Well, Antman, Guardians 3, and Secret Invasion have finally come...and now their gone. Do we miss them? Have they left an impact on our lives or, even the greater MCU? Nope. All but Guardians were either forgettable or down right awful. I didn't hate Antman Quantum Mania, but I did hate Secret Invasion. Antman killed off the very well done comic accurate version of Kang, and Secret Invasion finished the ruination of Nick Fury started in Captain Marvel. Guardians 3, the only good thing that Marvel has given us since Spiderman No Way Home, was the end of this Guardians team. Oh goody, that's what we all asked for. (Do you sense the sarcasm?)
Well, what about Phase 4? Tell me now true believers, what came out of phase 4 that was good? Let me hear you say it, SPIDERMAN. Yup, just Spiderman. Hawkeye and Doctor Strange were pretty good and I liked them, but they were not well received by fans and are over all considered flops. The rest of phase 4 went from bad to more bad. Or in other words, from Shang Shi (Whcih I did like) to She Hulk. She Hulk obviously being the most sacrilegious atrocious thing Disney Marvel has ever given us.
So, since phase 4 was over all bad and the beginning of phase 5 has been at best forgettable, what does Marvel have planned for us to make up for their failure? The Marvels, Iron Heart, Echo, Agatha, more bad Loki, and more of the unpopular and overly political Falcon Capt. America. What?? I mean, do they have a two year old directing the ship over there at Disney? No, worse. A two year old can learn and grow, the leadership at Disney, Marvel and Lucas Films have proven that they can't.
Ok, since we know that Disney marvel has gone off course, what could they have done or still can do that would right the floundering ship that is the MCU? It is obvious to anyone with a brain, that they had no idea or plan for phase 4 other than replacing most of the heroes with female counterparts of their characters. A tactic that didn't work in the comics and isn't working in the MCU. The injection of woke politics over substance killed comics and it's going to kill the MCU as well. Now that we understand that, lets get to the steps I feel Disney can take to prevent the MCU from sinking like the Titanic.
They Should Have Set Up Galactus
This is something I have been saying since End Game. I have friends who disagree with me, but I stand by my opinion. You introduced the celestials, the Eternals and other cosmic beings such as Ego, and the end of Infinity War was a perfect place to subtly introduce and hint at the world eater. Even transformers understood this by giving us Unicron in Rise of the Beasts, which is a rip off of GALACTUS.
Even though I do like Kang the Conqueror, he is not at the same threat level as Thanos. Galactus, however, is. If I were in charge over at Marvel, I would have used the second end credit scene from End Game to set up Galactus. I would have shown a happy planet, possibly Gamora's, having their celebrations interrupted by a shadow blotting out their sun. Boom! Everyone who reads comics instantly suspects it's Galactus and everyone else is left guessing at what great threat the MCU has planned for them in the future. You could even have a silver silhouette of a human like figure hovering in the sky as the shadow blots out the sun. Boo Ya! The herald of Galactus has come, and that leads me to my second point.
2. They Should Introduce the Silver Surfer
Well, this is a no brainer. Disney has had the rights to Silver Surfer for a while now and End Game was the perfect time to introduce him. His story goes hand in hand with Galctus' and both should have been set up as the main threats for the future of the MCU. You could still do a bunch of random movies and shows that barely connect, and still set up this cosmic threat.
Yes, this story is also tied with the Fantastic Four. But you could bring these two in and not completely reveal them, just like they did with Thanos. This would allow you to take as much time as you needed to introduce Marvel's First Family. If you remember, we had the threat of Thanos long before he actually stepped onto the screen in Infinity War. This slow burn set him up as an unknown threat and it is what gave him such impact. This should have been done for the Silver Surfer and Galactus. It would allow for the Surfer to be a villain before he decides to defy Galactus and become the hero he is. This is and would have been a much better choice than the Kang Dynasty.
3. DOOM HAS COME
I remember when the rumors for Black Panther 2 was that it would be Wakanda VS Latveria. What we got was Wakanda VS Atlantis. This may have been because Chadwick Boseman died, but it was a huge missed opportunity. Not only, did they miss handle Namor and the Atlanteans, but they could have set up the most influential and important Villain in the Marvel Universe. You don't need the Fantastic Four to have Doom. Yes, their stories are linked, but Latvaria can exist before The Fantastic Four and so can Victor.
