Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phase 4 & Beyond (and a chance to change your vote)

Crew members came to set in ’50s-era clothing

things you were surprisingly old when you learned: i didn't realize elizabeth olsen was related to the olsen twins, duh

so paul bettany really went full rik mayall in episode two of wandavision huh

Not sure what's up with the AIM guy with the bees though?

Oh, goddamn it, I'm pissed at myself for not catching that that was an AIM dude. I just saw a guy in a beekeeper suit, which should've been an obvious clue for any true Zombie.

^this seems a bit overkill?

sounds like fun tbh!

I really enjoyed the first ep!

I have always found Vision as a character kinda nebulous & semi dull & wasnt sure if i’d enjoy it. But I really got sucked in right away. Paul Bettany has been around for so long as an actor & it was great to see him let loose in a sitcom comedy format, he was really funny. Both him & olsen did great - and Katherine Hahn is made for this shit, she’s so good. All the casting was perfect - Debra Jo Rupp & Fred Melamed as the Harts was like chef’s kiss modern Fred & Ethel casting, they were hilarious.

Also the look - that very washed out, almost sepia black and white is a really good choice instead of the harsher b&w - it helps place the comedy or make it funnier somehow? i cant quite explain what I mean except that i see that look & immediately get a Lucy vibe, like you immediately know where you are if you have that frame of reference

one other easter egg of note is the fairly obvious SWORD insignias in the "outside world" shots, giving greater credence to the holding facility theory... presumably doc strange is keeping wanda from destroying the multiverse?

Am I only the one who thinks that, besides the The Vision and the Scarlet Witch and The House of M, this seems to be taking its cues from both Tom King's Vision series and from his Mister Miracle series? I mean, the influence of the former is obvious, with the whole concept of the Vision trying to live in the suburbs with normal people, with much difficulty... But the latter's basic idea is that a superhero couple is caught in illusionary world where they're living a regular domestic life with no other superheroes are around, but then we start seeing some glitches in the matrix, which seems to be the plot here too.

Anyway, as for predictions of what's happening here, I think the House of M scenario, where this is all just Wanda's reality warper powers creating a world where the Vision is alive again, and in the end she wakes up from the dream and comes to terms with his death, feels a bit too obvious. It's been done so many times in superhero fiction, and in sci-fi in general. IMO there's something more complicated going here, and I feel the endgame is to bring Vision back for real. In both of the first two episodes, the Vision seems to be just as confused as Wanda is about the world they've dropped in, not remembering when their anniversary is, or if they're even marrod, or how they ended up living in the suburbs, etc. If he was just a character in Wanda's illusion, surely he would have a proper backstory and memories, like all the other sitcom people we meet?

I haven’t watched this, but the concept does sound similar to the Tom King series (which I thought was pretentious and a bummer, so this seems better right off the bat).

It appears to be all of those things in a blender, which is in line with the marvel studios method. The authors of all those series/stories (and lee and Kirby) are noted in the end credits.

How does participation work for Marvel/DC writers & artists? Do they see any money from derivative works, or everything they do work for hire and they’re lucky if they receive a credit?

loooooolll

Sic will certainly chime in here, but my understanding is that marvel studios, working as a completely separate entity from marvel, has a tendency to pay creators fairly well as advisers. I don’t really think there’s any legal obligation to do so; more of a mix of fan base goodwill and a nearly endless budget.

No idea what DC does.

Lol caught in the xp

one dude created a plurality, possiblu a majority, of the most significant aspects of the Marvel Universe, and Marvel spent years of the MCU suing his grandchildren

PossiBlu was a member of the Guardians Of The Galaxy in the 1980s iirc

Saw both episodes tonight and loved it. Just, as VG noted, Paul Bettany getting to be ridiculous.

I thought this was great. Nice to see a show where you (or I, and my younger daughter) have no idea what's going on or where it's going, at least not at this point.

So I wonder if each episode is going to hop through the decades of sitcoms? First was more or less '50s, second was '60s, right?

Just saw a promo for this, and everything was in color / looked like a "normal" show(?) I'll try to check it out.

Liking the slow drip, walk-through-sitcom-history style so far. But I'm a sucker for long form mystery shows like this, always have been. Second episode was worth it just for Bettany's maximum goofiness.

Fun seeing Debra Jo Rupp from That '70s Show and Emma Caulfield (Anya from Buffy!)

I was trying and failing to place Emma Caulfield

Assuming this is now going to be a weekly Friday release?

Probably yeah, like the Mandalorian was.

Or was that on Saturdays?

I was considering a separate thread for WandaVision, but by the looks of things, there's not really going to be much overlap between the various TV series?

Pity, I was going to name it after the Fred Melamed Rhythmically Thumping Cinematic Universe.

