Perhaps it was the charisma of the original avengers--Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo. Or maybe, there was always something wildly entertaining in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first ten years. The journey, of course, wasn’t entirely smooth and there were several forgettable films like the much-condemned Thor: Dark World, Iron Man 2, Ant Man, the obligatory, clunky Captain Marvel film--but you could forgive these blotchy messes, because they were rather few and far in between. Thor: Ragnarok redeemed the Thor franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy, the introduction of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Black Panther and the Avengers films (we’ll leave Ultron out of this) catapulted the MCU to the multi-billion dollar studio it is today. Our romance with MCU was almost perfect, almost. Marvel reached a powerful peak with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Infinity War saw the superheroes finally losing and watching loved ones being snapped away to dust. One of the most excruciating scenes in Marvel’s history would always be the last moments between Wanda and Vision, along with Peter Parker telling Tony Stark that he doesn’t feel good anymore. For a while, the MCU had real stakes. The idea of grief was finally touched upon in Endgame, as the remaining avengers wrestled with new plans to bring their loved ones home. Endgame was actually the example of fan service done right, with the revisiting of the old films and popular scenes--and it even made Thor: Dark World look useful. The film is still a pulsating watch, matched with the resounding OSTs. It all builds to a crescendo when Chris Evans commands, ‘Avengers, assemble.’ Phase 3 ended on an exalting, bittersweet high with the departure of the main Avengers, making way for new heroes. Phase 4 began on an interesting note with the Disney Plus series WandaVision that saw the two characters in a completely novel premise, where Wanda crafts her own reality and finally gets that happy ending with Vision. The show introduced Agatha Harkness, and returned to the old Marvel-esque showdown between the two. The Marvel series were far more interesting, as in the case of Loki, and Ms Marvel, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was dull and bland. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the films, where the Marvel fatigue set in, and the storylines, humour, became abominably predictable. The Eternals, an ambitious project for the MCU, was overstuffed with heroes, most of whom stood in the sidelines, save for some scenes, including Angelina Jolie. Brilliant and riveting characters that probably deserved their own series, became uni-dimensional cardboard cut-outs. Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson’s final hurrah--was another abysmal mess, which did more injustice to her character than Endgame did, robbing her of any agency. The film had no personality and there isn’t one memorable moment, despite having a promising set of characters. The villain was the brand of generic evil, the supposedly ‘dry’ humour of Florence Pugh’s Yelena was entirely distasteful throughout, and the conflict between her and Natasha Romanoff was completely forced, because you knew they would team up anyway. There was much hope pinned on Spider-Man 3, because even if Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire didn’t admit it--it was expected to be the reunion of the three Spideys from the various franchises. The storytelling was entirely weak and the film seemed heavily dependant on the old villains and heroes to carry the story through, even when nothing made sense. The basic idea was that Peter Parker seeks help from Doctor Strange go revert to the time when no one knew he was Spider-Man, because he just wanted to go to college with his friends and girlfriend. Events spiral out of control and he accidentally brings back the old villains--and more annoyingly decides to give them all a chance to redeem themselves. Everything was rushed--like you knew that this was a film that was specially made for the gasps and screams from the audience, especially the cameos of Garfield and Maguire. The conclusion, intended to be heart breaking, was even more confusing, as Doctor Strange wipes out the memory of everyone who knew who Spider-Man was. But, didn’t they already know Peter Parker before he became Spider-Man? Was this just intended as a forced separation for Peter and MJ? And then there was Doctor Strange Into The Multiverse of Madness, which was just madness. It was like a Saturday Night Live sketch on steroids, as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr Strange zipped from one universe to the other with America (nothing at all was fleshed out, we just saw tantalising glimpses). Somewhere in between there was a random love story between him and Christine (Rachel McAdams)--who, as far as female love interests go in the MCU is the least interesting and doesn’t have one distinct personality trait. But that’s not the worst part--Elisabeth Olsen, as riveting as she is as Wanda, returns as the Scarlet Witch, undoing all the trauma she had worked through in WandaVision. Now she’s just the diabolic woman and crazy mother, hunting for her children in a different universe, killing people. There are vastly unnecessary cameos--including Peggy Carter’s Captain America (she dies within seconds), and John Krasinski, who looks just bemused to be present in the film. There’s Patrick Stewart’s Xavier from the X-Men franchise as well, but he also has nothing to offer, before he’s anyway reduced to mulch. Phase 4 had the most promising characters and sequels, and destroyed most of them with a Hulk-like smash. There seemed to be desperation to cash in on old nostalgia, recycle storylines, bring in starry cameos, and reproduce the same humour in just different situations. There hasn’t been anything fresh about the MCU in the past two years, it’s the same dish that is just served on a new platter. No one’s expecting superhero films to have profound and excruciatingly deep messaging, but they would like to see at least entertaining storytelling without crater-sized loopholes and fleshed out characters. Perhaps Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is set to release on November 11, could save Phase 4. Black Panther in 2018, starring Chadwick Boseman, brought out the nuances of the African fictional country of Wakanda--with a thoroughly complex villain, Killmonger, who provides much heft to the story. The film focussed on underlying questions of the African diaspora, and identity. It was indeed a paradigm shift for the MCU, as a Black superhero made his place in the world. The sequel will heartbreakingly not see Chadwick Boseman anymore, but the trailer has promised that the film will honour his legacy--and the women like Shuri and Nakia will take on the reins. Moreover, the film seems to gently deal with the grief that Boseman left behind in his wake, which is perhaps, what his fans need to see.
