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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.
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    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

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#108551: Sep 1st 2019 at 7:42:27 PM

[up]Though Mandrill did make an appearance in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes of all things as a minor villain.

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#108552: Sep 1st 2019 at 7:55:27 PM

I remember that. It's kind of insane that the most racist thing in comics (whose superpower is rape, no less) actually made it into a children's cartoon.

That is literally the only time the Mandrill was ever adapted (outside of a brief mention in the Avengers Alliance game, where he's only brought up in conversation to mention that they SUPER killed him off). And it's still too much.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Sep 1st 2019 at 8:56:23 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#108553: Sep 1st 2019 at 7:56:57 PM

The most racist thing in comics? Eh, I'd say it's got competition in the form of DC's Egg Fu.

Granted, I'm a tad biased given that I'm of Chinese descent.

Disgusted, but not surprised
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108554: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:02:55 PM

The most racist? I don't know, it's got a lot of competition. For instance, did you know that, prior to Black Lightning, DC Comics was going to have a different black superhero get his own comic. That black superhero? The Black Bomber. Who was a racist white guy who would become a black superhero in times of stress. As Tony Isabella put it:

I will say that I created Black Lightning after convincing DC not to publish another "black" super-hero on which they had started work. The Black Bomber was a white bigot who, in times of stress, turned into a black super-hero. This was the result of chemical camouflage experiments he'd taken part in as a soldier in Vietnam. The object of these experiments was to allow our [white] troops to blend into the jungle.

In each of the two completed Black Bomber scripts, the white bigot risks his own life to save another person whom he can't see clearly (in one case, a baby in a stroller) and then reacts in racial slur disgust when he discovers that he risked his life to save a black person. He wasn't aware that he had two identities, but each identity had a girlfriend and the ladies were aware of the change. To add final insult, the Bomber's costume was little more than a glorified basketball uniform.

DC had wanted me to take over writing the book with the third issue. I convinced them to eat the two scripts and let me start over. To paraphrase my arguments...

"Do you REALLY want DC's first black super-hero to be a white bigot?"

Blueace Surrounded by weirdoes from The End Of the World Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Surrounded by weirdoes
#108555: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:06:33 PM

Were they planning to offend everyone under the Sun? What were they thinking?

Wake me up at your own risk.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#108556: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:08:31 PM

I mean in terms of things that actually got published. People actually green-lit Egg Fu and Mandrill, while Black Bomber was mercifully thrown in the garbage.

Edited by M84 on Sep 1st 2019 at 11:09:15 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108557: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:13:54 PM

Also in DC, Tyroc was a character in Legion of Super-Heroes designed to explain why there weren't any black people in the future. (It's because all the black people decided to leave and live on their own planet.)

There was Ebony White, the Spirit's cabdriver sidekick.

And when DC decided to finally include a gay character, they introduced Extraño, a flamboyantly gay man who was revealed to have AIDS when he was attacked by an AIDS vampire named Hemo-Goblin.

Edited by alliterator on Sep 1st 2019 at 8:21:55 AM

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#108558: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:16:00 PM

....

Comics can be really dumb and awful sometimes.

One Strip! One Strip!
Weirdguy149 Former King from Lumiose City Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: I'd jump in front of a train for ya!
Former King
#108559: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:17:02 PM

The concept of an AIDS vampire is very stupid, because terminal diseases don't work on immortality.

The legend has returned.
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108560: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:20:39 PM

Keep in mind that over at Marvel, John Byrne had wanted to reveal that Northstar was gay for a while, but Marvel kept telling him no. Then Bill Mantlo wanted to reveal it, but was denied, so he made Northstar half-fairy. (It turned out to be a lie.) Finally, in 1992, Scott Lobdell was allowed to have Northstar reveal he was gay...when he was fighting against a supervillain who killed people who had AIDS. (Northstar didn't have AIDS, he just was fighting the villain.)

Thankfully, Northstar has been treated pretty well since then. Except for the time that he died in three separate continuities in the same month. (He got better.)

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108561: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:24:10 PM

The afterlife has a revolving door in the world of comics, the life insurance industry is either going really well or has been rendered obsolete at this point.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#108562: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:26:32 PM

I can’t believe dragon ball abridged is the only media to discuss how life insurance interacts with magic resurrection

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#108563: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:28:33 PM

It ain't a specific character, but I do remember that time Soule's She-Hulk seemed to have taken a bet to cram one panel with as many racial stereotypes as possible.

Please, She-Hulk Disney+ creative team, don't get any ideas.

Edited by Tuckerscreator on Sep 1st 2019 at 8:29:53 AM

Nightwire Since: Feb, 2010
#108564: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:28:34 PM

[up][up]It could be worse. You could be retconned out of literal existence by whichever Crisis Crossover is going on at the time. No life insurance for you than.

Edited by Nightwire on Sep 1st 2019 at 8:29:04 AM

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108565: Sep 1st 2019 at 8:30:09 PM

Until the next writer Armed with Canon comes and retcons you back into existence.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#108567: Sep 1st 2019 at 10:32:48 PM

[up]Which makes it all the worse that such a name was wasted on such a bad character.

Disgusted, but not surprised
windleopard from Nigeria Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
#108568: Sep 1st 2019 at 10:37:34 PM

From what I heard, Jessica's ability to fly is based on how dome spiders glide on webbing. And some spider webbing does produce a sort of bio electric shock.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#108569: Sep 1st 2019 at 10:39:46 PM

[up]Miles Morales also has a "venom shock" power, now that you mention it.

Disgusted, but not surprised
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
#108571: Sep 1st 2019 at 10:47:48 PM

[up]Why is that, anyway?

Trans rights are human rights. TV Tropes is not a place for bigotry, cruelty, or dickishness, no matter who or their position.
Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#108572: Sep 1st 2019 at 11:01:35 PM

Figured the venom power for Miles was so that he could have a way to incapacitate opponents while lacking web shooters (since he didn't have any for a while in his series.)

Anyway, there's a trope: Electric Black Guy.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#108573: Sep 1st 2019 at 11:16:36 PM

[up][up]According to the trope page, it's because of the success of the first one, Black Lightning.

Disgusted, but not surprised
RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#108574: Sep 2nd 2019 at 12:38:40 AM

Question: which studio holds the rights to characters created specifically for the MCU Spider-Man films? I'm mainly thinking of Michelle, who aside from having the same initials, is distinct enough from Mary Jane Watson that I don't think the original character apportioning agreement would cover her.

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108575: Sep 2nd 2019 at 4:27:18 AM

After the popularity of Black Lightning, it just kinda stuck around.


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