If you’re a casual MCU fan, you might not be aware that Marvel Studios has a thing called One-Shots. Named after single comic issues that are self-contained and that usually exist on their own, these are direct-to-video short films that are professionally produced by the people behind Marvel Studios themselves that fall under the bigger picture.
Just like their namesake, these short films in no way affect the full lengths and are not exactly required watching to understand the big picture yet are part of the continuity of the MCU. So in short, the events in these short films indeed happened in the same universe Thor, Cap, Groot and Coulson are in.
Are these one-shots important? Not exactly. Think of them as the finer details of the MCU. You don’t need to watch them to appreciate the whole thing but it’s still worth knowing and watching what Coulson was up to between Iron Man 2 and Thor. Watching the one-shots provides an even more immersive experience in the MCU.
There are currently 5 one-shots out there; The Consultant, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor’s Hammer, Item 47, Agent Carter, and All Hail The King in that order. Sadly, it seems that for the time being one-shots are being shelved since Agents of SHIELD sort of fill those blanks – considering majority of those one-shots revolved around SHIELD – and we’re getting already getting four new properties in the form of Netflix shows.
But that’s not stopping us from dreaming right? A few days ago we asked our friends over at our home community at Reddit – specifically /r/marvelstudios – to help us build a wishlist of sorts; a list of one-shots we’d all love to see one day, Feige-willing. We’ve compiled a bunch of suggestions we loved the most from threads new and old and here they are in no particular order.
Damage Control
I would LOVE a Damage Control short, showing what kind of clean up is required after these big super hero battles. – /u/uncleben85
It’s doesn’t take a genius to know that the collateral and structural damage our beloved heroes do to the world is immense. We’ve seen Helicarriers fall down, oilrigs blow up, aliens level New York City, the Hulk trashing Harlem so I think its fair to wonder who in the world cleans up after these guys. So in comes Damage Control.
Damage Control is an organization in the books that specifically deals with shit like having to clean up after one of Hulk’s rampages or having to remove that Helicarrier that was just hurled by the Sentry. When a superhuman wrecks something, they’re there to deal with it. The team is split into two groups: management and search/rescue.
Iron Man 3 writer and All Hail the King director Drew Pearce mentioned in an interview a few months back that he wrote a Damage Control one-shot that never came to fruition.
Given how All Hail the King was so well made, you could just get Drew Pearce to direct the one-shot, use the Search and Rescue team as main characters, set it after the events of Winter Soldier and you’re good to go. Here’s how we envision that happening with a little bit of backstory:
After witnessing and experiencing the destruction of Harlem by the Hulk & Abomination, engineer Lenny Ballinger decides to dedicate his private construction company to the restoration of Harlem. Then the events of New York convince Ballinger to maybe take his company to the next level and go bigger. This plan is put on halt when the issue of insufficient funds comes up and when SHIELD cleans up the damage themselves. After the dissolution of SHIELD and the scandal surrounding it, Ballinger takes advantage of the opportunity to finally get the company going and manages to find the proper funding though a man named Wilson Fisk. Damage Control is born.
They make their debut in this one-shot, featuring cameos from people in AoS and them appearing Agents of SHIELD and the Netflix shows.
Coulson/Quill
A Men In Black kind of scene with a young Coulson investigating the abduction of Peter Quill – /u/georgegsmithjr
We can never have enough of Coulson first name Agent. You’d expect an original MCU character to be not as well received as actual comic book characters but with Coulson, everyone just loves him. He is hands down one of the greatest creations of the MCU. Already starring in two one-shots, that trademark sassy deadpan snark and Captain America fanboyism just never get old. That’s why we still want more of him in different ways. This one-shot is perfect for that.
A 24 year old Phil Coulson is tasked to investigate the unexplained disappearance of a young Peter Quill. Coulson interrogates Grandpa Quill only to come up empty handed aside from a few descriptions about the Quill family. Grandpa Quill briefly talks about Peter’s father who mysteriously disappeared in similar unexplainable circumstances.
