The defining movie of the MCU?

[lynnenne]

Hello, and welcome to your weekly Sunday discussion post! This will be my last post for a while; sholio has graciously volunteered to take over the discussions starting next week.

This week's topic comes to us courtesy of this article in The Mary Sue, "The Marvel Cinematic Universe as We Know it Owes Everything to Thor (and also Loki)."

What do you think of the arguments made here? Do you agree with the author's assessment that "If Thor had failed, nothing that came after would have worked"? Or do you think the MCU would have simply gone in a different direction? Can you imagine a Marvel cinematic universe without Thor and Loki as key players? If so, what would it look like?

Comments

[bold_seer]

(Thank you for your posts!)

My first instinct is to disagree, but maybe not? It's definitely indirectly influential. Thor introduces Loki, antagonist of The Avengers, a big spectacle that attracts new fans. The franchise continues successfully. More cosmic movies.

Loki is one of the most memorable characters in the MCU. But I'm going to be really mean and say yes. Since the archetypal trickster bad boy that we as audiences just can't get enough of isn't the draw for me, I can imagine a universe without him, or one where he isn't brought back, after whatever point. Even Thor without Loki.

[lynnenne]

I have to admit that Loki is my favorite, and I'm really looking forward to his Disney+ series. But I can imagine the MCU without him, and I don't even expect to see him in the next Thor movie. Valkyrie will make up for his absence. :)