Editorial: Marvel Needs More Animated Content That Is NOT Associated With The MCU

[wonderfly]

The latest weekly editorial is up on the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Editorial: Marvel Needs More Animated Content That Is NOT Associated With The MCU"​

"The Marvel Cinematic Universe MCU is one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history. However. at this point, I think Marvel’s directive that almost all of its animated content be associated with the MCU is dragging down the quality of its animated projects. Almost all the Marvel animated series that aired on Disney XD (Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assembled, etc) would try to ape plot points and design choices from the MCU.

For example, the alien warriors the Chitauri showed up in an episode of Ultimate Spider-Man, this is despite the fact that the Chitauri are not a major antagonist in the traditional Spider-Man comic book series. The Chitauri did appear as villains in the Ultimates comic book series, but those were separate from the traditional 616 universe. The Chitauri seen in the Ultimates comics were completely different from the Chitauri seen in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series. Even in the Ultimate comic book universe, Spider-Man never fought the Chitauri. No, the Chitauri in Ultimate Spider-Man were the ones seen in the 2012 Avengers film. Spider-Man has no history with the Chitauri in either the 616 universe or the Ultimate Comics Universe. The Chitauri are not iconic Spider-Man villains, they were included in that show simply because they appeared in the movies."

Read the full article here.

 

[Frontier]

I want more shows like X-Men '97 and less like What If.

 

[Freddy]

I agree with this editorial in general, but I'm going to defend What if? a little bit and say that tying up with the MCU makes sense. The hook of What if? is to put new twists on familiar stories and the majority of the audience of a streaming animated show isn't made out of comic readers. So, if What if? the series was adapting old What if? comics, most of those twists would be meaningless to the people watching, because they would have no idea how those stories are "supposed to" go down. MCU versions of these characters and stories are mainstream enough that an average joe can understand what a premise like "What if Steve Rogers wasn't Captain America?" means in that context.

The only alternative way of adaptating What if?, that I can see, is for a long-running Marvel show having Simpsons' Threehouse of Horror-styled episodes, where they would do what if? riffs on their own previous episodes. Say, for example, AEMH could have done something like "What if the Leader's Gamma World wasn't stopped?" or "What if Thor never left Asgard?".

 

[SweetShop209]

I think it would help if Marvel shows also took influence from Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur, though I don't know how much a show from Disney Television Animation would influence Marvel. Still, it's a very top notch series simply because of how charming Lunella and the characters are and how we get to see some real growth.

 

[Antiyonder]

I think as with anything, it's making sure to give some good amount of views to Non-MCU shows whether it is the current X-Men '97, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur or the various other oldies not MCU related.

 

[harry580]

since marvel big success before mcu were the direct to video movies lionsgate used to released & the marvel anime, I love to see marvel to go in that direction again

 

[TheGuy]

As long as we get goodness like X Men 97 and not What If? I'm chill with them doing this