What do Daredevil, Elektra and Punisher all have in common? They're all street-level heroes. Then there's Hulk, who is the result of science. Fast-forward a few years. What do Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America have in common? They're all science/technology-based. Look to the future. What do Thor, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dr. Strange have in common? They're all cosmic/magic-based. There's a pattern in the MCU. Each set of movies, each "phase," has a theme. Each character in that "phase" connects to that theme, whether it be street fighting, science, or the power cosmic. Except one. That one exception links the current "phase" to the next.
So here's my question: were Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, and Hulk the REAL Phase 1? Were they the ones that were supposed to take the world by storm and kickstart the MCU? Was an Avengers movie going to happen well before it actually did? There's no rumors of any of that, but logically, it would make sense. I'm not claiming that these were Marvel's actual plans, but theoretically, this would've been a pretty solid idea. So what would the impacts of this Old Phase 1 be?
A DARKER MCU:
I'm one of those people who is a huge fan of the light-hearted tones of the Iron Man trilogy and Thor: The Dark World. That's what a superhero film should be, fun and explosive. So, to me at least, this effect of the Old Phase 1 would have hurt Marvel greatly. The tones of Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, and even Hulk were all rather serious, and they were more of adult movies. If those movies were done well enough to warrant sequels, the dark themes would stick around. The reason this would hurt Marvel is because, even if the movies were fantastic, they would appeal more towards adults and less towards the teenage/kid demographic. That's a big hit in the wallet. The biggest positive from a dark MCU? A hard-R Deadpool...
MORE HEROES:
The reason Marvel can't crank out a Daredevil movie as soon as we'd like is because it's too late. As much as I love the character, he's rather useless in a fight against Thanos. There are plenty of characters that Marvel has on the street-level that would've benefitted from a street-level Phase 1. What about someone like Moon Knight? Or even a proper introduction for Hawkeye and Black Widow?
Maybe a Power Man flim to transition even further into science-y Phase 2.
MARVEL MONOPOLY:
Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher, and Hulk all came out before DC's Batman Begins and Superman Returns. Marvel's failures allowed DC to fail with Superman Returns without drowning them. If Marvel had a complete, entertaining Phase 1 and Superman Returns was the failure that it was, DC wouldn't have enough time to recover. But since Marvel did initially fail, they had to recover too. While they were regaining their footing, DC cranked out Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. This allowed DC to grab a portion of the comic book movie industry. While they are still the smaller of two titans, DC is gaining ground with Man of Steel, Batman/Superman, and the inevitable future Justice League films. If Marvel had succeeded 10 years ago, they would be the only name in comic book movies.
SUPERMAN RETURNS RETURNS:
If Marvel's theoretical Phase 1 was successful, DC would need to come up with a film fast. After the god-awful Superman Returns, they would need a rebound film. The easiest thing for them to come back with would be another Superman film.
JUSTICE LEAGUE AND THE END OF THE NOLANVERSE:
It's funny how these films would actually have a greater impact on DC. If Daredevil, Elektra, Punisher and Hulk were good and an Avengers movie followed them, DC would recognize the need for their own team-up movie. Cue the Justice League. But wait! They can't use Batman! He's in his own franchise! Well, he wouldn't be anymore. DC would have to find a way to tie Batman Begins to Superman Returns and begin building the Justice League as soon as possible. That would mean no Dark Knight or Dark Knight Rises.
The chances that these movies were a planned Phase 1 are pretty slim. I doubt that Marvel was thinking MCU at this time. But they do share some characteristics similar to the Phases we know today. And if these movies were as good as we had hoped, they would have had a huge impact on modern comic book movies.