The Marvel franchise is one that doesn’t just create superheroes and characters that we love so dearly, but it creates a fandom culture that is phenomenal. Since the 2008 Iron Man to the 2019 Avengers Endgame, the Marvel universe has been an unstoppable force.

Every scene, every Easter egg, every short moment in the post credit would spark thousands of theories and rumours among the audiences. Every cross over cameo felt like an historical moment that the audience fond over. The Marvel universe fandoms trusted Marvel to serve quality entertainment throughout. But it’s fair to say that this trust in Marvel has faded away with the excitement of Endgame.

It is very visible to us how the excitement and eagerness towards Marvel has decreased significantly, with fan discussions no longer being agreeable with each other. While Marvel is still producing a lot of successful movies and series, fans do not feel that original Marvel magic anymore. There was something special about the old Marvel that the fandom today still misses. So what exactly happened?

Further, we will talk about the top 5 reasons for why the Marvel community believes that Marvel has lost its magic and question whether it will ever come back

1. Endgame was the perfect end game

It was clear that since the beginning for 11 years, Marvel was slowly building up towards the finale of the battle against Thanos in Endgame. Every movie, every post-credit, every easter egg mattered, to create the stage for Endgame. We saw how every decision made by every character in their individual movies, directly impacted the outcome of Endgame.

Many of the Marvel fans believe that Endgame was the perfect finale for the Marvel universe, with so many of the beloved characters receiving the perfect ending that they deserve. Iron Man dying the hero’s death that he was destined to and Captain America receiving the life he always wished he had. These were some of the endings that the Marvel community was extremely satisfied to watch.

I speak for all the Marvel fans when I say that, we all believed subconsciously that Endgame was the true finale to this Marvel University. So when these new movies and series were bought about by marvel, it felt like these movies and series struggled to create that new goal, something to look forward to. The Multiverse saga, the Multiverse madness has never been able to create the anticipation, and the excitement that the Infinity saga did. Endgame was a movie that created the perfect finale or the perfect conclusion for something that has been built on for 11 years, with fans anticipating what comes next with every new release, every single series and every single special.

2. The Multi-verse is too much

Earlier, Marvel used to release approximately 2 movies per year and it was easy to catch up with all of the behind the scenes, the drama, the theories, when it was only two movies that we needed to catch up to. However, after the introduction of Disney+, the Marvel universe has expanded to such an extent; with so many films, series, specials and animated projects being bombarded onto the fandom.

I think it’s fair to say that many of us have a hard time keeping up with the Multiverse of madness. Having not caught up to a single series can backtrack you from the entire storyline to the point where it is hard to keep up with the newer projects. Marvel movies used to be something that every marvel fan looked forward to and waited for months for something new to come up. Now we just feel like Marvel is releasing something or the other; every other day, which creates no excitement among the fans.

The fans have now reached a point where they choose what they want to watch and if they want to give time to a certain movie or series, rather than wanting to willingly watch everything that the marvel franchise releases. When the marvel franchise marks every movie and series as important, it no longer feels as important

3. The hero never dies

In Infinity War as well as Endgame, there was a certain type of tension, a certain edge of the seat experience with every scene. There was no saying what character would die next or if this character would even survive. These movies build a certain type of tension that kept the fans hooked. But the Multiverse saga brings something that doesn’t create that type of tension. The multi-verse has made deaths something as simple as an event that can be reversed, with multiple versions of our favourite heroes being revealed to us, it no longer feels like a happy ending.

With a character being alive in every other universe, with varied different storylines, the emotional connection no longer stays. The death of a character no longer feels permanent. Because fans believe that there would be another version of the character that will be released sometime in the future. Every step, every decision made by a character no longer feels like it would have consequences. These consequences feel temporary. They feel like there’s no saying whether, whenever a character dies, a variant would not replace them.

So when Marvel decided to introduce this multiverse idea to the fans, they did not think that it would come with a cost, though it gave them limitless possibilities. Earlier nobody knew how big the Marvel universe was. Every movie was a new discovery. However, now that Marvel has revealed the multiverse, there isn’t something that the fans are looking forward to. Because they are well aware that every character has a variant that can easily replace a character in its own shoe.

4. The OGs dont exist.

This is one of the major reasons why people believe that Marvel has lost its magic. The original Avengers had the heart and soul of the entire Marvel fandom. Marvel’s biggest heroes were also their biggest emotional anchors. Keeping up with Tony stark’s journey was something that defined the MCU journey. Many of the Marvel community members believe that Steve Roger’s represented the heart and the soul of the Marvel universe. And when these 2 characters finally met their ending, the ending that they truly deserved and chose for themselves, it left a massive void which could not be easily filled by the new heroes.

With the original Avengers disbanded, with Steve Roger’s living his life, with Iron Man dying a hero’s death, with Natasha dying for the Sole stone; which used as nothing but paper weights, people miss the original heroes. Marvel has not left enough space for the new heroes to create the same kind of attachment that the original Avengers did with their fanbase. It is often seen that the Marvel community compares the New Avengers or the new coming characters with the iconic predecessors.

5. The Marvel quality is dying

Recently, we’ve all seen how many of the Marvel movies and series have received quite mixed reviews. Some saying that they were pretty good, while others showing pure negative remarks. Earlier, even if a Marvel movie did not have a very strong storyline, it was still watched by a lot of fans. However, recent projects have received very strong criticisms. One of the major points that have been criticized are the visual effects and the writing quality, which are varying significantly between every project and series. With already being disappointed, the audience doesn’t have something to look forward to having lost their trust in the marvel quality.

Earlier, knowing that a project was under Marvel was enough for the Marvel community as well as newer fans to go and watch the project. However the Marvel named no longer holds that confidence.

The real question is: Can Marvel get this magic back?

It would be harsh to say that Marvel is failing. It’s not necessarily failing. The problem lies in the fact that the audience is often comparing these new projects and series to the standard of the older projects and movies. The expectations and the excitement, as well as the anticipations that the older movies created is not something that is being seen in these new projects. However, we as Marvel fans need to give this new universe a little more time.

With Marvel, having existed for more than 2 decades, the audience has changed as well. The younger viewers have entered during a completely different phase of marvel, while the older generation has expectations of that old magic. If marvel were to focus on fewer projects and prioritise quality over quantity with clear narratives, it’s possible for the magic to come back. One of the biggest changes that Marvel could incorporate in doing so; is making every Marvel movie feel like an event again, not something that just keeps happening, but something that fans can look forward to. Something that creates excitement and anticipation again.