In which Scott Lang saves the universe, with a little help from his friends.

( Spoilers are kidding, though Scott does have a relatively big part in the movie )

To be frank, I’m not keen on them being integrated all. For a variety of reasons.

Now, if the X-Men hadn’t been split from the MCU from the get go due to earlier deals, this would be different for. I like some of the cross connections in the comics, i.e. Jean Grey having been instrumental in Jessica Jones‘ recovery from Killgrave, for example, and the lengths both movies and tv shows had to go through in order to avoid the word „mutant“ along as there was no Disney/Fox deal was ridiculous.

Then again: sometimes it worked out well thematically. Since the MCU Maximoff twins could not be Magneto’s kids, the MCU had to provide another explanation for their powers, and Steve identifying with them, making that connection about volunteering for being experimented on by German scientists, was one of my favourite scenes of his in Age of Ultron. (It’s also what made me believe he’d recruit Wanda later. Now, the fact the MCU thereafter treated Wanda as a blameless waif with no blood on her hands until the not intended by her deaths from the opening of Civil War, instead of someone who had been a voluntary Hydra experiment/member and who had at the very least the responsibility for any deaths and injuries caused by her releasing the Hulk in Johannesburg, which hadn’t been Ultron’s orders but her choice – that’s another matter.) (This is why I’m into fanfiction in which Wanda talks with either Tony or Natasha about the blood in both their ledgers respectively.) (Otoh I avoid stories which go into the other extreme of making Wanda an evil madwoman, usually in order to woobify Tony. Do not want, and I’m speaking as a fan.)

Back to the Maximoffs: X-Men movies have the superior Quicksilver, imo as always. In fact, this take on Pietro/Peter might be my overall favourite in any medium, and if in an intended integration of the movieverse X-Men with the MCU, he were to be for the axe, I’d hate that. And yet I cannot see how MCU Wanda Maximoff and her dead brother can co-exist with X-Men Movieverse Peter Maximoff who may or may not have a female twin in addition to the younger sister we see him with in the same ´verse. One of them would have to go, and this makes me fear for the one who wasn’t until recently owned by the Mouse.

Another issue, which andraste recently mentioned in a comment: the Maximoffs aren’t the only characters which in the comics go back and forth between X-Men and Avengers comics (and teams), and the way this happens always brings up a premise problem. When Hank McCoy/Beast in the comics is a part of the Avengers, he’s a popular member in a popular team. When he’s an X-Men, he’s part of a team which, to quote the famous tagline „defends a world which hates and fears them“. Now, mutants being treated as tolerated outsiders at best and far more often persecuted and discriminated against is so much part of the central X-Men premise that I don’t see how they’ll ever give it up, in any depiction. And you can fanwank that superheroes who weren’t born with special abilities but aquired them artificially are easier for the general population to accept. But since any line up of the Avengers usually includes a mutant or two, that doesn’t really work.

So, if, like the comics, the MCU and the X-Men movies take place in the same universe again, you’re not just left with the usual problems even within the MCU logic – aka a Watsonian explanation for „why doesn’t superhero X faced with problem Y ask superhero Z for assistance? - , but with additional ones like: why would the public see a difference between Spider-man (identity unknown, and thus also whether or not he’s a mutant), Thor (alien with superpowers, extremely popular on earth, all the more so for not having been involved in Civil War), and whichever X-Men will be around in future movies? Yes, prejudice is irrational, and the popularity of the Avengers in general took a dive post-Ultron and even more of one through and after Civil War, but Homecoming is set post Civil War and there the Avengers and superheroes in general are still treated as pop culture heroes by most of the characters. How that should square with a society where two thirds are wary or all „ew, mutants!“ is beyond me, even if the movies unlike the comics avoid letting characters like Beast swap teams now and then.

In conclusion: my hope is the X-Men movieverse continues to be treated as separate from the MCU, though the MCU is welcome to call mutants mutants now instead of „people with enhanced abilities“. My fear is that this won’t happen, and the result will be a mess.

…then again: what do I know? I also thought we really didn’t need another version of Spider-man (Peter Parker edition), and certainly not in the MCU, and changed my mind about this as soon as Tom Holland! Peter had his first scene in Civil War, loving him like no screen Spidey before him. So maybe TPTB will pleasantly surprise me again.

The other days

Am currently abroad with the APs who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with yours truly on Teneriffe, will post a pic spam once I find the time, but for now, have a few links collected in the recent week:

X-Men meta (mainly movieverse):

Why Magneto isn‘t right (about everything)

I‘m so with Andraste on this one. I.e. Erik is a compelling character and I like him a lot, but... yeah. What she said.

