The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown: The Future of Superhero Movies

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In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the President announced the creation of the ATCU led by Rosaling Price to catch and contain or eliminate Inhumans. It was the same President from Iron Man 3. It has been reported that neither Maria Hill or Nick Fury are set to appear in Civil War, which means likely possibility of S.H.I.E.L.D. going public might not happen. If they go public it would be sometime during Season 3 as not only are they faced with the ATCU and Price but HYDRA as well as they try to find other Inhumans.

But isn't that just the U.S. President? SHIELD is no longer attached to any one government even if they did primarily operate within the U.S. before, where the Triskelion was based. Now that they're airborne, they don't have any national sovereignty issues, so going public may make them enemies of the governments that oppose them but those governments don't have the authority to just shut them down. If they come knocking on the door, of course, that's a different story. They just have to be careful until things settle down and an open dialogue and trust can be established.

This really is the best opportunity to tie in the movie and TV-verses but that won't happen. As it is it will probably be hard enough to get everything they want into the runtime of just the movie itself, never mind the show and all the stuff they're doing independent of the film. I mean, someone really needs to just go up in front of a microphone and say, "Listen, people, this isn't Doctor Who where you can still get away with not believing in aliens even when they crash a ship into Big Ben, they're real and they've attacked numerous times and guess what else? They tinkered with our ancestral DNA so now you or your own children have the potential to become superhuman, perhaps dangerously so. Your fear, hatred and bigotry aren't going to help keep this from knocking on your door so let's all come up with a game plan that does more to help than hurt, or this could go wrong in so many ways it would make your head spin."

[SapphireStar]

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a primarily U.S. based organization. There were a few international organizations along the same lines. Which is interesting because, in the spinoff Lance Hunter who is with Mockingbird was involved in the comic book international organization called S.T.R.I.K.E.. In the comic, Lance Hunter was the commander of S.T.R.I.K.E., so we might be seeing the international side with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff.

S.H.I.E.L.D. still operates the same as they did, but not attached to the government. Which is probably why ATCU was created. Sort of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. so to speak.

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S.H.I.E.L.D. is a primarily U.S. based organization. There were a few international organizations along the same lines. Which is interesting because, in the spinoff Lance Hunter who is with Mockingbird was involved in the comic book international organization called S.T.R.I.K.E.. In the comic, Lance Hunter was the commander of S.T.R.I.K.E., so we might be seeing the international side with the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff.

S.H.I.E.L.D. still operates the same as they did, but not attached to the government. Which is probably why ATCU was created. Sort of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. so to speak.

I got confused because of how they weren't involved with the U.S. military (hence the antagonistic relationship with Glen Talbot until recently) so I figured something like that wouldn't therefore be affiliated with the U.S., especially if they operate globally, you'd think they would require an international type of authorization for that, like something appointed by the U.N. Besides which, Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division differs greatly from the acronym in the comics (which would have probably still made more sense) because if they're only concerned with Homeland Security, why give a fuck about what other countries are doing, right? Unless by Homeland, they meant Earth, but they obviously don't. One big contradiction after another. They can't afford to have that same mentality anymore, and they should change the acronym back to what it stood for in the comics.

[CaptainNexus616]

I don't think they're going to go into revealing secret identities but they got to stick to central theme and ask the question : Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

After the Battle of Manhattan and what in happened Sokovia along with the appearance of Inhumans around the globe that we're going to see in AoS the very simple question of who keeps superheroes in check is going to raise it's head. Should it be done by external Government oversight or should superheroes be self-regulating? Who would you trust more to do the job, Congress or Tony Stark? The organization that was created to contain all to these types of threats turned out to be an even bigger threat in it's own right. Although I do think Civil War will end with SHIELD going public again.

Now see those are better circumstances and can make a better plot than the original Civil War. Thank you Mia.

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Now see those are better circumstances and can make a better plot than the original Civil War. Thank you Mia.

I'd heard most people liked the original Civil War storyline, although I dislike that it involved a suicide bombing that killed a bunch of kids. Hopefully they keep the terrorism-style suicide bombing element but leave the wee ones out of it.

[CaptainNexus616]

My problem was how they told the story. In my eyes there is no such thing as a dumb plot...just dumb execution of the plot.

After that bombing the Government's solution to stop more threats like that? Make everyone who has been fighting to protect them sign up for this act and become government agents. If you don't? Mr. Fantastic is going to lock you up in the Negative Zone. The only one who caredabout ttracking down the villain who did this was Wolverine while everyone else didnt care and focused on the Registration Act. meanwhile the U.S. Government in their infinite wisdom....decides to make Norman effing Osborn Secretsry of Defense and have him assemble a team of VILLAINS. To hunt down Unregistered heroes by the government. Let's also not forget that while in the comic storyline Thor was not present...so Tony, Hank Pym and Mr. Fantastic decide to do the most rational thing in their mind and make a clone of their long time friend and ally to fight for the Registered side. Dont think Thor wasnt angry when he found out and put Stark in his place.

