10 MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE Phase 1 Moments Disney Wouldn't Allow To Happen Today

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was a very different place before Disney acquired Marvel Studios, and these early Phase 1 moments wouldn't make it into the version of this shared world we see today...

By JoshWilding - Apr 02, 2020 09:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Marvel Studios

It may be hard to remember now, but there was a time when Marvel Studios movies were released by Paramount Pictures rather than Disney. That was when the studio was still part of Marvel Entertainment as a whole, but when the House of Mouse purchased the comic book company, Paramount - a studio in desperate need of big franchises - lost its still relatively new partner.

The Avengers was the first Marvel Studios movie released by Disney meaning that Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger were all from, well, you could even describe it as a different era!

When Disney and Joss Whedon joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movies took on a slightly more comedic tone and moved away from some of the harder hitting content we saw early on in the MCU. Simply put, we're talking about the moments from Phase 1 that you simply would not see now that Disney is in charge.

That's not to say today's Marvel movies aren't ever willing to push the boundaries of PG-13, but it's hard to believe Disney allowing any of this to make the final cut. So, to check out this breakdown, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button down below!

10. Bruce Banner Can't Get Laid

In The Incredible Hulk, Bruce Banner goes on the run alongside Betty Ross, and the former couple start getting close again in a motel room. However, just as it looks like the Jade Giant's alter-ego will see some action, his heart-rate monitor starts going haywire, and he realises that having sex runs the risk of him transforming into The Hulk.

Yes, Bruce couldn't have sex with Betty because he was scared he would lose control during the act!

What was meant to be a somewhat edgy piece of humour came across as dumb and bordered on being a complete misunderstanding of how Banner's powers work. Honestly, there's just no way one of the current Marvel Studios movies would take this sort of risqué look at a hero's sex life.

9. Tony Stark's Stripper Pole

Before he became Iron Man, Tony Stark lived a hedonistic lifestyle and certainly enjoyed himself as an eligible bachelor. That was evident from the fact his private plane was outfitted not only with plenty of booze, but stripper poles which the "flight attendants" certainly made good use of.

Yes, Tony was able to transform his plane into a strip club on a whim, and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with that (it's not as if he was married or doing anything morally objectionable), this sort of non-PG content wouldn't fly - no pun intended - in today's Marvel Cinematic Universe.

These days, there would probably be some sort of massive outcry on social media to a scene like too, and it's just not something that fits Disney's family friendly image in any way, shape, or form.

8. General "Thunderbolt" Ross' Love Of Cigars

The original plan for The Avengers was for Earth's Mightiest Heroes to square off with The Hulk. That's why The Incredible Hulk's post-credits scene revolved around Tony Stark approaching General "Thunderbolt" Ross to offer him some help, but there was something in that moment which Disney would never allow to grace the silver screen.

While he's getting drunk, Ross is puffing on one of his trademark cigars, but Disney doesn't allow smoking in any of their films!

Captain America: Civil War actually featured a nod to Ross' love of cigars when he mentioned having a heart attack, something you have to believe came as a result of the way he used to both smoke and drink. It was a fun way for Marvel Studios to explain why his cigars were nowhere to be seen.

7. Tony Stark's Alcoholism

Marvel Studios never fully went down the "Demon in the Bottle" route in the MCU, but Iron Man 2 definitely addressed the fact that Tony Stark's drinking had become a major problem.

The hero's drunken behaviour at his party endangered guests and led to Rhodey taking his old armour and subsequently becoming War Machine after realising his friend could no longer be trusted. By the time The Avengers rolled around, though, Tony was shown enjoying a drink as he sparred with Loki in Stark Tower, and his possible alcoholism was never mentioned again.

That was seemingly just too dark a topic for a superhero in a world now overseen by Disney to tackle, and it's a shame in many ways as the comic books handled it in a meaningful, impactful way.

6. Sexualising Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson is extremely talented...and insanely beautiful. Marvel Studios really played on her sex appeal in Iron Man 2, and as well as some saucy lingerie photos, "Natalie Rushman" walked around in a lot of tight-fitting clothing and was clearly an object of Tony Stark's desires.

