Why do I love the MCU?

Intro

In preparation for Captain America Brave New World - and a pretty exciting year with a lot of new shows and movies to keep the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) hype up, I wanted to share why this world works for me.

And it really boils down to two main aspects: nostalgia and a sense of belonging.

Nostalgia

I have been reading comic books on and off for about 25 years. I remember my mom buying me my first X-Men issue - it was for the art but really we were both intrigued by the X-Men, the group of outcasts, with great ideals who are ready to the extra mile for the greatest good. It’s also a story of found family, a family that embraces and accepts one no matter how peculiar that person is.

And that was always something intriguing for me; it helped me cope with the challenges I experienced while I was growing up. And they kept being my friends, ever green friends. With one exception: I always saw Wolverine as a paternal uncle, ready to support and help every time I needed help or needed someone to show up for me. I always mirrored my fictional relation with Wolverine on the same lines as Jubilee and Wolverine in the animated series X-Men ‘97.

It is also fun to see the stories that I have been reading for years come to life; think about Civil War. It was one of the most interesting series, and it had some of the most iconic story telling moments when Spider-Man shows his true identity at a press conference. ICONIC.

The big screen adaptation of this series was fantastic. Yes, we had a few names missing - compared to the full cast that the comics can draw from (pun intended); and yet, the airport battle was one of the most iconic moments for years (until Iron Man was able to snap and say “I am Iron Man”).

Last but not least, for the last years, I have been yearning for an X-Men movie reboot. I have been dreaming of that; while I loved the early X-Men movies and everything that was done and accomplished with this franchise. And yet, I cannot wait to see the new version of the X-Men, the ones who will join the MCU and see what this can bring to this world. And we already got a beautiful preview of what we can expect with Deadpool and Wolverine.

And I am expecting to continue to carry this feeling forward into the next movies.

A sense of belonging

What the MCU has done exceptionally well, in my opinion, was to make this story real. To me. We all know that this is a fictional world. We all know that these characters do not exist; nor the threats that are depicted there are real.

And yet, I feel part of this world, I feel that I could be someone who belongs to this world. Incidentally, I would love to have powers that Gwenpool has and be able to join any of these stories. Also, I am secretly hoping that Gwenpool will join the MCU at some point in time and rock my world.

What I love about this world is the world building - yes, I am a big world building person, poor world building will take me out of the story very quickly and decrease drastically my excitement of the story - and the emotions that these stories and the characters convey feel realistic. Yes, there are superheroes, who have great gadgets, or they took a super serum or were exposed to alien powers/technology and developed abilities. Some even have mutations. And while none of this is realistic, what feels realistic are the tropes and the themes that are explored. On the negative side of it: greed, genocide, fraud, terrorism, social injustice, power abuse; and on the positive spectrum: freedom, self-sacrifice, found family, a sense of belonging. And so on and so forth.

Also the interactions between the individuals are quite realistic - Shang Chi and Katy have a lovely friendship (flirty and I am shipping them since the first second I saw them on screen); the complicated relationship between Steve and Tony, the friendship between Steve and Bucky, the more complex friendship between Sam and Bucky (including the hilarious exchange on the big three, androids, aliens and wizards), the love between Scott and Hope, and even more to the point between Hank and Janet.

Wanda’s motivations are relatable; and while she is a villain and a hero depending on the circumstances, she makes sense, she is a human being whose decisions resonate with people. And she is incredibly powerful too!

There is so much to show and there are more than 10 years of movies and shows and I truly believe that the power of the MCU was to make this world more vivid, come to life and make these individuals more relatable, understand their choices, make us think. While showing incredibly strong action scenes; when Black Panther first showed on the big screen in Captain America Civil War it was a thing of beauty; yet, even more so when the people of Wakanda were fighting the invasion by Thanos and started chanting. I still have chills thinking about this scene.

This form of entertainment

And while this might make me sound childish, I love this form of entertainment. It is entertainment that can be as shallow or as deep as one can make it. One can “limit” their enjoyment for these stories to beautiful cinematography - and let’s be honest, there is barely any movie or show in this space that was lacking here - and action sequences (and yes, many of these action sequences are top notch; I still love watching the knife fight between Steve and Bucky in Captain America the Winter Soldier).

On the other hand, it is possible to go as deep as needed. There are often interesting discussion points on power, on politics, on philosophy and any other theme that one decides to analyze. In other words, there is more to these stories than the pretty action scenes. And this is one of the reasons why I am disappointed when I hear creators complain about superhero movies cheapening the movie industry.

My whys

So these are really the reasons why the MCU matters so much to me; I feel that I understand what is going on, I understand the choices, whether the correct ones or not. I just get it.

What are your whys?