We really dig this idea for obvious reasons: 80’s Coulson, new possible details on Quill’s father and family, and of course that sweet Guardians of the Galaxy connection.
Knowhere
The Bar in Knowhere, different people coming in and talking. – /u/Sibbo94
One of the coolest things about Guardians of the Galaxy is that the movie left off with you – the audience – wanting to explore and see more. The implied history of the planets out there is just so in depth. The universe that James Gunn has established is immense and we’ve only scratched a small part of the surface. With that being said, outer space could be the setting of dozens of one-shots.
Set in a pub in Knowhere, with a certain Rajak bartender as the main character. You see him serve drinks and whatnot to other aliens. You hear mundane alien conversations of whatever it is they deal with and alien gossip. Talk of an explosion in one of the Tivan’s main buildings is spreading amongs the gossipers. The Rajak bartender talks to a certain humanoid insect named Bug. Bug tells the bartender of a fight he just witnessed with a few Kree soldiers and a bunch of space pirates. He goes to tell him how he still aspires to be a legitimate space pirate. Bug pays his tab and leaves. A few seconds later, we see a newly escaped Howard the Duck sit at the open bar.
Steranko SHIELD
A SHIELD short set in the 60s and heavily inspired by the art and storytelling of Jim Steranko. Characters include Clay Quartermain, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Dum-Dum Dugan. Scorpio would be the villain. – /u/nurdboy42
Who is Jim Steranko? Steranko is basically the reason Nick Fury and SHIELD is relevant up to this age. He is responsible for introducing the espionage stylistic elements what associate with SHIELD now. He beautifully executed it during the 1960’s despite his short tenure at Marvel.
We all love a great period piece. The vintage aesthetic, retro pulpy vibe, and the overall tone of it all the was one of the best parts of The First Avenger and the Agent Carter one shot. Add in Jim Steranko’s legendary visuals and story telling you got something that could give Agent Carter a run for its money. Think 60’s pop art, sexy espionage and classic Bond-esque themes.
Replace Nick Fury with Dum Dum Dugan and add in hot newcomer Clay Quartermain and you got a Coulson-Ward tandem going on.
Set 20 years after the formation of SHIELD and in the middle of the Cold War, a 50 year old Dum Dum Dugan is on a mission in Prague investigating a threat involving a man codenamed Scorpio. WIth him is SHIELD Agent Clay Quartermain and their Prague liason Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Their mission: acquire coded blueprints that are being sold to the Soviet Union. The coded blueprints are then revealed to be tech designs for an aircraft of mass destruction called the Helicarrier along with a program called Insight.
Sort of adds to the notion that Hydra at its early stages within SHIELD was already pulling strings for its own dark purposes.
Winter Soldier
A montage of Bucky’s activities between The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier. We could see him sent out by Zola on missions, then fast forward to other HYDRA operatives, then finally a young Alexander Pierce. We get to see his equipment and arm change over the decades, and see him during important events in the world like sabotaging the Starks’ car and encountering Black Widow – /u/JokerFaces2
There are so many blanks on the Winter Soldier that could be filled. We all know how it was hinted that Bucky has been the Winter Soldier for several decades and is responsible for dozens of major assassinations. How cool would it be to see one of those missions? I wouldn’t mind seeing one of those missions go wrong.
One of the biggest hints implied in the TWS was that the Winter Soldier may or may not have been behind the assassination of Howard and Maria Stark. In the comics, the Winter Soldier was prone to memory lapses wherein he just totally spaces and out and randomly abandons the mission only to disappear and reappear again later.
Set in 1991, the Winter Soldier is ordered to assassinate Howard and Maria Stark only to hesitate due to a lapse in memory. The assassination fails to push through and the Winter Soldier disappears for a week. We cut to a scene where Bucky sees a newspaper with a headline saying that Howard and Maria Stark have perished in a car crash. Bucky is found by his Hydra higher-ups and is told that the assassination still pushed through with the help of a different shooter, saving Bucky the pain and burden of murdering two of the MCU’s most important people. A twisted redemptive arc if you will.
