Obama in the MCU

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Matthew Ellis is the current President of the United States of America in the MCU. But Luke Cage seems to mention Barack Obama a lot. Can somebody explain that? What do you think?

 

[Flint Marko]

I just assumed that Obama was President for one term in the MCU.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

I just assumed that Obama was President for one term in the MCU.

That could be possible.

 

[Supa]

If you fudge the timeline a bit, maybe Luke Cage takes place after the 2016 election, where in this universe Obama ran and won.

 

[Flint Marko]

None of the references in Luke Cage specifically referred to Obama as the current President, correct?

 

[Alex Murphy]

I don't remember anyone in the MCU ever referring to Obama.

 

[The_Manhunter]

I don't remember anyone in the MCU ever referring to Obama.

Luke Cage does. Thanks thread, glad to see I am not the only one confused lol. He must have only served one term in the MCU.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

My assumption is that Obama lost the 2012 election due to the Chitauri invasion and Ellis had a more comprehensive or tougher? standpoint on extra terrestrials and/or superpowered humans.

 

[Alex Murphy]

Luke Cage does. Thanks thread, glad to see I am not the only one confused lol. He must have only served one term in the MCU.

When, can ya remember which episode?

 

[SirStrangefolk]

The person who interviewed Mariah said “Remember when Obama sang Al Green?”, at least. But I think he was mentioned a couple of times. I thought the same as pr0xyt0xin and see no reason why not to believe this.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

When, can ya remember which episode?

Black Mariah's political competition is referred to as "Discount Obama"

 

[DrCosmic]

So... epic video breakdown points out how Ellis was president in Dec of 2012, with 'years' of history blocking Killian, meaning he was elected in 2008. And since he had a (corrupt) VP, that means he wasn't the VP for an impeached/assassinated Obama.

But since Obama has the same effect on Luke Cage as he did as President, that means that he must have/be holding some other really important position that makes him an instantly recognizable name. I can't imagine what that is though. Supreme Court Justice Obama? Secretary of State Obama? Chief of Staff after losing in the Primary? Highly Impactful Democratic Senate Majority Leader? The people's President?

Or, the reality, that these two stories really take place in different universes, that simply make sure not to step on each other's toes. It's interesting to note that a deep dive into African American culture like Luke Cage doesn't really work without an Obama Presidency. That's how impactful his tenure was.

 

[Drizzle]

I think it was a continuity error, much like how you can see the MetLife Building in some shots of the Netflix shows when it should really be Avengers Tower. The writers probably forgot about Ellis being the established current President in the MCU.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

So... epic video breakdown points out how Ellis was president in Dec of 2012, with 'years' of history blocking Killian, meaning he was elected in 2008. And since he had a (corrupt) VP, that means he wasn't the VP for an impeached/assassinated Obama.

But since Obama has the same effect on Luke Cage as he did as President, that means that he must have/be holding some other really important position that makes him an instantly recognizable name. I can't imagine what that is though. Supreme Court Justice Obama? Secretary of State Obama? Chief of Staff after losing in the Primary? Highly Impactful Democratic Senate Majority Leader? The people's President?

Or, the reality, that these two stories really take place in different universes, that simply make sure not to step on each other's toes. It's interesting to note that a deep dive into African American culture like Luke Cage doesn't really work without an Obama Presidency. That's how impactful his tenure was.

Well, one other *possible* scenario with this logic, is that Obama lost the 2008 election to Ellis instead of McCain. Who possibly didn't run or was replaced on the Republican ticket (by Ellis/Rodriguez) once again due to the arrival of superpowered humans (Hulk/Iron Man/Blonsky/Stane) in 2008.

So essentially Obama became the next Al Gore (a fairly recognizable household name). But even moreso because of the Hope campaign and being the first presidential nominee of color for a major party.

idk about anyone else, but looking at an MCU USA under the 16-year thumb of a Bush administration straight into yet another right-wing administration (Ellis/Rodriguez) in which we know at least the VP is corrupt, makes the events of TWS (project insight), Civil War (Sokovia Accords) and various other events seem a bit more logical.

 

[Silvermoth]

Whoever runs shield tends to be a metaphor for the presidency anyway.

So expect someone like The Kingpin to run shield soon!

 

[Alex Murphy]

The person who interviewed Mariah said “Remember when Obama sang Al Green?”, at least. But I think he was mentioned a couple of times. I thought the same as pr0xyt0xin and see no reason why not to believe this.

Black Mariah's political competition is referred to as "Discount Obama"

I'll have to rewatch.

So... epic video breakdown points out how Ellis was president in Dec of 2012, with 'years' of history blocking Killian, meaning he was elected in 2008. And since he had a (corrupt) VP, that means he wasn't the VP for an impeached/assassinated Obama.

But since Obama has the same effect on Luke Cage as he did as President, that means that he must have/be holding some other really important position that makes him an instantly recognizable name. I can't imagine what that is though. Supreme Court Justice Obama? Secretary of State Obama? Chief of Staff after losing in the Primary? Highly Impactful Democratic Senate Majority Leader? The people's President?

