I don't have much confidence in Marvel magic. I'm not just talking about Wanda. Strange, Loki, Voodoo, Magik and Wong are in the same boat. I think Marvel writers and editors see magical characters as walking, talking deus ex machinas. So they're hesitant to use them. And I have to agree with them to a certain extent. It's not easy to write fantasy stories.
Last edited by Albert1981; 04-22-2021 at 12:15 PM.
At least they spent quite a bit of screentime describing "time travel" in Endgame. I've read some of the comments about quantum physics made by "scientific advisers" hired by Marvel, and there is SOME plausibility to what they're saying. I personally don't believe in multiple realities and timelines myself though, but I can see how they could work. Pam Particles and Infinity Stones. Just scientific and cosmic nonsense.
To me, I actually think the movies and shows have a better handle on magic than the comic books themselves! Look at how JMS talked about how "magic" was used to get rid of Spidey's and MJ's marriage and how he hated how Marvel handled it (I didn't read this story. Up until VERY recently, I thought Mary Jane was still Peter's missus)!:
"And that’s the part I had a real problem with, maybe the single biggest problem. There’s this notion that magic fixes everything. It doesn’t. “It’s magic, we don’t have to explain it.” Well, actually, yes, you do. Magic has to have rules. And this is clearly not just a case of one spell making everybody forget he’s Spidey…suddenly you’re bringing back the dead, undoing wounds, erasing records, reinstating web shooters, on and on and on.
What I wanted to do was to make one small change to history, a tiny thing, whose ripples we could control to only touch what editorial wanted to touch, making changes we could explain logically. I worked for weeks to come up with a timeline that would leave every other bit of continuity in place. It was rigorous, and as logical as I could make it. In the end of OMD as published, Harry is alive and he’s always been alive as far as the characters know…so how is that different than he was alive the whole time?"
How can comic book readers take magic in the comics seriously when it's used in such ridiculous and contrived ways? I can't and I don't. Fantasy doesn't have to be realistic. It actually shouldn't be. But it needs rules, logic and consistency like any other literary genre.
I think Marvel takes the science in its movies VERY seriously:
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/marvel-movies-science
Oh, the science/tech in Marvel is out there for sure. But surprisingly a LOT of the fictional tech in the MCU is tethered to REAL science. Marvel Studios is trying to be as scientifically accurate as possible:
https://www.seeker.com/videos/earth-...matic-universe
Magic is not real, so it IS harder to make it appear "plausible". But I think rules, limitations and internal consistency would prevent fantasy stories from "losing" audiences. I really enjoyed the reality warping in the MCU thus far. I think it looks great. But I don't think ADDING more powers in each new show/movie is a great idea. I like the idea of expanding on previous ones more.