Mangling multiple classic comic book teams of outcasts. Ruining the story of one of the
world's greatest mystical warriors. And how do you make the Son of Satan
boring? Of all of these, what's the biggest mistake Marvel has ever made?
Following the success of Iron Man, the expectations were sky-high for the sequel.
In the lead-up to the production, one of the biggest changes made to Iron Man 2 was
Terrence Howard being fired from the MCU. Don Cheadle replaced him as James Rhodes,
but that didn't hinder the anticipation. Throw in the introduction of Scarlett
Johansson's Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, and Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell's tag-team
effort as the villains of the film. All signs pointed to the sequel outshining the original.
Unfortunately, Iron Man 2 didn't quite hit the same lofty standards as its predecessor.
As CNN's Tom Charity said,
"The whiz-bang stuff here [...] doesn't produce anything we haven't seen before.
It mutes Downey's cavalier charisma. He's still what makes this show tick,
but I'm not sure we want to see him wrestling with his own mortality
when it's his instinctive immorality that's his sexiest attribute."
“Maybe I'll even get laid.”
Netflix's master plan was always to introduce Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron
Fist in their own series, then bring them together in a big project that would rival the Avengers.
It was meant to be the streaming platform's epic team-up; just more down-to-earth than
a CGI extravaganza. Everything seemed to be on track, as Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and
Luke Cage received rave reviews from critics and fans ... but then, Iron Fist arrived.
No matter how The Defenders was positioned, it couldn't quite escape the shadow of Danny Rand's
face-plant. While The Defenders failed to come anywhere near the same fever pitch of
anticipation that accompanied The Avengers, it also wasn't a glum disappointment.
Instead, it was simply serviceable entertainment,
deemed unacceptable due to the high standards introduced in those first few Netflix shows.
“Last one.”
Comic book movie continuity can be a slippery slope.
With so many Marvel projects tying back to other features, series, and events,
then moving forward a few years, backtracking here and there... it feels like there should be
a map handed out with each new release. Black Widow didn't help the cause.
While there's no disputing that Natasha Romanoff deserved her own movie, many fans were puzzled why
her solo film arrived 11 years after the character debuted in the MCU, served as an origin story,
and was largely robbed of any dramatic tension by her death in Avengers: Endgame.
The film's Metacritic score stands at 67, indicating that it was received favorably
if not spectacularly by critics. For the MCU's standards, that's just not good enough.
“Alright. Enough! All of you.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
What is it about Marvel movies that almost always makes the second one
the dud? You can ponder that as you think about revisiting Age of Ultron, or wiser still, don't.
No one could have foreseen the influence the original Avengers would have on pop culture and
cinema in general. It proved that shared cinematic universes can work, and it heralded a new era for
comic book movies, announcing them as the future of blockbuster entertainment. Naturally, the
sequel had large shoes to fill. It would be the second time that Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be
on the big screen together, and everything needed to be grander and more audacious than before.
The action was certainly frenetic and the film received a host of striking set pieces, but
Avengers: Age of Ultron didn't convince everyone that it was in the same league as its predecessor.
Reviewers weren't exactly glowing in their praise for it. Even if it is Certified Fresh
at 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, it still is the lowest-rated Avengers film to date.
Helstrom was meant to kickstart a darker universe for Marvel properties on Hulu, which would have
also included Ghost Rider, but it ended up being the final show for Marvel Television when it was
shut down and merged with the overarching Marvel Studios. As a result, Helstrom was essentially
dead on arrival. It received little to no hype, and most people tend to forget it even existed.
Under normal circumstances, the Helstrom siblings aren't exactly
A- or even B-list Marvel personalities, which
certainly didn't help. Their TV debut didn't go as planned either, since Helstrom was hammered
by professional reviewers and received a hellish 27% approval on Rotten Tomatoes.
The viewing audience was far more generous to it, though, offering a kinder 71% rating.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“You’re right.”
Looking back, The Incredible Hulk was the most important movie in the MCU,
as its post-credits scene confirmed it took place in the same universe as Robert Downey
Jr.’s Iron Man. Sadly, this huge reveal and the addition of an A-list actor like Edward
Norton to the title role didn't do enough to convince an audience to actually see the film.
To date, it remains the lowest-grossing film of the MCU.
Box office slump aside, The Incredible Hulk didn't capture the hearts of critics or audiences,
either, as it holds only 70% fan approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Norton would never again return
as Bruce Banner, with Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige telling Entertainment Weekly,
"[Norton’s exit was] definitely not one based on monetary factors,
but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the
creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members."
