The Fall of Marvel

If you know anything about Marvel, you probably know that the media franchise started as a comic book series. The series eventually transitioned into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2008, with its debut movie Iron Man. The movie was successful, grossing $585 million globally. From there, Marvel Studios produced 20 more movies about various comic-book inspired superheroes. They ranged in financial success, but gathered a large and passionate fan base. The main reason for this long standing support originates in the comics. The MCU already had an active fan base when it began to produce movies, and its positive reputation only grew as the quality of new films increased and fans saw their favorite comics come to life on the screen. 

For example, Avengers: Endgame (2019) blended together countless character arcs to create a high-stakes superhero movie, which culminated in half of the population’s death and the threat of a major villain’s second victory looming during the last battle. The iconic scene of loved characters flowing through the magical portals as reinforcements for the heroes’ last stand is still one of my favorite MCU scenes. One of Marvel’s best works, Endgame grossed almost $2.8 billion dollars— the second-highest grossing film in history. 

All of the MCU’s past success makes the recent downturn in quality and viewership surprising to see. For example, one of its most recent movies, The Marvels, which grossed $205.8 million dollars worldwide, ranked as Marvel’s greatest financial failure. $205.8 million may appear significant, but with an overall budget of $455 million, the studio paid heavy losses. So why does it seem as though Marvel movies have gotten worse? One of the most obvious answers for the sudden change was the Covid-19 pandemic. Because shutdowns made going to theatres impossible, during this time Marvel switched to TV shows, a new medium the company was unfamiliar with which resulted in some losses from their loyal fan base.

Once Marvel Studios returned to producing movies, some of them seemed worse than those released before the pandemic. Coming off of an amazing movie like Endgame, expectations were high, and with the focus on so many new characters in subsequent films, it is understandable that people would dislike them, even if they were good. But some of the movies just were not good. Two recent Marvel films that let down Marvel fans’ expectations were Thor: Love and Thunder and The Marvels. In comparison to Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel, their respective prequels, these films felt subpar. One of the reasons why fans love Thor: Ragnarok  is because of how funny it is, and Thor: Love and Thunder clearly tried to replicate that, but with no success. Throughout the movie, there were lines that were clearly intended as jokes, but were more childish than funny. The Marvels, however, had a different issue. The scene I remember the most is where Captain Marvel has what I think of as a “Disney Princess moment.” Upon revealing she is a princess, she sings, dances, and even has a magical dress transformation. It did not feel like a Marvel movie, or even a superhero movie. This left viewers confused and disappointed as they expected another action-packed thriller. Additionally, it was frustrating that the producers felt as though a movie with female main characters had to have a scene like this, while in comparison, no other Marvel movie with more male leads has had anything like it. 

Even with the recent disappointments, Marvel Studios has not completely fallen out of public favor, especially after the release of Deadpool and Wolverine (2024). Deadpool and Wolverine’s success, with a box office revenue of $1.3 billion, shows how much people want to love Marvel again. Fans have not given up on Marvel, they are simply more cautious now. People won't rush to theaters the way they used to, and instead may wait for a positive enough response before seeing it for themselves. One upcoming Marvel movie I'm excited for is Avengers: Doomsday. Doomsday will star many returning favorites, including Robert Downey Jr., whose MCU homecoming involves a new role. I'm optimistic. Hopefully, Marvel has learned from their early successes and recent failures. The Studio definitely knows how to make a good Avengers movie, and with the directors of Doomsday, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, being the same ones that produced Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame, I believe this movie will be great. With the release date set as May 1, 2026, we will know in just over one year.