Marvel Has Already Addressed The Biggest MCU Complaint, But Not Where Fans Expected

After Avengers: Endgame raised the stakes of the MCU to universe-spanning proportions, fans immediately wondered: what’s next? How could Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and his team possibly follow up on the epic two-parter that saw nearly every hero in the MCU take on Thanos (Josh Brolin) and ultimately resurrect half of the universe? The answer soon became clear. Rather than simply risking the whole of the MCU’s Earth-616, the entire multiverse would be on the line this time. As Phases 4, 5, and 6 laid out the initial plan for the Multiverse Saga — and pivoted away from Kang toward Doctor Doom as the ultimate threat — it also established a whole new generation of heroes, some brand-new and some inheriting a mantle from an original Avenger.

However, with both legacy and new characters in the mix as well as an entire multiversal threat to contend with, the MCU’s Multiverse Saga has left some fans feeling disappointed. Yelena Belova is perhaps one of the only newer heroes to get ample screen time, with roles in Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thunderbolts*, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Meanwhile, many other newer heroes, such as Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi and Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel, have not been able to step up the way some fans expected. But the animated side of the MCU tells a different story.

Marvel Animation Has Kept New Characters Alive

In tandem with its live-action counterpart, Marvel Studios Animation — a separate division of Marvel Studios established in 2021 — has launched several key animated series largely designed to build out the multiverse. There’s, of course, the acclaimed X-Men ‘97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which exist in parallel worlds to the MCU proper. But Marvel has also allowed projects like What If…? and Marvel Zombies to shift the MCU spotlight beyond marquee figures like the X-Men and Spider-Man. The former not only further explores Doctor Strange’s complicated relationship to the multiverse but also lets fan favorites like Shang-Chi, Kate Bishop, Agatha Harkness, and Red Guardian have stories of their own. The beauty of the series, naturally, is the freedom with which it can go big, weird, or dark, sometimes all in the same episode. What If…? even introduces its own hero in Kahhori.

Meanwhile, Marvel Zombies seems almost designed to usher in a new era for the MCU. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where most of the original heroes either became flesh-eating zombies or fell victim to them, the show positions Ms. Marvel as the central hero and even features a character named Blade Knight, a version of Blade clearly modeled after Mahershala Ali who takes on the mantle of Moon Knight. Many newer characters also appear in key roles, including Kate Bishop, Riri Williams, Shang-Chi, and Red Guardian. Even here, Yelena Belova — with Florence Pugh voicing her — makes a memorable appearance.

Will the MCU Be Able to Move Past Its Original Heroes?

As fun as the Marvel Studios Animation projects are, the downside is that nearly all of them — with the notable exception of Eyes of Wakanda — are explicitly set in alternate worlds. So none of these adventures are acknowledged as canon within the core MCU. If anything, these animated series have given the MCU some leeway to take risks, experimenting not only with its less proven heroes but also with darker, more violent stories.

Still, going into Avengers: Doomsday, one of the overarching complaints of the Multiverse Saga has been its over-reliance on the familiar. With Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans both returning to the MCU, some fans are skeptical that the MCU is ready to move past the characters that defined the Infinity Saga. There are certainly enough newer heroes waiting in the wings to inherit the pressure of carrying the franchise forward, if and when they’re given the chance to fully do so.

Until then, fans craving more of the characters introduced in projects like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Ms. Marvel, Eternals, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ironheart, and beyond can find solace in the MCU’s animation wing. And with any luck, Uatu aka The Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright on What If…?) will make his live-action debut soon to tie these series into the rest of the Multiverse Saga.

What If…? and Marvel Zombies are streaming now on Disney+.

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