Decalogue
This one is on me. Decalogue is a 5 issue Daredevil story arc and is a huge huge personal favorite of mine. It’s centered of a self-help group discussing the direct and indirect effects of Daredevil’s presence in their life and in Hell’s Kitchen.
Its incredibly dark tone-wise and very character driven. Daredevil is barely in it so its really interesting to see these kinds of perspectives in the MCU. Heck it doesn’t even need to center around Daredevil specifically and could be about the Avengers themselves or the overall existence of metahumans in the MCU.
A small self help group meeting in a small basement in Queens discussing the events of New York and how the alien invasion changed their lives or perspective or how the resurgence of Captain America has inspired them to serve their country as well. You get perspective from both sides.
Hawkeye
Or a Matt Fraction kind of Hawkeye scene because I think Jeremy Renner can totally pull that character off. – /u/georgegsmithjr
And at last, we’re down to everyone’s favorite. A Hawkeye One-Shot inspired by the critically acclaimed comic book run of Matt Fraction and David Aja.
This isn’t Hawkeye fighting a Kree army or Hawkeye dismantling a nuke. No this is Hawkeye paying everyone’s rent, Hawkeye having to deal with neighborhood crooks as he prepares for Christmas. A day in the mundane chaotic life of an Avenger.
The one-shot begin with Hawkguy in serious trouble or deep shit and him opening it with “This looks bad.” Add in Pizza Dog, Kate Bishop, easter eggs and translate David Aja’s visual style/palette and you’re good to go. With his witty writing and surprising knack for directing great action sequences, Adam McKay is perfect for this one-shot.
Marvel One Shot: This Looks Bad –
It’s so perfect, and other than Renner’s salary it could be done dirt cheap. – /u/TheMeatball
Notable Mentions
Star Lord watching Trevor’s CBS pilot “Caged Heat”… – /u/Shadow_Gabriel
Personally, I wanna see a whole one-shot of Steve reacting to price inflation. – /u/rhodetolove
A Very Guardians Christmas –
Star-Lord tries to get the gang to celebrate a proper Christmas.
Aboard the Milano towards their next destination, Groot gets decorated, an alien-honey baked ham is roasting, and Star-Lord struggles to explain the concepts of Santa and baby Jesus. They attempt to do a Secret Santa but everyone ends up giving each other stolen weapons, while Drax is still pondering over what the hell a white elephant is, and whether or not he’s slain one. In the end, Star-Lord tells the epic tale of the human Ralphie and his glorious quest for the sought after Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, one of the deadliest weapons of Planet Earth. – /u/ElementlegenAnything that introduces MODOK. Marvel, pls. – /u/fench
Thor and Steve Rogers go clubbing. That is all. – /u/JHW12
I want a Rocket Raccoon/mini-Groot/Howard the Duck oneshot. That would be hilarious!
Or a Howard the Duck oneshot showing how he ended up with The Collector… – /u/6isNotANumberA one shot with Falcon getting his suit back would be pretty cool. – /u/Pokevenger
A scene where Nick Fury interrogates a captured Chitauri soldier after the battle of New York. It can be 5 minutes of Fury yelling swear words in an alien’s face, and the alien saying “I don’t know what the fuck you’re saying!” in subtitles. – /u/OlDirtyBanana
I would want a to make a One-Shot detailing how that giant monster from the end of Thor 2 is captured because, DAMNIT that thing is still alive and it angers me. – /u/sageidle
A HYDRA henchman walks into a bar. He then shares a drink with an AIM henchman. This then leads to sharing a drink with two henchmen of Hammer and Stane respectively. They complain about their jobs giving a unique perspective from their respective movies. – /u/willtheway
There you have it! The one-shot’s we’d all love to see as told by our friends over at /r/marvelstudios. Thank you for your crazy awesome ideas! Here’s an appropriate quote to end this article.
Someone joked about Kevin Feige reading this thread for ideas, and now I really wish that were true. – /u/yuloforce
