#team tony vs team cap is like. not real

[bodbdearg]

tbh I don't think marvel fans deserve good marvel movies, they still don't understand civil war

[stuckysimp]

I'm like 8 years too late, but oh well - I've had this Captain America Civil War rant stuck in my head for a while and I need to get it out after re-watching it. (This is gonna be long af, but bear with me).

I feel like a lot of people missed the actual point and plot of the movie (and the marketing definitely didn't help). The whole "team cap vs team iron man" stuff becomes irrelevant after like the first 20 minutes of the movie. But of course, it's still quite a big part of the movie and I'd like to take a moment to explore what I think, the different character motivations are around why they signed or didn't (or would / wouldn't).

The only reason Tony "I successfully privatised world peace" Stark signed the accords in the first place anyway is because of his massive survivors guilt complex which we see triggered by the woman who approaches him at the end of his speech to the MIT students. Like this man does not give a single shit about the government, and much like Steve Rogers, he just wants to keep people safe. Unlike Steve, however, he doesn't trust himself to do so and thinks of himself needing the be kept in check, for someone else to take the blame (though he'd probably internalise it anyway, let's be real).

Rhodey has always kind of been more on the side of the government, even if that meant going against Tony - think Iron Patriot - so it makes sense that he'd want to sign. He understands that a group as powerful and dangerous as the Avengers needs to be kept in check, but what he doesn't understand are the risks around that. In a perfect world, it would be fine, but unfortunately government systems are stupid and corrupt.

Peter was only really in the fight in the first place because he was a child blindly following this big celebrity guy he idolised. He didn't know enough about the situation to properly analyse it, just being fed and believing whatever Tony told him (and he had no reason to go against him, so why would he? This was his shot, he's been chosen by THE Tony Stark to help). "Mr Stark said you'd say that" "he said you're wrong, you think you're right, that makes you dangerous." I 100% believe that if Peter had read the accords, that he would have been on Steve's side anyway.

Vision is an embodiment of 'good' and 'peace' - essentially everything that Ultron was supposed to be, but wasn't. He has no reason to be against the accords if it will keep people safe and he makes the point during their conversation of "our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict ... breeds catastrophe. Oversight ... oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand." It's also very much the beginning kind of puppy love between him and Wanda in this movie, meaning that he will want to protect her. No matter what. Even if it means "locking her in her room."

Nat was seriously one of the only people in this movie with a brain cell lol. I firmly believe that if the accords had been properly put in place, she would have followed them until she no longer thought the government's instructions were 'right' and would have gone against them anyway. Her main goal in this movie was trying to keep the Avengers, her family, together and ultimately do the 'right' thing.

T'challa didn't give one shit about the accords lmao, he's damn king. No, he was only there in the first place to take revenge on his father's death (which at the point of the airport fight scene he still thought it was Bucky's fault. He later discovers, after following Steve and Bucky to Siberia, that it's Zemo's, and locks him up).

Steve's concerns with the accords are valid, and honestly I wouldn't have signed them either. To be told "sign, retire, or get locked up" isn't really a big winner for me lol. And the thing is, Steve's done this. He fought in WW2, he got paraded around like some big hero while men died, and he did nothing. It wasn't until he went against orders, that he actually did something helpful (saved the captured 107th division in Azzano). So, no, he's not going to be side-lined when people out there need help. That's just not who he is.

Bucky had no part in the accords, and as soon as he got introduced into the movie, that plot point became irrelevant. He was framed by Zemo, and then used to rip the avengers apart. The accords was just another log to add to the fire at that point. He followed Steve because "till the end of the line" and all that. He literally, heartbreakingly, says "I don't know if I'm worth all this," but he follows anyway.

Scott, much like Peter, is kinda just happy to be there. He's following CAPTAIN FREAKING AMERICA into battle without hesitation. But like, let's be honest, given his whole movie and character, I very much doubt Scott would be on Tony's side if he had read the accords.

Clint got dragged out of freaking retirement for this shit, and he didn't actually get involved until after Team Cap already knew about Zemo. That's why he's there. Not because of the accords, but to help Steve get to the Quinjet to get to Siberia and stop Zemo before he can go through with his assumed plan to wake up the five super soldiers who'd been stashed there. (Of course, this isn't actually Zemo's plan, but we'll get back to that later).

Wanda is going through some serious self loathing during this movie, and the incident in Lagos doesn't help. Like at all. Ma girl just wants to live her life and be left alone at this point and she's getting all of these horrible things thrown into her face by Secretary Ross. She doesn't want to be controlled, she doesn't want to be a weapon, she wants to be free. "You locked me in my room." - Girl already probably hates Tony Stark due to her family being killed by one of his bombs and Ultron, so she's mad anyway.

Sam is on Steve's side from the start. With the accords, to fight Zemo, all of it. During the 'discussion' between him and Rhodey, he says "So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?" He doesn't trust Secretary Ross, and is clearly hesitant to add his signature to the accords. (not that I blame him).

The main actual villain and 'plot' of the movie after the first part with the accords, was the whole thing with Zemo wanting to tear the Avengers apart to get revenge for his family dying in Sokovia. He takes advantage of the accords, and of Bucky / The Winter Soldier to do this but it's not really discussed which annoys me. It's a MAJOR part of the film, yet all I ever really see being discussed are the accords affecting the decisions of characters throughout the film with no consideration of the wider picture.

From when the UN meeting is blown up, the Avengers are being manipulated by Zemo working in the background throughout the film. He frames Bucky for murder, and Steve - who has been looking for Bucky for the past 2 years - goes after him like ‘tf man’. Bucky gets taken in and Zemo uses the opportunity to activate the Winter Soldier programming, learn about Hydra’s super soldier program, and of course - “Mission report. December 16, 1991.”

This leads to Bucky’s escape and attack, Steve and co going on the run, and eventually the airport fight. The meaning of this scene gets lost, I feel, when people relate it back to the accords because it’s not about that anymore. Not really, not for anyone. Especially not for Steve, or even for Tony.

Tony at this point, most definitely feels like his world is being torn apart. He’s losing control, he’s spiralling, and Steve just isn’t listening. He’s blinded by his anger to the bigger picture and he just wants to get a handle on the situation to deal with it further.

Steve’s forgotten all about the accords, his priority is keeping Bucky safe and stopping Zemo. He tries to tell Tony, tries to talk to him, but Tony isn’t listening either. I mean their whole interaction just before the fight shows this:

(the dialogue below has been condensed to show the key lines - basically I got rid of other characters talking irrelevantly)

-

Steve Rogers: Hear me out, Tony. That doctor, the psychiatrist, he's behind all of this.

Tony Stark: Anyway, Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?

Steve Rogers: You're after the wrong guy.

Tony Stark: Your judgment is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday.

Steve Rogers: And there are five more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't.

- later -

Tony Stark: And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. 'Rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep . . . I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.

Steve Rogers: You did that when you signed.

Tony Stark: Alright, We're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us. NOW! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys . . . with no compunction about being impolite. [Steve looks aside.] Come on.

-

Not to mention that Tony, after learning that Zemo impersonated and killed the actual doctor dude that was supposed to see Bucky whilst he was in confinement, he DISOBEYED the accords and Secretary Ross to go and help Steve stop what they thought at the time was the reactivation of the five super soldiers who'd been left in cryo freeze.

He follows Steve and Bucky to Siberia to help them, not to fight them. That only changes because of Zemo showing the footage of Bucky, WHILE UNDER BASICALLY MIND CONTROL, killing Tony’s parents.

In this scene, Tony 100% has every right to be angry. Unfortunately, he’s the kind of person who cannot see past his anger. He gets in his head, he spirals, and he tries to kill Bucky based on blind rage. (IT WASN’T BUCKY’S FAULT DAMMIT).

And yes, Steve was 100% in the wrong for not telling Tony. This whole scene could have been very easily avoided if Steve had just pulled Tony aside and had the difficult conversation about his parents death. Tony deserved to know, and Steve was only sparing himself pain by doing it. Dick move Steve, 0/10.

The fight between the three allows Zemo, having successfully completed his plan of eliminating the super soldiers and tearing the avengers apart, to slip away. With his work done, he tries to end his own life, but T’challa stops him and arrests him instead.

Steve and Tony’s fight was unnecessary, dramatic, and heart-breaking, and I’m very glad they managed to make up later, but ye. I think, at the end of the day, they’re all just dramatic idiots with communication issues lol.

-

Thank you for reading my long ass essay lmao, apparently I have a lot of feelings about this movie 😂

[gunsandspaceships]

Navigation v3 (Part 2)

Part 1 is here.

Fanfic recommendations:

Acute Stress Response series (Belis)

Other topics:

Tony is a dog at heart: Why, Saint Bernard

But likes cats: Cat person

Who is the nicest guy of the OG6: Data on: Tony ("My faults", "Thank yous", "Sorrys: Part 1, Part 2"), Steve, Thor, Bruce, Natasha, Clint Who thanks the most Who apologizes the most Who admits his/her fault the most Results

War, military and weapon manufacturing: Iron Man 1 villain, Hypocrisy, We are all profiteers, Pros and cons of Tony being weapon manufacturer

Some criticism: Tony's inappropriate jokes, Womanizer?

AI: Don't trust bots

Thanos: His not-so-good plan to save the universe

Steve: Blaming others, Why Bucky is not the new Cap

Pepper: And her sexual life with Tony, Her behavior since IM2

Clint: Has superpowers

Howard: His obsession with shields, Young, Daddy Issues

Peter: Not listening to anything Tony says

Tony's appearance: Skin tone

Biker Tony

Tony's birthday 2024

Iron Man 3

Smart Thor

Da Vinci of our time

Superheroes' world

Mass Effect: Tony - Garrus Vakarian, Plot similarities

Boopday: One, Two

Captain Morgan

Tony MD

1602 Tony: Opinion

Avengers vs GotG: Infinity Stones

Tony's masks: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Age of Ultron, Civil War, Homecoming, Infinity War and Endgame

Video: "Our brave father", "Unstoppable"

Polls: How to make this blog better, Favorite movie, Best team for Tony, Tony - Narcissist?, Tony as an animal, Tony's self-esteem, Extravert vs Introvert, Favorite ship, Party poll, Mass Effect, Motorcycles, Skin tone, Howard

RDJ and Genre discrimination in movies: Oscars 2010, "Real movies", Art, RDJ and Schubert, RDJ's Best Performance, Iron Man and Nolan

About this blog: Research methods, Strange fans, Haters and Lovers, Alert, Opinions vs Truth, Perfect Character, Priority of Information Sources

The very first post from 2019, when this wasn't an actual blog yet.

[phantom-le6]

Ramble of the month November 2023: 90’s MCU phase 4 – The Secret Wars, the Defenders and putting French and Saunders in a comic book film

As we come into the first of our last two monthly rambles for 2023, I’ve decided to go back to unveiling more of my alternate superhero film franchises.  I could go for more topical issues, but those will likely stress me out if I go too in-depth on them, and by sheer happenstance, episodes I’m presently reviewing from the last season of Star Trek: Voyager will cover these a bit.  So, that being the case, I figure I might as well close out 2024 by going for subjects I can enjoy talking about instead of anything winding me up.

By now, I’m sure anyone reading these rambles on a regular basis will know the drill, but for any new readers, let’s recap.  At the moment, I’m showcasing two hypothetical superhero film universes.  One is a DC film universe where Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins was the launch point instead of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, the other is a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that begins from 1992 instead of 2008.  The change in time period means Marvel would have all their film rights still to hand (those weren’t sold until 1995), and a lot of casting and story choices would change because the source material would be different.  To complete the re-cap, let’s check out the titles of films in the first three phases and do a quick plot summary.

Phase 1:

1992: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man

1993: Thor, Spider-Man, Ant-Man & The Wasp

1994: Captain America: Fantastic Four 2, Iron Man 2

1995: X-Men, Avengers, Daredevil

Phase 2:

1996: Spider-Man 2, Thor: Land of Enchantment, Silver Surfer

1997: Hulk vs Wolverine, Fantastic Four: Doomsday, Iron Man 3

1998: Captain America: Society of Serpents, Daredevil 2, X-Men 2

1999: Avengers 2, Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange

Phase 3:

2000: Fantastic Four: World War III, Thor: Ragnarök, Daredevil 3

2001: Hulk: Rise of the Leader, X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, Avengers: Under Siege

2002: Doctor Strange 2, The Captain, Spider-Man 4

2003: Captain Britain, Fantastic Four: Enter the Negative Zone, Ghost Rider

Phase 1, as most could probably surmise, is very much about establishing the MCU and its characters.  The Fantastic Four are done first to mirror their points of distinction from other superhero groups that hold true in the comics, with the Avengers and X-Men coming later on.  Phase 2 then expands and develops those characters and brings about an early mantle change, with Tony Stark going down the route of alcoholism as in the comics and Rhodey having to become Iron Man, again as in the comics.  We also see the death of Gwen Stacy, having built up to Norman Osborn becoming the Green Goblin in the films instead of rushing that arc in one film.  Phase 3 then brings out a lot more of the third-film-loss trope we know from the real MCU.  At the same time, we also get a lot of new characters introduced, bringing us to the slate for Phase 4.

Phase 4:

2004: Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Secret Wars: Part I

2005: Excalibur, Defenders, Ghost Rider 2

2006: X-Factor, Secret Wars: Part II, Heroes For Hire

2007: Namor the Submariner, Doctor Strange 3, Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin

With this phase, you can see we’re really trying a lot more new titles compared to past phases.  This is because much of the cast of the MCU to date is tied up in the events of the two Secret Wars films, thereby leaving a lot of room for other characters and teams to be given the spotlight.  How does this all pan out in practice?  Well, let’s start looking at the films of phase 4, beginning with Black Panther…

Black Panther (2004) Directed by Tim Story

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Shuri = Tatyana Ali

Ramonda = Alfre Woodard

T'Chaka = Courtney B. Vance

W'Kabi = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Okoye = Nia Long

Zuri = Joseph Marcell

Ulysses Klaue/Klaw = Andy Serkis

M'Baku = Idris Elba

As those who read my August ramble will know, my alternative MCU introduces the Black Panther via the Fantastic Four film World War III, in homage to the comics version of the character having the same debut.  However, just as the real MCU version went on to a solo film after getting his cinematic debut, so too does this version of T’Challa.  I’ve kept Chadwick Boseman in the main role as he could still play an adult King T’Challa back in 2004.  The same can’t be said for Letitia Wright with Shuri, and some other roles would also need shifting around, hence the case above.  The only other actor from the real MCU to retain their casting is Andy Serkis as Klaw.  As for the plot, it’s strictly T’Challa versus Klaw for him murdering T’Challa’s father years earlier, so there’s less focus on challenge rites in this film.