Seeing an isolated Wakanda in a war with Doom, would have been epic. His motives could be to steal their vibranium and this could be why he is invading. Since they have cut ties with the rest of the world and their allies, it would have left them alone and vulnerable and a perfect target for Doom. You could even have set the story up so Doom was pulling the strings behind the scenes all along manipulating everyone.
You could also give Tachala a better end by having Doom kill him in an epic fight. Suri would still have to take up the mantle just like Disney wanted, but it would have been a far better send off to the character. You could still have Iron heart and the Iron Heartettes come to her aid, and you can also still have her morph into Punisher Panther. Over all, this would have been a better choice and could have possibly saved Wakanda Forever from being the lack luster flop it was.
4. They Should Have Introduced Mephisto
In the comics, Scarlet Witch and Visions' kids are actually given true life by Mephisto. For those of you who don't know, Mephisto is Marvel Comics version of the Devil. He is the ruler of Hell and the deal maker. And, those who make a deal with him beware. His gifts are never free and always cost more than you are willing to pay. Just ask Ghost Rider.
Instead of introducing this villain, we get Scarlet Witch trying to jump universes to find one where her kids are real. You could still use this story arc, but have Mephisto be the one who influences her to do it. He could be the one to teach her dream scaping and to plant the seed in her mind that her children are real in an alternate universe. After Doctor Strange stops her, she could have gone to the hell realm and made a deal with Mephisto to make her kids real. This could have lead to other story arcs, and would have been a sorta comic accurate way to bring Speed and Wiccan into the MCU for real. You could also use him to set up my next point...
5. We Need Ghost Rider
Marvel gave us a decent version in Agents of shield with Robbie Reyes, but Marvel has pretty much struck that show from cannon. Just like Sloth in Goonies, Agents of Shield is locked in Marvels cellar hopefully never to see the light of day again. Even if they want to use Robbie Reyes, you still need the original Johnny Blaze.
If Marvel wants phase 5 to be successful, they need to give us a good movie or show that centers on Ghost Rider. This dark gritty character can be used as a jumping point for all of the other supernatural characters Marvel could use in the future. One of which being Blade, who's movie is already in the works. Of course, if they do what I am hearing they are going to do with Blade, than it will flop anyway and you will definitely need Ghost Rider to fill in the void.
If marvel actually gives us a good Ghost Rider show or movie it would go along way to helping mend marvel's relationship with the fans. Also, Marvel wants to set up more and more powerful villains and this would give them a hero that can take on just about anyone. Well, as long as the spirit of vengeance allows it. Either way, any phase would be a better phase with Ghost Rider in it.
6. Deadpool Needs to Replace Stan Lee by Doing Cameos
Ok, they should already have been be doing this. As soon as they got the rights to the character he should have been making cameos in every MCU property. I mean come on, how did they not think of this? He is THE 4th wall breaker. Yes, She Hulk was doing it before him, but he is still the one everybody thinks off when they think 4th wall break. We all know the X Men and the Mutants are coming to the MCU and this would have been a great way to herald it. (That was a Galactus reference by the way.) Marvel missed their window for this awesome idea, but it would have been a sure money maker if they hadn't. Heck, I would have gone to each and every movie and watched all the shows just to see Ryan Reynolds' play Deadpool for one second. Marvel, you truly missed greatness by not thinking this one up.
7. Give Us Punisher
Punisher was one of the two good shows from Netflix Defenders Universe, which was incidentally, supposed to be cannon. Of course, once Disney+ started coming out with their own Marvel shows, the Netflix shows went the way of Agents of Shield. Not wanting to use the characters in the movies, they were all relegated to alternate universe stories just like the Star Wars expanded universe was when Disney bought Lucasfilm.
