Commentary: The Growth Of The MCU Was Always Unsustainable
by Frank Martin
The Marvel Cinematic Universe was, and still is, a marvel in cohesive storytelling. It took characters from a wide assortment of genres and managed to mash them together in a shared universe with crossover, build up, and pay off. What started as a single film quickly spread into a massive undertaking that has only grown year after year. Fans of the films loved this growth as it provided more opportunities for stories and characters. But it also led to problems within the MCU. Cracks began to show in what used to be a bullet-proof storytelling environment, proving that the MCU’s rate of expansion was never sustainable. By it’s very nature, the universe was always going to run into problems.
Two great examples of the MCU’s growth and potential during its heyday are the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). They were not founding characters like Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) or Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Instead, they came into the universe while it was already well underway. And yet, their characters had strong arcs that ran through several installments from Avengers: Age Of Ultron to Captain America: Civil War, as well as in Avengers: Infinity War, before climaxing in WandaVision and the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The MCU was able to accomplish this because the releases were coming at a fairly steady, but manageable rate. The audience could follow the storylines and be updated on what these characters were going through. The pair were front and center was because the MCU didn’t have as wide a roster of characters yet. However, the universe needed to expand with new characters such as Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac), She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and so on. These newer heroes took up time and release spaces, so it became harder to check in on old characters and see how they are growing.
Vision is still AWOL. He’s a character that could pop up at any moment, but fans haven’t seen him because the MCU was busy with other releases (although he will be the focus of an upcoming TV series). It’s becoming harder and harder for fans of certain characters to stay engaged in these arcs because there are just too many. So, the MCU is stuck in a cycle of constant growth and character neglect that it just can’t escape from.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now streaming on Disney+.
