Some Marvel movies like Black Widow, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Spider-Man 3 couldn’t overcome the obstacles they faced.
Marvel has a long history of box-office success thanks to incredible characters fans adore. Even with the MCU’s achievements, Marvel didn’t give some films a chance to shine like others. Black Widow, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Spider-Man 3, among other Marvel films, weren’t set up for success from the start.
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Not all Marvel films were allowed to expand the superhero genre as intended, and others were placed horribly in the MCU’s schedule. It’s safe to say that Marvel knows what it takes to make a film successful and just didn’t put the same energy into all their movies.
CBR VIDEO OF THE DAYClose10The Fantastic Four (1994)
The Fantastic Four have a long history of disappointing remakes based on films that weren’t initially great. The original Fantastic Four, directed by Roger Corman, is claimed by some to have been solely meant to protect the Fantastic Four’s film rights from expiring. With that goal achieved through completing filming, there was no need for Marvel to release the film, leading them to cancel the release entirely.
If the claims of protecting film rights remain true, the Fantastic Four’s film history begins with a film that wasn’t concerned with sharing the team’s story. With that precedent set, it’s no wonder each Fantastic Four movie hasn’t lived up to the success the characters deserve.
9Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
With Sam Raimi directing two of the darkest MCU heroes, Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch, intending to make Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness a horror film, many were excited about the first R-rated MCU film.
Given the PG-13 rating for intense violence and action, frightening images, and some language, many were disappointed as this restricted the acceptable horror elements allowed. This rating shifted Multiverse of Madness enough to leave some viewers feeling the horror elements were out of place in a superhero film. Had the film been given the rating to fully incorporate horror into the superhero genre, there may not have been such mixed reviews from the audience.
8Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Thor: Love and Thunder was a high-stakes film after Taika Waititi struck such success with Ragnarok. Infinity War and Endgame lost much of Thor’s development and willingness to lead Asgard, so fans went into Love and Thunder, expecting it to redirect Thor’s character.
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This film exacerbated the issue for those who didn’t love Thor’s comedic direction beginning in Ragnarok. The comedic tone and the serious threat Gorr the God Butcher posed didn’t sit well with audiences. Given interviews about Love and Thunder’s four-hour cut where it showed “the story was sacrificed for jokes,” the balance of humor and story was tricky from the start.
7Spider-Man 3 (2007)
One of the harshest aspects of watching Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is the fact that Spider-Man 3 wraps up what were great Spider-Man films. Raimi had a lot of work cut out for himself as he had to wrap up the Harry and Green Goblin storyline and wanted to bring Sandman into the mix.
However, Sony pushed for Venom until he was added to the movie. This addition led to Spider-Man 3 being cluttered with villains to the point not all were as thought out as they should be. This conflict over villains impacted Raimi’s directing as he now admits he didn’t believe in all the characters and couldn’t do anything to make the movie work.
6Eternals (2021)
With many people growing fatigued by Marvel’s content, there has been an outcry to break the superhero film formula. So, when Eternals did just that, the film was criticized for not being a typical Marvel film.
RELATED:10 Biggest Mistakes The MCU Phase 4 MadeEternals centering the film around the characters and their relationships and love for each other rather than the world-ending plot that every viewer knows the heroes will come out on top left some moviegoers longing for the plot-focused formula. Although Eternals was one of the top-streamed movies on Disney+ in 2022, it was guaranteed to earn mixed reviews when it expanded the definition of a Marvel movie.
5Ghost Rider (2007)
Ghost Rider wasn’t unique in that it’s another Marvel movie set up to fail the first time, got a sequel, and failed again. According to Nicolas Cage, Ghost Rider fell apart when it wasn’t allowed the necessary R-rating, earning its place as one of IMDb’s worst comic book movies.
Cage saw Ghost Rider as an edgy character who dealt with scary subjects, making an R-rating best to properly portray the character and the story from David Goyer’s script. With the plan for Ghost Rider changed, the film’s plot and imagery took a hit when creatives lost much of their voice to please the studio.
4Elektra (2005)
After Daredevil earned over doubled its budget despite the aesthetic and tonal criticism and Stan Lee describing it as having misunderstood Daredevil, Elektra was greenlit. Rather than learning from Daredevil’s mistakes, Elektra was allowed to fail.
Elektra was rushed Elektra into production, resulting in a bad script and storyline that brought the film down. Although Jennifer Garner earned some praise for her performance, Elektra flopped at the box office. Poor box office performance left Elektra vulnerable for some people to use as evidence that women shouldn’t lead superhero films as if the true problem was the lead role’s gender and not Elektra being a bad movie.
3Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Age of Ultron may have one of the best villain introductions of the MCU, but that’s not enough to save it from being the worst Avengers film and Marvel’s biggest creative failure for years after its release despite box office success.
The film’s use of characters is one of the largest pitfalls, leaving Age of Ultron to earn criticism rightfully. One major flaw was reducing Black Widow to nothing more than a romantic interest. In another moment of weakness, Age of Ultron introduces the Maximoff twins only to kill Pietro, wasting the abilities of Aaron Taylor-Johnson. This movie had its moments, but it’s a low point for too many beloved characters.
2Captain Marvel (2019)
Following Infinity War’s high and Ant-Man and the Wasp’s mixed reviews, Captain Marvel had an uphill battle. As the last film before Endgame, Captain Marvel’s placement in the MCU’s release schedule wasn’t what fans wanted to see at the time.
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Introducing the powerful Captain Marvel right before the most anticipated MCU film felt too convenient to fans. This led to heavy criticism about when Captain Marvel determines a threat is important enough for her. Additionally, going back to the ‘90s for the film left Captain Marvel further outside the realm of what fans wanted to see. Had Captain Marvel been timed better in the MCU, her film may have been received better.
1Black Widow (2021)
Although Black Widow was a strong film and was responsible for introducing current MCU fan-favorite Yelena Belova, it was released too late to have the impact it could’ve on Natasha Romanoff’s character.
Being released after Endgame with Black Widow’s tragic death, Black Widow adding depth to a character after the fact didn’t make sense to many and left some believing it was unnecessary to watch. Black Widow’s solo film in an earlier MCU phase would have increased the audience’s investment in the film and character more than what Black Widow ultimately received.
