A Breakdown of Marvel’s Phase Three, Part 2

So I've been breaking down the announced lineup for Marvel's Phase Three. You can find the first part here. In the beginning of this phase, we've the end to a few character's trilogies and the start of others. In this last half we're seeing all new characters get their own movies. More than that, we're getting two characers fans have been wanting for years. How do they fit in to the plan? What should you expect? Good questions! Lets get into it: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="413"] But seriously, if Loki becomes a lady in the MCU Tumblr will explode[/caption]

Black Panther – November 3, 2017

Oh man! Finally! I've been wanting this movie for quite some time. Black Panther is such a cool character. Imagine Batman if he was also a king who had all the resources of the most advanced country in the world. Yeah. It's that awesome. However, besides an influx of references to Wakanda, I don't know how this will effect the MCU really. Perhaps something will happen with the Civil War story to draw out T'Challa and the Wakandians. Perhaps Wakanda grows rich off alien technology and they're thrust into the spotlight. I worry that this'll be seen as simply just an attempt by Marvel to bring in diversity. Don't get me wrong, it really does need diversity (if only to keep the audience from burning out), but I think the actual character of Black Panther is much more than that. He's a character we haven't seen before in comic book movies. He's a king, not like Thor's a errant prince, he actually leads a nation. He doesn't fight crimes, he stops international conspiracies. The Black Panter isn't a secret identity, it's a sacred mantle that all of Wakanda's kings must aspire to. It's gonna be great.

Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018

So here we are. The first part of the conclusion to this Avengers super trilogy. Based on this and the leaked teaser for it, we're finally looking at the Infinity Gauntlet. For those unaware, the Infinity Stones -- the McGuffins for Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Tesseract in Avengers -- create the Infinity Gauntlet when brought together. The user of the gauntlet has control over all aspects of the universe, basically making them a god. Thanos, as shown through the MCU, has been quietly trying to collect them all in the background. Why is this bad? Well in the comics he's both the most insane and in love with the personification of Death. To win her heart he has pledged to create as much death as possible. In the comics, once he gained the Infinity Gauntlet, he killed a large portion of the universe's population with a mere thought. Yeah. It took the combined effort of Marvel's most popular characters to bring him down. This is going to be huge, you guys. Normally, I'm against the splitting of movies. It just reeks of bloating a story in order to squeeze out some more money. However, with this Infinity War, I feel it's actaully needed. This is, in effect, the last movie to a super trilogy made of other movies spanning a decade. The sheer scope that this movie would require would be massive. You'd need two movies just to do it justice. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="357"] Lookit all you have going on![/caption] The odd thing is that we're going to have two movies in between the first and second parts. Which leads me to believe that the first part is less of an open ending and more of a... low spot. A kind of Empire Strikes Back situation. Perhaps Thanos even wins for the most part. The two movies in between would work to both bring in new elements and expand on the situation the MCU finds itself in.

Captain Marvel – July 6, 2018

Well now look what we have here, a female superhero movie. Awesome. Weirdly enough, not a Black Widow movie. Does that mean she'll die in Avengers: Age of Ultron? It certainly could be a sign of it. Although to be fair, there isn't a Hulk movie either, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't die. Like 98% sure. Well... maybe 80%. In the comics, Carol Danvers is caught in the explosion of a Kree weapon, giving her superhuman abilities including flight, invulnerability, and energy projection. As one does. Marvel struggled to find a good place for her, reinventing her a bunch over the years as Ms. Marvel, Warbird, or Binary. Finally, most recently, she became the latest in a long line of Captain Marvels (a position most often held by Kree warriors). Though built like the classic giant supermodel most comic book women are, Carol has always been a solid, complex character. A mix of intelligence, bravado, and compassion. What part will this movie play in this stage of Phase Three? It's hard to tell. I assume the Kree aspect will have something to do with it. The Kree played a sizable role in Guardians of the Galaxy and may have a sizable role in Agents of SHIELD as well. Perhaps Captain Marvel is created in another movie and this is her first solo venture. Maybe she needs to find something to stop Thanos or at least fight against his forces. I think you're going to see a lot of comparisons between this movie and Wonder Woman's. They're similar is a lot of ways, but if I had to put money on it, I'd bet on this one being better executed. I can't be sure until the movie comes out of course, but it just seems like they're going to try to make Wonder Woman a hyper aggressive warrior to illustrate that she's just as good as any man. I think Marvel has enough faith in characters to let her stand on her own two feet. Hopefully.

