Topic: IT'S MAHVEL BAYBEE!! [OT] for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movies & TV)

[Spak-Spang]

Black Panther is 10 out of 10.  Easily the best Marvel movie and an excellent film all together.

Don't HYPE me.... I'm already HYPE'd, I don't need no more HYPE!!!

Finally watched Thor Ragnorok. Best Thor ever!

Miek! You're alive!

Man what was you waiting for!?
This was easily worth a theater watch, and yes BEST THOR EVAR!!1!!

Also it has the best Marvel Villain in my opinion.  The story is truly epic.  The comparisons to a Shakespearean play are true.  I think some people might be turned off by that, because the story repeats a scene 3 times that is VERY important to the overall feel and lore of the story.  However, each time they do it, it is for building of the characters and relationships.  The story is very personal and it is nice to have a story be smaller than  larger in this universe.  The effects are great, but one CGI scene looked pretty bad.  The Action was tight and stylized.  I am ready for this "new" phase 4 direction of Marvel because they have been doing a bang up job, with improving the "Marvel" formula with each and every movie.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Phase 3 as a whole has by far been the best phase so far.

BP, 2 Avenger movies, Antman2, and Capt Marvel ensure it will probably create some extra distance in the already existing gap.

[Luigi Dude]

Yeah getting rid of Perlmutter from having any control over Marvel Studio's was the best thing Feige could do.  It's no surprise with Perlmutter's cheap ass gone, Feige has allowed the directors to really go all out with the Phase 3 movies.

This is one of the good parts about Disney owning Marvel is they're known for rewarding success, and with Feige releasing hit after hit, they've pretty much given him full control, which has allowed him to really give the directors all the support they need to make the films the way they've wanted.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Now if Disney can just wrap ALL the live action Marvel under the Marvel Studios banner, pull ALL their animation under the supervision of Disney Animation, and leave the comic/graphic novel business to Perlmutter or whoever... I think everything will be right in the land of Marvel.

I know this puts a lot on Feige's plate, but he would appoint another him to supervise the TV **** and handle the majority of the details, this would just make sure that it does not interfere with the movie stuff, but can still be considered cannon as it would still follow the basic outline set for the phase and get the Feige sign-off. This would also allow crossovers, not just between ALL the non-movie stuff, but hopefully with with the movie stuff as well. #pipedreams

and Marvel animation needs some real talent behind it right now. DCAU has been all but dead in the water with all their direct to DVD movies for the last 5 or so years. I have no idea how Avengers Assemble, GotG or Spider-Man are doing on Disney XD, or who is even animating them, but if they can get more quality cartoons out, and some direct to DVD movies (that aren't shitty looking anime), maybe start a MCAU in the direct to DVD market, they just might take over the superhero mindshare completely (or saturate it.... but I would assume they'd start with only a few of the well knows and then venture into more unknown or yet to be used but need more awareness before a MCU appearance characters). Bringing back X-Men the New Animated series before attempting to integrate them into the MCU would be awesome.

and frankly.... no one cares what's happening in the comics today, so Ike can keep those, do with them as he pleases till he finally decides to retire.

[nickmitch]

I don't think it's fair to say that no one cares about what's happening in the comics.  But Marvel has some well deserved criticisms in that department.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I don't think it's fair to say that no one cares about what's happening in the comics.  But Marvel has some well deserved criticisms in that department.

Maybe not "no one", but all the focus is on the movies and TV shows.
and most of those are based on older comic runs w/ some new liberties.
lots of current books have relaunched to capitalize on the current movies, same as the cartoons.

So now that the books are being influenced by the popularity of the movies, and the movies have eclipsed the money the books were bringing in ages ago, it's pretty safe to say that the books may be the founding base, but now the background of Marvel and their fans focus when it comes to knowing and experiencing the most popular of characters.

edit: and Toys... I'd say Perlmutter can handle toys since thats his specialty, but maybe merchandising can be done by whoever at Disney currently handles action figures too.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Check this out. Ike (Marvel) offered to sell Sony the rights to ALL CHARACTERS back in 1998 for $25M
https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/964143023088119809

Sony originally sent request for rights to Spider-man, Marvel responded w/ rights to everyone....
Sony rsponded to the offer like this "No one gives a **** about any other Marvel characters. Go back and make a deal for only Spider-man"




Oooooops. But so glad Sony had tunnel vision 20 years ago. LOL
https://twitter.com/benfritz/status/964162218823577602

[nickmitch]

Yeah, many of the current runs are heavily influenced by the films.  The Ultimate Universe version of Nick Fury was famously designed after Samuel L. Jackson, and now that universe has meshed with the 616 and they put Peter Parker back in the suit fairly recently.

