MCU and the issue of continuity
Like many people, I have dedicated hours to watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was the first time that so many different live-action movies with different characters, directors, and storylines were put together to make one cohesive story. Marvel did it so well and while they occasionally had a slight continuity error, it was never anything glaring. Many issues were explained away. An example of this would be that in the first Thor movie, the Infinity Gauntlet is in Asgard's treasure room. As the MCU progresses we realize that the Infinity Gauntlet is the only way that the main villain, Thanos, can control the Infinity Stones. Oh and that he has one as well. So how can Thanos and Asgard both possess this item that is crucial to the plot? It was an error. Originally put in as an easter egg the directors did not realize that it would become so significant. Luckily the director of Thor Ragnarok explains it away by saying the one in the treasure room is a fake.The director, Taiki Wattit went out of his way to clear up an early mistake and they also made it a funny moment as a kind of wink and nod to the fans. So fans did not ask how can a being as strong and wise as Odin have no idea he has a fake magical super powerful item? We fans did not ask that question because we understood it was an error in the writing that was made early on and we respected them for giving us an in-universe reason as to why there were two.
While mistakes like this are respectable it feels like in recent years Marvel stopped caring about continuity when it was not convenient for them. Instead continuity is just a suggestion and MArvel is more focused on brand synergy. I am going to talk about three times that continuity did not matter to Marvel.
The first time that they threw away continuity was with the movie Captain Marve (released in 2019)l. I am going to start off by saying this: I enjoyed the movie. Was it great no, but it was fun. Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson did a great job in the movie. It kept me laughing and entertained. Even though the movie felt like an industry plant (thats a music term but is still applicable here). So when I say that the whole movie was one giant continuity error I am not coming from a place of hate but as a fan of Marvel.
The reason this movie is one big error is for the simple and logical question of… where was she the whole time? You have Captain Marvel, this super powerful force of good and she is never seen, spoken of or referenced in any of the other movies. In Avengers, Loki is leading an army to take over her home planet and she never shows up. No Captain Marvel. In Guardians of the Galaxy the Nova corps gets destroyed. No Captain Marvel. Thanos and his army have been going around killing millions if not billions of people for decades. No Captian Marvel. All of Earth’s heroes get defeated by a giant purple genocial eco terrorist who then also successfully erases half of the whole universes population. Of course she isn’t around. But somehow this hero has been around since the 90s. So what was she doing this whole time? The only explanation she gives is that she told Nick Fury to only call for emergencies. All those things I mentioned sounded like emergencies to me. And the answer like this doesn't seems to respect the fans. It feels like Marvel said these people will buy whatever we sell so lets just introduce this new character and say she is so powerful. Captain Marvel was forced on us and we were told to love her. Many fans did not. We had characters that we spent time with. That we watched on the screen grow as characters. Then the people at Marvel say “hey all those characters that you have been emotionally invested in can’t do it. But this new character you know nothing about can.” She was shoehorned into the script and to add insult to injury she was barely in Avenger’s Endgame. I honestly believe that if Captain Marvel was handled right she could have been a fan favorite and not someone that the internet now hates. I can get into a more detailed reason why people do not like the character but her origin and absence in major events are a big contributing factor.
Romans 8