut off is at least plausible. What bothers me is not whether a Portal Cut would or would not work on him. That's up to the story. The Avengers tried all kinds of cool attacks on him and none of them ultimately worked. What bothers me (a little bit) is that it wasn't attempted at all, nor was the lack of an attempt explained.

[down] The films make no statement at all about Thanos' lifespan. It's irrelevant unless they decide to include it in the story.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 4th 2019 at 2:24:56 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#93791: Jan 4th 2019 at 11:23:34 AM

Maybe not literally immortal, but close enough to it. He's clearly been around for a very very long time.
We actually don't know how long he's been around — we know that he's old enough to have adopted Gamora, but that's about it. And "long lived" doesn't exactly equal "immortal."

[up][up] In the comics, a Celestial and an Eternal are vastly different. In the films, nobody has ever referenced "Eternal" before (although that'll probably change with the film The Eternals) and Thanos has never been called an Eternal.

Edited by alliterator on Jan 4th 2019 at 11:24:22 AM

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#93792: Jan 4th 2019 at 11:26:56 AM

Could have sworn I read somewhere he was half eternal or something

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chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#93793: Jan 4th 2019 at 11:47:39 AM

Thanos is an Eternal, but he has latent genes from their sister race, the Deviants. That's why Thanos is big and purple, while the rest of his race are Human Aliens. From what I can recall, I believe Word of God confirmed he has the same origin here.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#93794: Jan 4th 2019 at 11:55:50 AM

I know nothing about the Eternals in Marvel comic canon. It also bugs me when Word of God fills in world-building details, even though these particular ones aren't really relevant to the plot of Infinity War. My concern is that these details will seem like an Ass Pull for most viewers if they show up ex nihilo in the actual films.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 4th 2019 at 2:56:08 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
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.
#93795: Jan 4th 2019 at 11:57:14 AM

Is the Thanos prequel novel out yet, and does it explain anything about Thanos' age?

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#93796: Jan 4th 2019 at 12:04:23 PM

Re: portal cuts:

It's possible Strange saw that, if he tried the portal cut on Thanos, then Thanos would simply leap out of the portal before Strange had the chance to close it.

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#93797: Jan 4th 2019 at 12:06:55 PM

[up] By that logic, he saw that his other attacks on Thanos would fail, as would Tony's. Yet he still fights as if he were trying to win. You can't logic your way out of the problem that easily. Either the attempt would have worked, and Strange didn't do it because he knows Thanos has to win in order to ultimately lose; or the attempt would not and, for whatever reason, he elected not to use it in the fight.

The best guess I've seen is that Strange was deliberately fighting to lose: that is, he wanted to put on a convincing enough show of resistance that his surrender of the Time Stone would be believable. If Thanos believes that Strange did not use attacks that he could well have done, then that could make him suspicious and ruin the plan.

We could be overthinking this, but I doubt it. Strange confirms that this is all part of his vision twice: "We're in the endgame now," and, "There was no other way." I don't see any other way to interpret those statements.

Edited by Fighteer on Jan 4th 2019 at 3:11:20 PM

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
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#93798: Jan 4th 2019 at 2:33:18 PM

It is weird to think that Thanos has a stronger will than Ego, though, given the struggle Mantis had putting him down, and not even doing it all the way.

Welcome to Thanos. [lol]

No, for real, I'm so used to Thanos from the comics that I hadn't even thought of that. In a vacuum, you're right. It is weird for Thanos to be harder for Mantis to put under than Ego the Living Planet, an immortal Celestial from the dawn of time.

I'm just so used to that kind of shit from him that it never even pegged my radar as unusual. Thanos is basically the biggest, scariest dude in the Marvel Universe. He's not a god, but he is the guy who makes gods bleed.

He doesn’t just use the Infinity Gauntlet willy nilly because it takes a physical toll on the user.

There is actually a precedent for that. Guardians of the Galaxy firmly established that even so much as holding the Power Gem will f*cking kill you. The Red Skull was blasted off into F*ck You, Space by sudden contact with the Space Gem. The Reality Gem did... things... to people.

Exposure to the Infinity Gems has not been depicted as being good for one's health. Indeed, we see Thanos crying out every time he adds a new Gem to the Gauntlet. If it's protecting him from the harmful effects of exposure, it's not doing a complete job of it. He's basically speedballing incredibly powerful artifacts that we've seen, individually, obliterating people foolish enough to try.

"The Reality Gem needed four people and some twigs to process its energy without murdering everyone but Thanos can wear six of them with no problem" is another one of those things that never really pegged my radar as an issue because I'm so used to this kind of shit from him. It may very well be that trying to wear the Infinity Gauntlet would vaporize most other people.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Jan 4th 2019 at 3:35:01 AM

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Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#93799: Jan 4th 2019 at 2:37:22 PM

Eh...I have just come to accepts that humans are weaklings in the grand scheme of the universe.

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.
#93800: Jan 4th 2019 at 2:52:36 PM

"The Reality Gem needed four people and some twigs to process its energy without murdering everyone but Thanos can wear six of them with no problem"

That was actually the Power Stone. The Reality Stone is the Aether from Thor: The Dark World, and I haven't seen the movie in a while, but I'm pretty sure the plot was that it had taken Jane's body as a host, and it refused to leave, even lashing out at others. I think there might have also been a bit where it was killing her.

The Reality Stone, as depicted in The Dark World, was basically a God-Tier Symbiote.


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