MCU Abbreviated Cut - Phase One

The Challenge:

Create an "abbreviated" cut of the Marvel Cinematic universe, keeping all the best moments but watchable in a single sitting - or at least a weekend. Cut up chronology any way you like, but limit the time to 3 hours for each Phase and/or year of television.

My main process for shaving down the runtime is to cut a lot of villain "buildup" moments because, let's face it, it usually doesn't go anywhere, because most of the villains in the MCU are one-and-done. Following that, cutting any abandoned plot point that doesn't go anywhere saves a lot of time (Iron Man 2 has a lot of those because of the lack of continuation into Iron Man 3). Finally, any extensive buildup for characters or drawn out foreshadowing can be left out, because for this cut, we can assume it's fans watching, not a GA who doesn't know who characters are.

So here we go, draft one of my Phase 1 cut - let me know how you would do it!

Captain America: The First Avenger
I'm going to cut out a lot of "skinny Steve" moments because we know he becomes Captain America, so a lot of that is, for this cut, a waste of time. But I want to keep in a little so that we see that Cap spirit even without the body.

I would open in the theater scene, with Cap telling the bully to show respect. Include the alley fight and Bucky's entrance. Then cut all the way to the Stark Expo where Steve decides to enlist again. We don't need to hear about all the other times, just starting here will do. Include the talk with Bucky while Erskine overhears, and Erskine's offer to Steve. From there, we go to boot camp where we only spend a fraction of the time. Again, we know he's going to do it. But we include the introduction of Col. Philips and, more importantly, Peggy Carter. Cut out a lot of the "Steve's a weakling" shots, but include Philips talking to Erskine and my personal favorite moment of the film, the dummy grenade. Keeping the flagpole gag in too will help build the relationship with Peggy and the fact that Steve thinks differently than other men.

Pretty soon I would cut to the operation because, again, we know that's where it's going. So we have the operation, the death of Erskine, and the Heinz Kruger chase and fight. Show Skull with Zola containing the cube, but we don't need to see Skull obtaining it. Cut out the "chorus girl" subplot and go straight to Rogers rescuing the POWs. Maybe a brief snippet of the stage days to explain the costume, but we don't need to see a lot of that. After rescuing the soldiers, show Stark equipping Rogers for future combat, and the Howling Commandos montage, going right into the death of Bucky and the final assault on the Skull and the plane crash. No ending scene in modern times yet

Most of the cuts are from the first two-thirds of the film.

Agent Carter
From the series, show some footage (very trimly cut) of her working with the Howling Commandos, discovering the Red Room, rescuing Fenhoff, fighting Dottie, Fenhoff killing Dooley, and being put in prison with Zola.

The series is actually pretty self-contained, so we don't need a lot of it. More Howard Stark would be nice and certainly some of Jarvis, but the series shouldn't contribute too much to this cut. The short, however, would be nice to include, because that's already very trim, and aside from character points shows as much as clips from the show would.

Ant-Man
As a bonus, we could include the Pym-Carter-Stark exchange from Ant-Man's opening, and the scene of Ant-Man and Wasp in action.

Iron Man
Open with the opening shot of the convoy, but when it explodes, skip the whole casino scene. Cut right to the cave, waking up and speaking with Yinsen, and the "deal" made with Raza's second-in-command. I would cut out most stuff with Raza himself, because he's not actually that important. Skip right to Stark explaining the plan to Yinsen and them starting the breakout. Keep the Yinsen death speech of course and then Stark getting the Hell out of Dodge.

Back in the US, skip the press conference and Stane buildup, and testing of individual suit components (maybe keep a little for the comedy) and focus right on the test flight, and Mark III design. Keep the Stane reveal at the party, the scene with Pepper after Tony's first mission (Are those bullet holes?) and the Iron Monger reveal with Coulson and Pepper, leading to the final fight. No stinger yet.

The Incredible Hulk
The opening montage is gold - keep that in. Cut the subplot with Mr. Blue until it actually becomes important, but show Banner's homemade lab. Show the blood spill in the factory (Stan's first cameo in this cut) immediately followed by the attack by Ross et al. Cut to Betty finding Bruce at Stan's and meeting Sterns, along with Blonsky becoming abomination. Forget most of the helicopter shots and cut right to the Harlem fight. No Stark cameo yet.

