Marvel Media (Spoiler Thread)

Kang is one of the all-time Avengers villains, a time-traveling conqueror from the future who shows up repeatedly, and is in the comics a descendent of Reed and Sue Richards. Thanks to the time travel, his stories are often rather complicated, shall we say.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Kang is one of the all-time Avengers villains, a time-traveling conqueror from the future who shows up repeatedly, and is in the comics a descendent of Reed and Sue Richards. Thanks to the time travel, his stories are often rather complicated, shall we say.

He's also like three other Avengers/FF villains due to time travel bs. Also at least one hero.

lunchbox12682 wrote:

?
I don't get it.

But yes, more Isaiah.

In a post George Floyd world, cops really shouldn't go into interactions with suspects telling each other not to let them breath.

hbi2k wrote:
lunchbox12682 wrote:

?
I don't get it.

But yes, more Isaiah.

In a post George Floyd world, cops really shouldn't go into interactions with suspects telling each other not to let them breath.

Or in a pre-George Floyd world, for that matter.

We're talking about fiction here. Do we really want to start censoring this?

Who's talking about censoring anything? I'm saying that that line was a fantastic, subtle way of displaying what a tone-deaf, authoritarian asshole the character is.

Okok.
Didn't understand it that way.

Our daughter, who is into storybook universes, asked us if we'd like to watch the Marvel stuff in timeline order with her. So far, we're three days in and have Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and The Avengers down.

Watching everything so quickly in this order has made it a lot more cohesive. I really appreciate the one-two punch of the Captain movies to start things out. Captain America set the stage well, and Captain Marvel provided a lot of momentum as well as a much-needed early counter to the boys club. That helped push us through Iron Man 1 and 2 (entertaining and very well set up by Captain America), The Incredible Hulk (okay - glad it was my first and only watch though), and Thor (very entertaining - we see a lot more SHIELD).

Everything came together for The Avengers, which saw characters continuing to have moments of personal growth. That underlying theme of personal growth has been far more prominent while watching the movies over a span of days instead of years. The MCU folks had character development in mind throughout and it shows.

About the only thing we're not doing is diving into TV. Too many episodes and too far between major plot points for her. She likes the more condensed nature of movies, though TV might fill in more details with other interesting characters if she's interested after we're done. However, WandaVision will likely be included at the end of our current run since it can be taken as more of a miniseries.

I highly recommend Agent Carter at some point.

Aside from being a limited series (only two short seasons) and thus MUCH more approachable and digestible than any of the other pre-Disney Plus shows, Hayley Atwell is superb, the rest of the cast is also excellent, and the tone is relatively light and family friendly but with enough substance and heart to be compelling and fun from start to finish.


Somewhat relatedly, up until very recently that was the only pre-Disney Plus show I'd seen (exactly because it was short and I couldn't pass on a chance to see a bit more of Atwell killing it as Peggy Carter), but I finally decided to give Agents of SHIELD a go. While there are certainly plenty of ways in which it's sort of garbage television, holy hell if it isn't also an incredibly fun watch populated with an immensely likable cast of characters. I'm now about halfway through season 3 in a very short period of time, because those bastards were masterful at crafting the "post credit" cliffhangers to just drag you along from one episode to the next.

That said, I'm a bit apprehensive about getting toward the end of the season because I've gathered from various bits of wikipedia notes and other errata that

Spoiler:

Hunter and Bobbi Morse leave the show, which seems like a tremendous shame and a waste of fun characters. Oh, and that Daisy goes rogue for at least part of season 4, and I'm not sure I'm crazy about the ways I imagine that going.

zeroKFE wrote:

I highly recommend Agent Carter at some point.

Aside from being a limited series (only two short seasons) and thus MUCH more approachable and digestible than any of the other pre-Disney Plus shows, Hayley Atwell is superb, the rest of the cast is also excellent, and the tone is relatively light and family friendly but with enough substance and heart to be compelling and fun from start to finish.


