How Do We Define a "Tie-In"?

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AgentsofShield

In talking about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its connections with other media (particularly the movies), it has occurred to me that I use the words “tie-in” and “crossover” without really defining them.  And considering how frequently we talk about “tie-ins” and “crossovers” between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the movies, it’s a pretty good bet that I’m not the only one who uses them in a number of different ways.  This can be confusing!

So partly to help myself out—and partly to help everyone else out—let’s take some time to define some terms when it comes to “tie-ins” and “crossovers.”  Next week I will apply these terms in talking about possible tie-ins/crossovers with the movies coming out during season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:  Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Before we get started, remember that these are the definitions I’m using; I’m not saying this is what we have to use.  Though you’re welcome to adopt them for yourself!

Thor: The Dark World RETRO-REVIEW

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Thor: The Dark World is another one of those movies where I’m torn.  I remember enjoying it when it first came out, but in the three years since then my attitude toward it has changed slightly.  On the one hand, I appreciate more of its intricacies, particularly where the main villain is concerned.  On the other hand, I’ve also become much more aware of this movie’s failings.  I definitely do not like this movie as much as the first Thor, and there are a lot of places where it tries way too hard to be something that it is not and has no right to even try to be.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Thor: The Dark World is the second-worst MCU movie to-date, only narrowly beating out The Incredible Hulk on the “strength” of its audience score.  Now, I’ve said this several times already in this “Retro-Review” series, so I won’t harp on it too much this time around.  Considering how strong Thor: The Dark World is by comparison with other bad movies on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s really not that bad.  All of the other comic book movie universes/series have one or two worse, and some comic book movies can’t manage to get any better (*cough*Fantastic Four*cough*).  So if this is the worst that the MCU ever gets, Marvel Studios has nothing to be ashamed of.

Captain America: Civil War Follow-Up: Zemo

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When I was originally putting together this series of articles, I intended to include Zemo in the previous article with “The Rest.”  However, as I considered further, I realized that there is so much more to talk about with regard to Zemo, particularly because I think he will come back to become a major player several years down the line in Phase 4.

After watching Captain America: Civil War, we now have a very good idea exactly where this thing is going to be going over the next few years as the MCU ramps up for the Infinity War in 2018 and 2019.  Each hero who appeared in Civil War received a satisfying arc, and at the end of the movie each of them had a definite trajectory of where their next appearances will come from.  However, the presumptive villain, Helmut Zemo, did not get to do quite as much in this movie as the heroes did—even if he did exactly as much as he needed to do!

Over the last four weeks, I talked about the members of the “Secret Avengers” and “Mighty Avengers,” as well as Captain America’s abandoned shield and the other heroes who do not fit into the other categories and a replacement Captain America.  This time around, I will talk about Zemo and how I think he fits into Marvel’s larger plans moving forward.

This is my last planned article for Captain America: Civil War; next week we’ll get into Daredevil season 2 and how it sets up future Netflix series.

Looking Back at MCU Phase 2

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Now that Ant-Man is over and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to start its third season at the end of next month (thus kicking off Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), this seems like as good a time as any to look back at MCU Phase 2 and see just what happened.  Next week I will have another article looking ahead to Phase 3, but before we get there, let’s take a look at Phase 2 and see what themes it explored.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1, Episode 15, "Yes Men" RETRO-REVIEW (SPOILERS)

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“Yes Men” is probably one of my favorite “tie-in” episodes with a Marvel movie—at least in terms of pure fun value.  It diverges from the main storyline which has just started picking up steam, but I actually like that they will occasionally diverge; it seems realistic for an international peacekeeping agency to be called on to juggle a number of different threats simultaneously.  The episode gives us a little insight into a few of the characters, but it blows the doors wide open on the possibilities for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the wider Marvel Universe.

Note:  All "Retro-Reviews" contain spoilers for all of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seasons 1-2.