The Marvel Fourth Phase Paradox
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Before we continue, no. This isn’t an article that’s going to be slagging on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. If you’re expecting me to rip apart the show and talk smack about Tatiana Maslany, you’re sorely mistaken (Maslany is untouchable in Orphan Black, and shame on anyone that is talking through their ass about an incredibly gifted actress). Instead, I’m going to keep it brief and talk about something that I think is the ongoing prevalent problem over at Marvel Studios. Before you guess that I’m going to solely talk about over-saturation of content, I’m not, even though this is quite true, and I feel like the content’s quality is noticeably thinner in recent years (outside of a couple of examples). If you’re going to predict that I’m going to discuss how most marvel shows are homogenous in tone, plot, and structure, you’d only be partially correct, because I honestly think that there is a bigger issue than scant ideas and quantity over quality: Marvel is going to be subject to major scrutiny from here on out, especially from the public. This is especially apparent in this fourth phase. Allow me to explain.
So, I’m not going to rag on She-Hulk, but I am going to acknowledge the one major flaw that I have personally noticed with it, because it’s definitely a part of my argument. The special effects and fighting sequences in this show are actually horrendous. Now, special effects are definitely not the be-all and end-all of television or film (especially the former, given the budgeting and scheduling conflicts great effects would pose), but I’m only bringing this matter up because I know that Marvel’s action and effects are the bread and butter for the spectacles that many fans sign up for. There’s nothing wrong with having different reasons as to why you watch something, even if it doesn’t pertain to why I personally watch films and shows. If the one major congruent element of anything Marvel — the superhero elements — isn’t great, then that already is going to bother a major portion of the studio’s audience.
This leads to another reason why the core Marvel audience may be expressing signs of alienation: Marvel is actually trying to branch out a teensy bit. In hindsight, it’s actually kind of ridiculous that so many adult men were losing their cool over Ms. Marvel: a series that was clearly meant for younger audiences. That’s my point, though. With the expansion to the small screen, Marvel is aiming to actually incorporate genres into their works. WandaVision, my favourite Marvel series thus far, is rooted in satire. Hawkeye was Marvel’s answer to Die Hard: a Christmas time action ride. Moon Knight showcases signs of psychological horror. She-Hulk is clearly something a little more self aware and comedic. If you dip into the films released, you can easily call Multiverse of Madness a horror film of sorts and Thor: Love and Thunder part rom-com, cheesy action throwback, and drama (okay, to be fair, Thor: Love and Thunder is a big mess and I’m not even entirely sure what it is). I don’t think these explorations are sitting well with some Marvel fans, as if these genre works are sullying the secret formula of the studio; this can be reflected from many of online responses and ratings from users. However, someone like myself, who loves variety more than familiarity, digs this side of the fourth phase of the Marvel rollout.
What I think is the problem is that Marvel never really goes fully into these genres. It always has to be comfortably Marvel in every which way. WandaVision stops being its satirical commentary and becomes a fully fledged Marvel show (I personally found the evolution of sitcom and comedy throwbacks refreshing). I didn’t find Multiverse of Madness particularly scary when it possesses that Marvel cloak of protection over it (where protagonists are almost always guaranteed safety, unless it expires over a decade later and during an Avengers epic). Even She-Hulk starts right off the bat with its Marvel side before even attempting to be its own vision. I never feel like I get an actual study of something outside of Marvel’s comfort zone; it’s just more Marvel being Marvel, and this goes beyond signature traits anymore. Does every Blumhouse film feel identical, despite the majority of the studio being mostly made up of indie horror flicks? I would argue no; you know what you’re going to get, but not exactly how you will receive it. If She-Hulk is considered a comedy, WandaVision is a satire and/or throwback of the television comedies of old, and Multiverse of Madness is meant to be a scarier film, why do they all possess the exact same comedic timing, joke structures, and punchlines?
That’s perfectly fine if Marvel wants to keep doing the same things if it guarantees the studio a massive payday; I’m clearly not the core audience, hence why my argument doesn’t really matter to those that love this stuff the most. Having said that, I think most people can agree that the fourth phase is feeling lacklustre, and I feel like this is for a handful of reasons. Before I get into those, I’ll wrap up my biggest point. Those that want Marvel to keep being Marvel will be satisfied by the studio not venturing too far outside of its recipe, but they may be perturbed by these small genre deviations and weaker effects and sequences (it’s no secret that the large amount of output has stressed out animators and effects artists, and that the exhaustion is starting to show in the end results). Those that want something different may either not like how these Marvel works keep reverting back to square one, or they may not seek these genres from within Marvel at all.
