TV with Nic: MCU vs DCU

Marvel comics versus DC comics, a debate for the ages.

It is no surprise that I am a huge nerd, and comics are a big part of that. The comic book universe has been expanded over the years to include comic-based movies.

Ignoring the comic movies from Icon, Dark Horse and Malibu comics (including movies like “Kick-Ass,” “Men In Black” and “Hellboy”), I am going to focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this week’s column and DC Cinematic Universe in next weeks.

As an aside, I cannot talk about anything “X-Men,” as they are not a part of MCU, but I will talk about “Spiderman,” as the rights are currently in talks of being traded between Sony and Marvel.

MCU has recently stated that they have planned out their movie lines through 2028. This means that we can expect at least 15 movies. All of these movies will be, or have been, put into a different phase of the universe.

Phase 1 started in 2008 with “Iron Man.” Phase 1 includes “Iron Man 1” and “Iron Man 2,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” ending with Marvel’s “The Avengers” in 2012.

Phase 2, which is the current phase, includes “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” and will end with “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Phase 3 will include “Ant-Man,” “Captain America 3,” several smaller movies, The Defenders Netflix exclusive, and the third Avengers movie.

Each movie sets up for the next with its post-credit scenes.

MCU has taken the cake for the live-action form of comic book story telling. Not only presenting multiple movies and great storylines, but also making television shows to tie into the movies.

Marvel’s “Agents of Shield” has become one of the most popular television series, maintaining it’s own storyline with dynamic characters and tying in with the movies as they come out. The tie in to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was brilliantly played out and will continue for the rest of the season.

Many significant changes are being made to Phase 3, with the addition several short series, lead-ins to The Defenders, including Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones. This was an addition to a new Blade series, Doctor Strange movie and Black Panther movie.

After “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” there will be two solo films, Samuel L. Jackson’s “Nick Fury” and Scarlett Johansson’s “Black Widow.”

On the topic of Spiderman, I can say that the future looks bright. “The Amazing Spiderman 2” is leading the way for one of the greatest super villain teams to grace comic history, The Sinister Six. We will also be seeing the loss of a special somebody due to costume verification in upcoming film.

On a personal level, I am looking forward to each movie. I love the complex storylines we get as well as how true to the original comics the movies are. In addition, some of my favorite heroes are getting their debuts on the big screen, even for not being the most popular (i.e. Iron Fist, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Hawkeye and Phil Coulson).

MCU is going to make the next 14 years great!