What if…? Marvel loses its superpowers?

Shiny spandex, billowing capes, mind-blowing special effects, wall crawlers, and super soldiers. Are you able to do this all day? Whether you are a fan of the powerhouses such as Thor and the Hulk, masters of magic such as Dr. Strange and the Scarlet Witch, or more “down to Earth characters” like Hawkeye or Black Widow, the Marvel Universe has seemed to have a little something for everyone.  However, as the juggernaut of a franchise moves into the next phases, some questions should logically pop into any fan’s head.

Is Marvel going downhill? Is the Marvel momentum strong enough to keep up speed for the next phases? Do we regret Thanos’s snap? 

With The Infinity Saga being a major success, the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has gotten a lot of positive reviews, but it doesn’t end there.  The MCU has more stories to tell, more universes to explore, and more characters to know about! Half of the people who are reading this know what I’m talking about. The other half, were probably blipped and have no clue what I’m talking about, so look at the recent issue:

After Endgame, the MCU is still continuing their story of superheroes, and with a whole new saga. There has also been a new venue, TV series! It sounds weird, but there already has been 7 Marvel television series, with She-Hulk still streaming as of right now, making 8 shows in total! Those are just the TV shows, not to mention, and 6 current Phase Four movies. 

But does quantity matter over quality? That is what many fans think that the MCU is doing, not focusing on quality. The Infinity Saga had a full runtime of 49 hours and 56 minutes and Phase Four currently has a full runtime of 50 hours and 21 minutes, including both shows and movies, not including “She Hulk.” That is only Phase Four! We still have two more phases of shows and movies for the Multiverse Saga. Does this mean every phase will be longer than a whole saga? Not only do fans notice the longer runtime for Phase Four, they notice that the CGI for the movies and the TV series are getting worse. There have been bad reviews for special effects from Black Widow (2021), Spiderman: No Way Home (2021), and She Hulk (2022). Are we going to see improvements on the special effects for the future? Is there another universe where the special effects are good in Phase Four? Also, why are there so many problems already? 

With Phase Four continuing after Endgame, many fans think that everything is so different without our old heroes, Captain America, Ironman, and Black Widow. But we still have Thor, Hulk (Bruce Banner), and Hawkeye. Don’t fans like those characters too? I don’t really have an answer for that. There has been a crazy amount of Marvel television series and movies released for Phase Four, but many fans don’t understand why and fans also don’t really understand the story that the MCU is trying to tell. With “Spiderman: No Way Home” being one of the most well received movies of Phase Four, we all thought that the concept of the Multiverse would be really cool, especially with “Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness” being around the corner. It didn’t go as well as what Marvel might’ve thought it would. Multiverse of Madness received a 74% in Rotten Tomatoes and a 85% in “Audience Score,” making it one of the lowest Rotten Tomatoes ratings for a Marvel movie. Okay, that’s only one not so good movie. Actually, there have already been other movies before “Multiverse of Madness” that got low ratings too: The “Eternals,” and “Black Widow.” This brings us back to the “quality or quantity” discussion, is the MCU just not putting enough quality into their movies? What type of story are they trying to tell here? Will the concept of the Multiverse make more sense in the future? 

This begs the question, do we regret Thano’s snap? Well, yes and maybe. Even though Phase Four hasn’t been the best, we still have two more phases for this Multiverse Saga. This past July, at the San Diego Comic Con, Kevin Feige announced the upcoming movies/TV Series and fans are excited. The teaser for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was released, “Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania” movie poster was released, and many more new TV series! We also can’t forget the important titles they gave us at the end, “Avengers: Kang Dynasty” (2025), “Avengers: Secret Wars” (2025). The Avengers finally come back and now with two movies on the way in the same year! This begs another question, how will these new upcoming movies/series go for the MCU? Only time will tell if these phases will succeed in the ways both fans and studios want them. Sadly, without the time stone, we will have to wait and see.