#MCU phase 1

[thesongofpurplesummer]

Jack Thompson would book a hotel for Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa on a mission then get a call from them and he’ll be like “WhAaAaAatT? What do you mean there’s only ONE BED in your hotel room?!? I could have SWORN I booked two beds!!!”

[vanyamire]

a painting for the frostiron asgard au fic that forever lives in my brain

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

Inprnt || Ko-Fi || Commissions Open!

[catboykilljoy97]

idk if it was intentional but since this canonically takes place the same week as the events of the first Thor movie, I consider it an easter egg. He was involved somehow, I just know it. Maybe it was after he lost his powers, and that messed something up on midgard or in the cosmos in general. Maybe it was right before he lost his powers, and he was sending random storms to different realms just for shits and giggles. Look, it's a stretch, but I 100% believe it.

[thena0315]

The Ladies of Phase 1

[scottxlogan]

Howard Stark recovers the tesseract (Captain America: The First Avenger)

[gotham-at-nightfall]

Marvel: Phase I

By Lyle Cruse

[armageddon-generation]

Justice For MCU Hulk: Everything cut from The Incredible Hulk (2009) that saves its characters

After She-Hulk renewed criticism of Bruce Banner’s characterisation in the MCU, I looked back at The Incredible Hulk. It’s the shortest MCU movie (1hr 52 mins) so this extra 25 minutes of footage would bring it to about the same length as The Winter Soldier, vastly improving Bruce’s characterisation, his romance with Betty, and General Ross as the villain. 

Alternate Opening in the Arctic (2:16)

The most famous cut, Bruce’s attempted s*icide referenced in The Avengers. Strong, shocking character beat to open the film

Hulk’s origin

The film’s 3-minute title-sequence condenses “40 minutes” of Hulk’s origin & its aftermath. This was mostly unscripted (Norton contributed a lot) with “points of entry” for flashbacks throughout the film that unravelled the mystery of what happened..  

In an interview, director Louis Leterrie explained:

“[the Arctic was] a few months after the incident … afterwards we were flash forwarding to Brazil … a few years later ... then afterward you were getting flashbacks—that’s the way the script was structured—to tell you the story … everything you saw in the credit sequence. People hated it … what the hell is this? Is this a sequel? Is this a re-boot? We don’t understand anything.”

Building the Lab (1:07)

Most of the cut Brazil footage is filler, but I like Bruce dumpster-diving to make DIY lab equipment

General Greller (2:28)

Ross’ motivation. He’s the true villain! 

I’d cut the 1st exchange between Ross & Greller, moving straight from the plane to Blonsky entering the office. 

Nice character-building (‘is there any medal you haven’t won?’)

Greller criticizing Ross’ supersoldier program ties into the wider MCU (Hulk as a supersoldier attempt was only later established in The Avengers) & makes Ross more culpable

Bruce Delivers Pizzas (0:36)

The girls’ dorm should stay cut, but Bruce helping students with an experiment at his old university is a lovely character beat

Betty and Leonard (0:30)

Doc Sampson!

So the love triangle doesn’t seem quite as lopsided

Bruce and Betty Talk (3:18) 

Sets a clear timeline for Bruce

Sets up an ‘ethics cloud’ around Sterns/The Leader, and suggests he turned Bruce over to Ross in Brazil

Betty is proactive. Her arc becoming disillusioned with Ross starts here. Her keeping their data in an ornate jewelry box builds the Bruce/Betty romance

“Hope comes back so quickly” is a strong character beat

Dinner with Bruce (1:30)

“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt a light” is a nice character beat: Betty’s house is the eye of the storm in Bruce’s journey

Leonard characterisation!

The Orchid (1:27)

Betty is proactive again!

The Orchid as a metaphor for their love

Bruce and Leonard (4:17)

Leonard: I’ll confess something to you if you clear up some things for me. First, I confess as a man, Betty’s lover, that I’ve always hoped you were dead. Not because I don’t like you but because I love Betty. And I’ve known that unless you were really gone, or she believed that you were… there’d always be three of us in this relationship. I dreaded the thought of you walking through the door. But… now that you’re here, I have to admit I’m very happy about it. Because I’m also a psychiatrist. And I’m very committed to putting light into dark corners, so to speak. Betty has a very dark corner that I’ve never found my way into, despite considerable careful effort. And the only thing that I know about her dark place is that you’re in it. So… Why are you something that she won’t talk about?

Bruce: There are aspects of my personality that I can’t control. And when I lose control it’s very dangerous to be around me. I hurt Betty in a way that I will never forgive myself for.

Leonard: You don’t drop your career and fall off the face of the Earth for 5 years because you have an anger management issue, Bruce. You see a shrink.

Bruce: It’s a little bit more complicated than that.

Leonard: Trust me when I tell you I’ve heard them all.

Bruce: Not like this.

Leonard: Completely honest and yet avoiding the heart of the matter. Exactly like her.

Leonard’s big moment! He’s an actual character! Learning Bruce hurt Betty motivates him turning Bruce in

Chatting to a psychiatrist about the Hulk like a real-world personality disorder is gold

Lots of work on the romance, the ‘Dark Corner’ in Betty’s mind that Bruce inhabits.

