The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a cultural phenomenon since its inception in 2008 with the release of “Iron Man.” The interconnected universe of superheroes has captivated audiences worldwide and has become the highest-grossing film franchise in history. However, in recent years, the MCU fan base has been shrinking, and poor management by Disney may be to blame.
One factor that has led to the decline in the MCU fan base is the over-saturation of the franchise. In recent years, Disney has released multiple MCU films annually, leaving little time for audiences to anticipate and get excited about upcoming releases. Such issues have led to fatigue among fans, who have grown tired of the same formulaic films and predictable storylines.
Another area of cinematic decay is the departure of crucial actors and characters from the franchise. For example, with the end of the Infinity Saga, several beloved characters such as Iron Man and Captain America have been written out of the series. Such departures leave fans feeling disheartened and unsure about the future of the MCU.
Furthermore, mechanisms outside of producer and director control, like the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted the release schedule of several MCU projects, leading to delays and uncertainty among fans and resulting in a lack of momentum for the franchise, with many fans losing interest in the upcoming releases.
Poor management by Disney has also directly played a role in the decline of MCU fans. After the firing of James Gunn from “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” for controversial tweets, a backlash rippled among fans; some argued that Gunn was being unfairly punished. This decision also resulted in delays in the film’s production, further disappointing fans. In addition, projects driven by “wokeness” seeking to cast the widest audience net possible have also harmed the company’s reputation.
Disney’s decision to release “Black Widow” simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ also caused controversy, with many fans feeling that the company prioritizes profit over the theatrical experience. This move may have also contributed to the underwhelming box office performance of the film.
But there is hope on the horizon; Nintendo’s new Super Mario Bros has soared to heights similar to Marvel’s early theatrical success. As of today, it has grossed over $900 million globally and is well on its way to grossing $1 billion. In addition, Mario Bros is technically the most successful animated movie release of all time, even beating out Disney’s Frozen II. With well established video game characters like Donkey Kong, Mario and Bowser nostalgia has proven to be a powerful driver among fans.
It’s undeniable, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has experienced a decline in its fan base in recent years, with poor management by Disney being a significant contributing factor. Over-saturation, character departures, the COVID-19 pandemic, and controversial decisions have all played a role in the decline of the MCU. It remains to be seen if Disney can turn things around and reignite the excitement and passion of the MCU fan base with competition from companies like Nintendo, creating a vice in the market.
In 2019 Disney and Marvel teased fans, confirming that Mahershala Ali would be reprising the role of Blade in an upcoming movie. Supporters of the original Blade trilogy held their breaths for a Wesley Snipes return, but since the Comicon news, any information has been scarce at best.
Piggybacking off of a more established Marvel project, Deadpool 3 was recently reconfirmed as a rated (R) picture, coupled with a creator’s promise that it would not be “Disneyfied.” For once it seems the upper brass is letting writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick do their thing. Shortly after this confirmation by Variety: Productionlist.com updated their site, listing a Blade shoot date/location for July 4th in Atlanta and New Orleans. Putting all your hopes in one basket is never a good idea, but with the coincidental timing for updates on Blade and Deadpool 3, fans have to ask will Blade be Rated (R)?
The answer is it’s possible. Marvel’s original Blade was rated R and garnered significant success financially. Since other popular Marvel film adaptions like Logan and Deadpool have followed a similar design, satisfying an audience niche that appreciates dismemberment.
Given the comic lore for Blade, writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour may find it challenging to keep the material under the rated (R) guidelines. But to be honest, would that be such a bad thing? Let us know if you’re a pro horror blood and guts blade or looking for something tamer that the kiddos can watch. Leave your comments, love, and hate below.
Loki’s finale has the MCU audience lauding the story so far and ready for the next season. Kang the Conqueror (He Who Remains) set the expectation for a wide variety of possible character variants across the multiverse. Of course, one of the most anticipated character variants is the Lord of Lies himself, Loki.
While show writer Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron undoubtedly have ideas and variant versions in mind, the fan-favorite comic Loki portrayed in the show by Richard E Grant proved that comic screen appearances work.
Loki God of Stories
Credit Marvel Comics
Young adult Loki from Agents of Asgard # 13 isn’t above a bit of mischief but also a night and day comparison from what you might expect from the master of manipulation. Here fans see the conscious moral decisions of a Loki that fought to turn away from a truly terrible future. Working as an agent of the Mothers of Asgard, Loki rejected Those Who Sit Above in Shadow—later resisting the manipulations from his future self and becoming a God of Stories rather than God of lies. With newfound purpose, the God of Stories was essential to ending the War of Realms event and later creating a wave of peace between Asgardians and the Frost Giants. Ascending the throne of the Frost Giants following the slaying of his father, Laufey.
