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FILM | MARVEL
Self-Awareness: The Backbone of the MCU
How Marvel uses humor to stay alive
Even as a fan of the Marvel Universe, sometimes it’s difficult not to feel as though we’re being completely inundated with new projects, movies and shows. Since the start of the pandemic alone, Marvel has released more than ten blockbuster movies — and that’s without even mentioning their burgeoning world of new TV shows. From Loki and Wandavision to Hawkeye and the increasingly notorious She Hulk: Attorney At Law, Marvel fans have had a lot to keep up with in recent months.
It doesn’t take a keen observer to notice the influx in Hollywood superhero movies that has occurred this past decade. For those who haven’t been keeping up with any of these movies or shows, this relentless battery of new projects may seem overbearing. The sentiment has been echoed among even Marvel’s most diehard fans in recent years.
With more and more characters and plot points to follow, the MCU has faced a growing bevy of criticisms. After all, how many times can people be asked to care about new superheroes? How many earth-threatening events can our planet face? How many new super villains can there really be? But fortunately these are questions that Marvel’s writers seem to have reckoned with for awhile.