But movies were always just a more profitable platform than comic books.  I think that's always been the case.  They're a more approachable and "mainstream" medium and that helps them be a high risk, high reward market place.  The technology has just gotten to a place where the movies can have the right look and feel.

And it's been hard for Marvel to get people to jump from the films to the books.  Sure, they do tie-in books, but those aren't 616 canonical.  And there's almost too much history with any given character to get people to jump in.  Like, you get people interested in Thor, but when they go pick up the new Thor books and it's a woman.  Likewise with Captain America, you get interested from the films, go to check the comics and he's suddenly black and making out with Thor; and Steve Rogers is alive, but he's with Hydra for the time being.  And while all those things made sense in context, no one who isn't interested in comic books is going to take the time to get into.  It's just not immediately approachable.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Looks like I forgot to post about Avengers: Age of Ultron in here. We watched it last week.

My daughter didn't care for most of it, as in it didn't hold her attention though lots of the extended dialog scenes. So I did my best to condense what was going on after the long talking parts so that she was still following the story. We actually ended up splitting the movie into 2 parts because it was so long and not holding her attention.
I do know as usual she was into the sad, action and funny parts.
She took notice of Natasha and The Hulk with the lullaby
and was saddened at Quicksilver sacrificing himself to save Hawkeye
also when Ultron seemingly destroyed Jarvis in the lab
and when Hulk ignored Natasha in the jet and flew off to who knows where
But, she was excited when Nick Fury showed up
and of course we were both into all the action scenes

I made sure to point out Klaue, and how Ultron sliced his arm off.
I also made sure to point out to her that they put the Infinity Stone in Vision's forehead.

So while this wasn't one of her favorites, she managed to make it through and did somewhat enjoy it.

-----=====-----

But since then, we've also watched Ant-Man (yesterday) and even though she remembered seeing it, there was so much she never caught onto. She was pretty into this one from the start, which is good, because this was one of the "funner" Marvel movies, and one of my favorites to watch.

From the opening punch to the face, to the pet ant at the end, we were both enjoying this movie.
From the break in, to the escape from the jail cell, she was excited and/or asking questions
Dirty bathtubs, giant rats, and then ants... everywhere, bringing sugar, spinning coins. It was a good time watching a movie.
I made sure to point out Old Stark Sr., and Agent Carter in the beginning so she saw the connections, I kept pointing out the tank on Hank's keychain so it would have some relevance... turned out I had to pause the movie to show her what a tank was and what it was used for, but that's good. She learning new stuff from Marvel movies here
Like that ants may band together to float on water making a raft out of themselves to keep the squad afloat and mostly alive.. Science Baby!!! learning opportunities, gotta seize them.

She was kinda grossed out by the guy turning into goop in the bathroom, and definitely saddened when AnTony got shot, but then the favorite scenes of the movie came right after that. The trainset fight, the super shrink and the creation of AntDog, the friendly family pet. LOL

I didn't ask where this fell on her favorites list, but I'll just assume it's certainly at the top next to IM1 and The Avengers.

I'm hoping to find time today for Civil War, another one I know she remembers watching with me in the theater just 2 years ago because of BP and SM, which is all the more reason why I'm trying to slip it into todays schedule so that BP's introduction is fresh in her mind for Black Panther tomorrow.
A movie we are both super excited to watch.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Yeah, many of the current runs are heavily influenced by the films.  The Ultimate Universe version of Nick Fury was famously designed after Samuel L. Jackson, and now that universe has meshed with the 616 and they put Peter Parker back in the suit fairly recently.

But movies were always just a more profitable platform than comic books.  I think that's always been the case.  They're a more approachable and "mainstream" medium and that helps them be a high risk, high reward market place.  The technology has just gotten to a place where the movies can have the right look and feel.

Ike Perlmutter wouldn't have agreed with you 20 years ago... not even just over 10 years ago either. In that article I posted above Ike stated that the only reason Iron Man was chosen as the first movie, had nothing to do with caring about making good creative movies, or creating the MCU, it was all about which toys kids would want to play with more based on the available IP they could make a movie with....

