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Edited by Mrph1 on Jul 29th 2024 at 3:09:00 PM
Ross is an infuriating case of Karma Houdini in mu opinion.
Continuously reading, studying, and (hopefully) growing.He failed upward
Also possible he spent the entire MCU complaining about the Hulk and when something bad finally happened (ie Hulk rampaging due to Wanda and then disappearing) Ross went “called it!” And the government was like holy shit put this stopped watch in charge!
Forever liveblogging the AvengersAlso possible he spent the entire MCU complaining about the Hulk and when something bad finally happened (ie Hulk rampaging due to Wanda and then disappearing) Ross went “called it!” And the government was like holy shit put this stopped watch in charge!
This is distressingly common in politics.
I think Ross got his role the same way the Red Skull picked up his Soul Gem ghost-guardian shtick. The writers went fishing for someone in Character Limbo they could just snatch up and use for the role.
Happens in comic book writing all the time. "I have this new slot in the story. Who isn't doing anything right now that could make audience go 'Oh, I know that guy!'" Thus you get weird lateral career shifts. Like, we last saw Dude Guy flying off into space to reclaim his lost kingdom and now he's in San Diego running a government conspiracy.
It usually kinda makes sense if you turn your head and squint but still feels a bit jarring to just make that kind of leap offscreen. Not unlike Soul Guardian Red Skull and SHRA Commander Ross.
Character Limbo in the MCU in particular is slim pickings, to boot. The films tend to fairly definitively conclude their characters. Loose ends are few and far between.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 5th 2019 at 8:34:43 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.![]()
Maybe but it still get you a "were the hell have you being all this time?" I mean, it have being since the first hulk movie, in fact I kinda get the feeling Ross in civil war dsoetn seen to recall what he did for obvious reason, almost as the movie never happen.
At the theater, about to see Spider-Man.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I think Ross's political ascension may have simply been the fact he came out unscathed of no less than two massive political conspiracies (AIM in Iron Man 3, which went as far upwards as The Vice-President, and HYDRA with Secretary Pierce). By this point several people's careers must have gone down in flames from these conspiracies or association with these conspiracies.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."Disgraced professionals who ordered illegal military attacks on their own citizens inside U.S. borders? Yes. It is fairly uncommon for people in Ross's position to receive anything but a dishonorable discharge and arrest.
His campaign against the Hulk was super illegal. For a variety of reasons. You cannot order your men to shoot up a U.S. college. Especially not in broad daylight while actual f*cking bystanders are wandering about the campus.
Even if you're trying to capture a dude who you claim stole government secrets or whatever. The military does not arrest civilians for crimes; that's a posse comitatus violation that renders all of Ross's actions criminal.
And that's not even getting started with what a man under Ross's command did in Harlem....
Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 5th 2019 at 4:53:11 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.@Hail Muffin: Definitely correct-in fact, most presidents were vets.
Also worth noting is that, if you're a very high ranking member of the US military, you're almost necessarily have political connections. My understanding is that, in order to get beyond a certain rank, in practice simply being a good officer isn't enough. You also need to be able to navigate politics (IE, communicate, persuade, and maintain a working relationship with politicians).
Ergo, by the time you're a general you basically have everything in place to take a crack at being a politician.
Leviticus 19:34
This is what I was getting at: I don't remember Ross' actual rank in the movie, but I imagine it is pretty high considering everything at his disposal.
Sending a small squad into foreign soil certainly isn't something a Private has the authority to do.
Point being that I imagine he had enough political clout to walk away from the fiasco mostly unscathed, though with plenty of favors burned, and by the time of Civil War his reputation had mostly recovered.
Also (keep in mind I have no clue how one goes about becoming Secretary of State) for all we know he might've gotten the position fairly recently. We don't know what in God's name he's been doing in the 4-5 years between TIH and Civil War, after all.
Edit: The MCU Wiki says he's a Lieutenant General
, which is what, second highest Officer rank? Third? Either way, he's a ways up in the pecking order.
Edited by HailMuffins on Jul 5th 2019 at 9:06:33 AM
He would have to first be appointed by the sitting President. Then he would undergo extensive background checks in Congress and by the press before finally facing a confirmation hearing in the Senate. If the Senate voted to approve his nomination, he'd be officially sworn in as SecState for the duration of the President's term in office.
Edited by TobiasDrake on Jul 5th 2019 at 7:38:36 AM
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Ok then, after the disaster with the Hulk, how the hell did he become Secretary of State?
Is the president an idiot?
One Strip! One Strip!Follow-up question, why State? Why not Defense? Ignoring Ross's extensive crimes, a war hawk like him typically belongs in the SecDefense position, where he'd be responsible for the Executive branch's military leadership.
SecState is responsible for foreign policy. In this position, Ross is essentially the face of the United States internationally. All matters of international diplomacy go through him.
It's a role that makes sense for the position Ross is meant to hold in the film: reigning in the Avengers to stop pissing off the international community. But it makes zero sense for Ross as a character.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Not that long after TIH they had a Vice President funding a corporate terrorist group that kidnapped the President, a Nazi cult in the Senate and every level of their national security agency, and a global leadership who tried to nuke Manhattan. Ross getting in is comparatively slight.
Edited by Tuckerscreator on Jul 5th 2019 at 6:55:42 AM
Poor President Ellis probably going down as one of the worst leaders in US history.
@Tobias: Maybe he was the only candidated with experience in handling metahumans?
If one considers failure experience, anyway.
Edited by HailMuffins on Jul 5th 2019 at 11:25:51 AM

Joker is a villain who has remained alive due to the plot armor.
Ross in Civil War is a first class hypocrite, considering that he sent an attack to a university full of people.
But no one points out how hypocritical he is, so he gets away with it.
Edited by JoLuRo075 on Jul 5th 2019 at 6:47:43 AM