The Rise Fall and Potential Redemption of the MCU | PART 1
Can the MCU be saved? Join us for this special two part series looking at the rise, fall, and potential redemption of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Transcript
00:00 How did Marvel scenes go from this...
00:03 to this...
00:04 in just four years?
00:06 During this deep dive, we'll show how a once-untouchable cinematic titan
00:11 became a vulnerable and flawed franchise.
00:15 After assembling Marvel's successes, failures, and future plans into a single package,
00:20 we found the issues killing the universe, and the ways it just might be saved.
00:25 Join us as WatchMojo takes you through the rise and fall of the MCU.
00:31 If you aren't caught up with everything through the Marvels, beware of a few spoilers ahead.
00:41 Fans have several theories about why the MCU isn't consistently Hulk-smashing critical
00:47 and box office records anymore.
00:49 Some have blamed superhero fatigue.
00:51 Others point to the characters and projects the studio has focused on.
00:54 And others blame the screaming goats from the fourth door.
00:57 Yes, they are beautiful.
00:58 [Screaming]
00:59 They also scream quite a lot. They'll be fine.
01:02 [Screaming]
01:03 Before we dive into the multiverse of mistakes that are damaging this comic book company's reputation,
01:09 it's worth taking a look at how the cinematic universe got its Marvelous crown.
01:14 Instead of exploring each of the 40-plus projects in detail,
01:18 we're going to do a Quicksilver rundown of how the studio became cinema royalty.
01:22 And unlike Quicksilver, we promise you that we won't die before we get really interesting.
01:27 You didn't see that coming?
01:29 So, without further ado, let's race through the rise.
01:35 While most modern moviegoers know that the MCU's reign started with Iron Man's explosive debut in 2008,
01:42 everyone might not realize how ridiculously lucky and successful they've been.
01:47 How'd it go?
01:48 Went great. Looks like it's going to be an early Christmas.
01:50 Hey, way to go, my boy.
01:52 If you don't believe us, allow us to drop a few astonishing facts about the cinematic universe.
01:57 The MCU released its first 23 movies over the course of 12 years.
02:02 During that time, they only had one financial flop.
02:05 Can you guess what that is?
02:07 Time's up!
02:08 If you said Incredible Hulk, you win more wild MCU statistics.
02:13 You have to explain that statement, sir.
02:16 No, I don't.
02:17 Although the Green Guy solo film didn't double its $150 million budget,
02:22 it still made a decent $264 million worldwide.
02:26 And Marvel didn't get too stressed about this,
02:29 because not a single movie over the next 11 years made less than $370 million.
02:35 By the way, that last stat is foreshadowing for later, and we'll talk about it in the fall section.
02:39 That's hardly important right now.
02:41 Oh, okay. Sure, Quill.
02:43 But before we get to their big flops, we also have to mention that Marvel's financial triumphs also came with solid critical reception.
02:51 They released 23 movies without falling less than 67% on the Tomatometer.
02:57 Guess which movie in the first three phases had that dishonorable distinction?
03:01 If you named Incredible Hulk, sorry, but that was a trick question.
03:05 The Green Guy's Tomatometer rating is actually tied with Thor The Dark World.
03:10 Hello?
03:11 Hello?
03:12 I accept your surrender.
03:16 Having just two movies with that low of a critical reception in that huge pool of films is an impressive achievement.
03:23 And if you think it's weird to put the movie Thor The Dark World in the same sentence as the word "impressive," consider this.
03:29 In the long-running James Bond franchise, 10 of their first 23 movies earned less than a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
03:37 James, you look as though you've just fallen off a mountain.
03:40 Well, it's funny you should say that.
03:41 Why was Marvel doing five times better than the world's most famous spy?
03:45 We think it boils down to three key elements of a winning formula that they've forgotten to apply to phases four and five.
03:52 You've managed to piss off every single one of them.
03:55 That was the plan.
03:56 First and foremost, Marvel built strong stories around a unique set of characters.