Iron Man 2
Cut the opening Stark Expo nonsense. Cut the entire palladium poisoning and not-"demon in a bottle" subplot, and the new element, because none of those plot points are continued in Iron Man 3 (thanks, Shane). Even the Howard Stark subplot can go. Stark's first scene should be in the ring with Happy, introducing Romanoff and showing Pepper becoming CEO. Forget Whiplash's first fight - forget everything at the Grand Prix. Again, this is all about the Howard Stark subplot that Shane Black completely ignored, so it can go. Whiplash's first moment should be Justin Hammer breaking him out of prison, and him and Hammer meeting should be Hammer's first appearance.

Cut Stark meet with Fury at the donut shop and save the "Rushman" as Black Widow reveal for her scene with Happy. Show an argument between Rhodes and Stark ("they're gonna take your suits!") but skip the party. Just show Rhodes taking the suit and getting it weaponized. Cut to Hammer taking the stage at the Stark Expo (we don't need to see Vanko working on the drones much), and the whole fight between the Hammer Drones, Crimson Dynamo, Iron Man, and War Machine, and of course keep Black Widow's best scene in the movie, with Happy in the background.

Finally we get to

The Stingers
First show the scene with Fury in Stark's house. I know this isn't technically correct chronology but it fits nicer. Then show the donut shop scene from Iron Man 2, cut to avoid plot points from that film (poisoning), but revealing Romanoff as Black Widow to Tony. Include the "Southwest Region" line from Fury to lead into A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer, and finally show The Consultant complete with the ending scene from The Incredible Hulk.

Thor
Cut out a lot of crap with Foster, Selvig, and especially Darcy. Focus on Thor.
Show the flashback of the battle against Jotunheim, but cut the coronation scene before the weapons vault. We need the weapons vault fight to lead to Thor leaving with Loki, Sif, and the Warrior's Three. Most of the battle on Jotunheim can stay, including Odin's interference and the subsequent banishment of Thor.

Cut to the "Excalibur" scene and the talk at the diner (we don't need to see Thor get hit, tazed, injected, and hit again), where Thor learns Mjolnir's whereabouts. Skip Jane's back-and-forth and cut to her driving Thor there (sorry, no "I need a horse!). Thor breaks in, keep Coulson, Hawkeye, and Selvig. After he fails, skip the interrogation, skip Loki's scene, cut to Selvig getting him out. From there, cut right to the Warrior's Three arrival (don't need to see Thor and Selvig act like fratboys), the arrival of the Destroyer, and the battle between the five of them. Thor returns to Asgard (cut out as much Jane as possible) and destroys the Bifrost. Then cut straight to the cube (no Heimdall, we don't need to see Jane and Darcy again), being shown to Selvig, and Loki's influence.

The Avengers
Cut out a lot of buildup. We've had five movies, four shorts, and a TV show of buildup. Cut all that filler. Show Loki attacking project PEGASUS to introduce Hill and show Hawkeye being taken. After that, show the scene from Captain America: The First Avenger where Cap wakes up and Fury makes contact. Then cut to Germany, where Cap and Widow attack Loki, and Stark comes in (Cap meets Stark). Keep some of the forest fight, but not too much because we know they aren't going to be enemies. At this point (not the same time as the film), have Coulson call Widow to recruit Banner. Show Fury imprisoning Loki, and Loki's speech to Widow. Keep some of the "Phase 2" banter but not much. Jump quickly to Loki escaping, Coulson dying, and almost immediately to them heading the Manhattan. Keep most of the fight, Thanos, and Shawarma.

Agents of SHIELD
Item 47 doesn't lead anywhere, because we haven't seen those again. If you include it, trim it. The more important coda to Phase 1 is the Pilot of Agents of SHIELD, showing Coulson back from the dead and the beginning of his adventure.

Can that all fit into 3 hours? I have no idea, and I probably won't find out anytime soon. But what do you think of this cut? Was there anything you think should be left out? Anything you thought I should have included? Let me know what you think!