So apparently toys were the profitable platform the he seek. Movies were just the medium to popularize the characters to sell the toys.... which is probably why he was willing to sell the movie rights to all the characters for a mere $25M. Thank god for Feige for having a bigger picture vision.

I'm mixing time frames here... $25M was back in '98 right after bankruptcy, and the Toy Prioritization was mid 2000's just before the start of the MCU. but my point being Perlmutter is lucky we got where we are today based on the decisions and focus he had back then. LOL

[nickmitch]

Ike Perlmutter might've been right at that time, though.  He was (is) running a major media company, and I have the benefit of hindsight.

But I do question how he never looked at big, successful movies (especially ones based on books like Jurassic Park) and think, "Why not us?".  Great books, great characters, great stories.  But again, that seems stupidly obvious in 2018.  And maybe not enough people gave a **** about Iron-Man until they made a movie.  But hey, high risk, high reward.

[BlackNMild2k1]

No one gave a **** about Ironman until they made a good movie. Same with Captain America, Thor, The Avengers and everyone else to follow as well.

Problem is Ike didn't have vision or value in the IP he was in control of. He took over Marvel through Toybiz and as a toy guy... Action figures, etc etc. That's what he knew and what he cared about. Big part of the reason I'm sure, that Marvel signed so many shitty IP deals with so many different studios that basically left Marvel as a silent consult with little power or control over what happens with their stuff in that present and far into the now future.

Thank God Feige was there when the time came for Marvel to make their own movies and put the creative future of their franchises in their own hands.
And thankfully Disney stepped in to put some needed weight, financing, support, distribution, marketing and organization behind them when they did, otherwise we may have never really gotten where we are now, or where we are going to be come this time next year.
It's a great time to be a Marvel fan!

[Evan_B]

It has never been a better time to be a comic-book junkie used to low-stakes entertainment.

But if you want villains with actual heft, it's a sad time to be a Marvel fan.

[Spak-Spang]

Honestly, in both Marvel and DC the villains are always the worst characters.  It is hard to come up with multiple interesting characters that have dynamic motivations, character arcs and flaws.

Probably the 3 best franchises for villains are X-Men, Spiderman, and Batman.  And if you take a look at those franchises you realize that most of the villains work because they are "street-level" villains that can have simple motivations designed around an interesting flaw and gimmick. 

The bigger the threat the harder it is to make a good character.  I think the 3 exceptions are Brainiac, Darkseid, and Thanos. 

Other good villains have an interesting twist to their character that makes them more dangerous or an opposite of the main character.  Sinistero, Lex Luthor, Doctor Doom, and Magneto fall into these categories, they are interesting less because they are villains but more because who they are and what they represent to the hero. 

[BlackNMild2k1]

Well.... I don't know. Killmonger was a pretty good villain even if he wasn't in a whole lot of the movie. His motivations and message was more than just personal for him, but for a whole race separated from their culture, heritage, traditions, family, and birthrights.


The Vulture was also pretty good for how personal that was to the hero, and his status as the "everyday man just trying to find a way to earn a buck", as was EGO (till the fight went cartoonish. LOL).


I'm expecting Thanos to be the ultimate villain in Infinity War, so I suggest we all hold judgement on how sad it must be to be a Marvel fan if you long for "good villainy"

[BlackNMild2k1]

Forgot to post this earlier, so I'll just sneak it in now.
I watched Captain America: Civil War with my daughter yesterday.

She really liked this one. She was recognizing characters, and pretty excited to get to the big fight at the airport as she remembers this one from the theater. She didn't fully understand why everyone wanted to fight each other till I quickly explained the 2 sides (glossing over the Accords.... she's five, I kept it simple). But she was rooting for Black Widow anytime she was on screen, calling BW her favorite as she kickin ass next to all these powered people using skill as her main weapon.
She understood the trouble started when Scarlet Witch blew up that building that "still had all sorts of people in it" (my daughters words during the movie), and then besides the reason they were all lined up against each other, the only other thing I had to explain was the reason why Ironman wanted to kill Bucky even if it meant going through Cap.
Her favorite scene was of course the airport fight, and more specifically when Ant-Man went BIG and started crushing everything in sight.
Overall, a good rewatch experience, and that perfectly set us up for Black Panther tonight.

