One Man's Soapbox: A Disconnected Marvel Shared Universe

A Disconnected Marvel Shared Universe

I recently finished the first three seasons of Agents of SHIELD, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the end of season three. I will admit I was very harsh after watching the first season, there wasn’t much to like about the start of the series. However, for the most part many of my concerns went away by the end of season 3 with the exception of one, the MCU’s shared Universe. This is one of Marvels greatest strengths, who didn’t love those end credit scenes that led to Captain America and Thor, however this also may be its biggest weakness.

Let’s ignore the fact that Agents of SHIELD has now gone three seasons with no appearance from any of the Avengers or MCU characters outside of Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Sif. The bigger issue is continuity, this especially is the case with the last two Captain America Movies and to a lesser extent Ant-Man. Let’s start with Hydra, its had a presence not only in Agents of Shield but also Captain America, Ant-Man and Age of Ultron, and before I get started with my point, lets remember that I realize Hydra has many heads and when one is cut off another grows in its place. With that being said it always seemed like I was watching two different universes telling the same story. By the end of Winter Soldier both SHEILD and HYDRA have crumbled with SHIELD being disbanded and the top brass of HYDRA taken down. However by the mid point of Season 3 of Agents of Shield we have two Shield Agency and the true power of HYDRA, and there doesn’t seem to be any plans to cross those two back over in the near future.

Are you confused yet? Are you like me, wondering how the television and Cinematic Universe haven’t crossed yet even though they are ultimately shared? Well its about to get worse, cause now Im adding in the Netflix series. 

The entire plot of the first half of season three of Agents of Shield is the race to uncover humans with powers before HYDRA can locate them. But what about Jessica Jones, a human with powers yet the cross over never happens. Then it happened again during Captain America: Civil War. While in a need to add members to his team, Tony Stark goes out to locate a teenager named Peter Parker. While I understand from a fan stand point how awesome it was to see Spiderman suited up with the other Avengers, wouldn’t Starks first choices be Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage or even Deathlok? 

We are slowly starting to see the effects from the issue plaguing a shared universe concept, first Agent Carter was canceled and then the planned Agents of Shield spin off was canned, its only a matter of time when Agents of Shield gets the ax and is nothing more than a distant memory we pass over on Netflix.

So even though Marvel teases us with an idea of a share universe, they ultimately don’t see the need to address this in any of their movies. So for fans like myself, with each passing movie and season there is a bit of disappointment when we realize that the chance to see some one like a Daredevil, The Punisher or even Ghostrider team up with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America are beginning to fade away. 

Maybe we wont ever see the ultimate team up, maybe we will in one of the upcoming Avenger movies only time will tell. Until then, lets just hope that our favorite Agent of SHIELD finds his way back to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, cause Coulsons man crush on Cap is just way to entertaining. Let us know what your thoughts are of Marvels shared Universe by leaving a comment below.

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Comic Book Review: Civil War II #1 - Marvel Comics

Every summer the big two comic book companies put on some sort of comic book "event."  Marvel's entry into this foray is Civil War II and I'll admit, I was a bit hesitant on jumping on board.  I actually had issues waiting for me in my pull box at my local comic book shop but I decided to not partake after issue #0.  It wasn't because of the story being bad, it's more because Marvel charges more for comic books than other comic book companies.  I received issue #1 in my Marvel Collector's Corps subscription box and figured I should probably give it a read.

This book delivered.  It's thicker than most comic books so the $5.99 cover price, while steep, is a bit more understandable.  I'm sure this book would have been even better if I had been following the Marvel comics that coincide with it, but you get the idea pretty quick about what's going on.

Ulysses is a character that can see into the future and some feel that's a good thing while others find him dangerous.  Nobody knows him and nobody can get into his head.  Ulysses sees something coming and it turns this whole story on its head.  Lives are lost and the battle lines are about to be drawn.

The art in this book is top notch.  There is so much to enjoy whether it's the action or the expressions on heroes' faces.  This is a well crafted book.  Check out the fun cover I got with it as well(pictured).

The dialogue is good.  The younger heroes are kind of annoying but once you get Tony Stark and Carol Danvers talking, things get much better.  Lots of things are going on and it's a lot of fun.

Should you buy it?  If you like Marvel, maybe.  If you hate buying $6 comics and feel the only way to combat such atrocities is to not buy it, I say stay away.  Wait six months and read it on the Marvel Unlimited app.

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