As Marvel stories, the Disney+ original shows are fun to watch. They capture the stakes and adventure of the films but allow more time for character development. However, as many positive elements as the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows may have, they also tend to be a part of the problem with the world’s expansion. While some of the issues may fall on fan expectations, the shows themselves have been known to drop the ball in the final episodes when it comes to a significant conclusion. For example, althoughDoctor Stranger in the Multiverse of Madnessportrayed the aftermath of Wanda’s events inWandaVision, for the most part, a majority of what was relevant was summed up in a few short lines before it became clear what Wanda’s motivation was.
Update July 05, 2025: With the conclusion of Secret Invasion over and season 2 of Loki on the horizon, this article has been updated with more information regarding the Disney+ MCU series.
While other shows could have massive impacts on the MCU, such will the MCU continue to use Jennifer Walters onceShe-Hulk: Attorney At Lawends? Or will she fade into the background? Will Marc and Steven continue to play a role, or will the events ofMoon Knightnot be essential to the overall story? It has now been two years since the first MCU series premiered on Disney+ and four years since Marvel announced they would be doing television series, and here are some problems that have popped up since.
Drastically Different Tones
For the most part, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has learned how to blend the adventure and dramatic elements perfectly with the light-hearted and comical tone that keeps the stories fun and upbeat with severe stakes. However, with so many different shows and separate perspectives, things have slightly changed. For example,Moon Knightis more of a drama story as Marc Spector and Steven Grant strive to help each other, along with the devastating plot twist when Steven eventually learns the truth. In contrast, that is vastly different fromShe-Hulk’ssitcom structure and fourth wall breaks or the early episodes ofWandaVision.Meanwhile,Ms. Marvel’stone resembleshow the MCU presentsSpider-Man.Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki,andHawkeyeall exhibit a mixture of what viewers would expect from the MCU movies.
While the changes in tone work perfectly for the individual shows, they are all a part of one overall universe, and so far, no attempts have been made to meld these properties together.Marvel Comics have many different stories being published monthly with different writers and artist trying out different tones. A She-Hulk comic being published will be stylistically different from a Moon Knight comic, but those characters can and do exist in the same universe. So the different tones aren’t an issue. The issue is it is unclear when and how these characters will fit into each other’s worlds.
When the MCU started, everyone wondered how they would take a science fiction character like Iron Man with a fantasy character like Thor and make them work alongside a pulp World War II hero like Captain America.The Avengersshowed these different elements can come together. It would be nice to see how a comedy character like She-Hulk interacts with a more traditional MCU hero like Hawkeye. Or what happens when you drop Moon Knight into the more family-friendly world of Ms. Marvel? Marvel is embracing their different tones but not fully.
Confusing Timelines
Granted, this one is not entirely the easiest to follow in the films, either. But, it is significantly more difficult in a series likeMoon Knight, where the lack ofdirect connections to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universebasically means it could have taken place at any given time. Now timeline placement is not and should not be the more important element of a story. What matters is if it is good. Yet the MCU has sold itself on how everything is connected and at times, seems to be ignoring the connection.
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InMs. Marvel, Kamala Khan is obsessed with Captain Marvel and the Avengers, even starting the show by explaining the Blip and how the Avengers saved the world. However, nearly every MCU show has attempted to avoid the question of who had been blipped out of existence. Disregarding it removes the trauma that those characters, or their families and friends, would have suffered in those five years or returning after five years away. It is a major Earth-changing event and would likely have impacted various character relationships we’ve seen.
Uncertainty of How They Fit In
Once the show ends, how will the Disney+ Marvel characters be brought into the overall films?WandaVisionandMs. Marvelhad direct references to how they will be tied into feature films likeDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessandThe Marvels, respectively.The Falcon and the Winter Soldierwas basically a giant ad forCaptain America: Brave New World, and now it is confirmed Bucky Barnes will continue on inThunderbolts.
Yet what about characters like Moon Knight or She-Hulk? Moon Knight has no direct reference or connections to any MCU heroes, and so far, there are no plans to connect him with other supernatural heroes like Blade or Werewolf by Night. She-Hulk has connections to Hulk and Wong, so there are avenues for her to return, but nothing has been confirmed so far. Her own series makes a joke about this with them teasing, “see you on the big screen,” and then telling her no. When will She-Hulk or Moon Knight appear next? Nobody knows. Same with Kate Bishop on Hawkeye. That series seemed to set her up as his new replacement in the MCU, but no new project has been announced for her,not even a tease for the Young Avengers.
For years when Marvel fans saw a movie, they knew a hero would be back. AfterCaptain America: Civil War, they knew both a newSpider-ManandBlack Pantherfilm was coming.Ant-Mannot only showed up inCaptain America: Civil Warone year after his own film opened in theaters, but the end credits scene also promised Wasp and audiences knew she would be in the nextAnt-Manmovie. Many of these MCU heroes, nobody knows when they will appear next.
The Endings Are Controversial
MCU shows tend to do brilliantly until they reach the finale. At this point, they seem to fall short, portraying an anti-climactic battle or not quite delivering what viewers were hoping for. This is due to a number of factors. Shows likeHawkeye,Loki, andWandaVisionall wait until close to the conclusion to reveal the villain of the story, meaning the last episode not only has to catch up with everything on the villain’s side but also needs to conclude the entire series.In an attempt to match the big screen action audiences have come to expect from the MCU, the season finales tend to start with big giant action scenes that are quickly resolved but also don’t give a lot of time for proper resolution.
