Whether you’re a Marvel diehard or lost interest post-Avengers: Endgame, the general consensus is that the MCU is in a tiny bit of a slump at the moment. Now, fans have taken to sharing their ideas online on how to ‘fix’ things from Marvel Phase 5 onwards.
"Slow down on so many new characters. It's just ridiculous that we won't see Shang-Chi again for probably 4-5 years," one said on Reddit.
"Why don’t they crossover the hero characters more like they did in earlier phases?" one Redditor wrote. "Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and Winter Soldier. Hawkeye in Thor. Hulk and Strange in Ragnarok. Falcon in Ant-Man. Lots of them in Civil War."
"Quality writing," was the blunt response of another. "Like we don’t need award winning scripts or anything but my god Secret Invasion has so many logical gaps and poor decisions in it."
Others have also pointed to the sheer amount of projects being released as a reason for the downturn in fortunes for Marvel Studios – including the fact that Sam Wilson won’t have appeared as Captain America for 23 MCU movies and shows by the time he returns in Brave New World. For context, that’s the same as the entire Infinity Saga put together.
That bloat was neatly summarized by one user: "Don’t plan the thing unless you have a story that justifies its existence."
Then there’s the Blip in the room. Thanos’ snap seemed to come and go. Many, as they do here, argue that Marvel Phase 4 should have revolved around the debilitating effects of the universe-halving event.
"Phase 4 should have been all about the effects of the Blip and introducing the multiverse with a different order than what we got," a fan commented, adding "There needed to be an Avengers movie to wrap up the Phase."
Unfortunately for disgruntled Marvel fans, it appears the MCU won’t be course correcting any time soon.
Multiple new characters, including Fantastic Four, are being introduced while other stories – Echo and Agatha: Coven of Chaos included – feel like epilogues to established (and finished) stories. We’re also not getting an Avengers movie, for example, for another three years – seven years after Endgame.
If you’re curious as to what comes next, here’s our guide to upcoming Marvel movies. If you’re looking even further afield, here’s a look at Marvel Phase 6.
Marvel Rivals made Jeff the Land Shark so stinkin' adorable that the MCU is bringing him on as an official hero: "We're all Jeff fans around here. Man is he fun to play"
Daredevil actor Charlie Cox says Born Again won't be "dumbed down" on Disney Plus and in "some ways" it's "even darker" than the original Netflix series
