Marvel falls further and further down rabbit hole of bloat as storytelling fades before profit

Excelsior, true believers! The Marvel Universe has expanded from its humble beginnings as Timely Comics in the McGraw-Hill Building in 1930’s New York to a monolithic empire in the entertainment industry. From lunchpails to billboards to entire parks themed around the assemblage of costumed crusaders, there is no denying the stretch of the fantastical federation of superheroes in the modern day. Spinning its web of influence throughout decades and a multitude of media, there are no signs of this pop culture juggernaut (not to be confused with the Juggernaut, first appearing in “X-Men #12”) slowing down, as it begins its headlong charge into the unknown.

After the monumental financial success of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe seemed, to many viewers, at the end of its rope in terms of direction. Now that the bad guy to beat all bad guys had been vanquished, and the most iconic characters- who provided the backbone of the Avengers themselves- were killed off, many considered the MCU to be “dead” or “out of ideas.” At the same time, in order to capitalize on the triumph of the Endgame train, Marvel Studios announced Phase Four (each chapter of the MCU is counted in “phases,” usually capped off with another Avengers entry) including seven movies and a whopping nine series (all released on Disney+). 

However, Phase Four took a drastic turn when it came to its execution, as the COVID-19 pandemic halted production. Leaving projects to be released solely on Disney+ (Black Widow, leading to a lawsuit by Scarlett Johansson for compensation in lieu of movie theaters being closed), stuck in development hell, going through a myriad of rewrites and reshoots, or delayed to a later date than intended. The sheer amount of quantity was nearly overwhelming, yet not all of the projects were well-received, having no clear end goal in mind as to where the next saga would lead to, unlike the “Infinity Saga.” With many entries into Phase Four being hit-or-miss, the next chapter into the MCU would be considered one of the worst, and was quickly ended in less than two years. 

Similar to Phase Four, the beginning of Phase Five would also experience development issues, with Hollywood strikes, controversies with big-name actors slated to headline as the next big villain, and overworked VFX artists resulting in a sloppier product. Consisting of a vastly slimmer six movies (capping off with Thunderbolts* in May of 2025) and seven TV shows (with Daredevil: Born Again wrapping up the Disney+ side), Phase Five- in a word- has largely been forgettable. With projects such as Secret Invasion and What If…?, season three being regarded as the worst of the worst in the entirety of the MCU, there seemed to be very little hope for the revival of what was the gold standard of superhero media. 

Another contributing factor to the decreased hype for more and more superhero projects is the superhero fatigue felt by general audiences, with many recent Marvel releases having the same rinse and repeat formula including: a forgettable villain, comedy which typically falls flat, and being more concerned with setting up the next big thing than the individual project itself. Now dubbed the “Multiverse Saga,” Phases Four, Five, and Six would begin to build up to Robert Downey Jr.’s (Tropic Thunder) role as Victor von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday (formerly Avengers: Kang Dynasty following controversies with actor Jonathan Majors, who was slated to play the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror) and Avengers: Secret Wars (a loose adaptation of Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 comic run of the same title). 

In large part due to the inner-company politics of Marvel Studios’ parent company, Disney, President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige’s workload has increased drastically, as he heretofore has overseen each and every Marvel project under the Marvel Studios banner (exempting any shows released prior to the launch of Disney+). After the departure of former Disney CEO Bob Iger in late 2021, Bob Chapek was chosen to take his place, with a seemingly new emphasis on quantity over quality, as the number of projects greenlit exponentially rose. This disjointed fracture caused by the thinning of executive leadership was a major blow to the highly-regarded continuity held between films, as plot holes and unresolved post-credit scenes became more and more common. 

Fast forward to early 2025, and the newest entry into the MCU yet again has fallen short of both box office as well as fan expectations. Following a series of extensive reshoots throughout 2024 centered around the film’s story, allegedly due to poor audience test scores, Captain America: Brave New World premiered on February 14, 2025. Starring Anthony Mackie (8 Mile) in the titular role of Captain America and Harrison Ford (Star Wars) as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the story focuses on a conspiracy against president-elect Ross, in order to prevent an all-out arms race for the mysterious metal adamantium. Although both Mackie and Ford gave it their all in their portrayals of the diametrically opposed foes, it was not enough to mask other glaring flaws in the film, as much of the visual effects looked uncanny in broader shots and entire scenes were obviously reworked to fit the new cut of the movie.

  On a broader scale, both the animated as well as the gaming front of the Marvel conglomerate have largely seen a warmer welcome as compared to the silver-screen, with NetEase’s Marvel Rivals dominating the hero-shooter genre. Launching in December of 2024, the game has recently celebrated the milestone of having 2.5 million players, dethroning Overwatch 2. At the same time, its midseason update was released, bringing the Thing and the Human Torch (completing the Fantastic Four, who will appear in their own film in the summer) to the game, and expanding the storyline of its first season, “Eternal Night Falls.”  Along with the new additions to its ever-expanding roster, the developers have promised to continue to add a new playable character every half-season or every six weeks, as well as new modes to prevent gameplay from becoming stale. 

The beating heart that pumps life into the MCU and the Marvel canon as a whole remains in the City that Never Sleeps itself, New York. As the universe expands outward into its own multiverse and into the cosmos, certain projects have returned the franchise’s roots, with Daredevil: Born Again, Thunderbolts*, and YFNSM  all taking place in various boroughs of the Big Apple. Just like its namesake, Born Again revives the street-level side of the MCU, welcoming home lawyer by day, vigilante by night Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox, The Theory of Everything) following the cancellation of its Netflix predecessor. Along with this, Thunderbolts* follows the assembling of an Avengers-adjacent team to stop an Avengers-level threat homebased in- you guessed it- the site formerly known as Avengers Tower. 

With the growing emphasis on more grounded stories following the lukewarm acceptance of many of its most recent titles, Marvel Studios must find their way back in the good graces of audiences, not just comic book fans. In order to compete with its newfound contender of Jame Gunn’s DC Universe and the shadow of its former self, the fate of the Marvel multiverse hangs in the balance of viewers’ pockets. With anticipated titles such as Avengers: Doomsday, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Thunderbolts* on the horizon, it is only a matter of time until the fate of the Marvel Universe is determined to be truly doomed by itself or Robert Downey Jr. in a new mask.

by Evan Parfitt

Published March 17th, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue VI