MCU: 10 Major Flaws Of The Franchise That Fans Chose To Ignore
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite clearly one of the most successful franchises ever. With dozens of movies and even more film and television series on their way, the universe continues to grow. The movies have been huge blockbuster hits, and there are fans across the world. In fact, even if you try, it’s hard not to hear about MCU news.
However, most fans realize that the MCU isn’t a perfect entity. Many people have valid critiques, especially in regards to Disney’s overall approach to diversity. And, while there are some improvements being made, there is still a long way to go.
9 Men get rewarded for being jerks
This trope is something that many more people have started pointing out. And, while it isn’t just a problem in the MCU, it’s something that has happened in these movies over and over. White, rich, and intelligent men are propped up as being successful and wonderful despite being dismissive, rude, and sexist.
The two main examples are Tony Stark and Stephen Strange, and while they do “reform” somewhat, the films make them seem aspirational and reward them for their behavior.
8 There’s still no LGBTQ+ rep
One of the most consistent criticisms and complaints from many fans and critics alike is that the MCU is woefully behind the times when it comes to LGBTQIA+ characters. This is a Disney-wide problem, but since so many major franchises are now owned by Disney, it means the majority of big movies have no queer representation.
Despite talking for years of including these characters, any scenes so far have been cut. For now, fans are waiting to see if they actually follow through by making Valkyrie openly bisexual as they’ve promised.
7 The movies have erased the diverse identities/messages of many characters
Obviously, almost all of the characters from the MCU are based on comic book creations. As they are different mediums told by different creators, the characters often look quite different in the movies, and this is often a big problem.
For example, the MCU erased the Romani identity of Scarlet Witch and also missed an opportunity to cast a disabled person in the role of Hawkeye. There’s also the fact that characters like Captain America were created originally to fight fascism, and important stories like this are often watered down to make the films more palatable.
6 They shut down any queer readings of the story
It’s no secret as mentioned above that these movies don’t have any queer people at all. However, there are some relationships that are so full of subtext that a lot of people have interpreted them as possibly queer. The most notable example of this is Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes as nearly everywhere you looked people were talking about the homoerotic elements of their friendship.
However, Disney very decisively shut this down by sending Steve in the past to be with Peggy Carter despite the fact that it went against his characterization and ideals. It seems that the MCU doesn’t even want fans to interpret these characters however they want.
5 It’s military propaganda
Another issue with these movies that people continually point out is how they portray the United States Armed Forces as a unilaterally benevolent and trustworthy entity.
Many of the characters are members of the Army, and they are portrayed to be awesome and badass. It’s also a fact that these movies, like Captain Marvel, have cross-promotion with the armed forces. And, in Iron Man, there’s a problematic message that the U.S. military was the good guys compared to terrorists in the Middle East.
4 The politics seem to serve a conservative audience
When the MCU started out, the political messages were a little less pointed toward one side or another. In Captain America: The Winter Soldier, for example, there was even the idea that government systems were corrupted and needed to be questioned.
Now, any messaging about politics has mostly been scrubbed away or is meant to be so watered down it doesn’t mean anything. Unlike groundbreaking shows like Watchmen, Disney has become formulaic.
3 It has become quantity over quality
When all of the new slate of shows for Disney+ were announced in 2020, many fans were excited while others were apprehensive. Of course, not all of these shows were Marvel ones, but a ton of them were.
The MCU seems to have got things down to a science that combines witty dialogue, humorous moments, and eye-catching graphics, but some fans don’t want to lose individuality within the stories. The good thing is that there is more diversity moving forward, but some fans worry that this quantity will mean that more diverse stories get cut first.
2 They were behind the times with diversity
While the MCU is finally making efforts to include more racially diverse characters, including lead characters, they definitely weren’t at the forefront.
It wasn’t until Black Panther was released in 2018 that they had a person of color lead, and many of the characters before this, like Sam Wilson and Rhodey, were mostly used just as sidekicks. So, many people hope that the franchise will commit to lasting diversity moving forward.
1 There are way more male leads than female leads
Along with the lack of racial diversity, another big problem is how long it took the MCU to have a female-led film. It wasn’t until 2019 with
Captain Marvel, and up until that point, the female character often took a back seat to the men or were just love interests. Even with complex, beloved characters like Black Widow, multiple white men got three entire movies before a woman did. And, there still isn’t a movie set to come out that features a woman of color at the helm on her own.
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