Or, the reality, that these two stories really take place in different universes, that simply make sure not to step on each other's toes. It's interesting to note that a deep dive into African American culture like Luke Cage doesn't really work without an Obama Presidency. That's how impactful his tenure was.

Despite the fact that the Netflix shows refer several times to the Incident, and the fact that Luke Cage is apparently only vulnerable to Chitauri metal?

 

[TheVileOne]

There are always going to be continuity errors no matter what. They even exist in Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes.

Wrath of Khan, Khan remembers meeting Chekov before, even though Chekov was not in the original episode of the series with Khan. There was no scene in which Khan was around or could've seen Chekov on the Enterprise.

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

There are always going to be continuity errors no matter what. They even exist in Star Trek and Sherlock Holmes.

Wrath of Khan, Khan remembers meeting Chekov before, even though Chekov was not in the original episode of the series with Khan. There was no scene in which Khan was around or could've seen Chekov on the Enterprise.

There is always the possibilty of Checkov being a unseen crewman, probably of the redshirt security division, during Space Seed

 

[Alex Murphy]

There is always the possibilty of Checkov being a unseen crewman, probably of the redshirt security division, during Space Seed

That's wishful rationalising.

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

That's wishful rationalising.

as is every theory I've read in this thread so far.

it's trying to make sense in universe of stuff that clearly has out of universe reasons.

Koenig was cast for season 2 of Star Trek and was therefore not mentionend in season 1, but was part of the iconic core bridge crew and by the time WOK ame around the writers didn't think twice about putting that scene in the movie even if it created a plot hole. So Trek-fans created a theory to make sense of it.

President Obama is iconic, important and integral part for the culture that Luke Cage depicts, therefore the writers didn't think twice about putting references in the show, even though the president in the MCU is named Ellis. And here we are, creating theories.

And both times, I don't think it was a mistake. The writers had good reasons. The Ceti Alpha V scene in WoK gave Checkov something to do other than filling a seat on the bridge and saying 'Aye, Captain!' every odd scene. Obama was included into Luke Cage to make the show feel more real.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

There are always going to be continuity errors no matter what.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!

 

[DrCosmic]

Well, one other *possible* scenario with this logic, is that Obama lost the 2008 election to Ellis instead of McCain. Who possibly didn't run or was replaced on the Republican ticket (by Ellis/Rodriguez) once again due to the arrival of superpowered humans (Hulk/Iron Man/Blonsky/Stane) in 2008.

So essentially Obama became the next Al Gore (a fairly recognizable household name). But even moreso because of the Hope campaign and being the first presidential nominee of color for a major party.

idk about anyone else, but looking at an MCU USA under the 16-year thumb of a Bush administration straight into yet another right-wing administration (Ellis/Rodriguez) in which we know at least the VP is corrupt, makes the events of TWS (project insight), Civil War (Sokovia Accords) and various other events seem a bit more logical.

That's a pretty boss theory, and you're right, that does add extra credence to the government shadiness, though I'm not sure much is needed.

One could even go so far to say that Obama ran again in 2012, and still sang Al Green, accounting for that reference, but couldn't quite pull off a win in the face of 'I survived evil face melting terrorists' Ellis.

Despite the fact that the Netflix shows refer several times to the Incident, and the fact that Luke Cage is apparently only vulnerable to Chitauri metal?

It's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be. The shows are developed independently, largely by different teams and though there are lots of one directional references (Netflix references the MCU, not the other way around), there are also continuity errors, like this, which are almost unavoidable as the Netflix shows are simply more grounded in reality, and closer to our universe than the MCU. Certainly they leave room to fill in the blanks of a unified universe if you don't look closely, but they're not 'together' in the same way that, say, Avengers and Dr. Strange are. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Djimon Honsou have zero chance of being cast in Black Panther, but Alfre Woodard can play in the MCU and then play in Netflix. Because they're not *really* unified, even though Netflix strives to be.

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

the question should be: who'll be the next POTUS after Ellis next year?

 

[DACrowe]

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!

Pretty much. To paraphrase the invaluable Michael York, "I suggest you don't try to think about that sort of thing and just enjoy yourself." That goes for us as well.

 

[Alex Murphy]

That's a pretty boss theory, and you're right, that does add extra credence to the government shadiness, though I'm not sure much is needed.

One could even go so far to say that Obama ran again in 2012, and still sang Al Green, accounting for that reference, but couldn't quite pull off a win in the face of 'I survived evil face melting terrorists' Ellis.



It's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be. The shows are developed independently, largely by different teams and though there are lots of one directional references (Netflix references the MCU, not the other way around), there are also continuity errors, like this, which are almost unavoidable as the Netflix shows are simply more grounded in reality, and closer to our universe than the MCU. Certainly they leave room to fill in the blanks of a unified universe if you don't look closely, but they're not 'together' in the same way that, say, Avengers and Dr. Strange are. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Djimon Honsou have zero chance of being cast in Black Panther, but Alfre Woodard can play in the MCU and then play in Netflix. Because they're not *really* unified, even though Netflix strives to be.

Why couldn't either Chiwetel Ejiofor or Djimon Hounsou appear in Black Panther?

Alfre Woodard appeared in Captain America: Civil War because the CA:CW people didn't know that she'd already been cast in Luke Cage.