MCU/Superhero Discussion Thread

[The Biggles Syndicate]

Famous "What if..." stories from the past:
"What if...Aunt May was bit by the spider instead?" She becomes Spider-Ma'am.
"What if...Venom had bonded with Frank Castle" Frank Castle controls the symbiote.
"What if...the Gamma Bomb (original Hulk origins) made bunch of Hulks" Lots of smashing.
You get the idea.

Yeah sucks they can't do any fan stuff, some of it makes a lot of sense. At least I can look forward to falcon and the Bucky show.

There's a Falcon and Bucky show?

[Lord Dominator]

Yeah sucks they can't do any fan stuff, some of it makes a lot of sense. At least I can look forward to falcon and the Bucky show.

There's a Falcon and Bucky show?

There will be, starting in 2020 or 2021 on Disney+

[Cannot think of a name]

There's a Falcon and Bucky show?

There will be, starting in 2020 or 2021 on Disney+

With Baron Zemo as the villain. Sock cap and all.

[Cannot think of a name]

Famous "What if..." stories from the past:
"What if...Aunt May was bit by the spider instead?" She becomes Spider-Ma'am.
"What if...Venom had bonded with Frank Castle" Frank Castle controls the symbiote.
"What if...the Gamma Bomb (original Hulk origins) made bunch of Hulks" Lots of smashing.
You get the idea.

Yeah sucks they can't do any fan stuff, some of it makes a lot of sense. At least I can look forward to falcon and the Bucky show.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. There is going to be an animated What If... featuring voices from the MCU.

[The first Galactic Republic]

Most likely.
But I have small hope we could see some of the more popular fanon, because it's non Cannon they can go to town.

Fanon anything is out, all entertainment companies as such have prohibitions on their artists/authors/etc from reading/viewing fan stuff for (very good) legal reasons.

That, and the framing of the original 'What If...?' that they're most likely using is showing possible other universes based on different outcomes of major events. A relevant potential (but probably not) MCU example would be something like 'What If Iron Man hasn't made it back through the portal?'

Really?

Why?

[Cannot think of a name]

Fanon anything is out, all entertainment companies as such have prohibitions on their artists/authors/etc from reading/viewing fan stuff for (very good) legal reasons.

That, and the framing of the original 'What If...?' that they're most likely using is showing possible other universes based on different outcomes of major events. A relevant potential (but probably not) MCU example would be something like 'What If Iron Man hasn't made it back through the portal?'

Really?

Why?

Why not?

[The first Galactic Republic]

Really?

Why?

Why not?

I don’t see a reason for it?

Is it about ownership? I don’t think a fan could call out plagiarism because a fan can’t own the existing IPs they use in fan fiction or theories.

And are the employees really forbidden from even reading fanon? Sounds hard to enforce.

[Cannot think of a name]

Why not?

I don’t see a reason for it?

Is it about ownership? I don’t think a fan could call out plagiarism because a fan can’t own the existing IPs they use in fan fiction or theories.

And are the employees really forbidden from even reading fanon? Sounds hard to enforce.

Hmmm...I may not be aware of the conversation you're having.

[Christian Confederation]

Why not?

I don’t see a reason for it?

Is it about ownership? I don’t think a fan could call out plagiarism because a fan can’t own the existing IPs they use in fan fiction or theories.

And are the employees really forbidden from even reading fanon? Sounds hard to enforce.

That's what I've heard.

[Vassenor]

Why do they need to be able to accept fan submissions for What If...? anyway?

[Christian Confederation]

Why do they need to be able to accept fan submissions for What If...? anyway?

Because fans look at the MCU for a different angle

[Vassenor]

Why do they need to be able to accept fan submissions for What If...? anyway?

Because fans look at the MCU for a different angle

Such as what?

[Cannot think of a name]

Oh, you're hoping they'll draw from fanfiction. Oh no, no no no no...they're not going to do that. Even Star Trek had to stop doing that.

[Vassenor]

Oh, you're hoping they'll draw from fanfiction. Oh no, no no no no...they're not going to do that. Even Star Trek had to stop doing that.

Because that totally won't turn into people demanding their most hated characters get officially demonised.

[Cannot think of a name]

Oh, you're hoping they'll draw from fanfiction. Oh no, no no no no...they're not going to do that. Even Star Trek had to stop doing that.

Because that totally won't turn into people demanding their most hated characters get officially demonised.

I mean, it's not just that they'll get bad ideas. It's that they'll get buried in bad ideas by some of the shittiest people on earth. Before the internet and before free screenplay software there was at least some kind of barrier to entry and Star Trek was able to get away with it for a while, even getting Ronald D. Moore out of the deal.

But now? Good christ. They'd be slammed with everyone's shitty ideas and have to hire a whole building full of readers to go through all these frankly awful ideas in the hopes that buried in there somewhere in that sea of crap is a decent idea that one of their tested and known writers with representatives and knowledge of how film and screenwriting deals work couldn't.

And for their troubles they get rations and rations of shit from people who don't know how to take no for an answer, from people who think that their idea to propose "What If...Captain Marvel got down on Deez Nuts" was stolen by the story where Captain Marvel I don't know...fights in Rambeau's walnut ranch? And now they're suing Marvel for stealing an idea that you can't copyright in the first place or Captain America had to go to the bathroom just like in my script so you stole my script! Etc etc etc on and on.

And then there's just the horrible, unreadable, unfix-able crap they have to read through and consider and decide if under that blanket of bad formatting and shitstain dialog there might be a germ of an idea.