Somewhat relatedly, up until very recently that was the only pre-Disney Plus show I'd seen (exactly because it was short and I couldn't pass on a chance to see a bit more of Atwell killing it as Peggy Carter), but I finally decided to give Agents of SHIELD a go. While there are certainly plenty of ways in which it's sort of garbage television, holy hell if it isn't also an incredibly fun watch populated with an immensely likable cast of characters. I'm now about halfway through season 3 in a very short period of time, because those bastards were masterful at crafting the "post credit" cliffhangers to just drag you along from one episode to the next.

That said, I'm a bit apprehensive about getting toward the end of the season because I've gathered from various bits of wikipedia notes and other errata that

Spoiler:

Hunter and Bobbi Morse leave the show, which seems like a tremendous shame and a waste of fun characters. Oh, and that Daisy goes rogue for at least part of season 4, and I'm not sure I'm crazy about the ways I imagine that going.

AOS was very peak and valley. I'm mid-season 5 I think and need to get back to it.
Regarding your spoiler, there was supposed to be a spin off that never came to be. I was surprised they never undid that change afterwards.

Regarding your spoiler, there was supposed to be a spin off that never came to be. I was surprised they never undid that change afterwards.

Yeah, that was the bit I read -- just a shameful waste either way!

Little Zemo really did grow up right in front of our eyes, didn't he?

IMAGE(https://i.redd.it/3lwrnkh6mdr61.png)

One thing that has stood out to me is how Sam loves to make promises he can't keep.

He promised his sister they'd get the loan and he promised Sharon he'd get a pardon for her and there's no reason to believe he can deliver on that.

I mean, I think he BELIEVES he can get that stuff done.

Yeah, true. I don't think he's lying to people, he believes he's a hero who can get things done. But the world doesn't respect him the way he feels he should be.

As I'm typing I'm realising he comes across as quite entitled. Maybe with good reason, but he's not really respected by anyone.

I'm wondering if that's going to develop into something.

I don't know if "entitled" is the right word. In a perfect world, he WOULD be able to help his sister get a small business loan, and in a perfect world, he WOULD be able to get Sharon a pardon.

(It's really weird that she didn't get one already-- how is she the ONLY person on Team Cap who hasn't gotten one?)

Alright, so I fell behind and just watched episodes 2 & 3 today. Honestly, I'm pretty bored with this show so far. I don't hate it, but nothing much is happening. They go to a place, talk to someone, Bucky glares, and then go to a new place to repeat the process. I almost miss the boat loan plot. I mean, take that entire "Smiling Tiger" club scene. It lasted 15 minutes and the entire purpose of it was to get a name. Complete waste of time.

Fortunately Zemo is a delight to watch and I'm really liking the new Captain America. I've always been drawn to characters that the writers want you to hate and the writers really want to you hate John Walker. I felt the same way about that General guy in Wandavision. He had good reasons for wanting to take Wanda down, but the writers wanted you to hate him so they made him a mustache-twirling villain. And a jerkass to top it off. I really hope John Walker has a better fate and doesn't wind up as some psycho villain. That's the lazy way to solve the problem of Sam giving up the shield.

I don't remember Sharon Carter, so seeing her was kinda a meh. I know she's Peggy's neice and that she was in some of the previous films, but it's been too long. I simply don't remember any of her scenes.

There’s a sequence in F&WS episode 4 where Zemo is talking about how having superpowers changes how a person interacts with the world and inevitably leads to sociopathy, and how Steve Rodgers has been the only exception to this. Sam agrees with him, despite personally knowing like dozens of other superhumans.

I don’t know, maybe that’s just shoddy writing or maybe it’s a comment on how Sam views his coworkers.

ruhk wrote:

There’s a sequence in F&WS episode 4 where Zemo is talking about how having superpowers changes how a person interacts with the world and inevitably leads to sociopathy, and how Steve Rodgers has been the only exception to this. Sam agrees with him, despite personally knowing like dozens of other superhumans.

