Marvel Cinematic Universe thread v3 (no recent spoilers)

[bosk1]

IMO, they can be pretty addictive once you start.  I imagine that once you dip your toe in, you'll somehow find the time. 

[Lonk]

Season 2 of What If...? confirmed for this year!

[The Letter M]

https://youtu.be/m9EX0f6V11Y

Ms. Marvel coming June 8th!

-Marc.

[Lonk]

Looks interesting 

[hefdaddy42]

https://youtu.be/m9EX0f6V11Y

Ms. Marvel coming June 8th!

-Marc.

Nice!

[jammindude]

OMG that girl looks EXACTLY like my daughter in law!!!

[The Letter M]

OMG that girl looks EXACTLY like my daughter in law!!!

Everyone has a doppelganger! 

Also, it's interesting to note that Ms. Marvel will start airing just two weeks after Obi-Wan Kenobi starts, which will be the first time since Disney+ began that both a Marvel show and a Star Wars show will air on the same day. There was speculation that Ms. Marvel wouldn't air until Kenobi was finished, but I guess both will overlap. I wonder if the recent confirmation that What If...? Season 2 airing this year is what led to Ms. Marvel overlapping with Kenobi? They still have She-Hulk AND Secret Invasion to fit in later this year as well, so it looks like we'll have a total of five Marvel shows on Disney+ again this year.

Either way, it'll be an exciting year for new characters and stories. As different as MCU Kamala Khan will be to her 616 comics version, I'm interested in seeing how she fits into the broader MCU, how her powers develop and if she'll be meeting Carol at all in her series, or if that meet-up will have to wait until The Marvels hits theaters next February.

-Marc.

[Adami]

I can't say I'm a fan of how much they're changing her powers/origin story, but that said....it looks great! I'm loving the tonal shift, and the girl looks like she'll be a lot of fun. Excited for this!


Also love how they addressed her name pronunciation so quickly.

[DoctorAction]

I only know the briefest outline of the character but that looks really charming and fun.

[Zantera]

So not only was Morbius bad (which wasn't that surprising) but the post-credits scenes made it even worse.

[jammindude]

So not only was Morbius bad (which wasn't that surprising) but the post-credits scenes made it even worse.

Definitely Marvel, but not officially MCU, yes?

Just making sure because the official MCU has been very nearly flawless (The Eternals being the only real misstep...and even then, time might be kinder to it once we see the bigger picture of how it fits into phase 4). But this Morbius is part of that whole extended Sony “is it or isn’t it canonical” thing, which has a history of being mostly lower quality with maybe a couple of gems.

[Adami]

So not only was Morbius bad (which wasn't that surprising) but the post-credits scenes made it even worse.

Definitely Marvel, but not officially MCU, yes?

Just making sure because the official MCU has been very nearly flawless (The Eternals being the only real misstep...and even then, time might be kinder to it once we see the bigger picture of how it fits into phase 4). But this Morbius is part of that whole extended Sony “is it or isn’t it canonical” thing, which has a history of being mostly lower quality with maybe a couple of gems.

Haven't seen it (probably won't until it's free on streaming), but from what I've read, it's now canon in the same way Venom/other Spider-Man movies are. There's a multiverse, and this takes place in a part of that multiverse. Same universe as Venom if I remember correctly, and since Venom showed up briefly in No Way Home, then it's all canon in some way.

[Zantera]

So not only was Morbius bad (which wasn't that surprising) but the post-credits scenes made it even worse.

Definitely Marvel, but not officially MCU, yes?

Just making sure because the official MCU has been very nearly flawless (The Eternals being the only real misstep...and even then, time might be kinder to it once we see the bigger picture of how it fits into phase 4). But this Morbius is part of that whole extended Sony “is it or isn’t it canonical” thing, which has a history of being mostly lower quality with maybe a couple of gems.

It's technically not MCU I suppose but it also ties into Spider-Man and features an MCU character so I guess it's a weird case. I think the MCU (the official ones) has been mostly solid, Eternals for me is middle of the pack though there have been some rough ones like Thor 2, Iron Man 2, Captain Marvel, but overall the MCU level is definitely better than these 'adjacent' movies.

