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The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU, has grow to be a singular popular culture phenomenon. It is way over a cohesive trilogy of films like The Lord of the Rings or the unique Star Wars – it is a huge net of interconnected films, and later, quick TV exhibits that kind a sprawling universe of leisure. But all of it needed to begin someplace.
2008 noticed the delivery of the MCU with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, adopted by a number of extra standalone options and at last, 2012’s The Avengersto make up Phase One of the MCU. It was a wild trip on the time, however rewatching these films now could be a severe case of diminishing returns. In varied methods, most of them minor, Phase One is awkward to rewatch in the present day within the early 2020s. The MCU has moved on, and so have its followers.
10 Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner Feels Out Of Place
It’s not remarkable for TV exhibits or film franchises to swap one actor for an additional, akin to if the unique actor is unavailable or not . As for the MCU, actor Edward Norton portrayed the character Bruce Banner in 2008’s The Hulk, solely to by no means seem within the MCU once more.
Fans love Mark Ruffalo’s tackle the character, however going again, its feels odd to see The Incredible Hulk spend a lot time on this model of the character, figuring out full nicely that he is about to vanish.
9 The Villains Are Not Very Good
Early on, it was surprisingly simple to mock the MCU for having weak or boring villains, with the mad god Loki being the only real exception. These Phase One villains barely even delivered when the MCU was younger, and in comparison with later villains like Thanos, Erik Killmonger, and Xu Wenwu, they’re merely atrocious.
Phase One handled MCU followers to the likes of the obnoxious Justin Hammer, the forgettable Red Skull, and Obadiah Stane, and rewatching Phase One means enduring the tedium of pretending that these villains are a severe menace. It’s no enjoyable when a whole film is about combating the likes of Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko.
8 Black Widow Is Underappreciated In Phase One
It’s true that Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow lacks a magical hammer or a go well with of high-tech armor, however even then, the MCU’s first section handled her character extra like a token superspy than as a considerable a part of the MCU. Later films akin to 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 2021’s Black Widow later fastened that, although.
Rewatching Phase One means seeing Black Widow at her worst. She does carry out some cool martial arts, however in any other case, she nearly looks like a token “the lady” character, and that is an enormous waste, even insulting in some methods. Phase One was merely not variety to her character.
7 Phase One’s Humor Was Somewhat Weak
The MCU’s humor was by no means horrible, however rewatching the MCU’s first section means listening to jokes that followers have heard far too many occasions. Besides, the MCU’s humor has since developed with its characters, and everybody was nonetheless figuring issues out in Phase One.
At the time, Tony Stark did have zingers, as he often does, however the mighty Asgardian Thor was devoid of any actual humor in distinction to each Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder. In Phase One, Steve Rogers’ humor was additionally weak, even for a soldierly character like him.
6 The Stakes Feel Rather Low In Phase One’s Movies
Understandably, the MCU needed to begin small with the stakes and regularly construct as much as universe-threatening villains like Thanos. It can be odd to begin the MCU with your entire cosmos in peril. That stated, most of Phase One’s films have low stakes, and that may really feel disappointing on a rewatch.
Captain America: The First Avenger had World War II’s final result at stake, however everybody is aware of how that conflict ended, resulting in weak stakes. Meanwhile, hardly anybody cares if Obadiah Stane made his personal Iron Monger go well with and fought Tony for management of Stark Industries. The MCU’s later phases had significantly better stakes than that.
5 Phase One Almost Never Went Into Space
The scope of the MCU expanded in a bodily sense when Phases Two and Three took to the celebs, akin to with the 2 Guardians of the Galaxy films and the interstellar journey of Infinity War and Engame. However, Phase One hardly left its Earth dwelling.
Marvel has loads of sci-fi parts, together with outer area adventures, and that was largely absent from Phase One. The Avengers and Thor did toy round with otherworldly settings and scenes, however not a lot. Earth is the principle stage for all Phase One occasions, and by now, it feels reasonably cramped.
4 Phase One Lacked Magical Powers
Not solely was Phase One lacking Doctor Stephen Strange, that section was additionally missing Doctor Strange’s total combating model and magical arts. No one within the MCU used magic earlier than Doctor Strange did, so Phase One was sorely missing in sorcery and wizardry.
This meant that Phase One has an oddly dry sci-fi really feel to it, akin to high-tech laser weapons and fistfights aboard big flying ships. That’s not a horrible factor, nevertheless it additionally meant that Phase One’s motion scenes and aesthetic lacked a magical part to spherical issues out.
3 Phase One’s Events Feel Largely Irrelevant To Later Phases
Among Phase One’s films, it’s primarily 2012’s The Avengers that has a severe influence on later arcs and the MCU as a complete. Most of Phase One’s films serve the only real objective of introducing the core characters, and in any other case, they really feel self-contained.
In the long term, it would not matter if Ivan Vanko needed revenge, and the MCU would not care what the unique Hulk did, both. Phase One feels considerably disconnected from the remainder of the MCU on a rewatch, making it really feel like a standalone mini-MCU.
2 Phase One Had Weak Romance
Love and relationships helped humanize MCU characters, making them really feel like far more than motion figures come to life. These are nonetheless individuals, in any case, and so they have feelings and private wants which are finest expressed by means of their romantic adventures. Solid pairings embrace Steve/Peggy, Tony/Pepper, Peter/Gamora and Thor/Jane, amongst others.
However, when rewatching Phase One, followers could observe a disappointing lack of romance amongst these characters, robbing these characters of some relatable private stakes. These films do trace at future romances, which is nice, however there’s virtually no payoff in Phase One itself.
1 Phase One Is Almost Entirely Origin Stories
It’s true that Phases Two and Three even have origin tales, akin to for the tiny hero Ant-Man and Doctor Stephen Strange, however when followers return to Phase One for an additional viewing, they’re going to discover how tedious it’s – practically all of those films are origin tales.
The sole exception is 2010’s Iron Man 2, and followers weren’t as receptive to this movie. Even 2012’s The Avengers is the origins of how the workforce bought collectively, which means even at its finest, Phase One is usually simply origin tales. With followers being so used to those characters by now, the origin tales really feel sort of foolish to observe.
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