That's right, this is happening.

你沒看錯，我們來真的！

OK, so why is this not just a steaming pile of clickbait?

那麼，這為什麼不只是一大坨的點擊誘餌？

Hear me out.

聽我娓娓道來。

So far, there have been twenty of these movies.

目前為止總共有二十部這樣的電影。

And uber-producer Kevin Feige says there'll be at least 20 more in the MCU — Marvel Cinematic Universe — within the next 10 years.

王牌製作人凱文・費吉宣布未來十年內將會有至少二十部 MCU（漫威宇宙）電影。

Seriously, half of these people could disappear and it would still be 148 too many characters.

說真的，就算半數角色都消失也還是有 148 位多餘的角色。

When we asked Vox's audience for things they think are overrated, Marvel and DC's movies came up again and again.

當我們詢問 Vox 觀眾他們認為哪些東西被高估，漫威和 DC 的電影一再地出現。

We love these movies - in the United States alone, they've grossed more than 6.5 billion dollars.

我們都熱愛這些電影，它們光在美國的票房就超過 65 億美元。

And yet there's something missing.

然而還是有不足之處。

When you look at the history of fictional universes — and at the MCU in particular — it's possible to understand how it could be fixed.

當你一覽虛構宇宙史時，尤其是漫威宇宙，你很難理解它能夠怎麼被修補。

Go back to 1939 and you'll find the likely birth of the Marvel Universe.

倒帶到 1939 年，你就會發現漫威宇宙可能的起源。

It's in Marvel Mystery Comics #7.

可以在《漫威漫畫》第 7 集中看到。

These characters aren't that well-known today.

那些角色在今日不太為人所知。

But here, Betty tells Namor that The Human Torch exists — establishing continuity and crossover potential.

但在這個地方，Betty 告訴 Namor 霹靂火這個角色確實存在，建構了連續性和跨界的潛力。

This was the start of a new era — one in which corporations produced fiction.

這是一個嶄新世紀的開始，一個由企業產出虛構世界的世紀。

The idea was simple — you could use the fame of one property to enhance the audience for another.

這個想法很簡單，你可以利用一個角色的名氣為另一個角色增加觀眾群。

And Marvel wasn't alone in recognizing the financial opportunity of crossovers in the 1930s and 40s.

漫威也不是 1930 到 1940 年代唯一發現跨界吸金契機的企業。

“The Green Hornet!

「青蜂俠！

Look at that picture on the wall.

看看牆上那幅畫。

The man on that horse is one of your ancestors.”

騎在馬上的那個男人是你的祖先之一。」

In the 1940s, The Green Hornet revealed that the series' central character, Britt Reid, was the grandnephew of The Lone Ranger, another popular radio star at the time.

在 1940 年代，青蜂俠揭露系列故事的中心人物 Britt Reid 是獨行俠的姪孫，而獨行俠則是當時另一個受歡迎的廣播明星。

“I hope you do something about those crooks — just as your pioneer ancestor did.”

「我希望你會做點什麼事來處置那些無賴，就如同你身為先驅者的祖先所做的。」

Movie studios were thinking about this too —when Abbott and Costello met Frankenstein, it joined the Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman movie franchises with a goofy comedy.

電影製片廠也有相同想法：當喜劇演員 Abbott 和 Costello 碰上了科學怪人，他以愚蠢喜劇的方式，加入了德古拉、科學怪人與狼人的系列電影。

It was basically Universal Studios' Avengers Infinity War, but with more running into walls.

這基本上就是環球影業版本的《復仇者聯盟3：無限之戰》，只是遇到更多障礙。

By the 60s, even DC comics was catching up, like when Superman entered his fortress of solitude and finally met Batman.

到了六零年代，連 DC 漫畫公司也迎頭趕上，像是超人進入孤獨堡壘，最終遇到蝙蝠俠。

“I love you!”

「我愛你～♫」

They enjoyed some cake.

他們一起享用蛋糕。

“You love me.”

「你愛我～♪」

By the time Spiderman got his comic in 1963, he was spending time with the Fantastic Four and promoting guest appearances from the Hulk.

等到蜘蛛人的漫畫在 1963 年問世時，他常和驚奇四超人一起登場，並在綠巨人浩克中客串演出。

And this was also when the Marvel Universe's problems started.

而這也是漫威宇宙問題的開端。

This snowglobe contains a half-century of television.

這個雪花球裡是半個世紀的電視節目。

It's the basis for the Tommy Westphall Universe theory, which some argue might be the biggest fictional universe of all.

這是整個 Tommy Westphall 宇宙理論的基礎，也有些人稱其為最大的虛構宇宙觀。

The snowglobe appeared on the '80s television show St. Elsewhere.

這顆雪花球出現在 80 年代的電視劇《波城杏話》中。

That scene possibly showed that the whole series had taken place inside a snowglobe world imagined by a minor character named Tommy Westphall.