I’ve also retained the real MCU’s depiction of M’Baku as a voice of dissent to T’Challa’s rule, but with the full intention of taking him full villain at a later point.  As for why no Killmonger, I wanted to build up to him and not use up all of T’Challa’s most notable foes in one film.  For direction, I felt it was important that it still be a Black person in the director’s chair, so from the directors active at this time, I picked Tim Story, the man who directed Fox’s Fantastic Four films.  The first of those wasn’t too bad, and with a better studio to work with, I bet Story could do a good job on a property like Black Panther.

Captain Marvel (2004) Directed by Roland Emmerich

Mar-Vell/Captain Marvel = Jude Law

Yon-Rogg = Colin Salmon

Carol Danvers/Ms Marvel = Melissa Joan Hart

Ronan The Accuser = Ray Stevenson

Zarek = Avery Brooks

Talos = Dominic West

Emperor Dorek VII = Ray Winstone

Empress R'klll = Teri Hatcher

Now for the comic book neophytes wondering why Carol Danvers isn’t Captain Marvel, this is one of those plot-points that is only supported by a more recent selection of Marvel’s comic-book lore.  The original Captain Marvel within Marvel’s source material was the Kree character named Mar-Vell, who was gender-flipped and played by Annette Benning in the 2019 Captain Marvel film, leaving Jude Law to play the villainous Kree Yon-Rogg.  Carol Danvers was first turned into Ms Marvel following events in the original Captain Marvel comics, only to cease using the title after loosing her original powers to the mutant known as Rogue.  Following adventures with the X-Men, Carol Danvers gained new powers and joined a group of space pirates called the Starjammers as Binary.  Later, she came back to Earth and went back to her old Ms Marvel codename, then her old Air Force callsign of Warbird, before finally becoming Captain Marvel.

Now while I can’t say precisely when Carol became CM in the comics, I do know it’s sometime in the 2010’s, so a 2004 film won’t support her being the first Captain Marvel.  Instead, this film goes back to the early comics and makes Mar-Vell the original title-holder, telling a fairly simple first contact story with Carol as the audience POV character.  Rather than go for any obvious film actress of this time period, I decided it would be cool to see Melissa Joan Hart take on the role of Carol Danvers opposite Jude Law.  We then have a mix of great actors, including Trek alumni in the form of Avery Brooks (DS9’s Captain Sisko).  As we’re going down a first contact route without any Trek overtones, I opted for Independence Day’s Roland Emmerich to helm this one.

Secret Wars Part I (2004) Directed by Steven Spielberg

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Clint Barton/Hawkeye = Kevin Costner

Vision = Casper Van Dien

Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff = Kate Beckinsale

Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff = Robert Sean Leonard

James Rhodes/Iron Man II = Samuel L Jackson

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk = Lucy Lawless

Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic = Tom Hanks

Johnny Storm/Human Torch = David Spade

Ben Grimm/Thing = Bryan Cranston

Crystal = Dina Meyer

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Polaris/Lorna Dane = Jeri Ryan

Havok/Alex Summers = Kevin Bacon

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

Beyonder = Ian McShane

Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom = Goran Višnjić

Wizard/Bentley Whitford = Alan Rukk

Trapster/Pete Petruski = Eddie Jemison

Sandman/Flint Marko = Dwayne Johnson

Titania/Mary MacPherson = Amy Christine Dumas

Electro/Max Dillon = Eddie Cahill

Lizard/Dr Curt Connors = Dylan Baker

Magneto = Ian McKellan

Calisto = Carrie-Anne Moss

Sunder = Kevin Nash

Sabretooth = Tyler Mane

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Mentallo/Marvin Flumm = Brad Dourif

So, what is Secret Wars?  Well, there’s been at least three instances of stories with this title in Marvel’s history, at least going by the comics.  The original was a mini-series in the mid-1980’s, where a being known as the Beyonder created a planet called Battleworld from pieces of other planets (including a suburb of Denver, Colorado for reasons I can’t totally fathom).  He then transported a selection of Marvel’s heroes and villains to Battleworld and offered to grant whichever side won whatever they desired.  Despite a brief usurpation of the Beyonder’s powers by Doom, the heroes apparently won and returned home.  The second story was Secret Wars II, in which the Beyonder went to Earth and assumed human form in an effort to further his understanding of life in our universe.  Frustrated by what he learned, the Beyonder almost destroyed reality.

More recently, around 2015, there was a new Secret Wars which was similar to the first mini-series, but involved some kind of multiversal crossover, the apparent idea being to amalgamate some of Marvel’s other comic book continuities like the Ultimates comics with the main Marvel comics continuity.  For this film and its sequel, I’d be looking to do an adaptation of the original, but with greater emphasis on the war aspect.  In this case, the Beyonder pulls off the same creation of Battleworld, but like the adaptation of the story in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, he gives the super-villains a little head-start to better challenge the heroes.

Now the bulk of the cast for this film is carried over from past MCU films in my alternative continuity, but there are a few new characters in the mix.  In particular, Colossus and Gambit make their first MCU appearances, having both joined Storm’s band of X-Men since the events of Fall of the Mutants in the last phase, with Colossus being a returning former student whereas Gambit is a total newcomer.  I chose Cavill for Colossus because he can look the part and is capable of doing other accents than his own, while Zachary Levi gets the role of Gambit due to being a native of Louisiana, not to mention he once played Fandrall the Dashing in Thor: The Dark World.  As such, I can easily see Levi modifying his hair and accent just slightly to pull off a perfect Gambit.

On the villain side, the Frightful Four, Lizard, Electro and Mentallo are all new additions, the last character being part of Magneto’s Brotherhood for this film.  Indeed, as Magneto ends up among the heroes to start with, Mentallo and Calisto set up a mutant-ruled fiefdom on Battleworld in this film, and for Magneto, the question asked of his character is whether he’ll tear it down or try to take it over.  As the films will also be taking the war part more seriously, don’t expect the heroes to all walk ok by the end.  This is also why Steven Spielberg gets to direct; who better than the director of Saving Private Ryan to handle superheroes having to get into a war?

Excalibur (2005): Directed by Christopher Nolan

Brian Braddock Jr./Captain Britain = Jamie Bamber

Betsy Braddock/Psylocke = Lena Headey

Meggan = Sienna Miller

Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler = Daniel Brühl

Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat = Selma Blair

Banshee/Sean Cassidy = Liam Neeson

Courtney Ross = Rosamund Pike

DI Dai Thomas = Mark Lewis Jones

Detective Kate Fraser = Kate Winslet

Dr Moira Mactaggert = Olivia Williams

Mojo = Jim Carrey

Major Domo = Hugh Laurie

Spiral = Eva Green

Gatecrasher = Dawn French

Yap (voice-acting) = Jennifer Saunders

Scatterbrain = Clémence Poésy

Thug = Donal Logue

Ferro = Jason Isaacs

China Doll = Miranda Richardson

Longshot = Ben Foster

Alison Blaire/Dazzler = Julia Styles

Having given Captain Britain a solo film and scattered the X-Men in the last phase, the timing would then be right in this phase to bring about the British off-shoot of the X-Men that is Excalibur.  As this MCU has yet to uncork any time-travel for its films, we substitute Rachel Summers of the original Excalibur comics for Brian Braddock’s twin sister Psylocke in the film version.  At the same time, while Banshee does appear in the film, he’s taken out early and is then kept to the side-lines.

However, the plot still tries to echo the original Excalibur graphic novel; the interdimensional tyrant Mojo is hunting someone, and uses Gatecrasher and her group, known as Technet, to grab them.  With Rachel Summers not being used, Mojoverse native and rebel hero Longshot is instead the target, along with his mutant girlfriend Dazzler.  When the hunt spills over to Britain, Captain Britain, his sister and his girlfriend team up with Nightcrawler and Shadowcat of the X-Men on an inter-dimensional rescue mission, and thus Excalibur is born.

Casting-wise, everyone down as far as Detective Kate Fraser is reprising from past films.  From Dr Moira MacTaggart on down, the cast is new to this film.  Much like with Captain Britain’s solo film, I’d want a lot of British talent to be involved, which accounts for most of the casting choices.  However, since a lot of the characters come from another dimension, there can be more flexibility regarding accents.  This accounts for why the likes of Jim Carrey, Donal Logue, Ben Foster and Julia Styles enter into the film.  I also cast French and Saunders here, though in a somewhat atypical fashion.  Here, Dawn French would likely be in either a mo-cap suit or heavy make-up to play Gatecrasher, whereas Jennifer Saunders would be voicing a small talking creature named Yap, who is usually clinging to Gatecrasher’s shoulder.  Add in the likes of Hugh Laurie and Miranda Richardson, both alumni of the Blackadder sit-coms, and we have some real British comedy gold in the line-up.

Direction-wise, it’s back to Christopher Nolan to keep the film British behind the scenes as well as in front of camera.

Defenders (2005) Directed by Sam Raimi

Dr Stephen Strange = Johnny Depp

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Bruce Banner/Hulk = John Cusack

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Valkyrie = Diane Kruger

Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk = Josh Duhamel

Patsy Walker/Hellcat = Mena Suvari

Wong = Will Yun Lee

Clea = Keira Knightley

Yandroth = Sullivan Stapleton

The original Defenders comics revolved around a superhero “non-team” that would unite when the need arose, but lacked a standing headquarters, charter, etc. like the Avengers had.  This made the group something of a haven for the outsiders who formed it, namely Doctor Strange, Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk, with the Silver Surfer becoming an honourary founding member later on.  The team also gained a few more dedicated members in the forms of the Asgardian Valkyrie, wealthy industrialist Kyle Richmond, and superhero fan girl turned superhero Hellcat.  This film basically shows the Defenders forming against Doctor Strange’s one-time foe Yandroth, in part because Yandroth unleashes some chaos while many other heroes are missing due to the events of Secret Wars.

Only the top four Defenders, plus Wong and Clea, are retained from past films in this MCU.  The rest of the cast are new additions, but really, it’s combining the likes of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, John Cusack and David Wenham into the core of the team that’s the real excitement.  Mind you, the rest of the cast are all well-known and highly skilled actors as well.  Direction-wise, I figured that since Strange and Yandroth are both on the mystic horror side of the Marvel world, a horror director of note like Sam Raimi would be good.

Ghost Rider 2 (2005) Directed by Tim Burton

Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider = Connor Trinneer

Roxanne Simpson = Jessica Alba

Mephistopheles = Jeffery Combs

Orb/Drake Shannon = Michael Rooker

Blackout/Ray Carrigan = Johnny Whitworth

Karen Stirling = Jamie Alexander

Cynthia Randolph = Kirsten Dunst

Senator Stirling = Tim Robbins

Mark Crane = Nicholas Cage

Closing out 2005’s portion of this alternate MCU is a sequel for Johnny Blaze’s iteration of Ghost Rider, with Tim Burton back at the helm for obvious reasons.  Only the top three roles are retained from film 1, while the rest is fresh casting.  Story-wise, it’s a bit of a mash-up of a few different elements from the original Ghost Rider run into a single narrative.  Following the events of film 1, Blaze is living a bit of a drifter’s existence as he tries to deal with the demon spirit within him always taking over.  His girlfriend Roxanne is searching for him, and her scenes in the film are basically a kind of “will-she-won’t-she” break from the A-plot.

Said A-Plot is that a small town is being terrorised by a cult that has claimed the life of the son of a prominent senator.  When Blaze arrives, it isn’t long before his flaming alter ego is up to his fiery skull in their business, resulting in cult leader Mark Crane making a deal with Mephistopheles to imbue two of his henchmen with demonic powers.  Also caught in the mix are the senator’s daughter and a visiting reporter, each of whom is attracted to Johnny and reacts differently when he becomes the Ghost Rider.

X-Factor (2006) Directed by LeVar Burton

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Warren Worthington III/Death/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Beast/Hank McCoy = Alec Baldwin

Robert Drake/Iceman = Michael Weatherley

Angelica Jones = Lindsey Lohan

Xi'an Coy Manh = Katie Leung

Julio Richter = Alfonso Herrera

En Sabar Nur/Apocalypse = Faran Tahir

Plague/Pestilence = Gates McFadden

Caliban/Death = Joe Pantoliano

Autumn Rolfson/Famine = Bryce Dallas Howard

War = Joel Kinnaman

Raven Darkholme/Mystique = Connie Nielsen

As 2006 begins, we get another X-Men off-shoot, this time focusing on the original X-Men as the comics reckon things becoming X-Factor.  The team is given some very different origins this time round, but it’s still the classic team membership fans of the original X-Factor comics know.  In the film, Warren has lost his wings following injuries sustained in the events of the X-Men: Fall of the Mutants film.  Consequently, he is duped into becoming part of the Horsemen of Apocalypse as the mutant known as Apocalypse rises to attack humanity.  The rest of the X-Men alumni (Cyclops, Jean, Iceman and Beast) band together with encouragement from a government operative who is really the mutant shape-shifter Mystique, plus a trio of X-students currently in the team’s charge.