While this final one wasn't intentional....Tony made Spidey register and unmask to the public. Painting a target as big as Texas on his back and all his loved ones for his enemies! Which resulted in Aunt May being shot by Kingpin's goons and for some reason couldn't be saved by any of the geniuses and magic users. Thus Spidey made the One More Day Deal with the Devil to erase his marriage from existence to save Aunt May's life.

Sorry everyone here has that one thing they really hate about the Superhero genre today....Civil War is mine. Its a big reason why I don't like the comics with all the Hero vs. Hero. I just hope the movie will be better which it should since all of the stuff I mentioned above won't be possible with the MCU setup.

[Mathim]

My problem was how they told the story. In my eyes there is no such thing as a dumb plot...just dumb execution of the plot.

After that bombing the Government's solution to stop more threats like that? Make everyone who has been fighting to protect them sign up for this act and become government agents. If you don't? Mr. Fantastic is going to lock you up in the Negative Zone. The only one who caredabout ttracking down the villain who did this was Wolverine while everyone else didnt care and focused on the Registration Act. meanwhile the U.S. Government in their infinite wisdom....decides to make Norman effing Osborn Secretsry of Defense and have him assemble a team of VILLAINS. To hunt down Unregistered heroes by the government. Let's also not forget that while in the comic storyline Thor was not present...so Tony, Hank Pym and Mr. Fantastic decide to do the most rational thing in their mind and make a clone of their long time friend and ally to fight for the Registered side. Dont think Thor wasnt angry when he found out and put Stark in his place.

While this final one wasn't intentional....Tony made Spidey register and unmask to the public. Painting a target as big as Texas on his back and all his loved ones for his enemies! Which resulted in Aunt May being shot by Kingpin's goons and for some reason couldn't be saved by any of the geniuses and magic users. Thus Spidey made the One More Day Deal with the Devil to erase his marriage from existence to save Aunt May's life.

Sorry everyone here has that one thing they really hate about the Superhero genre today....Civil War is mine. Its a big reason why I don't like the comics with all the Hero vs. Hero. I just hope the movie will be better which it should since all of the stuff I mentioned above won't be possible with the MCU setup.

Well the scope is certainly smaller without half the heroes you mentioned actually belonging to Marvel Studios at the moment so that would limit the number of sub-plots they can run with. I just watched an interview with Sebastian Stan and he also claims that the movie, despite everyone thinking it's just basically Avengers 2.5, is still a Cap movie at heart. I hope he's right, I do NOT want another bloated mess like Age of Ultron. Which I have to go buy the DVD of tonight...

[TheGlyphstone]

The biggest complaint I regularly heard about Civil War wasn't the subplots, but that they seemed to throw darts at a board to see who was pro- or anti-Registration. Starting with Tony Stark, the biggest maverick in Marvel continuity, being turned into a fascist, against Captain America as the leader of the rebels. This, they've actually sort of set up to make sense, but they were just two of an entire mess of characters who were apparently randomly assigned to a faction.

[SapphireStar]

Came across an article where it looks like HBO might be moving forward to develop a tv show for Watchmen.

The comic book story arc for Civil War wasn't a particular favorite of mine. It just didn't seem to make sense. Pitting friends and teammates against each other. Then, the whole Skrull Invasion story where some characters who had been thought dead (Mockingbird for one) was brought back as the other ones who died were actually Skrull's. They also turned Tony Stark into a murderer. It happened way back in the Avengers title concerning Crystal and Quicksilver's daughter Luna. A timetraveling YellowJacket returned from the future to warn of trouble and was promptly murdered by Tony in order to keep what was about to happen quiet. Dunno, it all depends on who is writing and in charge. Characters and storylines are often redone to what that writer, etc wants.

[Deamonbane]

Came across an article where it looks like HBO might be moving forward to develop a tv show for Watchmen.

I have to say, I'm very excited about that...

[TheGlyphstone]

I'm still concerned that HBO is the new home of Sesame Street.

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I'm still concerned that HBO is the new home of Sesame Street.

??? Da fuq?

If they can do Watchmen, can they perhaps do other DC properties? Might make for some interesting competition for the CW's shows. I had heard they were going to try to do Preacher but now it looks like AMC has it.

[SapphireStar]

Marvel is doing another new show. A comedy sitcom based on the Damage Control comics.

Thor: Ragnorak has found its director. The guy who directed Eagle vs. Shark will be directing Thor.

Caught a glimpse of an article stating that Marvel/Disney and Kevin Feige have put into place contingency plans to acquire titles back like X-Men and Fantastic Four. If this is true, why didn't they exercise them? With Fantastic Four tanking, they could reacquire it. Apparently, one of the stars didn't show up to the premiere. And, the director and one of the actors nearly came to blows on set.

[Caradoc]

I'd heard most people liked the original Civil War storyline, although I dislike that it involved a suicide bombing that killed a bunch of kids. Hopefully they keep the terrorism-style suicide bombing element but leave the wee ones out of it.