這一幕顯示可能整個系列都發生在一個小角色 Tommy Westphall 想像的雪花球世界裡。

The theory is that if a show had a crossover with St. Elsewhere, that show must have taken place in Tommy's snowglobe too.

這個理論指出，若某個電視劇和《波城杏話》有所呼應，那部劇一定也發生在 Tommy 的雪花球世界裡。

And every crossover that show had, no matter how tangential, would be in the snowglobe, and so on and so on, until you get almost 450 television shows in the same universe, in the same snowglobe.

而和該劇有關的其他電視劇，無論多牽強，也在同一顆雪花球裡，依此類推，直到同一個宇宙裡、同一顆雪花球中，出現了將近 450 部電視節目。

It spans from 1952 to... today.

從 1952 年到......今天。

It's a dumb theory.

這是個愚蠢的理論。

But, it's meant to be.

但它本來就該如此。

That said, the Tommy Westphall universe actually illustrates some of the problems with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

即便如此，Tommy Westphall 的宇宙觀確實說明了漫威電影宇宙的幾個問題。

Crossovers require a bunch of artistic compromises.

藝術上的妥協對跨界而言是必須的。

No one wants "Cheers" and "I Love Lucy" to be a connected universe.

沒人在乎《歡樂酒店》和《我愛露西》的宇宙連結性。

It's because a bunch of business decisions connected them.

一連串商業決策讓兩部劇有所關聯。

Sometimes, the network forced crossovers on producers, other times, the producers came up with it.

有時，電視網強迫製作人增加跨界橋段，其他時候則是製作人自己想這麼做。

Garry Marshall said that the reason that Mork from Ork knew Fonzie from "Happy Days" and Laverne from "Laverne and Shirley" was because his son said that Fonzie should dream about an alien.

Garry Marshall 表示，Ork 星球的 Mork 之所以認識《歡樂時光》裡的 Fonzie 與《拉文與雪莉》的 Laverne，是因為他的兒子說 Fonzie 應該要夢到外星人。

These crossovers are always about juicing ratings, not telling a good story.

這些跨界橋段主要是為了提高收視率，而不是增加故事性。

The Tommy Westphall universe is a thought experiment.

Tommy Westphall 的宇宙觀是一個思想實驗。

"Frasier" and "The X-Files" don't mix, even though they do in Tommy Westphall's globe.

《歡樂一家親》和《X 檔案》不搭尬，但都存在 Tommy Westphall 的雪花球裡。

But even at Marvel, where continuity was planned, it became a hassle to maintain.

但即使在漫威，電影連貫性經過精心設計，卻還是難以掌控。

Marvel editor and writer Len Wein said, “The problem at Marvel was that we suddenly became a business with a bunch of books that Stan, [Lee] don't think, ever in his heart expected to last more than a couple of years.”

漫威編輯兼作家 Len Wein 表示：「漫威的問題在於我們突然變成擁有充滿漫畫書的企業，當初創作者史丹李沒想到它們會連載這麼多年。」

In 1965, Lee replaced most of the Avengers just because the continuity for the original group had become too confusing to deal with.

1965 年，李換掉復仇者聯盟中大部分的角色，只因為維持原團隊的故事連貫性太困難了。

This continuity clutter happened in the movies, too.

棘手的連貫性問題也發生在電影裡。

"Iron Man" kicked off the MCU in 2008.

《鋼鐵人》在 2008 年開啟了漫威電影宇宙。

The universe exposition dump didn't happen until after the credits.

宇宙觀的介紹被放在片尾名單之後。

“Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe.”

「史塔克先生，你已經成為宏觀宇宙的一員。」

"Ant Man" required a weak excuse right in the middle of the movie.

《蟻人》不得不在電影中間穿插一句沒有什麼說服力的藉口。

“I think our first move should be calling the Avengers."

「我認為聯絡復仇者聯盟是首要之務。」

“I spent half my life trying to keep this technology out of the hands of the Stark.

「我花了大半輩子試圖避免史塔克工業取得這份技術。

I'm sure as hell am not gonna hand deliberately to one now.”

我死也不會現在拱手把它交給他們。」

These heavy-handed additions are about getting crossover hype, not about telling a good story.

這些牽強的說詞是為了激發跨界情節帶來的興奮感，而不是為了電影本身的故事性。

But there's a bigger problem than continuity in the MCU — and there is a way to do it better.

但漫威電影宇宙還有比連貫性更大的問題，而且肯定有更好的解決方法。

“Whoa you're the Avengers!”

「哇！你們是復仇者聯盟！」

The rest of this scene is a standard movie fight.

接下來的場景就是標準的電影打鬥戲碼。

Their universe is only as deep as some merchandise and a few Easter Eggs.

漫威宇宙的深度只不過是一堆商品和復活節彩蛋而已。

It's cool when Peter Parker's classroom has a picture of Bruce Banner in the corner.

看到彼得帕克(蜘蛛人)的教室內有一張布魯斯班納(綠巨人浩克)的照片是很酷。

But it's not a transformed universe.

但這並非一個嶄新的宇宙。

It's like Quentin Tarantino including the imaginary brand of Red Apple cigarettes in multiple movies.