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 9/9 [Thor: The Dark World Prelude]

NOW UPDATED TO INCLUDE PART 2 (after part 1)

So, I now have to re-number all of my comic posts on MCU comics, because they just released a ninth one!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

This one takes place after Thor and before The Avengers. This is part 1 of 2, so I expect 2 to bring more info, but this one isn't bad. Highlights?

- Shit is going down all over the 9 realms. Specifically,
+Frost giants on Jotunheim know something is going on. Plus, their king is dead now.
+Trolls on Nidavellir are getting ready to attack the Dwarves, since Asgard can't help the Dwarf king Eitri
+Badoons are falling into civil war, which will soon spread to other planets
+Mauraders are amassing near Vanaheim

Additionally,
-Odin tells Thor that he basically put the universe on fast forward to Ragnarok, essentially an Asgardian apocalypse
-We get a reference to Tyr, who is set to appear in the film, but we don't see him
-Thor keeps himself from looking for a way to Jane. "Now is not the time."
-Jane is trying to re-open the wormhole to Asgard. And she would have succeeded, except Thor broke it.
-Frigga (Thor's mother) finds out Loki is alive, and working with Thanos, and when they find out he's on Earth, Odin tells Thor there is another way to get between realms without the Bifrost -- dark energy.
-Turns out that the Asgardians need the Tesseract to rebuild the Bifrost. So, expect that to be a plot point future films.
-We see Coulson getting Jane Foster moved as mentioned in the film. Not new info, but nice to see it from the other side
-Lots of stuff from the movie, followed by "To Be Continued"

Frigga right before contacting Loki, seeing Thanos and The Other

PART 2

-Sif keeps tabs on Thor via Heimdall while he is on Earth during "Avengers"
-Jane Foster finds out why she was whisked away, and watches the battle of New York on TV
-Before Thor leaves, he gives a message to Selvig for Jane, but Selvig forgets it, and Jane is pissed at Thor. "Thor was here, and then he just left again. No message. Nothing. Not a word. For the last year, every waking thought I had was of him. Of finding him. All the work I did, it was for nothing. So, that's it. I'm done."
-Frigga still feels sorry for Loki, but Odin no longer considers him his son, calling him Laufeyson
-On Vanaheim, the Mauraders are ripping into the Vanir
-Thor gives the Tesseract to Heimdall, who uses it to restore to Bifrost.
-Thor gives a pep talk to Asgard about the entire universe needing they're help (more or less).

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 8/9 [Fury's Big Week]

So I saved the best for last. That means its supposed to be last, so, if you haven't read the first ones, do so!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Now for probably the best and most important tie-in comic: Fury's Big Week.

Why is this one so cool? Well, for starters, the name. The title comes from the fact that the main happenings of Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor all occur within about a week of each other. So this comic gives a nice timeline.

Additionally, this comic ties in to every movie/character, not just one, and has a lot of "between the scenes" stuff, not just "behind the scenes," and really helps tie the movies together and explain a lot of details. If you're going to read any of them, read this one. I'm actually not going to give much plot, just list some things this story addresses.

- A lot of tension between the World Security Council and Nick Fury, and how Nick Fury gets away with ignoring them. In his words, "We keep doing what we're doing and tell them that we're doing what they want us to be doing."

- The non-cure SHIELD develops for Stark's Palladium poisoning (Black Widow injects him in the donut shop).

- Major plot points of all the movies. Stark vs. Rhodey, him dying, Jane Foster's research, Thor trying to get his hammer, Loki trying as well, Hulk tearing up Culver University, Blonsky fighting him, the Destroyer, the Hulk fight in Harlem

- Some background, exposition on Hawkeye. Why he's in New Mexico with Thor.

- Nice references to the short film A Funny Thing Happened on the way to Thor's Hammer

- Some background into why Black Widow is so freaking terrified of the Hulk in the Avengers. Hint: she's seen him Hulk out in person before (Culver University). She saw the Abomination first-hand too.

