The Marvel movies, all part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU), have been released in what are termed "phases." Phase I introduced most of the MCU's major players, like Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America. It ended with "The Avengers." Phase II raised the stakes with new heroes (like the Guardians of the Galaxy) and more powerful villains (like Ultron). It ended with "Ant-Man." Phase III was the culmination of the so-called Infinity Saga, and while it probably should have ended with "Avengers: Endgame," it actually ended with "Spider-Man: Far From Home."
And that's about where I checked out. I did watch Phase IV movies like "Spider-Man: No Way Home," but I have no real interest in multiverse stories because, once you posit a multiverse, anything anyone does is meaningless. A beloved character dies in one universe... and so what? She prospers in another. (I didn't see "Doctor Strange II," but I know that, in that movie, Peggy Carter dies in an alternate universe, and her death is utterly uncompelling because "our" Peggy Carter has lived out a happy life with Steve Rogers in "our" universe.)
DC, which rules the comic-book world but has been playing catch-up with Marvel in the cinemas, is also going the multiversal route, so this is a good time for all of us 50-plus people to just say "fuck it" and move on to better stories that don't suck the narrative sap out of everything. I am, frankly, sick of multiverses, and I've expressed my disdain for them on multiple occasions. Not only are they narratively dry, they're philosophically unworkable because, for every universe-ending villain you can think of, just multiply that villain by infinity, and... well, you see the problem.
I'm not saying I've disliked every single multiverse movie I've seen. I thought "No Way Home" was a good movie despite huge flaws, and I really enjoyed "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." But overall, I have multiverse fatigue at this point, and I'd prefer to see my stories play out in the one universe I know for sure that we all inhabit.
My thoughts exactly. It's not as if character death was all that consequential in (most) comic books to begin with, but with the multiverse, there are pretty much no consequences for anything anymore.
ReplyDeleteIt also just feels like Marvel is trying to milk as much as they can from their IP without a clear storyline in mind. The MCU through Phase 3 had (or developed, at least) a very clear purpose and end point ("endgame," one might even say). Everything that has followed (of which I have also only seen SM:NWH--but I've read about just about everything else) seems to have flailed about without any real purpose other than to make money for Marvel.
If you want my opinion, the death of superhero films can't come fast enough. It's time for something new from Hollywood.