At time of writing Marvel studios is entering into their
much vaunted phase 3 with…less than a full deck of cards, to put it
delicately. The Marvel brand is
still a pretty unassailable seal of financial success but its standard as a
seal of quality and, most of all, audience interest has become decidedly
tarnished in the 3 years since Avengers
cemented them as the entertainment kings of the 2010s. There have been some major cultural
hits like Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant Man, and Winter Soldier has done a lot to cement Captain America as THE
superhero of this moment in time, much like Spider-Man in 2001, Batman in 1989,
or Superman in 1978. Additionally
they’ve finally managed to make some in roads on the issues of diversity
that’ve been dogging their brand for awhile thanks to the twin hits of Agent Carter and Jessica Jones.
Unfortunately, a pretty heft bundle of disposable,
forgotten, or underwhelming and underperforming entries have also blighted the
Marvel stable. Stuff like Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D., have all done a serious number on the Marvel brand and
losing out key box office battles to rival franchises like Jurassic World and Hunger
Games has definitely not helped.
The crowning example of the tarnished Marvel star would have to be Thor: The Dark World, the lackluster and
underperforming sequel to one of Marvel’s greatest successes of phase 1.