Necro God Loki
Credit Marvel Comics
Undoubtedly one of the most potent and terrifying versions is the self-proclaimed Loki the All Butcher in Jason Aarrons Thor #5 (2018). After centuries of whispering lies and madness to Ego, the former wielder of the Necro Sword All-Black. Loki had finally acquired a weapon capable of bringing all of the cosmos to heel; driven by the overflowing malice of the Necro Sword, set upon a path to kill everything. Disemboweling his brother Thor atop an erupting star before meeting a nearly identical fate by the resurrected Gorr the God Butcherer.
Loki God of Heroism and Truth
Credit Marvel Comics
After the Scarlet Witch switches the morality’s of the heroes and villain’s in yet another reality-warping series called AXIS. Here Marvel gives us probably the most accurate “good” version of Loki, honor-driven, and worthy of wielding Mjolnir becoming the God of Heroism and Truth. After gaining newfound powers, Loki selflessly endeavored to make things right, to stop Thor and help the Scarlet Witch restore reality. It’s a great look at Loki’s most nuanced and noble version; such a character could undoubtedly inspire some of the show’s more sinister iterations.
Sorcerer Supreme Loki
Credit Marvel Comics
Preferring to torment enemies with daggers and knives, Loki wields a set of formidable magic powers; seeing writers couple Asgardian magic with a Sorcerer Supreme boost and you start to imagine a universe without Dr. Strange. Appointed by the Vishanti, Loki proved to be a worthy replacement until he decided to seek out the Exile of Singhshoon, a spell that would transfer all the world’s magic to him. Loki would be defeated by a returned Dr. Strange wielding power from Asgard’s Tree of Knowledge.
King Loki
Credit Marvel Comics
Arguably the most successful version of Loki comes from Loki: Agent of Asgard; fans practically open the page to the climactic height of King Loki seizing the throne, triumphing as the unquestionable king of Asgard and defeating Thor. With absolute power King Loki began working with the All Mothers Asgardia to corrupt his younger self, further ensuring this twisted future came to pass. In the end, King Loki is foiled and even sparred by a younger version of himself; this younger version empathizes and pities King Loki choosing a different future to become the new God of Stories.
There are undoubtedly dozens of other versions/variants of the trickster that deserve an honorable mention like Unicorn Loki, Loki 2099, Loki Dark Reign, Lady Loki and Ikol to name a few. Loki is a long standing pillar for gender and character fluidity in Marvel Comics, whatever alternate versions Disney+ has in store they’re certain to be entertaining and befitting the shows unique comic verse MCU meshing.
Did you have a Loki variant, version or reincarnation in mind that should of been mentioned, put it in the comic section below and dont forget to like, lie and stay mischievous.
Absolute Carnage #5, written by Donny Cates cover artist Ryan Stegman
One of the most enthralling events surrounding the two symbiotes you’ve read about, Cates has done something special here.
While readers are left to explore the complex exposed relationship between Eddie Brock and Kletus Kasady, there is no clues for what we can expect from the symbiote god Knull and Carnage being a byproduct of a much darker sickness in the Marvel universe. Cates choosing issue 5 to highlight the escalating danger that Dark Carnage poses not to just Eddie but the Avengers and earth gives us a sense of overwhelming momentum for this series. You can expect a spectacular fight between the old rivals as the duality of the two symbiotic hosts is poised in a magnificent send off. Ending on a slice of father son closure you’ll be happy you took the time. Unable to contain the joy of soon getting my hands on Venom issue #25 fans of Cates work need only be patient if anticipating the next step in the symbiote god Knulls plan.
The series will leave you wanting more but in the best way, a good read definitely worth the $5.99. You can buy the complete series here on Amazon.
Even when taking a large step back it can be tough to encompass the full scope of just how many possibilities lay waiting in the MCU. If it’s not Thano’s killing our decade long developed heroes/heroines, Adam Warlock marinating in a pod or Kurt Russell sporting a magnanimous screen beard it is some world ending event that means our utter annihilation. Completely understandable to forget about some of the begging to be asked finer questions.
Questions like what happened to the Nova force, not the Nova Corps but specifically the energy source used by the Xandarians entire society, which leads to an even bigger question what does the MCU have planned next? We know from what Thor tells us in Avengers Infinity Wars that when retrieving the power stone Thanos decimated Xandar, homeworld of the Nova Force. Does this mean we will see one of the most active galactic level forces omitted, hopefully not. If you find yourself asking what is the difference between the Nova Force , Nova Corps, will I see John C Reilly in a jumpsuit again and why should I care. Well before pondering that it helps to have a little background from the comics to get an idea of what could be coming next.
