Commentary: ‘The Marvels’ Should Be Enjoyed As A Trio Of Sequels
by Frank Martin
Making any direct continuation of a story is difficult. It requires thought in terms of following up a setting, plot, and characterization. It becomes doubly true in regards to crossovers or a shared universe, where all of these elements could be originating from different sources. It requires a lot of time and effort to weave them all together into something completely new that stands on its own. One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s worst performing films was The Marvels, and it was heavily criticized for a host of reasons. But it’s important to remember that The Marvels is not just a sequel to one story, but a sequel to three. And that alone is an impressive feat.
The movie features Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) as their energy based powers become scrambled with each other. This inextricably links all of the characters together to stop a looming threat from space. But more than that, all of the characters have come from their own stories and carry their own baggage. Kamala has to deal with her family and ancestral history while Monica continues to deal with the death of her mother during the Blip. This doesn’t even take into account Carol’s own story, which involves devastating the Kree home world and setting the entire plot in motion.
Like most Marvel films, The Marvels is another entry into the MCU. But it serves as a sequel not just to the MCU as a whole but directly in regards to Captain Marvel, Wandavision, and Ms. Marvel. Regardless of the plot as a whole, the story does a fantastic job continuing these character arcs while also having the various characters interacting with one another and forming a relationship. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do, so it’s understandable that the overall plot may be lacking some. But unlike other MCU tales, the plot was never the driving factor of the film. The three main characters are the focus and intention of the story, so creating a worthy sequel for all of them is how the film should primarily be enjoyed.
The Marvels is now streaming on Disney+.