- SHIELD using the Destroyer to make new weapons, as seen being used by Coulson in The Avengers

- Nick Fury and Gen. Ross whipping it out (not literally). But they disagree about a lot of things.

- Whatever happened to Samuel Sterns? Yeah, he transformed into the Leader. He just didn't get very far.

- Turns out SHIELD (Nick Fury) was actually looking for Cap -- for years -- they didn't just "happen" to find him.

- Turns out Loki met Hawkeye when he was "possessing" Selvig at the end of Thor, which is why he brainwashed him in Avengers.

- Lots of great Coulson personality in comic form.

- More Nick Fury magic. Remember in The Avengers, they wanted all their focus on Phase 2? Yeah, that's happening here. They want his top priority to be on learning about the Tesseract, and they get pissed when they find out he's been up to other projects. The way he defends himself is amazing, and he ties everything together nicely with the Tesseract.

"I not only saved Tony Stark's life, but I also provided the guidance he needed to finish his father's work. The greatest result of that being the creation of a new element, which might be extremely useful in reigniting the Tesseract. 

After that, I formed an alliance with the extra-terrestrial Thor and then recovered the Asgardian weaponized armor, which if I'm not mistaken comes from the same realm as the Tesseract. Maybe my pal Dr. Erik Selvig, another recent ally, can learn more about the Tesseract from the armor, or vice versa? Just a thought. 

After that I ran interference to keep that halfwit good Thaddeus Ross from destroying New York City with his enhanced psycho-soldier. I'd hate to speculate on how a man like Ross got his hands on the classified intelligence that led to that horrifying incident. 

Oh! And meanwhile I've kept a small team on the hunt for Steve Rogers, which I know might be perceived as disobeying orders...I just thought it might be handy to have access to the only human being on the planet that has had any direct experience with the Tesseract."

Here are some of the great photos from the comic, relating to the films. Because this comic is its own story, these pages help to remind the reader where they are in terms of the events of the films.

Romanoff updates Fury on Stark's "situation"

Stop. Hammer time.

My guess is the Hulk was mad that there was no Culver's at Culver University

Hawkeye in New Mexico after Thor pwned the Destroyer

Black Widow observing the fight in Harlem

Samuel Sterns did in fact start transforming into the Leader. He was then shot by Black Widow.

HULK STRANGLE!

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 7/9 [I am Iron Man]

Didn't think I was ever going to finish this, eh? Well, I am. Today! Why? Because a new MCU comic comes out tomorrow, a Thor: The Dark World prelude. So I need to get caught up!

First things first. If you haven't seen the others, you should do that too.

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

This post is about "I am Iron Man!"

And it'll be short. Because, well, it's basically just a comic version of the movie. Like the Thor comic.

There are a couple pages of dialogue between Fury and Stark picking up during the post-credits scene of the film. Basically, Stark gives Fury the cold shoulder, and Fury tells Coulson to prepare Natasha (Black Widow) that they need her services, so a nice lead-in to Iron Man 2, as well as the Black Widow prelude comic.

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 6/9 [Iron Man: Public Identity]

This is part 6. Read the other parts!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

OK, so this is going to be a lazy post. Why? Because I'm feeling lazy, but also want to give you guys a post today.

This post is about Iron Man: Public Identity

I'm not really gonna give a summary, but let me just say, this is a pretty good read. It's its own story, that fits in well and logically into the movies. It gives a lot of backstory on Stark as a kid, his relationship with father Howard, and how he became who he is. It's nice to see Howard post-Cap and Stark pre-Iron Man. There's also a wonderful reference in Jarvis being his actual butler as a child, serving as inspiration for JARVIS, which as a golden age comic fan, I love. I might post a summary later, but its a good expansion on the films. We see some work going between Rhodes, Hammer, and General Ross, which ties the Hulk story in nicely. We see Stark interact with Ross (and its not nice) and some glimpses of SHIELD (Fury and Coulson) so its a pretty broad range of characters. If you have access to it, check it out!

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 5/9 [Captain America: First Vengeance]

This is part 5. Read the other parts!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

This part focuses on Captain America: First Vengeance

This storyline is presented in four comics, mostly taking place back in the WWII days (~1944) but with many flashbacks.

