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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

Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#123751: Dec 12th 2020 at 8:13:15 PM

@Cortez: I know who Kang is. Being "an eldritch threat" (i.e a unfathomable threat) isn't dependant on being a Eldritch Abomination.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#123752: Dec 12th 2020 at 8:20:25 PM

Now I wonder if they might put a little set-up for Knull in Thor 4.

Since in the comics his Necrosword is actually All-Black, the first prototype symbiote.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
Gaon Smoking Snake from Grim Up North Since: Jun, 2012 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#123754: Dec 12th 2020 at 8:23:51 PM

Midnight Sons movie with Shuma-Gorath as the Big Bad would be so nice.

"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Aleistar Since: Feb, 2018 Relationship Status: Hugging my pillow
#123755: Dec 12th 2020 at 9:48:34 PM

[up]x3 I don't think it's gonna happen, unless the next Sony/Marvel deal expands to include Tom Hardy's Venok which I believe Feige has gone on record as being against or something.

Akirakan Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#123756: Dec 12th 2020 at 10:26:50 PM

Galactus doesn't seem to me like a greater scope villain. He's not a entity that plans and schemes, he just eats planets because he's hungry. That's one movie worth of content at best.

Kang has all the potential to be the next Big Bad, which is what surprised me that he's being introduced as Ant-Man's antagonist.

Of course the most obvious answer is that all hope lies in Doom.

Anomalocaris20 from Sagittarius A* Since: Sep, 2010 Relationship Status: Love blinded me (with science!)
#123757: Dec 12th 2020 at 11:03:02 PM

Obviously now that we have the X-Men we'll get Onslaught.

You cannot firmly grasp the true form of Squidward's technique!
KnownUnknown Since: Jan, 2001
#123758: Dec 13th 2020 at 12:06:06 AM

One of the things about Galactus that makes him not work well as a Greater-Scope Villain is that he is, practically by definition, an entirely episodic threat.

He shows up, he tries to eat the Earth, the heroes stop him, the end. By his very nature he's an Outside-Context Problem, and Galactus doesn't scheme, he doesn't have ambitions, he only has one minion whose only job is to inform victims of his coming, and he doesn't do anything behind the scenes: he's a force of nature whose power is in the threat he brings with him, not anything else.

You could alter him to have an army, or have designs on destroying the universe, or whatever, but at that point you're losing what makes him who he is, and you might as well use someone like Annihilus instead.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Dec 13th 2020 at 12:06:18 PM

slimcoder The Head of the Hydra Since: May, 2013
The Head of the Hydra
#123759: Dec 13th 2020 at 12:26:08 AM

I'm suddenly of the 3rd Godzilla anime movie cause of the title & now I think Planet Eater would make a good title for an Avengers movie.

Avengers: The Planet Eater

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."
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.
#123760: Dec 13th 2020 at 1:24:49 AM

I think Galactus would work well as a one-movie antagonist, built up to over the course of multiple previous movies by characters like Silver Surfer. Sort of like if Thanos was defeated in Infinity War.

RavenWilder Since: Apr, 2009
#123761: Dec 13th 2020 at 4:53:43 AM

Here's how I'd handle Galactus in the movies:

You introduce him in one of the outer space based films, where a villain's plan is to awaken Galactus from a long hibernation, knowing he'll immediately consume the nearest planet, which the villain wants destroyed. The climax of the film would have Galactus wake, be utterly impervious to anything thrown at him, and devour the planet in question, with the film's heroes focusing on evacuating the planet and beating down the bad guy who set Galactus free.

Another film, also set in space, would introduce the character who will become the Silver Surfer, with his meeting with Galactus (leading to his Herald-dom) happening in that film's post-credits scene.

You could then maybe have Galactus's existence and the threat he poses be referenced in a few other films, before finally getting to the big climax movie, which is, naturally, Galactus coming to Earth. But to make it more than just a Generic Doomsday Villain battle, there's a twist.

See, by this point Galactus has already eaten many worlds across the universe, and lots of alien civilizations are terrified. So they've come up with a plan that they think can kill Galactus, a bit of super-science that can turn a specific planet into a poison pill. If they can get Galactus to eat that planet, he will die and they won't have to worry about him anymore. Sounds great, except that the planet they've chosen to use is Earth. You could even have earlier films feature aliens doing cryptic stuff on Earth that turns out to be them preparing it to act as an anti-Galactus weapon.

That leads to juicy conflict in climactic film, where not only do the heroes have to face the unstoppable force of Galactus, but they also have to deal with the aliens who have led Galactus to their world, and who will attack any attempt the heroes make to drive Galactus off. You could even get some juicy ethical dilemma, hero-vs-hero stuff out of this, as those characters with fewer ties to Earth are more likely to see sacrificing the planet to stop Galactus for good as being worth it.

While Galactus himself is more a force of nature than a character, and doesn't do plots and schemes that can sustain many movies' worth of story, you can still make it work by having him be the focal point of a lot of other characters' plots and schemes.

AmazingSpiderHam Since: Sep, 2020
#123762: Dec 13th 2020 at 11:47:48 AM

One easy way to establish Galactus as a multi-movie threat is to have him advance through the cosmos (so even before he sets his sights on Earth he could come to devour another planet, which could make, say, the Guardians of the Galaxy aware of him) while his Heralds scout the universe for the next meal.

There's precedent for Galactus having more than one Herald at a time in the comics. Heroes Reborn did it, for instance. Each Herald could have their turn at the spotlight until it's time for Galactus himself to show up.

Even a disgraced and disherited Terrax would suffice as a stray threat left behind by Galactus who, narratively, sets the stage Galactus himself.

