MCU Thread (Spoilers inside)

[zitothebrave]

Rather than continue to clutter the movie thread figured this could cover the movies and shows.

First episode of Falcon and the Winter soldier is heavy as ****. Bucky's arc was freaking heavy. Falcons' family life was heavy. The're strarting out strong, introduced all the antagonists (well except for Zemo the main antagonist) set up tension, etc. Quality first episode.

They basically said this would be a pretty straight forward arc. I'm interested in seeing the overall story, it's looking like a bit grittier marvel film. Perhaps a blending of the old Netflix Marvel universe and MCU.

[Carp]

Good first episode. A little bummed it's only going to be 6 episodes. I'm wondering how much time has passed since Endgame. With one of the main antagonist being someone who is powered, I wonder if this is where they start introducing mutants? I think it's been pretty much confirmed mutants will be discussed in the Eternals.

[zitothebrave]

Yeah, I think the question is will they all be this long. It will basically be 2 full Marvel Movies.

[Carp]

Also I guess I missed it, but apparently it's been at least 6 months since Endgame. Sam mentioned that when he was fixing guys drone at the table.

[zitothebrave]

Second Episode raised the stakes. Set the adventure going forward and introduced Zemo finally. Loved the Black Captain America, it is probably was what Sam needed to hear to start the idea that he could be Captain America.

[zitothebrave]

Watched Endgame again yesterday. And then watched the Director's Round Table afterwards. And really looking back at it, I don't know if it was directly the Russo's or Marvel/Disney willing to work with other directors that lead to the huge change in the films.

But look back at early films and the later films and you can basically see when things took off.

Iron Man (Favreau)
Hulk (letterier)
Iron Man 2 (Favreau)
Thor (Branagh)
Captain America (Johnston)
Avengers (Whedon)
Iron Man 3 (Black)

Now here's the break. Look at that list of directors, it's mostly underwhelming and the non-big names are mainly action movie guys. Which is why I think they had kind of a Transformers like feel (Iron Man 3 for example)

Winter Soldier (Russo bros)
Guardians (gunn)
Ultron (Whedon)
Antman (Reed)
Civil War (Russo Bros)
Doctor Strange (Derrickson)
Guardians 2 (Gunn)
Spideman (Watts)
Ragnorok (Waititi)
Black Panther (Coogler)

Now compare the 2, while still many not well knowns were brought in their backgrounds were starkly different than the majority of early directors. Russos were known for their work on Comedies, shows like Arrested Development, Community, and You Me and Dupree. They obviously had skills at action set pieces but they brought the comedy and heart from sitcoms to the MCU. Gunn was into black comedy and horror directing films like Super and Slither and writing films like Scooby Doo and the Dawn of the Dead remake. Reed spent a lot of time in Comedy but more specifically Rom-Coms directing films likeBring it on and The Break Up. Derrickson a lot of time in Horror and Sci-Fi Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, the Day the Earth Stood Still. Watts worked in horror and action and comedy before hand but his catalogue is a bit more bare than some of the others. Taika was all over the place, doing romcoms, dramedies, and a horror mockumentary. Coogler had done 2 films before Black Pander, Fruitvale Station and Creed. So he brought some heavy drama chops.

And again, I don't know if this was a conscious choice by Marvel/Disney to try somthing else or if after the success of Winter Soldier and GotG they decided to specifically avoid action directors and go with more drama/comedy guys and gals. And this continued too. Boden and Fleck, huge drama chops, Shortland, Drama and horror, Cretton big drama background, Zhao huge drama chops, Raimi huge horror chops, he of course did other things (spiderman and oz) , but horror is what he did the most, and DaCosta, Horror and drama.

[zitothebrave]

Episode 3 was very good, and man does it look like Sharon Carter is the power broker.

[zitothebrave]

Episode 4 was even better. Maybe the best yet. The last shot of the episode is chilling and certainly the shot of the season.

[Carp]

Episode 4 definitely was what I was hoping this series would be. Was almost more like a MCU film than a TV show.

Sharon Carter isn't the power broker, imo. I do think it could be the Mandarin, since Fiege stated a few years ago that the Mandarin and the Ten Rings would be part of the MCU future. And with Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Ring due out later this year, this series could help set that up.

[zitothebrave]

Sharon Carter being the power broker is my Mephisto hill I'm willing to die on haha.

[zitothebrave]

FInale setup so well. Also Sharon Carter is definitely the Power Broker. I thought for a second it may have been Julia Louis-Dreyfuss's character, but I'm sticking to my guns, especially with her hiring Batroc again. Looking forward to the interesting 3+ way battle as I'm sure Walker will be pissed that Wilson is Captain America, but also definitely wants to kill Carli, Sam and Bucky will be playing a lot of defense.

