I get the idea of general public perception, but my larger point is that these characters so far had a deep well of plotting/character development to use in adaptation. It makes sense that these non A-List characters (as far as the general public was concerned) would work because they were strong characters in their…

This idea that The Avengers characters weren’t some kind of A-List characters is not really accurate. They are part of the foundation of the comics, and while they might not have had the cultural appeal of Spider-Man or X-Men at the time, it’s not like they weren’t proven properties in their original medium.

Agreed about Raiders. Last Crusade has some wonderful humor and good chemistry with its cast, especially between Connery and Ford. It’s just a fun time, even if its actual action sequences are even less memorable than the ones from Temple of Doom.

Medium response: As problematic as Temple of Doom is, it has more exciting/memorable scenes than the forgettable thrills of Crystal Skull (barring a refrigerator, granted).

Yes. The Transformers comics written by Budiansky and later Furman were incredibly grim and violent, with surprisingly sophisticated themes for what they were. Quite a shock for me to read them as a kid opposed to what was occurring in the cartoon series. I ate them up!

I guess maybe the flashbacks on Buffy/Angel to the origins of Angel-Spike-Drusilla is the source of that “trope”?

Their best bet would’ve been to have the stand alone franchises, then have Justice League as the mash up franchise where you collect everybody for one-off films that don’t need serialization. Just drop in all the toys, have a blast, then let them go home to their individual series and don’t sweat having to fit them…

Aquaman did good business, that’s getting a sequel at least. 

I really have a hard time watching Begins. The action sequence are even less coherent than Nolan usually struggles with, Wayne’s no killing code is taken to contradictory extremes, and it’s more grounded take does not sit well with a villainous endgame out of a 90's superhero film.

Not to mention that Temple of Doom has the mine cart and killer bridge sequence.  Crystal Skull just does not put up anything to match the memorable action sequences from the original three films.  

I’m really curious to see how they handle the MCU moving forward with not just famous actors but iconic characters being phased out. A Marvel universe in which stakes matter, where characters like Stark, Nat, and Rogers “die”, as I’m sure Thor will eventually? It’s going to be very interesting. 

No, they were getting ready to reboot Star Trek as Phase II, a sci-fi TV show with most of the original cast (but not Nimoy). They bumped it to theatrical because of the Star Wars success and all the studios rushing to cash in with sci-fi movies (see Alien, Black Hole, etc)

Warner essentially had to beg Nolan to make another Batman movie, and it’s clear from The Dark Knight Rises that he never quite figured out what that should even be.

There was a small group of superhumans in that army who I guess were meant to be the Gods, and I think they mentioned Ares by name but the editing and narration was such that it didn’t really sink in. A bunch of the superhumans started to take shots at Darkseid and then a dude with an axe stuck it in his shoulder, so…

The real world answer is that the MCU is trying to reconcile adaptations of pre-Modern comics type of stories when the heroes were relatable because they had real world problems like being broke mostly because they had secret IDs. But with the film’s established universe where they are public figures bankrolled by one…

There’s a lot of talk about this, but in Sam’s case specifically, he was part of Cap’s renegade team. He was off the payroll. I would venture that whatever savings he (and the other renegades) had was used to help fund their activities, then he “died” for five years. Anything he had at that point was probably…

If I’m right about where this is going, in the original John Walker story he has to contend with the Watchdogs, a right wing terrorist group, as his major challenge when he’s Cap. He doesn’t do well at it, and they drive him crazy.

That looks great.  Is Gwenpool a good comic?

I was disappointed that they made Batroc a little more violent than his source material here.  It’s the MCU, so stuff has to get ramped up (and obviously he killed people in his first appearance in Winter Soldier), but what makes Batroc so charming in the comics is his strange chivalry and almost lightheartedness…

So Falcon was part of Cap’s renegade team, so I bet he was off the payroll. I bet that team needed some funds, so they probably tapped out their savings. Then after Endgame it seems like the Avengers are disbanded, and have been for 5 years, and all their leaders are gone (Stark, Cap, Nat), so it’s not really out of…