By ANGELINA MANDELL, Copy Editor
After the blockbuster that was “Avengers: Endgame” hit theaters, it appeared to general audiences that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was through. But real Marvel fans knew that the end of this era would only lead to the next with hopefully bigger and better projects.
For context, the MCU works in phases; phase one began with “Iron Man” in 2008 and ended with “The Avengers” in 2012, phase two returned with “Iron Man 3” in 2013 and concluded with “Ant-Man” in 2015, phase three with “Captain America: Civil War” in 2016 until “Spider-Man: Far From Home” ends it in 2019, and phase four kicking off with Disney+ series “WandaVision” in 2021 and closing with the upcoming film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” this November.
We’ve gotten a taste of the ‘new’ Marvel with phase four as WandaVision really reinvented the franchise’s style, but as these projects have progressed, fans, me included, find themselves wondering if they’re going too far.
As the MCU grows, this interesting start of phase four that drew viewers to Disney+ is spiraling out of control with its later installments and the introduction of phases five and six. You can tell that Marvel is trying to attract the next generation of fans while still trying to keep the life-longs, and I can’t tell if it’s working.
With many of our original main characters retired, the MCU needs to introduce their next heroes. I do really enjoy the contrast in styles between their new projects. For example, “Ms. Marvel” is very much a superhero coming-of-age story that is colorful and fun while still maintaining some drama. That works great with the storyline of lead character Kamala Khan. In contrast, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” takes on a more serious tone as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes take on street-level crime. I could write another 1000 words on the cinematic masterpiece that was “WandaVision,” but we’ll save that for another time.
One question I need to ask is, “does everything need to be a crossover?” “Endgame” really brought the action by including every Marvel character we knew thus far in the final boss battle against Thanos. But that was it; that was the crossover event. Why do viewers now expect a cameo of a certain character in every new film or series?
Sometimes the cameos make sense if in the comics these characters had met; as a Wanda Maximoff fan, I’ll admit my guilt of wanting her to be involved in literally any project she can. But the MCU is coming to a point where it just doesn’t make sense. That’s why I enjoyed “Moon Knight” because it was solely a story for Moon Knight alone and wasn’t overdone by trying to tie it into the other stories going on in the MCU.
When there are too many characters making cameos of different lengths in a Marvel film, it’s difficult to remember whose film it actually is. Take “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness;” was it Wanda’s villain origin story? America Chavez’s hero origin story? Doctor Strange himself almost doesn’t even fit in at a point. Too much, too fast.
I feel like “Endgame” opened a door we didn’t need to continue through as it brought together everyone’s universes. Introduced in the Disney+ series “Loki,” Kang the Conqueror is set up to be the new Thanos, a villain that is going to influence every character’s worlds. Marvel has already announced that he is going to be the main focus of another Avengers movie, despite the original six being split up, and he is even popping up in upcoming projects like “Ant-Man: Quantum Mania.” What I’m wondering is if his presence will be the main focus of the phase instead of occasionally tying together projects.
I’m all for a genre change and some sillier series, but some of them have become a bit ridiculous. I was excited for a She-Hulk series when it was announced, but after seeing She-Hulk twerk with rapper Megan Thee Stallion in an episode, all I could do was cringe.
It’s clear that Marvel wants to branch out, but it appears that the more series they produce, the harder they try, and it has become apparent that it’s a bit too hard. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a big fan and I’m open to watching their new projects, but I’m definitely not running to cinemas like I was a few years ago. After the move to Disney+ and Disney buying Marvel Studios, similar to the Star Wars franchise, viewers can tell that Disney has put their own spin on new projects, giving them a Disney-fied tone that doesn’t suit the MCU as well as it used to.
