Summary
- Avengers 5 & 6 can fix the trend of boring finale locations in the MCU, offering more exciting and visually striking settings for action sequences.
- The use of excessive CGI for villains in recent MCU entries can be resolved in Avengers 5 & 6, as they will feature Kang the Conqueror as a main villain brought to life with minimal CGI.
- Avengers 5 & 6 can bring back the original purpose of post-credits scenes by using them as direct set-ups for the next MCU movie, instead of vague promises that often go unfulfilled.
In the years since its inception, the MCU has developed a number of trends that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars can put a stop to. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is undoubtedly one of cinema’s biggest and most successful franchises. Built on a framework of standalone stories slotting into an over-arcing narrative, the shared universe has seen the adaptation of a number of characters and stories from Marvel Comics. The MCU is in a constant state of development, with the next wave of stories seemingly set to introduce new heroes and new ideas into the franchise.
However, over the course of the franchise’s growth, it appears to have developed a few annoying trends. Certain narrative or visual ideas have been allowed to take root within the franchise, and many of them are actually to its detriment. Some are once good ideas that have simply become stale, while others have seemed ill-advised since their introduction. However, annoying though they may be, the MCU can fix these trends, with the franchise’s next big team-up presenting a perfect opportunity to redefine some of its worst tropes. Here are 10 of the annoying MCU trends that can be fixed in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.
10 Too Many MCU Finales Happen In Boring Locations
In the earlier stages of the MCU, the franchise’s action tended to happen in recognizable real-world locations, such as New York in The Avengers or Monaco in Iron Man 2. Gradually, the MCU moved away from this and instead had its epic finales take place in desolate or otherwise unremarkable locales. Avengers: Endgame, Eternals, and Secret Invasion are all prime examples of using boring locations for big action sequences, which is hopefully a trend that Avengers 5 and 6 will buck.
9 The MCU’s CGI Villains Have Grown Stale
It’s hardly a secret that the MCU tells some of the most imaginative and fantastical stories out there, but bringing these to life often presents a challenge. The use of CGI is a relatively simple modern solution, but the MCU’s over-reliance on visual effects has proven somewhat problematic in recent entries. Throughout Phases 4 and 5, the MCU’s CGI has become extensive, particularly when it comes to villains. Thankfully, Avengers 5 and 6 will feature Kang the Conqueror as their main villain, meaning that the heroes can finally face off against a villain brought to life with minimal CGI once more.
8 Avengers 5 & 6 Can Avoid Post-Credits Scenes That Go Unfulfilled
In the earliest stages of the MCU, post-credits scenes were used to tease the next film or a similarly imminent story. However, Phase 4’s post-credits scenes saw the use of teases that were far more vague promises for the franchise’s future, most of which have yet to be paid off. The use of post-credits scenes was once the MCU’s best trick, but by leaving so many unfulfilled, it has turned into one of its most annoying trends. Re-establishing the post-credit scenes as direct set-ups for the next MCU movie would be a perfect move for Avengers 5 leading into Secret Wars, breaking the trend in the best way possible.
7 Avengers 5 & 6 Can Dial Back On Nanotech Suits
One particular MCU trend that has become increasingly annoying is its reliance on nanotech, particularly in relation to various heroes’ suits. Nanotech was introduced as one of Tony Stark’s greatest innovations and was ultimately employed to simplify characters suiting up in order to fight crime. However, other heroes – most notably Spider-Man – also made use of nanotech equipment, and the resulting reliance on CGI across the franchise became one of the MCU’s most frustrating trends. With the Avengers moving on from Stark’s leadership in Avengers 5 and 6, nanotech suits will surely become less prominent.
6 Avengers 5 & 6 Need To Rediscover The MCU’s Early Comedic Balance
One of the MCU’s best qualities early on was its careful balance between gravitas and levity, but this has become increasingly skewed in recent entries. For example, Eternals was considered overly serious and somewhat dull, while Thor: Love and Thunder was dismissed as far too silly, but Avengers 5 can learn from the original Avengers movie exactly how to achieve the perfect balance once more. Assembling a new team of Avengers presents countless opportunities for comedic tension while also having them face a particularly dangerous threat, off-setting a high-stakes narrative with key moments of levity.
5 Upcoming Avengers Movies Must Resolve Some Narrative Arcs
Since Avengers: Endgame, the movies and TV shows of Phases 4 and 5 have had something in common: they rarely resolve any specific narrative arcs. For the most part, the MCU has been consistently introducing new heroes to its ranks but has yet to truly explore any of their stories. Many stories and ideas have been hinted at, but the vast majority have yet to come to any sort of conclusion, making Avengers 5 and 6 the perfect opportunity to finally resolve some of the MCU’s ongoing arcs.
4 Avengers 5 & 6 Can Finally Answer Major MCU Questions
Avengers: Endgame marked the end of the MCU’s Infinity Saga, with the franchise’s two biggest leaders of the Avengers making their exit. However, this raised a number of questions about Earth’s mightiest heroes and what their roster might look like moving forward – questions which Phases 4 and 5 have so far neglected to answer. Ahead of Avengers 5, the MCU will need heroes prepared to fight Kang, and therefore the franchise’s next big team-up will finally resolve one of its worst trends. Though the Avengers are the backbone of the MCU, their future has been left unclear for far too long.
3 Avengers 5 & 6 Must Clear Up Multiverse Messiness
After the Infinity Saga, Phase 4 marked the start of the Multiverse Saga, which has seen the introduction of countless alternate timelines and universes into the MCU. While this certainly sets the scene for a large-scale story involving Kang the Conqueror, the MCU’s presentation of the Multiverse has become increasingly messy and ill-defined as it has gone on. Though the Multiverse has already proven an excellent opportunity for cameos and fan service, Avengers 5 and 6 can break the trend by redefining the franchise’s core timeline ahead of its next narrative saga.
2 Key MCU Heroes Have Been Sidelined For Too Long
With an ever-expanding list of heroes in the MCU, the franchise has formed a trend of overlooking one or two key heroes. Two of the MCU’s original Avengers, Hulk and Hawkeye, are still active within the franchise but have each found themselves sidelined to a degree. For example, Bruce Banner, in particular, has taken something of a back seat in the MCU, but there are still plenty of Hulk stories to be told. This a trend that Avengers 5 and 6 will hopefully break, giving the MCU’s overlooked stalwarts a more important role in the franchise’s wider narrative.
1 Avengers 5 & 6 Should Keep Its Team Of Heroes Small
One of the MCU’s most difficult problems is a direct result of its massive success: it’s simply too big. Trying to include too many heroes is something that recent MCU movies and TV shows have struggled with, and it has made the narrative increasingly complex as it seemingly builds towards a team-up of epic proportions in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, the trend has actually been one of the MCU’s worst, as it sees each hero given less screen time and consideration. Keeping the team relatively small for upcoming Avengers movies might seem counterintuitive, but it would actually break a particularly annoying MCU trend.