I'll present the information first in the way it is presented in the comics, and then as one long timeline.

Part 1:
1924:
We see young Steve with his sick mom. His father had already died, and his mother was on her way. Before she goes, she asks him to always keep his head.

1930:
Flashback to Steve being bullied as a child growing up in an orphanage. He first meets Bucky as Bucky protects Steve from bullies.

1941:
We see Steve involved in artistry (either drawing or painting) with Bucky when they announce that the U.S. has joined the war. Bucky warns Steve not to bother enlisting, so Steve asks Bucky to help him train. Bucky starts boxing lessons with Steve. Bucky is pretty unforgiving. "Bigger is slower, so you gotta be fast." Bucky works with Steve on running. Steve attempts to enlist, and is denied.

1944 (the present):
Steve is fighting Hydra on some island. Besides a lot of agents, there is an exo-skeleton-powered soldier.

Part 2:
1934:
Hitler and Schmidt (Red Skull) attend the same Opera, one based on Norse mythology, and Schmidt talks to Hitler about mythology and science being interconnected. Schmidt slowly rises through the organization. Schmidt meets Zola, who it turns out is the mid behind the exo-skeleton seen fighting Cap before. Schmidt does not approve of what he calls "toys," and he prefers to enhance the human itself, rather than creating a suit to protect it, and tells Zola to refrain from working on the suit and join him. (In the present, Cap defeats the armored soldier).

1935:
Abraham Erksine (the scientist that invented the Super Soldier Serum) is abducted by Nazis while trying to flee the country with his family. Schmidt confronts him, and affirms that he is not allied with the Nazis, simply using them. Erksine still disapproves, but agrees to help Schmidt in order to save his family.

1944 (the present):
Howard Stark assists Cap fighting Hydra

Part 3:
1937:
Erksine's family dies in a concentration camp. (Not shown, but revealed to Erksine by Carter).

1940:
Howard Stark is giving a demonstration on Vibranium (the material Cap's shield will be made of). A little background on Peggy Carter, including referencing her as "Agent 13" which is what the next-generation Sharon Carter is known as by SHIELD in the future/present (look for her in the next Cap movie). It is revealed that she rescued Erksine from Schmidt, and that is how he is now working with the Allies. Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) attempts to recruit Howard Stark, but that goes about as well as Colonel Nick Fury attempting to recruit the younger Stark in the present. They are attacked by Hydra, and Howard agrees to join.

Schmidt's plain to become a superhuman apparently fail. Carter, disguised as a harmless housemaid, breaks out Erksine. She tells him that his family has died years ago, and Schmidt kept the information from him to keep Erksine cooperative. Zola enjoys the failure, hoping it will lead to him returning to his exoskeleton research.

1944:
Stark and Cap defeat more Hydra tech. Zola tells Schmidt his machines have failed, and Schmidt tells him that is why the human must become its own weapon. Enter the Howling Commandos!

Part 4:
1942:
Steve Rogers is chosen to become the Super Soldier. Project Rebirth takes place in Brooklyn, transforming Steve Rogers into Captain America (seen in the film).

1943:
The Howling Commandos are all imprisoned together, meeting for the first time. Schmidt organizes prisoners into groups he believes will fight with other. Seen in the film, the group consists of:
Dugan (the guy with the bowler hat and mustache), Irish, from New York.
Jones, Black, from Georgia
Falsworth, English, from England (expert strategist)
Dernier, French, from Marseilles (explosives expert).
With them is Bucky Barnes, whom Dugan refers to as "Jimmy" (from James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes)
Bucky gets attacked, and the groups decides they need to break out, using their gifts and working together.

1944:
Cap and the Commandos make their way to the Red Skull, who attempts to convince Cap to join him. The Skull is also in possession of an Asgardian rock.

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OK, now I'm going to present the same information, but in fully chronological order, not separated by comic. If you don't care for this, just scroll past for my recommendation (if you care for that). Personally I like the timeline better.

1924:
We see young Steve with his sick mom. His father had already died, and his mother was on her way. Before she goes, she asks him to always keep his head.

