With the MCU‘s success there must also come a few unintended flaws that may or may not be unfixable now. Marvel Studios’ game-changing idea to create a shared universe of record-breaking, interconnected movies is a unique achievement in pop culture. Never has a franchise grown so large, bringing the extensive lore from the colossal Marvel Comics universe to life on the big and the small screen.
It’s only natural for such a successful behemoth to have certain blemishes. While not intended by Marvel Studios, a few limitations, creative decisions, and unforeseen obstacles have led to problems that fail to do justice to the MCU’s source material. And unfortunately, it’s probably impossible or too impractical to correct many of them.
10
The MCU’s Street-Level Characters Are Too Disconnected From The Rest Of The Franchise
A major disappointment of the MCU’s street-level stories is that they seem isolated from the larger Marvel universe. Though it’s logical for neighborhood vigilantes to focus on their local conflicts, it’s still odd that they never interact with the Avengers, that they never participate in NYC battles, and that they’re rarely acknowledged by other MCU characters. The Avengers, Doctor Strange, and Spider-Man are all based in the same city, after all.
Granted, rights issues kept most street-level Marvel characters separate from the rest of the MCU for a long time. But at this point, events like the Void’s attack in Manhattan should directly affect characters like Daredevil and the Defenders, and Wilson Fisk’s mayorship should at least be mentioned in movies like Captain America: Brave New World. Hopefully, the bridge between larger-than-life superheroes and street-level vigilantes is reinforced in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which finally brings together the Punisher, Spider-Man, and Hulk.
9
The MCU Missed Its Chance To Depict A More Realistic Marvel Universe
The MCU doesn’t have to be a realistic franchise. The Marvel Comics multiverse isn’t remotely realistic anyway. That said, the MCU has repeatedly evaded the compelling implications that come with the dozens of superheroes, supervillains, and world-changing battles that take place over the course of less than two decades. Some of these scenarios are unique to the MCU, like the Battle of New York, the Blip, the Void’s takeover, and Arishem’s visit.
Entire movies and shows could be dedicated to the human drama that the MCU’s countless crises have caused in its fictional world, let alone its galaxy. Not only has the MCU overlooked these opportunities, but it has also trivialized its biggest events. Hawkeye reveals that the Avengers’ battles were made into a musical, and Thor: Love and Thunder features a Thanos-themed ice cream shop. Although exploring the world’s tragedies isn’t the MCU’s main goal, depicting human society as nonchalant to global threats reduces the franchise’s stakes.
8
The Original Avengers Rarely Fought Together
The Avengers are famous enough to warrant in-universe musical shows and fan conventions, yet most of their time as a team is left off-screen. The original seven Avengers only fight together for the first time as a proper team in The Avengers‘ final battle, and the last time they do the same is at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, their very next team-up film. The rest of the original squad’s battles take place somewhere between Phase 1 and Phase 2.
As much as Marvel suggests a longer story in between movies, the MCU inevitably compresses many years’ worth of adventures into a few titles. This isn’t really Marvel Studios’ fault, though. It’s near to impossible to capture the extensive scope of the Marvel Comics universe, where the Avengers fight hundreds of battles almost every week, year after year. Still, the MCU’s original Avengers don’t really feel like a found family in retrospect.
7
The MCU’s New-Gen Heroes Have Taken Too Long To Return
Marvel Studios had to juggle many unpredictable variants after the Infinity Saga ended. Plans had to change as the whole industry evolved, and the studio’s output increase ultimately didn’t work out. These challenges have since kept the MCU’s new blood from establishing themselves as characters relevant or iconic enough to rival the MCU’s first generation of heroes.
Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, She-Hulk, Echo, Kate Bishop, and every Eternal only appear once in the Multiverse Saga, at least up to the beginning of Phase 6. Aside from their already established popularity from the comics, the original Avengers are beloved because audiences followed their journey closely, with appearances every year or two. Even if future installments correct this problem, the big gap between debut and return really doesn’t benefit the MCU’s new generation.
6
Many Marvel Icons Have Been Absent For Too Long
Other famous Marvel characters are even less fortunate. Famous comic book heroes like Ghost Rider, Nova, Beta Ray Bill, Rick Jones, and Blade have yet to appear on the big or the small screen. By the time they finally debut, many MCU characters may have come and gone. Considering their comic book legacy, icons like Johnny Blaze and Richard Rider don’t deserve to be known as the MCU’s rookies.
