[Movies] MCU: Phase 3 And Beyond

I don't believe they've explained with science, but tried to use science to define the stones. They're trying to explain something they don't understand in terms they do understand, doesn't mean that they're actually explaining it.

I think magic will be fine, not saying Majik would be though, with the path they are currently following.
Majik is tied pretty closely to X-Men, at least in the last year or two (plus being Colossus' sister), so who knows what company has the rights to her.
 
I was just having a little fun with words there, since I had to consciously decide to spell the word "magic" instead of "Majik." Fox has her rights. along with almost every other mutant out there.
 
Strange is straight-up magic, though. Always has been, always will be.
Same could be said for Thor, and it worked out okay for him to have at least some science mixed in. Not to say Thor does not have it's own magic in the MCU. Look at what Loki can do whenever he wants, having nearly undetectable illusions. That isn't science I can tell you that, because A) He is not Asgardian, he learned the skills from his adopted mother Frigga, so that rules out hereditary power and B) He was able to use the abilities in prison, which means it was not some external gadget they likely would have taken from him. It is just magic.
 
Same could be said for Thor, and it worked out okay for him to have at least some science mixed in. Not to say Thor does not have it's own magic in the MCU. Look at what Loki can do whenever he wants, having nearly undetectable illusions. That isn't science I can tell you that, because A) He is not Asgardian, he learned the skills from his adopted mother Frigga, so that rules out hereditary power and B) He was able to use the abilities in prison, which means it was not some external gadget they likely would have taken from him. It is just magic.
I mentioned it earlier, but there are some cases (Ultimates, I think?) where Asgard was just a technological powerhouse. The science used to grant their powers was so far advanced from Earth's that it was magic to Earthlings.
 
Same could be said for Thor, and it worked out okay for him to have at least some science mixed in. Not to say Thor does not have it's own magic in the MCU. Look at what Loki can do whenever he wants, having nearly undetectable illusions. That isn't science I can tell you that, because A) He is not Asgardian, he learned the skills from his adopted mother Frigga, so that rules out hereditary power and B) He was able to use the abilities in prison, which means it was not some external gadget they likely would have taken from him. It is just magic.
The other Asgardians (Heimdall, Sif, etc) repeatedly mention that Loki is "quite gifted with magic". So while most Asgardian magitech is just sufficiently advanced technology, Loki's abilities seem to be something else.
 
I mentioned it earlier, but there are some cases (Ultimates, I think?) where Asgard was just a technological powerhouse. The science used to grant their powers was so far advanced from Earth's that it was magic to Earthlings.
Does not change my point though. The original Thor, since his creation back in the 1960s, was magical. There have been more recent alternate runs (Ultimates, MCU) that successfully played with the idea of magitech, and no one really complained.

Be aware, I am not talking Strange using Iron Man technology here or becoming some genetic mutant, it could be something small in the origin, like we learn the Ancient One gained much of his (or in this case, her) knowledge starting from old Asgardian texts. Using some of this knowledge, the Ancient One was able to create rifts through space into other unknown "realms", which gave them access to powerful beings like the Octessence. Once communication was opened, the members of the Octessence showed the Ancient One (and later Steven Strange) how to invoke powers that they bestow on the Sorcerer Supreme or other favored beings. Strange decides to push this further to find other dimensions with other patron beings, only to stumble on the Dark Dimension and Dormammu. It's still in the end magic and occult, but the origin is based on quasi-science. (the closest other parallel I can think of to what I mean is Hellboy)

They could even tie it all back to Thor if they decide to have any cross-over (for instance, we could learn much of the magic Loki uses is bestowed by a tenuous connection of Ikonn).
 
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Marvel Studios has announced a science contest for girls ages 14-18 known as the Ant-Man Micro-Tech Challenge.

http://www.ant-manchallenge.com/

Here are the details:
The challenge invites girls nationwide, ages 14 – 18, in grades 9-12, to design and build a DIY project using at least one readily available micro-technology component, which can enable tinkerers, makers, builders and future Imagineers to execute big ideas with a board that fits in their pocket and costs less than a video game. The projects can be utilitarian, artistic or just plain fun.

After completing a project, applicants will be asked to submit a short video demonstrating the project and explaining how it will inspire other girls to pursue interests in science, technology, engineering, or math.

