The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a resounding success for years now. It’s the franchise that many believe can do no wrong and has amassed a loyal fanbase over its 25+ installments. The MCU is not without its rough spots, however, and its creators made some missteps along the way to critical and commercial domination.
Poorly executed villains, films not living up to expectations, and silly narrative decisions are all issues that have plagued MCU films. As the universe continues to expand, with more films and miniseries on the way, the creators behind upcoming projects should strive to learn from the mistakes that have dragged promising Marvel installments down.
Updated on November 28th, 2022 by David Harth: The MCU can often seem like an unassailable juggernaut, but there have been cracks in the facade for its entire existence. No matter how much money the movies make, there are still things that the MCU did in the past that have definitely hurt the product. Some are worse than others and have had an adverse effect on the product.
15/15 The Shared Universe Is Becoming A Lodestone
When the MCU first started, its shared universe aspects were novel for casual audiences. Superhero movies had been around since the ’70s, but never before had anyone taken the comic book shared universe approach. It was revolutionary, but it conditioned the audience to expect that sort of thing from the shows and movies, creating a property built on fan service.
An example of this is She-Hulk and its many cameos. Comic fans loved all the C and D-list characters who appeared, but MCU fans didn’t and the reaction to the wedding episode that happened instead of Daredevil appearing sparked outrage. The shared universe has created a fandom who lives more for the dopamine rush of cameos and continuity nods more than the stories, which is a huge problem.
14/15 Black Widow Is A Perfect Example Of Too Little, Too Late
Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow was a very popular character in the MCU. She made multiple appearances in ensembles pieces, from Iron Man 2 to Avengers: Endgame, but was held back from her own solo movie for years. It was a mystifying decision, especially taking Black Widow’s many entertaining action scenes into account, and Kevin Feige himself made some comments that were rather out-of-touch about the whole thing.
Black Widow did eventually come out, but it was a fiasco, dropping during the pandemic and going straight to Disney+. The movie was remarkably uneven in quality and came after Black Widow’s death. While its introduction of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Bolova and David Harbour’s Red Guardian was considered a win by many fans, the fact Marvel didn’t release Black Widow earlier while the character was alive in MCU continuity was a huge mistake.
13/15 Marvel’s Villain Problem Has Never Been Fixed
Villains have always been the weakest parts of the MCU’s product. From the beginning, Marvel Studios has depended on villains that are as shallow as a puddle. This is often defended by saying the movies are about the heroes and not the villains. That isn’t a bad point, but it’s still distressing. Marvel’s comics are full of amazing villains who’ve been fleshed out in media that is ostensibly about the heroes, meaning that it’s definitely possible, but MCU writers just refuse to try.
Every time a movie spends even the barest time fleshing out a villain, like Thanos or Killmonger, people praise the film despite the many problems with its characters. Thanos’s reasoning is terrible and despite Killmonger being right about many things, he’s still a monster. The MCU continually does a disservice to nearly every villain who appears in the movies.
12/15 Falcon And The Winter Soldier Is Loaded With Mixed Messages
Disney knows how to play to more than one audience at a time. However, some projects try to pretend to be something they’re not, and that’s Falcon And The Winter Soldier. While the show does a good job of talking about race in America, it features several contradicting ideas.
The Flag-Smashers are presented as villains despite only fighting to survive a tyrannical regime that won’t even allow them to work for a living anymore, outlawing refugees. While he recognizes their plight, Sam tries talking them into embracing the status quo instead of helping them in their struggle. Similarly, FATWS‘s final speech goes out of its way to declare that trusting the government to make the right decisions is futile, even if they have accountability measures in place.
11/15 Scarlet Witch Remains An Irredeemable Monster
The MCU’s Phase Four has already aged poorly in many ways, with WandaVision being a perfect example. The show revolves around Scarlet Witch’s trauma, but that’s no excuse for her enslaving an entire town and forcing them to take part in her fantasies. Scarlet Witch is unequivocally the villain of that show, a monster who gets let off the hook because the big MCU style finale wouldn’t work otherwise.
Scarlet Witch’s appearance in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness leans more into her villainy, but even then the end of WandaVision still exists to rubber stamp her actions. WandaVision’s exploration of trauma was a change of pace for the MCU, but the fact the show’s ending made excuses for her terrible actions remains a stain on the MCU’s record.
10/15 The Mandarin Requires Redemption
Iron Man 3 was following up an installment that many thought of as inferior to the original. Therefore, the final chapter of the Iron Man trilogy had a lot to live up to, which wasn’t helped by promising a sinister version of the classic foe the Mandarin.
Once Iron Man 3 released, it was revealed that this Mandarin was just a feckless actor playing a role, and the supposed “real” Mandarin was some jealous guy from Tony Stark’s past. This error ended up being fixed thanks to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but the fact that Iron Man 3 required another film to render it watchable speaks for itself.
