Previously-
Yep, we almost could have had an MCU in the late 80's headed into the early 90's.
Well, an MTVU, really.
The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)
The Trial of The Incredible Hulk (1989)
Yep, those guest stars in the old TV Hulk movies; Thor, Daredevil, there were supposed to be one for every movie, and way more movies; then they'd all spin off, then come together as Avengers.
Bill Bixby was producer on these, and he was trying to use Hulk to spawn out the whole Marvel universe.
Hulk was going to be Iron Man.
But, then the goddamned cancer got him.
The Russian spy girl in "The Death of The Incredible Hulk" was originally supposed to be She-Hulk.
I like to head-canon that she's Black Widow under a cover identity.
So, yeah, imagine if we had gotten as far as "Iron Man" and the Ed Norton "The Incredible Hulk" and then a bus had hit Kevin Feige.
That's basically the level of tragedy that occurred in '89.
Marvel's loss was DC's boon, because "Batman" came out that year, and DC owned the box-office (and TV with their cartoons) for a solid decade until "Blade" dropped.
I dunno, maybe it all would have been too hokey, and dampened enthusiasm for the big-screen MCU being a thing.
Or, maybe people would have been more familiar with Marvel, and been all the more excited for a big-budget version to "get it right".
The new CGI Godzillas are a big fucking hit right now, and the originals of those are laughable (especially the goddamned Kong one!).
We'll never know.
Unless we build a multiverse machine someday.
It's fascinating to think about.
What could have been for us as fans.
What could have been for Marvel as a company if they hadn't lost that decade.
What could have been for Bixby!
Would he have been a producer/advisor on the MCU?
You damned well know he would have at least had a cameo if Lou Ferrigno got one.
Can you imagine Bill Bixby, Stan Lee, and Kevin Smith as a convention/documentary trio?
Man, that would have been something.
Anyway, yeah, Feige didn't invent the MCU, the idea was buzzing around in Marvel's hive-brain for a good long while.
Feige just had the wheelbarrow sized balls to revive it.
They were gun shy after losing the Hulk movies.
And the bankruptcy; that didn't help.
They needed to be poked with a cattle prod.
Corporations tend to risk aversion.
Maybe they would have been less risk averse if they'd had the Bixby-verse as the blueprint to show the way.
Maybe the Bixby-verse could have kept Marvel above water, and prevented the bankruptcy!
Maybe we would have gotten Iron Man in 1999 instead of 2008.
I'd like to see a multiverse movie about THIS!
Miles Morales and/or Deadpool enter the Bixby-verse!
Haha! Watch Deadpool meet his Bixby-verse counterpart now.
I'd be knocked out of my theater seat if they did that one!
Crazier shit has happened. Especially when it regards Marvel.
Stay tuned, true believers!
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