TheMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an Americanmedia franchise andshared universe that involves productions of superhero films and television series. These productions star various titular superheroes; they are independently produced byMarvel Studios and are based oncharacters that appear in American comic books published byMarvel Comics. The shared universe, much like the originalMarvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plots, settings, casts, and characters.
Thefilm andtelevision series of theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) feature numerous central characters across its phases. The first three phases are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga", and the three following ones as "The Multiverse Saga".
Phase One is centered on six individuals who become theAvengers—Tony Stark,Steve Rogers,Thor,Bruce Banner,Natasha Romanoff, andClint Barton. Other central characters includeNick Fury, leader ofS.H.I.E.L.D. and creator of the Avengers;Phil Coulson, a high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent; andLoki, Thor's adopted brother whose plans to achieveworld domination prompt Fury to assemble the Avengers.[1]
Phase Two centers on the six original Avengers and Fury once again, though this time along with new membersJames Rhodes (introduced in Phase One),Sam Wilson,Wanda Maximoff, and theVision. This phase also introducesScott Lang and theGuardians of the Galaxy, which includePeter Quill,Gamora,Drax,Groot, andRocket.[1]
Phase Three brings back every central character of Phase One and Phase Two. It begins with a civil war between the Avengers caused by the ideological differences between Rogers and Stark; they are joined byBucky Barnes (introduced in Phase One), Lang,T'Challa, andPeter Parker. Fury's origin is revealed while Loki's antagonistic role shifts to a more heroic one, withThanos (introduced in Phase One) becoming this phase's main antagonist.Hope van Dyne (introduced in Phase Two) joins Lang as his superhero partner,Stephen Strange andWong are introduced as members of theMasters of the Mystic Arts, andNebula (introduced in Phase Two) andMantis join the Guardians of the Galaxy. Female characters are given more screen time, with the Phase introducingCarol Danvers and giving heroic roles toPepper Potts (introduced in Phase One),Okoye,Shuri, andValkyrie.[1][2] Meanwhile, Rogers returns to the past and reunites withPeggy Carter (introduced in Phase One). This phase concludes the story arcs of Stark, Rogers, Romanoff, Loki, Gamora, and Thanos. Alternate and past versions of those characters return in later phases to varying degrees.
Phase Four deals with the fallout of the Infinity Saga on the lives of the remaining Avengers, while introducing new heroes such asYelena Belova,Shang-Chi,Marc Spector andSteven Grant,Kamala Khan,Jennifer Walters,Riri Williams,Jack Russell, and theEternals (includingSersi andIkaris). Romanoff's backstory and Parker facing the consequences of his superhero secret identity being publicly revealed are explored, Maximoff learns to unlock her full power as the Scarlet Witch which eventually leads her into conflict with Strange, Wilson grapples with the difficulties of becoming the next Captain America, Barton passes the mantle of Hawkeye on to a young protégé namedKate Bishop,Jane Foster (introduced in Phase One) becomes the Mighty Thor,Sharon Carter (introduced in Phase Two) is revealed to have become the villainous Power Broker, and Shuri becomes the new Black Panther after T'Challa's sudden passing. A2012 version of Loki (introduced in Phase Three) is arrested by theTime Variance Authority (TVA) and begins his own journey, exploring the concept of themultiverse, which is also overseen by theWatcher.
Phase Five continues to expand the multiverse further, giving a larger role toKang the Conqueror and his alternate variants (introduced in Phase Four), while the Guardians of the Galaxy gain new members such asKraglin Obfonteri and Cosmo the Spacedog (both introduced in Phase Two) as some of the old ones (Quill, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis) decide to leave the team, and Earth faces civil unrest due to the integration of the shapeshifting alienSkrulls (introduced in Phase Three) into human society. Danvers, Khan, andMonica Rambeau (introduced in Phase Three) team up as the Marvels, which inspires Khan to assemble a superhero team of her own, starting with Bishop.Maya Lopez (introduced in Phase Four) learns to unlock herChoctaw powers after confronting her past trauma,Wade Wilson andLogan (both introduced in20th Century Fox'sX-Men film series) embark on a journey of their own through the multiverse, andAgatha Harkness (introduced in Phase Four) forms a witch coven in order to face a magical set of trials.Thaddeus Ross (introduced in Phase One) becomesPresident of the United States while Wilson is warned of an upcoming multiversal attack on Earth.Matt Murdock resumes his role as a vigilante when crime lordWilson Fisk (both introduced inMarvel's Netflix series) becomes theMayor of New York City. Belova, Barnes,Ava Starr (introduced in Phase Three),John Walker andAlexei Shostakov (both introduced in Phase Four) become theNew Avengers.
Phase Six introduces theFantastic Four fromEarth-828 (consisting ofReed Richards,Sue Storm,Ben Grimm, andJohnny Storm), the phase's main antagonistVictor von Doom, andSimon Williams.
The depiction of adapted and original characters in the MCU has been generally positively received,[3] with the portrayal of superhero protagonists mostly positive.IGN opined, "With heroes ranging from super-spies to super-soldiers to space raccoons, the MCU has gifted us with some of the most memorable champions in movie history."[4] Meanwhile, reception of the MCU's depiction of its villains has been more mixed, with some media outlets coining the term "villain problem" to describe this shortcoming.[5][6][7]Collider described the villains as "Achilles' heel" of the shared universe,[8] withPhase One andPhase Two most commonly criticized for having weak or unmemorable villains.[9] The villains ofPhase Three were hailed as an improvement over the villains of the previous two Phases,[10][11] while villains ofPhase Four have also been praised.[12]
In an analysis of the MCU's villains, Michael Burgin ofPaste opined that it was "probably still fair to say their track record has been less consistent with the bad guys than with the good", believing that this was due to "a reluctance to embrace the established look and character of the villain" and the differences from their source material.[5] Angelo Delos Trinos ofComic Book Resources further elaborated on this, opining that "the MCU has been widely praised for its characters and storylines" but has "mistreated some villains and wasted the potential they have in comics", remarking on the wasted potential of some of thesupervillains within the franchise in comparison to their comic book counterparts.[13] Alternatively,Looper described the MCU's villains as "fairly compelling criminals",[6][14] while Eric Diaz ofNerdist described them as being unappreciated despite being the weakest part of the franchise.[14]
Some villains were more well received than others, withScreen Rant elaborating on which villains were "loved" and "hated" from the fans of the franchise.[15] Carolina Darney ofSB Nation explained, "Some of the villains — hello,Vulture — are fantastic. They're well-rounded, they have depth, and there seems to be a method to their madness. Then there are the other villains. Their backgrounds aren't particularly explained, you're not entirely sure what they're doing — looking intently at you,Malekith — and motivations seem weak at best."[16]
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