The MCU’s Biggest Box Office Bomb Is Actually Way More Important Than You Realize – Especially After Doomsday

Pretty much everyone agrees that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had its struggles since Avengers: Endgame, with several projects missing the mark critically and commercially. Secret Invasion was widely panned, Captain America: Brave New World was middling at best, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania struggled with critics, fans, and at the box office. On the other hand, the likes of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Loki were all met with widespread acclaim. However, during this run, there was one film that failed so badly from a financial standpoint that it has gone down as the biggest box office bomb in franchise history.

That film was 2023’s The Marvels, which is the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which grossed over $1 billion. This sequel arrived and grossed just $200 million on a budget of more than $300 million, making it one of the biggest flops ever. However, it would be a bad move to ignore The Marvels because, on top of it being a very good and fun movie on its own, it’s also actually a surprisingly important piece of the MCU, especially with Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon and the ties it has to the franchise’s future.

The Marvels Manages To Set Up The Young Avengers

Before getting into the Avengers: Doomsday of it all, it’s pivotal to remember where The Marvels left off. After Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau learned how to work together and saved the day, Monica ended up in another universe, and Carol chose to stay on Earth. Inspired by working as a team, Kamala opts to find fellow heroes and create a team of her own, which leads her to visit Kate Bishop. She even introduces herself in the same manner that Nick Fury used when recruiting Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man.

That moment between Fury and Stark set up the Avengers, while Kamala’s talk with Kate is meant to establish the Young Avengers. This is something the MCU has teased since back in 2021. Eli Bradley, Kid Loki, Cassie Lang, Tommy and Billy Maximoff, and America Chavez are all characters who have been introduced already and will likely be part of the eventual on-screen team. That’s not even to consider T’Challa, Love, and Riri Williams.

Whether it’s as a TV series or as a feature film, the seeds have been planted for the Young Avengers. Kamala Khan is a fantastic choice to lead them given Iman Vellani’s charisma. Kate Bishop was also a fan favorite, so she’s a great pick for the second member. It’s not a huge scene, but The Marvels does do more to set this group up than any other project.

We Got Our First Look At An Avengers: Doomsday Character In The Marvels

When it comes to Avengers: Doomsday, one of the common criticisms is that the build to the event has been a mixed bag. One previous movie that did a great job of opening the door for Avengers: Doomsday is The Marvels, even if not enough people paid attention to it. When Monica Rambeau sacrifices herself to save the day, she wakes up in an alternate universe during the post-credits scene. We immediately understand that’s the case when we see an alternate version of her mother, Maria, who is dead in the franchise’s main universe.

The real kicker comes when it gets revealed that she is being treated by Dr. Hank McCoy, better known as Beast. This was the mutant’s first appearance in the MCU, and the role was reprised by Kelsey Grammer, who played him in the Fox X-Men movies. Grammer is one of the cast members from those films who is coming back for Avengers: Doomsday. That makes him the first person back from that era to actually appear in the MCU outside of Hugh Jackman, who reportedly isn’t in Avengers: Doomsday.

It remains unclear what role Hank McCoy will actually play in Avengers: Doomsday. It could be a quick appearance, or it could involve Monica’s appearance in his universe. The latter seems somewhat unlikely since Teyonah Parris isn’t on the film’s cast list. Still, it’s important to consider that she’s apparently in the Fox X-Men universe, or at least a similar universe.

If The MCU Ignores The Marvels, It’ll Be A Big Mistake

There are likely some people involved in the MCU who would like the franchise to ignore The Marvels. Typically, a movie that loses a studio as much money as The Marvels did is something that never gets brought up again. However, the MCU has so much going on that ignoring or forgetting about one film with so many important elements would be a mistake. If there isn’t at least a mention of Hank McCoy’s experience with Monica Rambeau in Avengers: Endgame, it’s a missed opportunity that’s also a plot hole.

Even if it’s a different version of Beast than the one with the original X-Men, it still needs to be mentioned, or it’ll be odd. The three main characters of The Marvels not being in the cast of Avengers: Doomsday is a mistake on its own. Captain Marvel has proven herself as the strongest hero left and she’s on Earth, so not having her on the team fighting Dr. Doom doesn’t make much sense. It makes these characters feel less important and doesn’t do justice to the groundwork laid with them to this point.

The MCU has already shown that they’ll ignore certain movies. Eternals is treated as if it basically never happened, while there are plenty of loose threads hanging around that don’t feel like they’ll ever get a resolution. The Marvels doesn’t deserve to fall into that category. We need an explanation for Monica’s time with Hank, and an appearance by Carol, or at least a tease for her to show up in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Let us know what your thoughts on The Marvels and how the MCU has treated it since it flopped in the comments!

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