Nova Force being emitted from Nova Prime
What’s referred to as the Nova Force is a nearly limitless energy source harnessed by the Xandarian people. The Nova Force has a range of abilities, (primarily manipulating gravity fields): for a visual reference the large interlocked shield that appears when the Xandarians join their ships in the Guardians of the Galaxy, that is a physical manifestation of the Nova Force. The source of this energy is a machine known as a Xandarian Worldmind, one of the most advanced sentient supercomputers in the known universe. After the Marvel Annihilation event, all of the Nova Force was transferred to the last Nova Corps Centurion, Richard Rider. As inheritor of the Nova Force Rider becomes the Nova Prime, giving him a host of powers like superhuman strength; speed, stamina, durability, flight and the power to emit gravimetric pulses and beams. One of the lesser mentioned powers of Nova Prime is the ability to make use of the vast Shiar stargates network. Due to the infinite pool of energy, the Nova Force is capable of bending space and time itself when centered into a single conduit. With such a high versatility it is easy to see why the Nova Force could be a top contender for future MCU phases. With directors Taika Waititi and Simon Kinberg displaying cosmic level power sources like the Phoenix Force and Odin Force throughout their films, filmmakers have really just scratched the cinematic surface of what the Nova Force can do.
Nova Corps with the World Mind computer at the top right
Channeling this awesome power is Xandar’s space militia also known as the Nova Corps, a galactic police force that first appeared in Fantastic Four #205 (April 1979). Initially charging themselves with protecting the Andromeda Galaxy and later earth, the Nova Corps seeks to uphold the ideals of justice and order. A brief quote from Nova Prime after being trapped in the cancerverse puts into perspective the resolve of the Nova Core,
“I would do it all again because of one simple reason: what would have happened if I didn’t. Peace and order aren’t the natural state of things. They had to be invented and they have to be constantly defended. That’s why the Nova Corps was created. That’s the legacy that you carry on. “
Movie watchers had a brief glimpse in the MCU of the egalitarian galactic peace keeping society the Nova Core strives for. The operations of the Nova Core are reminiscent to a militant policing force that has a history of involvement in space conflicts such as the War of Kings event and the 1,000 year war with the Kree Empire. Within the Nova Corps are various ascending ranks imbued with access to portions of the Nova Force, rank determining the portion of control over the Nova Force granted. This gives us an idea of just how powerful Nova Prime could be in the MCU. As this universe has expanded the sheer proportions of the MCU creates such massive distances between locations, it’s more than a hop skip and jump from Xandar to Earth. This type of scaled environment makes it essential to have heroes and villains able to utilize powers for traveling vast distances fairly quickly.
A cinematic Nova Corps depiction on the right with comic apperance on the left
Even though Thanos was able to destroy all the Nova Core members in Avengers Infinity Wars, if the 2006 Annihilation comic crossover is any indicator of what’s to come: the Nova Core has been decimated before and made a comeback. As long as the Worldmind has survived Xandar’s destruction the Nova Force lives on. If we are strictly speaking films, all bets are off and it is very possible a director may create their own unique story similar to what Taika Waititi did in Thor Ragnarok. Marvel phase 4 has been laid out following the story lines of established Avengers like Black Widow and Doctor Strange. Marvels recent announcement at the San Diego 2019 Comic Con confirmed some amazing MCU additions: Fantastic Four, X-Men, an Eternals movie and to many fans surprise a new Blade movie. You can see the full phase 4 announcement here . This leads a lot of room for speculation as to what we could see over the next few years leading to phase 5.
If we are speaking in terms of pure story potential I would think the Guardians would have some of the most, an entire galaxy in disarray after Thanos’s snap. The concept behind the snap is that such a massive ripple of cosmic energy across the universe could have created realities like the cancerverse and negative zone. Traditionally most MCU films have been based on an earth setting but with the potential of an Annihilation event the entire galaxy could be a battleground for Annihilus’s forces. Speculating it would appear that phase 4 is beefing up a the hero and heroine cast, maybe for something terrible coming in phase 5? Fans can be ecstatic at the possibility of an event leading to a Guardians of the Galaxy Nova Prime meet. Plenty of comic history between Annihilus and the Nova Core sets a high expectation for fans in upcoming Marvel films. While the possibility of an Annihilus Nova Prime show down is a little backwards since the Nova Corps had an Alamo stand against the Annihilation wave and fell, I will take what I can get if it means a Nova Prime movie. Such heavy hitters are established in the MCU; Scarlet Witch, Captain Marvel, Thor etc. it is inevitable that we will see a consistent up scaling in heroe power levels.
It would seem that the silent absence of the Nova Force so far could be leading to a big show later down the road. In trying to change the universe Thanos may have created one of the most powerful heroes we have seen yet, John C. Riley er I mean Nova Prime.
The series will leave you wanting more but in the best way, a good read definitely worth the $5.99. You can buy the complete series here on 
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