The worst offender might be Moon Knight, which features a giant action scene at the end but also quickly resolves with the main villain being defeated off-screen and a major conflict of the series left unresolved.She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawseemed to address the issue with the MCU series, on how they always end in giant fights with various plotlines that don’t make sense culminating. This suggested Marvel had heard these criticisms and was going to work on it…but thenSecret Invasioncame out and does the exact same ending thatShe-Hulkwas making fun of, even down to the blood that is a little too close to super soldier serum.
While all shows have solid openings and middles, the endings do not always hold up, leaving fans unsatisfied and uncertain about when they will see the characters next. They wrap up the individual show well enough but don’t feel like fully satisfying conclusions, and since it is unclear if any of the series will get follow-up seasons, it makes it more frustrating.
Marvel Doesn’t Seem to Know How to Do Television
One of the biggest issues with the MCU series, and even some of theStar Warsseries, is they are not structured like television shows. The series feels bloated and stretched out, feeling like long movies. While Marvel’s developed a strong formula for films which has been pretty consistent, that does not translate to television as television shows have a different structure. Series likeLoki,Moon Knight,andSecret Invasionall could have been two hours movies, but by stretching them out into television series, they tend to drag and are left unsatisfying.
The series that have worked are ones that embrace a television format.WandaVisionis a story that only could have been told on television and uses each episode to pay homage to classic TV but also incorporate into the larger themes of dealing with grief.She-Hulk: Attorney at Lawis very much a traditional half-hour comedy series, with each episode being distinct. An origin episode, a magic episode,the Daredevil episode. Each one works as a stand-alone while also telling a larger overarching story. Ms. Marvel could have been a movie, but it also wisely uses its television format to make each episode distinct, and a major part of the hero’s identity is formed in each episode.
Marvel needs to understand that film and television are two different mediums. They move at different paces and tell stories differently. If they are sticking with a weekly release pattern, they need to make sure their stories are engaging on a week-to-week basis but also make revisitation easier.
Are The Shows Necessary?
The MCU has sold itself on being connected and how one has to watch everything to understand the next entry. This is part of how people have felt the MCU has operated. Yet this has not entirely been the truth. Audiences clearly didn’t need to see all the origin MCU movies to understandThe Avengers, as was shown by that film making more money in its opening weekend thanThor,Captain America: The First Avenger, orThe Incredible Hulkin their entire domestic runs. Audiences can watch theAnt-Manmovies without needing to seeDoctor Strange.
The connections make it feel like you need to see everything, but one does not.Yet the television series creates an interesting paradox. When it comes to Phase 4, you must watchWandaVisionfirst to understand Wanda’s motivations inDoctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness. However, the story told in the movieessentially negates the redemption arcWanda had in the last two chapters of the show. It is expected to watchThe Marvels; onewill not only need to have seenCaptain Marvelbut also need to have seenWandaVision,Ms. Marvel, andSecret Invasionto understand it fully. YetSecret Invasionends with Fury in the same place he started the series, meaning the film might just ignore it and make it unnecessary.
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Somehow the shows are sold as these big important events, but in the end, don’t seem to matter that much in the grand scheme of things. The most interesting things they do for the universe are not big plot-changing shifts but digging deeper into the characters or introducing new exciting characters. In many ways, the Disney+ shows are similar tothe Defenders Saga made by Marvel at Netflix. WhenDaredevil,Jessica Jones,Luke Cage, andThe Punishermade their big splash on Netflix, they acknowledged the MCU events but did their own thing separately.
These spin-offs had an approach much similar to the comic books, letting everyone know the events are indeed in the same MCU we know and love, but each story is told within its own bubble.This was refreshing as it let them stand on their own, but also, more hardcore Marvel fans saw them as less important because they did not contribute to the wider narrative, and the characters would never interact with the bigger names. There was joy in following these shows as everything that happens in them that could be relevant is relegated to a crumb within the larger picture of the narrative being built, which can be said is true for the Disney+ series.
Quantity Over Quality
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney CEO Bob Chapek put extra pressure on all the Disney subsidiaries to release more material for Disney+ as that was seen as the future. While series likeWandaVision,Hawkeye,Ms. Marvel, andShe-Hulk: Attorney at Lawwere already announced, this is when Marvel Studios started announcing more projects. Secret Invasion was announced at this time, as wasEcho,Agatha Harkness: Coven of Chaos, andWonder Man. While these series can be good, it is clear Disney was putting more pressure on Marvel just to make more, and the addition of television series to the film slate stretched Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige thin. Sadly, the MCU has lost its compass by focusing too much on quantity over quality.
Recently they have announcedthey are scaling back productionsand will now be focusing on the series they already have announced. So it is unlikely there will be any announcements in the near future for future television series. They likely have a full slate into 2024, so the studio can now focus on getting their series right. After two years, hopefully, Marvel Studios has learned its lesson, and Kevin Feige can bring the magic back to this beloved brand.