Judging by how this film is hardly mentioned by anyone at Marvel anymore,
it sounds like a project they'd all rather forget existed.
“The smell of stale beer and defeat.”
With another subpar second film, the MCU somehow seems to be the opposite of Star Wars
films when it comes to which is the good one. In the case of Thor movies, fans fondly remember the
first and third ones; but Thor: The Dark World is hardly ever mentioned as anything but a punchline.
With a 66% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes,
it's the MCU's second-worst ranked film, and is often cited as the worst Marvel film.
It wasn't a bad movie, just a largely forgettable one. In fact, does anyone even
remember what the plot was about? Or who the villain was? As Rolling Stone said.
"The clutter makes your head feel like it's about to explode — and
not in a good way, with wonders upon wonders. [...] Instead it
seems like arcana that might show up on the midterm final: the next Marvel movie."
Director Alan Taylor revealed to Collider before the film's release that
part of the reshoot process was to include more of Loki; yet,
even that didn't manage to save the film from being one of the MCU's most bland.
“Oooh. The costume’s a bit much. So tight.”
For Kevin Feige, Eternals was the MCU's way of paying tribute to the late,
great Jack Kirby. Unfortunately, a number of critics didn't agree with Feige's thoughts.
Slant Magazine's review, in particular, pummeled the comparison, saying,
"[Director Chloé] Zhao ultimately robs the artist's comic of its
sweep by constantly turning a space opera into a repetitive character drama."
On Rotten Tomatoes, Eternals holds a 47% critical approval rating, making it the worst-ranked
MCU film on the platform. That said, there was a disparity in consensus between the critics
and viewers, as the audience approval sits at a respectable 78%. While it isn't uncommon to see
this happen, it proved that Eternals might very well be the MCU's most polarizing film to date.
“He’s wasting our time.”
After The Avengers gobbled up the box office receipts and went back for seconds,
it widened eyes in the entertainment industry. If one property could be so successful and
practically print money, why not tap into the goodwill and reap similar benefits across other
mediums? Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. proved to be the template of the best way to make
an Avengers show without the actual Avengers, and ABC knew it. But the network wanted more,
and one idea was to create a series called Marvel's Most Wanted,
which would have followed Adrianne Palicki's Bobbi Morse and Nick Blood's Lance Hunter.
In 2016, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. showrunner Jeff Bell confirmed
to IGN that a pilot had been shot and he was happy with the result of the episode,
stating that the two co-stars had fantastic chemistry; However, ABC wasn't convinced.
In a 2016 panel, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said,
"'Most Wanted,' ultimately at the end of the day,
did not feel as strong as some of the other pilots that we shot."
Whether that's true or not, fans may never get to find out;
ABC holds the right to the pilot, and there's no incentive to ever release it.
“The word you’re looking for is never.”
“No, not never, you’re exaggerating.”
In the comics, Iron Fist is one of the greatest fighters in the Marvel Universe.
So when the Iron Fist TV series dropped on Netflix with
hardly any magical elements and a lead actor who had no fighting background,
it was clear that the series wasn't about to win over any longtime fans or fence-sitters.
Every bit as concerning was the missed opportunity of correcting a wrong when it
came to cultural appropriation issues tied to the character, who was created during
a different cultural landscape. Rather than expanding the scope of the Marvel universe,
Iron Fist's Daniel Rand just came across as another whiny, rich white guy.
Unsurprisingly, Season 1 of Iron Fist received a Rotten rating of only 20%. The second season
was a marked improvement, receiving 55% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, but a mortal blow had already
been struck. Iron Fist couldn't escape the fact that it was the worst of Netflix's Marvel series,
and despite the continued love for other characters from these shows,
no one will be clamoring to see Finn Jones’s Danny Rand return in the MCU anytime soon.
“It’s all kind of crazy.”
In a review for Forbes, Paul Tassi said,
"[Inhumans is] easily the biggest mistake Marvel has made to date."
It was a sentiment shared by many critics at the time, as the series garnered a measly 11%
critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. From its messy CGI
to a weak storyline and even fake-looking wigs, nothing was spared from criticism.
It came as little surprise when Inhumans only received a single season. However. Anson Mount,
who played Black Bolt, revealed new information at the Dallas Fan Days convention in 2019.
"There's rumored to be a negotiation going on with Disney+ to reattempt
this. [...] I really want there to be another shot at the 'Inhumans,'
and I want it to be successful because I'd love to watch it. [...] I think it
is the most interesting little corner of the Marvel universe, and I think it just has to
be done — it has to have the right home, the right tone, and the right vision overall."
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