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With the series in it's tenth year with several films that have been major hits that have defined and redefined the superhero genre I'd like to know what everyone things of the MCU. What do you like about it, who are your favorite characters, what are your least favorite films so far, what do you think will happen after Infinity War, what will be the next major event? How does the MCU get it's character's right where other Superhero movies fail and how does Marvel make it's shred movie universe work where others don't? And of course, the big question, will the MCU, as a whole, stand the test of time?

I'll start by answering the big question first: yes. Even if it'll be surpassed in terms of quality or quantity, right now it is THE media juggernaut and the impression its made won't fade any time soon. The wide-reaching nature of the movies and TV shows produced are unlike anything I can remember and any imitators have fallen flat- the DCEU (Wonder Woman notwithstanding) is a pale shadow of the MCU and the new Star Wars EU has stumbled pretty badly with Solo. That being said, though, I wouldn't be surprised if Star Wars recovers to a point where it can rival the MCU- after all, people tend to forget it took the MCU 2-3 years to properly get going after Iron Man 1 and the Incredible Hulk was a pretty major stumble to the point it's all been retconned out of the MCU.

I know I'm probably in a minority but my favourite non-Avengers films are probably the Thor ones, with Thor himself probably ranking as my favourite character. It's a pity he and Cap don't interact more, sharing notes on the whole 'fish out of water' thing. I also have a soft spot for MCU's version of Ultron, mainly because I'm a huge fan of the Blacklist and can't not think 'robotic Raymond Reddington'.

As for post-IW... I'll, um, let you know when I've seen it. :-/ I was pretty ill when it was in the cinemas so am kinda waiting for the DVD.

It's okay as a global flagship for bluckbusters. Could be a bit better but the shared universe thing puts a cap on it's greatness.

Winter wrote: ↑Sun Aug 26, 2018 5:21 am With the series in it's tenth year with several films that have been major hits that have defined and redefined the superhero genre I'd like to know what everyone things of the MCU. What do you like about it, who are your favorite characters, what are your least favorite films so far, what do you think will happen after Infinity War, what will be the next major event? How does the MCU get it's character's right where other Superhero movies fail and how does Marvel make it's shred movie universe work where others don't? And of course, the big question, will the MCU, as a whole, stand the test of time?

The current superhero bubble started with the MCU and it'll end with the MCU. When will it end? Like all franchises, it'll become a zombie watched by no one before it actually vanishes. I think the coffin lid will begin to close the day Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and/or Chris Evans decide to quit. They are the fan favourites, you CAN NOT recast these men. And each one leaving will be a multiplying factor. And remember, when they recast the Hulk with Mark Ruffalo, the MCU was a shadow of what it currently is. Its a different day and age now.
That is not to say that these men leaving will be the FINAL nail in the coffin however, especially now they have had such success with Black Panther etc. But it will knock the franchise off the highest rung of the ladder.

My honest opinion is that the MCU is the Star Wars for Millennials and Generation Z - one of the reasons why the new Star Wars hasn't hit home imo is precisely because it is competing against the new boy that has stolen its position as the cultural zeitgeist. The latest generation just does not care as much about it as the Baby Boomers and Generation X. That is also why I think the DC movies are failing - not just the quality that they may or may not be lacking, but because there simply is no room left for them in the inn.

I think what will be interesting is what happens to Marvel after the bubble bursts as their comic sales are currently in the toilet. They are owned by Disney, they are not going anywhere, but in what form is the interesting part.

It's great, and that greatness is largely due to Kevin Feige's unique combination of marketing genius, eye for talent, ability to deal with the Suits to avoid overt interference by idiots like Perlmutter, his sidelining of Perlmutter, and that Feige seems to be a pretty decent person who's more focused on making one good movie at a time instead of monetizing the franchise to Hell and back.

Feige benefits--or rather, has benefited from up until now--a relative lack of studio interference due to his combination of proven money-making ability and ability to play the Suits off of each other to remove serious obstructions like Ike "Scumbag" Perlmutter. Notice how every Disney announcement or leak re: James Gunn has been when Feige wasn't around? That's because Feige knows that Alan Horn got played by Mike Cernovich and his Nazi cronies, and is in favor of re-hiring Gunn since he was counting on Gunn to run a bunch of Phase 4. Horn has to work around Feige (and outranks Feige so it's easier for Horn) but Feige has enough pull that he's left Disney effectively paralyzed, which is cutting into their reputation pretty badly.

They had a blueprint for success on a scale that most companies would literally kill for and they fucked it up because Alan Horn's status as Top Dog depended on his ability to pretend to infallibility.

Anyway. I think the Marvel movies are, as movies, broadly great! As a product of corporate cunning...they're seriously impressive.

My honest opinion is that the MCU is the Star Wars for Millennials and Generation Z - one of the reasons why the new Star Wars hasn't hit home imo is precisely because it is competing against the new boy that has stolen its position as the cultural zeitgeist. The latest generation just does not care as much about it as the Baby Boomers and Generation X. That is also why I think the DC movies are failing - not just the quality that they may or may not be lacking, but because there simply is no room left for them in the inn.

Yeah, if you look at the 70's a lot of science fiction movies were basically about the 'end of the world' Soylent Green, Death Race 2000, Mad Max, Rollerball all films about society becoming more oppressive or just falling apart all together. So the original Star Wars was a breath of fresh air which was probably why i caught on so fast and its success kicked off a new trend. 80's movies, even science fiction, were basically about heroes triumphing over the bad guys, a trend which continues to this day and which the MCU is simply the latest example.

About the MCU, however, I went into Infinity War sort of half expecting this to be the grand conclusion, in the same way that Star Trek 6 was suppose to close the book on the 'classic' era of Star Trek and The Last Crusade was meant to be the final chapter of Indiana Jones. Given what happened in some of the recent films it feels like the MCU is wrapping up, that there is not much left to be told.