David Pierdomenico
Contains spoilers for MCU films up to and including Infinity War.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen almost unparalleled success as far as film franchises go. The majority of their releases have been met with critical and financial success, and last year’s Avengers: Infinity War was perhaps the most anticipated film of the decade. Yet among all of this cinematic praise, it’s becoming more and more difficult to feel like anything is actually on the line. And the constant slew of films is only contributing to their problem with stakes.
More Resurrections Than a Slasher Villain
For many the characters are what makes the MCU all that it is. And with such legendary characters like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Hulk, what’s not to love? Especially after seeing them in film after film for over a decade. But we can only ever get invested in characters if we feel like they’re in real danger. When the audience knows that everyone will be okay, it removes all of the tension and drama that otherwise could have been present in the story. Of course, most stories end with the hero winning anyway, but Marvel’s habit of casually killing off characters just to bring them back really doesn’t help.
We’ve seen Coulson stabbed just to return on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we’ve seen Nick Fury pronounced dead on the operating table just to return later in Winter Soldier, and we’ve seen Loki die twice before being killed “for real” in Infinity War. And that fact that fans have doubts that he’s really dead only shows how little seriousness Marvel treats character deaths with. And now with Thanos wiping out half the universe, do we really expect those characters to stay dead? To be fair, very few studios would have the guts to kill off half of their characters in one swift move like that, but Marvel’s penchant for resurrecting their characters more often than Freddy Krueger or Jason Vorhees takes away any small chance that the Decimation will be lasting.
Justifying Solo Films After The Avengers
However, bringing characters back from the dead isn’t the only issue. Once the Avengers assembled in the titular film, there was no reason they couldn’t assemble again, especially when the world was on the line. As joked about in Honest Trailers, they didn’t assemble when the President was taken hostage in Iron Man 3, or when Dark Elves nearly deleted the universe in Thor: The Dark World, or even when Hydra came within minutes of killing millions, yet they all came together to raid a Hydra base in Age of Ultron.
While it may have just been a joke, their criticism holds real merit. And because of that it makes their solo films harder to get invested in. With the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy (because it took place in space), Ant-Man (no world ending stakes anyway), and Thor: Ragnarok (because it took place in space as well), there’s absolutely no explanation why other Avengers couldn’t have intervened, and for that the stories suffer. Because clearly if it was that big a deal (like Infinity War), the team would have to come together to solve the problem. Marvel also hasn’t helped the issue by announcing their films so many years in advance.
As early as 2014, Marvel had announced plans to adapt the “Infinity War” storyline from the comics. Fans knew that it would involve Thanos with the gauntlet collecting the stones, and that it would be the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. But that announcement also took away all of the stakes and gravity of 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. As charismatic as James Spader’s performance was, it couldn’t help but feel like Ultron was merely a small obstacle to overcome, because we all knew Thanos was the real threat awaiting them.
Spider-Man: Far From Keeping Endgame a Secret
Last week, fans got excited for the Spiderman: Far From Home trailer. And while it does look like it will be a fun adventure, it flat out spoils that everything will work out just fine in Avengers: Endgame. There’s no indication given that it takes place before Infinity War, and no one seems to be reeling from the fact that half the universe was wiped out, and then saved. Which probably means the solution resulted in everyone forgetting what happened. But if Endgame truly plays out this way, then what was the point of it all?! Why have a giant universe changing event, if all the “dead” characters come right back and no one even remembers?
Perhaps this problem would be solved if Marvel and Disney weren’t determined to put out three films per year. Otherwise we could have gotten the Far From Home trailer after seeing Endgame. But the issue runs much deeper than that. Marvel has put out some spectacular films, but they’d be all the more enjoyable if they would give audiences real stakes to care about.
