Another Marvel blockbuster has come and gone. Captain America: Brave New World dropped on Valentine's Day weekend, and the crowd went...mild.
The film received a rather tepid reception from critics and audiences. While few outright hated Brave New World, it didn't swoon moviegoers like Deadpool & Wolverine. On the heels of that massive hit, Cap 4 is the latest in what has been a line of cookie-cutter MCU entries that highlight Marvel Studios' loosening grip on the box office. If Superman is a major success for DC Studios, we could soon see a new champion of superhero cinema.
Whether the problem lies with Marvel Studios or too much corporate oversight from Disney, only Kevin Feige and his inner circle know for sure. Regardless of the reason, Marvel has been churning out one bland movie after another. The storytelling comes off as formulaic with lazy plot twists and one-dimensional villains galore. Despite D&W's box office prowess, the actual plot, specifically Paradox's story arc, falls into the same categories. However, what D&W got right is something Marvel Studios needs to grasp: maturity. The MCU has been dwindled down to mostly kids' fare with screenplays geared toward young children. Despite Deadpool & Wolverine's R-rating, which movie studios generally see as limiting a film's overall appeal, it hauled in an impressive $636,745,858 at the domestic box office. On the other hand, Brave New World reportedly has earned around $400 million as of April 20. That should be Marvel's wakeup call that its audience wants mature content.
At this point in the MCU's history, the majority of Marvel Comics' heavy hitters have arrived on the screen. However, there's still plenty of characters ready for a grand introduction into the main stream...but with an R rating.
When it comes to major studios and giant box office releases, the studio executives typically want the film to have a four-quadrant appeal. In other words, they want it to attract all demographics. Marvel has been especially interested in grabbing a bigger slice of the non-comic book movie crowd, an approach that has alienated much of the original audience that made the MCU such a hit in the first place, but I digress.
When X-Men comes to theaters, no doubt Disney will want it to reel in viewers from every demographic. That would likely mean another cartoony, slapstick approach that would entertain five year olds. While it's understandable that Feige and company would want to keep the rating PG-13, Fox (and Deadpool & Wolverine) clearly established that fans like their X-Men mature and bloody. Although we haven't seen a full-fledged X-Men teamup movie with an R-rating, the success of The Wolverine, Logan, and D&W tell the story. If Disney were to get over its disdain for the Marvel Comics source material, there is a wealth of mature content ready to adapt for the silver screen.
Admittedly, today's list is X-Men heavy, but that's for good reason. Where properties like Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and the Avengers are better suited for a more lighthearted, PG-13 fun for the entire family, the X-Men stories are innately mature. The concept alone, representing the battle for human rights and fear of persecution in a world of discrimination, is an idea best suited for teens and adults. Certainly there are characters in the X-pantheon that would be perfect for an action-comedy, but box office bombs like X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine are evidence that you can't shoehorn the X-Men into the PG category.
If X-Men '97 is any indication, Marvel Studios may be looking to shift Wolverine out of the X-Men spotlight. Whereas the original X-Men: The Animated Series heavily featured Wolverine as the star attraction, X97 portrayed him as more of a background character. He had his moments of badassery, which is what we all want to see from Logan, but he was only seen sparingly. The same can be said for the bulk of the Fox X-Men movies, which had Wolverine as the main attraction in all but X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Apocalypse. Of course the point of Logan being a supporting character was to keep the story focused on the X-Men as a team rather than it being a Wolverine show. However, there's no question that Wolverine remains the most popular X-Man, and fans want him in a starring role.
To keep the MCU X-Men more focused on the broader picture, a Weapon X franchise could be the answer. This could explore not only Logan's history with the Canadian experimental program, but it could feature so many other characters, like Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red, and, of course, Deadpool. There's no question this would have to be mature and bloody.
I've sang the Multiple Man praises in the past, and I stand by all I've written. While he would make a great addition to an X-Men or X-Factor movie, especially since we haven't seen him on the big screen before, he has the potential to carry his own franchise.
In some key ways, he's perfect for the current MCU product. Marvel/Disney love their action-comedies, and Multiple Man can most definitely deliver the slapstick moments. He's an unknown commodity to the larger, non-comic reader MCU fans. In fact, he doesn't have a massive comic book following. Put those together, and it would give Marvel Studios a virtual blank canvas on which to paint Multiple Man's portrait. It worked for Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, and it can work for MM.
What makes him more suitable for a mature movie or show is the source material. If you haven't read the Madrox limited series, treat yourself to that. What you'll find is an engaging detective story that has a dramatic and dark edge. It's that darkness that would make Multiple Man a good fit for a mature project. For instance, the Madrox series began with one of Jamie's clones, or "dupes," being murdered. To help solve the case, he is forced to absorb the dying clone, but that also means acquiring his experience of being killed, which is a traumatic experience for Jamie. Thematically, that's content better suited for a mature rating.
Yes, Sentinel has been introduced to the MCU via Thunderbolts. Considering both Bob Reynolds and Hyperion are versions of Superman, it wouldn't make sense story-wise to have two characters with very similar power sets. However, with a little retooling - something Marvel Studios does with practically every character - Hyperion could be a great addition to the MCU. Like everything else on today's list, the key would be making his story mature.
