Is the MCU growing too far, too fast?
It’s been the topic of a few of my conversations recently: the multiverse, alternative universes, parallel timelines and the more-possible-than-you’d-like-to-admit idea that life is a simulation. Not to jump down any rabbit holes or anything, but it’s always an interesting discussion. I’m not here to talk physics though, I’m here to talk about the expanding MCU, and to broach the idea that it may be getting too big.
I sort of mention this in my spoiler free review of Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The idea is once you introduce time travel into a storyline, a plot hole is created. If you can go back in time to change…anything, wouldn’t that undo the very story being told? It’s too much to unpack here, but I mention it because introducing alternate timelines and universes into a story can also create the same sort of problems.
Especially if characters within that story can travel to said alternate timelines and universes. Then, the answer to whether a character can ever really die is no. You can always catch up with them in an alternate universe where they’re still shuffling around in their usual mortal coil. Or, if the MCU ever wanted to bring back a character, Black Widow, Iron-man, etc. what’s to stop them? They’ve laid the ground work for that possibility.
But I think I’m digressing here. Let’s get back to the point at hand. Alternative timelines, universes, and time travel can get messy. Exploring those concepts is what the MCU has been focusing on lately. Separately, keeping up with several television shows as well as major motion pictures can also get messy. Now, let’s combine watching several television shows, major motion pictures about several different characters meeting other versions of themselves in either alternate timelines or alternative universes… Cue Neo meme:
I’m a devotee. I’ve seen all the Marvel Disney plus shows as well as all the Marvel movies since Endgame. I watched Loki jump through timelines and saw Peter Parker meet Peter Parker with Peter Parker in a delightful collision of Spidey fandom. Now we’ve seen Dr. Strange experience the multiverse first hand. Though I’ve been able to do a pretty good job keeping up with who is where and why for what in the MCU, I’m wondering if a more casual viewer is having the same experience.
If you didn’t watch the WandaVision television series, then can you walk into Dr. Strange 2 knowing what’s going on? Do you have to watch Loki to understand what will happen in the next Black Panther film? Will all of this be too much work for a wider audience? Maybe.
I equate it to reading comics growing up. Comicbooks love a good crossover event (it’s what they do!). The X-men meet Fantastic Four, or the Avengers vs. Inhumans, or-lest we forget-Civil War? But, as a reader, eventually things get too out of control, and you have to choose. You say to yourself, “I’m just going to read X-men…period,” because you either A) can’t afford 23 comic books a month or B) don’t have time to read them or C) both!
Which brings me to my point. When the MCU was in its toddler days, a more causal fan could both afford and make time for a big blockbuster movie every couple years or so. Now it’s much harder to keep up with all that is happening, which may discourage even the most die-hard fan. It can all be a bit overwhelming. And life tends to get in the way. I wonder if the MCU is expanding so fast that it will loose some fans along the way? Like the comic books, fans will be forced to choose. They’ll decide to watch only the shows and movies with their favorite characters and that’s it.
Maybe that’s the idea Kevin Feige has had all along. There’s enough Spider-man fans out there to make new Spidey movies just for them. The same goes for Captain America, Thor, etc. I just hope that the MCU doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot trying to explain how the gun works. What’s the fun of seeing a Thor film, if you don’t know these Guardians of the Galaxy people he’s with? And when Thor-who thinks Loki’s dead-meets Past Loki when he stole The Tesseract but was capture by the TVA’s time cops only to team up with Sylvie (a female Loki variant) to stop Kang from messing with alternate timelines…will we be there? Or, if that last sentenced confused you in the least little bit, will it all be too much to swallow. Here’s hoping the MCU hasn’t bitten off more than it can chew.