04:02 To paraphrase Bane, most audiences didn't even know who Iron Man was before RDJ put on the mask.
04:08 But everything changed once we saw a man who once sold weapons that caused global strife become a hero who chose to wield a powerful suit of armor meant to defend the world.
04:18 You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction.
04:23 And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?
04:27 The combination of a self-contained story and charismatic lead performance led to huge success.
04:33 That simple yet effective formula eventually gave the MCU its highest rated movie to date, Black Panther.
04:40 I now present to you King T'Challa, the Black Panther.
04:51 Earning an astonishing 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this film was proof that 10 years after Marvel started making obscure characters popular, the studio still had the power to create cultural icons.
05:03 But even building up characters wasn't enough to guarantee they'd be hits.
05:08 Is this your king? Huh? Is this your king?
05:13 The second element of Marvel's winning formula was its variety.
05:18 If you look at any combination of three films in the first three phases, you'd get three very different kinds of stories.
05:25 For example, 2016 started with a thriller where two factions of superheroes fought to determine the future of the Avengers.
05:33 They're not stopping. Neither are we.
05:45 The third phase was then followed by a magical adventure that introduced a soon-to-be key hero while hinting at a multiverse of possibilities.
05:53 This hat trick capped off with a space opera where friends have to rise above their issues and team up to stop Star-Lord's evil and egotistical dad.
06:02 Another big factor that helped Marvel's movies feel so fresh and thrilling is that heroes largely solve their own problems.
06:09 I've come to bargain. You cannot do this forever. Actually, I can.
06:16 Neither the Guardians nor Strange had any help from outside heroes.
06:20 And while Captain America Civil War was admittedly a barely hidden Avengers 2.5, it still came after the solo Ant-Man adventure.
06:28 Having characters solve their own issues led to a roster of heroes that felt extremely capable and ensured each movie had high stakes.
06:37 But we'd argue that Marvel's variety wouldn't have been enough if it wasn't for a third key ingredient time.
06:43 This is time. Endless looped time.
06:49 Between 2008 and 16, the studio produced only a maximum of two major films a year.
06:56 It was only in 2017 that they decided that three a year was the magic number.
07:01 And outside of the cinemas, TV releases were also equally spaced out.
07:05 The ABC shows like Agents of Shield, Young Adult Projects like Runaways, and Netflix Titans like Daredevil, all shown on different networks.
07:14 Things are about to get very bad for you.
07:17 What is Fisk planning?
07:22 And you didn't have to worry if you couldn't make time to see a TV version of Ghost Rider that wasn't a walking meme.
07:27 Since the shows were all loosely or barely connected to the wider MCU,
07:32 you were free to just watch what you liked without worrying about how it would factor into the next film.
07:37 Fans also had the luxury of completely skipping bombs like Iron Fist and the annoying Inhumans.
07:43 You're disgusting.
07:47 For the first three phases, Marvel fans grew to expect character driven stories from different corners of the universe delivered a few times a year.
07:55 And thanks to Far From Home earning over a billion dollars and critical praise at the end of Phase 3, the future looked bright.
08:02 Thank you, Ms. Parker, for having me.
08:04 But behind the scenes, decisions were being made that led directly to the fall.
08:10 Before we start taking shots at any of the bad CGI, critically panned stories, or critically planned stories with bad CGI, it's worth addressing one major global event.
08:20 2020's COVID-19 pandemic did cause Marvel to have to alter its film and TV release schedule,
08:26 but the original slate still contained a lot of the problems that contributed to the studio's fall.
08:32 I have all of that on camera. You know that, right?
08:36 To get an idea of what we mean, let's make like Makkari from Eternals and speed through the original plan.
08:42 And if you've already forgotten who that speedster is, don't worry.
08:45 We're going to talk about why.
08:47 First, let's dive into how Marvel's schedule would have been rough either way.
08:51 You always knew the end was coming. There must be a relief.
08:57 Originally, 2020 would have started with Black Widow, flown over to Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and ended with Eternals.
