Marvel Database:Spoilers

This Policy outlines the way Marvel Database handles Spoilers. The same rules apply to all mediums: comic books, films, video games, episodes and seasons of TV series. The core principles of Spoiler Policy are:

1. Spoilers from unreleased works are strictly forbidden and will be removed.
2. Spoilers from officially released works are explicitly allowed and in fact encouraged beginning from the official Release Date. However, care should be taken to protect both readers and other editors from seeing those spoilers outside of the affected pages.
3. Spoiler Period is defined as 1 month from the original Release Date. Beyond that period, most spoiler precautions are unnecessary.
4. The Release Date is defined as the first time the story is made available to the wide public. This does not include advance review copies, limited screenings or video game beta runs.
   • For theatrical films, release date in other countries can often precede that in the United States. In this case the earlier date is considered to be the cut-off point, meaning that spoilers can be posted prior to the film's domestic release.

Handling Spoilers

1. When adding spoilers to the body of a page, please refrain from outlining spoilers in the edit summary. Including a warning that your edit contains recent spoilers is encouraged.
2. Utilize patience when dealing with spoilers in the middle of an ongoing storyline. When the details of what just happened are unclear or are expected to be resolved in an upcoming installment, it is advised to wait until the resolution is made clear before updating the pages. This is done to prevent the content from being drastically altered with many subsequent revelations.
   • Sometimes, in cases where the true nature of something is unclear, the administration will impose an explicit veto on certain subjects until the respective storylines are concluded. These administrative decisions are not optional and all users will be required to follow them.
   • Similarly, a temporary halt on adding content can be placed on stories with significant time-travel or crossing between alternate realities. While it is still unclear how to treat the realities involved, rushing to add information without coordination can be counter-productive.
3. Appearances and plot summaries of released works should reflect the status of characters with secret identities as of the end of the current story, without showcasing the future revelations. Characters whose real identities are either undisclosed as of the end of the story, or revealed as part of a plot twist during the story, can and should be treated as follows within the Appearances section and Plot summaries: [[actual name|name used before revelation]] .
   • Thus Living Pharoah, who appears in X-Men #54 and X-Men #55 as Living Pharoah, and only becomes Living Monolith as of X-Men #56 should be addressed by the name he was known by within his early appearances. Similarly, if Norman Osborn appears separately from the Green Goblin, and they have not been revealed as the same person yet (i.e. prior to Amazing Spider-Man #39-40), he should be listed separately as each persona, and his secret disguised as above.

Individual Works

1. Articles for individual comic issues, video games, films and TV episodes use Templates that will automatically display a warning message at the top if the work has been released recently until the Spoiler Period is over. The body of the articles can and should contain all relevant spoiler information, and users are trusted to stay away by the warning message if they wish to do avoid Spoilers.
2. Articles for upcoming works can only be created after their title and release date have been officially announced: either through solicitations for the comics or through public press releases for other media. Leaks, rumours, interviews with creatives are not sufficient grounds to create a media article.
   • If the initial release date is postponed, the page for the work will stay, even if the new release date is yet to be announced.
3. For any upcoming stories the "Appearing" section should be left unfilled. While it is perfectly acceptable to fill in the officially released plot synopsis or the cast members who are confirmed to be involved, listing early appearances based on promotional materials only invites unnecessary speculation.

Subject Articles

1. Subject articles (characters, teams etc.) should not contain any information from unreleased works, even if it is something that was clearly shown in the trailers or previews and has become a common knowledge online. Please wait until the story is released and the full context of events becomes clear.
   • If an established character is confirmed to feature in an upcoming movie or a television series, it should be listed in the Notes section an not in the main body of the article.
2. Subject articles that contain spoilers from recently released works should be marked with the Spoiler Template. To do so, add {{Spoiler}} at the top of the page. After the spoiler period is over, this Template should be removed.
   • Alternatively, this template can be used to hide only part of the text in the article's main section. To do so , type {{spoiler|spoiler text}}, where the spoiler text is the text meant to be inserted within the spoiler box.
   • Keep in mind that not all articles based on recently released works should be marked as containing spoilers. If the page does not describe any notable revelations or only covers the status quo as of the beginning of the story, then the Spoiler Warning is unnecessary. "Uncle Ben was the late uncle of Peter Parker who became Spider-Man" does not really count as a spoiler.