Alright, 2022 is out and 2023 is all the rage, geeks! Hopefully, the 31-day free trial called ‘January’ will serve us well, then we can decide from there if this really is our year. But with the pleasantries of the new year out of the way, I thought it would be rather fitting to have my first post on this blog regarding a certain topic that has boggled my mind for 2 years: The Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4.
Now I love Marvel with all my heart, but there was just something about Phase 4 that felt a little off. There were extremely great projects and extremely questionable ones too. We got the good, the bad, and the ‘huh’ via a total of 18 films, TV shows, and specials from 2021 – 2022. With this fever dream of a phase having wrapped up at the end of 2022, I think it’s only fitting that as a post to start the new year, I rank the projects of the MCU’s Phase 4.
Unfortunately, as good as the I am Groot, Werewolf by Night, and Guardians of the Galaxy specials were, I’m excluding them from the ranking. That being said, onto the ranking!
The Ranking
Okay, so the first thought you’ll probably have is “why are the tiers so weirdly named?”. and that’s totally understandable. I still wonder why I didn’t give the tiersintelligble titles like a normal person. But this is a safe space so ‘normal’ is thrown right out the winder here! But I promise there is a method to the madness. I will be explaining the reasons why the tiers have been named what they are, and why certain projects fall in there.
1. Earth’s Mightiest
This tier is for projects that have absolutely exceeded all expectations and were simply amazing concepts. The gems in this tier hold a special place in viewers’ hearts because they all had that je ne sais quoi that set them apart from all the rest.
The genius behind the comprehension of time itself in Loki; Moon Knight’s exploration of mental health and feeling so amazingly different to other MCU projects; Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ring’s awesomeness; and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s overall beauty and tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Amazing. These projects simply outshone everything else in Phase 4, for me, and that’s why they are Earth’s mightiest.
I thought No Way Home was the best film in this phase. The majority of the amazingness of the movie came from the nostalgia of seeing the greats of previous Spiderman films, but there was still so much more to love as well. Seeing a different side to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker was a great aspect of the film, through him facing much higher stakes and experiencing the viewers actively seeing him fall apart. Incredible.
The best show, in my opinion, was WandaVision because of how meaningful it was to watch. WandaVision is a show about grief and dealing with loss, and it is done so in such a creative way. From Wanda practically being her own villain to the sitcoms through the ages format; this show was extremely unique and engaging. And let’s not forget Vision being a philosophical king, too!
2. You were good, I’m waiting for you to be great
This sort of speaks for itself, but the projects in this tier are the ones I felt were missing that little something extra to be able to move up a level. Hawkeye and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier were good shows, but they didn’t draw me in and captivate me the way the above-tier’s projects did. I think they would have benefited from being movies, rather than shows. However, they are still quite commendable.
What If… was also a good and creative show with some standout episodes, but it just didn’t stick out to me as greatly as I wish it would. I think the biggest letdown has got to be with the poor pacing. Hopefully, season 2 will be much better if Marvel decides to extend the running time of the episodes (which was supposed to happen for season 1 but the pandemic had other plans).
3. Peetah, the hwoarse is heare
This is actually supposed to be correctly spelled out as ‘Peter, the horse is here’ but I thought spelling it differently helped in adding to the explanation for the projects at this level. This is for the projects that felt like such an odd fever dream that you just can’t shake. It wasn’t an awful project but that doesn’t mean it was insanely good either. And its presence definitely raised a few eyebrows at some point, like it was a random horse in the living room.
Black Widow was a film that needed to be released a long time ago, not after the character’s death in the previous phase’s conclusion, but alongside the time the rest of the original Avengers. Natasha Romanoff’s story being told was an obvious necessity but not 5 years after its prime time, so its sudden existence felt strange. I did like seeing Natasha one last time and her dynamics with her sister were cute to see, but this film was still a big disfavor to Nat. She deserved much better than what we were given (especially with that final act’s CGI).
Ms. Marvel was a good watch because I liked Kamala Khan quite a bit. The first few episodes were great, and the way Kamala saw the world was beautifully presented and so colorful. But then the color was lost, the villains threw me off completely, and the show just began to be a bit uninteresting for me. If the show continued with the light, comic-like tone it had in the first episode then it would have been more unique and enjoyable.
4. I want to give you a 0. But that’s not possible, so I give you a 1
This tier is for the projects that really weren’t the best at all but have a small element that saves them from being smack bang on the lowest level.
I expected Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness to do great things by helping move the multiverse plotline along in a terrific way and delve into it more. Unfortunately, this film did none of that. There were some good action scenes and getting to see Sir Patrick Stewart reprise his role as Professor X was fun, but the immense amount of plot holes, the little exploration of the multiverse, and Wanda’s sudden villainy just rubbed me the wrong way.
Thor: Love and Thunder was occasionally enjoyable but just really disappointing too. Thor is a mighty character with such an incredible story yet Love and Thunder made him so completely tragic – like everything about him is a joke. The film itself consisted of a lot of wasted potentials as well, like with Gorr and his huge role in the movie being ultimately useless with how little it was explored. It could have been an amazing movie, but it just wasn’t.
5. Hello, Officer? Yes, I’d like to report on an Avenger’s level threat
These projects made me feel as though my life was in danger with how… different they were. And by different I mean they made me question whether they were released without Marvel actually reviewing the end products and 100% going over them before their release to the general public.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. Don’t get me wrong, I sort of enjoyed it – mainly because one of my favorite characters, Matt Murdock/Daredevil made an appearance. Other than that, I didn’t really find any redeeming qualities in the show to make me consider liking it. Some of the comedy felt forced, the dialogue was a bit unnatural, and don’t get me started on the CGI.
Eternals? I gave it a shot expecting a lot from it, but it was truly the project in the entire phase that disappointed me the most. It had great potential, just like I said with Thor, but it was very underwhelming and halfway my brain just shut down. Because the more you get into this movie the more questions you have, and the more any sense or reason fell apart on itself.
Final thoughts
All in all, Phase 4 was quite the journey. However, the ups and downs of this era don’t have to be seen as a colossal disaster. 17 projects in 2 years are a lot to take in one straight after the other. When I was a causal fan back before I was a full-on geek for Marvel it was easy to watch the movies and keep up with everything because it was only one or two films a year. Now, it’s like some projects feel more like a chore to get over rather than an event like in previous phases. The wonder the MCU used to provide us is slowly fading away.
Hopefully, the feedback from views regarding the totality of this phase can be used to serve as a lesson to Marvel to take their time with things. Oversaturation won’t do anything but make your audience less interested in sticking along for the ride. Sometimes less is more, and quality will always matter a whole lot more than quantity ever will.
Phase 5 will officially begin on 17 February 2023 with the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. I adore Scott Lang, so I’m really looking forward to this project. Currently crossing my fingers that this won’t flop and Marvel will listen to the pleas of their fans and take it slow and steady with this phase. But that’s all from me on this one. Until next time, this is me signing off.
Lily out, geeks!