What If Marvel were to scrap the MCU's Phase 4?

[Tofali]

I don't see what you're talking about tbh. What political agenda is there?

Phase 4 was announced that it will be about representation and how it looks like now it seems it is both front and behind the scenes, that is probably why the OP is invoking the "identity politics" charges. However maybe the OP will correct me or elaborate what he/she means.

[Holt]

I'm not sure what Kang the Conqueror or the Skrull have to do with The Beyonder or the Beyonders.

We now have four separate projects dealing with the Multiverse. I don't see what's so hard to connect the dots about that.

All Marvel has done so far is introduce the multiverse, and that seems to be paving the way for Annihilus' entry into the MCU, if anything.

That seems to be a far bigger stretch than saying the prominence of the Multiverse points to Secret Wars. They're not doing all this build-up just for Annihilus.

Beyond that there are also clearly other subplots being foreshadowed in the various productions, so saying there's no build to anything and that all the projects are being thrown out at random doesn't really hold up.

[CosmiComic]

Phase 4 was announced that it will be about representation and how it looks like now it seems it is both front and behind the scenes, that is probably why the OP is invoking the "identity politics" charges. However maybe the OP will correct me or elaborate what he/she means.

I don't want to assume whatever they said. But complaining about too much diversity is absolutely the wrong thing.

[CosmiComic]

We now have four separate projects dealing with the Multiverse. I don't see what's so hard to connect the dots about that.



That seems to be a far bigger stretch than saying the prominence of the Multiverse points to Secret Wars. They're not doing all this build-up just for Annihilus.

Beyond that there are also clearly other subplots being foreshadowed in the various productions, so saying there's no build to anything and that all the projects are being thrown out at random doesn't really hold up.

Yeah, why would the multiverse be setting up Annihilus

I'm guessing some kind of multiverse conflict or Collison is being set up. Maybe with the intent od bringing in characters from other universes

[Citizen Kane]

We now have four separate projects dealing with the Multiverse. I don't see what's so hard to connect the dots about that.



That seems to be a far bigger stretch than saying the prominence of the Multiverse points to Secret Wars. They're not doing all this build-up just for Annihilus.

Beyond that there are also clearly other subplots being foreshadowed in the various productions, so saying there's no build to anything and that all the projects are being thrown out at random doesn't really hold up.

Are we really going to act like Annihilation wasn't one of the most popular Marvel crossovers to date? Why wouldn't they use this as an opportunity to introduce Annihilus? He is from an alternate universe; he's a multiversal threat; and he's big enough of a villain to introduce the concept of multiversal threats to the audience, while also not being so overpowered that he would completely overshadow Kang or the Skrull. I haven't the faintest why Marvel would go straight to The Beyonder or Beyonders before doing a slightly lesser multiversal threat, especially when they're trying to milk the MCU for as long as they possibly can. Saying, "the introduction of the multiverse means The Beyonder is the big bad", is no less a stretch than saying Annihilus is being built up. There's no evidence as yet of The Beyonder or Beyonders in the MCU at all, and same goes for Annihilus. No need to get into a twist over someone disagreeing with the popular fan theories.

Not that any of this has anything to do with my original post. I have yet to see a definitive direction in Phase 4, and it pales in comparison, so far, to what preceded it. Endgame should have been, well, the endgame.

[Holt]

Are we really going to act like Annihilation wasn't one of the most popular Marvel crossovers to date?

Yes, because that's not really relevant to the discussion. You don't need to spend four films establishing the concept of the Multiverse to introduced Annihilus. Certainly not when some of those projects involve fan favorite past iterations of characters. Marvel has much bigger fish to fry than Annihilus, though I'm sure he'll eventually show up in the MCU with the FF coming.

I have yet to see a definitive direction in Phase 4,

It seems more like you not wanting to see, in this case.

[Tofali]

I don't want to assume whatever they said. But complaining about too much diversity is absolutely the wrong thing.

I don't mind being mistaken and someone correcting me but invoking Identity politics gives it away.

[Citizen Kane]

Yes, because that's not really relevant to the discussion.

If we're going to talk about what's relevant to the discussion, then we should first acknowledge that my post was not about The Beyonders or Annihilus, but it was about the MCU ending at Endgame, and I gave reasons as to why I thought this way. Not that my post was up for debate, nor was it something my opinions should have been attacked for. I had an opinion I wasn't planning on changing, and some thought it necessary to strike it down as heresy or stupid. I simply gave my thoughts.