The five winners will each receive: Two round-trip tickets to Southern California, including hotel accommodations, from June 28 through June 30, 2015, to be on the red carpet at the World Premiere of Marvel’s Ant-Man at the Dolby Theatre in Dolby Atmos on June 29, 2015; attend a special “The Evolution of Technology” workshop on June 30 at The Disneyland Resort where they will meet Walt Disney Imagineers who will introduce them to the broader scope of technology and how innovation is inspired during a behind-the-scenes tour of The Disneyland Resort; and receive a tour of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

Upon completion of the challenge, a STEM-based girls program in each winner’s hometown will be selected to receive “re-create” instructions for each project. Each winner will have the opportunity to lead a workshop in building her project with the girls in the selected program in her community. By sharing their work, the winners will accomplish big things from small beginnings by inspiring other young girls to follow their interests in computing, technology, and engineering.

Entries will be accepted from May 21, 2015 through June 11, 2015.
 
Bleah. I also thought the Punisher is one of Marvel's weakest characters. I understand the "why" of his creation, but he always leaves a Frank Miller-esque "I've got a gun and a grimace, so revenge blah blah blah" bad taste in my mouth. I hope Daredevil can find something useful to do with him, but I'm not expecting much.
 
Bleah. I also thought the Punisher is one of Marvel's weakest characters. I understand the "why" of his creation, but he always leaves a Frank Miller-esque "I've got a gun and a grimace, so revenge blah blah blah" bad taste in my mouth. I hope Daredevil can find something useful to do with him, but I'm not expecting much.
Normally I would agree with you, but I think this provides an excellent opportunity to contrast DD with The Punisher and show where vigilantism can go too far. I imagine The Punisher will be a very sympathetic villain/anti-hero present to create tension and contrast, rather than be glorified.

I also think that is some excellent casting. Bernthal is fantastic, and he even looks right for the part.
 
Was st work and didn't reslly have time to weigh in with my thoughts.

I don't really care about Punisher, but I also never cared for Daredevil and they made me care, because the show is that good. I am sure they have a solid plan for Frank Castle.

And Jon Bernthal is perfect freaking casting. In all the nerd conversations where we fantasy-cast marvel characters, somehow his never came up. But he is PERFECT for the role. I am excited for what season 2 has for us
 
Bleah. I also thought the Punisher is one of Marvel's weakest characters. I understand the "why" of his creation, but he always leaves a Frank Miller-esque "I've got a gun and a grimace, so revenge blah blah blah" bad taste in my mouth. I hope Daredevil can find something useful to do with him, but I'm not expecting much.
The problem with the Punisher is he's basically a villain who hunts down other villains, but Marvel isn't interested in doing villain comics in the same way DC does. Regardless... why is the Punisher important in the grand scheme of things beyond "Oh god, why hasn't Spider-man or any other NYC based hero brought this guy in yet?". He might be popular, but he's ultimately a small player outside of very specific situations.

Honestly, the only REAL use I could see for him in DD is to have Murdoc be his lawyer while he sits in jail. Do a mini-arc about getting Frank out of jail... only to discover that he actually DID what he was accused of because the guys he killed were mobsters or some shit.
 
The problem with Punisher is he's kind of a one-note character like most run-of-the-mill revenge films. I find his mileage runs out pretty quick.

That said, he DOES work well as a moralistic foil, as Tress pointed out. So I'm in.
 
The problem with Punisher is he's kind of a one-note character like most run-of-the-mill revenge films. I find his mileage runs out pretty quick.

That said, he DOES work well as a moralistic foil, as Tress pointed out. So I'm in.
Marvel really needs a Suicide Squad-esque group that Frank Castle is forced to join when he finally gets pinched by the fuzz. Team him up with guys like Tombstone and Taskmaster and FORCE HIM to ether be as bad as he wants or to fucking grow a spine and admit that he isn't any better than the rest of his teammates and grow as a character.
 
With season 1 you had two opposing views on how to clean up Hell's Kitchen. Yes, Kingpin's an evil shit, but he's got the financial backing and infrastructure in place that, long term his vision could be good for the kitchen, in a heavily distorted way. Matt Murdock's method might be more altruistic but it's not without it's moral dilemmas, and it's a much more uphill battle, with no end in sight. Season 2, we have three views on how to clean up the criminal activity in the city, and each of the three views the other two as part of the problem. It's pretty straight forward.
 
Marvel really needs a Suicide Squad-esque group that Frank Castle is forced to join when he finally gets pinched by the fuzz. Team him up with guys like Tombstone and Taskmaster and FORCE HIM to ether be as bad as he wants or to fucking grow a spine and admit that he isn't any better than the rest of his teammates and grow as a character.
Didn't this pretty much happen in The Thunderbolts?
 
Didn't this pretty much happen in The Thunderbolts?
Kinda-sort-of? I only read the early issues, but I think they were masquerading as good guys, but some were still bad and others decided to get on the good guy bandwagon. I think? My memory may be failing me on this one.

