Marvel Cinematic Universe Bracket Style - Part 2 (Elite Eight)
Only 23 days until we find out what turned Grimace from a Mcdonalds play pal into a universe conquering, just so he can destroy half of it, purple thrombus. My bet is steroids. What could be better to tantalize the anticipation than an elite eight round of film matchups along with some of the best zinger GIFs and memes the MCU has to offer thus far?
Lets quickly review the round one results, winner is in bold. As a reminder her are the criteria for evaluation:
1) Quality as a stand alone film (SAQ - 35%) - How entertaining is the story outside of the Marvel Universe? Do viewers care about what the characters are doing/experiencing?
2) Character development (CD - 35%) - Pretty obvious but you can't build a universe of films if no one cares or is invested in the characters at the heart of it. In order to really get fans invested the characters have to have a rich and relatable backstory and must experience growth through accessible challenges.
3) Contributions to and advancement of the MCU storyline (MSA - 30%) - how essential and important is the film in the overall framework of the MCU?
Grading Scale for each criteria is A-F.
A range = completely exceeds the needs of the criteria
B range = somewhat exceeds the needs of the criteria
C range = meets the minimal needs of the criteria but leaves some improvement to be desired
D range = fails to meet the minimal needs of the criteria
F range = not only fails to meet the needs of the criteria but what it does do is actually counter productive to the criteria
Here is where we stood last week:
1) The Avengers v. 16) The Incredible Hulk
SAQ: Avengers = A; Hulk = C
CD: Avengers = B; Hulk = C
MSA: Avengers = A; Hulk = D-
Readers Votes: Avengers 100% - Hulk 0%
There's no need to waste lines explaining this. Incredible Hulk was better than the first catastrophe but still left a lot to be desired and contributed nothing but the character itself to the greater MCU. Besides we all know out of these two films the best moment of Hulk came in the Avengers with Loki.
8) Iron Man v. 9) Thor: Ragnarok
SAQ: Iron Man = B; Thor: Ragnarok = B+
CD: Iron Man = B-; Thor: Ragnarok = B
MSA: Iron Man = B; Thor: Ragnarok = B
Readers Votes: Iron Man 62% - Thor: Ragnarok 38%
This is an epic matchup befitting of a tight 8 & 9 seeding. Iron Man is the grand kickoff to the MCU. It plants all the seeds of Tony Stark as the embodiment of humanity in all its flawed glory. He's set up perfectly as the personality polar opposite to Cap. As early as 2008, the MCU set up the pièce de résistance for Civil War which would not premiere for eight more years. However, in spite of all of this I'm going against the readers here. I loved Thor: Ragnarok and I'll admit it may be due in part to the low expectations the previous two Thor films set but even accounting for that Ragnarok made epic contributions to the the MCU including infinity stone locations and the Kree ship appearance in the credit scene sets the ultimate stage for Thanos' assault on the Avengers. The repertoire between Thor and Hulk paired with the strong character additions of Valkyrie and Grandmaster along with the comic relief of Korg it was an all around success. These films parallel in their weakness, their respective villains are "meh." Jeff Bridges' portrayal of Obadiah Stone narrowly edges our Cate Blanchett's Hela but neither villain delivered an impactful memorable performance. In the end I have Thor 3 edging out Iron Man but it's literally on a buzzer beating miracle shot in double overtime.
5) Captain America: Civil War v. 12) Doctor Strange
SAQ: Civil War = A; Dr. Strange = B-
CD: Civil War = A; Dr. Strange = B-
MSA: Civil War = A; Dr. Strange = B
Readers Votes: Civil War 75% - Doctor Strange 25%
I liked Doctor Strange which I understand is not a popular opinion among the MCU fans but I truly did. I thought the film did a great job capturing the mystical realm; Tilda Swinton brought a Mr. Miyagi-esque, mentor from a distance, display no emotion until the climactic reveal that she is the most emotionally vulnerable character to the forefront; Benedict Cumberbatch plays Stephen Strange skillfully both at his most powerful and pitiful. Despite my praise of its efforts Doctor Strange would not, could not, should not outshine Civil War in any way.
Civil War has set the table for a reunion of our heroes to be crashed by Thanos and the Dark Order. We gain invaluable backstory knowledge on several of the Avengers and the threads unravel in a flurry of fists, shield smashes, rage and unyielding friendship. We also gain insight into the true character of Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers. Civil War set a new standard for what Marvel could package in a two and a half hour chapter of their features.
