A Surefire Way the MCU Can Climb Out Of Its Funk

As the kids would say, Marvel Studios is in its Flop Era. Granted, there have been some recent hits that have delighted both critics and audiences, such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shang-Chi’s Fine-Ass Daddy And Those Ten Bracelets Looking Good On His Forearms Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. There have been hit shows on Disney Plus like Wandavision and Loki. But Marvel soon found itself caught in a downward spiral.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was expected to introduce the next Big Bad who would make life hell for the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, made a lot of critics and audiences just shrug in response (and this was before Jonathan Majors made us start doing deep, heavy, Negro spiritual sighs at the very mention of his name). The Marvels and Single Female Lawyer She-Hulk: Attorney at Law both received some positive reviews, but they were overwhelmed by the tidal waves of hate and nitpicking from f-ckboys and Pick-Mes who couldn’t stand that women were playing around in Marvel’s sandbox. Soon enough, more and more people started falling out of love with the MCU, and became more comfortable with calling it out for some of its more obvious flaws: overreliance on bathos, unimpressive writing and directing, visual effects that leave a lot to be desired, largely because the VFX workers hired to work on Marvel films aren’t given nearly enough time to do their jobs. Casting and production issues with upcoming films like Blade and Thunderbolts were soon viewed as further proof of the MCU’s downfall, and the release of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios co-authored by Pajiba alumnus Joanna Robinson, also did a very effective job of taking the bloom off of that rose.

However, this past month has given Marvel fans hope that Kevin Feige is getting things back on track so that the MCU will regain its supremacy as a guaranteed money-printing machine. Usher Concert weekend saw the release of the long-anticipated trailer for Deadpool 3, which is now called Deadpool & Wolverine. Valentine’s Day not only gave us a teaser poster and a release date for Fantastic Four, but finally confirmed the rumors as to which actors will be playing the First Family of Marvel. Which was immediately followed by the trailer for the animated series X-Men ‘97. (It’s not the answer that Jennifer Walters wanted, but for now, it’s as close as we’re going to get.)

Time will tell whether these moves will work out in favor of the MCU, and if these films will be the hits that will have everyone unanimously singing their praises again. But I strongly believe that the MCU needs something that should be included more often in their movies and their television shows.

Team-ups.

Yes, we got the biggest team-up of all with Avengers: Endgame, when every hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (with the obvious exceptions of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, and every character from the television shows Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Runaways, and Cloak and Dagger) joined forces to battle Thanos and his army. But it’s always fun and interesting to see different heroes cross paths with one another when least expected, and to see how well they get along, or how much they don’t, while seeing them work together to fight a common enemy. The best example of this, outside of Avengers: Endgame is the “Ribbit and Rip It” episode of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, in which Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk meets Matt Murdock/Daredevil for the first time. It was truly one of the best things the MCU has ever done, and that was largely thanks to the chemistry between Tatiana Maslany and Charlie Cox. When the two of them went back to Jennifer’s apartment, and actually hooked up? I had to refrain from laughing and cheering out loud, because it was three in the morning, and I didn’t want to wake anyone up.

When I was little, and had first started reading and collecting comics, two of my favorite team-ups were Spider-Man, The Punisher, Darkhawk, Nova, Night Thrasher, and Moon Knight for the “Round Robin: The Sidekick’s Revenge” storyline in The Amazing Spider-Man (If you know who Darkhawk and Night Thrasher are without having to consult Wikipedia, you are my people.); and Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and The Punisher for the one-shot graphic novel Hearts of Darkness. Considering how interconnected the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been (except when it comes to the shows on Netflix and Freeform, and Marvel/Disney has only just started including characters from the former, and acknowledging their existence), it would make a lot more sense, and put more smiles on the faces of their fans, if more team-ups such as these could become a reality.

Spider-Man and Daredevil: We got a brief scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Matt Murdock provided some legal assistance to Peter Parker to help him recover from having the entire world discover his true identity. Besides that, it makes perfect sense for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and The Man Without Fear to team up onscreen, especially since the two of them are best friends in the comics who are close enough to know each other’s true identities. However, this one seems less likely to happen for a couple of reasons. For one thing, there’s quite an age gap between Spidey and Daredevil in the MCU, with the former being a teenager, and the other being an adult in his mid-to-late thirties. Instead of the two heroes being peers who can truly click as friends, and who can confide in one another about their personal and professional lives, it would be more like another mentor-protégé relationship similar to what we saw between Spidey and Iron Man. It’s far too early to tell what Marvel/Disney has in mind for Daredevil until we finally get to watch Daredevil: Born Again, but we don’t know whether the studios will want Daredevil to remain a street-level hero who doesn’t interact much with other superheroes like Spider-Man for bigger threats, or keep him doing his thing on a much smaller scale. Then again, one of the best and most memorable friendships in all of cinema is between a high-school student who loves to play rock music and ride skateboards, and a brilliant scientist who likes to stay busy by turning sports cars into time machines. So I may be proven wrong in the years to come.

Captain America (Sam Wilson) and Black Panther (Shuri): Upon first glance, you might think that the only reason such a team-up should happen is because both characters are Black. And my response to that would be, “Well, yeah! Seeing Black superheroes link up to kick ass and do their thing is awesome. Why would I not want to see that?” But Sam and Shuri sharing screen time, whether for a little conversation, or a lot of action would be rewarding to see. Naturally, they wouldn’t see eye-to-eye at first, considering that Sam is American ex-military and in his thirties, and Shuri is Wakandan, in her late teens/early twenties, and doesn’t seem to think too highly of America for obvious reasons (colonialism being one of them). But Shuri did agree to design his costume (which left a lot to be desired in the eyes of some fans, when it debuted in the finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and they also share the heavy weight of adopting a mantle that was once worn by someone who they cared deeply about, and having to live up to the expectations of said mantle. Add to the fact that Captain America and Black Panther have long been known to fight alongside each other as members of The Avengers, so fingers crossed that we get to see this happen after the release of Captain America: Brave New World next year.