1930:
Flashback to Steve being bullied as a child growing up in an orphanage. He first meets Bucky as Bucky protects Steve from bullies.

1934:
Hitler and Schmidt (Red Skull) attend the same Opera, one based on Norse mythology, and Schmidt talks to Hitler about mythology and science being interconnected. Schmidt slowly rises through the organization. Schmidt meets Zola, who it turns out is the mid behind the exo-skeleton seen fighting Cap before. Schmidt does not approve of what he calls "toys," and he prefers to enhance the human itself, rather than creating a suit to protect it, and tells Zola to refrain from working on the suit and join him. (In the present, Cap defeats the armored soldier).


1935:
Abraham Erksine (the scientist that invented the Super Soldier Serum) is abducted by Nazis while trying to flee the country with his family. Schmidt confronts him, and affirms that he is not allied with the Nazis, simply using them. Erksine still disapproves, but agrees to help Schmidt in order to save his family.

1937:
Erksine's family dies in a concentration camp.

1940:
Howard Stark is giving a demonstration on Vibranium (the material Cap's shield will be made of). A little background on Peggy Carter, including referencing her as "Agent 13" which is what the next-generation Sharon Carter is known as by SHIELD in the future/present (look for her in the next Cap movie). It is revealed that she rescued Erksine from Schmidt, and that is how he is now working with the Allies. Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) attempts to recruit Howard Stark, but that goes about as well as Colonel Nick Fury attempting to recruit the younger Stark in the present. They are attacked by Hydra, and Howard agrees to join.

Schmidt's plain to become a superhuman apparently fail. Carter, disguised as a harmless housemaid, breaks out Erksine. She tells him that his family has died years ago, and Schmidt kept the information from him to keep Erksine cooperative. Zola enjoys the failure, hoping it will lead to him returning to his exoskeleton research.


1941:
We see Steve involved in artistry (either drawing or painting) with Bucky when they announce that the U.S. has joined the war. Bucky warns Steve not to bother enlisting, so Steve asks Bucky to help him train. Bucky starts boxing lessons with Steve. Bucky is pretty unforgiving. "Bigger is slower, so you gotta be fast." Bucky works with Steve on running. Steve attempts to enlist, and is denied.

1942:
Steve Rogers is chosen to become the Super Soldier. Project Rebirth takes place in Brooklyn, transforming Steve Rogers into Captain America (seen in the film).


1943:
The Howling Commandos are all imprisoned together, meeting for the first time. Schmidt organizes prisoners into groups he believes will fight with other. Seen in the film, the group consists of:
Dugan (the guy with the bowler hat and mustache), Irish, from New York.
Jones, Black, from Georgia
Falsworth, English, from England (expert strategist)
Dernier, French, from Marseilles (explosives expert).
With them is Bucky Barnes, whom Dugan refers to as "Jimmy" (from James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes)
Bucky gets attacked, and the groups decides they need to break out, using their gifts and working together.


1944:
Steve is fighting Hydra on some island. Besides a lot of agents, there is an exo-skeleton-powered soldier.  Howard Stark assists Cap fighting Hydra. 1944: Stark and Cap defeat more Hydra tech. Zola tells Schmidt his machines have failed, and Schmidt tells him that is why the human must become its own weapon. Enter the Howling Commandos!1944: Cap and the Commandos make their way to the Red Skull, who attempts to convince Cap to join him. The Skull is also in possession of an Asgardian rock. Presumably, this is the battle we see in the film, just more of it than we saw before, although it could be a later battle.

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My recommendation: Buy it. There's a ton packed into these comics, and its a little confusing jumping back and forth between different time, but you really do get to see a little deeper into Cap, Bucky, Red Skull, Zola, Erksine, Carter, Howard Stark, and the Howling Commandos. A lot of information about why and how these people are doing what they're doing, and some answers as to when things started happening. Several references to scenes in the film to help orient the reader, and its a fun little story.

