Thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared universes are all the rage. Shared film universes go all the way back to the 40’s with the 1943 Universal Studios movie Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman. Also pre-MCU, Quentin Tarantino made it a point to connect all of his films in one manner or other. With the groundwork laid, the MCU really put the cinematic universe on the map, leading DC to do both the Arrowverse and the DCEU as well as many others, such as the It Cinematic Universe:
If you’ll recall my piece on Batman Vs Pop Culture, you may also recall me mentioning Pretty Little Liars (I find ways to bring it up all the time). I bring it up today because a cinematic universe I may just like even more than the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the Freeform Cinematic Universe. Y’all, the Freeform Cinematic Universe has it all, drama, love triangles, foster kids, vampires, werewolves, mermaids, and now it’s even part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to…
Yes, the ever expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe has a show on Freeform, merging the Marvel Cinematic Universe with the Freeform Cinematic Universe and making me the happiest adult boy alive! The Freeform Cinematic Universe is integral to saving the Marvel Cinematic Universe from it’s current peril, and if you’ll indulge my first ever foray into fan fiction I’ll happily explain.
Quick note, I’ve alluded to some of this before on my podcast so I’ll link as needed. Anyway, if you’ll recall in Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange sees 14 million possibilities of them attempting to beat Thanos, and they only win in one scenario. This is that scenario:
After an attack by the remaining Avengers fails, Earth is left with but a handful of heroes to confront the Mad Titan. Those heroes include The Defenders (from the Netflix corner of the MCU), The Runaways (hailing from the Hulu neck of the MCU woods), Cloak and Dagger, Namor (summoned by Maria Hill’s friend Marianne from the Netflix show Friends From College), and Mitch Buchannon, wielder of the Water Stone (aka David Hasselhoff’s Baywatch character. The Hoff and The Runaways are the first to meet after the fallout from Thanos’s snap just FYI). Needing all the help they can get, Namor and Mitch summon any available mermaids and mermen, which catches the eye of Mona Vanderwaal from Pretty Little Liars, who had been keeping tabs on the mermaids out of intellectual curiosity. Knowing they have something Thanos wants (the Water Stone), they prepare for one final stand. Despite the Water Stone, the Staff Of One Nico from The Runaways possesses, the vast powers between them all and their numbers advantage, they’re still no match for the combined powers of the Infinity Stones in Thanos’s possession. Mona realizes this and watches the battle from afar. After the battle is complete, Thanos turns to find the board game Liar’s Lament set up before him.
Intrigued, Thanos plays it and quickly becomes angered by the game, throwing off the Infinity Gauntlet in frustration. When he does, Mona is there to retrieve it and becomes the most powerful person in the universe! Ultimately, Mona grows bored with omnipotence and resets the world back to how it was at the end of Infinity War, except she adjusts the timeline to allow for whatever is going to happen in Avengers: Endgame. And THAT is how the Freeform Cinematic Universe steps up to save the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
