MCU: It Has Nothing To Do With "Superhero Fatigue"

Depending on who you talk to, Marvel’s MCU is either on the decline or building up to its next big thing. Disney and Marvel have enjoyed so much success that it’s hard to believe that fans are this divided. Taking that into account, there’s a fair to good chance, just like before, that it’ll pay off in the long run, but story building takes time and audiences have short attention spans. Not every movie is going to be an Infinity War or Endgame-level event. Even as Avengers: Endgame the studio said there were going to be more focused on individual stories for the time being. Maybe your expectations were just too high after a phenomenal run.

One of the worst things to hear from these naysayers though is “It’s superhero fatigue. Everyone is just getting tired of superhero movies.” This to an extent is true if you’re coloring inside the lines, but think outside the box a little and it has nothing to do with any sort of fatigue. It’s not genres that audiences get fatigued with, studios just mass produce content that eventually they lose the heart and connection to these characters and their stories. The disconnect is where the divide starts to come in, not the fact that we’re tired of superhero movies, action movies, zombies, or vampire movies. The list could go on and on.

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For example, two of the biggest movies that have faced the most criticism of the current MCU are Antman: Quantumania and Thor: Love & Thunder. Both movies had so much potential but the character arcs weren’t there.

For Thor: Love & Thunder they leaned heavily into the humor but not in the campy fun way. While these superhero movies are family-friendly and geared toward children, they’ve always been fun for all ages. Love & Thunder took Thor and made him more of a goofy sidekick than they did in Ragnarok. Don’t get me wrong, the strength of Marvel has always been the upbeat tone and humor, but this one passed its limits.

Instead of a story revolving around Thor, all he’s lost, all he’s overcome, and his rekindled affection for Jane, the “scene stealers” instead took away from the emotional connection to these characters. How did they go from Thor: God of Thunder, losing everyone and everything he’s ever cared for to Thor, sidekick hiding from his axe, Stormbreaker, who is someone who has the tendency to get jealous?

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Then there’s Antman and his third solo MCU film. Scott is finally back after missing time with his daughter, Cassie, and again they took the wrong direction. Yes, she was captured by Kang, and her life was threatened, but there was no sense of immediacy of the threat. There were no scenes other than Kang convincing Scott to do his bidding that you thought she was ever in any real danger. Combine that with the fact that in the whole movie, these two are barely shared the same screen and it was a recipe for disaster. Where were the scenes where they shared an emotional bond? What about the scenes where audiences saw a real possibility that Scott would lose her again?

When audiences and critics alike use the term fatigue, ie superhero fatigue, it’s more of a burnout from lackluster storytelling and connection. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 was great. It was the perfect ending to their trilogy that still engaged fans who felt an emotional connection to these characters over the years. It was a masterclass on how to take something that has been done consistently and make it seem fresh. While it wasn’t perfect, it will go on to have great success. Superhero fatigue, along with any other, comes from seeing the same stories, told the same way, with the same results.

If Marvel wants the MCU to survive, it has to connect with audiences in a new and exciting way. These movies can’t be the same cookie-cutter formula the rest of them used for success. The stakes won’t be as high and keep audiences engaged anymore. It has to be about each character, what’s at stake for them, and how it connects with the audience. If they want to continue their success, there has to be a personal and meaningful bond with the audience. If not, then maybe “superhero fatigue” actually will set in.