Marvel or any studio isn't going to put up with that crap. Join professional and aspiring writers groups on line and read tales of horror of people pulling dumb stunts to get their scripts read and the lament that with each stunt getting your script read by anyone becomes that much harder because they had to put up one more barrier to prevent that asshole. Last year, no shit, some dude put up a fucking billboard for his script...his script...just outside three studios in Hollywood. Van's Best Friend, the story of a boy who's dog's spirit eventually is reborn into a great white shark...this awful piece of what the fuck was on a site called "The Blacklist", a script marketplace that has brought you a mostly forgettable raft of movies.

When you're dealing with that level of what the fuck, you don't open the doors to crazy town.

[Lord Dominator]

To whit, there is in fact the potential for lawsuits if episodes or books or whatever have plots resembling something a fan showed to them. Usually spurious, but legal people are nothing if not careful when dealing with potential for lawsuits.

This post and this post explain why a bit more. In particular, the second explains the aforementioned Star Trek bit some more.

[Christian Confederation]

I'm pretty sure you can't Sue if it's not copyrighted.
Besides a what if Nat and cap stayed together after winter Soldier episode could work because anyone could think it up.

[The first Galactic Republic]

You could easily draw the distinction between fanfiction and popular fan ideas.

Maybe someone would take legal action if a fanfic was copied, but no one can claim to own a simple idea like “What if x or What if y”.

[Christian Confederation]

You could easily draw the distinction between fanfiction and popular fan ideas.

Maybe someone would take legal action if a fanfic was copied, but no one can claim to own a simple idea like “What if x or What if y”.

Seems legal to me, my hope for what if is restored.

[Lord Dominator]

That is indeed at the level that one wouldn't need to look at fan stuff for it to potentially happen.

[Cannot think of a name]

Anyone else getting the feeling that given the announcements specifically regarding Scarlet Witch that they're angling to use a version of House of M to introduce Mutants? Or I guess Secret Wars. Or both. Let's say both. House of M introduces Mutants and Secret Wars collapses the timelines. That's my half assed prediction.

Like, WandaVision is supposed to be about her getting Vision back. So what if she decides that she can just steal a Mind Stone from another timeline because fuck them or whatever. Whatever it is she fucks up the multiverse and has to seek out Doctor Strange's help since she's mainlining Dark Universe magic. Doctor Strange tries to help her get a handle on it but can't...madness ensues, we trip through other realities including, according to a leak rumor, old school Nick Fury. She finds a reality where Peitr is alive and she has a father. Sweet. Except, dad is Magneto. Right? So...Avengers was 2012, Age of Ultron was 2015, Infinity War was 2018/Endgame 2019. 2008 to 2012 from Iron Man to Avengers, five movies. Five movies to Age of Ultron with a sixth in the phase after it. Six to IW, two more Endgame and then a coda.

Five movies on deck for phase four:
Black Widow, don't expect anything there. Might as well be an Infinity Saga movie.

The Eternals, expect the rules of the cosmic universe to be further established, including multiple universes and the creation of this one.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, tying magic to the shit we just learned in The Eternals through the origins of the Ten Rings and The Mandarin.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, all hell breaks loose.

Thor Love and Thunder this effects Thor. He gives up his mantle, Jane Foster takes the title, but this is Watiti. I'm betting he's going full Simon Walterson. So we do get Beta Ray Bill. Maybe even Throg. Maybe even the emergence or the grains of the Thor Force.

Scene missing (or not)

House of M

Phase five, scene missing. Probably involving Silver Surfer and Namor and shit. Phase six, Secret Wars.

I have like a 15% chance of being right.

[Lord Dominator]

A lower level House of M type shenanigans would be a decent way to get around the existing problem of integrating mutant things. Doubt they'll do either Secret Wars though, given all that was involved in that.

[Ameriganastan]

...What is House Of M?

[Cannot think of a name]

...What is House Of M?

Something googleable.

But if you insist, Scarlet Witch's abilities to warp reality start to get a little out of control and she's losing her own grip. So a bunch of people get together and try to decide what to do. Emma Frost and Wolverine vote kill her while Captain America votes find a way to contain.

Word gets back to Magneto on Mutant Island or whatever it's called...if you wanted accuracy you should have googled it yourself...and he panics, all of a sudden it's a new world. Magneto was attacked by a Sentinel in the 70s because of Marvel's sliding timescale deal, it comes out there was some corruption...shenanigans shenanigans shenanigans...Mutants are in charge and humans are discriminated against. Spider-man is married to Gwen Stacy, Captain America is an old vet having never gone in the ice etc etc. Hawkeye is alive. Wolverine remembers what use to be, starts telling people "Hey, remember how your life use to kinda suck?" and a bunch of people remember. Turns out Quicksilver convinced Scarlet Witch to grant everyone's wishes...I guess everyone who is a super hero. I'm guessing the oppressed sapiens weren't wishing for that shit.

They find her, confront her about it and she decides "Alright, fuck it. No goddamn mutants." Now Doctor Strange is the one going around going "Both those things happened and they're not the normal thing." Something something worlds collide blah blah blah Secret Wars happens in which the House of M timeline is part of it called the Monarchy of M. Blah blah blah collapsed timeline there are less mutants some characters are alive now and some are dead or have no powers or their powers are different or whatever.

[Christian Confederation]

Moral of House of M don't screw with the timeline.