Replacing the cast that initially made everyone fall in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe was always going to be a tall order for Kevin Feige and Co., and while the discussion is far from unanimous, some fans just aren’t connecting with the Avengers “replacements” as much as they wanted to.
A now-deleted Reddit post opened the floor up for discussing just how well the new generation of MCU heroes has been faring against their predecessors. And, could that be the reason reactions to the franchise’s latest films have been so mild?
The defeatists have already made up their minds about the subject, secure in their opinion that the slate of new faces can’t live up to the “charisma” of the OGs. Two of the most common exceptions for those who share this opinion seem to be Yelena Belova — Natasha’s sister and supposed Black Widow successor, played by one of this generation’s most coveted actresses Florence Pugh — and Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, who is subbing in for Steve as Captain America.
For many, though, as much as Sam is indeed the new Captain America, he doesn’t really count as a member of the “next generation” because fans have had the opportunity to develop an attachment since his days in Captain America: The Winter Soldier — which, albeit not a Phase One film, is still very much a part of the MCU’s primordial years.
Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, and Letitia Wright’s Shuri are also getting a lot of love, alongside Namor, and Shang-Chi, played by Tenoch Huerta and Samu Liu, respectively. The most unpopular seem to be Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters, and Xochitl Gomez’ America Chavez.
Even if the likes of America or Riri Williams have barely had a chance to prove their worth in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, fans are comparing their screen time to Natasha’s in Iron Man 2, and T’Challa’s in Captain America: Civil War, and how they didn’t need a solo film to instantly win the hearts of audiences.
A handful of level-headed fans are justifiably warning their peers against making hasty judgments, before giving Phase Five a proper chance. Just like recent times, there were also moments of doubt and lackluster films in the MCU’s first and second phases. Many didn’t really care for Thor until Ragnarok, and Iron Man 3, too, had people jumping the gun, saying the MCU would never again successfully recreate the hype created for The Avengers. We all know how that ended.
Marvel is still set to introduce a bunch of new characters like the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the upcoming years, but the most immediate upcoming releases are all about developing the new players we all met throughout Phase Four. Even if some recent outings like Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, or Thor: Love and Thunder have been disappointing for a large portion of fans and critics alike, they are in no way reflective of what the franchise still has in store. The only way to know for sure whether the new generation of Avengers will live up to the OGs is, literally, to wait and see.