[zitothebrave]

Called it! Even before it was most obvious (last episode)

I think the finale did a fantastic job in all aspects. It was probably a little rushed for my liking. I would have loved to have seen a more protracted fight. But it was great seeing both the redemption arc of John Walker and the full growth of Sam Wilson. I need more JLD Madame Hydra. But man that ending. It hit so hard. Bucky finally apologizing. Sam's final speech. So nice. But damn that monument to Isaiah Bradley, that was an emotional bulldozer. That credits scene was wild too. Setting up more hydra/shield type of stuff but even more complex.

Also yes for Captain Falcon joke. I was with Matpat and wanted a Falcon Punch/Falcon Kick Joke.

Series was so good. It hit all the notes I felt like it needed to hit to make Sam and Bucky the team they needed to be. I thought Wandavision was great, and it was, but this was so much better. The only weak spot was that no one was a truly powerful villain, but that was the point, there isn't one villain. The world can be a little more complex. And it's more about the heroes than the villains.

[Carp]

I know they said they were gonna do it before the series came out. And I get it. But man, that episode was super preachy.

[zitothebrave]

The drop at the end of Hawkeye Episode 5 is the best moment of any MCU TV show.

The tease for the Kingpin is amazing. And it hints at what I've wanted, selectively bringing in Netflix MCU characters.

Here's what I want if that's what happens.

1. Charlie Cox as Daredevil - Essentially a must.
2. Jon Bernthal as Punisher - Would love an R rated Punisher movie. Or adult TV show.
3. Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page - She was so good as the glue of both Punisher and Daredevil.
4. Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones - She nailed that role. Would love it as a bit part.
5. Mike Colter as Luke Cage - Loved his role. Similar to Jessica Jones I think she'd be a rock solid bit part
6. Jessica Henwick as Coleen Wing - The best part of Iron Fist.
7. Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple - So good, another great potential bit character.

[Carp]

Daredevil was perfect. Hard to change anything there. Jessica Jones likewise was really good.

I was never impressed with the Luke Cage series. I actually thought the villains in the series were way better than Mike Colter. Ditto for, Iron Fist which was just pretty bad all around. Hope they just start over from scratch for those 2 characters, or just leave them out of the MCU altogether.

[zitothebrave]

I think they could leave them out. Luke Cage had a power creep problem. I do sort of agree on villains, at least in season 1, but that was because they started with a bang with Mahershala and Alfre. I think it was a good show but Luke Cage seemed kind of too good. THough I like how season 2 ended and thought it would lead to an interesting future where Cage would likely clash with Iron Fist, Daredevil and Jessica Jones. And were robbed also of a show with Misty Stone and Colleen Wing.

Iron Fist I think was largely replaced by Shang Chi for quite some time.

[zitothebrave]

I wasn't super happy with the last episode overall. Though I don't think Kingpin is dead. If he is I'd be sad. Because only that's the best MCU villain aside from Killmonger.

[Carp]

Supposedly the way it ended with Kingpin is exactly the way one of the story arcs went down in the comics. Echo shot him in the face but he isn't dead, just completely blind. His last line about '"seeing eye to eye" seems to be a nod to this.

Based on him surviving the arrow to the chest and the explosion, it seems somewhat likely he has taken some sort of super soldier serum.

[zitothebrave]

Thor Love and Thunder teaser is so good. Lots of good teases but it keeps the villain under wraps it seems.

[Tapate50]

it looks....odd.

[thewupk]

Thor Love and Thunder teaser is so good. Lots of good teases but it keeps the villain under wraps it seems.

comic readers will know who the villain is

[zitothebrave]

I know. I mean the one big new character tease is someone that will probably be a victim of the villain. But everyone is curious on the specific look and voice. Because it's Christian Bale people are excited we've gotten teased but no confirmation on either of those things.

[thewupk]

I know. I mean the one big new character tease is someone that will probably be a victim of the villain. But everyone is curious on the specific look and voice. Because it's Christian Bale people are excited we've gotten teased but no confirmation on either of those things.

true.

Looks aren't always everything. But based on this, I am excited for the movie.

https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2022/04/18/50b464ea-748c-4b64-a143-c695d323d2c8/thor-love-and-thunder-god-of-thunder-falligar.jpg?auto=webp&width=1200&height=1060&crop=1.132:1,smart

[Tapate50]

Thanos?

[thewupk]

Thanos?

The comic version of this villain would curb stomp Thanos.

[Tapate50]

The comic version of this villain would curb stomp Thanos.

Well then where was this asshole when Thanos was coming to kill half the world? He just down with maybe getting dusted?

[thewupk]

Well then where was this asshole when Thanos was coming to kill half the world? He just down with maybe getting dusted?