That was the point in some ways, of course, as she was undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D., but some sexist remarks were sent her way courtesy of Happy Hogan (who watched her change in the back of Tony's car), and a female superhero being portrayed like this these says seems doubtful.

Joss Whedon managed to slip some borderline NSFW shots of Black Widow into The Avengers (mostly of her butt), but the way the hero was portrayed in the MCU after Iron Man 2 was vastly different.

5. F-Bombs

It may have been bleeped (barely), but Iron Man 2 featured the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first F-Bomb! It came during a confrontation with Senator Stern as he shouted "F*** you, buddy" at Tony as he left that congressional hearing about his future as Iron Man.

It wasn't hard to figure out what he said, and while Guardians of the Galaxy teased another F-Bomb, it was nowhere near as obvious as this one, and not something Disney would ever allow to make the final cut of one of their movies. Bear in mind that Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home's "What the fu-" moments were in films produced by Sony Pictures, not Disney.

Regardless, this was a pretty blatant use of the word in a Marvel movie, and not something we expect to hear again.

4. Recasting Rhodey

After Terrence Howard demanded a huge pay rise for his Iron Man 2 return, Marvel Entertainment Chairman Isaac Perlmutter ordered Kevin Feige to recast the role...because no one would notice.

In case you need us to spell it out to you, Ike believed that because the character of Rhodey is black, moviegoers wouldn't notice that Don Cheadle had replaced him. It's a horrible way of thinking, but he was in charge at the time, and with Howard wanting such a huge amount of money, it was inevitable that he wouldn't come back for the sequel.

These days, recasting still happens, but something tells us there would be a better reason for it...and that execs at Disney wouldn't be under the belief no one would realise for such racist reasons!

3. "Thunderstruck"

Iron Man 2 was a messy movie, but as well as pushing the boundaries with Tony Stark's alcoholism and the way Natasha Romanoff was portrayed, it also featured a lot of other sexualised imagery.

The opening sequence (which originally featured a hungover Tony throwing up into a toilet) saw Iron Man surrounded by scantily clad dancers, and while it was all very tame, it's also not the sort of imagery we're used to seeing from Disney. It's hard to imagine them being okay with this, especially when those girls are pulling off some, ahem, eye-catching moves!

The sequel wouldn't have suffered without a scene like this, but by the time Iron Man 3 rolled around, the Armoured Avenger had very much put his hedonistic, playboy ways behind him once and for all.

2. Captain America Punches Hitler

Captain America: The First Avenger didn't really include Nazis and instead overlooked what they did during World War II by focusing on Steve Rogers' battle with the Red Skull and HYDRA.

It's hard not to wonder whether that was a creative decision influenced by Disney as they had acquired Marvel Studios at this point, but there's one scene, in particular, we can't help but wonder might have been a step too far for Disney. That's the scene where Captain America punches an actor who is dressed up as Adolf Hitler while Steve is performing for the USO.

It was a moment paying homage to the source material and a classic comic book cover, but would Disney be happy with one of their superheroes beating up one of the most evil men in history? It's hard to say, but we can't help but wonder whether this would have led to some strong discussions behind the scenes.

1. Sex Scenes

As we've established, the early Iron Man movies didn't shy away from portraying Tony Stark as a billionaire playboy who most definitely wasn't ready to settle down with future Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts. That was evident from the fact that he wasted no time in bedding Christine Everhart in a surprisingly non-PG-13 sex scene!

The next morning, Christine (played by the beautiful and talented Leslie Bibb) wanders through Stark's Malibu home in just the bedsheets, and that's yet another example of imagery which is far too provocative for today's MCU.

Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger didn't feature any sex scenes, but that was mostly for story reasons. However, it's hard not to wonder what those might have looked like had things played out slightly differently (especially after what we saw in the Iron Man franchise).

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116 Comments

1 2 3

Chewtoy - 4/2/2020, 9:17 AM

I’m not following the logic of why Disney would take issue with Cap faux-punching a stage Hitler.