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 4/9 [Agents of SHIELD]

This is part 4. Read the other parts!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Part 4 will focus on the comic Iron Man: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The comic is presented in three parts. One focusing on Fury, one on Coulson, and one on Romanoff

"Who Made Who"
Fury is giving orders to some soldier at a Ten Rings operation, when Iron Man shows up. This is the scene from the first film where Iron Man goes to Gulmira after seeing news on TV of the attacks. Fury orders the soldier to track Stark's movements, and Stark records the conversation, reviewing it later. It shows that Stark is aware of Fury attempting to recruit him even before Fury meets him at the end of the film, and Stark is being deliberately difficult (because he's Stark). Kinda neat to see this familiar scene from the film from a different perspective.

"Just off the Farm"
Coulson is training a new SHIELD agent, "Mister Hendricks." We get to see some cool SHIELD tech, and Coulson being a badass, but no real reference to the film after the first page, where Fury complains to Coulson about the press conference from Iron Man 1 since Coulson was supposed to cover the alibi. At the end, Coulson welcomes Hendricks to SHIELD, so it may be a character that's eventually put into live action, but maybe not. If so, it'll make this story more interesting.

"Proximity"
It starts off with Black Widow being badass and jumping from a plane without a 'chute, because she's the Black Widow. Fury assigns her to slowly work her way through Stark Industries to get close to Stark, partly to keep an eye on him and partly to make sure he joins the Initiative. We see how she creates her own luck (including jumping down an elevator shaft, because she's Black Widow) to get to Stark, and the comic ends with her walking into his training room while he's boxing with Happy (seen in Iron Man 2). Like the first part, it's cool to see a familiar movie scene from another angle, and it's neat to see how Black Widow got into that position. I honestly prefer this mini-story over the three-part series she had by herself. It tied into the movie character that we know, and showed us a familiar setting.

Overall, I like this comic. The stories are all pretty short, but its because they tie into the movies that we all know, which is the point of these comics in the first place. We get a little closer look at the methods of Fury, the cool of Coulson, and how much of a badass Black Widow really is. If you can find it cheap, I recommend checking it out.

A quick summary of MCU comics, part 2/9 [Thor]

This is part 2. Read the other parts!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

For part 2, I admit I made it easy on myself on purpose because I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to post today. The Thor comics are simply a comic version of the film. No new info, no fun secrets, just the same story in comic form. Now you know.

A quick summary of MCU comics: Part 3/9 [Black Widow Strikes]

This is part 3. Read the other parts!

Part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Here is part 3, on the prelude Black Widow Strikes.

Part 1: We start with Black Widow undercover in a strip club. But if you're a ScarJo fan, the artistry doesn't much look like her, so don't buy it for that alone. After running around in a leather bra for several pages, and some interplay with Coulson, she leaps off a roof and has a fancy Widow-logo themed flight-glider-harness-thingy. Not sure what to call it, but its cool.

The next page has her in a new set of lingerie, but she's getting dressed. Can't finish though, cuz she gets attacked. So 6 more pages of her fighting in underwear before finally wearing clothes for the last three pages. Turns out there is something of an actual plot -- a Russian assassin and former fan of Romanov (uses the alias Sofia) is disappointed by her lack of menacing methods since joining SHIELD, and is challenging her for who gets to claim the title of Black Widow since this new person thinks Natasha is undeserving.

Part 2: We start with Natasha on some crazy "rail bike." We see some flashbacks on all the horrible things shes done in the past that made her the object of Sofia's obsession. We make it all the way to page 4 before they take her clothes off again, now in a bikini. She gets nearly killed by Sofia, before Coulson (who else?) saves her. For the latter half of this book, she's actually wearing clothes. Albeit a low cut super-cleavage dress, but clothes. Along the way, Sofia kills a few SHIELD agents, and Natasha vows to kill her.

Part 3: Starts the book out in full costume! Yay! Practicality! Chasing chasing chasing. Ten Rings reference? Whoaaaaa first real tie to the movies. Flips and twirls and shooting things. Finally face to face with Sofia, both are out of bullets. Classic. More fighting, and Sofia apparently dies in an explosion. But are we sure. Then Widow says something in self-pity when talking to Fury.