We are getting a Daredevil reboot, and along with that we need a Punisher reboot. John Bernthal is single handedly the best cast Marvel has ever done. Even better than Chris Pratt as Star Lord, and we need to see more of him. If I were Marvel, I would not just give him a show, but have him killing villains in the back ground. Kind of like what I think they should do with Galactus, have each show hint that he is in the universe, before having him show up and blow stuff up. Maybe have J Jonah Jameson mention a vigilante murdering people and have him try to pin them on Spiderman. There is literally a million ways you could bring him in and all of them would be epic. If Marvel wants phase 5 to succeed, they need to give us Frank Castle.
8. Don't Wait to Introduce The Fantastic Four
We need them and we need them in phase 5. Yes, we have had 2 film version of marvels First family, and none of them were great. I would argue that the casting choices for the original movie were fantastic and I would actually pay to see them all play theses characters again. Of course, Chris Evans is now Captain America and sadly, we will never again see his version of the Human Torch, but Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, and Jessica Alba could all reprise their roles. I could give you a million reasons why we need a good version of the Fantastic Four, not least of which, is to redeem the sad cameo and death of Reed Richards in the Multiverse of Madness. I think I can speak for us all when I say we want to hear Doom yell, "Curse you Richards!" on the big screen.
9. Introduce the X Men
Now that they have the film rights back, don't drag your feet Disney. The X Men and their characters are singlehandedly the most popular characters in Marvel's arsenal next to Spiderman. Heck, arguably Wolverine and Deadpool are two of the most popular comic book characters ever. Spiderman truly is Marvel's poster boy, but the X Men are right behind him in recognition and fan love. Whereas, I didn't hate the Fox movies, none of them were perfect and every fan worth his salt is itching for a comic accurate version of them. Now that the Inhuman's have been sidelined, and their SJW poster girl Ms. Marvel turned into a mutant instead, why wait to fully introduce the X Men into the MCU? I know they are slated for future phases, but I think that waiting too long would be a mistake. After all, no one really wants to see an Echo series and Marvel would be wise to replace some of these B tier characters with ones fans actually want to see. And, that brings me too my last point.
10. Scrap the Plans You Have For Phase 5 and Replace Them with Stories That Will Work
I am just going to tell the brutal truth here and say, nothing about Phase 5 looks good. Sure, Guardians 3 was good, though not perfect, but everything else is pretty much a dumpster fire. Antman failed, Secret Invasion failed, and everything they have planned is going to fail. No one cares about Echo, Iron heart, Agatha, Falcon Captain America, Loki and everyone down right hates all of the Captain Marvel women. Not one of these shows or movies is going to succeed or be successful.
Sure, Disney will spin it like they are and they will probably hold theaters hostage like they did with Captain Marvel forcing them to keep showing these films long after the public is done with them. Not even if the House of Mouse brings every underhanded trick they have to bear will they be able to save these projects from complete failure. The only choice they have to salvage the MCU is to scrap their current plans and rethink everything. Of course they won't and they will most likely lose more money then some countries GDP.
It is possible that Blade, Daredevil Reborn, and Thunderbolts could be good. Certainly, if done well, Thunderbolts can be just as enjoyable as DC Suicide Squad. I would normally say that Blade is a sure thing since he isn't a very deep character nor his story complicated. It really is near impossible to mess up, but from what I am hearing, Disney might manage the impossible. How you ask? Why with bad SJW writers who think it is a good idea to replace him with his Mary Sue daughter, that's how. I expect they will ruin Daredevil also and we will all be wishing for the days Netflix was in charge.
Anyway, Phase 5 is undoubtedly going to be a disaster and it may just be the final nail in Disney Marvel's coffin. I guess we'll see. The Hollywood strikes have pretty much brought the whole machine to a grinding halt and maybe that's what Disney needs. Maybe it will cause them to step back and take a good hard look at what they're doing. Of course, Disney and every other liberal SJW company or artist is incapable of taking accountability for their failure or excepting they are wrong. Because of this, I don't think they will change a thing, but will double down and continue full speed ahead until they ram the whole entire company into that iceberg in front of them we have all been trying to warn them about. Oh well, we will always have the Infinity Saga. But if this is the MCU that exists after the snap, maybe we should just have let Thanos destroy it.
J