Hi everyone! I’m starting a new section under my “Opinion Pieces” called “Cathy’s Opinions”. Here I’ll discuss my thoughts on the latest news in the media (of course, it’s anything related to film, TV, anime, etc.). Please remember these are my own personal thoughts and I would never try to offend anyone 🙂 If you have anything you’d like to see me write about, please let me know! Don’t forget to share your thoughts and opinions on the topics in the comments below.
With the recent release of episode 3 from Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (2022), fans have flocked to social media to discuss the “controversial” post-credit scene. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch a forty second YouTube clip here. To put it plainly, the post-credit scene involves Jennifer Walters (in She-Hulk form) dancing and twerking with surprise gust Meghan Thee Stallion. As a result of this scene, there has been an outrage on Twitter with many fans split between absolutely loving or despising it. The conversation quickly turned to discussing the state of the MCU – is it any good anymore? With numerous fans claiming Phase 4 has been a major letdown and that the quality of Marvel’s films and shows have decreased, I wanted to give my two cents on the matter.
Let’s just cut straight to the chase, do I think Marvel Studios has gone bad? The short answer: no. But is Phase 4 my least favourite of the franchise so far? Yes. It’s important to realize that me saying Phase 4 is my least favourite doesn’t mean I think it’s bad or that the movies/shows haven’t been enjoyable. It simply means it’s my least favourite – nothing more, nothing less.
And that’s not to say there haven’t been some solid Phase 4 entries to the franchise: Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) is one of my favourite Marvel movies to date and while Eternals (2021) was widely met with negative criticism, I still enjoyed the film and thought it was visually stunning. I appreciate Marvel branching out and attempting new approaches and genres, and getting introduced to iconic characters I’ve never heard of before. They’re in an experimental stage, and that means not everything is going to be a hit. Still, one can respect the studio’s tenacity.
Ever since the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, Marvel has reached an all new high in hate comments. Whenever a new movie or show comes out, it seems like it’s bombarded with reviews saying it’s nowhere as good as it used to be. I feel like Marvel fans too often make one negative claim and then force it onto the entire brand. While I appreciate the fans’ enthusiasm and passion, using it in a negative way is dangerous. For example, scrolling through Twitter yesterday, I saw an infinite amount of comments (in reference to the She-Hulk twerking moment) saying things like “Marvel can’t get any worse than this” or “this scene shows how bad Marvel’s become”. I was really confused how a single scene could impact someone’s entire opinion of the MCU so greatly, but here I was, reading a never ending stream of descending comments towards Marvel and its creators.
Look, I saw the post-credit scene too and I didn’t like it myself either. I thought it was cringey too, but am I going to hate on Marvel, blame the show creators, and roast the actors because of it? The thought never even crossed my mind. Maybe I’m just tired of all the negativity online, but seeing so many hateful comments felt really exhausting. I definitely support everyone being entitled to their own opinions, but it’s as if social media has forced us to take our thoughts to the extreme; you either have to really hate something or really love something.
In my own opinion, I feel like the reason people are hating on the current MCU is because everyone misses the original characters. We had 10 years of following the same Avengers and those are the characters and storylines we’re familiar with and love. And I love them too, that’s why Phase 4 is my least favourite thus far. But I just want to remind everyone (Marvel fans and Marvel casuals alike) that it took 10 years for Marvel to develop those characters before they could create the fan favourites Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), so we should be a little more forgiving with them as they rebuild the foundations.
The most important thing to takeaway from all this though is to try and keep an open mind. I’m just grateful that we are lucky enough to have a studio that is as thoughtful in creating its comic book universe as Marvel is. I for one like to take in every new film/show with an open heart and even if I don’t particularly enjoy it, it doesn’t mean other fans aren’t. If you’re a true Marvel fan like myself, you’ll look for all the little positives that each new movie/show brings to the universe. Besides, a little positivity never hurt anyone 🙂
Fan First Reviews 
Cathy, I enjoyed this post very much. All the points you make are excellent. I am still keeping an open mind on Phase 4. I do have concerns over the volume of product coming out, as well as the fact there have been no meaningful connections between characters yet…or any bread crumbs towards a deeper, “Endgame”- type final destination. With all of Marvel’s prior success, my opinion is they needed – this time around – to start signaling and weaving in a long-term arc…or at least have a team-up…for this next set of Avengers soon after the beginning of Phase 4. All of these streaming series, which are the equivalent of origin story movies, aren’t moving the needle. Marvel had to know fans (like me) would be impatient to see characters meshing together and/or start down the road toward the inevitable “big bad.” I’m staying positive…and admittedly impatient!
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Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! 🙂 I totally agree with the volume of releases feeling a little problematic – it feels like we’re getting too much content without any real overarching story progression. I understand your impatience completely. I’m hoping Marvel has some reveals soon as to where they’re headed (hopefully at the Disney D23 Expo which is coming soon?!) I’m sure our patience will be rewarded though! 😀
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I also wouldn’t say it’s bad, but I feel every franchise, every series, every thing has its day and eventually comes to a fall, even empires and countries. And I feel Marvel is on its downfall having already hit its peak. Again, I’m not saying it’s bad, but I don’t think they’ll be able to rise back up to their previous heights from here on in. Maybe we’re just inundated with so much Marvel content that we need a break?
And I honestly don’t feel a Marvel product (even a show) should have a twerking scene in it. I feel that’s just going too far.
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The volume of content they’re pushing out has backfired for sure. I think a lot of people have been saying they’re feeling a little exhausted with all the new Marvel releases, especially when they can’t see the bigger picture yet. I’m really hoping Disney D23 Expo will release some exciting news!
I too didn’t like the twerking scene 😞 I though it was way too cringey.
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