After the five mutants of X-Factor, we get mostly new characters to this MCU and thus a lot of new faces.  In terms of character selection, that’s mostly about trying to honour the comics when it comes to the Horsemen, since only the 90’s animated series has ever done so with these villains.  The whole original idea of the Horsemen was to evoke their biblical counter-parts, so anything not doing that isn’t doing the job right, at least not for the team’s original incarnation.  Plague and Caliban, as former members of the Morlocks, are reprised roles from X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, while Famine and War come into the film new.  As for working in Mystique, that’s someone we’ll certainly see in future films.  Direction-wise, I like calling on Trek alumni to direct given some of the thematic overlaps between X-lore and Trek, hence my selection of Levar Burton.

Secret Wars Part II (2006) Directed by Steven Spielberg

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Clint Barton/Hawkeye = Kevin Costner

Vision = Casper Van Dien

Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff = Kate Beckinsale

James Rhodes/Iron Man II = Samuel L Jackson

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk = Lucy Lawless

Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic = Tom Hanks

Johnny Storm/Human Torch = David Spade

Ben Grimm/Thing = Bryan Cranston

Crystal = Dina Meyer

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Polaris/Lorna Dane = Jeri Ryan

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

Beyonder = Ian McShane

Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom = Goran Višnjić

Wizard/Bentley Whitford = Alan Rukk

Sandman/Flint Marko = Dwayne Johnson

Titania/Mary MacPherson = Amy Christine Dumas

Electro/Max Dillon = Eddie Cahill

Lizard/Dr Curt Connors = Dylan Baker

Magneto = Ian McKellan

Calisto = Carrie-Anne Moss

Sabretooth = Tyler Mane

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Mentallo/Marvin Flumm = Brad Dourif

Zsaji = Eva Mendes

By the time Spielberg brings us part 2 of Secret Wars, we’ve lost Quicksilver, ideals are getting blurred and our heroes are struggling, which isn’t helped by Doom managing to usurp the powers of the Beyonder.  When this brings an unexpected peace to Battleworld, the heroes face the question of whether or not they should try and challenge Doom, assuming they can.  The film will also honour the original comics by making it the origin of the Venom symbiote, something no adaptation has ever done.  The one other change is the incorporation of the alien one-shot character Zsaji from the original Secret Wars, though in keeping with taking the war more seriously, she has a stronger role than just being a random healer and would-be love interest to Johnny Storm or Colossus.

Heroes For Hire (2006) Directed by Paul McGuigan

Luke Cage = Tyrese Gibson

Danny Rand/Iron Fist = Neil Jackson

Shang Chi = Garrett Wang

Misty Knight = Rosario Dawson

Colleen Wing = Olivia Munn

Jessica Jones = Christina Ricci

Willis Stryker = Bokeem Woodbine

Harold Meachum = Bill Pullman

Davos/Steel Serpent = Kevin Durand

Batroc = Georges St-Pierre

Scimitar = Jason Mamoa

Clay Quartermain = Patrick Wilson

Daisy Dugan = Hayley Atwell

Zebidiah Killgrave/Purple Man = Tom McCamus

Most of the characters Marvel and Netflix put in the Defenders streaming show would originally have been members of, or been acquainted with, the little-known Heroes for Hire group, primarily formed in the comics by Luke Cage, Iron First and Misty Knight.  This film works in a few more street-level members, including Shang-Chi, Colleen Wing and Jessica Jones.  The team consists of various for-hire vigilantes and volunteers who are trying to keep the streets of New York safe following the apparent retirement of Daredevil.  When an enclave of organised criminals attempts to eliminate them, SHIELD agents Quartermain and Dugan reach out to unite the heroes into a team.

This is a new film and new cast, with some roles leaping readily to mind while others have taken a bit more thought to select.  Again, I’ve gone for at least one Trek alumni by picking Garrett Wang of Voyager fame to play Shang-Chi, and I’ve also looked to sci-fi series Mutant X for another bit of casting.  Tom McCamus, who played Mason Eckhart in that show, takes up the role of Killgrave for this film, though the character appears only in flashbacks, as I feel that’s sufficient for the film’s plot to showcase where Jessica is mentally and emotionally as the team comes together.  Direction-wise, I picked Paul McGuigan based on the work he did on the film Lucky Number Slevin.

Namor The Submariner (2007) Directed by Gore Verbinski

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

General Krang = Tim Curry

Lady Dorma = Katie Holmes

Vashti = Naseeruddin Shah

Attuma = Danny Hutson

Llyra = Rachel Leigh Cook

Dr Walter Newell/Stingray = Rider Strong

Kicking off the 2007 films that conclude this MCU’s phase four is a solo entry for Namor the Sub-Mariner, who like Black Panther got his introduction via Fantastic Four: World War III in recognition of his first Marvel appearance (the character previously having existed under the company’s pre-1960’s name of Timely Comics).  Having also appeared in the Defenders film earlier in this phase, this solo film has Namor return to Atlantis to find his throne under threat by a coup, involving the Nemurian Llyra and a traitor from within his imperial court.  The film includes at least two other characters who have betrayed or openly opposed Namor in the comics to keep fans guessing and work in a little defiance of expectation.  The film also works in another undersea superhero in the form of Stingray to give audiences a POV character for delving into Namor’s world.

Namor, Krang and Lady Dorma are reprised roles for this film, while the rest of the cast is new.  For direction, I decided to look into the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for directors with experience of filming anything at sea with fantastical elements, and based on this chose Gore Verbinski as he directed the entire original trilogy of that franchise.

Doctor Strange 3 (2007) Directed by Sam Raimi

Dr Stephen Strange = Johnny Depp

Wong = Will Yun Lee

Clea = Keira Knightley

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Valkyrie = Diane Kruger

Baron Karl Mordo = Michael Dorn

Dormammu = Bernard Hill

Umar = Ruth Wilson

Dweller-In-Darkness = Colin Firth

In this third and final solo film for Doctor Strange, our title hero tries to help his fellow Defender Valkyrie acclimate to life on Earth, and is also visited by fellow sorcerer Brother Voodoo.  The time he devotes to his guests puts a strain on his romantic relationship with Clea, but when Baron Mordo returns with the backing of Dormammu once more, battle takes precedence.  However, the battle is not all it seems, as Dormammu’s sister Umar and the mysterious Dweller-In-Darkness are lurking in the shadows.  By the film’s end, someone will have to be sacrificed to keep Earth safe from a grave mystic peril.

A lot of the casting is retained from prior films, but Brother Voodoo, Umar and DID are all new roles.  Ruth Wilson and Colin Firth are both chosen for the gravitas their villain roles need, while Doug E. Doug is my choice for Brother Voodoo based on the more serious moments he had at times when playing Sanka in Cool Runnings.  For direction, I think it’s a good idea to stick with Sam Raimi on this one to keep things consistent with the Defenders film that precedes this one.

Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin (2007) Directed by Jon Favreau

Tony Stark/Iron Man = Tom Selleck

James Rhodes/Iron Man II/War Machine = Samuel L. Jackson

Justin Hammer = Christopher Lee

Bethany Cabe = Julia Roberts

The Mandarin/Xin Xhang = Chow Yun-Fat

Arthur Parks/Living Laser = Josh Dallas

Whitney Frost/Madame Masque = Alice Eve

Boris Bullski/Titanium Man = Alan Tudyk

Douglas Scott/Razorfist = Joe Manganiello

Kathy Dare = Cameron Diaz

So, let’s recap what we’ve had by way of Iron Man lore in this alternate MCU.  The first two IM films are directed by Steven Spielberg with Tom Selleck playing Iron Man, dealing with similar story arcs to the first two films of the real MCU, prior to forming the Avengers in a team-up film under director Andrew Davis.  IM3 then shows Stark fall victim to his alcoholism and Samuel L Jackson’s Rhodey taking up the Iron Man mantle, with Sam Raimi directing.  After that, Rhodey’s Iron Man features in a second Avengers film under Davis and the Secret Wars two-parter with Spielberg.  Here, we get the director of the real MCU’s first two Iron Man movies on hand to guide a film showcasing the comeback trail of Tony Stark and James Rhodes becoming War Machine, all to face Iron Man’s arch-foe the Mandarin.

For this film, a lot of things are different.  First, while the Mandarin has his proper ten rings from the comics, he is still developed beyond a stereotype, being presented as a Chinese businessman first and foremost who is using alien tech rings to try and conquer what his corporate efforts cannot.  He avoids some of his comic counterpart’s more flamboyant attire, but nonetheless has a fondness for China’s dynastic era and opposes its modern-day government.  Second, we’re done with Happy and Pepper, and while Bethany Cabe is retained from IM3, we also include the insane stalker girlfriend Kathy Dare for the purpose of misdirecting the fans.  After all, if we’re not doing it with the Mandarin, we might as well do it somewhere.

And that concludes our look into phase 4 of our alternate MCU.  Next month, we’ll check phase 4 of the alternate DC movie universe.  Until then, ta-ta for now.

[whetstonefires]

thanks! i appreciate the like. reinforcement. 💕

yeah it's like. this is just wank. mostly i ignore the wank. but on this particular post i managed to land on the line between 'angry' and 'indifferent' such that i could produce a fairly reasonable reply, so i engaged.

it's funny tho, i know i didn't make myself understood, because the original op's reply (promptly reblog-locked, cool feature we now have) argues that the fics i'm 'upset' about exist reciprocally, ignoring Tony's rich inner life.

but i'm not upset about tony-centric fic that doesn't care about anyone but tony, i'm saying it's normal for people to prioritize their fave blorbos. tony stark is not being singled out for some kind of oppression here.

he's just...not so special he has to be everyone's blorb. that's the point.

but ofc he does have a fanbase that's inclined toward feeling like he is that special. the rightful main character of the universe. because his movies (and to a slightly lesser extent the team movies) actively make that assertion. and to not be put off the guy after a certain level of this, you have to be able to be comfortable with that approach.

so people who identify as tony stark fans have an outsized tendency to put forth arguments, based in redemptive suffering logic or oppression olympics or whatever, for why he's entitled to be centered in every conversation to which he can be considered relevant, and why people who don't do so are Bad.

real 'buy Twitter to protect Free Speech' energy ngl.

the projection of the 'team cap vs team iron man' obsession onto people who deeply did not care (except they're now increasingly done with tony stark because this keeps happening) is the problem here.

forcing that combative energy into contexts where it does not belong and creating random enemies in order to reinforce one's own righteous martyrdom complex like some kind of evangelical missionary or iron man is shitty energy to bring to a fandom, and makes things worse for everyone.

so yeah, you're right grison, it's about the same level of textual engagement and similar story approach to disability across the MCU. there's a lot you could do and for all i know people are in fact doing with disability as read between the lines of these increasingly shitty schlock films, utilizing multiple character angles.

something to be said, actually, for how Tony's scenario provides an emotional cushion around working with disability issues of 'the worst parts of this can't happen because he has Money and Science' so it's safer to engage with than a realistic story, while Steve's provides an emotional cushion of 'no matter how bad it gets, it's Over, he Got Through It and now the only consequences are emotional.'

different people need different shields.

now, if i was engaging the putative topic of 'choosing one of these guys for this role of fandom's favorite cripple' seriously, like it's an election or something, i could say that i can't relate to Tony Stark as disability rep regardless of how you interpret his condition, because my experience of disability is so tied up in financial insecurity.

poverty and disability are locked in a vicious circle, perpetuating one another.

ofc i don't dispute anyone's right to relate to the fantasy of being able to throw brilliance and wealth and power at Symptoms Disorder and make it almost not matter, or be into the pathos at the edge of that competency, where he can't quite seize control of all reality no matter his will and power. but i don't feel it.

a really good fic about it might be moving, but i wouldn't feel Seen. you know?

and i wouldn't be comfortable being spoken for by someone with such an alien experience of living with diminished capacity, if he were a real person who actually had things to say. i wouldn't expect him to empathize with or even understand my problems. he could speak for himself, but not for me.

like you say, both stories engage with disability as something to be transcended and triumphed over via Science, but on a character level i relate more to steve rogers being told he can have the job he's applying for if he goes through (and survives) this experimental treatment for his Problems and Disorders.

so i think there is sound logic behind the majority of the fandom, apparently, preferring steve rogers as reference point on this subject. evil secret biases against blorbo are not required to explain this preponderance.

but like disability is so varied it's just weird to be picking that as a subject to champion a Single Poster Boy Authority for in the first place. rep is never one-size-fits-all in the first place.

you could make a strong argument Bruce Banner is the 'best' onscreen disability rep in the Avengers--it's a mental health issue turned fantastically physiological and thus kind of dealing in metaphor, but it very much ruined his life in a recognizable way. and he has to cope with it, on an ongoing basis.

but a lotta people do not feel represented by the Hulk lmao. and i'm not going to tell them they should!

if we want to lean on the Peggy Carter show as a source there's that guy Daniel who lost a leg in the war. why doesn't everyone center him in all their MCU disability fic and meta, huh?

it's dumb. it's really dumb.

but the arguments starting from the presumption that people should look to tony stark as the authority on living with a disability, and presuming therefore that since people weren't doing what they should be doing you must discern what was bad and wicked about those people to motivate this wrongness--

that got to me. there's an underlying back-to-front logic of coercion and intolerance-of-nonconformity there. that i never like to see, and obviously it's worse when it's part of Real Actual Politics, but seeing such serious topics leveraged in such a way regarding the Unjust Loss Of Hyper-Specific Popularity Contest By Blorbo was just. a lot.

So I can't reply to @phoenixyfriend having replied to my reblog because either they've blocked me or they don't do DMs with non-mutuals despite suggesting that as a preferable forum for disagreement, but in brief:

My reblog was 'necessary' within the very limited definition of that word that applies to fandom blogging because that post was not a post About Tony Stark. I don't engage with posts About Tony Stark or most characters in general that I disagree with, in general! It's rude and life is too short.

That post, however, was not about Tony. It was a conversation between bloggers asserting an argument for why people who don't agree with your headcanons are morally inferior and have Bad Corrupt Motives.

"What does it say that Steve is, in fandom, often considered a better/more qualified speaker on the topic of chronic illness and disability than Tony" and "these people would rather listen to the white, able-bodied guy than the person actually forced to live with the consequences of life-long disability" and "viewers with that perspective continue to see his disability as a sign that he's still a bad person, because he hasn't 'earned' a cure the way Steve did."