[Adami]

MCU is hardly flawless, but their lowest lows aren't super low and even their "meh" movies have fantastic qualities to them. I really didn't like the entire plot or villain or anything to Black Widow, but the first 2/3 of the movie and the family stuff and so forth was really fantastic. I really didn't like most of the plot or the execution of the Eternals........but...umm.....I dunno, it had some funny moments? Some cool action? Some really neat ideas that just weren't done well? I Dunno, that one's harder.

[jammindude]

MCU is hardly flawless, but their lowest lows aren't super low and even their "meh" movies have fantastic qualities to them. I really didn't like the entire plot or villain or anything to Black Widow, but the first 2/3 of the movie and the family stuff and so forth was really fantastic. I really didn't like most of the plot or the execution of the Eternals........but...umm.....I dunno, it had some funny moments? Some cool action? Some really neat ideas that just weren't done well? I Dunno, that one's harder.

I did say “very nearly flawless” and singled out The Eternals in particular so I think we’re almost on the same page.

[bosk1]

Eternals was hot garbage.  The worst of the rest of the MCU is at least "pretty good."

[Zantera]

I think Eternals gets more negativity than it deserves because it did raise some interesting philosophical questions about blindly following your leader and also whether they should interfere with life on earth or not, whether humans were worth saving and so on. Not one of the best MCU movies by any means but you compare it to Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Thor 2 or Iron Man 2 for example and it's not nearly as bad. I would say it stays out of the bottom 5 easily. I do think the MCU formula can get a bit grating sometimes (every serious moment undercut with a joke) but the biggest compliment you can give the MCU is that even the worst films (and there are a couple that aren't that great) are still enjoyable to watch the first time. I would maybe say 50% of the MCU movies fall into the category of 'fun to see once, not great enough to see twice', but that also means that the money spent on the movie ticket is never really wasted.

You compare it to something else like the X-Men franchise and that one has a couple that IMO stands up with the best of the MCU - Logan and Days of Future Past, but you also get stinkers like X-Men Origins Wolverine and Dark Phoenix that make even Thor 2 look like Citizen Kane. Morbius makes Captain Marvel feel like Infinity War in comparison.

Definitely feel more hyped for Dr. Strange 2 due to the fact Raimi is directing. One of my favorite directors and I just hope he's given room enough to 'make it his own'. That's otherwise one of my main criticisms with the MCU is that aside from maybe the Guardians of the Galaxy films, many of these films feel like they could be made by the same director. And they have their formula and it works, you don't change the recipe of the Big Mac sauce after all, but I do hope Raimi gets to play around with a creative hero like Dr. Strange.

[bosk1]

...but the biggest compliment you can give the MCU is that even the worst films (and there are a couple that aren't that great) are still enjoyable to watch the first time.

All except Eternals.  One of the worst films I have seen in my life, and if I could get my money and time back that I wasted having seen it, I would.

[Zantera]

...but the biggest compliment you can give the MCU is that even the worst films (and there are a couple that aren't that great) are still enjoyable to watch the first time.

All except Eternals.  One of the worst films I have seen in my life, and if I could get my money and time back that I wasted having seen it, I would.

I don't know how you can dislike it so much when something like Black Widow was miles worse.

[jingle.boy]

...but the biggest compliment you can give the MCU is that even the worst films (and there are a couple that aren't that great) are still enjoyable to watch the first time.

All except Eternals.  One of the worst films I have seen in my life, and if I could get my money and time back that I wasted having seen it, I would.

I don't know how you can dislike it so much when something like Black Widow was miles worse.

I can understand the dislike for it relative to all the other MCU movies, but even to just compare it against other blockbuster franchises, this movie is better than virtually every DCU movie, most Sony/Marvel movies, and certainly the last 2 Star Wars movies.  It's not a BAD movie on an absolute basis, but it is worse than most MCU releases.

[Zantera]

...but the biggest compliment you can give the MCU is that even the worst films (and there are a couple that aren't that great) are still enjoyable to watch the first time.

All except Eternals.  One of the worst films I have seen in my life, and if I could get my money and time back that I wasted having seen it, I would.

I don't know how you can dislike it so much when something like Black Widow was miles worse.

I can understand the dislike for it relative to all the other MCU movies, but even to just compare it against other blockbuster franchises, this movie is better than virtually every DCU movie, most Sony/Marvel movies, and certainly the last 2 Star Wars movies.  It's not a BAD movie on an absolute basis, but it is worse than most MCU releases.

