10 Ways The MCU Isn't For You Anymore
Have we had enough now?
Transcript
00:00 For the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have become as successful as it is, the series
00:05 couldn't just churn out consistent movies.
00:08 During Phase 4, major changes were made to the franchise's status quo.
00:13 Storylines from the Disney+ shows have been integrated into the MCU films.
00:18 With nearly 30 entries in the saga, it's starting to become more difficult to remember
00:23 who everyone is.
00:25 Sometimes you feel like you're watching an MCU feature for the sake of continuity,
00:28 rather than because you actually want to.
00:30 If you still enjoy Marvel, that's great.
00:33 But if you feel like the movies don't give you the same thrill as before, the MCU may
00:38 not be for you anymore.
00:40 And so, with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with What Culture, here with 10 ways the MCU
00:45 isn't for you anymore.
00:47 10.
00:48 You need to watch everything
00:51 Recently, watching films in the MCU is starting to feel like a chore.
00:56 Even though Captain Marvel received less than glowing reviews, people flocked to the cinema
01:00 to see it.
01:01 But Marvel fans weren't watching Captain Marvel because they wanted to.
01:06 Because the film came out one month before Avengers Endgame, moviegoers felt like they
01:10 wouldn't miss out on the overarching story if they didn't check it out.
01:14 This has become such an issue, even the Marvel actors find the franchise confusing.
01:20 Michael Douglas couldn't follow the script for Ant-Man and the Wasp upon his first reading
01:24 because he didn't know the titular hero appeared in Captain America Civil War.
01:29 As a result, the Oscar-winning actor had to watch the Captain America sequel to understand
01:33 what had happened in between both Ant-Man films.
01:36 This problem is snowballing since the Disney+ shows, and the films are intersecting more
01:41 and more.
01:42 If you don't have Disney's streaming service or haven't watched WandaVision, you are going
01:46 to have serious problems watching Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for example,
01:52 since the stories are fundamentally interwoven.
01:55 Because of this, you can't help feeling like you are sometimes watching an MCU feature
01:59 out of obligation rather than enjoyment.
02:02 9.
02:03 You have to watch films outside of the MCU as well
02:06 Okay, watching 19 movies in a franchise to understand the 20th movie is quite an ordeal,
02:13 but playing devil's advocate, it makes sense.
02:16 Since each of these characters do exist in the same universe, it's understandable why
02:20 their stories would be interlinked.
02:22 But Marvel Studios might be asking a bit much when they expect us to watch movies that aren't
02:27 even in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
02:30 When Disney acquired the rights of all 20th Century Fox properties in 2019, Marvel Studios
02:36 was allowed to incorporate certain characters into the MCU that were previously off-limits,
02:42 like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four.
02:44 And with the Marvel Netflix series being implemented into the MCU, Jessica Jones, the Punisher
02:50 and Luke Cage could very well appear besides the Avengers in the future.
02:55 But as hard as it is to believe, there are some comic fans who aren't familiar with Marvel
03:00 properties outside the MCU.
03:03 Some viewers didn't have a clue who Kingpin was in Hawkeye, because they've never seen
03:07 Daredevil.
03:08 If you haven't watched all the Sony Spider-Man movies, you might have not recognised certain
03:12 villains in No Way Home.
03:15 If you haven't seen X-Men, Professor X's introduction in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
03:19 of Madness won't have had the same impact.
03:22 As a result, some viewers may feel like they've had to wade through tons of TV series and
03:26 films just to understand every single detail in the franchise.
03:31 8.
03:32 You Don't Understand Why Characters Are Important
03:36 Since the MCU launched in 2008, the films were methodical at setting up characters that
03:41 will play a bigger role in later movies.
03:43 Nick Fury's appearance in Iron Man could have come across as a glorified cameo, but
03:48 instead was the perfect way to demonstrate how Tony Stark was just one player in a much
03:53 bigger universe.
03:54 But recently, it feels like the MCU can't make one movie without shoving in another
03:59 superhero or supervillain without explanation.
04:03 If you haven't seen Venom, you were probably lost when Eddie Brock appeared in Spider-Man
04:07 No Way Home.
04:08 Unless you know the convoluted comic backstory of Thanos, you'll be left wondering why
04:12 Eros was in Eternals.