---====---

Tonight we watched Black Panther in IMAX, and it was just as awesome as expected.
I didn't sit directly next to my daughter as we were with other people and she sat next to the other child in the group. But I think my favorite part of this movie was when in the middle of a scene, my daughter stands up, calls me out "Dada!!" I look her way and she says "That was Stan Lee!!!" LMAO
OMG, I've taught her so well. She is officially a Marvel Baby. I love it.
She also called out during the previews to go watch Ant-Man and the Wasp in the theater. So glad she's excited for the future movies just like me.
I don't want to spoil anything, but she really enjoyed this movie as well. Her favorite scene in the trailer was of Shuri in the Lexus saying "You show off"... I don't believe that line is actually in the movie, but her favorite scene in the movie was actually involving Killmonger and T'Challa.

Really good watch BTW. Great Marvel movie, and one with a message that it doesn't shove down your throat, but makes it's point. Killmonger's (MBJ) motivations in this is what I think will get people to connect with the villain in this movie.

Oh, and Lines out the theater before my showing, during my showing, after my showing. Not sure if they were all sold out, but there was definitely excitement for everyone to go see it.

[Spak-Spang]

BlackandMild:  Killmonger is my favorite Marvel Villain.  They did a very good job, and were wise with how they represented him and used him for the theme of the entire movie and not just a villain.  It is one of the reasons why the movie is so good.

Vulture is one of the Spiderman villains, but lets be fair, he is not as cool as he is in the movie, they took a lot of creative license with the character to make him work as perfectly as he did.  But Spiderman Homecoming wasn't great because of the villain.  It was great because they got Spiderman done right. 

[BranDonk Kong]

BlackNMild2K1 - Parenting: you're doing it right.

[BlackNMild2k1]

BlackandMild:  Killmonger is my favorite Marvel Villain.  They did a very good job, and were wise with how they represented him and used him for the theme of the entire movie and not just a villain.  It is one of the reasons why the movie is so good.

Vulture is one of the Spiderman villains, but lets be fair, he is not as cool as he is in the movie, they took a lot of creative license with the character to make him work as perfectly as he did.  But Spiderman Homecoming wasn't great because of the villain.  It was great because they got Spiderman done right. 

While it is true that Vulture wasn't as cool in the comics, we ain't talking about the comics. In SMH Vulture was good. But yes, the best part of the movie was Spider-man, but the best scenes were SM reacting/interacting w/ Vulture. Like the car scene when they pulled up to prom. That scene was intense.

BlackNMild2K1 - Parenting: you're doing it right.

Between Marvel and Videogaming.... I'm trying

[Order.RSS]

But I think my favorite part of this movie was when in the middle of a scene, my daughter stands up, calls me out "Dada!!" I look her way and she says "That was Stan Lee!!!" LMAO

Hahaha that's amazing!!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Black Panther estimated opening 3 day weekend is $192M.

This is second only to The Avengers for all superhero opening weekends.
But here is how it stands to other solo openings in the MCU

Hulk - $55M
Ant-Man - $57M
Captain America - $65M
Thor - $66M
Dr. Strange - $85M
Guardians - $94M
Iron Man - $98M
Spiderman - $117M
Black Panther - $192M

[BranDonk Kong]

Is that Hulk or The Incredible Hull? Hulk is only MCU "if you want it to be" according to Feige, and I don't want it to be. Also is that Homecoming? I assume so. I don't think Guardians should count since it's not really a solo movie...also Iron Man 3 made $175 million at opening, I think this is solo debuts...not solo movies.

[Stratos]

Got our tickets and we'll be seeing it tonight! Oh yeah!

[BlackNMild2k1]

Is that Hulk or The Incredible Hull? Hulk is only MCU "if you want it to be" according to Feige, and I don't want it to be. Also is that Homecoming? I assume so. I don't think Guardians should count since it's not really a solo movie...also Iron Man 3 made $175 million at opening, I think this is solo debuts...not solo movies.

Yes their first movies, their "solo opener" to their series.
i.e. Not the sequels, not an Avengers movie, and yes MCU only.

So regardless of what you want to consider GotG, BP still did more than 2x it's opening weekend.

Also considering tomorrow is a holiday, Sunday's estimates may go up in actual totals, so $192M it's not final ($200M still a small possibility).

[BranDonk Kong]

Just saw it...pretty great. I think Killmonger was a very likeable. Not a traditional villain.