(Which again is wild as a take because Iron Man 3 has tony 'earn' his way out of both physical damage and PTSD through willpower and smartness in the ending montage, because inspiration porn doesn't work if you stay damaged.)

It was a post about the fandom. Accusing other actual human beings of being morally at fault for how they interpreted the marvel cinematic universe.

Not like, an intense horrible attack post as these things go, but it still wasn't about characters. It was about other fans. That is different from talking about characters! Your post was about how it's sus and shameful for people to disagree with you, not about your actual positions and why they're right. Let alone about the character. That doesn't fall under the curtain of 'don't start shit' because shit was already started.

Like I don't have any Avengers fic, haven't been in the fandom for several years, and I was still sitting here scrolling my dash getting these Bad Person Motives assigned to me just for thinking one character was more meaningful disability representation, that I would be interested in hearing from on the subject, than another.

You made inflammatory statements about other actual people in a public forum, where it could be predicted they would see it.

And then flew off the handle when someone went over your post asserting their alternate perspective, carefully avoiding attacking you personally or assigning you evil motives, which would have been incredibly easy except it's a shitty way to interact so no, and speaking only in general terms about things they found personally annoying.

If you can't deal with people reblogging your posts to argue that you're being unfair, then maybe don't post about how other people only disagree with you about your blorbos because you are a better human being than those people. I mean.

[imposterogers]

I have to ask, what's your opinion on CACW? I know there are ppl who didn't like it and I understand why and have some criticism myself but it's still one of my fav mcu movies. Thoughts?

well that's..... kind of a sore subject for me bc I went thru a VIOLENT cacw discourse phase. but let's dive into why

the facts:

-cap 3 was originally supposed to be serpent society, and was supposed to focus on team cap and their search for bucky. it was very a direct sequel to the winter soldier. when batman vs superman was announced, kevin feige decided to scrap serpent society. he would later pretend serpent society was a joke plot when it was very real.

-tony stark was supposed to have a pretty small role in cacw. rdj originally only required for 2 weeks of filming. rdj wanted more screentime, and threatened to walk from the project completely. so, he was given more screentime aka a bigger paycheck. he would even go on to call the film iron man 4

why I personally have a lot of problems with civil war:

-my major issue is it felt a LOT like an avengers movie. too many characters, too much screen time on a character that wasn't the main character (rdj/tony), not enough steve or team cap. it just didn't feel like steve's story.

-the sokovia accords created sooooo much discourse. but when it comes down to it, and if you read them (which no casual watcher would / should have to do to understand them) you'd know they were bad. the government required DNA samples and for every enhanced individual to disclose their full name, and they'd be tested for how "dangerous" they were. everyone registered was required to wear a tracker. if the UN says fight, you fight. if you don't, you get put on the shady ass illegal floating boat prison. if you even accidentally violated the accords, you would be detained without trial..... on the boat prison

-but of course, we never as an audience knew all that! we never knew that thaddeus ross is the one that lied to bruce banner about the project he was working on (causing the hulk), hunted bruce, and drove bruce to attempt suicide

-I think I was just sad we didn't see more steve. we didn't see more team cap. we didn't get a proper conversation between steve and bucky. we didn't see sam and nat and bucky and steve all together.

I would have preferred serpent society, but if they had to do the civil war plotline, here's how I would have fixed it

[ronearoundblindly]

Steve x artist reader

During their break day these two will be in art challenge after art challenge nat and wanda watch whist the two sketching . Sure it creates an ambiance then bucky and sam watch while bucky bets steve would run out of paper before reader dose (can steve and reader be as a couple here)(freindly competiton?)

Mastery (warning for light language)

This is the most insane thing you've ever done, and that's coming from a group that fights aliens (sometimes).

Usually, it's paper and pencils. Usually, branching out means canvas and charcoal or--gasp-- colored pencils, which for reasons unknown Steve absolutely hates. It's so bad, he's like the cat and cucumber challenge: if a colored pencil ends up near him, he scatters like the devil's on him.

You have also absolutely scared him that way dozens of times on purpose, including that one time you littered his bedroom floor with them. He was screaming at you, standing on his bed as if you'd locked him in a minefield.

You got it on video, too. Bonus that he was in only boxers.

But this isn't quite usual.

The mission was long, drawn-out, and the worst mix of profound boredom waiting for something to happen and intense fighting suddenly.

The whole team is loopy, so the regular competition is cranked up to MAX.

You were all gone so long that no one had refreshed the art supplies, and after a few minutes of bemoaning what to do, Wanda tosses out the perfect instigator.

"You know, real masters can use anything to make art."

Steve made it to the fridge first, vaulting casually over the couch you two were laying on, and he tried to bogart all the condiments until you slapped a few bottles out of his grasp. Then he simply ran to one wall and you to the other.

A ketchup and mustard sunset later, using the juice from some pickles as thinner to a strawberry jam portrait of Natasha, you beam with pride until you step back and look at your boyfriend's wall.

Son of a bitch.

Mayonaise and black olive-haired Bucky is just as good. He must have snuck back into the kitchen because slices of uncooked bacon stripe the texture of Buck's vibranium arm.

You stick out your tongue, but the cheers and jears from your watching friends continue. It's inadvertently become a boys vs girls contest.

Fine. He wants to dance. Let's dance.

Jackpot, you find a beet in the veggie drawer, slicing it quickly into various chunky sticks, and return to your wall. The bleeding red acts sorta kinda like charcoal and maybe slightly like watercolor, but damn, Wanda looks amazing in all her magical glory.

Pesto sauce Hulk isn't your best effort, but whatever.

Glancing over, Steve's stepping away with an elated grin. Dammit, he cannot win.

You march over when you see Wanda, Nat, Bucky, and Sam all staring in awe.

But...But what the hell? There's nothing there!

The tubes of white creams from the medicine cabinet scatter the floor at his feet as you approach.

"Damn, cap," Sam whistles. "That's...that's som'hin."

When you align with the onlookers behind Steve, it becomes clear. The eggshell white wall has shiny itch cream and matte toothpaste atop it in the pattern of Falcon himself, Exo-7 suit's wings outstretched in all their glory, googles on, head high and heroic.

"Awwww, what," you whine. "That's hardly fair."

"He's had a bit more practice than you, doll." Bucky is smug in his team's victory.'

Steve turns and closes the distance between you, hands covered in all sorts just like yours, and he cups your face.

"How 'bout we call this one a draw, eh?"

Nat snorts behind you. "Worst dad jokes ever."

The group groans when Steve kisses you gently, forcing you to breathe in the scent of things-that-should-not-mix through your nose. It's all the prize you hoped for, the only one you ever seem to want now.

The ding of the elevator rouses you from your hindbrain.

"What the ever-loving fuck have you done?!" Tony stands agape at the mess, tilting his head nearly over 90 degrees just to make out all the different pictures.

Wanda clears her throat. "We've been watching masters at work," she says with a smile.

[Light Masterlist; Main Masterlist]

[cadencejames87]

Meet Me Behind the Dugout

Baseball Cards by @petite-madame​

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader

Summery: A mutual pining one shot inspired by a dream I had and a way to celebrate hitting 100 followers. Enjoy!

Word Count: 1.7k

banner by @maysdigitalarts​

Warnings: *FLUFF with an inkling of SMUT* I lied there is most definitely SMUT 😳 thigh / ass worship (not really, more admiring the goods), talk of oral (m receiving), choking, m masterbation, anything else let me know *not beta’d*

He did it, he finally did it. He stood up, his eyes glued to the field while giving you a clear, unobstructed view as he paced the dugout like a caged lion waiting to break free.

Sitting behind the dugout with a blanket draped over your legs and gloved hands wrapped around a cup of hot cocoa. You couldn't help your racing thoughts as everyone else watched the game Tony Stark insisted on putting together.

One of those celebrity softball events, Team Cap vs Team Iron Man. Leave it to Tony Stark to take a monumental fallout among the Avengers and spin it into something fun for charity once they 'got the band back together.'

You were there to show your support, at least, that was what you told yourself, but of course, you knew better. Though no one would be the wiser that the real reason you escaped your office in the science wing of the compound was to admire James Buchanan Barnes.

No way were you missing the opportunity to watch him stretch in those pants without drawing too much attention to your interminable crush on the man you maybe spoke to once in the whole time he'd been there. Well, not counting all the times you recalibrated his arm, that was work and small talk with the quietest man you have ever known, and I mean, you were not that much better.

When you returned your attention to the dugout, Bucky was standing in the shelter's entrance, with his arms stretched above, fingers clinging to the chain link frame.

Instead of watching Sam Wilson warm up or cheering on Steve Rogers as he stepped up to bat, you were busy gazing at James.

Your body subconsciously sat up straighter for a better view as he knelt to tie his cleat, accentuating those gloriously thick thighs. And with sudden realization, you scanned the people around you with a sheepish smile as you sat back in your seat and sipped your cocoa.

Your eyes trailed from the glove covering his flesh hand, following a prominent vein down his arm, over his bicep, and disappearing beneath short sleeves covering his broad shoulders, leading you to admire the way the material of his jersey strerched over his muscular back.

Oh, what you would give to explore that man with your hands.

You continued still, down to the single glove hanging from his back pocket.

Eyes flickering briefly to the vibranium laced in the chain link above. The recurring dream you found yourself having lately flashed in your mind. Black vibranium fingers with gold details wrapped around your neck.

You wanted to see him throw his head back in ecstasy from your mouth alone.

Teeth sinking into your bottom lip held back a whimper at the memory.

The man had you biting your lip, and all he was doing was standing there with his hip cocked as you stared at the juicy flesh hidden within the confines of those pants. You wanted nothing more than to sink your teeth into those cheeks or grasp them in your hands as you swallowed his hard member until he fell apart and filled your throat with his hot, creamy, white honey.

You longed to look up, as you knelt before him, to find those steel-blue eyes blown wide with lust.

You ached to have his mouth roam your body while his hands explored, caressed, palmed every curve and valley until you climaxed from his touch.

The crack of a bat making contact with the ball pulled you from your daydreams.

You shook your head as you cheered with the crowd. There was no way Bucky could ever return those silly feelings.

But James Bucky Barnes, in fact, did.

As Sam stepped up to bat, Bucky took his place on the side of the field to warm up, and as he did this, he glanced to the stands, his trained eye quickly finding the person he craved. You!

He was powerless to stop the smile from forming, licking his lips as he imagined you were there for him and not simply there because you never missed these stupid Stark events.

Not that this one was stupid, this one was actually one of the few he enjoyed as it supported a good cause and didn't feed into Tony's huge ego like the extravagant parties Steve forced him to attend.

Stealing another look in your direction, he caught you focused on the field, cheering along with everyone else.

Of course, his brilliant and compassionate girl was here to support the heroes on the field, raising money for a local children's hospital. He knew how caring you were and even how much you loved your job.

Though he was a little surprised to see you sporting a blue Team Cap hat rather than your beloved boss's red and gold, it made it that much easier to keep pretending you were there for him. And as soon as Wilson made his way to first and filled the bases with Wanda and Steve, Bucky would bring them all home just for you. He'd make you proud, his girl.

No, not his girl.

She could never feel the way he does.

And God forbid you found out how insatiable he was or that he hadn't touched a woman since the forties or that the combination of these two things left him dreaming of you. From the very first moment, you caught his eye.

You were the only person to treat him like a human being and not a monster when he returned from Wakanda. You were always so kind and happy to see him, and you were oh so radiant.

And here he was adding every moment he'd seen you to a spank bank.

Like just this morning when you nearly bowled him over as you exited the gym in a hurry, hair up in a messy pony, your hoodie tossed over your shoulder, sweat glistening your body.

He was excruciatingly hard, standing in the gym showers after you parted ways with that beautiful smile. Cold water rained down on him as he dreamt of licking those beads of sweat from your beautiful breasts and up your neck where he was sure to leave his mark.

He shot Steve an apology text for missing a training session as he made his way back to his room.

Dropping his gym bag as soon as he entered, he leaned back against the door and pulled himself out.

Thinking of you, always thinking of you as his vibranium hand stroked his cock.

Wishing it was you as he spent the rest of the morning with his dick in his hand, first right there by the door.

Again in the shower, breath ragged as he pictured himself balls deep with you pressed against the tiled wall.

And again in his God damn closet as he tried to get ready for this god-forsaken game, picturing you on your knees, your pretty little lips wrapped around him.

"Bucky!" Sam whistled for Bucky's attention.

He could feel his face burn hot, embarrassed as a few members of the crowd laughed for his lack of attention to the game. While some had booed as he, the Winter Soldier, made his way to the plate. A handful of fans clapped out of courtesy.

He knew your eyes were on him.

Hoped you wouldn't notice how his cock strained in his pants, begging to be freed.

He was ashamed of the way he thought of you, used you. Yet he still prayed you might feel the same way.

And without thinking, the man he was before the war took over. Glancing back to find you were, in fact, looking at him, hands clasped together under your chin. He pointed at you and winked, smirking as he readied himself for the pitch.

No way did that just happen.

You had to be dreaming.

You stood up as the crowd waited with bated breath for Bucky Barnes to either win this for Team Cap or strikeout.

The pitch.

Bucky swung the bat, and the ball went flying.

Tony's team made an effort to run for the ball, though they quickly gave up as it left the field.

Stark however, tossed his baseball cap aside and tapped his chest. As soon as the suit covered his body, he was out, flying from the field in a flash.

Team Cap continued to round the bases.

The crowd going wild.

Even those rooting for Team Iron Man had to give it up for such a remarkable victory.

Before you could stop yourself, you were joining the children and Avenger groupies, waiting to meet one of the famous heroes and have them sign something.

Recognizing one of his most valued employees upon his return, standing on tiptoes in the crowd of fans, scanning the field. Stark waited, hands behind his back until your eyes met his. He shot you a wink and tossed you the game ball.

Beaming, you quickly searched the Avengers for one in particular, only to find him hanging back, leaning up against the dugout with his hands in his pockets and his hat hung low. The sad part was that no one seemed to notice that he knew he wasn't who people were there to see.