04:15 Although diehard fans might argue this point by saying you have to read the comics, that
04:20 doesn't excuse the fact that these forced character dumps are a sign of bad storytelling.
04:25 Although there's nothing wrong with setting up new characters for future projects, it
04:29 becomes an issue when it compromises the story.
04:32 If you're increasingly frustrated by how the MCU keeps introducing characters five
04:37 years before explaining who they are, no one can blame you.
04:41 7.
04:42 You Feel Like You Missed Something, Even If You Haven't
04:45 Avengers Age of Ultron begins with Tony Stark battling HYDRA despite quitting being a superhero
04:51 two years prior.
04:53 Kingpin is a free man in Hawkeye, even though he was imprisoned at the end of Daredevil.
04:59 Now, there is no real explanation for these inconsistencies.
05:03 Because the MCU is juggling a plethora of projects all at the same time, there's bound
05:08 to be a couple of plot holes like this.
05:10 But any time you notice such irregularities, you can't help but wonder if you missed
05:15 something.
05:16 Did the movies explain how Tony Stark can be Iron Man after his arc reactor was removed?
05:21 Did you misremember or miss what happened to Kingpin?
05:25 Sometimes you might feel like you need to watch a specific film or TV show because it
05:28 might clear up a certain plot.
05:31 Because Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and What If both have a corrupted
05:35 Sorcerer Supreme, a lot of people assume the stories are connected.
05:39 Although this isn't true, you'll be wondering if you're missing something while watching
05:43 the Doctor Strange sequel if you haven't seen What If.
05:47 If you're second guessing what's happening while watching any movie, it stops you from
05:51 fully enjoying it.
05:53 Number 6.
05:54 Some Easter Eggs are too niche
05:56 There's nothing wrong with fan service.
05:59 If executed correctly, spotting Easter Eggs in a movie can be the most exciting part for
06:04 diehard fans.
06:06 In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a throwaway scene confirmed the popular fan theory that
06:11 all of Stan Lee's cameos are the same person.
06:14 To comic fans, this was one of the most satisfying in-jokes in the franchise.
06:19 Luckily, the scene is only 5 seconds long, so it's not too distracting for casual fans
06:24 who didn't get the reference.
06:25 However, Easter Eggs in the later MCU movies have become less subtle.
06:30 The opening crawl of Eternals mentions the six singularities, with zero context, confusing
06:36 everyone except the most dedicated fans.
06:39 If you aren't familiar with the comics, you won't have a clue why a minotaur keeps
06:43 popping up in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
06:46 The MCU should continue to embrace Easter Eggs, but they don't need to shove them
06:50 into scenes willy-nilly, to the point where they alienate casual viewers.
06:55 Number 5.
06:56 You set your expectations too high
06:58 Throughout Phase 4, Marvel projects like WandaVision and Loki have added a lot of mystery to their
07:05 stories.
07:06 By not giving away too many details in trailers and promotions, viewers speculated endlessly
07:10 on what was going to happen next in instalments like this.
07:14 Although fan theories can be a lot of fun, some people become furious every time the
07:19 MCU doesn't pan out like they expected.
07:22 Even though Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness incorporated some familiar faces
07:26 into the MCU, some viewers were raging because the film didn't implement more.
07:31 Now, fixing this problem is easy.
07:34 If you don't want to be disappointed, dial down your expectations.
07:37 But there are times where you can't help feeling let down.
07:41 When Evan Peters' version of Quicksilver appeared in WandaVision, fans believed this
07:45 was proof that the X-Men from the 20th Century Fox had officially joined the franchise.
07:51 But two episodes later, this development was revealed to be a red herring.
07:55 Even though this was an unexpected twist, viewers had every right to be angry, since
08:00 the studio deliberately misled viewers for the sake of a gag.
08:04 Number 4.
08:05 The release between sequels is too far apart
08:09 The average sequel comes out two or three years after its predecessor, but in the MCU,
08:14 the gap between follow-ups seems to be getting wider and wider.
08:18 Because Doctor Strange has appeared in at least one movie every year since Benedict
08:22 Cumberbatch was cast in the role, it's easy to forget that the first Doctor Strange film
08:27 debuted six years ago.
