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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

MrSeyker Since: Apr, 2011
#108826: Sep 5th 2019 at 5:46:44 PM

To me The First Avenger is THE BEST Phase One MCU film.

The characterization of pretty much everyone (even Skull) is absolutely spot on, the pulpy take on WWII is right up my alley and perfect for Cap, and it has a fantastic soundtrack and visuals.

The infamous dip in quality in the third act is something I never really felt, because while the change in gears after the montage is noticeable, the tone works for the setting, and the character work remains impeccable all throughout.

And it has one of the strongest endings in the MCU, with fantastic final talk between Steve and Peggy and the somber scene of the Commandos mourning Steve among the celebrations of V-Day.

And of course, the kids playing Cap on the street.

Its bloody fantastic.

The ONLY issue I find with the finale is with transition to the scene where Steve wakes up in the modern day.

The scene itself is great, but I've long held the opinion that the scene was the true intended stinger of the movie.

The intended finale would've been the kids playing Cap with the camera zooming in on the painted trashcan lid, which transitions to the propaganda posters credits and then the stinger of Cap waking up.

They instead chose to move the stinger to the closing scene, and put a teaser to Avengers to excite audiences. Which I understand.

If TFA were a modern MCU film, the waking up scene would've been the mid-credits stinger.

Edited by MrSeyker on Sep 5th 2019 at 5:51:18 AM

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#108827: Sep 5th 2019 at 6:01:26 PM

It essentially was, except they decided they needed to put an actual Avengers advertisement in at that point.

chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#108828: Sep 5th 2019 at 6:13:52 PM

Considering it was a Phase One film, I wouldn't be surprised if audiences would've walked away thinking Cap died at the end if the scene was a Stinger. Although, I totally do think it would've been a neat way to put the ending together.

Edited by chasemaddigan on Sep 5th 2019 at 9:14:12 AM

Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
#108829: Sep 5th 2019 at 6:18:32 PM

My sister, when she watched the movie, didn't know anything about comics Cap and thought Steve was going to be found, but in his own time and would reunite with Peggy and his friends. So the next scene where he wakes up 70 years later felt like a Gainax Ending to her.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#108830: Sep 5th 2019 at 7:52:33 PM

In the flow of the movie, it kind of is. It's also my favorite Phase 1 film, but... yeah. That's one of those things that is there because the rest of The 'Verse needs it to be, but doesn't mesh too well with the rest of the story.

It would have worked better for the film itself if it had ended simply with him waking up in a modern hotel room and looking onto a changed world (maybe going back to where that bar once stood), but then we wouldn't have gotten the establishment that SHIELD had him or that Fury was connected to him, which allowed them to give him the most organic introduction of any of the characters (but not the best, that honor goes to Bruce's intro) in Avengers 1.

AyyItsMidnight Look, just be decent to one another ok? Since: Oct, 2018
Look, just be decent to one another ok?
#108833: Sep 5th 2019 at 10:13:58 PM

Your enthusiasm shone through enough you made a double post. But for real, have fun.

Self-serious autistic trans gal who loves rock/metal and animation with all her heart. (she/her)
alliterator Since: Jan, 2001
#108835: Sep 5th 2019 at 10:44:46 PM

The Avengers was when I really started getting into the MCU. It managed to take all the characters that had come before (aside from Incredible Hulk) and combine them all into one pretty damn fantastic film. And you don't actually need to see any of the previous films to understand it (something the MCU would discard with later Avengers films), which is kind of a miracle itself.

Shadao Dorzma Forever! Artwork by Kris Dobbins. (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Dorzma Forever! Artwork by Kris Dobbins.
#108836: Sep 5th 2019 at 10:52:11 PM

[up] Honestly, it was Captain America: The First Avenger that brought my interest to the MCU. Missed my chance with Iron Man, but the whole World War II angle was something in my interests at the time. Decided to follow where Cap was going after The First Avenger, but never realize just how much of a crossover The Avengers would be.

Back then, everything would be self-contained in a trilogy of films. Now, it's impossible to envision a Spider-Man film without referencing the Avengers in a direct manner. Or Doctor Strange. Or even Ant-Man. Everything is connected no matter how self-contained the films try to be.

Would Captain America: Civil War make as much as sense without Age of Ultron?

Edited by Shadao on Sep 5th 2019 at 10:53:30 AM

AyyItsMidnight Look, just be decent to one another ok? Since: Oct, 2018
Look, just be decent to one another ok?
#108837: Sep 5th 2019 at 11:13:37 PM

Guardians of the Galaxy was the first MCU movie I ever watched and I fell head over heels in love with it. Guardians 2 and Ragnarok I think were what really convinced me to look into this franchise and for that (plus the fact that, well, they're really fucking good movies) they will always hold a place in my heart.

Self-serious autistic trans gal who loves rock/metal and animation with all her heart. (she/her)
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#108838: Sep 6th 2019 at 5:58:26 AM

I was there for the original Iron Man. Civil War had been my jumping-on point for the comics and Tony quickly became my favorite superhero - like many Pro-Reggers, I made a lot of excuses for the event's authoritarian choices back in the day. Didn't seem like a big deal to a 19-year-old me, partly because I was raised in a conservative household.

I fell in love with the idea that he was just some dude with no powers who, despite significant personality flaws, built his own superhero. Then built his own superhero team. And then excelled at both to the point that the world would never be the same again. That inspired me. When Tony, in the second movie, said, "I have successfully privatized world peace," I lost it. That was my favorite line of the MCU for years.