Well, screw them!

Because you were there for him and only him.

You stepped back from the crowd and found a space close to the dugout and the White Wolf. "Seargent Barnes!" You called out, and his eyes flew up to find yours.

James Buchanan Barnes, looking shyer than he did when he was standing at home plate, stepped over to you.

"Could you sign my jersey?"

"Not your ball?"

"That's for you," you tossed it over. "It's the game-winner."

You both looked over to find Stark grinning at the two of you from ear to ear before happily adjusting his cap and striding into his element, signing autographs and taking pictures.

You unzipped your jacket and turned around as you held out a sharpie.

Bucky was at a loss for words.

His girl was wearing his number. You actually had been there for him.

He quickly took the pen and signed your jersey with a heart. 'To my favourite girl, yours forever James Bucky Barnes.

You allowed the signature to dry, letting your jacket hang off your shoulders as you turned back to Bucky.

He handed you the sharpie. "I've been meaning to ask you something, doll. Do you like to dance?"

"Are you asking me out, James?"

He loved when you called him that, honestly, he liked when you called him just about everything. But his given name, only you were allowed to use it, and only you could bring him back to the happiest version of himself instead of reminding him what he had lost. "I am."

You leaned over the partition, clutching Bucky by the jersey and pulled him in for a kiss.

His long fingers found your waist, slipping beneath the fabric of your shirt. Deepening the kiss, his arms wrapped around you as if they had a mind of their own.

"Come on, there are children here," Sam shouted jokingly, drawing the attention of his teammates who cheered for the two of you finally acting on your feelings for one another.

[thisismrswilson]

Addie's Masterlist! ✍🏽

Welcome to my blog everyone! I draw the Avengers/MCU as babies and babysitters. If you got a request, ask or thoughts, feel free to click here.

Let's spread love and not hate! 💜

Be warned. It’s a reaaaallly long list.

☆ Babysitter AU

The Babysitting Team: Avengers! 

Zemo 

A day with Pepperony

Kate loves baby puns

#Team Captain America

#Falcons

Watch your words around babies.

Babies celebrating Halloween!

Yelena bites.

#Team Hawk

Marc and Layla joins the team!

Bucky Bear Hugs! 

Just Bucky. 

Marc & Layla 

Babysitters VS Rogers Musical 

Bucky Reads Bedtime Story

Babies, meet Guardians of the Galaxy! 

Dr Strange

Bruce and The Babies! 

Talkative Kate and Joaquin 

Jealous Bucky 

Baby Steve 

Let’s all hate on Steve 

THE Cap and The Babies! 

Sam and Steve! 

Jealous over Steve 

Sam and Joaquin and WINGS 

Categorized Babies 

Fake Pietro is a no Pietro

Hide and No Seek. 

Valentine’s Day 

Intern Elijah Bradley! 

Sharon Carter 

Baby Falcons! 

Bucky is a show off. 

BUCKY BEAR DEBUT 

Tony VS Kate 

Overprotective Steve

Beloved Pilot Carol Danvers 

Sam’s such a dad 

Sam and Bucky caught- 

‘Hungry’ Kate and Joaquin 

Bucky’s metal arm 

Joaquin’s first flying lesson 

Baby shaped Babies!

Steve misses the babies

Babies in Delacroix!

Another Jealous Bucky

Seriously, Bucky got jealousy issues

Baby Kate and a Bow!

Podcast: Baby Kate

BABY FALCON DEBUT

Baking cookies for the babies

Darcy and the babies

is that Baby Kate? OMG

Proof that I can’t babysit

Get your fighting poses ready!

Bucky and Pietro can’t get along

REBLOG: Sneaky Sam and Troublemakers SamSteve

More Tea with Clint!

I dare you to fight Bucky’s puppy eyes.

Baby SamBucky and Adult SamBucky. (Multiverse is in shambles)

Definitely T(HO)Rust Thor with the babies.

Scary Lady

Family Portrait

Baby Sam and Baby Bucky

Don’t mess with Bruce’s collection.

Loki doesn’t like kids.

Babies at Wakanda

Documentary: Artist Meets Babies for the first time

Flying with Sam! and Sam.

Bucky, meet Sam- wait no that’s Alpine

Our boat may be fake but our friendship is real.

Clint babysits Sam and Bucky!

A day at the museum with Sam and Bucky!

REDWING!

POV: You’re Steve

Challenges of being a Birdie

Disadvantages of being related to Sam Wilson

Birdie Backpackkkk

Clingy like a Spidey

Baby Winter Soldier

Avengers 2.0 Babysitting Team! Ft. Peter

Sam’s behind is truly a gift. I agree with Steve. 

Avengers 2.0 Bake Sale!

Steve and Birdie Cookies

Pretty Sam Wilson. No matter what.

Love Language: Touch

Festive mood with Sam and Bucky!

Catching up with Sam and Bucky

Sleepy Sam!

SamBucky meets SamBucky (TVA has officially given up)

SamBucky Banter

Avengers 1.0 Babysitting Team!

Sam’s Battle Part 2 | Sam’s Battle Part 1 

Babysitter Fic Part 2 | Babysitter Fic Part 1 

TVA Part 1 | TVA Part 2 | TVA Part 3 | TVA Part4 | TVA Part 5

☆ Calling an ex

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

☆ It Came from A Dream

Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2

[tonystarkisadouchebag]

Yeah looking back Tony in spiderman was a real asshole, in a similar way as before but to a kid who didn't have any comebacks and who looked up to him, so it just showed how much of a dick he is. and god civil war is just awful everything about it is shit and Tony is so stupid, how are we meant to have this "team cap vs team ironman" when one team is trying to stop an innocent man being falsey accused + killed and then trying to stop this Guy who they know is fucking with other winter soldiers, then the other team is trying to take their rights away and refusing to listen. Lol. Like He's still a billionare making weapons, where'd he learn anything?

And yeah with their dynamic, there's just nothing at all to build off, there's no scenes (from memory) of steve and tony actually getting along, it's all just "you're fucking annoying" lol

Exactlyyyyyy, thank you.

[vagrantblvrd]

That AU where Tony initially goes after the weapons Stane sold under the table and is like well, that figures when everyone immediately thinks Iron Man is a baddie because Hilarious Misunderstandings.

(And also Hydra being quick to make him a scapegoat while they operate in the shadows and so on.)

Pepper and Rhodey like Tony, no, while Tony gets this look on his face watching a news broadcast about the new supervillain Iron Man and recent escapades and Tony is like Tony, yes as he gleefully embraces the life of supervillainy.

Or, you know.

Makes a production out of it, and has JARVIS make a note for Tony to practice his Evil Monologues(TM) because every good supervillain needs to be at the top of their game for that and all.

And then SHIELD finds Steve and Tony’s in one of his Lairs(TM) when he finds out.

(The one located inside a volcano that he and JARVIS spent forever looking for it because you just can’t beat the classics, you know?)

Sitting in an Evil Overloard-style chair with his hands steepled in front of his face and like HMMMMM because this can only end badly for his Plots and Schemes(TM), but damn is the man good looking.

JARVIS is like *SIGH* because Tony.

Meanwhile, Steve is told Iron Man is Evil(TM), although Fury seems kind of amused about something as he gives Steve the briefing on Iron Man’s shenanigans the past few years.

Coulson is like *SIGH* when Steve asks about Iron Man afterward and tells Steve to be careful if he ever runs into the guy - he probably will, what with him being who he is and all -because the man is tricky ,dangerous.

(Coulson’s not Steve’s handler or anything, but he’s a face Steve trusts inside SHIELD and anyway yes.)

Also, also, shortly afterwards Steve meets Natasha and Clint and things aren’t so lonely for him at SHIELD.

(Because the STRIKE team and Rumlow, and anyway, something’s...not right, you know? But then Natasha and Clint and Steve feels like he has people he can trust his back when Coulson isn’t around.)

Then Shenanigans in which Iron Man does crimes and Steve and his STRIKE team attempt to thwart him but really. It’s a lot of taunting and mockery and flirting.

So much flirting?

Like, Steve should be more appalled, but really. Iron Man isn’t anything like he expected because for one, his Evil Monologues(TM) devolve into rambling about who knows what half the time and okay, yes, Steve could do with less flirting because bad guy Steve’s supposed to bring in and all?

But you know.

Tony is forever oh, this is going to end so badly whenever he runs into Steve while gallivanting about as Iron Man? Because the man is even more good looking in person, and radiates good in a way Tony wishes he could laugh about?

But can’t because it’s just who Steve is and oh - oh no, Tony has gone and caught Feelings for the man, which is ridiculous as Steve literally just punched Tony (in the armor) so hard he left a dent, and never mind they were all-out brawling because supervillain vs Captain America and yes.

ANYWAY.

Fury calls Tony in - consultant/constant pain in Fury’s ass - and then Tony is flirting with Steve on two fronts and perhaps laughing hysterically at himself because it’s going to be so bad when everything falls apart, you know?

(So bad.)

Because Steve flirts back.

Tony’s at SHIELD for whatever reason andthey happen to run across one another in the cafeteria/commissary.

Steve is like “Tony, hey,” all awkward and such and so, so  confused when Tony zeroes in on Natasha who’s eating lunch next to him.

“Ms. Rushman,” he says, this smile on his face because it’s clearly an inside joke with the two of them.

And Natasha, okay.

Smiles back and greets Tony with a “Mr. Stark,” and Steve is like :(((((((((( thinking there’s something between them because Tony steals something off Natasha’s plate and she lets him do it.

But the next moment Tony’s stealing off Steve’s plate and talking a mile a minute about some new gadget he’s working on or whatever and Steve is *__________*

After a bit Tony gets up to leave, gives Steve this smile, one that leaves Steve tongue-tied and a little breathless.

Tony grins before he turns and points at Natasha telling her he’ll have Clint’s new arrows next time he’s at SHIELD and leaves.

Steve tries very hard not to blush - the serum only does so much, you know? - because Natasha is watching him and clearly enjoying Steve’s squirming because she’s kind of evil like that?

But anyway.

More shenanigans, trying to catch Iron Man and such, and they get news that the bastard basically kidnapped someone named Bruce Banner - Steven being all shit when Fury shows him footage of the Hulk on a rampage in New York and now Iron Man has him???

(He’s honestly a little concerned about how unconcerned Fury and Coulson are about it, but you know.)

But then he’s got more concerns because Clint’s compromised and Coulson is worried and all that fun stuff.

The invasion and forced to work with Iron Man to stop it - Steve tries real hard not to think about what a good team they make, and also the Hulk is there fighting with them?

Literally catches Iron Man when he falls back out of the portal and Steve is like please, please, please because Iron Man saved them all from that damned nuke.

But Hulk takes him and runs and Steve and the others are left with the aftermath.

A week later and he sees Tony again, guy looking tired and run down and also like something ran him over -

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Tony says, crooked smile on his face.

Which is how Steve finds out Tony was in New York when the invasion happened and he has so many Feelings about that because what if he’d died???

Anyway.

Clean-up and the whatnot, and no sign of Iron Man for the longest time, Steve worried and a heartsick because he’s an idiot who likes the guy, even if he doesn’t like his methods.

And then!

The whole...Winter Soldier nonsense and Hydra and Steve not knowing who to trust, so he goes to talk to Tony when it’s all over.

Okay, maybe a few weeks/months afterwards because Steve is dealing (not great, admittedly) with the realization Buck’s not dead. That he’s the Winter Soldier people like Natasha talk about like he’s the bogeyman and out searching for Bucky and anyway.

It’s a while before he goes to see Tony, but when he does -

“This isn’t what it looks like,” because there’s Tony, an Iron Man gauntlet on his hand -

“Okay, maybe a little.”

Also.

Bucky.

“You’re a dick,” Tony says, working at getting the gauntlet off because someone with enhanced strength may or may not have squeezed the thing to the point it can’t be removed normally -

“I need my hands, asshole,” and Tony says they were sparring???

Meanwhile, Bucky is giving Tony a deeply unimpressed look and “I tried to kill you.”

Because Tony tracked Bucky down and wanted to talk, but Bucky thought maybe it was less talking Tony was interested in and more like killing him - Because Reasons - and anyway.

Tony isn’t looking at Steve, body language screaming guilt and fuck and :(((((((( seeing as how he’s clearly Iron Man and while SHIELD is in tatters he’s still an Evil Villain(TM) and also, Reasons.

Which.

Steve doesn’t even know where to begin, but Bucky’s there, and while he doesn’t look great he’s not the Winter Soldier right now, and yes.

Later, though.

Later Steve gets Tony’s story out of him, how he’s been fighting the real bad guys this whole time, found out about Hydra infiltrating SHIELD and other such things and just.

A lot of stuff and Steve is so conflicted?

But then Coulson and the spy twins show up with food and coffee -

“Oh, thanks God, gimme,” from Tony who is perfectly comfortable with Coulson’s spy twins in his worksho.

Who, by the way, don’t seem particularly surprised at Tony clearly being Iron Man - the gauntlet Tony eventually pried off on a work table and the many, many suits along the walls, and everything.

“We knew,” Clint says, like that much isn’t obvious.

Which is when Steve finds out Fury and Coulson knew the whole time and Tony was working with them on the Evil Iron Man(TM) front and just.

It’s A Lot and Steve’s conflicted again, because he’s been kept out of the loop - Fury’s idea, one that has Tony and the others sharing a look over because it wasn’t one of his best ones, but whatever.

Any then, you know.

Avenge-ing happens?

Also, Steve deciding since they’re on the same side now - SHIELD is pretty much gone, but Hydra isn’t, and until they can expose the bastards being Evil(TM) is actually not as bad as expected? - he ought to return the favor when it comes to Tony and inappropriate times for flirting.

“Cap, we’re in the middle of a fight?”

Because some mad scientist on Hydra’s payroll and robots and Central Park?

But also Tony, and Steve’s seen him - seen Iron Man - fight before. Fought him, in fact, but he didn’t know it was Tony at the time, and really.

Just.