Avengers fanfiction:

The Leftovers: more accurately perhaps, Spider-man fanfiction. A terrific take on MJ in the wake of what fandom has dubbed the Snappening in Infinity War. The usual suspects guest star, but this is a terrific, intense take on what must it have been like to experience the spoilery event as someone without superpowers, warning or preparation all around you.

Standing in the dusk: This, otoh, is Natasha in the wake of the same event, in Wakanda. (Guest-starring Steve and Bruce.)

Back in the day, I growled against the existence of Ant-Man (as opposed to the non-existence of Black Widow) with the best of them, but it turned out to be surprisingly charming when I did get around to watching it on dvd, so I'll probably catch the sequel in the cinema. This article about how the movie creators used the events of other Marvel movies (in short: it's set pre-Infinity War, for obvious reasons if you've watched IW, but very much past Civil War and influenced by same) tells me ( something about Hope's and Hank's emotional reaction to Scott's actions in CW )

And while we're talking other MCU movies using CW in their continuity: Spider-man: Homecoming early on sums up the events of Captain America: Civil War in Peter's hilarious home video which transitions into a new scene of Tony and Happy delivering Peter back on the doorsteps of the building where he lives with his aunt. Now, my question is this: when exactly did this happen? Because it has to be either between the Leipzig-Halle Airport fight and Siberia, or directly after Siberia but before the final CW scene featuring Tony with a recovering Rhodey. Now, CW does a great job remembering Tony Stark as opposed to Steve does not have superhealing, so you see him looking him progressively more battered from the first skirmish at the CIA's Berlin quarters onwards. Tony post Siberia doesn't just have a black eye but various other cuts and bruises in the face, which he evidently does not in the Homecoming scene. Mind you, even post Leipzig, he has some facial bruises (you can see it in the conversation scene with Natasha), but not as severe. Now, the boring Doylist explanation is probably that the Homecoming production team either didn't recall he was supposed to look somewhat battered or didn't want to because the scene in question is supposed to be light hearted, but who cares about Doylist explanations, I want a Watsonian one, which is why I favor Peter's ride home taking place before Siberia. This still leaves us with Tony's chipper demeanour in that scene being entirely faked for Peter's benefit.

On to the tv section of the Marvelverse: abigail_n has reviewed the second season of Luke Cage here. She liked it far better than I did, though I absolutely agree on Alfre Woodard's performance and Mariah's story and characterisation versus Luke's. Her observation that Luke is written as a different character in all four seasons he's appeared so far (JJ s1, LC s1, Defenders and now LC s2) sums up the problem with the later.

Lastly, a Jessica Jones fanfic rec:

and this is the map of my heart, the landscape after cruelty : Jessica post season 2. Painful and beautiful, in just the right way.

So not what I should be doing, but the muse wants what it wants. In this case, a "Five things" story about Peter Parker and Tony Stark. Beware of Infinity War spoilers.

Anything like me (5446 words) by Selena
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, May Parker & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Liz Allan/Peter Parker, Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming) & Peter Parker
Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, Happy Hogan, Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Mantis (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Relationship Study, Character Study, Canon Compliant, Non-Linear Narrative
Summary:

Five times Peter Parker thinks he's figured out something about his relationship with Tony Stark.

In case anyone is wondering, I‘m still watching Legion, and I do have thoughts, but any review will have to wait until I see the resolution, because my opinion very much depends on what the show does with the various issues it has raised.

Meanwhile, browsing through MCU fanfiction reminded me again of the downside that comes with a juggernaut fandom - to wit, there is so much that it‘s easy to miss the gems among all the dross. Also, inevitably there‘s a lot where independent from quality of writing it‘s just not for me because I disagree with some key characterisations, and/or the tropes it uses might be fun for the writer but not yours truly. The tagging system does work as an early warning and thus comes in useful, as in: I avoid anything with „X needs a hug“, „y is a good bro“, or „Zs A+ parenting“. Words like „smol“ or „precious“ are also good signals to look elsewhere.

