It’s been a rocky journey for the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the end of the Infinity Saga with Avengers: Endgame. What was once a highly anticipated franchise now begs the question of are we tired of superhero movies? While it certainly feels that we might be getting oversaturated with the volume of movies and TV shows we’re getting (considering, we used to only have two movies a year which helped with the hype) and that the franchise is figuring out what to do with the end of so many characters, it hasn’t been all bad. Lest we forget that Phase 2 was also a bit rocky.
That isn’t to say I don’t understand the fatigue. Whereas before I was at the theaters on premiere day, the last few movies I’ve waited to premiere on Disney Plus. And whereas every week I’d tune in for the next episode of whatever show was playing, now I wait until all the episodes are out. Kevin Feige and Marvel may need to readjust their plans, but there’s still been some good amongst the bad.
Disclaimer: Spoilers for Phase 4 and 5. These are just opinions.
The Good
Werewolf By Night. It’s spooky season and this black and white Halloween special on Disney Plus might just be the best thing to watch if you’re wanting scary and Marvel all in one.
The Black Widow Movie. People really need to start putting respect on Black Widow’s name. While Black Widow should have gotten her own movie in Phase 1, it was nice seeing Natasha’s backstory. It was a darker MCU film and touched upon serious points. It gave us Yelena, which is a gift in on itself. The third act is no doubt weak, but it still was a film deserving more praise.
Bringing Daredevil Back. Now, I might get hate, but I’m not a fan of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Most of the cameos felt forced and the MCU’s promise to show Uncle Ben’s death was essentially redacted by senselessly killing Aunt May. And having everyone forget Peter Parker? It doesn’t sit well with me, but bringing Charlie Cox back for those few minutes as Matt Murdock was totally worth it. Also, I did enjoy Eddie Brock/Tom Hardy’s short cameo.
Some of the Disney Plus shows. Completely surprising to me, Hawkeye was great. It introduced Kate Bishop and did a good job in feeling more grounded, while still having classic Marvel elements. WandaVision was amazing, despite some people disliking that Evan Peters was brought back and wasn’t actually Quicksilver. I thought Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany brought a lot of depth to their characters and it was tragically beautiful. Moon Knight sometimes feels like an afterthought, but Oscar Isaac did a great job. Loki season 2 is also really good – such an improvement. Also, What If…? is a great introduction into the animated game.
Some good movies. Shang-Chi was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. I enjoyed the horror elements and the film’s boldness to do something other movies hadn’t. Sure, some of the CGI was questionable and you have to wonder if any of Wanda’s actions made sense as it had seemed she had snapped out of her craziness at the end of WandaVision. And Eternals gets too much hate; it was a good movie. Sorry. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was also a well-done movie and a beautiful farewell to Chadwick Boseman. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of Iron Heart’s role in this, everything else was great.
The best? Guardians of the Friggin Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn came back for one last MCU film and made his mark. GOTG Vol 3 was a beautiful way to end the trilogy and Gunn’s work in the MCU. It was a Marvel movie that truly felt like an MCU movie. It was great seeing the characters back and Rocket’s backstory was both heartbreaking and well-done. The High Evolutionary was a monster and one of the MCU’s most unhinged villains. The visuals, story, acting, and music was great. The scene of everyone dancing in the end was wonderful and seeing our Guardians happy was well-deserved. Main timeline Peter and Gamora didn’t get their happy ending (side note: they were my fav MCU couple), but this Gamora is on her own journey and Peter reuniting with his grandpa was a really nice touch. Nebula, Drax, Mantis, Rocket, Groot, and Kraglin got great endings. GOTG Vol 3 solidified the GOTG trilogy as the second-best trilogy of the MCU, behind the Captain America trilogy.
The Bad
She-Hulk. Some people defend this show out of principle, but it was not a good show. The horrible CGI, the cringy dialogue, and the forced…everything. It’s okay to not like a female-led show if it’s not good and it was not good. If you liked it, it’s okay, I just didn’t like it.
Loki season 1. I really wanted to like Loki season one. I love the character Loki. I have several Loki tattoos. Unfortunately, Loki season one was too goofy, put Loki at the back of his own story, and brought Sylvie to the forefront, when again, it should have been Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. That is who the audience loves. Loki season two is making up for it though.
Some bad movies. As discussed before, Spider-Man: No Way Home had a lot of forced cameos, unnecessarily killed Aunt May, and took away Peter’s connection to the world. It wasn’t enough for him to lose Tony Stark, but instead of him having Happy, Aunt May, MJ, Ned, and others, he has no one. How depressing is that? The visuals were great and Doc Ock and the other Spider-Men were good, but this fell short. Same thing with Ant-Man: Quantumania. I looked forward to this and while Paul Rudd does a great job as Scott Lang, the first half of the film is awkward. It focuses too much on side characters and doesn’t actually do anything until Kang comes on screen – then it gets to be a good movie. Also….Thor: Love and Thunder? Thor: Ragnarok is one of the best MCU films and brought back a lot of interest in Thor for fans. I don’t know why Taika Waititi couldn’t do the same with Love and Thunder, but what a mess that movie was. Even the quick Guardians cameo couldn’t save it and it was a waste of Christian Bale.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier didn’t live up to the hype. This show didn’t commit as many offenses as others, but it ultimately fell short. While Bucky and Zemo were standouts, Sam felt like he didn’t stand out as much as he did when playing alongside Steve. I did enjoy what they did with Sharon and it will be interesting to see where they go with U.S. Agent. Despite it falling short as a show, I am looking forward to Sam’s outing as Captain America in the upcoming movie.
Conclusion
It’s not all bad and there’s certainly been more good than bad, but like anything, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to reevaluate things. Maybe pumping the breaks and not putting out so many shows and movies is a good thing. Take your time, Marvel. You didn’t become a cultural phenomenon and set the bar for every other superhero franchise by rushing things. As stated previously, Phase 2 had some hiccups. The MCU can recover from this, but it’ll take time.
What did you like and dislike about the MCU since Avengers: Endgame?
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
