It seems like the age of superheroes has come to an end. It’s been quite an interesting journey. Marvel went from being a joke to being taken seriously and went back to being a joke. Marvel started to focus more on numbers and it’s showing in their content. The content that is being produced by Marvel has been sloppy. The problem is the amount of content that they are producing. The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) has become so saturated with storylines that exist across the shows on Disney+ and movies in theaters and on streaming platforms alike that it’s difficult to keep track of everything that’s currently happening.
There used to be one or two Marvel movie releases each year, but ever since a few years ago there have been around three per year, not including the many shows both Netflix and Disney+ have released since then. 2021 was the all-time high for Marvel with four movies and five shows released throughout the year. Initially, the shows and movies didn’t necessarily rely on one another symbiotically. However, with recent content such as Loki, it is obvious that it is becoming more and more necessary to be up-to-date and well-versed with all the shows and movies to understand the MCU as a whole, as well as specific storylines, characters, and references. The difference is clear between the first show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, released by the MCU, and the most recent, Loki.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was the first live-action show created to exist in the Marvel universe, but not necessarily the MCU. Though the first few seasons make obvious references to the movies that were coming out around the same time, the references became less frequent and the show is no longer explicitly part of the MCU.
Earlier seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D referenced the movies much more often and were more seamlessly integrated into the storylines of the show. The main character, Phil Coulson, is a reference himself to The Avengers (2012), where he supposedly died. Season one also features cameos from Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Jasper Sitwell, and Sif, who are all characters that exist in Marvel movies. Season one also features a storyline relating to the technology left behind by the Chitauri in the Battle of New York, connecting the show to and acknowledging the existence of The Avengers.
Perhaps the most significant storyline in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D that related deeply to the movies was the season one to season two story following the reveal that HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D, lining up with the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The storyline in the show addresses the overall impact that the infiltration had on the organization, but more specifically, one of the main characters from the show, Grant Ward, is revealed to be a double agent for HYDRA. The entire second season focuses heavily on Ward’s separation from the team along with his correspondence with John Garrett.
What worked so well about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was that while it was able to acknowledge major storylines in the movies– instead of the other way around– viewers didn’t have to understand the intricacies of the movies to still enjoy the show. Unfortunately, because of how much the show deviated from the movies and the plan for the MCU, it is no longer considered a part of the MCU at all, which could be a negative result of shows not being intertwined enough with the movies or phases.
While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D was the first MCU show to exist, Loki is the most recent show in the MCU. It aired on Disney+ and quickly became one of the most talked about shows created by Marvel. Unlike other shows on Disney+, Loki struck gold and got two seasons, the first of which aired in 2021. The proceeding content wasn’t that good. It was clear that Marvel preferred quantity over quality.
That caused a lot of problems. Not only did the Marvel content get worse and worse, but it became harder to keep up with. Anyone who thinks that they can get away with just watching one show from Marvel and have a clear idea about what’s happening in the universe would be incorrect. Loki proves to be a good example of that. Watching the first season of Loki was somewhat easy to follow along with because not much content existed before it. However, season two of Loki provided a different experience. People don’t have time to watch all the content beforehand, which leads to them being utterly confused.
If you truly wanted to enjoy the show Loki, it felt like you needed to watch other content before watching it. To be more specific, there are over ten years worth of content that you need to watch. Fans are first introduced to the character in Thor which was released in the year of 2011. There were a lot of references made in Loki, which are hard to get if you didn’t watch all of the content that he was in. That can make the show less enjoyable for a lot of people.
Not only did it feel like you needed to watch other shows before watching season two, but it also felt like you must watch Loki before watching any upcoming content produced by Marvel. Both seasons of Loki set up a major plot point for Marvel. The show helps introduce what the overarching theme of the MCU will have. If you want to keep up with the rest of the Marvel content, then you should watch Loki. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like him or if the show isn’t your style. If you like Marvel, then you have to watch Loki.
The MCU has come a long way from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The content they produced back then was easier to keep up with and more enjoyable to watch. The characters were easier to love and the content was good. It was easy to follow. They haven’t had much luck with that recently. Loki is proof. The amount of references the show made was difficult to get because of the amount of content you had to watch, unlike Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, where it was the exact opposite.
People shouldn’t have to watch everything to understand one show. Marvel needs to understand that. They also need to understand that we prefer quality over quantity. It shouldn’t be the other way around. When will they listen? Hopefully, they will soon because our favorite characters should have their stories told the way they deserve to be.
Featured image by Allison Schmidt.