Well.... technically, it wasn't  a suicide bombing. A group of inexperienced heroes got in over their heads fighting a group of villains. One was Nitro, with huge explosive powers (Nitro also was a key player in the death of the original Mar-Vell years ago). The fight went badly, Nitro triggered his powers, and there was a school near by.

[mia h]

Marvel is doing another new show. A comedy sitcom based on the Damage Control comics.

Getting a little ahead of yourself there, ABC have ordered a pilot nothing more, there's no cast, no crew and no script yet. NBC gave the same type of commitment to Powerless about 2 months ago, which like Damage Control is a half-hour comedy but instead of a clean up crew it's an office in an insurance company that deals with the aftermath of superheroes.

[CaptainNexus616]

You know insurance rates had to skyrocket after Iron Man showed up. I would laugh if guys like Allstate and Geico started having commercials set up specifically to promote insurance should a superhero event happens....Are you in Good Hands?  ;D

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You know insurance rates had to skyrocket after Iron Man showed up. I would laugh if guys like Allstate and Geico started having commercials set up specifically to promote insurance should a superhero event happens....Are you in Good Hands?  ;D

And that's just domestically! Think about all the shit that happened overseas, just during Age of Ultron alone...

Marvel is doing another new show. A comedy sitcom based on the Damage Control comics.

Thor: Ragnorak has found its director. The guy who directed Eagle vs. Shark will be directing Thor.

Caught a glimpse of an article stating that Marvel/Disney and Kevin Feige have put into place contingency plans to acquire titles back like X-Men and Fantastic Four. If this is true, why didn't they exercise them? With Fantastic Four tanking, they could reacquire it. Apparently, one of the stars didn't show up to the premiere. And, the director and one of the actors nearly came to blows on set.

If that's true it means that person will also have directed a critical and commercial failure of a superhero movie: Green Lantern. That does not exactly inspire confidence. Why not continue giving these films to directors who have yet to do something grandiose like an MCU film since that seems to be working out just fine? Not sure how much of what caused Green Lantern not to be as good as it could have been, the director, the writer or the studio (or what combination and in what ratio) but that just seems like a choice they would have avoided like the plague.

[SapphireStar]

Personally, I would have gone with Kenneth Brannagh again, or someone else. Even top directors have had movies tank at the box office. It is entirely possible that this director might leave the project like the director for Gambit. Who left due to "Creative differences".

It was reported that apparently Marvel/Disney is highly amused by Rhonda Rousey's campaign to be Captain Marvel. I watched her in Furious 7. Excellent fighting skills, but wooden acting. I don't see her carrying a movie, though they are making a remake of Patrick Swayze's Roadhouse with Rhonda Rousey starring in it.

[CaptainNexus616]

Its beginning to remind me of that one kid at the playground who begs to play their favorite cartoon character during recess lol.

[TheGlyphstone]

And Nicholas Cage.

Wait, maybe that's not such a good example to use.

[Deamonbane]

Awww I wouldn't mind seeing Rousey in a Marvel flick, although she should probably start along the same lines as Georges St. Pierre's cameo in Winter Soldier...

[CaptainNexus616]

Some fall in love with the characters they portray. I remember Thomas Jane read some Punisher comics to prep for his role and became a fan afterwards.

On a different note after watching Daredevil on Netflix again I want to know where the main characters were during the Avengers movie. We know that Foggy and Murdock would still be attending college in New York. Plus what if the aliens attacking New York is what really inspired Fisk to start pulling his criminal underworld togetherto rebuild the city.

[Mathim]

Some fall in love with the characters they portray. I remember Thomas Jane read some Punisher comics to prep for his role and became a fan afterwards.

On a different note after watching Daredevil on Netflix again I want to know where the main characters were during the Avengers movie. We know that Foggy and Murdock would still be attending college in New York. Plus what if the aliens attacking New York is what really inspired Fisk to start pulling his criminal underworld togetherto rebuild the city.

Not sure if Spidey was web-slinging around that early on but if he was, I definitely want to know why he was A) not on SHIELD's radar and B) not helping!

Also, now the Flash movie has a director too!

[CaptainNexus616]

Well if they are going the young spidey route he will probably just got his powers and it may have not even been a year so back in 2012 he would have been an average kid. As for SHIELD? Probably slipped past their radar by accident due to his new kid on the block status.

[Mathim]

Meh. It just feels even more forced inserting him into the MCU at this point. If he didn't show up on the scene until after TWS then that makes sense because then SHIELD would have been neutered by the whole HYDRA thing and therefore sending out a team to investigate a Spider-Man would have been way down the list of priorities, but some of Feige's comments just didn't make sense, with him saying there's been a Spider-Man out there all along or something to that effect.

But now with the new organization designed to hunt down superhumans, and the new SHIELD with the Inhumans helping them out? There's no way he's off their radar. That's why I'm thinking they might make mention of him there first before we see him in Civil War.