It’s incredible (and also Tony padding into the kitchen at the Tower all sleepy and adorable and giving Steve the sweetest smile because he hadn’t had coffee yet and did’t have his usual walls up and Clint and Natasha giving Steve shit for the sappy look he must have had on his face, and anyway, yes) and he’s got so much payback in mind when it comes to Tony, and this is a good start, you know?

ALSO.

Coulson totally wins the betting pool on the whole when Steve and Tony finally get their heads out of their asses, and Bucky and Clint bitch for forever afterwards that he had to have inside information or something, but Steve can’t be bothered to care about that because reasons???

[aion-rsa]

The Real Martial Arts Behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains some minor spoilers for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

In the pages of Marvel Comics, Shang-Chi is known as the “Master of Kung Fu.” So when Marvel Studios announced the character to help usher in MCU Phase 4, the one thought on every fan’s mind was that whoever gets cast in the lead role better really know Kung Fu. 

In the wake of Netflix’s Iron Fist, Marvel’s other Kung Fu master, there was a lot of skepticism. Marvel had scored with the previous Netflix series Daredevil, which delivered some of the best small screen fight choreography we’d ever seen. But Iron Fist was sorely lacking. Finn Jones just couldn’t sell a punch as Danny Rand, leaving fans of Marvel martial arts masters overwhelmingly disappointed. If there’s one thing that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had to nail, it was the Kung Fu. 

Like Jones, Simu Liu had little martial arts experience before taking on the role of Shang-Chi. However, he already had the physique, so much so that appearing shirtless was a running joke when he played Jung in Kim’s Convenience. What’s more, Liu bulked up, added 10 more pounds of muscle while training for the film. 

Unlike a character like Daredevil, Shang-Chi doesn’t wear a mask, so Liu had to quickly pick up enough cinematic Kung Fu to appear masterful on screen. Fortunately, he was backed by a top-notch team of stuntmen and surrounded with a cast of veteran film fighters including Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Star Trek: Discovery), Tony Leung (Hero, The Grandmaster), Yuen Wah (Kung Fu Hustle), Florian Munteanu (Creed II), Andy Le (The Paper Tigers), and others. Even though Liu was new to Kung Fu, he carries the action scenes with panache.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is not only a good Marvel movie, it’s a good Kung Fu movie. It has the best fight scenes seen in the MCU so far. And although the movie doesn’t get bogged down in the specifics of Kung Fu style, there are telling nods throughout the film that shows the filmmakers knew their Kung Fu too. “We knew the martial arts had to be authentic,” says Director Destin Daniel Cretton. “In order for that to feel real, we worked with people who understood Chinese Kung Fu.”

Let’s take a look at some of the Kung Fu roots and martial arts Easter Eggs underlying Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsdone..

The Ten Rings are Real…Kind of

Wenwu (Tony Leung) is the villain of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and he wields ten magical rings that he wears on his forearms. These are the source of his power, as well as the name of his criminal organization. The origin of these rings is a prevailing mystery in the movie; however, their inspiration is not. 

Traditional Kung Fu practitioners use rings akin to these while training, particularly in Southern Chinese styles. Such rings are called tit waan in Cantonese, which literally means “iron rings” or “iron bracelets.” Iron rings are constructed of heavy metal, typically brass or steel, and are worn loosely on the forearms when practicing solo forms and doing arm drills. 

They serve two purposes. Firstly, they are heavy, usually weighing over a pound a piece, so they act like wrist weights. Secondly, unlike Wenwu’s magical rings which conform to fit his forearms perfectly, real iron rings are looser. They must be narrow enough so that they stay on when the practitioner makes a fist, but they are far from form fitting. This gives them play to bang against the practitioner’s forearms when they are shadowboxing. The banging conditions the user’s forearms, hardening them to withstand the impact of blocking. Some iron ring practitioners have forearms that are so tough they can severely damage an adversary’s punch with their ring-hardened blocks.

Although iron rings are not conventionally considered as weapons, Kung Fu practitioners have figured out ways to weaponize just about everything. Some wield iron rings like brass knuckles, holding them in their fists for punching. 

Kung Fu Hustle

Weaponized iron rings are used in the 2004 comedy Kung Fu Hustle. The character Tailor (Chiu Chi Ling) fights with them. Chiu is a genuine master of Hung Ga Kung Fu, a southern style that uses iron ring training extensively. 

Director Destin Daniel Cretton claims that Kung Fu Hustle is one of his favorite martial arts movies so there are other nods to it in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, including when a Kung Fu Hustle poster can be seen on a bedroom wall in the background. What’s more, Yuen Wah also appears as the warrior leader of Ta Lo who oversees Katy’s (Awkwafina) archery training. Yuen played the Landlord in Kung Fu Hustle and is a veteran martial arts actor with nearly 200 film credits. He is also the Kung Fu brother of Jackie Chan. 

Yuen Qiu, who plays the Landlady in Kung Fu Hustle is a mutual Kung Fu sibling. Jackie, Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu were all pupils of Yu Jim-Yuen, a master of Chinese opera who trained them all from childhood.  They all took stage names that included the “Yuen” part of their master’s name (Jackie Chan was known as Yuen Lau as a child). Others among that troupe were many of the movers and shakers of Hong Kong’s golden age of Kung Fu films, such as Sammo Hung (a.k.a. Yuen Lung) and famed action choreographer, Yuen Woo-Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill). 

Tiger Head Hooks

The signature weapons of the Ten Rings are Tiger Head Hooks. These are those black glowing hooked swords that the gang members wield. They also appear on the Ten Rings banner. It’s an excellent choice because Tiger Head Hooks are one of the most distinctively Kung Fu weapons of all. 

In Chinese, these are called Hu tou shuang gou, which literally means “Tiger head paired hooks.” “Paired” because they are typically used in pairs. Sometimes they are just translated as Hook Swords. They have a sword blade with a hooked tip, a crescent-shaped blade for a knuckle guard, and a dagger blade for a pommel. Every edge is sharp. The only place they are not sharp is the handle. This makes them very difficult to wield. Consequently, Tiger Hooks are considered an advanced Kung Fu weapon. 

The reference book Ancient Chinese Weapons by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming dates Tiger Head hooks back to China’s Spring Autumn Period (771-476 BCE), however those ancient hooks likely took on a different form. The modern style of Tiger Head hooks as seen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings rose to prominence around the 1800s. They are still practiced today, mostly by Northern schools of Kung Fu.

What Style of Kung Fu Does Shang-Chi Practice?

Kung Fu is renowned for its diverse collection of styles like Shaolin, Wing Chun, Tiger style, and countless others. There’s even Drunken style and Toad style. In the movie, Shang-Chi doesn’t adopt a particular style of Kung Fu. Some of his moves have characteristics of Wing Chun or Bajiquan, but there’s nothing in the choreography to indicate a very specific style.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The warriors of Ta Lo are different. While their style is not explicit, their peacekeeping philosophy is expressed through the soft, internal styles of Kung Fu like Tai Chi. When Ying Nan (Michelle Yeoh) schools Shang-Chi in their first match, it’s reminiscent of how airbending is depicted in Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

However, the connection is deeper than that. Despite its fantasy elements, Avatar based its martial arts sequences on authentic Kung Fu by mo-capping Sifu Kisu, a renowned martial arts master. Kisu designated specific styles for each school of bending. Airbending was based upon an internal style of Kung Fu known as Baguazhang, or Eight Diagram Palm. Like Tai Chi, it has a soft expression. It relies on circular movements and pivoting evasions. Several of Yeoh’s techniques are plucked straight out of Baguazhang.

The Masters Behind Shang-Chi’s Martial Arts

Credit for Shang-Chi’s Kung Fu authenticity falls on the film’s top notch stunt team. Two are leading graduates of the legendary Jackie Chan Stunt Team. The fight on the hi-rise scaffolding is a homage to Jackie’s parkour-inspiring choreography. Andy Cheng worked on around half a dozen of Jackie’s films including his first two Rush Hour films, Shanghai Noon, The Tuxedo, and Who Am I? where Jackie does one of his all-time greatest stunts, sliding down the Willemswerf skyscraper in Rotterdam. He was also the action director for Into the Badlands. When Jackie inevitably stepped back from doing his own stunts, Cheng stepped in for him. 

“We were very concerned [about Kung Fu] from the very beginning,” says Cretton. “Marvel was also concerned and wanted to get it right. [They] knew that Marvel fans, wouldn’t have let it slide if we did a Hollywood version of a whitewashed Kung Fu movie. To be able to, we brought in Brad Allan.” Brad Allan was the first non-Asian to make Jackie’s stunt team. He also worked on around a dozen of Jackie’s films (this is approximate because stunt work wasn’t always credited).

Who Was Brad Allan?

You can’t miss the credits in any MCU film. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, there’s a prominent dedication to Allan at the very end. Tragically, on August 7th, 2021, Brad Allan died unexpectantly at the early age of 48, sending the martial arts world reeling from the loss of one of its brightest stars. Beyond Shang-Chi, Allan leaves behind an exemplary legacy of action films where he served as the Second Unit Director including Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Cuban Fury, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the Kingsman trilogy. 

Allan was obsessed with the martial arts from childhood and rose to compete internationally in Wushu, representing Australia where he was born and raised. Through a chance encounter, he was able to demonstrate his skills to Jackie, and Jackie liked what he saw so much that he took Allan under his wing. 

In 1999, Allan played Alan, the villain in Jackie’s film Gorgeous, which coincidentally also stars Tony Leung. With Allan clad in black and Jackie in white, their finale fight is, well, it’s gorgeous. It’s two of the greatest masters of the craft delivering top notch fight choreography. Allan spent most of his career modestly behind the scenes, so Gorgeous is the outstanding example of his speed and agility. It’s heartbreaking that Allan didn’t get to see the premiere of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Allan’s final work will be seen in The King’s Man later this year.

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is now playing in theaters.

The post The Real Martial Arts Behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/38AEQ5t

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

You’re team Cap

(This is totally a guess cause I have no idea 😂)

Not really. 

I don’t really pick sides because honestly I think both sides were doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Both Tony and Steve both thought that what they were doing is best but because their views countered they ended up doing things that weren’t so great. 

Both sides made mistakes I’m not going to get into because there are too many but I think everyone focuses too much of Ironman vs Cap when the real enemy is Ross. 

In theory I agree with the accords. You can’t have superheros running around unlimited by anything including the law. However the actual accords themselves sucked for multiple reasons (too rushed, human rights issues, etc.) so I get why cap choose to not sign them. 

In the situation I feel like I would have done something similar to Natasha because she followed the law until she saw it was hurting people so she broke the accords to stop the fighting. 

I’m not team Cap or team Ironman, I’m team anti-Ross. (although I like ironman better than captain america, for reasons unrelated to civil war, honestly I just find him funnier)

[hellzyeahwebwielingessays]

The Problem with Spidey as ‘Iron Man Junior’

Proponents of the MCU version of Peter Parker have often defended his characterization as logical and necessary in context. But is this really the case?

Tl:dr version: No it is not.

Forgive some laziness on my part because I’m going to be presuming everyone’s familiarity with the comic book iteration of Spider-Man and his MCU adaptation for the most part. To say there is a divide between many fans of former vs. the latter would be an understatement.

Detractors (which I count myself among) typically sum this up as the character being reduced to ‘Iron Man Junior’. In general this refers to MCU Peter Parker’s hero-worshipping of Tony Stark/Iron Man, their father/son relationship and the similar emphasis upon high technology in their hero identities. A connected point of contention is Peter’s aspiration to become an Avenger.

This was outright confirmed by Tom Holland himself in an interview for the then upcoming ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’.

"I think the difference now is that Peter Parker finally has an all-time goal, and his goal is to become an Avenger…Everything he does, even though he's doing it for the right reasons, is done so that one day he can become an Avenger and prove himself to Tony Stark. And I think we've never really seen Spider-Man with that kind of motivation before."

Defenders of this take upon Spidey have argued that this portrayal makes sense in context.

After all, Peter Parker is a teenager who’s grown up in a world where the Avengers are beloved, especially Iron Man. Plus in the comics (under J. Michael Straczynski’s pen) there was a time when Peter and Tony shared a father/son relationship. Tony even equipped Peter with a high tech costume as he did in the MCU. Spider-Man early in his career attempted to join the Fantastic Four in ASM #1 and later the Avengers in ASM Annual #3.

The problem is these defences just don’t hold up to scrutiny.

Let me first be upfront about my philosophy towards adaptations.

I in no way shape or form demand nor expect adaptations to be 1:1 panel to screen translations of the source material. I fully respect that changes are a necessity.

One of many 22-page comic book stories put out every month in the 1960s inevitably needs to be altered when jumping to a 90+ minute live action film in the 2010s.

Even the characterizations need to be altered where necessary if the source material is found wanting. *side eyes Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy*

However, my attitude is that adaptations should at minimum respect the spirit  of the source material no matter what. To do otherwise defeats the object of adapting the work in the first place. If a film is just borrowing superficial traits (names, costumes, powers, etc.) and but not representing the spirit of the character, then creatively speaking it might as well be an original character.

This is the case with the MCU version of Spider-Man. A fundamental component of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original vision for Spider-Man was that he was in essence the anti-Robin.

At a time when teenaged characters were sidekicks (Dick Grayson), supporting characters (Rick Jones) or the ‘kids’ in teams (Johnny Storm) Peter Parker was unique as a totally independent  teen hero. Of course that independence only applied to his life as Spider-Man, but that was part of the point. Spider-Man was his escape and release from the pressures and hang ups of his regular life, which included his doting yet coddling aunt.

A critical part of this was that he was a self-made  man. No elder mentor guided him in the use of his powers, helped him create his equipment or provided any sort of advice/accountability for Peter. He did it all himself. He was a loner.

On a meta level this is partially why Stan Lee (and for the longest time consequent writers) showcased Spidey not jiving with super teams. It was done to emphasis Peter’s independence and thereby his uniqueness within the genre. Even if that’s not so unique anymore (even in film), it’s still a baked in component of teen Spidey’s story. An essential aspect of who he is as a character.