Justification for Leonard ratting Bruce out. It's implied Leonard deliberately drains the car battery to discourage Betty going with Bruce

Motel Room Conversation (1:14)

Bruce: I’m sorry.

Betty: It’s okay. It’s so mysterious, this thing inside of you. All the other scars have healed.

Bruce: Not mine. His scars heal but mine don’t

Betty: Yes they do. They leave a mark, but they stop hurting [exposes a scar under her fringe, from the Hulk accident. Bruce turns away.] Look at me. That pain didn’t last. Not knowing was so much worse. I looked for your face everywhere. I never stopped.

Proactive Betty again. Real meat for the romance, addressing their shared trauma & Bruce’s guilt

Nature’s Mystery (3:02)

Ross: Major, a great writer once said, "There are clefts in the rock, where we see the back part of God, and tremble." There's no training for what you saw out there because it's not an enemy that confronts us, it's a new power. Let loose through a crack in the cliff of Nature's mystery. How many times do you think that's happened in all of human history? Fire. The splitting of the atom. The universe unveils a secret and people recoil, cowering in fear and awe. And then comes the person who stops trembling. Who steps forward to face the flame, and seizes the burning stick and says "This will I master and use."

William Hurt gets to act. This monologue is the best dialogue in the film. Ross’ motivation is so well-expressed here

On the Hulk Hunt (1:07)

Builds Blomsky’s frustrations with Ross and motivation to become Abomination

Ross and Sparr (1:40)

Betty: I will never forgive what you've done to him.

Ross: He's a fugitive. He made choices.

Betty: You made him a fugitive. To cover your failures, and protect your career. I know what you said to him after the accident. Before I woke up, what you proposed? That's why he ran away and gave up.

Ross: His work, his blood is the property of the United States Army, and my duty precedes my personal feelings in this matter.

Betty: Freedom, democracy, our way of life.

Ross: Something like that.

Betty: You believe in so much. But we have to start with truth or the rest of it doesn't work. Don't ever speak to me as your daughter again.

“If you took it from me I’m gonna put you in a hole for the rest of your life”. Ross is the villain!

Cut the Major, but Betty confronting Ross re: weaponizing the Hulk is a strong cap for her arc

Bruce Confesses in the Helicopter

In the novelisation:

“on the helicopter, prior to jumping … Banner admits to Betty that because he thought he killed her when he first became the Hulk, he tried to kill himself. The Hulk wouldn’t let him, which is why he thinks the Hulk will save him from the fall.” 

Leonard Calls Betty (1:40)

Follow-up on Leonard and Betty. Nice moment for her

Tldr; This extended version still wouldn’t be *great*, but it’s a significant improvement from mediocre to good, especially in hindsight with how Hulk has been treated since AoU. 

[the-masked-reviewer]

The Avengers (2012) Review

potential spoilers ahead...

This being the movie everything had been building towards is actually what I think makes it as good as it is. It expects you to have watched the other 4 movies (8 hours 9 minutes), so it doesn't do much in terms of exposition and just throws you straight to the conflict.

The characters are written so well and feel like the same ones you've been watching (something that's difficult, if not impossible to say now). The costuming, both super suits and civilian clothes, is amazing. They do so well at expressing who the characters are through their wardrobes alone.

The humor is great. Especially coming from Tony Stark and almost all of his interactions with anyone. The team's dynamics show just how new and unstable the pairings are, even at the end when they are working together smoothly, its clear they are still new and have much to learn.

It makes sense that this movie was what led to such insane fandom growth and so many memes when the quality is this high and its such a fun and enjoyable movie.

The use of camerawork to add subtly and perspective on certain characters is amazing. Specifically the framing anytime Nick Fury is on screen. For almost the entirety of the movie, you only look up at him. The only time you are eye-level or (slightly) above is when the helicarrier is actively under attack and he is put on the defensive. The second he re-gains control, the camera is back to its low angle. This use of framing does so much of the work putting Fury as the all intimidating director that he has come to be known as.

[gunsandspaceships]

Review of Official MCU Timelines: Phase One

Review of The Old Official Timeline

Review of The MCU Guidebook Timeline

Review of The New Official Timeline Part 1

Review of The New Official Timeline Part 2

[mythostv]

My favorite era of the MCU

[batmandarkknightuniverse]

Iron Man(Robert Downey Jr) A Birthday Tribute

[catboykilljoy97]

this is a tiny detail but I love it. It's not only the moment when Betty fully sees that it's Bruce in there (how many times do you think she's seen him do that exact same sigh trying to solve some tricky problem at the lab?), but it's also just funny. Like yeah buddy you've had a long day. Got shot at, engulfed in a fireball, and on top of everything else now it's raining and you bumped your head. He's ready to be done with this shit.

[thena0315]

Phase 1 had a lot of good characters that debuted

[somebaconlover]

Iron Man (2008)

Directed by Jon Favreau

Cinematography by Matthew Libatique

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Clark Cregg and Jeff Bridges

"My old man had a philosophy, “Peace means having a bigger stick than the other guy.”"