Ms. Marvel and Ironheart: Since Disney announced that they would be slowing down with releasing Marvel movies and television shows so that fans won’t be overwhelmed by a barrage of content to keep up with, it has caused some questions to be asked as to when we can expect to see certain projects be released. One of those projects is Ironheart, the television series centered on Riri Williams, the teenage genius from Chicago who was introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and who created her very own fully functional Iron Man armor. So far, there has been no announcement as to when the series will officially premiere on Disney Plus. But when it does, it wouldn’t hurt to see Riri cross paths with Kamala Khan, a.k.a. Ms. Marvel, and have two young women of color bond with one another as they geek out over who they are, and what they can do. And of course, it goes without saying that Kamala would eventually attempt to recruit her for the Young Avengers, as she’s already done with Kate Bishop, and has probably done with Cassie Lang.

The Punisher and The Winter Soldier: I blame comic book writer-artist Alex de Campi for making me want this team-up so badly. de Campi created the satirical, incredibly well-done, and very unofficial comic strip Hell’s Kitchen Movie Club, in which Frank and Bucky are best friends who hang out and watch movies together, while also talking to each other about their past and present traumas that have contributed to them being the near-unstoppable killing machines that they have become. Sure, I’d clap like a seal on weapons-grade crack if I was blessed with seeing Jon Bernthal and Sebastian Stan as Frank and Bucky bringing the pain to their enemies as only they can. But I’d also be just as happy, if not happier, if I was given an hour or two of them just chilling on the couch, and watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original, not the remake) while opening up to each other in ways that they can’t open up to anyone else.

Luke Cage (Power Man) and Danny Rand (Iron Fist): We’ve seen these two paired up onscreen more than once, first in the miniseries The Defenders (a.k.a. the show that hired Sigourney Weaver to play the Big Bad, and gave her nothing interesting to do), and again in Season 2 of Luke Cage. But Marvel and Disney would be leaving so much money on the table if they don’t finally give fans a Heroes for Hire television series on Disney Plus, and have Luke and Danny solve different cases together in every episode as private eyes in the MCU. They have great chemistry; Evil is about to air its final season, which means that Mike Colter will soon be free to reprise the role; and Finn Jones has proven to be much better in his role as Danny Rand/Iron Fist in every appearance he has made outside of the horrible first season of his own show. And before you say it: Yes, I’m fine with Colleen Wing still retaining the Iron Fist mantle as well. No, I have zero f-cking interest in seeing Lewis Tan play Danny Rand/Iron Fist instead of Finn Jones.

Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch: When Wanda finally returns from the dead, or awakens from her coma, since her last appearance in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (please, like stan Twitter’s favorite MCU character is going to stay dead permanently), it would be cool to see her and Carol Danvers cross paths. Though I’m certain that their next meeting after fighting together in Avengers: Endgame would be them butting heads since Wanda has been a lot less heroic and kindhearted since then. They could fight together against some major threat, while also bonding over the guilt they carry over how their actions resulted in numerous lives being ruined and lost, (Carol earned the nickname “The Annihilator” in The Marvels for a reason), and how there is only so much they can do, even with the immense power they both possess. We already know that Brie Larson and Elizabeth Olsen would act the hell out of any material they’d be given, and we also know that stan Twitter would create so many fancams of the two, because they would immediately ship it like UPS.

There are also team-ups that we should get, and should’ve gotten already, but will probably never happen for various reasons. We’ll never get to see any romances between Black Widow and Daredevil (who have hooked up in the comics because Daredevil, as we all know, is a big ol’ ho), and between Black Widow and The Winter Soldier (which also happened in the comics, and is known as WinterWidow because of its popularity), since Scarlett Johannsson’s watch in the MCU has ended. (As someone who loves the relationship with She-Hulk and Daredevil, it is also further proof that the MCU needs more heat and more romance between its characters.) Wolverine and Captain America teaming up to fight Nazis and The Hand together in World War II (or any other enemies in the 21st century) isn’t going to happen, since Chris Evans and Hugh Jackman are done playing those characters (or at least Jackman will be after Deadpool & Wolverine). Until Marvel and Disney decide if they’re going to include Ghost Rider in the MCU (or bring him over from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where he was recently featured), don’t expect to see him fighting the supernatural alongside Morbius (not unless he’s played by someone other than Jared Leto, anyway), or Blade, and not just because there have been so many damn hiccups when it comes to Blade going into production and making it to the finish line. As for Spider-Man teaming up with his other best friend, Johnny Storm (a.k.a. the Human Torch), or with the rest of the Fantastic Four? If the rumors are true that this newest adaptation will be set in the 1960s, then…such a team-up is obviously not going to happen. At least not until Avengers: Secret Wars, or so I’m guessing.

Whatever happens next with the Marvel Cinematic Universe will naturally remain a closely guarded mystery until their movies and television shows are ready to be seen, and discussed endlessly by people on the Internet. And team-ups like the ones I’ve described don’t have to center around saving the world, or beating up the bad guys. It could simply be characters hanging out, and enjoying each other’s company, much like the party scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ idea of a party game is seeing who can actually lift Thor’s hammer. It also doesn’t need to be limited to only heroes doing this, as Deadpool and Bullseye are besties, even though Bullseye is one of the most despicable characters in all of comics. But with Marvel Studios on the ropes, and fighting to remain the heavyweight champion of Hollywood, Feige and company may not be willing to take any further chances that could get them counted out for good. For now, all we can do is sit back, wait to see what happens, and simply ask “What if?”