08:29 If you haven't watched the movie since then, it's likely you forgot certain elements.
08:33 When Baron Karl Mordo returned in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, casual viewers
08:38 mightn't have remembered who he was, since he hasn't appeared in the franchise in over
08:43 half a decade.
08:45 Although Spider-Man No Way Home was released only two years after its predecessor, it was
08:49 released almost a decade or two after the Sony Spider-Man movies.
08:54 If you haven't seen the Amazing Spider-Man 1 or 2 since they were released, if at all,
08:59 you're not going to enjoy No Way Home as much.
09:02 Even if you've seen all the required movies to understand every potential follow-up, you
09:06 might feel you need to watch them again to refresh your memory.
09:10 Number 3.
09:11 Plot points set up years ago are forgotten by casual viewers
09:16 If you are deeply knowledgeable of the MCU lore, you can forget how inaccessible the
09:20 series can be to newbies.
09:22 Look at it this way.
09:24 Imagine you're watching a brand new movie franchise.
09:27 Now imagine the villain comes out of nowhere in the 19th entry and kills everyone.
09:32 You are befuddled by this development, since you feel like this antagonist wasn't built
09:36 up enough.
09:38 But your friends point out that this character appeared six years prior in a previous movie
09:42 for three seconds.
09:44 Not only that, this character has appeared for less than two minutes over the previous
09:48 19 movies.
09:49 If that sounds confusing, that's how it felt for casual viewers when Thanos was introduced
09:54 in Avengers Infinity War.
09:57 Average viewers probably forgot about the Mad Titan's post-credit cameo in The Avengers
10:02 or his 30-second scene in Guardians of the Galaxy by the time they watched Infinity War.
10:07 Casual moviegoers aren't expected to remember every plot point, especially when they don't
10:12 know when the payoff is coming.
10:14 For all they know, a plot thread will be resolved in the next movie or in the next decade.
10:19 And guess what?
10:20 It's happening again right now.
10:22 Because the MCU is obviously building up another endgame-level threat, this time through multiple
10:27 universes of characters, the movies are sowing the seeds for this storyline.
10:32 But if you aren't picking up on every easter egg and plot point, you're going to be left
10:36 very confused.
10:39 Number 2.
10:40 Death is meaningless
10:42 In the world of comics, death is only a mild inconvenience.
10:45 Whether a superhero is blown up, decapitated, or chopped or erased from existence, there's
10:51 nothing stopping them from returning from the dead two issues later.
10:55 Sadly, this issue applies to comic book adaptations as well.
11:00 In Avengers Infinity War, Thanos wiped out half of all life in the universe, including
11:05 half of the superheroes of Earth.
11:07 But because we knew they would return the following year, this moment didn't have the
11:11 same weight it would have had if their deaths were permanent.
11:14 Sadly, this is but one example.
11:17 Loki seemingly perished in Thor, Thor The Dark World, and Avengers Infinity War, and
11:23 yet he's still breathing.
11:25 One character in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness will likely return, despite the
11:29 fact they died in the film for the fourth time.
11:33 Number 1.
11:34 The MCU can't match the hype of Avengers Endgame
11:38 Because Avengers Endgame was built up for a decade, it felt like there was no conceivable
11:42 way it could live up to the hype.
11:45 But the final battle between Earth's mightiest heroes and Thanos didn't match expectations,
11:50 it exceeded them.
11:51 This showdown wasn't just cool or badass, it was a monumental feat in storytelling.
11:57 Unfortunately, the MCU seems to be a victim of its own success.
12:01 After stopping the most powerful villain in existence from wiping out the universe, where
12:06 can you go from there?
12:07 Now, that's not suggesting that Marvel instalments in the future won't be epic.
12:12 In fact, the scenes have already been sowed that the entire multiverse will be in jeopardy
12:16 in future instalments.
12:18 But will such stories have the same impact as Avengers Endgame?
12:22 Is it even possible?
12:23 Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe is sure to have plenty of emotionally driven
12:28 storylines, meme-creating quips, and sensational battles, it won't hit us the same way.
12:35 And that concludes our list.
12:36 If you can think of any other examples, then do let us know in the comments below.
12:40 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
12:44 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
12:49 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
12:51 I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real soon.