Characters such as Mephisto, Sentry, Wonder Man, and Doctor Doom are finally part of the franchise after almost two decades of waiting. There’s no doubt each of them will make a big impact on the MCU. However, they will have missed many of the battles and stories they could have shined in.
5
Several Of The MCU’s Biggest Characters Rarely Or Never Interact With Each Other
Due to the MCU’s compression of character journeys and the short nature of film, many of Marvel’s famous characters never get a chance to meet, fight, or team up with each other. Comics have enough room for hundreds of different character combinations, while movies and shows can only choose a limited number of actors at a time. Even though many MCU icons are alive and active at the same time, sometimes their paths simply don’t cross.
For instance, Bucky Barnes and Natasha Romanoff have a long and intertwined history in the comics, having been enemies and lovers throughout the years. Yet, the Winter Soldier and Black Widow barely interact in the MCU. Spider-Man looks up to Captain America, but they only exchange words once. Thor and Hawkeye are teammates for years, but their shared dialog is almost nonexistent.
4
Some Of Marvel’s Biggest Villains Are Defeated Too Fast
It’s inevitable for Marvel Studios to make significant changes to the characters it adapts. Sometimes bold divergence from the source material works, and sometimes it doesn’t. That aside, MCU villains’ one-off appearances are a trend that’s impossible to ignore. The Abomination, Dormammu, Ulysses Klaue, and Ultron are recurring foes by nature in the comics. In the MCU, they’re defeated once and then they’re gone.
Other antagonists should be a much bigger threat. Despite Christian Bale’s wild performance, Gorr the God Butcher feels like another villain-of-the-week for Thor, whereas his comic book counterpart is notably one of the God of Thunder’s toughest enemies. Arnim Zola, Batroc, Crossbones, and none other than the Red Skull himself only fight Captain America once in the MCU, which would be unspeakable in the comics.
3
Spider-Man’s Villains Aren’t Really His Own
Spider-Man has one of the most famous rogue galleries in pop culture, with antagonists who are almost as famous as himself, and Tom Holland’s Peter Parker has the fastest-growing solo subfranchise in the MCU. Yet, Holland’s Spidey barely knows who Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, and Sandman are. He has fought them and defeated them, but Spider-Man’s biggest enemies are almost complete strangers to him.
Again, movie adaptation rights and variables like constantly changing studio plans are mostly out of Marvel Studios’ control. Still, it’s a shame that Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus aren’t permanent fixtures in Peter Parker’s life. Kraven the Hunter, Chameleon, Carnage, Venom, and Ezekiel Sims simply don’t exist to the MCU’s Spider-Man. Likewise, it just feels wrong for Peter Parker to not know who Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn are.
2
The MCU’s Greatest Heroes Will Never Really Coexist
Due to the same variables preventing Marvel Studios from using the comics’ full repertoire of characters from the start, it’s impossible for the MCU’s greatest character portrayals to share significant time together on screen. Sure, events like Avengers: Secret Wars can make fans’ wildest dreams come true by bringing together Chris Evans’ Captain America, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, but these characters may never be part of the same continuous story.
Part of what makes Marvel Comics’ universe and multiverse so compelling is that almost every major character exists during the same era as the others. In the MCU, Iron Man probably never knew who Namor or Black Bolt were. Hank Pym and Reed Richards are a whole universe and a whole generation apart. A seasoned Wolverine, outliving the X-Men, might get to meet a young Spider-Man, who doesn’t know what a symbiote is.
1
The X-Men & The Fantastic Four Missed Out On The MCU’s Prime
On the same note, the chance to see every major team appear in the MCU’s most groundbreaking events is gone. Even if Avengers: Secret Wars rebooted the MCU and kept Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards in the same continuity, the latter two will never be featured in Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame. They could be retconned into the plot, but they will never be in the movie, much less so on release day.
Ideally, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men will coexist after Avengers: Secret Wars. Through a reboot, Iron Man, Reed Richards, Wolverine, and Spider-Man could go on missions together, and they might even know each other for years. Yet, that Iron Man wouldn’t be the one who sacrificed his life to defeat Thanos, and that Reed Richards would lose the world he fought so hard to protect from Galactus.
