Microstory 960: Marvel Cinematic Universe

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In 2008, a little movie called Iron Man came out. It was soon followed by The Dark Knight. These two films, though in separate franchises, would collectively prove that it’s possible to make a good comic book adaptation. What audiences would discover was that the main purpose of this film was to begin a new shared universe, done in a completely new way. Of course, Marvel did not invent the idea of a franchise—nor did it come up with the first shared universe—but it was done a lot more deliberately. Though not perfect, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is well thought out and cohesive. There are some timeline contradictions, which can’t be resolved, no matter what the executives claim. And not every Thor movie is the greatest. But in the end, it’s become one of the strongest franchises in the industry. It’s become so successful that other studios have attempted to recreate the magic, to varying degrees. We can all agree the DC Extended Universe films are generally pretty terrible, with only one glimmer of hope in the first Wonder Woman. The CW DC universe is much better, though there’s a clear hierarchy of quality entertainment that begins with Arrow and ends with Legends of Tomorrow. Universal Studios tried to do the same thing with their various monsters, but the only reason it worked the first time around is because it wasn’t advertised as such. They were promoted independently, and that the fact that there was some character crossover was something only certain members of the audience noticed. I too have incorporated a lot of the same strategies with my salmonverse stories that Marvel Studios uses, and comic books before them. Of course, I don’t share the universe with other storytellers, but I do cross them over in similar ways, and have ideas for over a handful television serials from this universe alone, which I would never be able to make myself. In only three and a half years of my website, I’ve come up with hundreds of characters across dozens of stories. Characters will appear in each other’s stories, then spin off into their own, or they will begin in their own, and make later appearances in others. I try not to think too hard about this. If a character possesses a special trait or skill that I need at a certain moment, I’ll bring them aboard. Their background fills in itself as time goes on, and the story develops as a whole. I owe a lot to the MCU; possibly as much as I do to the Stargate franchise. I could go into each film, and tell you what I did and didn't like about it, but I’ll just sign off here so you can watch them all again. Wakanda forever.

Microstory 101: Bellevue Profiles

Click here for the list of every Bellevue Profile.

A very long time ago, a group of scientists were living in a dystopia. Because of this, the regulations on scientific endeavors were all but nonexistent. They broke nearly every law of ethics and began to perform genetic manipulation experiments on human subjects. Their results were inconclusive at best, and extremely volatile at worst. Many of their guinea pigs died, but a few of them survived and propagated the species. Their bloodlines showed little to no signs of being different than regular universal humans. Eventually, their history was forgotten as lore. Thousands of years later, however, upon the birth of The Keystone, these anomalies were awakened. During evolution’s final push back towards the mean, a certain number of people began to exhibit extraordinary abilities. Each of these had their own particular set of skills, and Generation Twos were notably rare. The Keystone gathered them to an abandoned hotel in the middle of nowhere. There they taught each other further skills, and argued over what their purpose in the world may be. But very few of their origin stories took place in Bellevue.

For the next one hundred microstories, I will be giving you a short introduction to each one of these anomalies, along with a few members that had no abilities at all, but still contributed immensely to history. I’ve actually already begun. Due to extenuating circumstances, Starla’s story requires a full weekly series. I have 21 Saturdays total to do something with, and we’ll cross the next bridge once we’re over this one (why did they build consecutive bridges?). I will also be profiling a number of antagonists who acted against Bellevue, but you won’t know who they are from only this. If you want more details, keep reading my stories. I need a following if I’m going to be able to produce more. Please note that these profiles are subject to change according to later decisions and collaborative developments. I still think you’ll find them interesting, but I would consider these early introductions as subcanon; that is, mostly canonical.

Microstory 55*: Excerpt from [Redacted]

What interested [Redacted] the most was the fact that humans of different breeds were functionally incapable of conceiving children together. Two Earthans could make an Earthan. Two Universals could make a Universal. Two Legitimates could make a Legitimate. But they were unable to crossbreed with each other. By far, the most common breed was the Universal. No other species, subspecies, tangent species, or superspecies could compare to their magnitude. And she had met no one who knew where the Legitimates were, or if they were presently on hiatus. This meant that incompatibility was statistically rare, and usually just something couples dealt with on their own. But now, because of a death she wasn’t yet sure she believed, she was incompatible with the one man in the entire universe that she was predestined to conceive a child with. She was literally born for this, and it was impossible to follow through. It felt like God had reached down and flicked her in the face.