The MCU may be vast and diverse with so many characters. But there are times even the MCU falters. Many fans are claiming the MCU has a problem with handling new and original characters.
There’s Too Much Humor
It is okay to inject a little bit of humor into new characters. But it is not okay to do it literally every time. The Marvel Cinematic Universe does get a lot of flak for overdoing the humor quotient. For once in a while, debuting new characters like Darcy Lewis and Trevor Slattery, only to make them turn into colossal idiots who are only there to liven up the screen rather than add to the story is a huge problem now. It is almost like Marvel Studios is doing it on purpose. The formula worked in the past because it felt fresh. But do it over and over again for more than a decade and fans start to think the new characters of MCU are just being used to distract the audience.
Changing The Status Quo From The Comic Books
Every time new characters are shown in comic books, the movies change far too many things about them. The changes are so profound and significant that the character loses its comic book source connection. Kate Bishop is a good example. Her comic book origin story was baby-proofed and made kid-friendly because her comic book origin story was just too dark for the show. Kate Bishop turned to vigilantism and martial arts because she was sexually assaulted in the past. It was her trauma that made her stronger. She was not looking out of the window and staring at an Avenger kicking alien butts that made her take archery lessons.
Using Original Characters For Character Development Of The MC
Darcy Lewis was nothing more than comic relief in the Thor movies. She finally got her time to shine in WandaVision. And how did the show use the phenomenal Kat Dennings? They just forced her as a gateway for exploring Wanda’s powers and her eventual character development arc. Luis is an ex-con who is trying his best to give himself and his criminal friends a fighting chance at a second shot in life. All we ever see him do is either blabber nonsense or show up right when Scott Lang or Hope are in a fix. He is just Ant-Man’s fairy Godmother.
Forgetting They Exist In Latter Movies
Be it MCU original characters or just pre-existing comic book characters introduced to the movies for the first time, the MCU is guilty of this phenomenon. Adam Warlock, who was introduced in the final scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, was not even mentioned till the last year when Will Poulter was cast as the superhero in the MCU. Trevor Slattery, the fake Mandarin, was forgotten and left abandoned till Shang-Chi brought him back. We have no idea why the MCU does this. They introduce characters, leave their fates undecided, potentially hinting they could return. And then they just forget these characters exist.
Procrastinating The Debut Of Fan-Favorite Characters
For years and years, Marvel fans have been clamoring for the X-Men and the Fantastic Four to come to the MCU. The Fox-Disney merger happened many moons ago. Marvel Studios should at least give us a deadline or a schedule of some sort for the eventual transition of the mutants and Marvel’s First Family to the MCU films. Many other characters like Wolverine and Ghost Rider that fans want in the MCU will probably take years to be in them. We know Marvel has a plan but it shouldn’t take this much time to throw us a hint at the very least. For the sake of minting money by creating this level of artificial scarcity, Marvel is estransing its own fan base.
