It’s no secret that the films of the MCU make up the biggest and most successful movie franchise of all time. From 2008’s Iron Man, the Marvel movies have built one of the most ambitious shared universes ever created, earning an impressive amount at the box office year on year. Though Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves might not have achieved the same success, it did actually borrow a very specific MCU trick that helped its action sequences.
Much like the MCU, Honor Among Thieves sought to adapt a pop culture phenomenon into the medium of a live-action movie. Where the MCU took its cues from Marvel Comics, Honor Among Thieves was based upon Dungeons & Dragons, the world-famous and time-honored role-playing game. The fantasy film follows a group of adventurers who stumble across a dark magical plot while attempting to get revenge on a treacherous former ally.
As the plot of Honor Among Thieves shares essentially no similarities with the stories of the MCU, drawing parallels is mostly limited to conceptual similarities. However, the Dungeons & Dragons movie actually owes more to the MCU than meets the eye. In actuality, Honor Among Thieves used an MCU trick to make its climactic battle work.
How The Avengers Gifted Honor Among Thieves A Perfect MCU Trick
When confronting the evil Red Wizard Sofina, the film’s protagonists – Edgin the bard, Holga the barbarian, Simon the sorcerer, and Doric the druid – each play specific roles in the battle. Interestingly, their combat characteristics exactly mirror those of the MCU’s initial Avengers. It’s in this that Honor Among Thieves takes its cues from 2012’s The Avengers and its Battle of New York.
Edgin is undeniably the group’s leader, placing him in the Captain America role. Simon shoots magical bolts from his hands, reminiscent of Iron Man’s repulsors. Holga’s use of a large blunt weapon and style of fighting exactly mirrors Thor, and Doric’s transformation into an owlbear gives her the size and strength of Hulk, prompting her to adopt similar battle tactics. These parallels actually lend Honor Among Thieves‘ final action scene added credibility, giving an epic air to the sequence.
Whether intentional or not, Honor Among Thieves using The Avengers‘ MCU trick is subtly perfect. It draws subconscious parallels between the Dungeons & Dragons movie and the films of the MCU, contributing to a overall atmosphere of epic on-screen battles by borrowing from a hugely successful franchise. The use of specific moves that mirror those of the Avengers in the Battle of New York further the similarities, making it clear that the fantasy film took its action cues from an unexpected source.