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Dec. 17, 2021, was the perfect day to end my first semester of college. All my exams were done, I was packed and ready to go home. To top it off, I was going to Destiny USA to see “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

The third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man trilogy was one of the most anticipated movies of recent years. The pandemic limited the movie theater experience, and there hadn’t been a tentpole film release in almost two years. Rumors that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would make cameos as alternate versions of Spider-Man added to the movie’s hype.

The IMAX theater crowd was ready for anything as the lights dimmed and the classic Marvel Studios logo flashed across the screen. About 85 minutes into the movie, the crowd of Spider-Man fans and MCU nerds’ excitement transitioned to elation. Garfield and Maguire stepped out of magical portals and into the MCU.

The theater’s reaction was a mix of surprise that all the rumors were true, and elation that these beloved actors were back playing Peter Parker. Videos from theaters around the world showed MCU fans sharing these emotions.

When Phase Three of the MCU finished with “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019, an eleven-year-connected universe of movies came to a smashing conclusion. The movie neatly combined the stories of 22 films and included some of the most iconic scenes in MCU history.

The ending celebrated the franchise’s past and briefly teased what was to come. The character arcs of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America ended, but there was more on the horizon. The franchise had built up enough goodwill that fans had confidence the universe would continue to entertain us for years to come.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case, and the rest of my time at Syracuse has been filled with disappointing MCU storytelling and a lack of direction from the studio.

The release of “Thunderbolts*” on May 2 marks the beginning of Phase 6 of the MCU, which will include the make-or-break films “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” on July 25, “Avengers: Doomsday” in 2026 and “Avengers: Secret Wars” in 2027.

The release of “Superman” on July 11 is seen as a restart of the DC Universe, and its success is vital to the company’s future.

While once a significant cultural and financial force, as the superhero genre reaches a crossroads this summer, it’s approaching a breaking point.

Sophia Burke | Design Editor

When the MCU was at its peak, each movie felt like an event. Millions of people went to the movie theater to see whatever story Marvel President Kevin Feige had produced. Audiences knew each film was part of the broader narrative, and they were invested in the MCU’s journey. Now, following every thread the MCU weaves is more difficult than ever.

In 2020, then Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that the company would focus more on its streaming ventures. This decision led to the greenlighting of a large number of MCU Disney+ television shows, with quantity prioritized over quality.

The MCU’s time on Disney+ started well, with positive reviews for “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Loki” and “Hawkeye.” Those shows were centered on well-known characters and continued narratives with which fans had strong connections.

Most of the shows since November 2021 can best be described as action-packed and inventive at best (“Moon Knight,” “Ms. Marvel” and “Agatha All Along”), or the most deplorable, insulting piece of content the MCU has ever produced at worst (“Secret Invasion”).

These shows suffer from lazy writing, poor character development and a general sense of prioritizing a studio requirement over genuinely connecting with the audience. Even MCU completionists like myself struggle to keep up with all these underwhelming shows.

As bad as some of the TV shows may be, a solid group of movies would be enough to keep the MCU’s success going. However, those have suffered as well.

Since the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in 2021, the MCU hasn’t released a movie that comes remotely close to the peaks of the first three phases. Similar to how a need for quantity outweighed the need for quality on the TV side, the movies have struggled to tell compelling, individual stories for their characters.

Or, as Chris Ryan said on “The Big Picture” podcast discussing “Captain America: Brave New World” — “(The MCU) needs to focus more on the cinema and less on the universe.”

It’s not that the MCU movies haven’t been financially successful. In 2024, “Deadpool & Wolverine” grossed over $1.28 billion, but that movie was almost entirely built around nostalgia and is barely connected to the larger MCU. The financial success almost feels like empty calories.

When the MCU was at its best, each movie felt important and could stand on its own, regardless of its connections to the larger universe. In the past few years, they’ve lost that ability, and the movies feel much more like a 2-hour filler until we reach the next “Avengers-level” event in the universe.

That brings us to this upcoming summer, where two MCU projects and a film from a new iteration of DC studios could have a massive impact on the state of superhero movies.

Early reviews for “Thunderbolts*” are overwhelmingly positive, and many say the film has the feel of an early MCU movie. If that positivity holds, it would be a great way to start an extremely pivotal summer for the MCU and superhero movies in general. For “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Superman,” successes could usher in a new era of superhero movies, giving fans something to look forward to.

The Fantastic Four and Superman are some of the best characters in comic book history. However, a universally beloved Superman movie hasn’t been made in over 40 years, and there’s never been a great Fantastic Four movie. It would be great to see these iconic characters receive proper film treatment and help launch a new generation of superhero storytelling.

A few days ago, I came across a Snapchat memory of my friends and I going to see “Avengers: Endgame” — it was a picture of me crying as the credits began to roll. Although I laugh whenever I see that, it reminds me how much I love these stories and the impact they’ve had on me.

Do I spend way too much time parsing through YouTube videos that break down every frame of a superhero movie trailer? Yes. Have I spent hours watching every TV episode that connects to the MCU? Yes. In recent years, that time spent hasn’t yielded anything significant, and I’m beginning to question whether it’s all worth it. I genuinely hope this summer changes that, and the feelings I had seeing “Avengers: Endgame” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in a packed movie theater come back.

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Published on April 29, 2025 at 10:11 pm