credit: MCU
Hindsight is 20/20, right? That appears to be one of the many thoughts when walking into Phase 5 of the MCU, as it would appear that the thought is that the mistakes of the past are fueling the potential success of future movies and shows that the MCU will be bringing out in the coming phase. There’s been great talk of success, of things looking up, and of the projects to come being better than anything that has come out before. But there’s one issue, things haven’t exactly been getting better, and in some cases, it feels as though the MCU has been missing the point as to what fans want to see and what they’re expecting. It needs to be said that directors are being allowed some freedom with their content so long as it conforms to the overall franchise, but at the same time, it would appear as though the selection process when it comes to which stories and characters are going to be given prominence is being handled by those that know very little about the actual Marvel Universe. It’s great that people want to create a story that fans will get behind, but knowing the source material inside and out does make a big difference since it would allow the MCU to bring forth tales that a lot of fans are hoping to see. Instead, fans are getting the interpretation of what a lot of non-comic book fans are thinking will work. In other words, the mistakes of the past are being continued even as the MCU tries to right the ship, which it apparently doesn’t believe is taking on water.
credit: MCU
Diversity, inclusion, and representation are important, but forcing them only cheapens the effect.
Anyone who wants to argue the idea that the MCU hasn’t been forcing any of these elements on their shows and movies might need to go back and watch them again. While it’s definitely necessary to make sure that as many people from multiple cultures are represented, it’s happened quite often that sacrifices to the actual story have taken place in order to make sure that everyone gets their ‘fair’ shot and that they’re given the spotlight just enough to make people happy. The problem with this, of course, is that by sacrificing the story for the character, one can easily find that the story will suffer more than the reputation of the character. The MCU has made it clear that the characters are a little more important than the story at times, or at least some characters are, since it’s easy to see how some characters are being elevated and others are being trashed in a manner that goes beyond disrespect.
Yes, people want to see women taking on important roles, but creating the M-She-U isn’t exactly necessary.
It sounds a bit petty and even churlish, but the fact that so many female characters are being pushed and even given prominence feels like a move that the MCU might regret at some point, especially when it comes at the expense of the heroes that helped to build the franchise. Like it or not, the MCU was founded by male heroes, and while female heroes, and villains, are great and should be advanced and given a place in the MCU as the powerhouses that they can be, their domination of the franchise is becoming a bit irritating simply because it’s getting pushed more often than not and at the expense of those that helped to ensure that they would be able to make their appearance at some point. There’s nothing wrong with strong female characters, but when one has to sacrifice the reputation of other characters to build up those who are favored at the moment, it’s fair to say the MCU has become more about favoritism than anything.
credit: MCU
Disney+ hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders with its shows.
Ms. Marvel didn’t exactly reach new heights. Kate Bishop was allowed to take Hawkeye from its actual star, and let’s just say that She-Hulk re-upped the idea of ‘anything you can do, I can do better’, in a very petty kind of way. The point is that the TV shows, the live-action ones, to be fair, have had their fair share of issues since they were first created, and the “What If?” stories were actually the best the MCU has come up with in a while.
Benefiting from hindsight actually means learning from one’s mistakes.
A lot of people apparently feel that it’s okay to turn a blind eye to the many mistakes that the Mouse House is making in regard to the MCU, and that’s fine. It’s not likely that the MCU will go bankrupt any time soon since plenty of people are more than willing to shell out the money that’s necessary to keep the franchise running. But seriously, the quality has gone way down, and unless the MCU is serious about learning from its mistakes, it’s not going to come up any time soon.