I don’t know, maybe that’s just shoddy writing or maybe it’s a comment on how Sam views his coworkers.

Looking at most of the superheroes (with superpowers) he has worked with, Steve aside, most of them **are** sociopaths.

That aside, the show is still really, really good as of the end of episode 4. It is not anything near Wandavision, but I didn't expect it to be. It is a nice, nice palate-cleanser.

Edit to add - If you watch this with younger folk, be aware the last part

Spoiler:

(just after the short foot chase involving Walker and one of the Flag Smashers) is a lot closer to The Punisher than Captain America.

I've been watching F&WS and it's struggling a little. It's too obvious in it's plot points, badly underutilizing Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie continues to be, well, Anthony Mackie and unfortunately the actor playing Karli isn't very good, which is a bit of a shame for such an important role. It's nowhere near as good and inventive as Wandavision was, and that's where all the comparisons are going to be made. Zemo is a blast though. It's not bad, but it's not exactly good either.

I do have better hopes for Loki though, judging by the trailers.

Sorbicol wrote:

I've been watching F&WS and it's struggling a little. It's too obvious in it's plot points, badly underutilizing Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie continues to be, well, Anthony Mackie and unfortunately the actor playing Karli isn't very good, which is a bit of a shame for such an important role. It's nowhere near as good and inventive as Wandavision was, and that's where all the comparisons are going to be made. Zemo is a blast though. It's not bad, but it's not exactly good either.

I do have better hopes for Loki though, judging by the trailers.

I think part of why I do enjoy it is because like so much of the MCU, they are constantly covering different genres. And I like the F&WS style stuff. Is it quite as good as Cap2? Not yet, but it could be.

I'm enjoying the hell out of it so far, and it's getting progressively better. Zemo is fantastic and I can't get enough of him, and watching the Dora Milaje kick ass is always appreciated it, and the look on Bucky's face when his arm fell off was magic. Karli is getting far more interesting now that she's been given a chance to speak her views, and I like her semi-bond with Sam, and still wondering if her dying or her giving an inspirational speech to Sam is the trigger for him picking up the shield at the end of the series.

Walker's descent has felt earned, for lack of a better term. He started as someone genuinely trying to be a hero, and he's surrounded by superpowered people who just have it easier for him, and he can't accept failure. He's been through so much, and he's incapable of dealing with the fact he can't handle his role, and he's completely outclassed.

Zemo is the Anges of this show, the person I need to keep seeing in the future, because they're stealing the entire damn show.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Walker's descent has felt earned, for lack of a better term. He started as someone genuinely trying to be a hero, and he's surrounded by superpowered people who just have it easier for him, and he can't accept failure. He's been through so much, and he's incapable of dealing with the fact he can't handle his role, and he's completely outclassed.

Him getting completely outclassed by the DM was brilliant work on the part of the producers. They are really the only "normal humans" group in the MCU that is believably able to be that bad ass and beat him that trivially so as to really make him feel the need to use the serum.

If only he had shared half of the serum with battle star.

I wonder if this will end up seeing Winter Soldier end up as Nomad?

mudbunny wrote:

I wonder if this will end up seeing Winter Soldier end up as Nomad?

I thought they kind of used that up with Steve when he went underground with the blacked out star. But I guess they could make it official with somebody else.

But Winter Soldier>White Wolf>Nomad?

Seems too much. Stick with a name

MannishBoy wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

I wonder if this will end up seeing Winter Soldier end up as Nomad?

I thought they kind of used that up with Steve when he went underground with the blacked out star. But I guess they could make it official with somebody else.

But Winter Soldier>White Wolf>Nomad?

Seems too much. Stick with a name :)

After being known as The Winter Soldier, I doubt James would want another "made up" name - as Peter Parker would say. He'll likely just stick to Bucky.

Now that Walker has killed someone, after taking the supersoldier serum, I wonder if he will eventually be moved to the US Agent role in some capacity in the MCU.