Of course, Hyperion would need to be introduced with his alternate-universe Justice League teammates. In the comics, he was initially part of the evil Squadron Supreme before being reintroduced as the Squadron Supreme. Either way, it would be a fun story to tell on the screen. Give it an R-rating, and a Hyperion/Squadron Supreme origin story could be an amazing Disney Plus streaming series.
From the beginning, the Ultimate Universe was meant to be a mature retelling of the classic Marvel pantheon. Here, the Avengers, known as The Ultimates, are government sponsored. They aren't quite The Boys, but Captain America and his crew are no saints, either.
Generally speaking, the entire Ultimate Universe would be better suited for a mature rating. In one of the more controversial issues of Ultimate, the Blob turns cannibal and devours Wasp. I can't imagine that ever makes it to a screen, but it goes to show that the Ultimate Universe was meant to push the boundaries. A film or streaming series would need to follow that philosophy to truly work.
Theories abound as to why Marvel's Blade has yet to see the light of day. One of the most prominent rumors claimed that Mahershala Ali vetoed a script that would have been less action-horror and more action-comedy with a focus on Blade's daughter, Bloodline. The word on the gossip sites was that Ali was not happy with the script's lighthearted tone and diminished role for the titular character. If that is the case, the actor could be onto something.
Released in 1998, Blade helped convince Hollywood executives that audiences want gritty comic book adaptations. The film was a massive hit and paved the way for Fox's X-Men franchise and, later, the MCU. Watering down Blade to a PG-13 action-comedy that's fun for the whole family would be a massive disappointment for the character's fanbase. Wesley Snipes' return to the role for D&W got cheers from moviesgoers, so clearly the fan support is still there. Delivering something unworthy of the original would be a box office dud waiting to happen.
This is probably the easiest entry on today's list. Yes, Moon Knight already has a Disney Plus series. While it wasn't outright bad, it wasn't great either. Like so many MCU projects since Thanos was dusted out of existence, Moon Knight failed to capture the essence of the comic book. Instead, all the sharp edges we love about Marc Spectre were dulled and sanitized for a larger, family-friendly audience.
One of MK's comic appeal is his brutal violence and biting humor. He's not quite Deadpool, but he provides a level of comedy that suits his character. Pair that with vampires and bloody violence, and fans love the character. What would help another season of Moon Knight or a shift into an entire movie franchise is that violence...and a few vampires or the like wouldn't hurt, either.
Kevin Feige, we love you and all that you've built in the MCU, but for the love of the God of Thunder, please shelve Bro Thor. It was a great change of pace in Ragnarok, but Love and Thunder cemented the joke having run its course. Give us what we want: a bad-ass, more mature Thor movie. Put an R rating on it - or at least a hard PG-13 - and we might all forgive you for Love and Thunder.
What makes me think audiences would go for a mature Thor flick? I present to you exhibit A: Infinity War. Even in the first Avengers film, Thor was no joke. Sure, he played a few lines for laughs, but we saw him hold his own against Hulk. Then came Infinity War, and we were treated to a fully-powered, serious God of Thunder in the MCU. The events of the story gave him a fitting character arc, and Loki's death motivated him to kill the Mad Titan. When he finally arrived in the Battle of Wakanda and bellowed, "Bring me Thanos!," theatrical audiences cheered. That is precisely what fans want for the God of Thunder.
While the MCU Thor has been relatively tame, the comics tell the story of a different God of Thunder. Particularly in Jason Aaron's run on the title, the jokes were swapped for action, and it worked.
Sure, Black Widow was a box office letdown, and Natasha Romanoff died in the events of Avengers: Endgame. Now that Yelena Belova has been established as the MCU's resident Black Widow ninja/super spy, this is an excellent time for Marvel Studios to give Black Widow a second chance in the starring role. On the heels of Thunderbolts heavily featuring Yelena, she likely will be a much bigger force in the MCU. That could lead to either a Black Widow sequel or possibly a Disney Plus streaming series.
Like the other IPs on today's list, Black Widow's comic roots very much lean toward mature. Her Marvel Knights series could be a fantastic guide in telling Yelena's full story. Even more interesting would be seeing a more intricate look at the Black Widow agents' childhood in the Red Room. The only way to properly tell that story is with an R rating.
If Marvel Studios wants to keep the main X-Men franchise PG-13, Uncanny X-Force could carry the R rating. Although the original X-Force lineup that sprung from the ashes of New Mutants would be a better fit for PG-13, the Uncanny iteration is much too mature for a family-friendly flick.
The first storyline to come to mind is an absolute classic: The Apocalypse Solution. Written by Rick Remender, this arc told the story of the X-Men plotting to kill Apocalypse before his full resurrection was complete. Cyclops and Charles Xavier put together a team of assassins: Wolverine, Deadpool, Archangel, Psylocke, and Fantomex. While that is a logical solution to a threat as ominous as Apocalypse, the team finds En Sabah Nur as a child, completely unaware of his previous lives. It's a moral dilemma that even shakes Wolverine and Deadpool. In the end, it's Fantomex that fires the killing shot, and it's an action that haunts the team.