Anyway, is this Paul Bettany's first comedic role since A Knight's Tale? He's really good - the drunkenness in the top hat & tails in the second episode reminded me a bit of Matt Smith.

I'd guess Brady Bunch this week? I'm hoping there'll be a Roseanne episode. With nine in the series, they'll have to run out before the end, even if things don't come to a head first.

Tomorrow's new episode is the last of the ones that went out for review - apparently there's a name said that may clue in Marvel fans?

Cookie Puss?

Oh, wait, Marvel. My bad.

I've already seen some speculation that Wanda and Vision's neighbour Agnes is actually Agatha Harkness, because of the similarity in names, and because she's played by a fairly well known actor for a seemingly minor role. But if that's true, I really, really, really hope this is isn't supposed to be an adaptation of that awful John Byrne West Coast Avengers story which pretty much ruined Wanda and Vision for years.

Tomorrow's new episode is the last of the ones that went out for review - apparently there's a name said that may clue in Marvel fans?

Unless it's something I completely missed it, I don't think any name or any other detail in this episode gave any more clue to comic books readers than to those only familiar with the movies? Unless the clue was supposed to be that Wanda did indeed give birth to Wiccan and Speed, but I'm sure all the comic book folks already guessed it after the previous episode's pregnancy reveal.

The Truman Show stuff towards the end of episode seems to confirm my theory upthread that the Vision is indeed back and not just a figment of Wanda's imagination, no? She still seems to have control over Westview and what's happening there, but it doesn't look like she created its inhabitants.

Now that Disney owns Fox, is she ever going to officially be called Scarlet Witch? I'm not a comic book guy so I don't know the exact details of the changes they made, but ... wasn't she revealed/rewritten to be a mutant in the comics? Has the MCU called anything she does magic or witchcraft or hexes or whatever? From a casual perspective she's been one of the more confusing characters in the MCU, since her powers are so ill-defined (iirc in the comics at some point she was considered one of the handful of most powerful superheroes). Vision, too, I guess, he's got a huge array of vague yet powerful abilities.

She was a mutant for most of her existence in the comics and was retconned into being an Inhuman.

Tuomas, could you as a favour shut the fuck up on the day of the episode's release?

Oh yeah, wasn't she Magneto's daughter at some point? I guess with Disney owning pretty much everything, plus exploring multiverse stuff, they can basically do whatever they want with any of these characters.

She and Quicksilver were mutants and Magneto's kids for most of the time they've been around. Now they're the product of the High Evolutionary's experiments (akin to being the product of Strucker's experiments in the MCU) and no longer Magneto's kids. I expect they'll kick the dirt over that stupid retcon eventually.

When were their new Inhuman roots mentioned, Dan? I honestly can't keep track of all the fuckery.

No you are right, I had stopped reading the books when all this happened and got details wrong

Quicksilver married the princess of the Inhumans and they had a child together. Their marriage felt apart some time ago, and especially after went he insane with time travel post-House of M. Too bad they... sorta pretended that never happened!

I elided Quicksilver's connection to the Inhumans via Crystal with the High Evolutionary stuff

I thought the High Evolutionary and the Kree were like, separate trees of this hooey

They are. For the moment. Until Wyndham is revealed to have been a secret Kree this whole time.

she's still magneto's daughter to me.
here's a few pages of Marvel Genesis if you're curious:
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_the_Marvel_Universe#Billions_of_Years_Ago

WV isn't something I'd personally choose to watch, but my roommate's been watching, and I got sucked in and it is dope asf. Can't wait til Friday!

I think it is Friday?

Next ep I mean

Black Widow comes out on DVD 2/3. Surprised to see it in my library catalog. Thought it'd hold out for a theater release.

maybe it's a straight to DVD spider horror film?

That's gotta be an error somewhere... they are very much still holding off for a theatrical release. Currently set for May 2021 theatrical release, but that seems in jeopardy:

A new report says that Black Widow will only get a Disney+ release if all other options have failed, with Marvel determined to secure a theater debut. The long-awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe movie was initially supposed to release in theaters in May 2020. It was then delayed to November 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and pushed out once again, this time to May 2021, due to the pandemic still keeping most theaters closed in the US and worldwide. And a new report suggests Black Widow could be delayed again.

She and Quicksilver were mutants and Magneto's kids for most of the time they've been around. Now they're the product of the High Evolutionary's experiments (akin to being the product of Strucker's experiments in the MCU) and no longer Magneto's kids. I expect they'll kick the dirt over that stupid retcon eventually.

A new report says that Black Widow will only get a Disney+ release if all other options have failed

Sounds dire! We're rooting for you, Black Widow, for the sake of humanity.

it's coming out on DivX

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2EyMDIyYWItNWI0MC00ODZmLWJlYTAtNDhmOTU0YWZmNWJlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA0MjU0Ng@@._V1_.jpg