I didn't love Eternals and it did have a bunch of flaws like many other Marvel movies but I do feel saddened by the reception of it because it shows people would rather have boring safe 'doesn't change up the formula' movies than Marvel doing something different. Shang-Chi was essentially Black Panther with a different coat of paint and a different culture, Black Widow felt like the most watered down 'MCU humor mixed with CGI video game action scenes with no stakes" and it does feel like a bit of a shame that people eat these up.

[Lonk]

While I didn't love Eternals on release, watching it a second time made me appreciate it a little more, and those "flaws" I initially saw were not as bad as I initially perceived them.

[soupytwist]

I came to Eternals late.  I was expecting much badness due to the negativity it got upon release, half way though the film and I actually enjoying it - but then the twist hit and it went to shite.  Maybe because the first half was decent I'd  put it above IM2 (which I think is the worst MCU film) and maybe Thor 2.

[Adami]

I hope the takeaway from Eternals isn’t to stick to formula. The issue with it wasn’t the newness, it was a very mediocre and often poorly written script.

[King Postwhore]

That would be the Hulk movie.  It's OK, but compared to the rest of the lot.  It's just average.

[Zantera]

That would be the Hulk movie.  It's OK, but compared to the rest of the lot.  It's just average.

It feels like a majority of people forget this even exists. 

[King Postwhore]

That would be the Hulk movie.  It's OK, but compared to the rest of the lot.  It's just average.

It feels like a majority of people forget this even exists. 

Even the TV stations don't play it on replays. You see every other movie always playing. 

[The Letter M]

That would be the Hulk movie.  It's OK, but compared to the rest of the lot.  It's just average.

It feels like a majority of people forget this even exists. 

Even the TV stations don't play it on replays. You see every other movie always playing.

That could just be because it was a Universal film and not from Marvel/Disney themselves. It's not even on Disney+ last I checked, but the MCU has done a fairly good job of trying to reference it despite its loose connections due to a recast and dropped characters (where has Betty gone?).

-Marc.

[jammindude]

I know I read somewhere that it absolutely is a distribution/licensing issue with Universal.

But you notice that they don’t have the Spider-Man movies on D+ for the same reason (only that’s with Sony)

[bosk1]

...but I do feel saddened by the reception of it because it shows people would rather have boring safe 'doesn't change up the formula' movies than Marvel doing something different.

No, the poor reception has nothing to do with it changing up the formula.  As Adami said:

I hope the takeaway from Eternals isn’t to stick to formula. The issue with it wasn’t the newness, it was a very mediocre and often poorly written script.

Among other things, but yes.  It was just a very poor film.  And one could argue that Eternals didn't change the formula at all, but was simply "yet another superhero team-up to fight generic baddies" film, and in that regard was much safer than some MCU films that did go out on a limb in various respects.  But we could argue all day about which MCU films took more of a risk and deviated more from "the formula," and still not agree on anything meaningful because, again, that wasn't the issue with this film at all.  Guardians for me is a textbook example of Marvel taking weak, unknown characters, and not much of a core story, and writing a brilliant script that developed into characters that we saw grow that made us care about them and their story.  Eternals, not so much.

[King Postwhore]

That would be the Hulk movie.  It's OK, but compared to the rest of the lot.  It's just average.

It feels like a majority of people forget this even exists. 

Even the TV stations don't play it on replays. You see every other movie always playing.

That could just be because it was a Universal film and not from Marvel/Disney themselves. It's not even on Disney+ last I checked, but the MCU has done a fairly good job of trying to reference it despite its loose connections due to a recast and dropped characters (where has Betty gone?).

-Marc.

Still would play on regular TV but you rarely see it compared to other films.  Spiderman is all over TV yet that's a dual venture as well.

[hefdaddy42]

Well, Spider-Man is roughly 20 times more successful than Hulk.

[King Postwhore]

Understood but if that's the case why do I see the Fantastic 4 movies still. Lol

[Lonk]

Rumors has it that Thor's trailer will be released early next week (possibly on Monday) 

[jingle.boy]

Rumors has it that Thor's trailer will be released early next week (possibly on Monday) 

My body is ready.