As is his working class status.*

In fact these things go hand-in-hand. Just as Peter had to shoulder an ‘adult hero’s’ burden as Spider-Man (noticeably Lee didn’t dub him Spider-Boy or Lad as would’ve been common back then he also had to struggle for every penny. With the death of his uncle and his aunt’s poor health the burden of household provider fell on his shoulders.

When you take all this into account, having him fanboy over the Avengers and have a superhero mentor (let alone a billionaire one) is an aggressive misreading of the character.

The best way I can illustrate this is with an analogy from the opposite end of the spectrum. Imagine if you will a movie depicting Dick Grayson’s transformation into Robin. Except Batman was wholly absent. Not even an off-screen presence.

That  is how poorly MCU has missed the point  of Spider-Man.

And it was never necessary.

Contrary to defenders of the MCU, making Peter an Avengers/Iron Man fanboy was not the only logical direction to go with the character.**

Yes, in Peter’s world most kids would revere the Avengers and Iron Man. But in the real world not every kid or teen likes the Avengers characters or movies. Just as not every major pop culture phenomenon has ever been universally  embraced by contemporary kids/teens. In the 1980s not every kid loved the Transformers or the Ninja Turtles. In the 1990s not ever kid loved the Power Rangers or Pokémon.

Of course, most kids did, just as most  kids like the Avengers characters today. Similarly most  kids in the MCU by extension would look up to the Avengers. However, if anything this could actually help generate a more spiritually faithful rendition of the character. Consider that on literally the first page of Amazing Fantasy #15 Peter Parker was mocked by his classmates for being an outsider. A bookworm who didn’t know the difference between a cha-cha and a waltz.

In the context of the MCU wouldn’t Peter’s lack of familiarity or interest in the Avengers make for an appropriate updating of that characterization?

Let’s also consider that in the context of the regular 616 universe Spidey held little reverence for any of the heroes who had preceded him. This included Captain America and other WWII heroes as well as the Fantastic Four and their leader, the world famous scientist Reed Richards. Peter would’ve surely known who Reed and Cap were but as originally depicted by Stan lee himself, he wasn’t falling over himself during any of their early encounters.

So there was already a precedent in the comics for Spidey to not be dazzled by famous A-list heroes, meaning it’d be totally believable in the context of the MCU. Indeed this was likely part of the point of the character. Just as being Spider-Man didn’t improve his outsider status within the high school hierarchy so too was he an outsider among his super hero peers. The nerd to the Avengers jocks if you will.

But what of those comic book sources that say otherwise? Surely ASM #1, ASM Annual #3 and JMS’ run on Amazing Spider-Man corroborate the MCU’s take upon the character.

Yes and no, let’s tackle them one by one.

In ASM #1 it was made explicit that Peter wanted to join the F4 for purely practical reasons. His family needed money so he hoped the F4 could provide and income. When he learned otherwise he departed as quickly as he’d arrived.

In ASM Annual #3 Peter was far from eager  to join the Avengers and was equally unimpressed with them as a group.

He actively sabotaged his own chances to join at the issue’s conclusion.

As for Straczynski’s run…sigh…strap in.

At face value this run does indeed seem to support the MCU’s rendition of Spidey. However, the support it offers falls apart due to two factors.

The first is that, well…Peter and Tony’s relationship was pretty nonsensical.

I’m no Iron Man expert so I do not know how old the character would be roughly. From my impressions of the character though circa 2006 he wasn’t even in his 40s yet. Peter by contrast was 30 years old when you do the math. Unlike Tony he’d had several very serious romantic relationships and was back then happily married (barring a brief trial separation). He and his wife had lost a child and even believed one another dead at one point or another. Peter at the time was also working as a teacher to teenagers where he was clearly framed as their elder authority figure.

What I’m saying is that Peter was if anything more emotionally mature than Tony at this time. Or at least he was mature to the point where he was not going to view Tony as his father figure given the minor age discrepancy.

The relationship was clearly engineered with the pre-determined endgame in mind. That endgame being the ‘Civil War’ storyline wherein Peter would unmask upon Tony’s request and subsequently become a fugitive in defiance of Tony’s unethical practices. The latter would entail Tony threatening Peter and the pair coming to blows.

This brings me to the second factor. The totality of Peter/Tony’s relationship was designed to be a testament to how it was ultimately a bad thing.

Tony wasn’t the man Peter believed him to be.

Tony didn’t have Peter’s best interests at heart.

Tony was willing to spy, threaten and even attack Peter.

And along the way Peter and his family lost their home and the safety of Peter’s anonymity. The end result was Peter’s life becoming a shell of it’s former self, with his loved ones in serious danger. In fact you could view his fugitive status as a way to recreate the ‘good old days’ when Spider-Man was feared and hated by the public and authorities.

Had Peter retained his independence rather than surrendering any part of it to his ‘father figure’ Tony Stark, much of this could’ve been avoided. If nothing else Peter might’ve been able to unmask privately rather than publicly.

Whilst the MCU addresses the first factor via de-aging Peter, it has no answer for the second. It borrowed from the JMS run superficially and ditched the greater subtext regarding how Peter shouldn’t  have formed a relationship with Tony.

I’d like to conclude by addressing the most obvious counterpoint to everything I’ve said.

If Spider-Man were more comic faithful wouldn’t it undermine the entire point of him being in the MCU? The appeal of the concept was seeing Spider-Man interact with the wider MCU. From the audience’s POV seeing yet another Spidey flick confined to using Spider-Man exclusive elements might as well have been produced solely by Sony.

The problem with this argument though is that it doesn’t consider the myriad of possibilities available. Spidey could interact with the wider MCU and still be in character.

I’m no writer but off the top of my head:

Spidey could have defied the Sokovia Accords and thus been wanted by the authorities (a neat updating of his traditional ‘outlaw’ status), consequently coming into conflict  with Iron Man

Spidey might have still dueled the Vulture and interacted with Tony as he did in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. However, instead of gradually realizing he should be a ‘friendly neighborhood’ hero, he could call Tony out for ignoring small scale crime which indirectly ‘created’ the Vulture in the first place

Following ‘Avengers: Endgame’ the dissolution of the Avengers combined with the huge uptick in the population and displacement of citizens might’ve caused far more street crime that Peter would have to deal with. The remnants of H.Y.D.R.A. might’ve exploited this to gain a foothold upon which to rebuild.*** That might’ve warrant an appearance from more grounded heroes like Hawkeye or Ant-Man

An environment like this could’ve been exploited by Quentin Beck to frame Spider-Man, exploiting his already shaky public reputation and make himself look more appealing by contrast

Or Hell just do ‘Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut’ but with the Hulk as Roger Stern planned to do in the first place

I’m sure many of you could suggest infinitely better ideas.

In conclusion, no matter how you slice it, there were better options than rendering Peter Parker Iron Man Junior instead of Spider-Man.

*Peter, as depicted in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ was clearly not well off financially, yet consequent depictions of Peter in the MCU have de-emphasized this to the point where you could argue they are very probably not working class anymore.

This makes sense internally as a billionaire Tony Stark has no reason to take Peter under his wing but allow him to still dumpster dive for equipment. Giving the boy at least some modest financial stability would be a logical step in building a relationship with him and giving him more time and energy to put into his scientific and heroic pursuits.

Whilst I don’t exactly agree with everything said here, this post dives into the subject more deeply.

**And even if it was, if the context demands Peter be rendered so unrecognizable then maybe it was just creatively reductive to integrate him into the MCU the first place.

***They have after all had connections to organized crime in the comics.

[stovetuna]

Imagine Steve/Avengers walking in to Tony entertaining two soldiers in the common room and being really confused because Tony??? Despises the military??? But then find out that those two soldiers are actually from the “fun-vee” way back in IM 1 and Tony’s fitting them with prosthetics.

ahhh this has been stuck in my head for DAYS anon! I don’t necessarily agree with the assessment that Tony hates the military, per se (doing business with the military and the military industrial complex, however, and all that that toxic shit entails, definitely yes), BUT it’s such a heartbreaking/warming concept I had to run with it! I think I got it right with Air Force vs Army, but the movie was kinda vague—I’m going off of the fact that the driver said “I’m an airman,” which you would not say if you were in the Army.

and since the airmen (and woman) Tony was traveling with in the Fun-Vee are canonically deceased, I thought I’d have Tony do something…well, Extremely Tony™ to compensate…

(::whispers:: also we’re just gonna pretend that the Bucky-killed-Tony’s-parents-revelations of Cap 2/3 aren’t a thing in this vaguely alternate MCU universe. la-di-da, la-di-da…)

***

It’s not surprising to walk into the Avengers common area and see Tony Stark working on something no one can quite comprehend. That’s par for the course, really, as commonplace as days that end in Y. Machines, phones, tablets, watches, the toaster after Hulk pressed the cancel button a little too hard—they’ve seen Tony futzing with just about everything that exists in the Tower (and some things that don’t—couldn’t—exist anywhere else except where Tony is). 

What the team isn’t expecting when the elevator doors open onto the communal floor that sunny Tuesday afternoon is a living room scattered with men and women in various states of modest undress, all of whom immediately pivot in place to take stock of the new arrivals. Three men, one woman, and in the middle of their protective circle is Tony, eyes blazing with the same thrill of invention he often gets in the lab, a pair of needle-nose pliers clenched in his teeth.

Steve in particular notices the way Tony looks, because he’s developed a bad habit of doing that over the past year and change, and he’s kind of helpless at this point. Tony’s backlit by the afternoon sun, preoccupied with whatever he’s doing with the strange woman’s arm to distraction, and Steve can’t be judged too harshly—anyone with eyes would drag theirs over the exposed muscles of Tony’s arms, the shift and flex of his shoulders, the firm taper of his waist, the pronounced curve of his a—

“Are we, uh, interrupting something?” Clint has to shout to be heard above the music blasting from all corners of the room. 

Tony looks up from his work and waves his free hand, the one that isn’t wrist-deep in what looks remarkably like a prosthetic arm. He makes a ‘cut it off’ motion to his neck before taking the pliers out of his mouth while FRIDAY lowers the rock music to a dull background hum. 

“Hey! Sorry, I tried to keep it to the lab, but these guys wanted to see where the Avengers hang out, and I couldn’t say no.” 

Steve tears his eyes away from Tony (who should really work the sweaty-and-disheveled-mechanic look more often) to take in the others in the room with him. It’s a panorama of people, and the first thing Steve notices, besides their more obvious differences, is how comfortable they all are with each other, to the point that walking in on this moment feels invasive, almost rude. 

The four are all of remarkably different builds and backgrounds, not a similarity between them: an African American man, no taller than Steve was before the serum, sits on the couch; a white man, thin as a rake and twice as tall, is reaching for a glass of water on the coffee table; an Asian American man, whose shoulders are somehow even broader than Steve’s, stands rigidly next to Tony, arms folded across his chest; and the lone woman, whose glossy black hair is wound tightly in a bun at the back of her head. Steve notes the beautifully elaborate Native American tattoo covering the expanse of her shoulders and upper back. 

Then Steve notices the high-and-tights, the form-fitting, drab beige shirts they’re all wearing, the combat boots lined up behind the loveseat, and he realizes, much like he did with Sam that morning in DC, oh—these are my people.

“Ah, well, welcome to the octagon!” Clint says with an easy smile, stepping forward to shake hands and say hello like a normal human being. Natasha gives Steve one of her looks before she and Sam follow him into the living room—I don’t know any more than you do.

Bruce, Wanda, and Vision stay behind with Steve to let the first wave through. Steve watches his teammates greet the airmen without fanfare, welcoming strangers into their private midst like it’s routine. 

“Didn’t know y’all would be around, else we would’ve stayed outta sight.” 

Sam laughs, clapping the sitting man on the shoulder. “Dude, if Tony told us you were here, I would have come downstairs and bugged you, myself.” 

“Sure, PJ—you just wanted to see what real Air Force muscle looks like,” the man grins, flexing his barrel chest hard enough to strain his shirt. Sam guffaws and gives him a friendly punch to the shoulder, which the man returns in kind with a fist to the kidney. 

Clint is already deep in conversation with the redheaded beanpole, who talks so fast it’s dizzying; Natasha is standing next to the third man, keeping her eyes forward, and together they watch Tony disappear back into his work, muttering things back and forth to each other, so quiet even Steve can’t hear. 

“I think all is clear,” Vision says smoothly, drifting forward with Wanda, who is visibly fascinated by the woman’s tattoo until she steps into the throng and sees something that makes her face fall. 

Steve moves forward, curious and worried in equal measure. Bruce is hot on his heels. 

“—I mean it’s crazy right? It’s crazy, Tony Stark, Tony Stark calls us up out of the blue one day and says ‘You’ll be waiting six months to a year for a decent repair job, let alone a complete replacement, and I owe you guys, come on by Avengers Tower—”

Redhead is gabbing excitedly, gesticulating like Tony does when he’s in the mad depths of an invention binge. Steve sees the glint of metal and hears the whir of mechanisms working smoothly together in tandem and realizes both of the man’s hands are prosthetic. 

“Oh man! Oh, man! Captain, sir, wow, it’s—fuck, shit, my mama would kill me for swearing in front of you, fucking—shit, sorry, fuck—ah, damn it!”

Steve smiles and introduces himself—Corporal Bill Levee, apparently, is just as talkative up close. For all that his hand is made of metal, his grip feels remarkably, tangibly real. 

While Bill goes back to talking compound bows with Hawkeye, Steve looks at the man on the couch. Sam and Vision are now sitting on either side of him: both of his legs end at mid-thigh, and in their place are what look like brand-new metal limbs, designed to match his proportions exactly. The metal is dark, shiny, beautiful. He looks thrilled. He looks even more excited when Steve approaches, leaps to his feet and doesn’t even balk at the fact that Steve is a head and change taller than him and a superhero—he just steps right up to Steve and jabs him once in the shoulder with a grin. 

