Marvel Studios finds itself fending off claims of "superhero fatigue" and, after an underwhelming beginning - and middle - to the Multiverse Saga, Kevin Feige is leading a creative overhaul we hope will preserve the MCU for years to come.
Of course, it's not just recently that we've seen the studio make some missteps. There have been a great many characters - heroes and villains - who the MCU has failed since 2008, and those listed here are the ones we believe they've let down in a near-unforgivable way.
Is it too late to save them? That's up for debate, but while Feige is returning to the drawing board with the wider MCU, he may want to do something with this lot too!
We're sure you'll have plenty to say about our picks (and perhaps some of your own), so click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below to see who we've singled out.
7. Abomination
Marvel Studios mostly did right by Abomination in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. Following Hulk five years earlier, it was good to see the Jade Giant given an opponent he could actually punch, and Tim Roth was great as the despicable Emil Blonsky.
That was it for the villain until a surprise Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings cameo, though he'd later land a recurring role in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Unfortunately, Marvel Studios leaned too much into humour with the character. While Blonsky only pretending to be reformed so he could escape and take down She-Hulk (and her cousin) would have been expected, it still sounds better than what proved to be a weird, largely disjointed finale.
Now, it appears Abomination is going to become Wong's apprentice, further neutering a villain who once had so much more potential.
6. Sif
We've talked before about how Marvel Studios failed The Warriors Three and, following their demise in Thor: Ragnarok, there's not much to be done with them. As for Sif, Thor: Love and Thunder dropped the ball on her long-awaited return.
After being sidelined after a supporting role in 2013's Thor: The Dark World, the Asgardian showed up for a cameo in Loki and was later reunited with the God of Thunder in 2022.
We got a silly scene with her having lost her arm and...well, that was pretty much it.
The expectation had been that she'd head into battle alongside the Odinson and the Mighty Thor; instead, she was hospitalised and used by filmmaker Taika Waititi for a few cheap laughs. She could still get another chance but, in many ways, the moment has passed.
5. The Skrulls
In some respects, Marvel Studios deserves credit for subverting expectations with these shape-shifting aliens. Heading into Captain Marvel, we expected them to be the movie's antagonists and, instead, they were a species revealed to be suffering at the hands of the Kree.
The 2019 movie ended with the promise their story would continue elsewhere and it did in the poorly received Secret Invasion.
To begin with, the Disney+ series effectively played into what might happen if the Skrulls were to quietly invade Earth, only for the story to lose its way (lumbering viewers with yet another CG-heavy final battle which somehow even screwed up the concept of the Super-Skrull).
The Marvels ignored the show and the Skrulls have since been taken to New Asgard...despite being labelled a threat to our planet by President Ritson. Now, we don't ever want to see them again.
4. Captain Marvel
We're not going to delve too much into the Brie Larson situation because the sad fact is that much of the negativity surrounding the Oscar winner comes from angry internet incels who can't cope with a strong, outspoken woman.
Is she the best possible choice to play Carol Danvers in the MCU? That's subjective and a hard question to answer when she's been lumbered with some pretty subpar material. The potential for greatness was there, though, and it's been squandered.
Marvel Studios' mistake was rushing Captain Marvel so it would release between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Larson had to shoot her role in those movies before her solo outing, robbing that project of the ability to give the hero a distinct personality.
The Marvels then forced her to share the spotlight with two other heroes and told another Guardians of the Galaxy-lite story which failed to explore the fun of Carol returning to Earth. Now, Larson seems to have largely checked out based on recent comments.
3. A Whole Lot Of Villains...
We're cheating a bit here because Marvel Studios has squandered a long list of B and C-List villains. A recent example is M.O.D.O.K. in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania; he went from being the formidable leader of A.I.M. to a good excuse for a dick joke.
In the Spider-Man franchise, Shocker, Scorpion, and Prowler have all been forgotten, and we surely don't need to remind you about the likes of Malekith and Gorr the God Butcher in the Thor movies.
Marvel Studios has long had a villain problem, but the fact it's continuing - what a waste of time Kro was in Eternals - is troubling, particularly with The Fantastic Four and X-Men reboots on the horizon.
These and the many other baddies who instantly spring to mind should have been recurring threats in the MCU, not one-off threats who failed to live up to their potential.
2. Captain America
No, not Steve Rogers, though we would argue that the way Marvel Studios has failed to reveal what became of him after Avengers: Endgame is nothing short of infuriating.
Here, though, we're talking about his successor, Sam Wilson. Since becoming Captain America in 2021 - not until the final episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, mind you - the star-spangled Avenger has been M.I.A. He's getting a movie, sure, but not until 2025!
Marvel Studios should have been giving Cap cameo appearances in big and small screen projects since the Disney+ series ended, better establishing Sam as the MCU's new Captain America. Instead, he's been forgotten.
Now, with rumours swirling that Captain America: Brave New World is in trouble, we're starting to think Sam's time wielding the shield is destined to fail.
1. Red Skull
Captain America: The First Avenger handled the Red Skull's "death" in a way which left the door open to an eventual return. That didn't happen until Avengers: Infinity War for a well-received, albeit strange, cameo role as the Stonekeeper.
Marvel Studios never had Captain America cross paths with his old foe and didn't even hint at what could happen now he's no longer guarding the Soul Stone on Vormir.
Not bringing him back sooner was a waste, but to do nothing with Steve Rogers and Red Skull in the same movie is borderline unforgivable (and it happened twice). Taking him down that cosmic route also means that any return to Earth as the leader of a new HYDRA would feel small in comparison.
As a result, we think that's probably it for Red Skull, meaning we've missed out on some potentially amazing stories...