Inhumans – November 2, 2018

In the comics, the Kree visited earth hundreds of thousands of years ago to create powerful biological weapons. They experimented on primitive man, creating a new species that metamorphosed into strange superhuman beings when exposed to something called Terrigen Mist (which comes from Terrigen crystals. This will be on the test). Though the Kree abandoned the project, the new "Inhumans" lived on as a thriving society within the walls of Attilan, a large city state. On the moon. Comics are weird, you guys. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="437"] The city is also a spaceship[/caption] There have been rumors for a while now that Marvel is trying to replace mutants with Inhumans. Strong hints are everywhere. Agents of SHIELD is uncovering an Kree-related mystery, all but saying the word "Inhuman". Marvel comics has a new ongoing comic called Inhumans that deals with the aftermath of a Terrigen bomb that creates thousands of new Inuhmans (called Nuhumans to confuse everyone further). There's a good chance that in The Age of Ultron the Maximoff twins are Inhumans that have been experimented on by Hydra. If this is true, then it would open a lot of doors for Marvel. Not only the classic Inhuman characters are fair game, but also any superhuman they wanted to use, mutant or not. "He's an Inhuman" is a pretty easy excuse to use whenever. Not only that, but an Inhumans movie would serve to create an entirely new aspect of the MCU. A civilization of superhumans that have to stick together because of the scorn of humanity. You get all the social commentary of the X-Men with the regal intrigue of Thor. It could play out really well. At this point in Phase Three Inhumans would serve to tie the cosmic aspects of the MCU back in to the grounded nature of the other movies. I assume, the Inhumans coming together, uniting, would also work to set up the attack on Thanos in the second part of Infinity War. I mean a team of Superheroes may not have been enough, but teams of superheroes alongside a society of superhumans? Buddy, that may just work. By the way, we need Vin Diesel as Black Bolt, the enigmatic King of the Inhumans whose voice is so powerful, a slight whisper could demolish a building. It would be a non-speaking role and since he's also the voice of Groot, I think that'd work out perfectly.

Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019

I fully expect Marvel to make movies until long after I'm put in the ground, but I hope this movie marks the end of this super trilogy we've been seeing unfold for -- at this point in 2019 -- more than a decade. A cinematic arc unlike any other. I'm sure there'll be a setup stinger at the end of this ("The humans have defeated Thanos... they show much promise THE BEYONDER!" or "Thanos has died! This wasn't supposed to happen in this timeline KANG THE CONQUER!" or "Tony! Tony wake up, the humvee has stopped. You've been having SUCH A WEIRD DREAM THIS WHOLE TIME!"), but I'd love for this wrap this arc at least. Full disclosure: I expect this movie to be either the most sprawling, spectacular, monumental superhero movie of all time or the most catastrophic disappointment of my or anyone else's life. It has to be. It's the finale! Dozens of super-people going up against what amounts to an evil god. Not Asgardian-type god. I mean omnipotent god. It's going to be insane! However, keep in mind, this is more theory than anything. There's a ton of plot to movie before the second part of the third Avengers Movie. I mean we haven't even gotten to the second one. Will people even care at this point? It's going to be a lot of comic book movies from now until then. But I'll be there. I saw Iron Man while still a teenager and when I see this I'll be entering my 30s. Man. That's... that's going to be keeping me up at night. SO THERE YOU HAVE IT! Marvel's Phase Three. What do you think? Have any theories about the future of the MCU? Any hopes? Any fears? Let me know in the comments below.