“Captain Rogers,” he says, and sticks out his hand. Steve shakes it. The man points a thumb at himself: “Captain Freddy Harrison. A little after your time, sir, but an honor to meet you regardless.”

Bill is still talking a mile a minute behind him; Freddy sits back down on the couch and lets Steve continue his “Captain America Meet-and-Greet” but makes him promise to come back and swap stories, which Steve does, happily, even as his mind whirls. How does Tony know these people? Why are they here? Where did these prosthetics come from? 

Bruce has joined Natasha, standing apart from the rest to talk to her and her new friend. Steve stops to say hello, as is only right, waiting until he’s entered the man’s line of sight to do so. Only then does he realize that the man has no line of sight, because both of his eyes are prosthetic. 

“I’m not completely blind, Captain,” he says, voice low but good-humored. Next to him, Natasha smothers a smile behind her hand. 

“Steve, this is Sergeant Daniel Kwon,” Bruce offers. The sergeant smirks and extends a hand—the eyes in his sockets look incredibly lifelike, but don’t move even a fraction of a millimeter. They gleam, still, with an uncanny sense of knowing. Steve has a sneaking suspicion they see more than enough and match his original eyes perfectly. 

“I’ll still make an exception in your case, Sergeant Kwon,” Steve replies, shaking his hand, “for not saluting a ranking officer.”

Dan chuckles under his breath.

“Let’s see your battlefield commission and then we’ll talk rank, sir,” he says. 

“Ugh, men.”

Steve turns around, and there’s Tony, flipping shut a panel high on the woman’s left arm with a smile. He pockets the pliers and drags the back of his forearm across his glistening forehead. Somewhere in the back of Steve’s mind, a saxophone is blaring. 

Honestly, the intrusive thoughts he could deal with, but the fact that Tony looks this good after hours of hard labor really isn’t fair. 

“Seriously, barely two minutes in and you military guys are at it like frat bros at a kegger.” Tony looks sidelong at the woman, who rolls her shoulders with a pop and a groan. “How do you manage?” 

“Easy,” she says, “I let them drink until they pass out and then I run back to the women’s barracks with all their clothes so they have to walk across the TOC butt-naked.”  

“I think we need to compare our respective strategies,” Natasha says, taking Wanda’s arm on her way to greet the other woman. “This is Wanda; I’m Natasha.”

The woman turns to face them. Her features are striking in a way that makes Steve think of old friends from the war, men he met on those rare occasions he had leave. He’d listen to Native American Code Talkers tell stories of land and legacy and home, stories older than anything Steve had ever known. He’d never been so humbled. 

“Delores,” she replies, shaking their hands. “But please, call me Del, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Steve looks at Tony, who giggles—giggles—and mouths ‘Umbridge.’ Del must have ears like a bat, because she smacks him smartly with her prosthetic arm and Tony yelps before devolving into outright laughter. Steve could watch and listen to Tony laugh—that big, gut-wrenching cackle Tony thinks is unattractive but Steve thinks makes Tony look like happiness personified—all day. 

The conversation devolves quickly from there, and within a couple of excitable minutes, the airmen are eager to get a look at the Avengers’ game room. They pile into the elevator, talking animatedly over each others’ heads, placing bets and picking teams as the doors close. 

In their wake, Steve’s ears are buzzing, and he realizes with a jolt that he’s now alone. With Tony. 

It happens often enough that the fact itself isn’t jarring, but something about being alone with disheveled-frazzled-happy-sweaty Tony sets Steve’s nerves on high alert. Tony is loose-limbed and relaxed, moving in and out of Steve’s space as he picks his way around the living room barefoot, looking for discarded tools. 

“There you are,” he coos at a tiny device that looks remarkably like a laser pointer. Knowing Tony, it’s probably a real laser. He pockets it, assumably to put away later (or fish out of the laundry at the last minute). 

“Who are those people, Tony?” 

“Friends of friends,” Tony replies. Steve also knows Tony well enough to recognize his I am being deliberately vague voice when he hears it. 

“Uh-huh.” Steve sits on the arm of the sofa, legs stretched out in front of him. “And who are they really?” 

“Who wants to know?”

“Me,” Steve says gently, scratching his palms with dulled fingernails. “They’re strangers, and they’re in our home. I think if you were in my shoes you’d want to know.” 

Tony stoops to pick up and pocket what looks like a dissected nine-volt battery. Steve kind of wants to ask, but he’s too distracted by Tony’s ass in those black Levis to ask any cogent questions. Seriously, he wonders, are those painted on?

Only when Tony sighs, and quite heavily, that Steve realizes this was more than just a friendly house call (of sorts) on Tony’s part. He watches Tony stand up, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows bright with the glow of sunset, and admires the way Tony suits the view so perfectly. He looks good all the time, but like this—skin burnished gold, brown eyes honeyed by the light—he’s something else. Someone Steve wants, desperately, but like most things in his life, knows he’s not allowed to have. Tony Stark is beyond him in so many ways. Reaching for him seems futile, so Steve stays on the ground, and looks. 

Tony fidgets nervously with a mini Phillips Head screwdriver, twiddling it in his long, clever fingers as he stares out the windows at the city sprawled out beneath them. 

“They’re from the same company as the guys in the convoy I was with when I—when they—” his voice sputters out before he can say the words. Steve doesn’t push. He doesn’t say anything. He just waits for Tony to gather himself. It’s one of the hardest lessons he’s had to learn about Tony Stark—sometimes it’s better to let him get a handle on himself, rather than jump in and try to handle Tony for him. It doesn’t change the fact that Steve wants nothing more than to hold his hand, now that it’s hanging at his side like its string was just cut. “A while back I dug into Air Force records, talked to Rhodey, got some names. Five people died in the hit that was meant for me. I figured, the least I could do was find five of their closest buddies who needed help.” 

Tony glances back at Steve—the little smile on his lips could break Steve’s heart if he let it.

“And I’ve heard you talk about how convoluted the VA is when it comes to services and benefits and whatnot. I figured, my tech probably took their limbs, I should cut out the middle man and give them new ones, myself.” 

Something in Steve’s heart shifts irrevocably before kicking into a whole new gear. By the end of the sentence, Steve knows he’s going to do something incredibly rash, the only question is when. 

Funny—ten minutes ago he was coming back from a team exercise, prepared to give Tony a friendly but firm talking-to about missing it, and instead here he is, breathless, heart racing, sitting and listening to Tony talk humbly about fixing people because he knows it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s the least he can do. And isn’t that the wildest understatement Steve’s ever heard? 

As if anything about Tony Stark could ever possibly be least. 

“You built them all those prosthetics?” 

“Top of the line!” Tony smirks, saluting Steve with his Phillips Head. “Nothing more high tech in any of them than a heart rate monitor and some other odds and ends—no rocket launcher eyes, don’t worry. I kept my baser urges in check with these.” 

“It’s good,” Steve blurts out, too loud and too fast. Tony inhales sharply, fingers clenching around the screwdriver hard enough his knuckles go white. Steve feels his face go hot and groans. “I mean, what you did—what you’re doing—is good, Tony. It’s really generous of you to do that for those guys.” 

Steve crosses his arms across his chest to make himself feel safer, more contained. If he doesn’t, who knows where these ridiculous feelings might go. He feels silly enough as it is, blushing and stammering while dressed in his uniform, sans helmet. Even Tony’s probably wondering why he’s wasting his time talking to a red-white-and-blue fossil when he could be downstairs destroying Clint and the others at pool or showing the airmen around the tower, giving them the bells-and-whistles tour. 

Tony looks at the floor, away from Steve. Steve feels it like a physical thing, Tony pulling away, retreating, wanting to hide. Amazing, how a man who almost literally wears his heart on his sleeve still thinks he doesn’t have one. 

“Yeah, well,” Tony mutters, “it’s good practice, anyways.” 

Steve’s thoughts grind to a halt. 

“Practice for what?” 

Tony starts moving around, shuffling back and forth across the living room floor, looking for something that probably isn’t there. Steve knows when Tony is avoiding eye contact with him—it happens often enough. 

“Just a pet project, nothing major. Hey, have you seen my cable knife anywhere?” 

“Did you leave it on the floor? Tony…”

“I know, I know, the only thing worse is Legos, but I was busy! You can’t blame me for—OW FUCK!” 

Like a shot, Steve is up and holding on to Tony so he doesn’t hop backwards into the glass coffee table. One arm wrapped around his back and the other hand on his bicep, Steve steadies Tony as Tony searches underfoot for whatever hurt him. 

He comes up with a magnet the size of a dime. 

“Ha,” Tony wheezes. “Speaking of Legos.” He drops it into his pocket along with the laser pointer and whatever else is in there and hangs his head. Rubbing his brow, Tony says: “God. I could sleep for a week after today.” 

Steve keeps holding Tony. He should let go, but opportunities like this so rarely present themselves. Plus, Tony feels so good under his hands, strong and warm and just small enough to envelope in a hug if Steve let himself, if Tony wanted him to, and Tony does look dead on his (adorable, bare) feet…

“What else have you been working on today? This pet project?” 

“Hah?” Tony breathes, still wincing slightly from stepping on the magnet. “Oh yeah. For Bucky, when you find him. Ow, motherfucker, that hurt…”

The thing about being in Tony Stark’s presence is, it’s so easy to lose the plot. Tony’s mind moves faster than Steve could ever hope to match, mentally or physically; he’s always one pace behind, catching up. It’s fine, though; he actually kind of likes it, being challenged the way Tony challenges him, delighting in the push-pull of their banter and debates, the way Tony teaches him about science and tech and the 21st century without being condescending. Steve gets to a point where he thinks he knows Tony, how he operates, how his brain works—then moments like this happen, and it’s like he’s sprinted smack into a brick wall. 

“What?” 

“What?” 

“Bucky, you said—are you designing a new arm? For Bucky?” 

Tony seems to notice their position at that exact moment. Steve feels him blaze with heat where his hands are touching Tony’s bare skin. 

“Uh. Maybe?” At Steve’s look, Tony bites his lip and sighs. “Fine. Yeah, I am. Can you blame me? The thought of Sputnik wandering around the tower with that Cold War-era paperweight hanging off him when I’ve got brand-spanking-new, finely-tuned StarkTech all but ready to go? Perish, Steve, perish the thought.”

Tony is smiling up at him from his place in Steve’s arms, relaxed now, almost leaning into him, and all Steve can think is, he belongs here. 

“What’s that face?” Tony asks, curious but still smiling. He pokes Steve in the middle of the forehead with a cheeky grin. “Keep frowning like that, your face’ll stick.”

When, apparently, is right now. 

When Steve reaches up and takes Tony’s hand, he gets to watch Tony’s thoughts run into the wall, for once. 

When he weaves their fingers together, he gets to watch Tony’s mouth click shut and his eyes go wide. Super-hearing means he can count the beats of Tony’s racing heart without having to feel them. Steve’s telegraphing every movement, every feeling, as much as he possibly can now that words seem to have escaped him. 

He must manage okay, because the look that passes over Tony’s face is the same one Steve’s seen in the mirror a thousand times since the day he realized he was halfway in love with Tony Stark: wonder, one part lost, one part found. 

When he leans down, slowly, Steve gets to watch Tony’s beautiful eyes flicker and shut. He counts the dark lashes where they rest on Tony’s high cheekbones, breathes in his smell and listens to the shudder in his exhale before drawing him in for a kiss that draws everything else to a quiet, blissful blank.

When Tony pushes his fingers up into Steve’s hair, scratching lightly at the nape of his neck, Steve drops his arms around Tony’s waist and pulls him in close with a soft groan. He’s warm and messy and still holding that damn screwdriver, but he kisses Steve soft and eager like it’s the only thing he wants to do for the rest of his life, folds himself into Steve’s embrace like he wants to build a home right there in his arms. 

One day Steve will tell him he already did, a long time ago, and it wasn’t the least of anything. 

*** 

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[imposterogers]

random thought i had but honestly i really wish that if marvel was gonna do the civil war storyline that they'd held off on thanos. like imagine if we'd had a proper cap 3 movie, showing bucky being back and them adjusting and all the stuff that entails, and that would set up civil war, and making it the big end of phase one because, esp with wanda and bucky, there was so much to explore in regards to government intervention etc and it would've been so great to actually see the impact on everyone and all the perspectives fleshed out, not to mention what a great way it would be to introduce new heroes for phase 2? like through the impact it has on other heroes/metas, and then they could've teased the thanos storyline through gotg and launched phase two right away IT WOULD'VE BEEN SO PERFECT THINK OF ALL THE WASTED OPPORTUNITY

pls why are you saying such hurtful things u know this is what I’m sensitive about ...........but............while we’re here.......

-imagine cap 3: serpent society. it’s a cap fam extravaganza. steve nat and sam handling the fallout of the battle of the triskelon and a worldwide hydra infiltration. steve desperate to find bucky. the uprising of another terroist organization.

-the end of ca3 is steve, finally reunited with bucky, in a final showdown with Team Cap vs the serpent society. steve is like “it’s over. your plan failed.” and the leader/maybe zemo is like “oh, but did it? that is where you are wrong, captain. our plan is just beginning. we could not expect to destroy you, but we will watch you destroy yourselves”

-cut to the united nations panel. “bucky barnes” is on the screen. (the real bucky is standing next to steve watching this unfold) the man wearing bucky’s face, using a photostatic veil, says “hail hydra” and a bomb goes off. END

-THEN we move into avengers 3: civil war. the fallout is immediate. there’s flashback scenes to tony being approached by a women, making him feel guilty about sokovia (as his should) but also pushing a narrative on him. it’s revealed she’s a serpent. tony is convinced the world needs to be kept under check, as does its innovators and its heroes. the world nations believe a team needs to be put in place to prevent super powered terrorism (bucky). team cap is framed for crimes they did not commit, showing the world what happens if superheroes go rogue. they decide to go on the run as fugitives, which only make them look more guilty

-the film ends with a showdown between team iron man and team cap, except no one knows who is on whose side. it ends with the “death of captain America”

-I literally cannot express to you how amazing it would have been if thanos was not rushed and was a next phase villain OH my GOD