Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase Three and BEYOOOOONND

[Starlord]

Unfortunately, I don't think things will end up well for Cap at the end of Civil War.  He will either end up dead or, slightly more likely, in prison.  I predict a scene in Infinity War where he is released because they need him to lead the fight against Thanos.

[zslane]

Well, we all "know" that Bucky will be taking over for Cap in the not-too-distant future. Maybe that future beings with Civil War?

 

I hadn't considered the trump card of powered armor. But even then, I think Cap would find a way to defeat it. Given that it is designed to level the playing field against Superman, the suit might be more than Cap can handle if he takes it on straight up. But I'd like to think he isn't nearly as dumb as Batman was in Dark Knight Returns (when he tried slugging it out in a contest of brawn with Bane), and would be savvy enough not to engage directly with the suit. He would, presumably, approach it the same way he would approach trying to defeat "Veronica" (which I'm sure he's thought about quite a bit lately).

[Lord Liaden]

The musical theme that says "Captain America" to me more than any other:

 

 

[Starlord]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjv1ZP96arKAhUC7R4KHaXKD9YQ3ywIHTAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DcVU4HURKEXs&usg=AFQjCNH91OkLQjoLoImE1zzavvjM8n5UYA&sig2=mCksNcv77DMlR5ye-ttoCA&bvm=bv.112064104,bs.2,d.dmo

 

When Captain America throws his mighty shield!

[slikmar]

If that's how you choose to see it, I can't call you wrong.

 

AFAIK Iron Man was the first of the "powered armor" supers. IMHO the character doesn't get enough credit for originating a ground-breaking concept which has since become a staple of the genre. It has also fed the fantasies of generations of young comic fans. Most of us weren't born on Krypton, or can afford to spend a lifetime fanatically training to fight crime; but anyone might find a suit of super-armor and instantly become an iron man.

Well, he needed that +1/2 OIF modifier to afford all those things under the original point limit.

[Bazza]

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED WITH THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 3

http://www.looper.com/7536/really-happened-amazing-spider-man-3/

 

Posting here as it has repercussions for MCU. Consider it background why we have Spider-Man in MCU. 

[Bazza]

Thor 3 news & rumours (mainly rumours)

 

Exclusive: How Odin will reappear in Thor: Ragnarok

http://www.geek.com/news/exclusive-how-thor-ragnarok-will-handle-odins-disappearance-1644946/

 

Exclusive: The big bads of Thor: Ragnarok, and the destruction they bring

http://www.geek.com/news/exclusive-the-big-bad-of-thor-ragnarok-and-the-destruction-1645203/

 

Exclusive: Hulk’s role in Thor: Ragnarok revealed

http://www.geek.com/news/exclusive-hulks-role-in-thor-ragnarok-revealed-1645446/

 

RUMOR: HOW THE HULK WILL POP UP NEXT IN MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/rumor-where-the-hulk-will-pop-up-next-in-marvel-cinematic-universe-264

 

Taika Waititi, the Next Thor Director, Is an Indie Film Powerhouse

http://www.wired.com/2016/01/taika-waititi-thor-interview/

[Bazza]

'Captain America: Civil War' Cast Member Teases Pivotal Story Arc; What Happens To War Machine?

http://www.ibtimes.com/captain-america-civil-war-cast-member-teases-pivotal-story-arc-what-happens-war-2279025

 

Exclusive: This is how Spider-Man will enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

http://www.geek.com/news/exclusive-this-is-how-spider-man-will-enter-the-marvel-cinematic-universe-1644745/

[Pattern Ghost]

Disney Boss Promises That Their MARVEL Movies "Will Go On Forever"

 

(The article title is click bait, and a misrepresentation of the comment actually made, IMO.)

[Starlord]

I actually agree with Spielberg that the superhero genre will go the way of the western genre.  Which is not that outlandish a statement when you think about longstanding viewing patterns and the true state of the 'western' in present day, i.e. more are still made than you think.

[Hermit]

I actually agree with Spielberg that the superhero genre will go the way of the western genre.  Which is not that outlandish a statement when you think about longstanding viewing patterns and the true state of the 'western' in present day, i.e. more are still made than you think.

Yup. The Western Genre isn't dead, it's just not going full throttle.

 

The same may happen to Superheroes. Instead of five to ten superhero movies a year, we might trickle down to one a year, or even one every two years. Folks will pronounce it 'dead' but it will still be there. And, of course, there's still TV. The CW has shown that smaller networks at least can provide a viable home for the super genre on the small screen

[Lord Liaden]

And your avatar is the perfect companion to that comment.