Well I should say. A Thanos without the infinity gauntlet would get curb stomped. Pretty sure that with the infinity gauntlet you can trump anything else in Marvel until you get to the Beyonders and One-Above-All type beings who exist outside of the multiverse and can literally do whatever they want.

And I'll just say it since this is a spoiler thread. Gorr The God Butcher is crazy strong got his name by literally killing gods (or what humans would perceive as gods, like Thor, Zeus, etc). He's crazy strong but likely would have had no idea what Thanos was planning with the infinity stones so had no need to intervene in that situation.

[zitothebrave]

Well I should say. A Thanos without the infinity gauntlet would get curb stomped. Pretty sure that with the infinity gauntlet you can trump anything else in Marvel until you get to the Beyonders and One-Above-All type beings who exist outside of the multiverse and can literally do whatever they want.

And I'll just say it since this is a spoiler thread. Gorr The God Butcher is crazy strong got his name by literally killing gods (or what humans would perceive as gods, like Thor, Zeus, etc). He's crazy strong but likely would have had no idea what Thanos was planning with the infinity stones so had no need to intervene in that situation.

It also plays out along the lines of not caring because it wasn't in competition with his goals. And he may have been snapped away.

Seems like MCU is slowly going bigger and bigger. Gorr the Godbutcher and Kang. COuld set up the next big bad after them as Galactus.

[thewupk]

It also plays out along the lines of not caring because it wasn't in competition with his goals. And he may have been snapped away.

Seems like MCU is slowly going bigger and bigger. Gorr the Godbutcher and Kang. COuld set up the next big bad after them as Galactus.

A couple of things I am curious about. How much of Gorr's back story will we see? All-Black the Necrosword is confirmed to be in the movie. Will Marvel simply change it's backstory that it was the first symbiote or does Marvel have those rights since the sword and Knull (creator of the symbiots) did not exist when Marvel sold Sony the Spiderman rights?

[zitothebrave]

A couple of things I am curious about. How much of Gorr's back story will we see? All-Black the Necrosword is confirmed to be in the movie. Will Marvel simply change it's backstory that it was the first symbiote or does Marvel have those rights since the sword and Knull (creator of the symbiots) did not exist when Marvel sold Sony the Spiderman rights?

I would assume the latter. They may change the name of the symbiote to something close, like when they were using inhumans to replace mutants at times.

[Tapate50]

How does a normal dude that loses his family just start killing Gods?

Like without some freaky bad ass training?

[zitothebrave]

How does a normal dude that loses his family just start killing Gods?

Like without some freaky bad ass training?

Magic sword that gave him more powers. Kind of think Venom meets XP farming.

[thewupk]

How does a normal dude that loses his family just start killing Gods?

Like without some freaky bad ass training?

As Zito said. His sword is technically the first symbiote ever created and can absorb the abilities of who it kills. So Gorr can use said abilities while wielding the sword.

[Carp]

A couple of things I am curious about. How much of Gorr's back story will we see? All-Black the Necrosword is confirmed to be in the movie. Will Marvel simply change it's backstory that it was the first symbiote or does Marvel have those rights since the sword and Knull (creator of the symbiots) did not exist when Marvel sold Sony the Spiderman rights?

I think the way they have explained it, is that the symbiote is connected across multi-verses as well, which is why Venom was blinked over during the credits of Spider-Man: NWH, despite Eddie having no idea who Peter Parker is. So the origin of the symbiote could be different across multiverses, but still be connected. Sort of similar to the Madame Web story arc in the Spiderman comics, which it seems like the MCU might be touching on soon.

[zitothebrave]

Just got back from Doctor Strange. It's a quality film overall, hardly perfect but it's got a good number of references and callbacks. I think my favorite was Captain Carter, everyone lost their **** when John Krasinski showed up as Reed Richards, and Patrick Stewart as professor X.

[Jaw]

Just got back from Doctor Strange. It's a quality film overall, hardly perfect but it's got a good number of references and callbacks. I think my favorite was Captain Carter, everyone lost their **** when John Krasinski showed up as Reed Richards, and Patrick Stewart as professor X.

Watched it in 3D with my daughter yesterday. We enjoyed it, but I thought the first Strange was better. This one lacked that feeling of awe that the Sorcerer Supreme provided in the first movie.

[zitothebrave]

Watched it in 3D with my daughter yesterday. We enjoyed it, but I thought the first Strange was better. This one lacked that feeling of awe that the Sorcerer Supreme provided in the first movie.

I can see that. It's a different film for sure. Seemed to be more of a table setter for another film (or perhaps the big bad of phase 4/5) as opposed to a deep dive into Strange. I'm assuming it's setting up Secret Wars

I like Wanda as the villain and hopefully now she can get her proper redemption arc. She certainly didn't die on the film. She's likely Dr. Manhattaning somewhere.