Conclusion: Not very many ties to the movies, but some backstory on Widow if you care for that. I personally think that they might bring this stuff into future movies more than what they have now. There's a Ten Rings reference, and the whole idea of a second Black Widow is something that I think could be a great plot point in a future movie. If they focus more on Widow in future films, then this series might be worth buying as a connection to the MCU. Otherwise, its pretty tangential. And bikinis and strip clubs and bras don't really make great comics in my opinion, but thats what 2/3 of this series is. But it's nice that they give Widow some attention in this reality, I just wish Hawkeye could get a book.

A quick summary of MCU comics - Part 1/9 [Iron Man 3 Prelude]

So, if you're like me (and who doesn't want to be?), you love knowing every possible detail about movies and the like, because it gives you more of the story, it gives you more to know, and it just makes you better than everyone else (that's a joke).

Marvel has already gotten a reputation for cameos, Easter Eggs, and mid-credits/post-credits scenes in their films. Now with the shared continuity of the MCU, it's getting even more intense.

The MCU (that's Marvel Cinematic Universe) has officially expanded beyond just the films, making the term "Cinematic" not quite correct. So, it has officially been labeled "Earth-199999" by Marvel as its own reality, unrelated to the others. However, because that's far too many 9s, it's still commonly referred to as "the MCU."

However, in addition to the movies, the MCU includes short films, comics, novels, video games, and will soon be including a TV show. I hope to do posts on all of these at some point, but today I'm focusing on the comics.

Before I go further, let me clarify, I am only talking here about the comics that are OFFICIALLY part of the MCU, which have neat little logos stating that they are "Official Tie-In" comics. Now, there are many other comics that the writers intended to take place in Earth-199999, but its not official canon in the eyes of Marvel, so those will probably get their own post some day.

Now, for the comics themselves. I've found it very difficult to find an official, comprehensive list anywhere, so this is what I'm including: (note, you can link to the other pages by clicking on the title!)

Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week
Avengers Prelude: Black Widow Strikes
Iron Man 3 Prelude
Thor
Thor: The Dark World Prelude
Road to Marvel's The Avengers
(Includes)
-I Am Iron Man
-Iron Man 2: Agents of SHIELD
-Iron Man 2: Public Identity
-Captain America: First Vengeance

This post will focus on what's probably the most popular right now, the Iron Man 3 prelude. Future posts will discuss the others.

I will also add that this is just to give a GENERAL IDEA of what happens in the book, to help you decide whether or not to buy it and give it a full read (I would suggest looking on ebay). This is not a comprehensive summary.

OK, so, Iron Man 3 prelude.

Part I is where the meat and potatoes of this story is.We see some Stark Tower info before it's built (this comic comes before The Avengers), and probably the most important thing is this book is that Stark takes back his suit from Rhodes, takes all the Hamemer-tech out, and gives Rhodes a brand new suit. Rhodes then starts working with the government tracking down Ten Rings operations in the Middle East.Turns out Hammer was working with them just as Stane was in Iron Man 1, and Rhodes gets into trouble. He requests back-up, but can't get any because there's a "situation in New York" (insert panels of the Avengers final battle scene). *Laugh* Ends on a cliffhanger, because they want you to buy Part II.

Par II is much less about learning secrets and more about following up on Rhodes, who wins, but damages his suit terribly (good thing he gets a new one in Iron Man 3). Aside from another panel showing the "situation in New York," Stark is barely in this one. We see another appearance of the "sonic cannons" seen in The Incredible Hulk (designed by Stark), and Rhodes takes off to help in Manhattan. But by then time he gets there, everybody is at Shawarma. In the epilogue, we get the first glimpse of Stark's huge collection of armors, and he refers to them as his "Iron Legion."

My recommendation: If you don't care about the in-between of the movies, don't bother with this. If you love that kind of stuff like I do, see if you can find a collection of both on ebay for ~$5. The first part is definitely more juicy than the second, but its nice to have closure.

For more info on Earth-199999, either wait for more of my posts, or check out this website:
http://marvel.wikia.com/Earth-199999

Is this where Rhodey decides to steal Cap's look?

Notice that these armors all look pretty similar, as opposed to the publicity photos and trailers where there are many different ones. Point is, he's got tons of armor now.