Marvel's Mega-McGuffin Metaplot

In a review, John Nolte at Breitbart complained that most Marvel movies are all about getting a McGuffin and keeping it away from the villains, who will destroy the Earth (or Galaxy) were they to get their own dirty hands on it.

Sometimes the McGuffin is somewhat incidental to the plot -- Loki's Tesseract (placed in the blade of his spear) gave him the power to control people's minds -- and sometimes it's central (Thor 2 was all about a strange mist called "Aether," which, at the end of the film, is trapped in some kind of crystal).

Guardians of the Galaxy is apparently all about trying to get some Strange Orb.

Every geek (I love science) knows by now that each of these objects, be they crystal, cube, or sphere, are the "Power Gems" which will be the Group McGuffin of the Avengers 3. In that film, the Big Bad Thanatos (or whatever, I love science, but not spelling) will assemble all five or six (I love science but not details) "Power Gems" into the "Infinity Gauntlet," a metal artifact glove which, should all the "Power Gems" be placed into their proper positions, will give the wearer the power to... um, destroy all of reality, I guess.

I'm mentioning this because it's a bit clever, a bit lazy, and a bit strange.

It's clever that they're justifying having so many movies about a McGuffin by teasing us that ultimately they will be assembled into a Giant Enormous Super McGuffin in Avengers 3. The cleverness is that while many action/thriller movies feature a McGuffin, they're kind of making a Virtue of Necessity (or a Virtue of Convenience, at least) by offering some "backstory" as to why the whole universe is just a bunch of McGuffins.

It's a little lazy, because, well, most of these movies are still just about a McGuffin, and all the McGuffins are kinda the same.

And it's a little strange in this respect. Hitchcock famously observed that what the McGuffin is really doesn't matter. The McGuffin is really just a plot excuse to explain why the hero and villain are in conflict -- they both want the same thing. It could be anything-- the point is just that only one can have it, and this provides a very basic and simple framework of the plot's conflict.

However, each of the Marvel heroes have been introduced by their own movies. That makes sense.

So here's the strange part: In the Marvel cinematic universe, each of the McGuffins -- which, again, no one really cares about -- are also getting their own introductory movie.

The Avengers "introduced" the Tesseract (or was that in Captain America first? Oh yeah it was), which is probably the "Mind" gem. I assume that because Loki used it to control people's minds.

Thor 2 introduced the... I don't know which gem this would be. But one of them.

Guardians of the Galaxy introduces another McGuffin Gem, and orb which, if I understand this right, is a pocket-sized Super Death Star of Death.

Next year (I think), they'll be releasing Dr. Strange. I am willing to bet a considerable, considerable amount of money on the proposition that Dr. Strange's famous magical orb, the Eye of Agmotto (please don't spell check me), will turn out to be the McGuffin of that film, and furthermore will be revealed to be the "Reality" Gem.

I'd also bet money that the Avengers 2 will feature another one of the gems as the Magic Thing that gives the android "The Vision" a semblance of life. I'm pretty sure he wears a gem at his throat, too. So, I'm thinking -- another McGuffin gem.

What the heck kind of movie franchise gives its silly McGuffins their own introductory movie? Imagine if six of the James Bond movies were about recovering one piece of a nuclear rocket, and then a seventh movie featured the pieces all put together by Blofeld.

Just kind of odd. Not bad, just odd.

I guess this can all work, for a while. So long as there's some background excuse for why so many of these movies feature a Glowing Rock as The Thing Everyone Needs to Take Hold Of.

But I think we'll all be pretty happy when Avengers 3 comes out, and then we can retire the repetitive plot of Chasing the Glowing Rock.

In Fairness: Jack Straw asks--

Isn't every movie where there are two or more entities in conflict about a MacGuffin?

Yes, most thrillers do feature this. Look at all of the Indiana Jones movies. McGuffin, McGuffin, McGuffin. And even in the movie I don't acknowledge as existing -- McGuffin.

It's kind of unfair to say Marvel is leaning hard on the McGuffin plot. Virtually all movies like this do.

This is just the standard thriller plot. Everyone does it, as they say.

I think it's just that these McGuffins tend to be kind of similar -- because, per the backstory, they are similar. They're all "Infinity Stones." (I've heard them called different things. I think they're either "Infinity Stones" or "Infinity Gems.")

It's not that future movies won't feature McGuffins, of course.

It's just these McGuffins constitute a collect-the-set metaplot, and so do seem samey-samey.

I think it's just that people are noticing that the McGuffins are all kinda the same.

But then, Marvel intends for you to notice just that. (Though they do hide it a bit in, for example, Thor 2, where the Aether Gem does not begin as a gem, but as a free gas.)

I'm not really saying it's a bad thing at all. As I said, it's a bit clever, a bit lazy, and a bit strange. Or as Peter Quill might say, "Somethin' good, somethin' bad, a bit of both."

More: Michael corrects me: the Tesseract itself was not in Loki's sphere, it was in the Whatsit that opened the gate to the Chitauri. But his sphere had some other stone of the same glowing blue in it. I assume they're related.

"Red Headed Stranger" geeks out now-- he must love science.

The Soul gem is green. The Time gem is orange. The Space gem is purple. The Mind gem is blue. The Reality gem is yellow. And the Power gem is red. That's in the comics. In the MCU -- according to the Marvel Wiki -- the "Orb" (the one in GotG) is the Power gem. The Marvel Wiki doesn't say which stone is the "Aether" (the one in Thor2). The "Tesseract" is listed as the Space gem. The remaining three stones are not yet listed in the Wiki. "Just, you know... FYI."

Okay, then The Vision will get the "Soul Gem." That's what will make him a living being. (Not to be too geeky, but if I understand this right, The Vision is being used as a replacement character for "Adam Warlock," who wouldn't really fit the Avengers movie universe very well, given that he's a not-very-well-disguised Christ Type.)

The "Reality Gem" will be the Eye of Agmotto. Heck, I even think that actually is yellow, or yellow-ish.

Actually I have no idea.

But I do love science such as this.

posted by Ace at 03:54 PM

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