While it has been out there in the geek ether (geether?) for a while now, the official word came down this morning that Disney shelled out a cool 52.4 BILLION dollars for FOX studios, home of the Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
Having caught my breath from a solid hour of geeking out and mapping out personal fan-fic scenarios uniting the characters of the two Marvel Cinematic Universes, I am now prepared to offer a short list of what I think are the five most exciting possibilities of the expanded MCU:
1. World War 2 Captain America and Wolverine
Storming the beach at Normandy side by side? Teaming up and taking down an entire Hydra unit? Maybe just Captain America being offended by the smell of Logan’s cigar… The possibilities range from the subtle to the sensational, but its a perfect way to map out a connection between the two characters. Let’s also not forget that this opens up a potential for Wolverine vs. Winter Soldier flashbacks and even Winter Soldier vs. Deadpool.
Whether its Hugh Jackman suiting up or a new, MCU proper casting for Wolverine, the stories here have my knuckles itching and “SNIKT” ringing in my ears.
2. Doctor Frickin’ Doom
The MCU has a villain problem. Either they are one and done or they are Loki. We have yet to see how Thanos will perform in a sequence longer then a few minutes, but overall, the Avengers haven’t had an enduring foe worthy of the team. That would all change when the sovereign nation of Latveria sends its reclusive ruler, Victor Von Doom to the UN. Doom is one of the best, most complex villains in all of comics. He does magic, science and has an army of Doombots ready and waiting for the inevitable CGI battle royale climactic final battle.
With the same people that perfected the Iron Man armour on call, Doom should finally appear as he was meant to: regal, fearsome and powerful. No electrical powers needed.
3. Mutants
Sorry Inhumans, nobody loves you or your stupid dog. Every Marvel fan knows that super powers happen during puberty or other periods of heightened emotional stress, not from a cloud. The X-Men universe adds hundreds of characters to the MCU, heroes and villains alike. Has the Xavier school been here all along? Hidden by a secret deal between Nick Fury and Charles Xavier? How does Magneto feel about the death of his son and his daughter standing with the Avengers? Do we see a big screen Avengers vs X-Men???
The X-Men took the first steps to the current age of super hero films wearing black leather and not flying so they wouldn’t look dumb. (Seriously, they couldn’t fly in the first two X-Men movies) Now, the world is ready for “yellow spandex,” armies of Sentinels (those CGI final battles again) and the Danger Room.
4. The Fantastic Four
To be honest, I have never been an FF guy. However, they are, literally, the first family of Marvel Comics. The Marvel Universe as we know it began with the Fantastic Four, so they deserve a place at the table with their peers. What comes with the FF upgrade? The Thing vs. The Hulk, The Human Torch, Namor, the Negative Zone, The Silver Surfer and the longest lasting relationship in comics, Reed Richards and Susan Storm. Reed is a perfect fit in the “science bros” team of Banner, Stark and Strange, while Sue is the strong “Mother” figure that will added a much needed female voice to the MCU. And hey, pretty sure the FF spend a fair bit of time in space, so get the Guardians of the Galaxy on line one, would ya?
With new power sets, new match ups and an expanded palette of science-fiction concepts to explore, joining the MCU is the jump start the Fantastic Four needs to bring the “World’s Greatest Comics Magazine” back to The Wednesday Run.
5. Galactus
Maybe I’m ganging up on clouds here, but that space cloud in the second Fantastic Four movies just didn’t cut it. I get why, at the time, it made sense to do it, but now it’s snack time. The Devourer of Worlds is the kind of life ending threat that the entire MCU can rally to battle. He would also be the most insane visual effect ever! A fully realized Galactus in glorious IMAX 3D would be something we have never seen before that would have everyone throwing up the “just take my money” meme.
Thanos is a cosmic level threat, and while I wouldn’t want the MCU to solely focus on these type of battles, when its time to assemble the entire toy box for an epic battle, nothing would beat Galactus.
I can still remember the first time I saw Hugh Jackman on screen in X-Men. I remember thinking: “it’s him. It’s really him.” For those of us that have been imaging our heroes come to life since long before bootlegs of the lost Fantastic Four movie started washing up online, the modern age of super hero movies is our wildest dreams coming true. It’s every time you lined all your good guy figures up on one side and your bad guys on the other. But the road has been bumpy. For every great moment, we’ve also had to endure “Darefleck” or dancing Tobey Maguire and his Spidey crotch thrusts. With everyone under roof for the first time it feels like we are finally going to get what we have always wanted: to see our greatest heroes and most diabolical villains lined up, ready to battle for our imaginations. What a time to be alive.
‘Til next time, I’ll be in my toy bin posing figures and imaging the end of credit scenes that will, finally, unite my universe and bring my comics to life, bub.