It seems more like you not wanting to see, in this case.

Forest for the trees.

[Holt]

If we're going to talk about what's relevant to the discussion, then we should first acknowledge that my post was not about The Beyonders or Annihilus, but it was about the MCU ending at Endgame, and I gave reasons as to why I thought this way. Not that my post was up for debate, nor was it something I should have been attacked for. I had an opinion I wasn't planning on changing, and some thought it necessary to strike it down as heresy or stupid. I simply gave my thoughts.

Bruh, it's a form. Nobody is attacking you.

Forest for the trees.

Hey, if they do 4+ Multiverse projects all for the purpose of building up Annihilus, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. But if I were the betting type I'd wager it's in the service of something bigger than him.

[Citizen Kane]

Bruh, it's a form. Nobody is attacking you.

Poor wording on my part. It should have read "...nor was it something my opinions should have been attacked for" (and "attacked" is probably too strong a word, but I'm currently too lazy think of something more precise). Too quick to post, and too slow to proofread—my greatest online enemy. In the end, it was meant to mean that I had no interest in getting into a debate over whether or not the MCU had a direction, or this, or that—my post wasn't about that.

Hey, if they do 4+ Multiverse projects all for the purpose of building up Annihilus, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. But if I were the betting type I'd wager it's in the service of something bigger than him.

Either way, if one were to happen or the other, it doesn't really matter to me. I've already checked out of the MCU, and what's been presented in Phase 4 has yet to entice me to return—call it MCU-formula burnout.

[CosmiComic]

I don't mind being mistaken and someone correcting me but invoking Identity politics gives it away.

I meant being against diversity is wrong. Sorry, I didn't make that clear

[CosmiComic]

Bruh, it's a form. Nobody is attacking you.







Hey, if they do 4+ Multiverse projects all for the purpose of building up Annihilus, I'll be the first to admit I was wrong. But if I were the betting type I'd wager it's in the service of something bigger than him.

Annihilus comes from the NZ, right? I suppose that's part of the multiverse.

[Citizen Kane]

Annihilus comes from the NZ, right? I suppose that's part of the multiverse.

If I've been recalling correctly, the Negative Zone is referred to as an "alternate universe", so it always seemed to be in the multiverse rather than just a pocket universe (so, the Negative Zone isn't in the same category as the Soul Gem dimension).

[CosmiComic]

If I've been recalling correctly, the Negative Zone is referred to as an "alternate universe", so it always seemed to be in the multiverse rather than just a pocket universe (so, the Negative Zone isn't in the same category as the Soul Gem dimension).

I thought the NZ was the center of the multiverse because there's only one across all timelines. I could be wrong, though

[Nomads1]

So, the fact that I don't like the current direction of the MCU, that I find it boring, unimmaginative and formulaiac, hads suddenly become about the fact that I'm automatically against diversity? I see.
Well, to answer a poster about him not seeing the current productions being political, don't get me wrong, movies, comics, pop culture in general, has always been political. Marvel, especially, always had quite a left-wing view most of the time (nowadays,with cancel culture at full throtle, it's hard to imagine a part of the industry which does not). As a non-American, I could not help but feel bothered when the action movies of ther 80's and 90's always used to picture anyone south of the border as a barely literate tribe of Cuban-inspired revolutionaries, who always lost easily to the mighty freedom-loving Americans (Hollywood's view of world politics has always been appalling, to say the least). In the same way, I don't appreciate the current trend to bash all of America's accomplishments as result of oppression of women, other etnicies and it being just a WASP paradise. It's an equally simple-minded view of things, and, likewise, it's America's problems. Keep it to yourself. The world has enough problems that don't limit themselves to this. My point is, politics has always been inserted in pop culture, it just seems to me that, in recent years, they have crossed the line and have become TOO heavy-handed (so much so that the politics, the agenda, no longer serve to enrich the story, it has BECOME the story, the story must bow itself to the dictates of the agenda. That's not entretainment. It's propaganda. Political propaganda). So much to the point that, even in a comics forum, you have to thread very carefully as to not have everything, even your personal tastes, become a political discussion. Just because you happen to agree with the politics being inserted in the movies and comics, it's not fair to say it doesn't exist.
That's all I'll say on the subject, and I would rather stick to what I proposed in the OP, different paths that the MCU could have taken with phase 4. Other then mine, I didn't see many people come up with their own ideas.

As always,

Peace