Phase 4 of Marvel achieved its goal, but at what cost?

The first phase of the Marvel Multiverse saga ended with the Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special, which debuted on Disney+ last Friday.

This short was a stark contrast to the last feature in the series, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever After, a subtle and complex exploration of grief – a film that itself was the antithesis of tongue-in-cheek (but also very witty). Miss) legal comedy series, She-Hulk Lawyer.

This sense of disengagement reflects the entirety of Phase 4, which was an experiment for the world’s biggest superhero franchise.

Marvel has been on a roll since the beginning. The third phase was the studio’s golden age, as Thanos’ plan for genocide culminated, the Avengers split in half, and characters like Black Panther and Spider-Man debuted and changed the narrative forever.

By the end, the stakes were as high as could be. In addition, both Avengers films have broken box office records, as has Black Panther.

After Avengers: Endgame, the plot moved into unknown territory. With the introduction of Disney+ in 2019, the studio was finally able to expand into live-action TV shows that are much more closely tied to films than the likes of Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD or the Netflix series, which Disney has never had full control over.

It essentially wiped everything out for Marvel and brought in new voices. There’s nothing wrong with that, but for the first time, it created the feeling that there were too many chefs in the kitchen because the core message of every other movie or show was so different that it felt like a whiplash.

At first, it seemed that Phase was supposed to cut the stakes to more personal stories, fleshing out both existing and new characters and taking us away from the entire “universe explodes” storyline. WandaVision did a great job launching this and took full advantage of the freedom of the genre.

There were others who were very well versed in this personal aspect – Ms. Marvel presented Kamala Khan as the bumbling, geeky teenage superhero that all comic book fans know and love, and Moon Knight also handled complex personality disorder with grace and creativity.

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As for the film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever took character work as a foundation, building on the grief experienced by Shuri, Ramonda, and the Wakanda community. Thor: Love and Thunder also won the hearts of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster/Lady Thor, though the humor was lukewarm compared to Thor: Ragnarok.

There were those who tried to follow this sincere narrative, but missed the mark. Black Widow is a movie that came out too late. Knowing the fate of Natasha Romanoff weakened the impact of this origin story, and it was one of the most forgettable parts of the fourth phase.

In terms of TV, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also struggled to flesh out Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes amidst a convoluted and convoluted plot – although it was, of course, suspected that it was hastily rewritten due to COVID (which could affect the quality of many others). Marvel projects).

Then there were those films that laid the groundwork for the multiverse theme, a complex concept that, despite several series and films, still raises a lot of questions.

Loki set the stage a lot for this and at the same time managed to create a sympathetic anti-hero. Plus, he introduced the amazing Jonathan Major as Kang the Conqueror, who I already feel is going to give Thanos a run for his money as the MCU’s top villain.

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In contrast, while Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness established that other worlds existed, it showed them in brief flashes and hesitant scenes in which the characters were immediately killed out of shock. There weren’t really any stakes, and it didn’t feel like this movie established anything close to the amount of lore that Loki did.

Then there are those related to characters and plots from past stories and other universes. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings managed to do it well, redeeming the Mandarin storyline from Iron Man 3, and despite She-Hulk’s questionable humor, Matt Murdock/Daredevil felt charming, cool and overall well received.

On the opposite end of the scale, Hawkeye’s version of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin was flimsy and disappointing compared to his portrayal in Daredevil, and it’s debatable whether he should even be on the show given how he’s been used.

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Finally, there were stories that tried to do something completely different – and that, unfortunately, was where Phase was at its weakest. The Eternals were filled with god-like characters that audiences simply didn’t like, while Marvel’s first animated project What If…? there were storylines so crazy that I burst into tears of laughter – and for the wrong reasons.

The only project that managed to successfully combine personal history, multiverse elements and old faces in the fourth phase was Spider-Man: No Way Home. It was also reflected in his reception, with the film grossing a total of $1.971 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the most successful film of all by a wide margin.

Despite all these mixed messages, the fourth phase achieved what Kevin Feige wanted. When most of the projects were first announced, Marvel’s big boss told the crowd at Comic-Con Hall H that this phase is all about introducing new characters and laying the groundwork for Marvel’s future.

This has been achieved in spades – we now have the most diverse cast of superheroes as well as fresh, youthful voices to take on the mantle of the past Avengers.

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However, with too much content and concepts in this phase, many viewers grew tired of Marvel. It’s getting harder to connect the dots between all the different shows and movies, especially now that Disney has brought other universes into their own storytelling through the multiverse.

Personally, I think now is the time to slow down a bit and move some shows and movies back a year or two. In general, the quality has dropped compared to the third stage, and this is probably due to the fact that the team members tried to quickly implement projects, which also caused workload stress in response.

Marvel has already pushed back Avengers: Secret Wars by a year, a film that was supposed to be released in the same year as Avengers: The Kahn Dynasty. It’s been a welcome relief for fans, and it’s worth bearing in mind that many shows and movies haven’t been announced for phase six yet, so more things could (theoretically) be shifted.

By giving more space to all of these projects, the studio could get back on its feet and generate more interest in projects without having too many releases each year. Marvel can even whet audiences’ appetites with live-action shorts rather than full-blown series – Werewolf by Night and Guardians Holiday Special are great examples.

However, with so many things already promised to investors, it’s just not that easy. We can only hope that all of these plots that were introduced in Phase 4 pave the way for thinner and more coherent storytelling in the future, because more of them could make Marvel’s fatigue seep even deeper into the audience.

What am I watching this week

I’m lying a little, as Andor’s final aired last week. Still, it’s the best Star Wars has released in years…perhaps since 2002’s Attack of the Clones (just kidding…or not?).

While Marvel’s strategy was to release as many things as possible, Andor is only the third series in the Star Wars universe and the time and effort that went into this show is clear. It features thrilling heists, uprisings, and star-studded characters – all without a single lightsaber or Skywalker.

I never believed that Andor would be one of my best shows of the year, but here we are – so even if you’re not sold, give it a try and I promise you won’t be disappointed. You can watch the entire season on Disney+.