Why I Will Never Question Marvel Studios Again
I was lying on the floor when my fiancé suggested we watch WandaVision. She knew I had no interest in watching it. The promo images along with the synopsis made me roll my eyes. I want to see superheroes do superhero things, not be stylistically domesticated. She turned it on anyway. By the second episode, I was up off the floor and hooked. By the ninth episode, we had re-watched seventeen MCU films and every Heavy Spoilers breakdown.
My first dismissal of the MCU happened in 2014 when Edgar Wright left Ant-Man. I was in my early 20’s, worshipped Edgar Wright, and was convinced Marvel was done after this move. I held a grudge and swore off Marvel movies. My boycott didn’t last very long because my ass was in the theatre to watch Guardians of the Galaxy that same year. I actually did skip Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Skipping these movies was partly because of my dumb boycott, but also because I wasn’t completely sold on the MCU yet. I loved Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America: The First Avenger, but I didn’t have an emotional connection yet. Avengers was a memorable experience for sure, but Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan’s Batman were still my favorite superhero franchises. At this point, I was still being influenced by friends who were more well-read in comics than I was, so I trusted their opinion on certain things not being “right” with the Marvel films. It wasn’t until I realized that the best way to enjoy these movies is as their own universe and not necessarily direct adaptations.
At this point in my MCU history, because of how much I loved Guardians of the Galaxy, I was invested but still lacked that emotional connection with the films. I watched Ultron and yes, Ant-Man in the theatre and enjoyed both. I guess I was over my dumb grudge. Little did I know that a hard punch to the face was coming soon in Captain America: Civil War.
I was a casual comic book consumer growing up, reading mostly Fantastic Four books. So I have some familiarity with secondary and tertiary characters. I am not an expert, which lends to the enjoyment of MCU films because it allows for limited expectations. I went into Civil War with just that, limited expectations.
My fiancé (girlfriend at the time) dragged me to watch Civil War with a large group of co-workers. I didn’t want to go. When we were there, I didn’t want to be there. I was excited about the movie because I knew Black Panther and Spidey were going to debut, and I had read the Civil War books. I was not expecting it to become my favorite MCU movie. To this day, it is.
This movie made me giddy in my seat, I felt like a kid again. Then the moment happened when I lost my shit, the moment that had me all in, completely sold on the MCU. The moment when Scott Lang makes his on-screen debut as Giant-Man during the classic airport scene. I didn’t see it coming. I couldn’t believe I was seeing Giant-Man in a movie. I was glowing afterward. Since then, I have seen every MCU film in theatres as soon as I possibly could.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySgGDg2Z2_I
So why was I so cynical about WandaVision? I’m struggling to comprehend why I was so dismissive of it before I giving it a shot. When I think WandaVision all I think of is joy. It rejuvenated my love for these films even more so than Infinity War and Endgame did, something I didn’t think was possible. It gave me a greater appreciation for previous MCU movies I thought I hated like Iron-Man 2. It made me watch Thor: The Dark World for the first time.
I recognize my mistakes, my poor judgment here. I let too many outside voices influence me in the past, and let my inner snob take over more recently. I wrote before about how being disappointed in movies allowed me to enjoy them more. I won't forget that lesson either. It’s best to operate in the middle, not to set expectations too high but also don’t let ego prevent you from giving something new a shot. We were swallowed up by the wave of fan theories about X-Men, Mephisto, and Reed Richards, but when those didn’t materialize it didn’t hinder the enjoyment of WandaVision as a whole.
This is also a lesson learned from Star Wars. My expectations were through the roof for Force Awakens, and subsequently The Last Jedi. While I liked The Last Jedi and stand by it, it was clear that Disney had no plan for Star Wars so I went into Rise of Skywalker with no expectations and had a fun time watching it. I was even on the fence about The Mandalorian when it started. Season two had me convinced it was a great show.
Civil War was my Raimi Spider-Man. It supplied the nostalgia I’ll feel in the future, it gave me a moment. I grew up watching and loving those movies, thinking Tobey Maguire would be Spider-Man forever. Now there are several and instead of debating who is the best ever, I’m glad all of them exist. The upcoming Far From Home sequel cannot come soon enough.
Embracing the endless possibilities for the MCU is something new. The future of Marvel is reboot-proof, especially after they incorporate X-Men. There's no need for a Captain America reboot. Just like in the comics, someone else can suit up in Steve Rodger’s place. It will be earned too. This wasn’t conceivable 15 years ago. Maybe that’s where my cynicism with WandaVision started. The idea of something new, an MCU series. I now know to just sit back, watch and let Marvel do their thing.
