MCU Theory: How the recent comics are alluding to what's/who's next for the MCU

Ok hear me out on this, its an open secret that when Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics start synergizing (that's the word I'm thinking of right?) with each other it's usually to promote and give more exposure to a Marvel Hero or Villain in the comics and gauge their potential for crossing over into the big pictures. They did it for Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man; and will probably do it for Black Widow and Shang-Chi when we get closer to their movie premiers.

If this theory has any credence, then I can already name at least two marvel characters that Feige may have an eye on for the future of the MCU. With, Blade now currently on the main Avengers roster in the comics, and having a decent role in the current War of The Realms event, it may not be too far fetched to think a revival movie or streaming show on Hulu may be on the horizon.

And if exposure in the comics is any clue to who the MCU would want to introduce next, then the next Big Bad in the MCU may very well be the red devil deal maker, Mephisto. This villain has been popping up all over the place in the recent comics; Deadpool, Champions, Superior Spider-Man, and soon the main Avengers series; with more to come I'm sure of it. Now for all I know this is just the comics laying the seeds for an upcoming Marvel event next year or so. But even so if the past is any indicator then the MCU may have got eyes on this villain for some project or another. Most likely it will have something to do with the new Ghost Rider series on Hulu, but hey you never know; maybe they have their sights set for a bigger role for him in the MCU.:confused:

Anyways this is just my own loose theory, and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't come to fruition. But still, does anyone else have a feeling in the back of their minds that I may be on to something?

Marvel Comics is not in sync with Marvel Studios until Marvel Studios randomly does things and Marvel Comics have to respond to the news. I am very interested in what they'll do with Shang-Chi, Widow, and Falcon.

eternals though loooooooool

[QUOTE=Snoop Dogg;4380304]Marvel Comics is not in sync with Marvel Studios until Marvel Studios randomly does things and Marvel Comics have to respond to the news.[/QUOTE]

That's also true; a new movie usualy equals a new comic series to go alongside the hero or team ala Guardians of The Galaxy. But I can shake the feeling that the comics are at times used as a testing ground for the next potential MCU hero or team?

Just because it may be a good movie does not mean it will translate into a successful book.

I look forward to a Shang Chi movie as a great action/kung fu movie set in the MCU and what they do to translate his comic lore to the screen. Things like will they be able to use Fu Manchu...even if only referring to it as one of his father's old aliases.

However if they phone in the storylines for a comic series just to tie something into the movie then the book will flop.

Hasn’t something Powerpack related been rumoured or in the solicits?

The same time a rumour goes around about a Powerpack show

A one-shot has been solicited and half the team are in the new Future Foundation ongoing.

Sometimes the MCU pulls things from recent comics, like Thanos's henchmen. So stuff we see in the comics today may well seep into the movies tomorrow, if only because it's cheaper for them to borrow ideas from the comics than to pay expensive screenwriters to come up with new characters.

But as to whether the comics know what's likely to happen in the movies, no, at least not since Feige got the Marvel Creative Committee fired and turned his studio into a separate entity within Disney. Sometimes the comics will take wild guesses about what's going to happen in the movies and be proven wrong, like when they retconned Carol Danvers into being half-Kree instead of a human who got her powers by accident, only for the movie to come out and show that MCU Carol Danvers was a human who got her powers by accident.

Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson has said he would love love to use Nightmare in the sequel and Nightmare has been popping up in Marvel comics more frequently recently.

If Mephisto is likely to pop up anywhere in the MCU soon the then it is probably the Hulu's Hellstorm or Ghost Driver show since they are exploring the more occult side of Marvel.

I could see the Hellstorm showrunners swapping out Daimon and Satana's demon father Marduk Kurios for Mephisto.

I hope Brevoort and Aaron both saw the last scene of Endgame while hearing my psychic pleas for mercy.

[QUOTE=Snoop Dogg;4380304]Marvel Comics is not in sync with Marvel Studios until Marvel Studios randomly does things and Marvel Comics have to respond to the news. I am very interested in what they'll do with Shang-Chi, Widow, and Falcon.

eternals though loooooooool[/QUOTE]
I think they'll probably give Shang a new solo, or at least a mini, around the time his movie comes out.

The movie is probably the best chance Widow has for a new book with how low she sells, but even then it might just be another mini.

[QUOTE=Snoop Dogg;4380304]Marvel Comics is not in sync with Marvel Studios until Marvel Studios randomly does things and Marvel Comics have to respond to the news. I am very interested in what they'll do with Shang-Chi, Widow, and Falcon.

eternals though loooooooool[/QUOTE]

This is the received wisdom, but it seems like this just isn’t true. Over and over, publishing decisions have been made and editorial directions have been taken that suggest there is a much more broad flow of information towards the comics division. It seems to me that the lack of cooperation is much exaggerated.

The most obvious recent example was the synergy with Black Panther. Clearly both Coates and Stelfreeze had a great deal of information about the as then under wraps movie, and attested to this. Bear in mind that the writing and art design work on that run would have been some time before we saw any of it.

