"The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has undeniably been the go to franchise for cinema for little over a decade. It captivated the audience with its legendary superheroes and charming stories while still being funny and relatable. Recently, it is becoming clear that Marvel is starting to lose its creative spark and that is evident with Phase 5." - Micah head, 9th grade
Phase 5 starts off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the third installment of the Ant-Man series. Quantumania continues the adventures of Scott Lang trying to live his normal life, with his daughter, Cassie, and partner Hope Van Dyne. Contrary to previous movies, this version of Ant-Man suffers from comedy overload. We love Scott Lang for being a funny and sarcastic character, similar to Deadpool but family friendly. However, the overload in comedy was used as a way to excuse the film for less than adequate character development, and plot.
Furthermore, there is a slight issue with the major villain in this phase. In Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror was introduced. In the comics Kang is a formidable villain but in the movie Marvel doesn’t really zone in on the depth and complexity of his character like they’ve done with other antagonists like Loki or Thanos, making Kang’s supposedly great introduction as a villain less impactful.
Next we have Secret Invasion, a highly anticipated show that would be exploring the take over of Earth by shape shifting aliens called Skrulls. A lot of fans were excited to see that Nick Fury was getting a more permanent role where we didn’t only see him for 0.2 seconds. The story starts off with Prescod, a paranoid conspiracy theorist who believes that Skrulls are invading Earth and doesn’t trust other members in his agency. He shares some intel about how the Skrulls are invading Earth then gets agitated for seemingly no reason when Agent Ross says he will give the intel to Nick Fury, starts fighting, and tries to kill Agent Ross before getting shot. The show already starts off with some inconsistencies and lack of explanation. We’re jumping into a story where we don’t really know anything and are trying to piece things together but even that gets confusing. Why doesn’t Prescod trust Nick Fury? Why is he so quick to take back the trust he put in Agent Ross before and try to kill him? A little bit more of a backstory would be nice!
We see again that Marvel is having issues with getting in-depth with the story by not giving adequate background information, which doesn't allow the viewer to fully understand the story and the events that came before it.The show struggles with balancing background information, action and suspense. Some characters were revealed to be Skrulls from the get go, breaking down any and all suspense the reveal could’ve had on viewers. It focuses on the overarching threat made by the Skrulls which doesn’t leave a lot of room for more intimate and character focused moments Marvel was so good at doing with other shows and movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Panther, and Endgame.
Then on May 6th, 2023 we were graced with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. It follows up on what once was Gamora’s character with a noticeable shift in dynamic with her and Peter Quill. One weird thing with the movie was the dialogue, general bad timing, awkward cuts, weird prolonged moments, and random cuts to characters whose reactions weren't needed. However, there is one highlight of this film, which is in Rocket’s tragic but relatable back story. This is not even tragic in the tortured animal sense, but you can feel for him and actually build a connection with this character, something Marvel has failed to do in previous movies. He was torn apart and built himself back together again, his story dives into self acceptance and different themes of identity, which is a connection a lot of Marvel fans wanted to see and have.
Still, even with these flaws, there is a long way left to go to the next major Avengers movie in 2025. We can only hope that some of this feedback can reach Marvel's producers and they take our suggestions and make changes to upcoming movies and shows.
Furthermore, there is a slight issue with the major villain in this phase. In Quantumania, Kang the Conqueror was introduced. In the comics Kang is a formidable villain but in the movie Marvel doesn’t really zone in on the depth and complexity of his character like they’ve done with other antagonists like Loki or Thanos, making Kang’s supposedly great introduction as a villain less impactful.
Next we have Secret Invasion, a highly anticipated show that would be exploring the take over of Earth by shape shifting aliens called Skrulls. A lot of fans were excited to see that Nick Fury was getting a more permanent role where we didn’t only see him for 0.2 seconds. The story starts off with Prescod, a paranoid conspiracy theorist who believes that Skrulls are invading Earth and doesn’t trust other members in his agency. He shares some intel about how the Skrulls are invading Earth then gets agitated for seemingly no reason when Agent Ross says he will give the intel to Nick Fury, starts fighting, and tries to kill Agent Ross before getting shot. The show already starts off with some inconsistencies and lack of explanation. We’re jumping into a story where we don’t really know anything and are trying to piece things together but even that gets confusing. Why doesn’t Prescod trust Nick Fury? Why is he so quick to take back the trust he put in Agent Ross before and try to kill him? A little bit more of a backstory would be nice!
We see again that Marvel is having issues with getting in-depth with the story by not giving adequate background information, which doesn't allow the viewer to fully understand the story and the events that came before it.The show struggles with balancing background information, action and suspense. Some characters were revealed to be Skrulls from the get go, breaking down any and all suspense the reveal could’ve had on viewers. It focuses on the overarching threat made by the Skrulls which doesn’t leave a lot of room for more intimate and character focused moments Marvel was so good at doing with other shows and movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Panther, and Endgame.
Then on May 6th, 2023 we were graced with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. It follows up on what once was Gamora’s character with a noticeable shift in dynamic with her and Peter Quill. One weird thing with the movie was the dialogue, general bad timing, awkward cuts, weird prolonged moments, and random cuts to characters whose reactions weren't needed. However, there is one highlight of this film, which is in Rocket’s tragic but relatable back story. This is not even tragic in the tortured animal sense, but you can feel for him and actually build a connection with this character, something Marvel has failed to do in previous movies. He was torn apart and built himself back together again, his story dives into self acceptance and different themes of identity, which is a connection a lot of Marvel fans wanted to see and have.
Still, even with these flaws, there is a long way left to go to the next major Avengers movie in 2025. We can only hope that some of this feedback can reach Marvel's producers and they take our suggestions and make changes to upcoming movies and shows.
