The first ever Marvel movie I watched was Iron Man 2 when it first came out in theaters. I don’t remember the exact plot and what the heroes were fighting for but I loved the adrenaline rush I got when finishing the movie. It felt satisfying. Years later, I decided to reignite my Marvel obsession when Avengers: Infinity War came out. I gave into the hype surrounding the movie that blew away the box office and rewatched every Marvel movie chronologically. I instantly understood why Marvel received the praise it did.
Now, I fail to conjure up that same excitement I once had whenever it was announced that Marvel had a new project coming out. When The Marvels trailer came up as an advertisement on a YouTube video I fell short in being excited for the movie. When I watched Avengers: Endgame in the movie theaters I was so eager to see what Marvel had in store for their next phase despite a sense of sadness at seeing a big chapter closed in the Marvel Universe.
But the problem with Marvel is that it was too eager to introduce the next phase of Marvel. Marvel has released numerous shows featuring minor characters in the Marvel Universe. Some have been well received while others not so much. The amount of shows and lore you have to catch up on to be able to fully understand the plot of The Marvels can not be quickly summed up in a one-minute recap at the beginning of the movie. It appears that Marvel’s biggest fault is oversaturating a franchise that doesn’t need to be oversaturated.
To be fair, Marvel can write and produce good TV shows that don’t lead to oversaturation or make it feel like a homework assignment. The Netflix Marvel shows which included Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all had plotlines and writers that did these characters justice. Jessica Jones in particular managed to portray a villain far scarier than the ones we’ve encountered in previous Marvel movies because men like Kingpin actually exist in real life. Daredevil had talented writers behind the scenes who managed to give justice to Matt Murdock and his entire character arc. All of these shows were far ahead of their time and deserved more than a Netflix cancellation.
Another problem I have with Marvel is that while I appreciate that they have made efforts to diversify their franchise, it was long overdue. I will always hold a grudge against how they handled Natasha Romanoff. Black Widow was an amazing movie but it kills me how it got released after she died. There was so much they could have done with her character.
I also believe that people are simply tired of superhero movies now. People seem to grow entranced by villains who are complex. The Boys is an example that proves that. The show has managed to create a villain that I cringe away from every time he appears on the screen. The Marvel franchise is simply becoming a thing of the past. While it is still producing hits such as Into the Spiderverse, No Way Home, Wandavision, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, people have left it along with the previous Avengers.