NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Marvel Cinematic Universe was once the most powerful force in Hollywood. Movies would drop at least 3 times a year and everything in the world was just right. But then it happened. At some point, all good things must come to an end, right? Well, for Marvel, they couldn’t see the end. What they saw were endless possibilities and that has been their downfall for the past 1-2 years.
Following the success of Avengers: Endgame, Marvel has not been the same. While still churning out movies and TV shows, nothing has been like years past during that remarkable run from 2008-2022. But why is that? Why has Marvel supposedly fallen off? Has the DCEU finally caught up with them and taken over the comic fans? No. Marvel’s downfall has been their own doing.
The reason for this is simple, no one relates to the new characters. There is only one Steve Rodgers. Only one Tony Stark. Only one Thor and Hulk. The list can go on. Hell, we’ll never see another funny team like the Guardians. There will never be another Killmonger or King T’Challa. While other characters may pick up the mantle as Shuri did with Black Panther, Jane tried with Thor, or even Sam did with Captain America, these are not the originals. No one can match what they brought to the big screen.
Can Marvel Get Back On Track
The MCU is different from the comics, but fans who came up with the movies and shows have grown attached to those characters just as the comic buffs did their original stories. The reason for the decline is superhero fatigue, the problem is the best went first. Imagine if Marvel had led off with The Eternals, She-Hulk or Ms. Marvel then gave us Captain America, Thor, Spider-Man, and Ironman. Things might have gone differently.
Look at the landscape now and fans are flocking to the theaters to see Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, or the latest installment of Guardians of The Galaxy. As for TV, Marvel was smart to bring back Daredevil. Loki was a huge hit but then came the failures of She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, and recently, Secret Invasion.
The storylines are still there but the tie-ins to the big send-off are not the same. There is not a hero within the new group that fans can latch on to and feel a connection with. Sam is good, but he’s no Rodgers. Jane was the scientist who became a Thor wannabee. She-Hulk was not as menacing as her cousin and so on.
How can Marvel get back on track? That’s the million-dollar question there. The old characters are being mixed in with the new characters and the only thing that can save Marvek now are the X-Men and Fantastic 4.
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