And that's without going into a 'Trial of Galactus' scenario where alien races come in conflict with the heroes over whether to kill Galactus or not while he's on route to Earth, and Strange feels the old 'he's necessary for the balance of the universe' caveat or something like that; that can provide an ongoing conflict good for a few movies, and that's without counting scenarios like some villain (Doom?) stealing the Power Cosmic to complicate things further.

Maybe Doom allies himself with the aliens to stop Galactus for good, but doublecrosses them by taking the Power Cosmic for himself.

Zeromaeus Since: May, 2010
#123763: Dec 13th 2020 at 9:50:01 PM

Galactus is a big enemy, yeah, but a stinger with the Silver Surfer and either an Avengers or a Fantastic 4 could cover the whole thing. Maybe an offhanded comment in a Guardians or Nova about stars or planets going missing.

I assume Kang is in the next Ant Man to answer the question of "why not just use time travel?" Kang. Kang is why not.

Edited by Zeromaeus on Dec 13th 2020 at 12:56:45 PM

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#123764: Dec 14th 2020 at 4:51:32 AM

Do you think Scott is gonna try and travel back to the years he missed out in Cassie's life, and Kang turns up and wrecks him?

Also I agree that having the over arcing plot be trying to stop Galactus getting to Earth in the first place is a pretty freaking cool idea.

Of the new Disney Plus series that's been announced, Armour Wars is the one I'm most interested in. Rhodey has had more years active service as a super hero on Earth than anyone else at this point. I've always wanted him to take the spot light. Not sure there's any villains I'm hyped to see, Justin Hammer would be great to see again, and I guess you could introduce The Beatle, the second one is cool as she's one of the few super powered evil lawyers in the marvel setting.

I'm kind of excited to see the focus of the MCU turn to mini series, as it makes it resemble the comics in format even more.

Also, Damn, a lot of teen super heroes all of the sudden. Kate Bishop, America Chaves, Kamala Khan, Iornheart, Cassie Lang (presumably), maybe even Wiccan. That's enough for quite a young avengers roster. (you'd need to have Hulkling, I demand it)

I really wonder if this is gonna be portrayed as super powers becoming increasingly avaliable, to the point where minors are getting a hold of them.

Akirakan Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#123765: Dec 14th 2020 at 5:55:08 AM

The Beatle? You mean one of the Skrulls that posed as The Beatles? tongue

Now that I think about it, how are they going to handle Hulkling? He is the son of Mar-Vell and princess Anelle, but in the MCU Mar-Vell is a woman and doesn't have the same impact as the original Mar-Vell had in 616. MCU Mar-Vell also didn't seem to display powers, if I recall?

They could always go with Mar-Vell being the mom with a Skull prince (or if they're bold, take the original plan for Nightcrawler and have them be a lesbian couple with Anelle having the capacity to replicate male genitalia), but it just doesn't hold the same impact. Hulkling is special because he is the son of THE Captain Marvel, but the MCU version was never Captain Marvel.

jakobitis Doctor of Doctorates from Somewhere, somewhen Since: Jan, 2015 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
Doctor of Doctorates
#123766: Dec 14th 2020 at 6:23:59 AM

I mean actually would love to see the Skrull!Beatles appear in the MCU. RIP John the Skrull.

"These 'no-nonsense' solutions of yours just don't hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel."
TargetmasterJoe from Velocitron Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
#123767: Dec 14th 2020 at 8:32:53 AM

having the capacity to replicate male genitalia

. . .

I know [up][up] is just spitballing, but good luck bringing up male genitals in a Disney movie...

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.
#123768: Dec 14th 2020 at 8:33:37 AM

Shine a blacklight, it'll look like a Jackson Pollack painting.

Akirakan Since: Feb, 2015 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#123769: Dec 14th 2020 at 8:42:08 AM

I still can't belive that joke was straight out of Two and a Half Men.

Ultimatum Disasturbator from the Amiga Forest (Old as dirt) Relationship Status: Who needs love when you have waffles?
Disasturbator
#123770: Dec 14th 2020 at 9:06:46 AM

joke thief!

-cop sounds-

have a listen and have a link to my discord server
Falrinn Since: Dec, 2014
#123771: Dec 14th 2020 at 11:14:55 AM

[up]x4 Drax did just that in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.

djoki996 Since: Dec, 2018
#123772: Dec 14th 2020 at 11:44:51 AM

Hell, you can find sexual reference in almost every MCU movie

ClancyGardener life is a state of mind from 53 miles west of Venus Since: Jun, 2020 Relationship Status: Can't buy me love
#123773: Dec 14th 2020 at 11:52:31 AM

[up][up] Two times, actually.

First, when talking about his wife's lack of dancing ability — "It would make my nether regions engorge."

And second, when asking Ego whether he has a penis. "Yes, Drax, I have a penis."

Trope Editor (he/him)
TargetmasterJoe from Velocitron Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
#123774: Dec 14th 2020 at 12:00:04 PM

[up], [up][up], [up]x7:

. . .

All right, I yield. You CAN bring up male genitalia in a Marvel movie, but those were for laughs, how about to justify how Hulkling can be born if MCU!Mar-Vell was a lady?

Closest thing I can think of is either the genders of Hulkling's parents were swapped or adoption.

Edited by TargetmasterJoe on Dec 14th 2020 at 12:01:40 PM

Khfan429 Since: Aug, 2009
#123775: Dec 14th 2020 at 12:12:21 PM

[up]Kinda answered your own question there I think. They already swapped Mar-Vell, I doubt they'd have an issue turning the Skrull Princess (assuming they keep that angle) into a Skrull Prince.


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