Marvel Studios being forced to split its attention between movies, streaming, and animation has resulted in the Multiverse Saga being a little messy. Now, they're making moves to fix that and we're expecting a big slate update to head our way later this summer.
As we write this, Avengers 5 is fast approaching and some lingering issues need to be addressed.
With Kevin Feige unable to give every movie and TV show his full attention, a handful of ideas have slipped through the cracks which haven't worked. In this feature, we're touching on some of the most noteworthy, explaining why they need to be fixed or undone as we head into the later stages of this Saga.
To take a look at them, you'll just need to tap on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below...
5. She-Hulk's Fourth Wall Breaks
So much of the hate for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law was unwarranted, but even its most staunch defenders had to back down after what proved to be an oddly chaotic, weird finale.
We fully appreciate that She-Hulk breaking the fourth wall lines up with the comics. However, it didn't work on screen and led to both too much back-patting (K.E.V.I.N.) and a disappointing conclusion to a show which had any importance to the wider MCU taken from it when Jennifer Walters rewrote the story.
It was a cute addition to the Disney+ series at time, yes. Now, though, it's time to move on from the silliness and establish She-Hulk as the incredible hero and Avenger she is in the comic books.
4. The Multiversal War Is Ant-Man's Fault
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania was supposed to end with Kang the Conqueror escaping the Quantum Realm, leaving Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne trapped in his place. With that, the ultimate Kang Variant would have been free to unleash war on the Multiverse.
Instead, reshoots made it so that he died at Ant-Man's hands and Scott was left to wonder whether he'd doomed the world while celebrating his daughter's birthday. As downgrades go, that was a big one.
The focus is now expected to be taken off Kang and, hopefully, Marvel Studios will move on from this subplot. Whether it's resurrecting that Kang as The Beyonder or finding a way to make the Multiversal War about more than a fumble from Ant-Man (which shouldn't be hard), Quantumania is best forgotten.
3. Jane Foster's Death
Thor: Love and Thunder made a series of significant missteps, though the biggest was arguably saved for last. To some extent, it made sense for the messy story Taika Waititi was attempting to tell, but Jane Foster should have never died here.
It may line up with the comics, but in those, Jane had more than one adventure as the Mighty Thor. She saved Asgard, battled villains like Minotaur and Malekith, and even assembled alongside The Avengers where she romanced Captain America.
To Marvel Studios' credit, the door was left open for a possible return with that Valhalla scene. To shelve her before the next Avengers movies is mind-boggling, and we can now only hope the Multiverse undoes this, even if it's through the introduction of the Thor Corps.
2. Doctor Strange's Third Eye
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a better movie than many fans give it credit for. In fact, it usually seems to get a hard time simply for not living up to expectations set by the wild rumours about cameos for characters like Spider-Man and an evil Iron Man!
While the sequel was put through the wringer during reshoots, it went off the deep end with its ending. After meeting a Variant of himself who had a third eye which opened after the Darkhold corrupted him, Stephen Strange suddenly developed one of his own...and seemed perfectly fine with it by the time he met Clea.
It was a mess and suggested he might have become villainous in nature. This feels like the wrong direction to take Strange in and Marvel Studios either needs to better explain this or use a few throwaway lines to move past it pretty quickly.
1. Peter Parker, No More
This worked within the context of the movie, but make no mistake about it, at least part of the reason the world forgot about Peter Parker was in case No Way Home was Marvel Studios' final Spider-Man movie.
Disney's relationship with Sony Pictures fell apart after Far From Home and it was only pressure from fans and Tom Holland which made things right. By having everyone forget Peter, Spidey could swing off on adventures we'd, unfortunately, never get to see.
There are interesting places to take this in Spider-Man 4, but the sooner it's undone, the better. Peter's relationships with characters like Doctor Strange and Happy Hogan are, after all, a huge part of why it's been such a joy to see him in the MCU.
Which Multiverse Saga creative decisions would you like to see fixed or undone in the coming years? Let us know in the comments section below.