MCU Ditches Woke … for Fatherhood?
'Avengers: Doomsday' teasers focus on new dads, not Identity Politics
The MCU was no match for the Man of Steel in 2025.
Marvel movies have dominated the box office for more than a decade, but this year proved different. The DC comics reboot of “Superman,” written and directed by James Gunn, outpaced three Marvel movies where it counts for studio suits.
- “Captain America: Brave New World” – $200/214 million US/International
- “Thunderbolts” – $190-192 million US/International
- “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” – $274/247 million US/International
- “Superman” – $354/262 million US/International
The MCU is still printing money, but hardly at the rate it once did. Which brings us to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
The Avengers return next December via “Avengers: Doomsday.” The super saga was supposed to center on Kang the Conqueror, but star Jonathan Majors’ off-screen behavior canceled those plans.
Now, it’s Doctor Doom, portrayed by former Tony Stark actor Robert Downey, Jr., who will bedevil our heroes.
The MCU’s decline can be attributed to several factors. Superhero fatigue deserves a mention. Less familiar heroes also hurt the brand’s appeal. How many non-Comic-Con types knew who Yelena Belova was prior to “Thunderbolts” or “Black Widow?”
How many still don’t know Florence Pugh’s MCU alter ego?
A bigger issue facing MCU titles hit Hollywood in toto in recent years.
Woke.
For the MCU, that meant more diversity, a greater emphasis on Identity Politics and an aversion to the saga’s core characters who happened to be straight white men.
Goodbye, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Hello, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie).
The MCU has seen the error of its ways, apparently. Or, Disney bean counters added up some challenging numbers.
The recent MCU titles haven’t been as woke as past titles like “The Marvels” and “Eternals.” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” had blatantly pro-life, pro-family messaging.
Now, two of the initial teasers for “Doomsday” are pushing parenthood again, specifically fatherhood.
Evans’ Captain America character was seemingly written out of the MCU at the end of “Avengers: Endgame.” Mackie’s Sam Wilson replaced him in “Brave New World.”
Now, Evans is back and the teaser shares how fatherhood is impacting his superhero goals.
The same holds true for Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. The latest teaser, released today, finds Thor praying that he can be a kind father to his daughter, “to teach her not battle, but stillness.”
Even that line feels decidedly unwoke.
What, he doesn’t want his daughter to become a Girlboss soldier fighting alongside the men? To be better and stronger than men?
Plenty has been said about the desperation tied to the “Avengers” saga, given the weakening MCU box office numbers. Hiring the man who kick-started the saga, Downey, Jr., to play the villain seemed soaked in flop sweat.
Bringing back Evans, who appeared all too happy to hang up his shield and tackle non-superhero roles, also smacks of desperation.
The double whammy of fatherhood as a promotional tool for a mega-budget “Avengers” film? That plays like a shovel on the dirt of the MCU’s woke ambitions.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
There is no such thing has “superhero fatigue.” The first Captain America movie released in 1944! For over 80 years, super hero cartoons, tv shows, and movies have been produced and shown. What has fatigued movie-goers is the politics of the producers, directors, writers, and actors which finds its way into the films, the wokism, and most of all the debasing of the Heroic Ideal. Heroes are what audiences crave. They want someone to look up to, to follow, to emulate. Marvel has been especially egregious in dragging it’s heroes into the muck. This was not in response to the fans either. The “intelligentsia” decided Hero was passe. The Incredibles said it best, “If everyone is special, then no one is.” Don’t offer the audience something to aspire to, tell them they are just fine exactly the way they are.
I disagree that less familiar heroes had anything to do with the loss of popularity for the MCU. In fact, I believe less familiar characters were the key to its success. Outside of comic book readers, everyone in the world knows who Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are, but how many could have told you who Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier, T’Challa, Nick Fury… etc. were before the MCU movies? I believe the DCU failed because it didn’t have enough less familiar characters. It’s hard to get excited about seeing young Bruce Wayne’s parents getting killed again, or Kal’El descending to Earth from another planet again. How many people (again, outside of comic book readers) can tell you who Hal Jordan or Barry Allen are? How many can tell you what powers/abilities Green Lantern, Atom, or Cyborg have? Newer MCU movies and series haven’t done as well because the content just wasn’t that good, and didn’t play into a larger narrative or world in any meaningful way at all.
Oh, I’m sure they’ll find a way to drop in a line or two about “democracy” or “fascism” or “dictators” referencing the current political leadership. They can’t help themselves.
Although I’m not sure what all the rage is about “democracy.” Democracy is people voting for a bunch of free crap and passing the bill on to future generations who will be saddled with so much debt that their futures will be dismal. Today’s generation enslaving future generations to maintain their opulent lifestyles. Explain to me why that form of government should be treated with all the reverence of Eternal Life.
Completely agree. That’s why we have a democratic republic. Problem is the garbage politicians that the uneducated masses keep electing. Dumbing down the population was the necessary first step in destroying our country.