Please note that I wrote this before the multitude of announcements by bleddy Marvel and our lord and saviour Kevin Feige, but hopefully I still raise some valid points.
I can’t believe I’m writing this: in fact, I think a few of us can’t believe we feel this way but… Is there too much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)? I just want to say that I still love it and everything Marvel has done with it, and it’s still far better than most of the other superhero offerings, but isn’t this phase a little lacking?
As I write this, all six episodes of Ms Marvel are out, yet I’ve only just gotten round to episode four! I never ever thought that there would be an MCU-related thing that I wouldn’t be consuming on opening day/weekend.
I am probably enjoying Ms Marvel a little less than the other series, if only down to the fact it’s more focused at teens. However, I have often found myself watching it thinking: ‘What’s the point in this scene/episode?’ Ms Marvel, Moon Knight and most of the new heroes feel like they’re just being introduced for the sake of it. It feels like this phase – by far the longest – hasn’t got a real point yet. I’ve enjoyed it all for sure, but I haven’t been in a rush to re-watch anything (except MCU Spiderverse). When I did rewatch Dr strange Two, for example, I definitely enjoyed it less.
Shouldn’t we have had a tease for a main villain by now, or a hint to where the MCU is headed? Every post-credit tease has simply been a set up for that individual hero’s future. Which of course is absolutely fine, but I really think this current, long phase is suffering from not really having an overall structure like we’ve had in the past. Of course, we were always going to suffer after the fallout of the Infinity saga, and I expect no other movie run will ever live up to it, but shouldn’t we have had something else by now? Sure, we’ve had things like Secret Wars and Fantastic 4 teased or used in one scene, but it definitely feels like we’ll never get another Spiderverse crossover or the Illuminati again. I really hope this isn’t the case! Editors Note: Since writing this its been rumoured all 3 Spidermen will be in secret wars
So, is it just down to the old ‘less is more’? Have us greedy nerds just had too much of a good thing and now we’re being super nit-picky about it all? Is it because the competition is fierce? The Boys and Umbrella Academy have both shown how excellent an alternative kind of superhero show can really be, and I for one have enjoyed the most recent series of these more than any of the Marvel Disney+ series this year, in fact pretty much overall. Thor 4 was brilliantly hilarious and I enjoyed every second, but I don’t feel like it mattered as much as some of the previous films. It was the storyline that I was super excited about and they definitely pulled it off in their own tricksy MCU way, but I had the feeling afterwards like: ‘Yeah, that was great, but what now?’
Yes: since writing this, we’ve had a lot of amazing announcements, but can we really hold out for those Avengers movies in the distant future?