The Marvel Cinematic Universe and its related properties had a tough year in 2024, with repeat viewings of the franchise’s releases in the past year revealing many unfortunate problems. The year was truly a mixed bag for the massive media giant, with Marvel’s 2024 releases running the gamut of quality and relevancy. No matter how good or bad they were, each release bears at least some issue or another that only becomes truly obvious on repeat viewings.
Compared to years past, 2024 was fairly light with Marvel releases. Alongside Deadpool & Wolverine, the only live-action films to come out waving Marvel’s red banner were the final three films of Sony’s spin-off Spider-Man universe. Beyond that, it was mostly TV releases that kept the franchise going, from live-action Disney+ series like Agatha All Along to animated projects like X-Men ’97.
10
What If Ignores What It Should Have Always Been
The series has consistently failed to live up to audience expectations
Close
In 2024, What If…? made history as the first Marvel series directly affiliated with the Marvel Cinematic Universe to reach a third season. Sadly, in all that time, the animated anthology has failed to deliver for many viewers, hoping that the series’ hypothetical format could be used to expand the MCU in more directions, perhaps even introducing new characters. At the very least, What If…? had the potential to answer some long-standing questions from fans regarding the deeper corners of the MCU’s lore.
Yet after three seasons, What If…? has continued to regulate itself to fairly rote premises, such as the idea of the Avengers suiting up in mechs to battle a giant Hulk or adding the Red Guardian to events he wasn’t there for in the main MCU timeline. Most of these ideas simply swap around existing characters or throw them into new time periods, not doing much to build on the pre-established worldbuilding that makes the MCU so special. It’s a shame season 3 wasn’t able to take What If…? to any dramatically new heights.
9
2024 Was The MCU’s Lightest Year For Content In A Long Time
The Marvel Cinematic Universe certainly stalled this year
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
Ever since Avengers: Endgame, the question of Marvel’s waning relevancy has floated around the cinematic landscape. Hard failures in 2023 like The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania made the MCU re-evaluate their creative strategy, partially contributing to the drought that has been 2024. Thus, only a single feature film, Deadpool & Wolverine, was added to the franchise’s roster this year, something that hadn’t been done since The Avengers released in 2012.
Granted, many of the delays that left 2024 so barren for MCU movies weren’t the company’s fault. The lingering effects of the COVID pandemic and the recent SAG-AFTRA strikes that delayed production had echoing effects that were certainly felt in 2024, kicking many films further down the road or into complete development limbo. Regardless, looking back on Marvel’s 2024 slate, the fact that only a single film was released certainly puts a damper on the year.
8
X-Men ’97 Requires A Lot Of Background Knowledge
The new series picks up right where the 90s cartoon left off
Close
One of Marvel’s most successful projects of 2024 was the animated series X-Men ’97. A continuation of the beloved 90s show X-Men: The Animated Series, the show revived the iconic animated Marvel TV universe to update fans on where the story had been going. Though it was largely advertised as not necessarily needing knowledge of X-Men: The Animated Series to enjoy, in practice, this wasn’t a universal experience.
In truth, X-Men ’97 makes endless references and call-backs to previous events in the series, catering to returning fans first and foremost. While most of these previous episodes are briefly explained in short-hand before they’re made relevant, as a new viewer, it can still be intimidating to penetrate the dense soap-opera narrative that X-Men ’97 returns to after literal decades. As great as the series is, that little bit of missing accessibility goes a very long way.
7
Deadpool & Wolverine Loses Something After The Shock Of Its Cameos
The jokey film relies a lot on first-time shock value
Custom image by Nicolas Ayala
Going back over Marvel’s 2024 release schedule, Deadpool & Wolverine still remains the obvious stand-out success. Quickly becoming the most financially successful R-rated film of all time, Deadpool & Wolverine officially brought the Fox mutants into the MCU while making some deep-cut references to Marvel’s pre-MCU movie past. These cameos are a brilliant sucker punch the first time they happen, but on a re-watch, much of the film loses its luster.
In truth, Deadpool & Wolverine is a film made to be seen one time only, ideally in a theater surrounded by fellow fans who can share audible gasps upon seeing Wesley Snipes’ Blade on film for the first time in years. However, the movie loses something when the shock of these cameos fades away, and all that’s left is an awkward shot of Snipes striding across a room that lasts a little bit too long. This complaint has been leveled at the similar reveals in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but in Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s ten times worse.
6
Kraven The Hunter Was A Disappointing End To Sony’s Universe
Sony was never able to capture the minds and wallets of fans
Close
2024 saw the pitiful demise of Sony’s spin-off Spider-Man universe, with the media magnate confirming that the Sony franchise would end with Kraven the Hunter. The series had a difficult run of things, doing alright at first with the initial Venom movies, only to struggle under the failure that was 2022’s Morbius. 2024 was Sony’s last chance to capture the superhero market they sought, firing off three films that ended with Kraven the Hunter.
In truth, Kraven the Hunter is far from the worst film Sony released under their sans-Peter Parker Spider-Man projects. That being said, it was still far from the great success the franchise needed to gasp back to life, flatlining at the box office and critically along with most of its siblings. It’s a shame the final film in Sony’s failed experiment was such a mediocre one, not even reaching the ironic hilarity of their most egregious misses.
