The author of this article is a contributor @ Fat to Laugh
It's better to watch a movie than to cook
The fourth stage of the Marvel Universe is the reboot stage after the endgame of "Avengers 4" that countless fans have pinned high hopes on.
Unfortunately, it happened to catch up with the big shutdown and reshuffle of the global film and television industry under the impact of the epidemic, and the schedule of several large-scale Marvel movies had to be postponed again and again, and 2020 also became an almost blank year on the grand blueprint of the MCU.
However, Marvel is also riding on the current east wind of streaming media, and this year has greatly expanded its territory in terms of dramas by relying on several word-of-mouth new dramas, and 2021 has also become the first year for the MCU to open the small screen boom.
Today, Xiaowan will take stock and review this Marvel annual new atmosphere for everyone.
Wanda's Vision
On January 15 this year, "Wanda Vision" was launched on Disney+, officially opening the curtain on the fourth phase of the Marvel Universe on the small screen.
"Wanda's Vision" was not optimistic at first, because it did not look as "selling" as "Falcon and winter soldier", and the early promotion also focused on sitcom elements.
However, the performance after the broadcast proved the hard power of "Wanda Vision" as the opening work: IMDb score 8.3, Douban score 9.0.
The continuous fermentation of the word-of-mouth effect has also made the number of episodes of this drama climb high, and even crashed the Disney+ server because it was too hot.
"Wanda's Vision" can be launched at the beginning of the fourth phase of the MCU, in large part, "thanks" to the crazy fans of the Avengers Endgame Battle.
With her parents dying in her childhood and her brother Quicksilver dying at the hands of Ultron, Wanda is arguably the most miserable heroine in the Marvel universe.
Finally had the opportunity to live with the illusion, but experienced the pain of the tragic "death" of his beloved in front of his eyes. In the end, almost all the people in the reverse future were happy ending, and they did not revive the illusion.
Therefore, the reunion of the two resentful couples in "Wanda's Vision" also gives a little comfort to the original difficult ending (although the plot advances to the end and finds a knife hidden in the sugar).
When Wanda woke up in a dream, while learning black magic, she heard the call for help from twins from other parallel universes, which also laid the groundwork for marvel to open up the multiverse in the future.
In addition to the plot, "Wanda Vision"'s ingenious tribute to sitcoms of different eras, as well as the details of the ubiquitous grass snake gray line and small Easter eggs, also let the audience expect the fourth stage of the MCU.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
"Falcon and winter soldiers" released on March 19 almost seamlessly followed "Wanda Vision", as the seed player of the Marvel drama dream team, this wave also consolidated the previous good reputation while the iron was hot.
The story of "Falcon and winter soldier" also takes place after the endgame, and Sam the Falcon feels that he cannot afford the heavy responsibility entrusted by Steve and donates the shield of the US team.
Bucky, a centenarian with amnesia, is tormented by all kinds of unbearable past and suffers from psychological problems.
At the same time, the outside world is even more disturbed, before there is the "six-eared macaque version" OF team, and then there is Baron Zemo 2.0, the Falcon and the Winter Soldier who hate each other and are caught in the emo have to work together against the villain again.
Marvel directly said "This is a 6-hour movie" at the beginning of filming, and "Falcon and Winter Soldier" is indeed the king of money in Marvel episodes so far, and some action scenes of air flying fights take fans directly back to "Captain America 3".
"Rocky"
"Rocky", which was released in early June, is the first work in the Marvel Universe to jump out of the main timeline in more than a decade, and the multiverse that previously satisfies the appetite of fans has also set sail from here.
The plot of Loki is extended from an Easter egg branch of Avengers 4, when the Avengers travel back to the past, collect the Infinity Stones, and try to reverse the future, Loki takes advantage of the chaos and escapes with the Space Gems.
This violation of the "sacred timeline" was immediately discovered by the Time Authority TVA, who sent someone to immediately arrest Loki and bring him to justice.
In the series "Rocky", the time and space of TVA's existence are to the time and space in Marvel's works, just like real life is to "Truman's World", TVA's mission is to monitor the movements of different universes and correct bugs like Loki's escape that disrupt the "sacred timeline".
If this abstract concept of time and space is not impactful enough, when the infinity gems on the "divine timeline" that are inseparable between the good and evil sides appear in the TVA desk drawer like a gacha toy, I believe that the audience off-screen is also like Loki, and the inherent worldview and time and space view are shattered.
Other subversive plots such as Loki witnessing his future death at the hands of Thanos, Loki and himself in the parallel universe staging Narcissus love, etc., have made the audience who follow the drama exercise a strong heart, and no matter what new tricks Marvel makes in the multiverse in the future, it can be calmly accepted.
Hawkeye
The recently released "Hawkeye" is the finale of the first year of Marvel's small screen, and it also makes up for Hawkeye's regret as a member of the original A6 but has never had a personal independent work.
"Hawkeye" is not a series similar to the prequel theme of "Black Widow" as many fans speculated before, but it tells the story of Clint, who has been ready to return to the field, because of the sudden appearance of a little fan sister, he has to suspend his retirement plan and re-draw the bow and arrow milk newcomer.
The tone of "Hawkeye" is not as sad, brain-burning or nervous as the previous series this year, and the spitting mouth and Christmas atmosphere of the two generations of Hawkeye make the whole show somewhat return to Marvel's early family style.
Among the original Avengers, Hawkeye is the only hero of the six who does not have super/banknote abilities of his own, and is truly "a mortal body, comparable to a god".
Therefore, such a small and fortunate ending as returning to the family is also the best destination for Hawkeye.
"What if...?" 》
In addition to four live-action series, Marvel also launched the first animated series "What If...?" this year. The story is more brain-opening than the live-action series:
Peggy Carter becomes Captain Britain, Tetzala is kidnapped by Courage to become Star-Lord, the original Ant-Man group destroys the first Avengers, and the superheroes collectively become zombies...
"What if...?" "" is very simple and rough to draw a picture of a parallel universe, the title of each unit drama is also different from other film and television works in the Marvel Universe, and the linkage with the main story line is also very limited.
According to the "What if...? The possibility of subverting the MCU's main universe is basically non-existent, and everyone can see it as an officially produced fandom drama.
Of course, Marvel dramas are not only this year, and the previous dramas such as "Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." and "Agent Carter" are not as popular as movies in China, but the quality is also above the standard.
Starting from the fourth phase of the MCU, Marvel has finally woken up, assigned the main line characters to the series and increased the budget, and also created more easter eggs with the linkage between the movie, and the parallel results of the film and drama are gratifying.
To sum up, the four dramas launched this year can be packaged into a "reunion 4 post-war wound healing series".
It's just that some people have successfully recovered, such as the "crosstalk group"; some people have deteriorated, such as Wanda; and some people have been revived in place by medical miracles, such as Loki.
And these series have also healed the fans' "depression" after the endgame to a certain extent and the "fire disease" of looking forward to the fourth stage of the MCU, giving fans psychological comfort in the year of the epidemic.
How to reconnect former comrades and "check for defects and fill in the gaps" for the first three stages of the Marvel Universe is also a common problem derived from the story branches of different characters in the four Marvel series this year.
Film and drama linkage, inheriting the past and the future, this may become the form of the next Marvel Universe to continue to advance.
Next year's Marvel upcoming dramas, in addition to "Rocky" and "What if...? two sequels, as well as Moonlight Knight and Secret Invasion.
The former has Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, the two male gods, the latter has the return of "Commissioner Fury" Samuel Jackson, and the "Dragon Mother" Emilia Clark will also join.
Are you still looking forward to these next Marvel episodes?
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