It may seem like a long time ago, but there used to be a time when every new release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was a cultural event — think back to the excitement we all felt when discussing the implications of the latest post-credits scene with our friends. With the release of Captain America: Brave New World, however, those glory days look to be a thing of the past. The movie, which is the first of three MCU movies planned for 2025, aimed to usher in a new era for the First Avenger. That didn’t stop critics and fans alike from being less than kind: Rotten Tomatoes gave an average score in the mid-50s and the Metacritic rating was somewhere in the mid-40s.
Since Endgame wrapped up the Infinity Saga in 2019, audience reactions to the MCU movies that followed have been all over the map. Some films were met with disinterest (Thor: Love and Thunder and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), some met with ambivalence (The Marvels), and there were occasionally some moments of pure cinema (Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine).
Don’t get me wrong. Captain America: Brave New World wasn’t necessarily a terrible movie for the MCU. Sam Wilson shines in his first outing on the big screen as the new Captain America, Harrison Ford is charismatic as President “Thunderbolt” Ross, and Danny Ramirez steals every scene as the new Falcon. The movie does, to a certain extent, bring Marvel back to its roots.
So why have the movies after Avengers: Endgame faced considerable backlash regardless of the actual quality of the film?
The Nostalgia Goggles
Even in the early phases of the MCU, Marvel didn’t necessarily hit the mark with every project (The Incredible Hulk, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Fist, Inhumans, anyone?). Studies, however, have shown that factors such as our emotions and how questions are framed can affect the way we remember things. This explains the meteoric success of nostalgia-driven movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool and Wolverine, which come associated with warm memories of older movies. We tend to romanticize the past whilst being overly critical of the present.
But nostalgia can be a double-edged sword, and fans, especially Marvel fans, know it — or feel it — when that nostalgia is being manufactured. Perhaps that could have influenced Marvel’s decision to cast Robert Downey Jr., who famously helmed the role of Tony Stark in the MCU, as the big bad of the upcoming Avengers movies.
Nostalgia doesn’t just colour our past; it also shapes our expectations for the future, seeding the expectation that each new MCU movie will outdo the last.
Raised Expectations
When the Avengers first assembled in 2012, the sheer novelty of a shared universe hooked everyone in. Marvel then kept raising the bar with films like 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, whilst 2018’s Black Panther was such a cultural phenomenon that even the Smithsonian Museum in the United States featured Chadwick Boseman’s costume.
Their success inspired imitators like DC and Sony, who each had their own attempts at building shared universes. But the standards set by the MCU have, for better or worse, shaped the audience’s perception of the concept of a shared universe and contributed to those franchises’ negative reception. This success caused audiences to expect every new film to reach new heights, and Marvel Studios has been scrambling to recreate that excitement (to mediocre reception) with their sprawling Multiverse saga (and the introduction of Jonathan Majors as Kang).
Changing Media Landscape
Let’s not forget another important piece of the puzzle: social media. Platform algorithms are tailored to promote virality, which encourages social media users to share news articles with negative headlines. After all, outrage drives engagement. This vicious feedback loop has shifted nuanced discussions into binary judgements, with movies being either masterpieces or dumpster fires.
In the early days of the MCU, social media didn’t have the same influence as we see today. While people weren’t afraid to voice their frustrations on some projects, much of the conversations online focused on the novelty and excitement of the MCU. But the discourse has shifted. These days, audiences and fans alike aren’t afraid to voice their frustrations online if Marvel ever misses the mark.
In fact, outrage flat-out dominates the discourse — look at how the infamous ending of Game of Thrones generated a lot more online buzz when it ended in 2019 rather than the divisive ending to How I Met Your Mother in 2014. It’s proof that the way we engage with media has changed.
Tall Poppy Syndrome and Hype Backlash
Tall Poppy Syndrome is the idea that anything too successful gets cut down to size.
We see this all the time, from the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, Red Bull in Formula 1, Call of Duty in gaming, and Apple in technology. The MCU’s massive success makes it a prime target for the same level of cynicism.
Why does this happen? Some critics want to stand out by going against public opinion, while others might feel burned after getting caught up in the hype. Either way, it is very much a part of human nature to instinctively want to tear down something that becomes “too big.”
Rediscovering Our Yen
Criticism is inherently subjective, as we all experience media differently. At its core, however, film criticism should focus on what the film is rather than what it should be.
As fans, perhaps it’s time to rethink our expectations. It should be okay for Marvel movies — or any other long-running franchise — to be “good” or “alright” without constantly reinventing the wheel.
Instead of chasing revolution and perfection, it’s time for us to rediscover the joy of a simple, well-crafted story. If we can set aside the nostalgia and hype, we can rediscover the spark which drew us to fall in love with these movies in the first place.
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