Before I continue, I’ll get back to those other reasons that phase four is feeling a little substandard. It’s clear that Marvel has finished its biggest chapters in phase three, and that the majority of the staple characters are now gone or less prominent. The next waves are being set up, and we’re dealing with a ton of build up towards what is to come next. Outside of the first wave when we weren’t sure what was going to transpire (I don’t think any of us expected a ton of separate films to converge into The Avengers when the first Iron Man dropped), this feels a little less acceptable. Firstly, the first wave was new. Each work stood mostly alone (outside of, say, Iron Man 2, which I think was the first film to start to slowly build the bigger lore that would connect other films (I am likely wrong, and please don’t crucify me if I am). We didn’t have five projects a year and feel inundated with what we needed to watch. We didn’t have television series, either. This build up seemed fine in comparison. Let’s go back to Multiverse of Madness, which requires — if you want to be as fully clued-in as possible — all of the Captain America films, the shows Agent Carter and What If?, and all of the Avengers films just for the character of Captain Carter to be completely explained; this is just a very minor character in the overall film. Consider what else you need to have seen for everything to click into place: all of this for a so-so film. Is it even worth it at this point?
Or you can not watch every single thing and be comfortable with the occasional blindspots or lack of context, but Marvel releases are getting to a point where even missing out on specific works will leave you quite lost without this previous knowledge (to cut back to Captain Carter, again, a very minor character in Multiverse of Madness, you may be wondering why she gets such a big intro [the reveal of Peggy Carter from another reality, as detailed in What If?], as well as why her death barely mattered in a film that made a big stink about her entrance [not the Peggy that we’re familiar with]). At this point, Marvel is feeling like a mobile game, where you have to devote actual time towards committing without losing by missing out; if you’ve logged twenty consecutive days onto a mobile game and you miss a day, you likely get stuck with day one rewards again. Again, this model is fine if that’s what you’re into: everyone enjoys things for different reasons. However, if you’re being fed the exact same ingredients with slightly different spices (we can’t stray too far away from our daily meatloaf, can we?) again and again, when does it stop being enjoyable to have this dish again (or to feel punished for having missed one meal when you try to skip to the next one [this is kind of where the food allegory ends, and I don’t have anything better, so I apologize])?
So the biggest question is: who are these films and shows for anymore? On one hand, they feel like they’re meant for everyone, and I do mean virtually everyone. Marvel works are such crowd pleasers that they almost never feel daring. On the other hand, they feel specifically fine-tuned for the most hardcore Marvel enthusiasts and for them alone. If you’re willing to watch everything and not exercise how far your own tastes can go, then you’ll always be content here. But then comes this mysterious third hand: a weird middle ground between both previous hands. Marvel sticklers aren’t getting what they’re craving, and non-Marvel fans are either being bait-and-switched with yet another classic Marvel piece, or they’re virtually not interested in these genre attempts from Marvel at all. At the end of the day, Marvel is as undistinguishable with its works as ever, and yet it is trying not to be. It has enough curve balls and rushed projects to bother mainstay fans, and the same conformity and safeness that has bothered non-believers this whole time. I also must point out how phases five and six didn’t make nearly the same kinds of splashes that previous announcements have, and I think this much is true: Marvel exhaustion is becoming quite real.
It’s too bad, because — and you won’t believe this after this lengthy rant — there is quite a lot that I do commend Marvel for. It is a great platform for brilliant performers to get that extra exposure and job security (I’ve been dying for Tatiana Maslany to get her flowers since Orphan Black, and I hope she finally will here): I don’t think you can find a single actor or actress in the Marvel universe that hasn’t been acclaimed, won awards, or have won the masses over (don’t give me that Brie Larson shit, she’s a great actress whether you like it or not). Before this recent wave of the post production members being overworked beyond their means, I would argue that Marvel previously was guaranteed to be a masterclass in effects and action sequences. I’m not a comic book fan myself, but I can acknowledge that this migration to the big screen has single handedly saved that industry (even though it has definitely hindered the film industry itself, outside of its own successes). In the same way that you’re guaranteed to get the same jokes, fun, and tone every single time, Marvel seemed like a guarantee in other ways. It still does: for now. That may start to change if this phase truly is the start of a messy descent.
I say “descent”, because I’m not sure if Marvel will climb back up to where it once was if it keeps doing what it’s doing (and having two phases and many years already pre-planned doesn’t mean change to me). Is this all just a little too much? Is Marvel losing sight of who it is trying to entertain (you can’t please everybody, so it isn’t even worth trying to do so or justify that Marvel is trying to)? Will people continue to slowly keep losing interest? I think Marvel is still at the point where Dr. Strange could be sitting on a toilet and trying to figure out his recently developed hemorrhoids, and it would still make millions at the box office, so I don’t think the studio has anything to worry about yet. The biggest fans will still be coming in droves. I don’t know if this comes across in my writing at all, but I don’t want Marvel to fail. I don’t even hate Marvel. I like quite a few works from the studio. I’m just concerned that things have gotten sloppy, the bigger picture is starting to get lost (the demographic, not the ten thousand upcoming planned projects), and Marvel may be shooting itself in the foot if it isn’t careful.
Who am I kidding? Marvel likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon; it’s got that Disney backbone now. I still think that it has lost grasp of the power it once had (outside of its money-making, of course).
But seriously. Stop talking shit about Tatiana Maslany, especially if you don’t know how great of a performer she really is.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.