這就像昆汀塔倫提諾將虛構香菸品牌「紅蘋果」置入在他的眾多電影當中。

It's cool.

它很酷。

It's not a coherent, intertwined world.

但它不是連貫、相互交織的世界。

The MCU is like our own, except for the crossovers.

漫威電影宇宙跟我們的宇宙沒什麼兩樣，只是少了跨界橋段而已。

You can test it with the characters.

你可以用這些角色測試看看。

Add Aquaman to that poster.

把水行俠加進這張海報中。

If you didn't know DC owned him, would anyone notice?

如果你不知道他是 DC 漫畫公司旗下的超級英雄，你會覺得不妥嗎？

The MCU has no rules beyond corporate ownership.

除了公司所有權之外，漫威電影宇宙沒有其他規定。

It's a superhero hodgepodge.

它就是超級英雄的大雜燴。

The same goes for DC.

DC 漫畫公司也是如此。

If you added Hawkeye here, nobody would care.

如果你在這加進鷹眼，沒有人會在乎。

And not just because it's...Hawkeye.

但不是因為他是...鷹眼。

Marvel's own property — X-Men, with a movie universe owned by Fox and likely going to Disney — shows a better way.

漫威旗下的 X 戰警 — 電影版權為福斯所有，而且很可能會賣給迪士尼 — 展示了比較好的作法。

This universe is not just crossovers.

這個宇宙並不是關於跨界而已。

Every character, human and mutant, has taken sides in a generations-long battle, with real stakes, unlike Marvel's Civil War.

在跨越世代的鬥爭中，每個角色都得選邊站，無論是人類或變種人，而每個選擇都是一場賭注，不像漫威的內戰。

That leads to creative possibilities, like decade-jumping and even tonal experimentation with deep integration to the X-Men mythology, if not the continuity.

這帶來更多創作的可能性，像是快轉數十年，甚至和與 X 戰警神話系列不見得故事連貫，卻緊密相關的題材做深度的融合。

When Marvel experiments, like with Jessica Jones, the big tie-in to the MCU is...merch.

漫威做類似的實驗時，像在《潔西卡瓊斯》裡，跟漫威宇宙觀最相關的只是商品罷了。

“Do you have any cool toys in your room you want to show me?”

「你房間裡有什麼酷炫玩具可以給我看嗎？」

“Do you know Captain America?”

「你知道美國隊長嗎？」

X-Men movies are not all good, but they do have a universal logic that is stronger than Tommy Westphall's snowglobe.

X 戰警系列電影不全都是好電影，但它們連貫的敘事邏輯的確比 Tommy Westphall 宇宙觀強多了。

Here's another test.

還有另外一個測試。

If you — little old you — were in a movie, which universe would change you?

如果你，年幼的你，出現在一部電影中，哪一個宇宙會改變你的一生？

In X-Men, you'd have to decide where you fell in a decades-long battle.

在 X 戰警裡，你必須在數十年的戰爭中決定你要站在哪一方。

Do you side with mutants?

你支持變種人？

Or humans?

還是人類？

In the MCU, you'd be like this kid in Agents of Shield — your big decision would be to buy some merch.

在漫威電影宇宙，你就像《神盾局特工》裡這個小孩，你最重要的決定是要不要買這些商品。

“I'm OK.”

「沒關係，我不需要。」

Marvel has flirted with a richer universe, one in which the lives of all people are transformed by a shared history.

漫威曾經暫時地考慮過更豐富的宇宙，其中全人類的生命都因共同歷史而轉變。

But right now, would anybody be surprised if Disney forced a Marvel/Star Wars crossover?

不過在今時今日，如果迪士尼影業硬要來個漫威星戰跨界，會有人感到驚訝嗎？

Marvel and Disney can make the right choice.

漫威和迪士尼可以自己做正確的決定。

In the late 80s, the Marvel comic Damage Control toyed with the consequences of superhero life on the world at large.

80 年代晚期，漫威漫畫中的損害控制公司不太認真地考慮了英雄全面在世界上生活的後果。

That made its cameo in Spiderman: Homecoming a thrilling indicator of where the MCU could go.

這個想法在《蜘蛛人：返校日》中客串出現，成為漫威宇宙走向的驚險指標。

It was a world that anybody could imagine themselves in.

那是一個任何人都可以設身處地的世界。

But until that experimentation transforms the movies, the MCU is just a business strategy.

但在實驗改變電影前，漫威宇漫威宇宙不過是個商業策略。

The universe is still in development.

這個宇宙仍在發展中。

If you want just the facts about Marvel, please check out Sean Howe's Marvel Comics: The Untold Story.

如果你只想要知道有關漫威的事實，請翻閱 Sean Howe 的《漫威漫畫：不為人知的故事》。

It gives you a peek behind the scenes of Marvel and how they shaped a half-century of our culture.

它讓你能夠一窺漫威的幕後以及它們如何形塑我們半世紀以來的文化。