[zslane]

One big difference is that nobody ever established a large Western franchise beyond a single successful movie or show. There has never been the Cowboy equivalent to the MCU. I think that a structure like the MCU offers chances for greater longevity, even after the "superhero craze" has faded in general.

[Greywind]

John Wayne was a large western franchise.

[Old Man]

Wayne and Eastwood, certainly.

[zslane]

A franchise, as I am using the term, involves continuity of characters and milieux. Apart from the occasional Eastwood sequel, there are no Western franchises in the modern sense of the word. The heyday of Westerns pre-dates the concept.

[Vondy]

I actually agree with Spielberg that the superhero genre will go the way of the western genre.  Which is not that outlandish a statement when you think about longstanding viewing patterns and the true state of the 'western' in present day, i.e. more are still made than you think.

 

Spielberg fails to recognize the evolutionary chain and mythic structure superheroes emerged from and represent. The classic American hero evolved out of the medieval knight errant of romantic literature to become cowboys, then hard-boiled detectives, then the early superheroes. Even non-costumed and caped action heroes are, for the most part, superheroes with the genre tropes filed off (Jack Bauer, Sidney Bristow, James Bond, et al). Its all part and a parcel of the same mythic archetype - a rugged individualist hero, often a drifter or loner, who lives by a code and dispenses his own brand of justice before riding off into the sunset (or driving off into the moon with Bat logos abalzing). Capes, costumes, and crazy powers may go away, but superheroes wont because the latex-set are just one manifestation of the same heroic archetype we've been lapping up for centuries - brave knights in shining armor setting things right in tales of hair-raising daring-do.

[Bazza]

And arguably (and possibly) the knight is a continuation of the Greek hero.

[zslane]

Indeed.

 

And while Westerns often provided sidekicks for the hero, you didn't see "team" dynamics in Westerns. I don't count the Magnificent Seven simply because it wasn't so much a Western as it was a Kurosawa movie with it's serial number filed off. The Western kinda suffers from only inhabiting a relatively small pocket of American culture, whereas superheroes span a World War and two Cold Wars, pre- and post-atomic ages, a cultural revolution, the emergence of the information age, the genetic age, and so on.

 

The archetypes found in Westerns may borrow from the same sources as superheroes, but they aren't allowed to go in as many interesting directions, story-wise, as superheroes. Heck, superheroes even went back to 1602 in one series, and they often operate in the far future. That sort of narrative flexibility has become a defining characteristic of the form, whereas the same thing if applied to a Western would just be gimmicky and genre-transgressive. I think it is this very adaptability that provides superheroes a brighter future than was ever destined for Westerns.

[Lord Liaden]

That sort of narrative flexibility has become a defining characteristic of the form, whereas the same thing if applied to a Western would just be gimmicky and genre-transgressive.

 

Yes, Cowboys and Aliens didn't connect with audiences to the degree its makers hoped.

[Pattern Ghost]

I wish Netflix would get that one on streaming. I want to see it, no matter how bad it is.

[Bazza]

Google's top hit for "Spielberg and superhero" is that from Sept 2 last year he predicted that superhero films would go the way of the western. 

 

Which is all nice and good, as I made the same observation in 2014. I had tweeted to a friend a link to an article which suggested the superhero show was the new police procedural. I disagreed, and said it was like the western.

 

I remember I started thinking this (superhero as new western) around Aug 2014 based on this tweet to a popular Aussie film review tv show. 

 

Basically, all due respect to Mr Spielberg, but I got there first.  

[Lord Liaden]

Hey, it crossed my mind years ago, too, and I only heard about Spielberg's comment on this thread. I'm sure that thought has occurred to many people independently. Honestly, it's not that big an imaginative leap.

[Starlord]

I think there was a moment about 7-8 years ago where it suddenly hit me that most of the things I loved in my youth that were unpopular and ridiculed had suddenly become beloved and pretty cool.  A short time thereafter I was speculating on the cyclical nature of our culture and decided this will all go away in the next generation or two.

[zslane]

If networks and studios can continue to tell stories that audiences can relate to, they will. I think superheroes offer considerably more opportunities to do that as the years and decades pass. Superheroes inhabit the realm of sci-fi, which always remains relevant to, and in sync with, contemporary culture. Westerns are, by nature, stuck in a single era and are, even now, strictly period pieces.