[QUOTE=Grimm911;4380291]Ok hear me out on this, its an open secret that when Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics start synergizing (that's the word I'm thinking of right?) with each other it's usually to promote and give more exposure to a Marvel Hero or Villain in the comics and gauge their potential for crossing over into the big pictures. They did it for Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man; and will probably do it for Black Widow and Shang-Chi when we get closer to their movie premiers.[/QUOTE]

I think there might be an element of that, but I figure this is usually the comics piggybacking on the movies' plans. Marvel likes syncing their comics up with the MCU and often adjust their characters after a movie hits.

But I do think at times the movies look to comics to get an idea of how the IP does with audiences. Obviously comic popularity doesn't mean too much, otherwise the GotG and Ant-Man never would've seen films. But it'd be foolish to spend millions making a movie and not look at all the data you can.

On Blade and Mephisto......there's been talk of Blade for a while. I definitely think he's on both the film's and the comic's radar and both are just looking for the right way to use him. Mephisto could be a possibility for the next Big Bad, but when you've got access to Doom, Kang, Annihulus, Magneto, Namor......I dunno, I think ol' Meph is more likely to be the villain in a Dr. Strange film than a multi-phase Big Bad. But I could be wrong.

[QUOTE=JKtheMac;4381074]This is the received wisdom, but it seems like this just isn’t true. Over and over, publishing decisions have been made and editorial directions have been taken that suggest there is a much more broad flow of information towards the comics division. It seems to me that the lack of cooperation is much exaggerated.

The most obvious recent example was the synergy with Black Panther. Clearly both Coates and Stelfreeze had a great deal of information about the as then under wraps movie, and attested to this. Bear in mind that the writing and art design work on that run would have been some time before we saw any of it.[/QUOTE]

Well, Coates was brought in to consult. He's a well regarded author and was actually writing T'Challa at the time, so it'd make sense to include him in conversations and get his input. I do agree that the lack of communication is likely exaggerated, but I doubt the comics get a very wide window into the movie's plans. I mean, the Studio is so paranoid it's filmed faked scenes, written fake scripts, and only told actors what they were filming once they were on set for the day. When they go to such extremes with their own cast and crew I don't see them sharing very much with the comic guys, other than bringing them in to consult and help the director and writers get the characters right. But that's still going to give a good peek at what the films are doing.

[QUOTE=Ascended;4381329]
Well, Coates was brought in to consult. He's a well regarded author and was actually writing T'Challa at the time, so it'd make sense to include him in conversations and get his input. I do agree that the lack of communication is likely exaggerated, but I doubt the comics get a very wide window into the movie's plans. I mean, the Studio is so paranoid it's filmed faked scenes, written fake scripts, and only told actors what they were filming once they were on set for the day. When they go to such extremes with their own cast and crew I don't see them sharing very much with the comic guys, other than bringing them in to consult and help the director and writers get the characters right. But that's still going to give a good peek at what the films are doing.[/QUOTE]

This is probably one of the sources for this narrative, but I think this is a category error. For starters this kind of closed door policy has mostly only been in place for very specific movies, not the whole canon. Plot spoilers are mere detail compared to wider themes and approaches to characters. Also, there would be no need for every writer to have detailed plot synopses of relevant movies, but on the other hand it would be a sound business strategy for Dan Buckley and David Gabriel to be kept in the loop, and for them to instruct CB to focus on specific characters and themes.

[QUOTE=Snoop Dogg;4380304]Marvel Comics is not in sync with Marvel Studios until Marvel Studios randomly does things and Marvel Comics have to respond to the news.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't say "randomly" but I agree otherwise. Marvel comics don't know in advance Marvel Studios plans, but Feige does have a plan.

[QUOTE=Mike_Murdock;4381856]I wouldn't say "randomly" but I agree otherwise. Marvel comics don't know in advance Marvel Studios plans, but Feige does have a plan.[/QUOTE]

That just isn't bourne out by the facts if we look back. This is a narrative put together by people wanting to see everything as combative and antagonistic. For a while fans looked for any possible hint that there was a conspiracy for the movies to supersede the comics and dictate things, then failing this they began to see everything as a closed shop with no natural synergies. What actually happened was Feige managed to stop having to have notes on his movies from people in other parts of Marvel. That is not the same thing as working in a vacuum. He carved out an empire, but it is still coexistent with the other empires in Disney.

Also fans tend to see Marvel Entertainment as just comics or TV and it is much more. Just because there is less input into the creative direction of the movies doesnt mean for example that they are financially independent entities. I would be surprised if some money from the movies doesn't flow into the entertainment division for example. I would also be surprised if there isn't some marketing and licencing overview behind the scenes.

Marvel comics don't exactly make a loud noise about their synergies because fans think of it as a bad thing, (fans see everything as bad for some unknown reason). But the comics don't exist in a vacuum in Marvel Entertainment either. It is simply misguided to imagine that David Gabriel doesn't get every piece of relevant information to plan his publication strategies for example, and it is highly unlikely that Dan Buckley isn't regularly briefed on the movie plans so that he can provide guidance to the editors. Also, it seems obvious the licencing teams are given notice of what needs preparing. Marvel Studios is not the be all and end all of the licencing value in key characters like Spider-Man or Iron-Man. They are worth more than the movies.

Currently we are probably seeing an outworking of this kind of cross pollination with the X-Men plans. How the X-Men will be marketed and the key values their brand will represent in this new era, and how that will be made consistent across the Marvel brand. These decisions will not simply be made by Feige.