I have been watching the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) ever since the release of “The Avengers” movie back in 2011. I’ve basically seen every movie and TV show, from whether in movie theaters or at home on Disney+. I would say that the MCU hit its peak when they released “Avengers Endgame”, the 2nd highest-grossing movie of all time with $2.799 billion dollars in earnings. Since that movie, it felt like the MCU has gone downhill. The movies, shows and characters don’t give off the same vibes as past MCU works.
There are numerous factors that make the MCU productions so enjoyable. All movies and shows start with their cast, and the MCU had some of the best actors and actresses. They cast Robert Downey Jr. to play Iron Man and it was the first movie MCU ever released. He did a fantastic job playing the character that he became known only as Iron Man, rather than just Robert Downey Jr. There are also iconic actors like Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Some of the cast have been playing their roles for 10 years or more, and when the cast stays the same for many years, great productions are the output.
All of those movies were part of the Infinity Saga, which is the series of movies from 2008 to 2019. It didn’t just include the “Avengers” movies that made the MCU famous; it was other movies like “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Spider Man Homecoming,” “Black Panther,” and “Ant Man.” These movies also had amazing and iconic actors and actresses, with notable examples being Tom Holland as Spider Man, Chris Pratt as Star Lord and Paul Rudd as Ant Man. The MCU is not just casting random people to play these characters, they’re casting well-known and likable people to play lovable characters.
The Infinity Saga storyline made sense and followed a straightforward narrative. The MCU is so unique in how it intertwines all the different movies together into one big story. When they finally released “Endgame”, all the pieces fit together and created a satisfying ending to the Infinity saga. Following this was where it went all downhill.
Spoiler ahead if you’re new to the MCU, but Iron Man, Black Widow and Captain America died in “Endgame.” With their deaths, it seemed as though the MCU died along with it as well. There were some posties in the post ”Endgame” era with productions like “No Way Home” and “Shang Chi” being some of the more popular films. Other than that, some of the latest works of the MCU have seen better days. The worst movie they released was “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” having a rotten score of 46%. This also includes other bad films like “Captain America: Brave New World” with a score of 46%, “The Marvels” with a score of 63% and lastly the “Thor: Love And Thunder” having a score of 63%.
Even with the underperforming films, there also lie a few other problems. Some of them are something they started to do after the release of “Endgame”, which is releasing TV shows on Disney+. I’m lucky enough to already have Disney+, but that’s not always the case for some people. If you’re a die-hard Marvel fan and don’t have Disney Plus, it becomes a problem when you go to the theater to watch a MCU movie, since most of the TV shows intertwine with the main plot.
Although some of these shows they produced have been entertaining, some of them just did not reach the MCU quota like before or contribute any significance to the storyline. One of the most popular ones was “Loki,” and it was actually one of the most important shows to watch to understand the main timeline of the MCU. It is a show where those who miss it would be completely lost on the whole plot of what will happen in the future of the MCU.
“Loki” introduced the next big villain of the MCU, Kang the Conqueror played by Jonathan Majors. This however quickly died with combined issues with the actors and the whole idea not really developing. MCU completely scrapped the Kang dynasty from the MCU.
They switched out Kang for another powerful villain of Doctor Doom, who they announced to play that role in the one and only Robert Downey Jr. This was a shocker and I would say a little bit of a desperation pull from the MCU. I felt like they had a peaceful ending to his Iron Man legacy, now they bring him back to hopefully bring back the MCU.
This revival is beginning to work. Ever since that announcement, the MCU has had a resurgence, with successful productions like “The Thunderbolts” with a score of 88% rotten tomato score and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” having a 86% rotten tomato score. There is a positive trend happening right now, but people will likely focus on the next Avengers movie, “Avengers: Doomsday.” This is going to be released in December, and it’s supposed to be the next big film of the year.
There’s high expectations and the new movie is a make or break for the MCU. If this film goes beyond expectations, all of the criticisms before will be silent, but if it doesn’t hit hard, then there will be real doubt for the future.