09:04 Since we can't pull a Doctor Strange and look into another reality where these were released as planned, it's hard to make any box office comparisons.
09:12 But if we're just talking critically, the year would have ended with Eternals, the MCU's first rotten film.
09:18 I know you're upset. Upset?
09:22 We've trusted you for 7000 years and look where you've gotten us.
09:26 2021 would have worked to win audiences back with a packed release schedule.
09:30 WandaVision, Shang-Chi and Multiverse of Madness would have kicked off the year.
09:35 This trio would have been followed by Loki, Spider-Man No Way Home and Thor Love and Thunder.
09:40 No, no, sorry. There's no eternal reward for you, dog.
09:45 That means Marvel would have had yet another year where they ended with their weakest project.
09:50 Overall, their original plans would have left them in the same rocky boat they've been sailing in in our current timeline.
09:57 You're missing the point. There's no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top.
10:02 Why does Marvel's Phase 4 and 5 fall seem to be a canon event in every reality?
10:07 It once again boils down to three key factors.
10:10 But before diving into those, let's also address the woke flirkin in the room.
10:15 Oh, my God. Get that thing away. How'd they get in here?
10:21 The cat.
10:22 There's no question that projects surrounding female leads like Captain Marvel and She-Hulk have faced lots of vocal backlash online.
10:30 Additionally, several commenters and articles have argued that increased gender and racial diversity in phases four and five may have also harmed the overall brand.
10:40 Some critics have even started calling the universe the quote MCU over claims that the majority of their projects are female focused.
10:48 Have you seen this insanity?
10:50 I don't care what anybody says about me.
10:52 So how do these criticisms translate into the types of projects, critical reception and box office receipts?
10:59 After staring at a list of numbers higher than the Avengers tower, a few observations became clear.
11:05 Let's start with claims that most of the projects are female focused.
11:08 Oh, you are way more fun than my last lawyer.
11:11 I will kill for you, Megan Thee Stallion.
11:13 Solid back.
11:14 These are the demographics of the 22 MCU film and TV projects that have been released for Phase 4 and 5 as of November 2023.
11:22 A total of nine projects featured female protagonists that were either solo, co-leading a story or in charge of groups.
11:29 Thirteen stories focused on men by themselves, co-leading a story or in charge of groups, and one focused on a sentient tree.
11:36 And great.
11:37 A bomb did go off.
11:39 By comparison, the first 22 MCU movies featured 20 films total where men were solo or leading groups, one co-led film and one movie with a female protagonist.
11:50 These numbers show that while men are still leading in the last 22 projects, there have been four and a half more female led stories in phases four and five than there were in the first three phases combined.
12:01 How does this character pivot translate into box office and critical reception?
12:06 Since we don't have an AI in an iron suit or guy in chair, we crunched the numbers ourselves and got the answers.
12:13 Math.
12:14 Out of the 22 projects released between phases four and five, two projects that were solely named after female leads were box office failures.
12:23 Both movies share two interesting similarities, however.
12:26 This duo of films were each rated fresh by fans and critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
12:31 It's a fighting pose. You're a total poser.
12:33 I'm not a poser.
12:34 Oh, come on. I mean, they're in great poses.
12:38 They also came out under extreme circumstances while Black Widow was released in movies and on streaming the same day.
12:44 The Marvels was the only MCU movie to be released during the actor's trial.
12:49 Meanwhile, Shang-Chi broke Labor Day records while featuring a Chinese hero at the lead.
12:55 A year later, Wakanda Forever, which features a black woman as the main hero, made eight hundred and fifty nine million dollars worldwide.
13:03 She has done it.
13:08 Since box office numbers can't tell the whole story, let's also take a critical look at the phases.
13:14 The only two projects in phase four and five that were rated rotten by fans were Secret Invasion and She-Hulk.
13:21 Jennifer, Jenny, Jen.
13:24 No, because I hate you now.
13:27 While the substandard spy thriller featured a black lead, the lawyer show featured a female lead on the flip side of the critical train.
