Now thatBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreveris finally out,Marvel Studios’Phase Four is officially over. Although this particular chapter in the franchise has proven to be the MCU’s most divisive, its last film contains some of the biggest clues about where Phase Five will take moviegoers.
RELATED:Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Details You May Have Missed
So Much Losing
The Multiverse Saga will end with thevery popularKang DynastyandSecret Warsstorylines, though Phase Four did very little to pan out how is it that these superheroes, both old and new, will get there. However, thanks primarily toLokiandtheBlack Panthersequel, it did establish two main issues. No matter what happens, Kang (or He Who Remains) will come out on top, because multiversal hindsight is 20/20. Additionally, opposing political forces on Earth are busy waging a different kind of not-so-secret warfare.
Productions likeThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier,Spider-Man: No Way Home,Doctor Strange 2andMs. Marveldid their part in familiarizing audiences with concepts like the world’s political instability, magical space banglesand the multiverse. But for the most part, these are side dishes, not the main course. For those larger conflicts to escalate onto Phase Six, it seems probable that Marvel’s heroes will be taking a significant number of Ls in Phase Five, especially considering it all ends with a bunch of antiheroes teaming up under CIA tutelage.
Besides, the officialbuzz generated forThunderbolts, alleged plot leaks forAnt-Man and the Wasp: QuantumaniaandThe Marvels, plus the trailer for the former, all depict grim scenarios for the good guys. Scott Lang has to save his daughter Cassie, and it’s likely that’ll lead Kang to get exactly what he wants from him. Plus, since Ant-Man is one of the MCU’s biggest comic reliefs and no one but Loki even knows who Kang is at the moment, it’s not hard to imagine Scott either dying at the end of the movie or realizing he’s done a terrible thing.
Speaking of which,Captain America 4has the words “New World Order” in its title. This might please both conspiracy theorists and a certain Valentina Allegra de Fontaine,especially judging from herWakanda Foreveragenda. Val wants to get America’s hands on Wakanda’s vibranium, and having a friend of the nation like Bucky Barnes in herThunderboltscould be the perfect Trojan horse she needs.
Overall, except for Marvel’s new “street-level” characters such asEcho,BladeandDaredevil, it doesn’t really sound like superheroes will be doing particularly well for a while. It might be time for the Avengers to assemble once more.
New Avengers Wanted
In the wake of so much trouble arising in the MCU, it bears reminding that the Avengers are currently disbanded. The last few remnants of the supergroup showed up inShang-Chi’scredits, likely making him a top contender for a spot. Since Thor is already booked for the future and Doctor Strange is still out there, it remains to be seen if Captain Marvel will stick around.
Currently, most Marvel heroes appear to be out and about handling their own messes. That was Phase Four, and possiblyPhase Five too until theNew World Orderand the seriousness of Kang’s threat forms. It’s these two events that are more likely to call for a new Avengers team-up, first against the earthly problems posed by the Leader, Thunderbolt Ross and Val, but then with even bigger stakes in the actual Avengers movies.
As if that wasn’t enough, the MCU still has to say goodbye to theGuardians of the Galaxy and deal with the more cosmic side of things. This is turning out to be a more complicated task due to the difficult receptionEternalsendured. With up to seven spots still open in Marvel’s Phase Six pipeline, this next stage at least has to finish developing the turmoil on planet Earth, hence why it makes sense for Daredevil and company to enter the fray.
To sum things up, Phase Five will mainly focus on planet Earth and how the problems in outer space start to affect life here on the third rock from the sun. This also explainswhy the massiveSecret Invasionstoryline will be condensedinto something smaller. There’s a ton going on in the MCU at the moment, and Phase Five will be bookended by films whose perils are incomparable to anything fans have seen in the past two years.
Phase Four’s biggest problem was its writing. Although many disliked the absence of a common path leading up to its end, the next few years will be very different in that regard. This is when Kang truly becomes a lurking threat similar to early Thanos. ConsideringLokiwas the only Disney Plus series greenlit for a second season from the get-go, there’s a ton of setup work to do, regardless that the big events at this stage might be the political fallout relatedNew World OrderandThunderbolts. Simply put, expect those ambitious cinematic crossovers to return in style and plenty of cameos for sure.