It also is setting up YOung Avengers as now we've seen Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Wiccan, Speed and soon Ms. Marvel and Ironheart. We've also seen though not powered up Eli Bradley, Cassie Lang, kind of kid loki.

[Jaw]

It's expanding faster than I can keep up. We've probably seen 10 of the movies and none of the shows. It leaves some big gaps, like Wanda's kids.

[zitothebrave]

It's expanding faster than I can keep up. We've probably seen 10 of the movies and none of the shows. It leaves some big gaps, like Wanda's kids.

I mean I think they did a good job just setting the concept without the big buildup of the show. The idea of a mom hunting for children corrupted and powerful by an all knowing and powerful book was set in the film.

But it's better with knowing everything.

[Jaw]

Yeah, that was more of an observation than a complaint, the scope of this whole thing is incredible. I can't think of anything else like it. I know Brandon Sanderson has a spreadsheet and an assistant responsible for keeping all the lore of the Cosmere straight. I can't imagine how the people in charge of MCU do it.

[zitothebrave]

Yeah, that was more of an observation than a complaint, the scope of this whole thing is incredible. I can't think of anything else like it. I know Brandon Sanderson has a spreadsheet and an assistant responsible for keeping all the lore of the Cosmere straight. I can't imagine how the people in charge of MCU do it.

I mean they have a huge reference in the comics. It's bound to get away from them multiple times. Keeping canon straight is always tough.

I do hope we get some more insular films soon. It looks like Thor Love and Thunder will have a healthy amount of bloat to it. But I'm here for it. I like the first teases of Gorr and the seriousness of that flexed with the humor and visuals that Taika is killing it with. Trailer slaps.

But I hope movies like Black Panther Wakanda forever and Guardians 3 set some stuff up, but also stay tight. Rumor is Guardians 3 is the end of this crew as Gunn indicated he's done as has Dave Bautista, Chris Pratt, etc.

What will be interesting is the inevitable reset that has to be coming soon. Like with X-Men and Fantastic 4 being involved now, and if they can play nice with Sony for Spiderman, Marvel could just reboot the whole MCU.

[Carp]

Just got back from Doctor Strange. It's a quality film overall, hardly perfect but it's got a good number of references and callbacks. I think my favorite was Captain Carter, everyone lost their **** when John Krasinski showed up as Reed Richards, and Patrick Stewart as professor X.

Watched it 2 weeks ago. Thought Krasinski as a Reed Richards was way out of place. He just doesn't fit that character, imo. Also seems weird that she can render Black Bolt and Reed Richards useless so easily, but has such a problem with Captain Carter.

Also, while I know it's a movie, why did they try using magic cannons to defeat her.... Does magic protect her a regular bullet to head? I kinda feel like it doesn't.

[Carp]

It's expanding faster than I can keep up. We've probably seen 10 of the movies and none of the shows. It leaves some big gaps, like Wanda's kids.

So far, the only shows that have really moved the big picture of the MCU plots along is WandaVision and Loki. Yes, the other shows introduced other new characters, but none of them seem likely to be large parts of the MCU going forward. Maybe Kingpin, but he seems like he'll be a recurring TV Series villain, rather than part of the bigger MCU.

The Loki series was pretty huge for the future of the MCU though. A lot will be built off of that.

[zitothebrave]

Need to hunt down trailers but we have a switch to Phase 5 mid stream. Phase 4 seems to be ending with BP:WF and 5 starts with Ant-Man and Wasp.

Phase 5 will have Guardians 3, Blade, Captain America 4, Marvels, and supposedly closes outy with Thunderbotls. There's some questions about the Marvels.

Lots of TV shows, but I'm mainly here for Daredevil: Born Again.

[zitothebrave]

Thunderbolts confirmed, assuming we'll get a release later

1568682566697492481

[zitothebrave]

Black Panther Wakanda Forever just proves that Ryan Coogler knows how to make a quality blockbuster.

This was a bit long for my liking. But he did a great job of crafting Shuri into being the character they needed her to be without too many leaps.

Some of the things I like.

First off I love when Marvel movies don't have the entire fate of the world at the balance. One could argue that if Wakanda didn't win then the world would have been in trouble. Though of course if the world gets too much in trouble, you have Thor, Hulk, etc. all who could come to the aid.

Secondly, the film does a great job of continuing to develop it's characters. I do miss Daniel Kaluya, but I get why he's not there.

Third, damn it was a smart choice to have her see Killmonger. It could have been her parents, but it made sense. I didn't think about it but yeah it made sense. And it was great. Michael B. Jordan of course killed it.

Lastly, Coogler killing off characters though. Lots of love with that.