13:35 Shows like Miss Marvel and WandaVision had 80 percent or higher Rotten Tomatoes scores among fans and critics.
13:43 I know you said everything right.
13:47 Just not for us.
13:48 The duo of Shang-Chi and Wakanda Forever are also in the top five best rated shows slash movies in the entire phase.
13:56 So what's the final conclusion? Thor, sum this up.
13:59 Where to start?
14:03 The ether firstly is not the stone.
14:06 OK, never mind Thor, we'll jump in.
14:08 There are unquestionably more female led projects in the MCU and out of 22 projects, two female led projects were box office failures.
14:17 One project centered around a black lead was a complete critical failure and one female led show was poorly received by fans.
14:25 Those very low numbers compared to the whole objectively suggest that the increase of diverse and female led projects is not responsible for the MCU's problems.
14:35 So we decided to make like Leo in Inception and go deeper to find the bad ideas ruining the studio.
14:42 During our deep dive, we identified three major recurring issues that have cropped up among MCU projects.
14:49 You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with.
14:52 First and foremost, the release schedule went from being enjoyably spaced to a mighty test of endurance and willpower.
15:00 In 2021, fans were tasked with watching four movies and five TV shows.
15:06 That added up to an estimated 2150 minutes or 36 hours of content over the course of just one year.
15:14 I can't do this. Come on, Wanda.
15:17 You're on the precipice or right there for context.
15:22 You could watch every MCU movie between Iron Man and Homecoming and you'd still be done faster than someone watching everything from 2021 alone.
15:31 And to be fair, Marvel was more reasonable in 2022.
15:36 Fans only had to watch one thousand three hundred sixty eight minutes or 22 hours of content to keep up.
15:42 You just ruined that. I cried for three days.
15:46 These extraordinarily high watch times made it easy to see why most fans felt like watching MCU content had become like homework.
15:54 If you miss just one series, you could risk being left out of the loop for one of the major releases that year.
16:00 I can't. Can you? I got it.
16:02 A quick but extremely noticeable side effect of this packed schedule has been the overall decline in CGI quality.
16:09 In a rush to push out so many projects, the studio forced its special effects artists to work ridiculous hours to meet demand.
16:17 While these workers are heroes for doing what they could, they simply didn't get enough time to finish key effects.
16:25 That was probably me.
16:27 Doctor Strange's third eye, Asgardian floating heads and the infamous first trailer for She-Hulk were all too unreal for fans.
16:35 The biggest eyesore released worldwide was far and away Ant-Man and the Wasp.
16:40 Quantum Mania. Get in and out as fast as you can.
16:44 The longer you're in there, the more your mind will come undone.
16:47 Although it was supposed to be released in July 2023, it got pushed up to February to allow for the Marvel's reshoots and to make matters more difficult.
16:57 VFX artists were reportedly told to work more on Wakanda forever than the Ant-Man threequel.
17:03 But wait until the camera is off you. The visual effects team has moved on to another project.
17:09 There. Do it now.
17:11 However, we'd be lying if we said that the CGI was Quantum Mania's only issue.
17:16 Its story problems reflect the second major MCU issue.
17:20 Characters are no longer the priority.
17:23 Just now noticing the baby legs.
17:25 They're not baby legs.
17:26 It's a little bit like a bjorn.
17:27 Like you think you're so smart.
17:29 To demonstrate this point, we have a question to ask about Multiverse of Madness.
17:33 And no, we're not asking why the all powerful Captain Marvel was killed by an ordinary statue.
17:38 Our question is, who is the movie mainly about?
17:41 Who's this?
17:42 I was going to ask the same question.
17:43 Hey, kid.
17:45 What did that creature want with you?
17:46 If you said Doctor Strange, Wanda Maximoff or America Chavez, congratulations.
17:52 You're just as right and confused as we are.
17:55 Since the story has to constantly split between the trio, we never get enough time to latch on to any one person.
18:01 We also get extensive screen time for Wong, Christine and an entire team of heroes.
18:07 Like a garbold guard.
