I’ve seen all the Marvel movies. Here’s how to save your MCU

When Iron Man was released in theaters in 2008, I, like many other fans of comic book superhero movie adaptations in line for tickets, had high expectations based on the good reviews, but I wasn’t too sure what to expect from famed troublemaker Robert Downey Jr. playing a C-list hero like Tony Stark.

Fast forward 18 years and that whole sentence seems like nonsense. Iron Man is now one of the most famous superheroes, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the biggest mega-franchise, and Downey is about to begin his second round as its signature face. In just under 20 years, I’ve seen all 37 MCU movies ever released at least twice (although the second time I saw Thor: Love and Thunder was purely for work). Add in all these Disney+ shows, one-shots, and various supplementary materials, and you’re in a pretty good position to say this. The current MCU can cause major problems.

I say this out of love and affection. I didn’t spend weeks of my life watching that stuff just for work. There’s still a kid inside me who was genuinely excited to see how ferocious James Marsden’s Cyclops looked in the X-Men trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, and was willing to watch the much-maligned maverick Iron Fist in hopes that the Game of Thrones guy might pull it off. (He didn’t.) Because of this, I’m not standing on a soapbox lecturing you about how we can save the MCU. I’m screaming in the middle of a mob that really wants the MCU to be better. The method is simple. All the franchise needs to do is learn to approach the individual consistently again.

If you look at /Film’s Marvel Cinematic Universe movie rankings, of course there are no really small movies in this series. However, the absolute best MCU projects have one thing in common. That is, its interests are personal rather than universal. Sure, Avengers: Endgame is great, but if I had to choose an MCU movie to watch again, I’d go for the personal story of discovery in Iron Man, the compelling antagonist-protagonist interaction in Black Panther, or the sheer emotional gut punch of Thunderbolts. These all have high stakes, but they’re also deeply personal films that aren’t afraid to explore their characters’ flaws.

That’s one thing the MCU has always been good at…which, if you recall, has become less and less common in recent years. The unfocused attitude of Captain America: A Brave New World, the unenjoyable roaming adventures of Ant-Man and the Wasp, and everything about Marvels outside of the scenes in Cats feels like completing a list of chores instead of watching a fun superhero movie. “I have to watch this to prepare for the next one,” you say to yourself. And don’t forget to see the Ted Lasso guy dressed up as a Marvel Comics character five times his size in the post-credits scene.

The overall bloat gets worse, with the characters becoming more and more isolated as the stakes continue to grow. The MCU still hits the mark sometimes, like with “Thunderbolts*.” But all too often, that personal touch is forgotten, and audiences are left watching a series of action scenes and forced jokes that seem as if they were designed by committee.

Coincidentally, another series recently did exactly what I want the MCU to do. At least for me, the increasingly swooping space-opera plot and high stakes of Star Trek: Discovery distracted from Star Trek’s fun, philosophical core, leading to a visually impressive feast of empty-calorie storytelling. But thankfully, the show’s successor, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, rectifies this problem with more personal stories and mundane threats. I recently wrote about how Episode 6 of “Starfleet Academy” revealed that Paul Giamatti’s Nuss Braca’s motivations were less about some grand intergalactic plan and more about petty revenge. This is something I would like to see the MCU do as well. The idea is to limit big fluctuations and focus on creating interesting characters who interact with other interesting characters.

Maybe the MCU is starting to figure that out. The recently released Wonder Man does a great job of telling a story that focuses on character interaction and low stakes. Similarly, on the cinematic front, Spider-Man: No Way Home essentially soft rebooted the MCU’s Spider-Man (Tom Holland) into a more DIY, street-level hero. And we hope Spider-Man: Brand New Day stays true to that aspect of Spidey’s spirit. Additionally, the X-Men are entering the MCU in a big way after the multiverse saga finally ends, and Marvel’s resident abbreviation for oppressed minorities is being constructed to serve personal interests.

But first, we need to survive Marvel Studios’ two major “more is more” movies. The Russos’ appearances in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are virtually guaranteed to be over-the-top cameos, and their reception could determine the future of the MCU. I’m going to look in either direction, but I know which direction I prefer.