Marvel Phase 2: New Heroes, New Problems
The finale of the Marvel miniseries “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” was released on Disney+ last Friday. The series follows Sam Wilson, AKA Falcon, and Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier, and the birth of their friendship as they take down an international “terrorist” organization called “The Flag Smashers”.
While it was only seven episodes long, the show was chock full of MCU reveals. It established Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, and it also seems to have offered some sort of a conclusion for Bucky’s character arc, putting an end to Barnes’ complicated battle with his past that has haunted him since “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”.
But more importantly, the finale offered a glimpse into the future of Marvel, and a brief look at the shift away from the Marvel of the past.
Both “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and “WandaVision” have started the MCU down a path that is far different from that of phase 1. Our central characters are no longer clean-cut, wholesome heroes with sound moral integrity. Wanda first debuted in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” as an antagonist. So did Bucky, and so did Loki, whose miniseries debuts on June 11.
These characters are not Steve Rogers or Thor. Each of them has a dark, morally ambiguous past, and they’ve all spent their lives toeing the line between good and evil.
For the majority of “WandaVision”, Wanda struggles with the morality of her actions. She must decide whether her own happiness should take precedence over the wellbeing and freedom of an entire town. At the beginning of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, Bucky is still seeking vengeance on those who used him as a mercenary when he was the Winter Soldier.
While both of these characters learn the err of their ways by the end of their respective series, it’s clear they are still grappling with their past.
Even the show’s antagonists, Baron Zemo, Karli Morgenthau, and John Walker, have their own redeeming qualities; in fact, both Walker and Zemo assist Sam and Bucky at different points during the series. All three of these “villains” are also, for the most part, pretty sympathetic characters. Zemo lost his family during the Avengers battle against Ultron in Sokovia. Walker, a war hero, must fill the larger-than-life shoes of Steve Rogers. And Morgenthau is trying to take down a government that she feels has mistreated and abandoned its people.
Sure, all three of them have some morally problematic ways of dealing with their issues, but it’s pretty easy for anyone to understand why they do the things they do.
Adding even more moral ambiguity to the MCU, the end of the show hints at the formation of the Dark Avengers, a group of antiheroes from the original Marvel comics. It’s still mostly unclear where the writers will go with this new group, but their existence alone would align with Marvel’s new shift away from the boy scout-esque heroes of phase 1.
Personally, I love this new direction for Marvel. It seems they’re slowly starting to realize that their audience doesn’t solely consist of little kids who look up to Captain America and Iron Man. The people who grew up watching the phase 1 Marvel films are adults now, and adults realize the line between “the good guys” and “the bad guys” is razor thin.
Plus, with this shift, the conflicts the heroes face are more gripping and entertaining. Seems like the writers have finally realized that the fate of the world doesn’t have to be at stake in order to make a good story. Yes, those stakes might make for some epic battle scenes, but it’s more intriguing and relatable to see these characters deal with personal, internal conflict.
“WandaVision” and “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” have pushed the MCU in an exciting direction. Fans can only hope that “Loki” will follow suit.