Ha1frican - 4/2/2020, 9:28 AM

@Chewtoy - especially since Marvel was already owned by them at that point

Nebula - 4/2/2020, 9:43 AM

@Chewtoy - "but would Disney be happy with one of their superheroes beating up one of the most evil men in history? It's hard to say"

Origame - 4/2/2020, 9:17 AM

Disney would never allow anything sexual with their logo on it (looks at little mermaid poster)

TheUnworthyThor - 4/2/2020, 9:19 AM

I mean I don’t know...the movies have sure made a lot of sex jokes and innuendo since Disney bought Marvel.

Chewtoy - 4/2/2020, 9:24 AM

@TheUnworthyThor - I think it’s more a progressive attitude at Marvel rather than any orders handed down by Disney that they’ve cut back on the sex stuff... the stories they’ve been telling don’t really need a sex scene, and the various dancers and such in the Iron Man films were all pretty shallow elements.

TheUnworthyThor - 4/2/2020, 9:27 AM

@Chewtoy - Yeah, that’s what I felt was going on too. An improvement to me.

ComicBookPsycho - 4/2/2020, 9:20 AM

Is the smoking thing actually real? That sounds dumb to be honest.

KWilly - 4/2/2020, 9:30 AM

@ComicBookPsycho - Yeah, think about it. Besides that Ross scene, when was the last time you saw someone smoking in a Marvel movie.

WADEZILLA13 - 4/2/2020, 9:22 AM

Nick Fury’s Infinity War post-credits scene pretty much negates your “no implied F-bombs allowed” theory. Sorry.

Nightwing1015 - 4/2/2020, 10:02 AM

@WADEZILLA13 - Also, the ending of both Spider-Man films. I think some of these are true but certainly not the F-bomb thing.

WADEZILLA13 - 4/2/2020, 10:14 AM

@Nightwing1015 - The article does acknowledge the Spider-Man films, but uses the excuse that they’re Sony-produced, as if Disney had zero input on the content of the movies.

LongMayHeReign - 4/2/2020, 10:30 AM

@WADEZILLA13 - Also remember when the writers said how close they were to having Tony say "[frick] you" when he snapped in Endgame! If there was a mandate angainst that they wouldn't even have wasted their time writing it.

TexasAvenger - 4/2/2020, 3:07 PM

@LongMayHeReign - Tony's response to Thanos before his snap is perfect, but I would've lost my shit if he said "[frick] you"! That's awesome lol.

EskimoJ - 4/2/2020, 9:27 AM

Half of these are basically sex; I think Wilding's just horny.

Two of them are weird reaches (recasting Rhodey and Cap punching Hitler).

I'm confused about Tony's alcoholism being in here -- I thought one of the complaints was that Iron Man 2 DIDN'T focus on that enough to begin with...

And the other two are fine, but unimportant. Really should've been a one-page list of five.

GhostDog - 4/2/2020, 9:28 AM

There's actually been more sexual innuendo in the years since Disney got a hold of them.

Nebula - 4/2/2020, 9:46 AM

@BlackBeltJones - In the commentary, I think James Gunn actually says they came up with that on set and he didn't think it would get into the final cut. But during test screenings, it's the line that got the biggest reaction from audiences.

KWilly - 4/2/2020, 9:29 AM

Hulk without Disney...

Hulk with Disney...

And I like both. Screw it.

Doomsday8888 - 4/2/2020, 9:30 AM

@KWilly
Firm but fair.

1 2 3

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10 MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE Phase 1 Moments Disney Wouldn't Allow To Happen Today

The Marvel Cinematic Universe was a very different place before Disney acquired Marvel Studios, and these early Phase 1 moments wouldn't make it into the version of this shared world we see today...

10. Bruce Banner Can't Get Laid

9. Tony Stark's Stripper Pole

8. General "Thunderbolt" Ross' Love Of Cigars

7. Tony Stark's Alcoholism

6. Sexualising Black Widow

5. F-Bombs

4. Recasting Rhodey

3. "Thunderstruck"

2. Captain America Punches Hitler

1. Sex Scenes

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