Super-science, as shown by the interaction when Jane Foster was on the diagnostics table I referenced above. It’s made clear by the Asgardian’s conversations themselves that they have technologies way in advance of us. But they don’t consider it magic. I’ve acknowledged that it’s not hard science. But it is clearly considered in-Universe to be tech, not magic. Eg. how the energy of the Tesseract can be “tapped” by even human tech devices. Yes, it’s all “mysterious energy” whooo - but the Bifrost shows up on a movie-science scanner, their flying boats are clearly agrav ships, their prisons are Star Trek-style force cages. There is no ‘magic’ there, anymore than there is in Superman’s flight or Hulk’s routine defiance of conservation of mass.
Clarke’s Third Law works in mysterious ways.
And Lokis illusion casting?
Marvel made the first Thor and it almost completely matchs with the comics. The fact that they may have retconned some magic in the second one doesn’t change the fact that they made a mega moneymaking film with the easily-swallowed premise that Odin and Loki have sorcerous powers, and the ability to enchant items.
Nanobots.
Star Trek literally restated the premise of the show at the beginning of every episode.
Anyhoo, agree you need an origin story for WW. I doubt one person in one hundred knows anything about the character beyond her name.
But Wonder Woman has something going for her that the OTHER superheroes don’t – she’s a feminist icon. She was on the cover of the very first issue of NOW Magazine back in 1973 (IIRC), put there by Gloria Steinem to castigate DC for disempowering her, making her into a Modesty Blaise clone. The other comic book series are JUST comic book superheroes. That is what accounts for her greater visibility, despite neglect by DC’s idiot leadership.
Telepathic image projection
I can go all day, BTW. For every possible power, there’s always a “magic” way of stating it and a “SciFi” way of stating it: “Seven-league boots” vs “The Speed Force”. “Ríastrad” vs “Hulking Out” ,etc et bloody cetra.
The stuff in the first film, while definitely not as explained as in the later one, also still clearly gives the Asgardians a tech slant, and certainly the secondary antagonist could best be describes as “an energy-beam shooting killbot”. The Asgardians from the get-go are portrayed as very powerful, yet still “real”, aliens, not supernatural beings. The various realms are clearly parallel universes, not DnD-style Outer Planes.
1973 is a long time ago, way before the bith of most of a modern movie’s audience.
People who raised the TV series, BTW, you are aware overseas audiences didn’t necessarily see it, right? I personally am way more familiar with Mighty Isis than Wonder Woman on live TV. I’ve only seen WW on YouTube (and laughed myself silly)
They shjowed WW here back in the day; hilariously, they translated her name as Eshet Chayil,or “Woman of Valor”.
Not relevant to this discussion, but I found it funny that Temperance Brennan on Bones knows nothing about pop culture, but has a deep understanding of Wonder Woman.
Not realistic, but kind of funny
Brian
If the New 52 Batwoman wasn’t called Batwoman, she’d be a good pick for a movie with this sort of appeal.
Cliff’s notes version of her origin story is that she was an army brat whose mother was killed in a terrorist attack. She became a cadet at West Point but was drummed out because she refused to violate her principles to comply with DADT. After that she drifted for a while, until one night she was saved from a mugger by Batman. This inspired her to become a vigilante herself, which she accomplished with her father’s help.
I’d also let her get married here, because screw DC and their grimderp nonsense.
Doctor Strange is at the heart of Marvel’s Phase Three movies. Magic is absolutely and emphatically part of the Marvel cinematic universe. Stop this dumbness.
We have yet to see how they handle him, though. They’ve explained away Thor and Asgard as advanced aliens. “Absolutely and emphatically” is a bit over the top, especially when, beyond the lifting of Mjolnir I guess, there’s been 0 magic present in any of all their movies.
They’ve left the door open, is all. So far, it’s all been advanced pseudoscience and aliens.
Tony Stark’s charisma is beyond the ken of even super-science.
Of course Wonder Woman’s magic. It says so right in the theme song.
I doubt those tights are even satin.
I volunteer to inspect.
Well, now we’re starting to converge for sure. Cause I don’t see any difference between parallel universes and outer planes. And even in the comics, they don’t really say Odin is ‘magic’. He has “The Odinforce”. Their weapons are forged. (though enchanted).
On a different note…I find it fascinating how the superhero movie trend has slowly changed the way we think. What stopped all these from being made forever ago? Cause every time we tried to picture it, we thought…“Okay, that’s just silly”
And now…it isn’t. For the most part. I still have trouble picturing a JLA standing together.
For a JLA to work, you need a badass villain. And DC hasn’t even started to lay the groundwork for Darkseid.* There’s a whole story in and of itself that needs to be told.
*I think their story is much more interesting than Thanos. With Thanos you can just jump right in.
Incorrect.
Dr. Strange.
…and we have yet to see how that is worked into the story.
It “absolutely and emphatically” hasn’t been, so far.
I’m not saying I would mind if there was unquestionable magic. I’m telling you what it looks like they’re doing so far, with everything being Clarke tech.