5
Echo’s Relationship With Her Powers Was Rushed
Not to mention heavily changed from the comics
One sneaky release the MCU was able to unleash early on in the year was the Echo miniseries. Centered around the deaf assassin Maya Lopez, Echo chronicled the character’s growth from a simple revenge-focused criminal to a powered hero worthy of joining the ranks of Marvel’s best street-level characters. Unfortunately, the franchise struggled to actually develop Maya’s new superhero persona.
In the comics, Echo has powers similar to Taskmaster, able to unerringly copy the movements of her opponents. The series ditched this angle in order to focus on Maya’s Native American heritage, which suddenly gave her vague healing powers. Not only are these new abilities poorly defined, but they don’t get much time to shine until the literal final moments of the series, the rest of Echo being a gritty, grounded crime drama full of martial arts and guns. If the series’ goal was to turn Echo into a true hero, it needed to get to the point much quicker.
4
Agatha All Along Is A Textbook Case Of MCU Filler
Good as it is, Agatha’s solo piece is perhaps too long
Close
Compared to Echo, Agatha All Along was a far more exceptional addition to Disney+’s MCU streaming series catalog. Expanding the lore of the franchise while developing the titular witch, Agatha All Along ended up as a fairly rewarding companion piece to the earlier WandaVision, which began the MCU’s TV show escapades in the first place. However, Agatha All Along undoubtedly suffers from the same pacing issues that plague most of these shows.
Much of the action in Agatha All Along centers on a journey down the magical Witches’ Road, which presents Agatha and her new coven with a handful of personalized challenges that result in half of them dying outright. These challenges can’t help but feel like filler meant to pad out the series before the real meat of Agatha’s plans and backstory can be bitten into, a problem which has been prevalent throughout many of the MCU’s TV shows. Perhaps Agatha All Along might’ve been stronger as a special presentation, a la Werewolf by Night.
3
Madame Web Is A True Low Point For Marvel Movies
An unmitigated failure
Close
Most Marvel releases in 2024 are generally alright to phenomenal in quality, barring a few minor gripes that become more obvious on a second viewing. Madame Web, however, is an unfortunate blemish on the Marvel banner that will forever continue to stain the franchise’s history. The film breaks history as the first superhero movie to be centered on a character who never had their own solo comic, and the end result seemingly makes this record an ominous portent for the film’s feasibility.
Madame Web is a tangled mess of storytelling full of nonsensical decisions and groan-worthy references to the broader Spider-Man mythos. The bizarre performance of Dakota Johnson, coupled with her hilariously awkward press tour leading up to the film’s release, gives the impression of a Marvel star who truly doesn’t want to be in the film she’s headlining. Madame Web will be a lesson that Marvel must learn from in 2024 going forward.
2
Deadpool & Wolverine Features Some Truly Terrible CGI
Hugh Jackman never looked so rubbery
The CGI of MCU movies has always been a difficult topic to broach. For the most part, the series does quite well by weaving believable fantasy worlds and uses of superpowers through stunning SFX, though examples in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and even Black Panther represent the occasional stumbling block. Going back over Deadpool & Wolverine, it seems as though the MCU has not fully been able to improve on this front as of 2024.
Re-watching the film without the benefit of the release hype, it’s quite obvious as two when certain shots of Deadpool & Wolverine are entirely digitized. A particularly jarring example is the rubbery-looking CGI Wolverine that bursts out of the back of a bus in the film’s climactic final Deadpool battle, with the camera lingering long enough to rotate around the awkward model in a freeze-frame. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the abomination stays panting on screen for a few painful moments longer as Deadpool quips, at one point even passing his sword through the intangible model.
1
Venom: The Last Dance Missed Hard With Knull
Sony missed out on some incredible potential
The initial trailers of Venom: The Last Dance were able to generate some surprising amounts of excitement, thanks in large part to the appearance of Knull as the supposed antagonist. An alien god and the creator of the symbiotes, Knull is one of the most menacing Marvel villains in the comics, rivaling the importance of Thanos, a valuable get for Sony’s universe to flaunt. It helped that what few glimpses of Knull the trailer gave revealed his appearance to be pretty faithful to the source material.
Sadly, this promise was something of a bait-and-switch as the actual movie ended up featuring Knull very little. In truth, Knull has quite little screen time across the duration of Venom: The Last Dance, acting mostly as a background threat who flings his monstrous creations at Eddie and his symbiote buddy while remaining on his homeworld of Klyntar. It’s a shame Sony fumbled their one chance to outdo the MCU in terms of significant antagonists.
Upcoming MCU Movies
-
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
My List
My Favorite Movies
My WatchlistSuccess!
Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date
February 14, 2025
-
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
My List
My Favorite Movies
My WatchlistSuccess!
Thunderbolts*
Release Date
May 2, 2025
-
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
My List
My Favorite Movies
My WatchlistSuccess!
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release Date
July 25, 2025
-
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
My List
My Favorite Movies
My WatchlistSuccess!
Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
Release Date
-
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
My List
My Favorite Movies
My WatchlistSuccess!
Spider-Man Homecoming 4
Release Date
July 24, 2026
-
Your changes have been saved
Email is sent
Email has already been sent
My List
My Favorite Movies
My WatchlistSuccess!
Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date
May 7, 2027
