A Look Back at Marvel's 2015
2015 was a considerably big year when it came to Marvel stuff. Four different series, three different movies, and the one thing they all have in common is wondering what the hell is happening next year. Most of them have been interesting, some have been watchable, and a couple of them have been downright awful, something you could probably tell by now. This article is dedicated to the Marvel productions, both the good and the bad, of this past year before we move into 2016. Since it’s been a year, there will obviously be spoilers.
The most anticipated film of this year and the movie that puts the rest to shame, Avengers: Age of Ultron is basically end-all of Marvel things in 2015. The Hydra break-in in the opening is alone probably the best thing on this list with the superhero team face-off that hasn’t (yet) been seen anywhere else. While it does lag compare to The Avengers with its odd Thor side plot and the continuing question of why anyone would put Tony Stark in charge of anything comes back into play, this movie has the highest stakes, the weirdest actions, and the most epic moves that can be expected from a superhero film these days. Where else can you find a movie about an evil robot trying to take over the world by dropping a city on the planet? We have at least two other Avenger movies to see how this measures up, but so far, this is a good sign.
Ant-Man strangely isn’t the weirdest movie to come out of Marvel (it’s the second), but the more surprising thing about it is how the film isn’t terrible. Despite the Edgar Wright drama, smaller stakes, and altogether out-there story, the final product is actually pretty fun. The shrinking effects at least help the movie stand out from the others, and it helps that Scott’s not such a bad guy to root for compared to some of the others. It’s also a comfort to see the regular solo superhero film remain interesting in the middle of two Avenger movies. Sure, it was never meant to rival those other movies, but it was always small stakes anyway (ha!).
And time for the bottom of the heap. It would have been enough if Fantastic Four were just bad, because it was, but the movie was just…nothing. It takes about forty minutes for anything remotely interesting to happen, there’s no real incentive to do anything after getting their superpowers, and Ben and Sue don’t even share a word together. How does anyone expect a good Fantastic Four movie out of that? Moreover, how does anyone expect a decent film after that? The worst part is, at this point, I can feel that there has to be a good Fantastic Four movie out there. Now, no one will want to see it. No one would want to make it. What a waste of a movie. What a waste of Marvel’s First Family.
Moving to the TV department, Agents of SHIELD finished off its second season and began its third in the span of this year. SHIELD’s never been the best thing Marvel’s put out, but it has its definite ups and downs like a movie. In 2015, the Inhumans appeared, about fifteen characters came and went sometimes by death, Simmons got eaten by a rock and sent to an alien planet, and Skye changed her name after getting superpowers. The introduction of superpowered people was probably the best thing to happen to this show since Hydra (that sounded weird), and, as usual, the year ends with a major question mark as to what will happen next. If you’re paying attention, a very similar pattern will probably happen in 2016 as well. I’m both excited and dreading it.
The other network show, Agent Carter, is unfortunately further down the dreaded side rather than the excited one. With fans like me who would probably watch anything with Peggy Carter playing a part, it should be obviously disappointing when the show actually doesn’t have a lot of her. Sure, she’s still the main character, but a main character, or a title character, should probably have more than 60% of the screen time. The return of the Howling Commandos is probably the best and only worthy episode of the series since it’s not only exciting, connected to the universe, and features Peggy Carter as a leader. Other than that, I wouldn’t force it on you.
Now we get to some of the prime stuff. Daredevil premiered earlier this year, if you can believe it, and proved above and beyond what Marvel can do. The gritty atmosphere, the comic lore, and the smashing of a guy’s head by a car door are all things we probably won’t see in a movie anytime soon. Not to mention having the perfect setup for the Defenders series in a world that does acknowledge the Avengers existing and almost destroying New York. With Elektra and the Punisher set to show up soon, the series can only get better with the blind lawyer by day/vigilante by night, especially since everyone’s used to his suit at this point. Not to mention the fact that the seasons come all at once guaranteeing almost thirteen straight hours of action punctured by dark shading. It’s a nice pattern.
Jessica Jones is the second Netflix outing by Marvel and proof that this pattern isn’t a fluke. It’s everything Daredevil is plus superpowers, making it a show similar enough for fans but different enough for something unique. Plus, it creates a way to watch something Marvel-related for 24 hours straight with both shows. It’s ultimately based on personal tastes on which show is better than the other, but since both exist, what’s the real problem? The only thing is one might refrain from actually binge-watching this show, unless one has conviction of steel with skin that doesn’t crawl at David Tennat’s voice. Either way, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that the show is good.
That’s Marvel in 2015, one big thing after another even though it still involves months of waiting in between each other. Still, there’s usually a lot more good than bad, especially in the MCU, so I guess it’s got us there. Bring on 2016.
