No, it’s not time to kill the MCU — it’s a spectacular mess

No, it's not time to kill the MCU — it's a spectacular mess

(Image credit: Curiosity)

When Professor X wiped Magneto'south mind he inadvertently created Onslaught, an omnipotent monster that, at some betoken in 1996, got smashed out of his physical form by Hulk, turning into a gaseous rift in reality that could just exist closed by Captain America, Iron Human being, and the Fantastic Four dashing through information technology and sacrificing their lives.

Or and then they thought. The non-mutant heroes instead arrived in a unlike universe with narrative amnesia, and more than or less lived out their superhero lives again. Then after returned to the old universe and their old memories.

This is the road the MCU is on, and information technology'southward about to expand even more with an avalanche of upcoming Marvel shows and movies, including Spider-Human No Fashion Home, Hawkeye, Doctor Foreign in the Multiverse of Madness, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and more. And that's a practiced affair.

Comic universes cannot withstand their own expansion. Never could. They continually collapse and reset and break and rejoin and split and set up and die and rebirth. This is what history tells us and what the time to come holds.

To amuse myself I sometimes imagine a secret room at Warner Bros where execs are furiously trying to connect the parts of their universe that piece of work. "Gal stays." "Pattison is testing well though and so we need to figure out how we're losing Affleck" "Okay, cool, but what about Keaton?" "What?" "We're bringing him dorsum" "Oh God" "It's okay we're going to arrive fine in the Flash movie" "We're still doing that?" "Yep and in that location are two Flashes in it" "The CW ane every bit well?!" "No, no, that's weird. But Supergirl is" "The CW i?" "No, we tin't considering of the Superman problem" "Is that still Henry" "Dunno. Maybe the guy who played his torso in Shazam"

Kevin Feige's command of the MCU is remarkable. I bet his house is actually clean and his army of Roombas are continuously charged, poised to leap into action on a fallen crumb like Chitauri Leviathans.

I honey comics. I love the chaos. The anxiety-inducing doubtfulness nearly just how badly things volition resolve while simultaneously knowing that they never tin can

His directors are all decent. The actors are beautiful and mannerly and, nearly importantly, signed up to multi-picture deals. The films are sort of, kind of fine, delivered through a pristine template (that I assume Feige designed after slipping and bumping his baseball cap-less head while continuing on his toilet to hang a clock). And they all serve a greater proficient. The acronym to a higher place all others: the MCU.

And it's been a ride and so far. The road to Endgame was gorgeous. Kevin drove us all along Road 199999 with the roof downwardly and sun shining, his hands on the steering wheel in the ten to two position, us in the back tweeting how good we take it.

"What was that bump, Kevin? Did we striking a pothole?" "No, that'due south just me opening upwards the multiverse. Should be fine" "Okay. Why is the automobile now making that noise?" "I retrieve that's fourth dimension travel. It's okay" "Wait. Why is Tobey Maguire suddenly adjacent to you?" "I don't meet Tobey" "He's right there!" "Nope" "Upward ahead! It's a celestial!" "Hey guys, will you calm down, I got this!" "Kevin – picket out!"

I'chiliad lamentable, Kevin. Only you don't got this. Information technology was out of your control before Downey suited up. This a comic universe and no amount of clever scheduling, Sony negotiations, and mail-credit sequences tin can stop it from becoming a large, sprawling, autocannabilistic mess that chucks up Harry Styles inventing a Starfoxian accent.

And unlike the wonderful Marshall Honorof who says it's time to kill the MCU, I'1000 here for it.

I dearest comics. I love the chaos. The feet-inducing doubt about just how desperately things will resolve while simultaneously knowing that they never tin. In comics, the but thing worse than a bad sequel is a skilful ending.

The Eternals was our first proper gustatory modality of the universe not really making sense anymore. For me, it was the best thing almost that flick. The promise that things are about to get proper stupid. All of a sudden, I can see clone sagas and ages of Apocalypse, Ultimatums, and heroes reborn. This universe will split, schism and skew and exist stitched back together with cheating one-liners. Audiences will exist mad, #mcugh will tendency, and parents will be misty-eyed at the thought of simpler times when the rabbit and thunder god were friends.

Information technology will be confusing, and disappointing, but it will exist spectacular, and there is no surer bet on this planet correct now than my Disney Plus sub renewing.

It is inevitable.

Aaron Asadi is the principal content officer for Future, which includes Tom'due south Guide. Aaron joined Future in October 2016 following the acquisition of Imagine Publishing where he was an executive lath fellow member and Publishing Director. Aaron initially oversaw Future'due south magazine division, leading all print brands across its consumer portfolio.