I do agree with you, @Tress , that he could serve as a moral foil for Matt, but after reading @checkeredhat 's scenerio, my problem with it is Frank Castle usually seems more concerned with his own interests than the community's. In the appearances I've read of his (and granted, it's limited because I don't like him), if he's helping anyone else, it's usually because it intersects with his own goals. I'm not sure he'd really be a good equivalent in the DD/Kingpin/Punisher triangle.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Didn't Punisher have a small but poignant scene in Civil War?
I seem to recall something about him killing two villains that were looking to go legit as they were shaking hands with Captain America, and then refusing to fight back as Cap beat him into hamburger.
 
Kinda-sort-of? I only read the early issues, but I think they were masquerading as good guys, but some were still bad and others decided to get on the good guy bandwagon. I think? My memory may be failing me on this one.

I do agree with you, @Tress , that he could serve as a moral foil for Matt, but after reading @checkeredhat 's scenerio, my problem with it is Frank Castle usually seems more concerned with his own interests than the community's. In the appearances I've read of his (and granted, it's limited because I don't like him), if he's helping anyone else, it's usually because it intersects with his own goals. I'm not sure he'd really be a good equivalent in the DD/Kingpin/Punisher triangle.
Actually, the Punisher's recently been a part of the Thunderbolts. It's a bit of a different team, however, as it's formed by Red Hulk and includes him, Punisher, Deadpool, Elektra, and Agent Venom.

Honestly, I see season 2 as more of an opportunity to explore the impact of the growing costumed hero presence. While Daredevil may have stepped in and knocked down Kingpin, that doesn't mean Hell's Kitchen is clear. Maybe we start seeing some criminals turned to the costumed style, and along with it, we get the Punisher. That way, you get the extreme side of crime and extreme side of punishment, with Daredevil caught in the middle.
 

fade

Staff member
Civil War was the only good crossover to come out of Marvel in a long time. It made me buy comics again. I've sort of got this dread that that's where the MCU falls apart and dies, though. It's too much story to tell on the big screen, and it relied very heavily on readers knowing the characters.
 
Civil War was the only good crossover to come out of Marvel in a long time. It made me buy comics again. I've sort of got this dread that that's where the MCU falls apart and dies, though. It's too much story to tell on the big screen, and it relied very heavily on readers knowing the characters.
Well, they're not exactly telling the same story. One of the major things in the comic - revealing their secret identities - simply isn't an issue in the MCU. Likewise, there is a much smaller number of characters involved - many characters involved don't even exist in the MCU and probably aren't going to. So without that level of bloat, it's a much more streamlined story. Think about it - no Sue and Reed Richards, no Namor, none of the X-Men or other mutants. That streamlines two issues worth of subplots right there. Hell, Dr. Strange more or less sat the whole thing out, so he doesn't have to be in it at all.

From the hints that have dropped, the crux of the issue is that, given the enormous amounts of collateral damage incurred by superheroes, does there need to be some agency in charge of them? And if so, who should that agency be? And what does that mean for both the powered, and the rest of us - one agency suddenly in charge of all that power. Captain America could easily see the spectre of HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD in that; it would absolutely be the sort of organization they'd want to be part of. But at the same time, letting people that are more or less walking WMDs just do whatever they want without being monitored or being held accountable isn't exactly wise, either - with the Avengers, Stark has been footing the bill, but what about all the newly arising enhanced?

Then of course, you have Bucky and Crossbones in the shadows, with their own business with Cap...
 
Civil War was the only good crossover to come out of Marvel in a long time. It made me buy comics again. I've sort of got this dread that that's where the MCU falls apart and dies, though. It's too much story to tell on the big screen, and it relied very heavily on readers knowing the characters.
And here I was thinking that I was the only one who actually liked Civil War.
 
I know this is not about the MCU... but griping about casting kinda fits here.

The Onion said:
WASHINGTON—Expressing their frustration with the casting for the new Fantastic Four film, comic book fans across the country were reportedly adamant Monday that the superhero the Human Torch should be played by an actor who is actually engulfed in flames. “They should have stayed true to the original comics and selected an actor whose entire body is on fire,” said longtime Fantastic Four fan Barry Reich, criticizing filmmakers for casting Michael B. Jordan, who, unlike the comic book version of the Human Torch, is not enveloped from head to toe in flames. “Hollywood screwed up big time. It makes no sense for Susan Storm’s younger brother, Johnny, to be played by a non-ignited man. Since 1963, the Human Torch has always been able to generate powerful streams of flames and fireballs, and to ignore that is insulting to Fantastic Four creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.” Comic book fans, however, reportedly commended Fantastic Four director Josh Trank’s bold choice to cast a hyper-intelligent actor with multiple scientific doctorates and an elastic body as Mister Fantastic.
 
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