I have not been invested in Marvel since Endgame. I remember distinctly that at the end of that movie, I naively assumed that Marvel was done. The plots were wrapped up, most of the characters were dead or had completed arcs, and I guessed whatever came out after would just exist to wrap up storylines or focus on ‘monsters of the week’ until the franchise inevitably fizzled out.
But oh, how wrong I was.
Instead, Marvel has given us the multi-verse, where everything is possible. Want to see Zombie Avengers? We have What If… for that. Want to see John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic, while also knowing Pedro Pascal is coming in as this universe’s canonical Mr. Fantastic? You can! Did that last sentence confuse the fuck out of you? It should! Because essentially now that everything is possible, the number of crossovers and cameos is limitless. We even have RDJ coming BACK to Marvel as Dr. Doom, likely an iteration of Iron Man from another universe, even though his story was wrapped up so there really is no point in this casting except for Marvel ALREADY leaning into the ‘remember this actor’ phase of their filmography.
Deadpool and Wolverine, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Wandavision, Loki, Quantumania, and all of these shows and movies are nothing but reminders that Marvel has really lost it’s way. Instead of having stories leading up to a big battle, we have the main villain Kang who is supposed to be the big bad. Never mind every iteration of him, all coming from different universes, get murked at the end of their respective movies and franchises. Where is the Thanos level threat? Where is the looming presence of a big bad? I cannot believe this is our ‘terrifying’ new villain, apparently.
And we have cameo after cameo after cameo that make every project feel like later seasons of SNL, where the audience is just supposed to clap when they see someone come out dressed as Iron Man in the most glaring attempt at fan service I have ever seen. And in a universe where your favourite could come back at any time because the universes are all bleeding together, then…why am I supposed to care?
By that I mean, if a character can just keep coming back in endless iterations, there are no consequences to actions. Deaths that are symbolic and meant to inspire now can be resolved by going to another universe and plucking out another rendering of that same character. And then some characters I love just are gone from every universe apparently, like where the fuck are Luis and Kurt? (I do love Veb though. More of him because he’s cute and sweet. I also love Dastmalchian, which you know if you’ve spent .0000000005 seconds glancing at my page).
I think RDJ coming back symbolizes exactly what is wrong with the MCU: nothing matters. Your faves always come back, so what is there to be emotionally invested in? Why should we care about actions when consequences don’t exist?
Granted, I know the MCU means a lot to people, so I know a lot of my friends are elated with this news. And there’s nothing wrong with being excited about Marvel entering a new phase or announcing new movies, and far be it from me to shit on someone who is enjoying this unfolding (we all need our pleasures in life). And I can totally understand how seeing a fan fave can mean SO much to someone — that was me when Kathryn Newton joined the franchise.
For me personally, however, Marvel has really lost it’s edge. I just don’t understand what I am supposed to care about when the same characters keep coming back and the villain just keeps getting murdered. Also those CGI effects are getting goofy bad, so bad in fact it takes me out of what I am watching. Probably because Disney keeps spending their budget on these FUCKING cameos that do not matter in the slightest.
This all feels like an isolating move, one that is just meant to keep digging into the pockets of old fans with nostalgia bait while isolating people who do not have that connection to MCU. It’s emotionally manipulative at worst and a gatekeep-y bad business call at best. While I haven’t completely given up on Marvel, based on my own nostalgia, I have been shockingly more moved by DC projects as of late (such as Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad) because it’s something I can get invested in: there is one set of characters in one universe, and actions have consequences. Mild spoilers ahead: Rick Flag’s death is a huge emotional arc throughout the whole first season of Peacemaker, which allows the character to grow. That is what made the MCU a shining beacon in superhero cinema for over a decade, having characters that can grow and change. But that’s gone now, and instead it’s just watching fanfiction brought to life every thirty seconds.
I want to love Marvel again, but unless Sam Rockwell becomes the new Iron Man, I really can’t see how they’ll win me back. Things have to matter or they don’t matter at all; characters have to grow and change, and seeing cameo after cameo isn’t enough to make sitting through all the series and all the movies worth it. And you have to watch everything now to understand the overly complicated lore of time travel and the multi universes and it’s just like, for what? So I can see the same actor do the same thing over and over and over again?
Anyway…