18:09 Hit a guy, hit it there.
18:11 The gigantic cast list makes the movie feel like an Infinity War team up instead of a strange sequel.
18:17 This crowding has become a major distraction.
18:20 Thor seemingly brings every living character from his previous movies, plus the Guardians, into Love and Thunder.
18:26 How are we doing, guys?
18:28 Horrible.
18:30 We're all about to die.
18:31 Meanwhile, Eternals tried to introduce 10 new faces at once while giving them random portions of screen time.
18:38 Heroes like the objectively coolest Eternal, Makkari, barely got time to shine.
18:43 Projects like Guardians 3 prove you can have a huge ensemble of characters that each get development and affect the plot.
18:50 Unfortunately, a lot of Phase 4 and 5 projects aren't fully focused on their heroes.
18:55 They're much more occupied with the third major issue killing the MCU, Setup.
19:01 I saw the multiverse and it was dying.
19:07 All because of them.
19:08 Marvel slowly built up to the end of the Infinity Saga over 10 years.
19:13 By contrast, they budgeted literally half a decade to get to the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.
19:19 Since there's less time, a lot of their projects are occupied with introducing important concepts or characters.
19:25 Someone is coming. Countless different versions of a very dangerous person and they're all set on war. We need to prepare.
19:32 This means we sadly have to pick on Multiverse of Madness one more time.
19:37 While it failed to give its leads rich art, it succeeded at introducing incursion events.
19:43 They basically went, actually, we'll just let John Krasinski's Mr. Fantastic explain.
19:49 An incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide.
19:55 Destroying one or both entirely.
19:59 The movie really makes sure the audience understands what incursions are by literally showing them before literally telling us about another incoming one.
20:08 You caused an incursion and we're going to fix it.
20:12 And when there's time, we get some character development to the trend of using a series or movies to set up future pieces at the expense of the main hero story can be seen in the recent duds.
20:23 Quantum Mania spends vastly more time setting up the threat of Big Bad Kang than it does on Ant-Man himself.
20:30 I need to get out of here. Because I know how it ends.
20:37 Meanwhile, Secret Invasion tries to convince us that Nick Fury returning to Earth is significant just to toss him back into space by the end of the series for the next thing.
20:47 And Eternals sped through character intro so much that we bet that you can't name all 10 Eternals right now.
20:53 Loki is arguably the only project that gave its character a satisfying arc and successfully managed to set up the threat of the next big bad at the same time.
21:02 And as you may or may not know, my variants are already out there.
21:07 We'll find them. There's too many. I won't stop. Doesn't matter.
21:10 But that's just one standout of 22 total projects.
21:14 Overall, Marvel's habit of sacrificing characters in the present for the sake of an unknown future has made it difficult for fans to embrace many of the new heroes.
21:23 The studio's lovable icons once pulled us into stories, but now it's expected that the promise of ambitious plots will get us to care about the characters.
21:33 When this strategy was combined with the overwhelming amount of content and overcrowded stories, Marvel was left with some majorly disappointing results.
21:42 So let's stop wasting time.
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22:05 Fans are absolutely exhausted with the overabundance of content overstuffed with obvious nudges at the future.
22:12 What is even happening here?
22:16 This is a mess. None of these storylines make any sense.
22:20 And although good projects have come along, they're often forgotten as soon as Marvel drops another disappointing story.
22:28 At this point, can the studio come back from the brink of death and give fans another mostly flawless 10 years of content?
22:35 Let's see what you think after you hear about the MCU's.
22:53 Sorry, but just like Captain America got cut off at the end of Ultron before he could say assemble, we have to cut things in half here.
23:00 Next time, we'll answer if and how the MCU could come back from the edge of annihilation.
23:07 Who are you to say we can't die trying?
23:11 Who are you to decide we can't die fighting?
23:13 But what's the first thing you would do for the MCU if you were in charge?
23:18 Let us know in the comments and we'll see you in part two.
23:21 Obi, what could we have done differently?
23:25 Good question.
23:27 Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
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