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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

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#120126: Aug 12th 2020 at 5:28:51 PM

Back on Captain Marvel, there's a few ways to write an Invincible Hero to make them not boring.

1. Proportionate physical threats. This is the most obvious option, but sometimes it just works; even Superman has foes like Darkseid and Doomsday who are in his tier.
2. Paper covers rock. Alternatively, the opponent doesn't necessarily have to have a higher "power level" than Captain Marvel. Somebody whose powers are weird and can exploit her weaknesses while nullifying her strengths can make for a good show without being linearly more powerful. As another Superman example, he struggles with magic-based opponents and obviously with anybody carrying Kryptonite.
3. Inability to be in two places at once. As far as we know Carol doesn't have self-duplication powers, and while she can fly at superluminary speeds that doesn't necessarily mean she can accelerate to those speeds fast enough to reliably "juggle" two situations that require her simultaneous presence. In this case she'd have to rely on strategy, delegation, or everybody's favorite, cost-benefit analysis.
4. Threats who cannot be blown away due to moral or legal reasons. When you have great power, you're tempted to use it, and resisting that urge is part of what makes powerful superheroes, well, heroes. The Netflix shows dabbled in this, with Cottonmouth and Sallinger being significantly weaker than Luke Cage and Jessica Jones, though it's harder to make it work in a 90-minute action movie.

Edited by Anomalocaris20 on Aug 12th 2020 at 8:29:22 AM

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
VampireBuddha Calendar enthusiast from Ireland (Wise, aged troper) Relationship Status: Complex: I'm real, they are imaginary
Calendar enthusiast
#120127: Aug 12th 2020 at 5:34:14 PM

This is why it's a good idea to put Captain Marvel in space for huge-scale adventures with fleets of starfighters. If she's invincible, let her be spectacular.

Ukrainian Red Cross
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#120128: Aug 12th 2020 at 5:34:48 PM

Go full Dragon Ball as they say.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
chasemaddigan I'm Sad Frogerson. Since: Oct, 2011
I'm Sad Frogerson.
#120129: Aug 12th 2020 at 5:58:42 PM

You know, all this talk about whether Carol is too OP reminds me of back in the day when people had that same concern with Thor. I wasn't sure if it was as prevalent (I only got into the MCU shortly before the first Avengers came out), but I vaguely recall some people were worried that Thor was too strong and that future films wouldn't give him a proper challenge. And given that Thor was a god, I guess there were concerns that Thor films would be too grand a scale for him to still be relatable.

Now, we see that's not really a problem. For all the problems people may have with the Thor films, him being too powerful isn't really one of them. So, I don't think it's necessarily a huge problem to address for the next Captain Marvel film, it's all about crafting a decent story and give her a conflict that she'll have problem solving.

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.
#120130: Aug 12th 2020 at 6:03:30 PM

A shame we might never get Caiera here.

Yeah, she got replaced with Valkyrie. I would have loved to see her, though, maybe include both of them, and just have her be Hulk's badass battle-wife for the rest of the MCU.

Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#120131: Aug 12th 2020 at 6:50:39 PM

[up][up] Yeah, like Carol's power level is something any Captain Marvel 2 will need to take into consideration, but it's not an especially difficult problem

Especially since Carol's power is entirely power. She's limited to normal human perception and reflexes. Which means a clever villain could run circles around her, denying her a single target.

And if it comes down to it, a villain who is well aware of Carol and what she's capable of could develop explicit countermeasures. If Hydra could work out how to manipulate Tesseract energy in at least a rudimentary fashion with the tech available in the 1940's, an advanced alien species could likely do it a lot more effectively.

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#120132: Aug 12th 2020 at 7:42:07 PM

Also, a lot of the meat of superhero movies these days comes down to the non-action sequences. Things like character dynamics, setting factional politics, etc. There's a lot of conflict that can be mined without centering around brute force.

RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#120133: Aug 12th 2020 at 8:06:00 PM

Plus if a character is considered OP make them fun to watch.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
Nightwire Since: Feb, 2010
#120134: Aug 12th 2020 at 8:20:54 PM

Re: Rogues Gallery: The Fantastic Four also has a decent one.

KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#120135: Aug 12th 2020 at 8:29:41 PM

I really want the Mole Man in the MCU.

Just the image that the whole time the heroes were having their there was this strange race of subterranean creatures right underground.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#120136: Aug 12th 2020 at 8:39:13 PM

All the earthquakes were Mole Man banging on the ceiling with a broom and yelling to be quiet up there.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Weirdguy149 Former King from Lumiose City Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: I'd jump in front of a train for ya!
Former King
#120137: Aug 12th 2020 at 8:40:06 PM

Honestly, Mole Man needs to show up in general. He's one of the first post-World War II Marvel villains to exist, so I feel like he deserves some spotlight.

The legend has returned.
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#120138: Aug 12th 2020 at 8:59:51 PM

Fantastic four rogues who aren't Doom or Galactus i can name off the top of my head are Super Skrull, Namor, psycho man, molecule man, the Wizard and Annihilus.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#120139: Aug 12th 2020 at 9:06:26 PM

Mole Man, Diablo, the Frightful Four, Blastaar...

Edited by M84 on Aug 13th 2020 at 12:06:30 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
RedHunter543 Crimson Paladin Since: Jul, 2016 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Crimson Paladin
#120140: Aug 12th 2020 at 9:20:02 PM

As great as Dr. Doom is, they probably shouldn't use him first.

And stop connecting him to the Four's origin.

"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#120141: Aug 12th 2020 at 9:22:12 PM

Yeah, a key point in comic Doom's origin is that he is responsible for what happened to his face.

It contrasts him with Reed Richards, who is responsible for what happened to himself and the rest of the Four. While Doom denies responsibility and blames Reed for everything, Reed acknowledges his fault and has tried to make amends for it.

Edited by M84 on Aug 13th 2020 at 12:23:49 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#120142: Aug 12th 2020 at 9:22:59 PM

Doctor Doom vs Black Panther vs Namor. tongue

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#120143: Aug 12th 2020 at 9:24:01 PM

While thor IS too powerfull the movie answer to that was....not giving a challange to use those power, I will said even hela vs thor feel lacking.

Also I think marvel should shuffle the rest of cap and iron man rouge gallery to other heroes.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
Weirdguy149 Former King from Lumiose City Since: Jul, 2014 Relationship Status: I'd jump in front of a train for ya!
Former King
#120144: Aug 12th 2020 at 10:23:42 PM

I'm thinking Mole Man, then Namor in the sequel, then Doctor Doom as an Avengers-level threat down the line.

The legend has returned.
Tuckerscreator (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Drift compatible
Zeromaeus Since: May, 2010
#120147: Aug 13th 2020 at 3:58:48 AM

I'd definitely make the F4's first villain someone that takes significantly less screen time to set up than DOOM.

I also definitely thing Rogue and Mystique should be the villains of Captain Marvel 2.

eligram Since: Sep, 2009 Relationship Status: In denial
#120148: Aug 13th 2020 at 5:11:27 AM

Just thought about an interesting F4 movie. A war between Mole Man and Namor, with the F4 as peace keepers.

Hell, Endgame had those earthquakes under the ocean thing. It could be that.

J79 Since: Jan, 2015
#120149: Aug 13th 2020 at 5:45:26 AM

So I was wondering who the initial villain for the eventual X-Men film could be. While Magneto would be the obvious choice (maybe too obvious), it might be better to set him up for future films due to how complex his character is, while we get some character who the X-Men can show off their powers against, I'm thinking Vanisher or Blob. Juggernaut would be good too (especially if they play up the relationship between him and Xavier), but he's already been in two (albiet non-MCU) films already. Maybe Black Tom?

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#120150: Aug 13th 2020 at 6:00:37 AM

Maybe the Sentinels. The Sentinels have always been the X-Mens' ultimate iconic foe. They embody everything they are fighting against.

Edited by M84 on Aug 13th 2020 at 9:01:38 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised

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