Marvel is falling apart, to put it simply. Since the end of well… Endgame… Marvel has gone in a multitude of directions. With phase four coming to a close, here are my thoughts. This review is not spoiler-free; read at your own risk!
The multiverse
With the recent Disney+ shows and several movies about the multiverse, you think that it would be the direction the MCU was heading, but I am not so sure.
To Start off the Multiverse, Marvel gave us Wandavision. It was the first look into how the Multiverse would play out, giving us the Scarlet Witch as well as Peter Maximoff.
The first deep look into the Multiverse was Loki. Loki was the second part of phase four. It gave us Variants. These Variants are the same person from a different Multiverse. Loki also gave us the inter-workings of how the Multiverse worked as well as how Loki during Endgame broke the timeline by taking the tesseract.
The next step was Spiderman: No Way Home. No Way Home brought Doctor Strange into the whole mix. The movie followed Spiderman and Doctor Strange messing up the timeline and ultimately bringing in Toby and Andrews Spiderman. The OG Doc Oc, the Green Goblin, and other iconic Spiderman villains and their original actors. It was a great, nostalgic film and really brought the multiverse into the present day.
The last piece of the multiverse was Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. This movie was historically darker for the MCU. The villain of the movie was Wanda Maximoff, who was trying to get to her children from Wandavision. MoM introduced America Chavez, who is a girl with the power to travel in-between multiverses. Other than this movie however, Marvel has not created anything else multiverse related.
Disney+
Disney+ is probably the greatest downfall of the MCU. It seems to be quantity of quality. They have been cranking out countless shows. So much it’s hard to keep up with them. The first show released was Wandavision, then the Falcon and the Winter Solider, and Loki. These three shows, along with Hawkeye, seem to make the most sense for the MCU.
The Falcon and the Winter Solider follows Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes after the events of Endgame. To recap, at the end of Endgame, Steve Rogers gave Sam Wilson his shield. TFATWS is a good show that shows the struggles that both of Steve’s closest friends are going through. The show also follows Sam becoming the new Captain America, which he successfully achieves at the end of the show.
Another show we get is What If… and if I am being honest, I didn’t finish this one. The show is animated and doesn’t have much to do with the current situation of the MCU. It does have some good elements like Captain Carter (who ends up appearing in MoM). Overall though, I found the show quite boring.
After What If…, Hawkeye was released. Hawkeye introduces Kate Bishop, who is a huge Hawkeye fan. It shows how Clint is doing after the death of Natasha Romanoff. The main plot of the show is about two groups of people who want to kill Clint, one for killing their father and the other being Yelena (Natasha’s sister) because she believes that Clint killed her sister. I found the show quite good. It had plenty of action, humor, and heart. I think it was a great way to introduce the younger generation of Marvel heroes (Young Avengers) while still keeping the original plot intact.
Here’s where it starts to get crazy. While the shows prior have old Marvel characters and their lives after Endgame the rest just throw tons of new characters at us. The next thing that they give us is Moon Knight. Which, on its own, is a great show. It gives us good characters and plots, however, how does it relate to what is currently happening in the MCU? Well, it doesn’t really. The show would be even better if it was a stand-alone show, much like Daredevil.
Next, we have Ms. Marvel. This show was a great cultural addition to the MCU. The main character, Kamala Khan, is Muslim and the show is a great opener to culture as well as awareness of the prejudice around the religion of Islam. Kamala is a great relatable character. She is a huge fan of Captain Marvel which adds the fan likeness. However, the show can seem boring to some, as it is not as action-packed as the others. It is a good show and I can’t wait to see how they connect it with other MCU shows and characters.
The most recent addition is She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. I do not like this show. I watched two episodes and could not watch anymore. This show follows Jennifer Walters who becomes a Hulk after getting some of Bruce Banners’s blood in her own. It is a fine concept but I think it was executed rather poorly. I think it is more chalked full of humor than actual substance.
The others
Apart from the two main threads, there are several other movies that have been released.
Black Widow; this movie felt out of place. It should have been a Phase 3 movie seeing as it takes place between Civil War and Infinity War. Also, the sheer fact that Natasha should have gotten her own movie ages ago. The movie gives us a little more backstory into Natasha’s childhood, as well as her sister Yelena. It is a good movie, just out of place. The only thing that really ties it with phase four is the end credit scene. In the end credits, it shows Yelena at Natasha’s grave, before receiving a tip that Clint killed her sister. This ultimately sets us up for Hawkeye.
Next, we have Shang Chi and the Legend of the 10 Rings. I actually haven’t seen this one yet. But, I have heard great things about it! Following that was the Eternals. This movie is almost separate from the Avengers. This movie involves celestials, which are immortal beings with powers. This brings a new hero group into the MCU as they battle deviants in order to save the world.
Thor: Love and Thunder was the 4th installment of the Thor films, and it definitely went down from Ragnarok. They seemed to make Thor lose all the intelligence he had gained in previous films. All though it was a humorous film, the plot and character development fell short.
In the future, we see the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever being released as well as a whole assortment of new things for Phase 5. I am looking forward to seeing how Marvel pieces everything together, but as for right now, I will still be saying: what the heck is going on?