Otoh, rewatching some of the movies reminds me why I‘m so fond of the MCU to begin with. Not that any of them are perfect, but for starters, their way of balancing flaws and virtues of characters feels more interesting to me than many a fanfic where everyone is either „the best“ or „the worst“ and one joke or complaint in canon is endlessly repeated. (I first noticed this back in ye olde Highlander days where Methos helping himself to a beer from Duncan‘s fridge once or twice became Methos not drinking anything else, to use one of the more harmless examples.) But of course MCU canon leaves me with itches to be scratched as well, otherwise I wouldn‘t look for fanfiction to begin with. Two results of these expeditions:

Avengers:
Making Lemonade

I was very annoyed indeed with one particular scene in Infinity War, featuring Rhodey and dealing (or not) with the Civil War fallout, so this Rhodey pov story perfectly scratched that particular itch. Because... yes. That.

Refugee Road

An intense Bruce Banner character study, incorporating some comics canon into the MCU, and co-starring Tony Stark.

Bruce Banner themed Avengers recs:

Flavor Name Pending: takes a bit of amusing trivia from Infinity Wars - the ice cream flavors named after various Avengers - and uses it for a lovely character study of Tony Stark and his friendship with the absent Bruce Banner.

Examination of the Hippocratic Oath: one of my ongoing frustrations is that the post-Age of Ultron movies never deal with Wanda's actions, specifically, her mindmessing with Bruce that released the Hulk in Johannesburg (which was all Wanda, not Ultron). (Instead, Civil War gives her something to angst about that wasn't her fault. Which is narrative cheating.) I also doubt that subsequent movies will show us Bruce dealing with it, while a recent rewatching of Age of Ultron reminded me how deeply angry he was with Wanda about this in the one scene they shared ("I could kill you now without even turning a different shade"). So I was delighted to find this AU from the end of Age of Ultron which, with a small twist, gives Bruce and Wanda more interaction and Bruce the chance to work emotionally respond to Steve's decision of basically adopting Wanda into the team.


Gradual Lightness: A post-Thor Ragnarok , pre Infinity War look at Bruce on the ship. (Also on Valkyrie.)


And one rec from the X-Men verse. Logan made me realise that ever since Days of Future Past, I've become invested in the relationship between Logan and Charles Xavier. This story covers all the decades:

X marks the spot; X marks my home

Back from conferencing, straight into the cinema. Basically: it was what I expected, a big sprawling crossover event that felt like part I of a tw two parter and juggled its gigantic cast as best it could, much set up. I enjoyed some of the character interaction enormously (which is the main reason for such a big crossover anyway), was surprised the movie made me care about some characters I was previously unattached to, and rolled my eyes only a few times.

( It gets spoilery from here. )

I've been waiting for this WIP to conclude, and now it has. Delightful time travelling shenanigans with some of my favourite MCU people, as Natasha, Bruce and Tony end up in 1950s Cuba with Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Maria Carbonell (aka the future Mrs. Stark), Edwin and Ana Jarvis, Angie Martinella plus surprise guest Dottie Underwood.

Relatives in Spacetime (85499 words) by Thassalia, feldman
Chapters: 13/13
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: natasha romanov & tony stark & bruce banner, Howard Stark/Maria Stark, Peggy Carter & Howard Stark, Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov
Characters: Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Maria Stark, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Angie Martinelli, Odin (Marvel), Edwin Jarvis, Ana Jarvis, Nick Fury
Additional Tags: Time Travel, Sex Farce, Pre-Cuba, Cold War, Red Room, 1950s, Asgardian Magic, SHIELD, period-typical drinking, Period-Typical Homophobia, Mutual Pining, Espionage, Complete
Summary:

That time Odin made our intrepid trio crash the rocky courtship of Maria and Howard Stark, which had already been crashed by Peggy and the Cold War--AKA, that time everyone was in an espionage sex farce except Tony.

More Civil War triggered thoughts, this time about someone who isn't in it (with a good reason), Pepper Potts. Because the explanation for her absence reminded me of a couple of things, and made some thoughts about Pepper and her characterisation in the movies versus fanon come together.

( Pepper ramblings ensue; no Civil War spoilers beyond an early scene dealing with Pepper's whereabouts and the reasons )

On another note, here is a Rolling Stone profile of Chris Evans, in which Steve's actor has this to say about the central conflict of Civil War:

" It's a nice role reversal," says Evans. "You have a company man like Steve who always believed in the hierarchy of the military, but in the last couple of movies has seen the people he was loyal to misuse their power. Whereas Tony, who's always danced to the beat of his own drum, is feeling guilt for the collateral damage they've left. But that's why I like this movie: There's no clear villain in terms of right and wrong. And the truth is, I actually think Tony is right. To see Steve prioritize himself over what other people need is selfish. That's what makes it interesting."