9/15 Thor: The Dull World
The MCU had a lot to follow up on in 2013. The previous year, the series reached its highest point yet with the success of The Avengers. The lead characters’ subsequent solo outings were expected to set up further adventures for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, yet the only surefire success of the Marvel Trinity turned out to be Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
The aforementioned Mandarin issue plagued IM3, and the MCU suffered its worst installment yet with Thor: The Dark World. Lead Chris Hemsworth was clearly growing bored with the role at this point, and Thor himself wasn’t given any interesting characterization. A lackluster villain and uninspired direction further cemented Dark World as the low point of the series.
8/15 The Eternals Shatter A Universe’s Infallibility
The Dark World stumbled, but the MCU recovered and achieved the status that it maintains today. 2021 turned out to be another pivotal year for the MCU as it received its first largely negative critical reaction to Eternals.
It’s even more surprising given that the director, Chloe Zhao, landed the gig fresh off of her Oscar win for Nomadland. Eternals demonstrated the MCU isn’t an infallible giant. The creators can make something that just doesn’t land with audiences and this newfound insight will likely color audience perception of any perceived risks in upcoming production decisions.
7/15 Quicksilver… Psych!
2021 boasted more good than bad for MCU fans, thanks to the series’ successful debut in episodic television format. The first show, WandaVision, was a daring experiment drawing from many decades’ worth of classic sitcoms for inspiration. It made further waves when Evan Peters, the actor responsible for bringing Quicksilver to life in the X-Men films, appeared as a version of the speedster in the series’ 5th episode.
While fans assumed Evan Peters was reprising his role from the Fox X-Men films, WandaVision revealed that he was just another resident of Westview playing the “part” of Quicksilver. The blatant manipulation of Marvel’s fans was callous and lowered expectations for subsequent Disney+ series reveals.
6/15 Ant-Man Changes Hands
While building up to their 2nd Avengers movie, Marvel Studios struggled to agree on the direction of their upcoming Ant-Man film. Edgar Wright was writing and directing, but the two parties couldn’t work together and Wright departed.
The film ultimately turned out to be a charming low-stakes diversion under Peyton Reed’s direction. However, this demonstrated producer Kevin Feige’s willingness to part ways with those who couldn’t work under the Marvel Studios system. Losing Wright’s satiric perspective robbed the movie of a certain identity, but also moved the film closer to common MCU fare.
5/15 Joss Whedon Falls From Grace
Joss Whedon successfully adapted the Avengers to the big screen, crafting two entertaining ensemble films that modernized the seemingly dated concept of heroes saving the world. He attempted to do the same thing with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ DC counterpart, the Justice League, in the eponymous 2017 film and earned fans’ ire by undoing most of original director Zack Snyder’s vision.
A few abusive and inappropriate behavior allegations later and Whedon has vacated his position as the fandom’s favorite storyteller. The impact on his MCU contributions is yet to be seen, but the higher-ups at Marvel Studios certainly aren’t promoting his name anymore.
4/15 Who Needs Defenders When There Are Avengers?
The Marvel Netflix shows are apparently set within the MCU, but the scant connections between it and its larger parent universe have repeatedly called that idea into question. This confusion has clouded the grimy atmosphere of those shows for their entire existence.
Fans are treated to iconic renditions of classic comic characters on the streaming service, yet their love for these shows is never validated by the films. This issue has begun to be rectified with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hawkeye, and She-Hulk, but served as a point of frustration for avid devotees of the MCU.
3/15 Villains Only Get One Chance
The MCU rogues are killed off too quickly. The creatives behind the movies seemingly only deal in extremes. Characters like Kaecilius, Darren Cross, and Erik Killmonger have talented actors to bring them to life, only to be rendered dead by the end.
Loki and the Winter Soldier prove the MCU is capable of handling villainous characters well, but they stand as the exceptions to the rule. However, Netflix villains like Killgrave and the Kingpin have long provided a counterpoint to the MCU’s one-note villains. While not every Netflix villain can make a return via Disney+, there’s definitely still room for great villains in the larger MCU.
2/15 Where Was Captain Marvel When…
Captain Marvel is a strange character in the MCU, due in large part to her sudden appearance and lack of build-up. First hinted at in the post-credits of Avengers: Infinity War, Carol Danvers immediately received a mediocre origin story before hardly showing up in Avengers: Endgame.
Captain Marvel’s small role in the latter film brings up the question of why she was given such a substantial installment but didn’t really have much of an impact in her next appearance. More than likely, this is a rare instance of the MCU attempting to play catch-up with the DCEU, as the latter debuted a successful female-led superhero film in 2017’s Wonder Woman two years before Captain Marvel.
1/15 CGI Budget Is Through The Roof
A fully CGI character is one thing and can represent a technical challenge and advance motion capture performance technology. However, when Spider-Man’s costume is computer-generated while the character is standing still, on the ground, or doing absolutely nothing, it may be time to reexamine the CGI budget.
Bloated third acts that devolve into weightless cartoon fights are a standard for the MCU. The overuse of sound stages and green screens permeate the films, giving them the same unreal look across different installments. This similarity may be part and parcel of franchise building, but it can add up to monotonous viewing experiences.
