Marvel Cinematic Universe

I think what underwhelms about Age of Ultron for me is precisely that. Its the second big team up movie but instead of being the culmination of the movies before it its principally there to set up the movies which follow it. In the grand scheme of the MCU that works but as a movie its robbed of the climax that you’d expect.

That's how I felt for a long time. I've either been worn down now or I'm just more willing to take unnecessary risks, but I've already been out to see Shang-Chi and I'll be going to the pictures more as the year grows cold. I understand not everyone can take that risk, so it would be nice if things were still day-and-date, but the 45-day window Disney seem to be sticking to doesn't seem too arduous.

Having said all that, I'm still concerned about going to see Bond this week. Shang-Chi was virtually empty when I went but I think Bond will be a lot busier.

The infinity gems explainer scene is forced in, and Whedon was vocal about that being a pain in his ass being forced to do by higher ups, but I disagree about the rest of it, because it flowed naturally.

Instead of a “it’s all built to this” (which, less face it, all that was built to with Avengers Assemble is the characters had been introduced) in Ultron, the heroes are proactive instead of reactive. They hunt down Hydra and wipe them out, then Stark envisages a world where heroes are no longer necessary, and the plot emerges from his decision, not some random villain’s plan that they all have to react to.

This sets up personal divisions in the team which will add drama to Infinity War and Endgame years later. It paves the way for the questions about accountability that lead to Civil War.

You could also argue that, since Tony Stark’s proactivity is directly motivated by the battle of New York, Age of Ultron is MORE set up in previous films than Avengers Assemble was, whose set up was just those 90 second post credits buttons “we’re building a team” and that one scene in Iron Man 2 where Fury and Widow tell Stark he’s a cunt in a doughnut shop.

I think it’s fine to not feel great about the film, it genuinely doesn’t hit its marks to the same extent as Avengers Assemble did - I don’t think anyone thought that movie was likely to be good, let alone great, so it was kind of astonishing - but I also think it’s poor to write off Age of Ultron just because it’s not exactly the same as the previous film, I think the criticisms are illusionary.

If you’ve only ever seen it once and felt bad about it - which I did - consider watching it a second time, it’s might be a much better movie than yiu remember without the weight of expectations.

I think my problems with Age of Ultron aren't really anything to do with how it fits into the wider narrative, it's mostly due to Ultron himself. His introduction feels rushed and I never really got a grip of his true motivations or why; I mean, I understand what Whedon was going for, but it all feels clunky and inelegent, and Ultron himself really under-developed, which is such a shame when Spader gives an incredible performance. I think coupled with a disappointing visual design it just makes the big bad underwhelming. There's a reason why everyone's favourite scenes are the ones with just the Avengers.

I think the introduction of all the new characters is a bit pants, TBH. The twins are kinda bussed in with a convenient backstory but their evolution from revolutionaries to Avengers is rushed; ditto Vision, where the ideas behind his creation feel like repeating the points of the first act. And Whedon seemingly had no idea what to do with Thor, although I'm not sure how much of his "vision quest" (no pun intended) was a result of tying stuff into the wider narrative.

I do, however, think everything to do with Hawkeye in the film is amazing, from his injuries to his one-liners to his family on the farm. I really, really like the idea that he's the one actually willing to put everything aside and retire, that it's all a means to an end for him and he'd rather just be at home fixing his kitchen. His whole "the city is floating, I've got a bow and arrow" bit is hilarious. I hope this is the Hawkeye that we see more of in his show next month.

Oh, and I've got tons of love for the bit where Hulk throws Ultron from the Quinjet and he just frustratedly cries "oh, for God's sake," as he falls to Earth.

I don’t know about anyone else but I thought What If really came together in the end.

I think they got the balance just right in today’s episode.

The series high point is still the Doc Strange one (ep 4?) for me though.

where is the location that the watcher resides ?
its obviously outside of the multiverse as he sits watching them through all the facets. is that technically its own universe ?
we have a multiverse inside that universe which could also be a multiverse, is a watcher watching the watcher ?
who watches the watchers ?


visions of the marble universe scene at the end of MiB

In the DC universe (if I'm remembering this right), all of the universes exist inside something called "The Orrery of Worlds", and the space in between universes is known as the Bleed. It's possible to traverse this Bleed in a suitable craft. I assume that the Monitor's domain, and the diamond prison thing that Supreme Strange was trapped in, are essentially just floating in the MCU version of the Bleed.

Anyway, I really liked this. I thought they totally stuck the landing. My only minor complaint about the two final episodes is that they felt a touch rushed, which is just a product of the format really. And I do wish we could have seen more of Gamora's world; it looked like in that reality they'd defeated Thanos before he got all of the Infinity Stones? I really liked Stark's Hulkbuster Space Armour or whatever it was.

I feel like we'll definitely see more of Captain Carter in season 2 - if not in live-action, maybe! - but it really stings that this was the last we'll ever see of Chadwick Boseman. His version of Star Lord allowed him to bring a lightness to the character and really helped showcase his range and just how warm and great he was in the role. He'll be missed, especially if he's liable to be replaced by a real-life anti-vaxxer. Sigh.

This is fantastic news. Off to Amazon...!

Looking at the toy, this was clearly a cut episode, right? Tony goes to Sakaar instead of Hulk, ends up building that armour to fight in the arena, befriends Valkyrie, etc... Meanwhile Gamora kills Thanos.

I did read that apparently Covid knackered their plans a bit and some stories got moved to season 2.

One got cut due to covid, Emergency Awesome and Screen Crush youtube channels do good videos with all the background stuff explained.

What would people like to see in season 2? I'd quite like to see "What If Civil War Never Happened", where Thanos invades but the Avengers are still together, although I'm not sure how you turn that into a tragedy the way they seem to like...

In other news, apparently they were planning an entire series starring Star-Lord T'Challa that's obviously been nixxed now. Not sure what I think about that; I don't know how much I'd like to see of these characters beyond their brief What If episodes. Although I'd have loved it if Star-Lord T'Challa could have made a live-action cameo somewhere down the line. Alas...

Agatha Harkness is apparently getting her own show.

Quite enjoyed the final episode, although it did feel a bit contrived in that The Watcher specifically chose heroes from “What If” - and even then, only selected ones. So he didn’t bring “Frat Thor” version of Captain Marvel or “Dead Avengers” Captain America or literally everyone from the “Tchalla Star Lord” universe (including Thanos!). But it did make for fun TV.

I hope they actually keep her as a villain. Not every antagonist needs to have a redemption arc like Loki.