Can you believe that up until last Friday (15th) the last we saw of the MCU was way back in July 2019 with the Infinity Saga Epilogue in the form of Spider-Man; Far From Home. It was always going to be a good idea to take a break after the events of Endgame given the huge emotional toll it took on many (I’m not crying, don’t look at me) but its also worth considering that superhero fatigue was certainly spiking at this point too and people were getting a bit bored of the genre. I think its also fair to say that some people see Endgame or Far From Home as the end of the MCU and they aren’t interested in what’s to come and to be honest, given it took over ten years to get to this point, the prospect of committing at least another decade to a series of films is probably quite daunting. But, before we get into it, check out a reminder below of the last few scenes we saw of the MCU and the bombshell it left us with…
There is a lot to digest with those mid and post credit scenes and we have had to wait a long time for any sort of payoff but it feels like once again the wheels are in motion at Disney and things may begin falling into place with Wandavision of which episode one and two are available on Disney+ now. Despite only about an hour of the show airing and it seems that it is giving us more questions than answers, it does shine some light on some potential payoffs from the Spidey mid and post credit scenes as well as the overall direction of where Phase 4 and beyond is going…
The MCU needs space to grow…
I won’t break down the full implications of Wandavision in this post, I will save that for another post I have planned, but what is clear is that the ‘Nick Fury in space‘ tease is already getting addressed with the introduction of S.W.O.R.D who are basically S.H.I.E.L.D’s space faring siblings (IGN have an article here about them if you want to know more). So from there, the easy assumption to draw is that Nick Fury is on a S.W.O.R.D base in space which suggests that we are will likely be venturing away from Earth a lot more going forward. We already know that Thor: Love and Thunder will take place in space, the Eternals will expand on the ancient race of aliens that Thanos comes from and tie their history to that of humanities and the fact we see Talos (the Skrull from Captain Marvel masquerading as Nick Fury) on Earth shows that the Secret Invasion storyline could already be underway. There are other films that have been confirmed as well like Guardians 3 and Captain Marvel 2 which I would put money on are in space. So yeah, it looks like now that the Avengers have been to space they can’t get enough and will be turning their attention to the stars more often.
I think this is a great idea as it allows for a lot more craziness with a whole host of alien races that could be introduced, offering both friend and foe to our heroes. Also, by opening up their playground it allows more heroes to be introduced; the X-men have a complicated history with the Shi’ar, the Fantastic Four’s powers are cosmic and they have tied with Galactus plus we also have members of the Young Avengers such as Hulking who are aliens. Crucially though. although S.H.I.E.L.D have gone, S.W.O.R.D will take over the role as the glue that held the MCU together. If you don’t get what I mean, if you think back to the early MCU, S.H.I.E.L.D was the force that connected the films with the likes of Phil Coulson and Nick Fury introducing the Avengers both to each other and a common ally. Although it lives on in other ways, its necessity as a common ground faded away once Tony Stark bank rolled the Avengers therefore paving the way for their collapse in Winter Soldier. S.W.O.R.D however can now act as that bridge again between the newcomers to space (including us) and the whole universe that we are going to explore.
Crucially though. although S.H.I.E.L.D have gone, S.W.O.R.D will take over the role as the glue that held the MCU together.
The Devil is in the details…
An influential character from the comics, and one that could be being hinted in Wandavision Season 1 is Marvel’s equivalent to the devil, Mephisto. He plays a major role in the creation of Wanda and Vision’s children, Wiccan and Speed, who turn out to be soul fragments of Mephisto… and given that A) Vision is dead, B) Vision is an android and it would have been strange for Tony Stark or Ultron to give him the correct ‘plumbing’ and C) Wanda is pregnant, it is clear that there are some magical, reality bending shenanigans at play. Remember, Wanda is an insanely powerful player in the MCU with reality bending powers and it is clear that in Wandavision, she is being influenced to make this ‘reality’ she is in by someone. That someone could easily be Mephisto. Going back to Spider-Man, if you remember his identity was outed in the mid credit sequence. In the Civil War storyline from the comics, he had willingly revealed his identity but when this lead to disaster he made a deal with, you guessed it, Mephisto, to change history/perception so people didn’t know that Spider-Man was Peter Parker. I can only imagine that in his third instalment, Spider-Man will be having some trouble given the fact he was outed by Mysterio as not only Peter Parker but also framed for his murder so it wouldn’t surprise me if Peter seeks a way to put that particular secret back in its box. A final piece of evidence that Mephisto could be lurking in the shadows is that Spider-Man is also part of Dr Strange: Multiverse of Madness confirming, not only that Spider-Man is very likely going to the Spiderverse (with Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning) but also that a master of the mystical arts may be required to combat or help against a meddling devil’s interference…
As a quick intro to this charming, red fellow, he is basically a trickster demon who also rules the Hell dimension. He has crossed paths with most of the Avengers but not always directly. His preferred method of interfering is through deals, subterfuge and manipulation. The price Peter had to pay for example for hiding his identity was that he would no longer be married to MJ and they would not have their baby… he’s a bit of a dick like most demons. But the reason I am putting a lot of weight on Mephisto is because coming out of Endgame, a lot of the major recurring threats are gone and it leaves a villainous vacuum to fill. The overarching big bad of the first decade was Thanos while threats such as Hydra and Loki pestered our heroes along the way but now Thanos is gone, Hydra is neutered and Loki is undergoing a status quo change in his own series so it creates an opportunity for other complex, multi film villains to step up. I don’t believe Mephisto to be a Thanos level antagonist, not because he couldn’t do it but more because I believe that throne will be saved for the likes of Kang. I see Mephisto as a mastermind behind the early Phase 4 threats, forcing the creation of the Young Avengers and introducing the MCU to a new dimension such as Hell, in a similar way Loki united the original Avengers and introduced them to the cosmos.
