# Marvel studios: No more origin stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857 "2014-08-18T22:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/1 "2014-08-18T22:22:45Z")
[http://www.latino-review.com/news/marvel-no-more-origin-stories-starting-with-doctor-strange](http://www.latino-review.com/news/marvel-no-more-origin-stories-starting-with-doctor-strange) Marvel is going away from the usual superhero formula apparently. With Dr Strange, they are making a policy of no more origin story movies. Everything from here on out begins in media res, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/2 "2014-08-18T22:40:02Z")
I think anything said about the future of the MCU not said by Kevin Feige should be taken with a grain of salt. I think this guy is really talking just about Doctor Strange, not every Marvel movie. For example, Ant-Man seems like it’s going to be about the origin of Paul Rudd’s character becoming Ant-Man. Of course, it’s not like this is really that new of a thing. The Incredible Hulk and Thor were not origin stories. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/3 "2014-08-18T23:31:44Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > [http://www.latino-review.com/news/marvel-no-more-origin-stories-starting-with-doctor-strange](http://www.latino-review.com/news/marvel-no-more-origin-stories-starting-with-doctor-strange) > > Marvel is going away from the usual superhero formula apparently. With Dr Strange, they are making a policy of no more origin story movies. Everything from here on out begins in media res, apparently. This is great news, even if it does only apply to Dr. Strange. This insistence on origin stories is a drag. I am looking at you, Spider-Man. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/4 "2014-08-18T23:40:09Z")
I wouldn’t [trust](http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/6-more-news-stories-that-were-just-big-dumb-lies/) anything the [Latino Review](http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/4-b.s.-news-stories-that-fooled-your-facebook-friends/) says on the subject of comic-book movies. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/5 "2014-08-18T23:53:44Z")
Latino Review gets a lot right about genre movies too. A lot more than they get wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/6 "2014-08-18T23:53:58Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Of course, it’s not like this is really that new of a thing. The Incredible Hulk and Thor were not origin stories. While I never saw the Hulk movie, I would argue that Thor is absolutely an origin movie as it pertains to Thor being considered a superhero on Earth. There’s also justification for it being about his conversion to superhero rather than merely a super-powered brat. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/7 "2014-08-19T00:36:56Z")
I like origin stories ☹ ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/8 "2014-08-19T00:49:08Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I like origin stories ☹ I’m having a hard time thinking of a superhero franchise without an origin story that I liked. I guess **The Shadow** was okay, but I think it would have benefitted from some background. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/9 "2014-08-19T01:04:51Z")
I think the more important thing than getting rid of origin stories is settling down on their set of characters. Quality will necessarily drop if they try to expand out to 20 titles. They needed something like GotG to round out their cast and they need a leading lady, but otherwise they’ve probably already got too many characters out there, to be tracked reasonably. > [@hogarth](#): > > I’m having a hard time thinking of a superhero franchise without an origin story that I liked. I guess **The Shadow** was okay, but I think it would have benefitted from some background. X-Men didn’t, really. They flashed back to some of the most salient points, but for the most part everyone was already in place and who they were. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/10 "2014-08-19T01:07:31Z")
It’s a step in the right direction and may make superhero movies less boring. Start out in medias res. Give the background in a series of salient flashback, none lasting more than a couple of minutes. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/11 "2014-08-19T01:10:47Z")
Steven Strange was already mentioned in _Cap2: Winter Soldier_, so by that point he had already manifested something worthy of SHIELD’s notice. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/12 "2014-08-19T01:24:03Z")
I think they have a LOT of alternatives to making origin story movies now. They’re introducing Vision in Avengers 2, but it’s not an origin movie. They introduced Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch in Winter Soldier in a brief scene and they’ll expand on their origins in Avengers 2. They’re introducing a bunch of characters on their Netflix miniseries and I bet they can introduce others via Agents of SHIELD. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/13 "2014-08-19T02:13:43Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Of course, it’s not like this is really that new of a thing. The Incredible Hulk and Thor were not origin stories. The Ang Lee Hulk movie with Eric Bana is indeed an origin story. The Edward Norton Hulk movie was supposed to be a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/14 "2014-08-19T02:15:15Z")
I’d rather not see any more origin stories. It’s too formulaic, I feel - we don’t need to see any Bond origin stories, or Indiana Jones origin stories, why should we keep seeing superhero origin stories? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/15 "2014-08-19T02:33:29Z")
> [@Tabby\_Cat](#): > > I’d rather not see any more origin stories. It’s too formulaic, I feel - we don’t need to see any Bond origin stories, or Indiana Jones origin stories, why should we keep seeing superhero origin stories? I agree that every damn movie doesn’t need to be an origin story. I do like at least one for each character though just because I don’t read comics. It may be irritating for those of you who do read comics and follow the whole mythology but for people like me it helps to give me the background and get me interested in the character. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/16 "2014-08-19T02:39:02Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Steven Strange was already mentioned in _Cap2: Winter Soldier_, so by that point he had already manifested something worthy of SHIELD’s notice. One of the things he’s known for is not hiding in the least. As in, he’s quite happy to walk around in his mystical cape and pendant and doesn’t really give a damn what you, or anyone else, thinks. He’s also known to openly do magic in public and doesn’t bother to explain himself in the least. So it’s actually pretty funny. For my money, I highly doubt Hydra could have killed him with a hundred of their airborne battlecarriers - but he wouldn’t have actually done jack squat about it, as he’s never really been in the “save humanity from itself” school. Save humanity from demonic invaders? Yes. Save it from blasphemous creatures of inhuman mind? Yes. Save it from alien overlords? He’ll at least point somebody else in the right direction. Never really was going to save humanity from beings dicks to each other, though. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/17 "2014-08-19T03:27:28Z")
Sounds great to me. The audience doesn’t need an origin story every time. Wolverine’s origins took years to flesh out. Stephen Strange is another one you could jump right into and get the interesting flashbacks later. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/18 "2014-08-19T09:31:06Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Never really was going to save humanity from beings dicks to each other, though. He seemed pretty broken up about it at the end of _House of M_ (Unless the Big Bad in that no longer counts as human) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/19 "2014-08-19T10:17:39Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I agree that every damn movie doesn’t need to be an origin story. I do like at least one for each character though just because I don’t read comics. It may be irritating for those of you who do read comics and follow the whole mythology but for people like me it helps to give me the background and get me interested in the character. I think it’d depend on the character. When Sony started making a whole new batch of Spider-Man movies in order to not let the rights lapse the first movie was an origin story. Despite that we’d already had yet another whole series of movies that included an origin story only about a decade earlier, years of various cartoon series that generally included the origin of the character in every opening credit sequence, and the fact that Spider-Man is a very well-known character. I don’t think Hollywood ever needs to make another Spider-Man origin story. Or a Superman one or a Batman one and probably a couple others as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2014, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857/20 "2014-08-19T10:27:56Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I think it’d depend on the character. When Sony started making a whole new batch of Spider-Man movies in order to not let the rights lapse the first movie was an origin story. Despite that we’d already had yet another whole series of movies that included an origin story only about a decade earlier, years of various cartoon series that generally included the origin of the character in every opening credit sequence, and the fact that Spider-Man is a very well-known character. I don’t think Hollywood ever needs to make another Spider-Man origin story. Or a Superman one or a Batman one and probably a couple others as well. Not to mention that Spider-Man’s origin story is basically, “He was bit by a spider”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-studios-no-more-origin-stories/695857.md?page=2)