4) Iron Man 3 v. 13) Thor: The Dark World
SAQ: Iron Man 3 = B-; Thor 2 = D
CD: Iron Man 3 = C+; Thor 2 = C
MSA: Iron Man 3 = B; Thor 2 = C
Readers Votes: Iron Man 3 75% - Thor: Dark World 25%
I am not sure if the bigger blunder was the bumbling of Thor: The Dark World or trusting it with the introduction of an infinity stone in the first place. The Aether or reality stone is arguably the most powerful of the stones allowing its wielder to shape reality how they see fit. Seems like placing the most powerful stone of the MCU in the hands of Thor's story line after its weak opening chapter was an attempt to mask the flaws of an underdeveloped Asgard with an overly important MCU storyline. Much like a homemade Halloween mask the plan did not pan out. Iron Man 3 on the other hand went to the Tony's so flawed he'll cause the end of the world by trying to hard to save it well too many times. Also the mandarin ploy was stupid and a waste of an impressively powerful villain. It would be like casting the Joker as a side criminal in a Batman film where he fights Clayface instead. Despite Iron Man 3's missteps even Thor's hair can't knot up a victory in this matchup.
6) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 v. 11) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
SAQ: Guardians Vol. 2 = C+; Winter Soldier = A-
CD: Guardians Vol. 2 = B; Winter Soldier = A-
MSA: Guardians Vol. 2 = B-; Winter Soldier = B+
Readers Votes: Guardians 2 12% - Winter Soldier 88%
Guardians Vol. 2 may have out performed it prequel at the box office but that's the only way in which it out shined the original. In fact, I would bet a large sum of money that the only reason the sequel out produced at the box office was due to the overwhelming, amazing, beyond expectation impact of the first Guardians. Unfortunately, the sequel could not live up to the extremely high bar set before it. The Winter Soldier benefited from not having such a high bar to compete with and it easily jumped over and far beyond it. The Winter Soldier provided great depth to Captain American's true moral compass when he realizes the true hydra perverted nature his beloved SHIELD organization had been turned into. Not to mention the depth Bucky Barnes brings into the later Avengers fold. Winter Soldier secures the upset victory mostly due to the lackluster follow up by Guardians.
3) Avengers: Age of Ultron v. 14) Ant-Man
SAQ: Ultron = B; Ant-Man = C
CD: Ultron = B-; Ant-Man = B-
MSA: Ultron = B+; Ant-Man = B
Readers Votes: Avengers 62% - Ant-Man 38%
Avengers: Age of Ultron features my favorite villain thus far of the entire MCU and it may be 60% due to James Spader voicing Ultron. He is truly the best and most challenging foe, thus far, that our heroes have faced. Its ironically fitting that his downfall comes from the same Tony Stark engineered human fault that may end up dooming our hero coalition when all is said and done. Ultron strove to remove all the variables from the equation when tasked with providing "peace in our time." In an I, Robot type homage the A.I. turns homicidal and rather than accept the limitations of humanity and provide the safety it can while knowing it can never be absolute Ultron goes for the humanity wipe out seeing only one true way to protect humanity from its biggest threat, itself; total and utter extinction. Ultron's villiany alone lifts it in this matchup over the fittingly small by comparison Ant-Man.
7) Guardians of the Galaxy v. 10) Iron Man 2
SAQ: Guardians = A; Iron Man 2 = C
CD: Guardians = B+; Iron Man 2 = C-
MSA: Guardians = A; Iron Man 2 = D
Readers Votes: Guardians 100% - Iron Man 2 0%
Really? Do I need to explain this victory? Considering the readers voted 100% I think not and move on. I'll cover the amazing film that is Guardians in the next round breakdown.
2) Black Panther v. 15) Captain America: The First Avenger
SAQ: Panther = A; Captain America = B-
CD: Panther = B; Captain America = C+
MSA: Panther = B+; Captain America = B-
Readers Votes: Black Panther 100% - Captain America 0%
If this is match were a sporting event it would be closer than most would think by looking at the blowout score in the end. Captain America's feature debut did its best work providing depth and launchpads for the Avengers story line and later the infinity stone saga. However, this match is very much the old guard meets the new and just as Infinity War will lead to the changing of the Marvel Guard the powerful Black Panther film debut takes this victory and I'll save the details as to why its so successful for its next matchup.
So after the opening round popcorn settles on the sticky theater floor here is what our matchups look like heading to the elite eight round of MCU films:
Make sure you cast your vote for the elite eight matchups in the form below and see who moves on to the final four. (If poll does not appear on mobile device or is not displaying results when you submit, please click here to make your picks - sorry for the inconvenience.)
Timeline for remaining rounds
Check back for the future posts breaking down the MCU bracket.
Elite Eight results - will be posted April 11
Final Four results - will be posted April 18
Championship result & Predictions for Infinity War - will be posted on April 24