Do we need to rename it to the MCMU?
So I have touched upon the idea of the MCU in space and I have also brought in the idea of the devil and another dimension akin to Hell but I wanted to touch a bit more on the concept of the Multiverse. I am joking of course when I suggest the MCMU (Marvel Cinematic Multi-Universe) but I believe we will start seeing films crop up in the MCU that may not take place within the original universe/timeline as started by Iron Man in 2008. To begin with, we know there will be Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield appearing in Spider-Man 3 suggests some element of a Spiderverse (off the back of the huge success of Into the Spiderverse from 2018) but also working to tie together the Disney and Sony deals relating to ownership and rights of Spidey. On top of this, Dr Strange is directly acknowledging the existence of multiple universes with it’s title Multiverse of Madness suggesting there will be some Multiverse tomfoolery at hand where he jumps between alternative universes with America Chavez (Miss America) even rumoured to be appearing – a woman who literally punches her way through dimensions. And by introducing these alternate worlds they can have some fun as well, such as bringing in Tom Cruise as Iron Man (seriously check it out) or even having Hydra Captain America with Chris Evans as rumour has it he’s back in talks with Marvel for my Iron Man-esque appearances.
This would be a great way for them to explore other stories and even tie in some of the What If… stories that we shall see in Disney’s animated series that is slated for this year. It also opens the door for returning characters who may have died such as Eric Killmonger or we may see the Fantastic Four introduced through a fully realised Council of Reeds! Basically, by opening the door to the concept of a multiverse, Marvel lift the sometimes restricting continuity it backed itself into and allows for neat albeit slightly cheeky, step arounds for casting decisions. We also get to see alternative characters or origins story’s and even some of the bigger later storylines such as Secret Wars or Time Runs Out!
Although its been a wait, 2021 is shaping up to be the year of Marvel. This year we have four films hitting us with Black Widow, Shan-Chi, Eternals and Spider-Man 3 (of which we haven’t seen trailers for the later 3) supported by almost bi-monthly releases of Disney+ series including Wandavision, Falcon & the Winter Solider, Loki, What if…, Ms Marvel and Hawkeye. Consider that at least two of these will contribute new Young Avengers in the form of Ms Marvel and Kate Bishop with the chance of Wiccan and Speed making an appearance imminently in Wandavision so its not farfetched to say that by the end of 2021 most of the Young Avengers roster will be ready. On top of that, we will catch up with the remaining old guard where we could see the formation of the New Avengers with a new Black Widow, Shang-Chi and more joining the ranks. The universe has been flung open for these teams as well, with space at the tips of their fingers, a multiverse ready to explore and arguably they have all of time to play with.
For me, the gap between Marvel instalments has been a long one but I think absence has made the heart grow fonder as I am super excited for what lies ahead. Weirdly as well, the future of the MCU is both clear and a complete mystery because they now have so many directions in which they can head. Initially, I was nervous about their direction but seeing the roadmap and considering their plans I think it is going to be a very strong phase. The combination of series and films also reflects a very 2020/2021 approach to story-telling and universe building, and here’s hoping that these four films help revitalise the cinema industry. The risk for them is that for a non-Marvel fan, its a lot harder for them to get excited without prior knowledge or at least trailers but I think the response to Wandavision so far has been positive so fingers crossed the hype begins to snowball again.
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