For a long time, I basically saw the Avengers as an extension of Tony and his legacy. Which was completely unfair to the other founding Avengers and Captain America. But that was the lens I viewed the comics through. To me, Tony Stark was basically the President of Superheroes.

So when Marvel said they were making an Iron Man movie, I was there opening day to see my favorite superhero debut on the big screen. It could have been shit. It wouldn't have mattered. I would have loved it to death anyway. And yes, I lost it at the "Avengers Initiative" stinger.

Been on the bandwagon ever since.

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Draghinazzo (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: I get a feeling so complicated...
#108839: Sep 6th 2019 at 6:18:05 AM

I was there since Iron Man 1 but at the time I was really disappointed with most of the movies that came out after it. I didn't like Avengers 1 at all because I just wasn't invested in any of the characters besides tony, so the team up aspect did nothing for me.

I've softened on most of the phase 1 films since, although I think Avengers is still nothing all that special and more relevant from a historical perspective than anything.

KJMackley Since: Jan, 2001
#108840: Sep 6th 2019 at 6:47:29 AM

I consider the first Iron Man and The First Avenger to be among the MCU's strongest films period. They have their own weaknesses but are bolstered by being particularly strong character-centric films. By the end you understand who Tony and Steve are and what they stand for, and is not bogged down by villain plots they are rushing to keep up with. Compare that to Thor, who remained a blank slate up until somewhere between Ragnarok and Endgame. No disregard to Hemsworth, who brought a lot of charm (and sex appeal), but he was mostly just a pulp hero until they actually bothered exploring how ancient Asgardians are and he is forced to deal with actual failure.

HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108841: Sep 6th 2019 at 7:13:48 AM

I only really got into the MCU at large after GOTG.

I knew it existed, just never paid much attention to it, but Gunn's movie hooked me like few things did back then, and I spent that whole weekend catching up to everything I missed.

Like Draghi, I don't like The Avengers, and in truth, if it wasn't for Winter Soldier I've probably wouldn't bother sticking around, it was only with Civil War that I was convinced crossover films could be anything more than a self-indulgenr fanservice fest a la Final Fantasy Dissidia.

Not that Civil War isn't a bit self-indulgent, it's just more than that.

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#108842: Sep 6th 2019 at 7:38:18 AM

Watching Antman and the Wasp

building a tunnel into the quantum realm sounds a really bad ideas guise

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#108843: Sep 6th 2019 at 7:48:58 AM

I guess it was The Avengers (2012) that got me into the MCU. At the time, I was a casual fan of the other Marvel heroes, but I was really more into Spider-Man at the time. I had heard about how Marvel was planning to make an Avengers movie and didn't really give it much thought at the time.

But then I kept seeing fan sites and blogs losing their shit about how big a film this was going to be, a true event to behold, and I realized I had to see this film. So I managed to watch all the Phase One films a few months before the Avengers came out in preparation. Then Avengers came out, I loved it, and I've been hooked ever since.

So, I can't fault the first Avengers film too much because of this. It has its flaws and it's a bit simple compared to the other crossover films, but there's an earnestness to it that still makes it a compelling watch to me. Plus, it's easily one of the most quotable of the MCU films, and that always makes a movie stand out.

Nightwire Since: Feb, 2010
#108844: Sep 6th 2019 at 8:03:14 AM

I was there at the start, with Iron Man. Caught Thor in theatre, and I loved it. I was feeling a bit dubious about Captain America, and I didn't have to chance to catch it when it came out. But when I finally saw it, TFA quickly became my favourite MCU movie up to that point.

TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#108845: Sep 6th 2019 at 8:15:59 AM

I was really proud of First Avenger for sticking with the WWII setting. When the film was first announced, I was concerned that they were going to rush through Cap's WWII experience in order to get him to the modern day as quickly as possible. A lot of superhero films back in the pre-MCU era would have done that.

As risky as Thor was for putting so much emphasis on this eldritch fantasy world in a superhero film, First Avenger was equally risky for trying to tell a superhero story as a period piece set around a major conflict in human history. Neither movie was really a normal superhero story, and that set the stage for the franchise that would continue challenging genre conventions and pushing the boundary of "what you can do" in a superhero film going forward.

The MCU wasn't really genre-defining, so much as it was genre-shattering. It didn't just break the mold that Hollywood had been using for superhero movies, it smashed that mold into a thousand pieces.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Sep 6th 2019 at 9:18:17 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Weirdguy149 Former King from Lumiose City Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: I'd jump in front of a train for ya!
Former King
#108846: Sep 6th 2019 at 8:24:59 AM

After avoiding them for years, Infinity War was what brought me in.

The legend has returned.
Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#108847: Sep 6th 2019 at 9:53:22 AM

I was there since I saw the first images for Iron Man in the early days of (I believe?) 2007. Avengers I felt was the big door-opener showing the MCU experiment could in fact work, Guardians of the Galaxy was their masterstroke (getting characters somewhat obscure even for comic book fans and making them household names). Winter Soldier and Black Panther were the artistic high points, followed by the "Russos Era" of Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#108848: Sep 6th 2019 at 10:07:20 AM

I wonder what the next "big names" are gonna be.

First it was Joss Whedon, the came the Russos, who's gonna be the next Grand Vizier of the MCU?

Neither Waititi nor Ryan Coogler seem all that interested in what happens outside the properties they're in chard of, and James Gunn has to deal with the DCEU and whatever comes out of Brightburn besides his duties at Marvel.

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#108849: Sep 6th 2019 at 10:08:45 AM

JJ Abrams since he's done for the Star Wars films already

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
HailMuffins Since: May, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters

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