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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

alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#101426: Apr 27th 2019 at 12:56:39 PM

Age of Ultron has a lot of things that are, if not necessary, really add to understanding Infinity War — the Vision, Tony's dream, and so on.

Edited by alliterator on Apr 27th 2019 at 12:56:51 PM

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#101427: Apr 27th 2019 at 1:06:18 PM

Personally I recommend getting the full MCU experience. All 22 films, in order.

But only if you have the time and drive for it.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
SapphireBlue Since: Jan, 2001
#101428: Apr 27th 2019 at 1:18:46 PM

Also, if there’s a movie that you really aren’t interested in seeing, you can always find a plot summary somewhere. I’ve seen maybe half of them and I know there are things I’m missing, but I still have some idea of what happened in the ones I didn’t see. Also helps that I’ve seen more of the recent ones than not.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#101429: Apr 27th 2019 at 1:57:22 PM

One of the best things about some of the MCU series is that the later ones pretty perfectly prevent you from needing .

Captain America, in particular: each of the later moves sums up without excess exposition the important things you need to know from the preceding one.

Ant-Man, too. You don't need to have seen the first Ant-Man to follow Ant-Man and the Wasp (though you do, amusingly, need to have seen Civil War).

Edited by KnownUnknown on Apr 27th 2019 at 1:59:23 AM

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#101430: Apr 27th 2019 at 2:02:01 PM

Just saw Endgame.

Man that was just dope. [tup] [awesome]

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
Whowho Since: May, 2012
#101431: Apr 27th 2019 at 2:28:13 PM

Maybe I'd argue that Infinity War and Endgame are the only MCU instalments that suffer continuity lock out. All the others find the time to establish was the prior status quo was. Civil War and The Winter Soldier both find an excuse to show us a flash back of Howard Stark and Bucky for seemibgly main character exploration, before they make surprise apparences later in the same films.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#101432: Apr 27th 2019 at 2:35:55 PM

I think Civil War is pretty hard to follow if you didn't watch Age of Ultron beforehand.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#101433: Apr 27th 2019 at 2:44:19 PM

Honestly for as much shit as it rightfully gets, Age of Ultron is easily one of the most important movies, continuity-wise.

This song needs more love.
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#101434: Apr 27th 2019 at 2:51:56 PM

It provides such things like the reason for the accords existence, Tony’s motivation for following, & the entrance of Wanda & Vision.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
Weirdguy149 Former King from Lumiose City Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: I'd jump in front of a train for ya!
Former King
#101435: Apr 27th 2019 at 3:01:47 PM

Why does Age of Ultron get shit exactly? The jokes and the Natasha/Hulk romance?

The legend has returned.
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#101436: Apr 27th 2019 at 3:02:57 PM

That, among other things.

Plus Ultron was kinda weak AF.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#101437: Apr 27th 2019 at 3:05:55 PM

Not the weakest in the MCU (lol Malekith), but definitely very close to the bottom.

Plus a lot of how it was written didn't really evolve between "team up movie" to "the team is stable, and the characters are growing and facing new threats." Ultimately it's not a great look for most of the characters.

Cap and Tony come out alright, though. And despite the movie's best efforts to ruin it, Banner's arc is ultimately pretty decent.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Apr 27th 2019 at 3:08:15 AM

Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#101438: Apr 27th 2019 at 3:09:44 PM

[up][up][up]For me the moment that really sunk the movie is everything about Vision's creation.

Everything about it is infuriatingly bad screenwriting. The whole plot is caused by Tony (in part thanks to Wanda messing with him, but still) making a horrible mistake due to his own hubris and thinking he knows better than everyone else.

The correct follow-up to that from a narrative standpoint is for Tony to either recognize his mistake and work towards becoming a better team player, or he fails to learn and he is punished for his lack of growth.

Instead, he just repeats the same mistake and he gets rewarded for it because the narrative they want demands it. It's grossly unsatisfying and just destroys his whole character arc in the movie, whatever it may have been.

Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#101439: Apr 27th 2019 at 3:14:13 PM

I actually kind like that. Tony is a scientist. It is kind of in the nature of scientist to test out theories until they either work or can be discarded.

Mullon Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
#101440: Apr 27th 2019 at 4:58:14 PM

After watching Endgame I think maybe the Guardians should rotate the leadership position. One week Mantis can take it, another week Groot can take it.

Never trust anyone who uses "degenerate" as an insult.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#101441: Apr 27th 2019 at 4:59:33 PM

I dont think Groot is leadership material honestly

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#101442: Apr 27th 2019 at 5:44:33 PM

I don't think any of them are to be honest.

Quill did a good job all things considered, but I get the feeling Gamora would have been a better leader myself, and I'm not clear on why she didn't?

Then again, he was the one who kinda galvanized them towards saving Xandar. I guess she's not leadership material either so much as she tends to keep Quill centred.

Thor...has said many times he's not a leader (it's why he initially turned down the crown, and it's why he made Valkyrie the leader of new Asgard). I get the feeling that stuff at the end was more him fucking with Quill than anything else (which is alright with me).

So for better or worse, Star-Lord will remain leader of the Guardians (and hell, he led them to save the universe twice so that's not really a bad thing).

Edit: ....shit. I fucked up.sad

Sorry. I just responded on instinct.

Edited by HandsomeRob on Apr 27th 2019 at 6:48:41 AM

One Strip! One Strip!
LordVatek Not really a lord of anything Since: Sep, 2014
Not really a lord of anything
#101443: Apr 27th 2019 at 5:46:48 PM

So just to remind everyone, this is not the spoiler thread.

This song needs more love.
Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#101444: Apr 27th 2019 at 5:50:06 PM

the spoilers have breached the defences,there's no escaping from them

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#101445: Apr 27th 2019 at 5:54:43 PM

Villain power levels anyone?

Who is weak AF & who is strong AF?

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
fredhot16 Don't want to leave but cannot pretend from Baton Rogue, Louisiana. Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: Too sexy for my shirt
Don't want to leave but cannot pretend
#101446: Apr 27th 2019 at 6:02:15 PM

Everybody, let's keep our attention away from spoilers by reviewing what happened in Avengers: Infinity War before I watch Avengers: Endgame next week.

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#101447: Apr 27th 2019 at 6:07:12 PM

[up][up] Thanos is obviously the most powerful, both personally and in terms of the forces he has behind him.

Hela is probably the next-most-powerful, given that destroying Asgard was the only way to beat her.

Ultron is also fairly powerful. Ronan is powerful in terms of the forces he has behind him; individually and without the Power Stone, not so much.

Villains with a lower power level include all the Iron Man villains, all the Captain America villains individually (though HYDRA as a otganization with SHIELD’s resources was powerful). Loki isn’t especially powerful on his own; the Chitauri were beaten by six people, so it’s not so much that they’re a major power as that Earth was unprepared for the possibility of an alien invasion. Killmonger and Zemo are among the lowest-power villains, just being a skilled special-forces operatives.

My takeaway from this is that a villain being powerful has nothing to do with them being interesting. Powerful villains can be flat, cliché and boring, and low-power villains can be clever, complex, and have nuanced motivations.

This goes back to my previously-stated views that there are 4 main types of threat a villain can pose: physical (strong), intellectual (smart), emotional (has a personal connection to the hero) and ideological (challenges the hero’s worldview) - and that the first type tend to be the least interesting in superhero stories.

Edited by Galadriel on Apr 27th 2019 at 9:07:57 AM

Ikedatakeshi Baby dango from singapore Since: Nov, 2015 Relationship Status: Singularity
Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#101449: Apr 27th 2019 at 6:21:09 PM

Oh, right, forgot about him entirely.

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#101450: Apr 27th 2019 at 6:40:20 PM

He probably squishes everyone.

Oh yeah, that dude is just waiting to come back and have another bargaining session with Strange, if you guys get my drift.

One Strip! One Strip!

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