The Marvels (Vietnamese title: Marvel Squad) is the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The work connects 3 mini-series including WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion, and continues the events from the blockbuster Captain Marvel (2019). This is also considered an indispensable piece in the development of Phase 5 of the MCU.
The Marvels debuted at an inopportune time when Marvel Studios was struggling to regain its position. The giant of the superhero industry continuously loses points due to the decline in film quality and lack of direction and connection. Rival DC Studios is in a similar situation, the universe reboot project in charge of James Gunn has an opening that has not impressed fans.
Gloomy superhero village
The year 2023 plays an important role for two major studios, Marvel Studios and DC Studios. MCU officially entered the Multiverse Era (Multiverse Saga) through Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Meanwhile, DC Studios released the first work in its plan to restart the Cinematic Universe, Blue Beetle. Unfortunately, both works became flops when they failed to meet fans’ expectations.
Blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 released last May is considered the savior of the studio. The work was successful in conquering the audience and was an emotional farewell to the first generation of guards. With the current situation, The Marvels has become the focus of attention, shouldering fans’ expectations in the superhero movie genre.
Back in 2019, the blockbuster Avengers: Endgame created a global fever and ended the Infinity Saga. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a decade of great success by continuously releasing a series of popular works and a billion-dollar empire in Hollywood.
In addition to the Spider-Man series maintaining stable performance, MCU has continuously declined from 2021 to the present time. Accordingly, when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 received positive feedback, The Marvels escaped the “cocoon” to bring MCU back on track.
Captain Marvel needs to assert its position
According to Box Office Mojo, the blockbuster Captain Marvel (2019) earned 1.1 billion USD, an impressive figure for a character introduction. Released at a time when superhero movies were exploding, exploiting feminism and a large fan base were three key factors that helped Captain Marvel reach the billion-dollar milestone. Because in reality, the content is not really as excellent as the revenue the movie brings.
Focusing on conveying a metaphorical message unintentionally makes Captain Marvel look like a soulless puppet. Even after the movie ended, Goose the cat was the center of attention, more prominent than the main character without needing a single line of dialogue. However, we still have to praise Marvel Studios because releasing this movie at this time is smart.”
In this return, The Marvels makes fans excited to see Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel stands together against the enemy. Connecting mini series to movie projects is no longer strange in the MCU. For The Marvels, that helps the work have multi-layered content, a tightly constructed script and establish a bridge to future projects. In addition, character development is clearly seen with the appearance of Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel. They need to gain experience and Captain Marvel needs to learn how to work in groups instead of working independently.
Set in the present, Captain Marvel is now the perfect superhero model. After many years of fighting across the universe, she not only honed her fighting abilities, but also possessed a vast amount of knowledge. The fact that Carol does not appear in the battles on Earth is not meaningless, but the character can shorten the time to perfect herself. Now, Captain Marvel has shown herself worthy of becoming a leader. What she lacks is an opportunity to assert her position in the superhero world. Despite shouldering the responsibility, fans can fully expect a series of interesting developments in The Marvels.