Breather Episode / Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Guardians of the Galaxy, a more straight-up comedy sandwiched by the intense Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
• Ant-Man, which ends Phase 2 on an idealistic note right before Captain America: Civil War, which deals with the fallout of Avengers: Age of Ultron and has the Avengers fighting amongst themselves.
• The 2017 films (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok) were all very comedic in focus compared to 2016's Civil War and Doctor Strange and 2018's Black Panther (which, while not as shattering as Infinity War, deals with a lot of heavy and politically-loaded subject matters) and Infinity War.
• The lighthearted Ant-Man and the Wasp follows up on the universe-shattering Avengers: Infinity War.
• Spider-Man: Far From Home comes off the epic Avengers: Endgame. This one is a fairly low stakes isolated incident that is likewise more light-hearted and comedic, while likewise acting as an epilogue of sorts to the two part Thanos storyline and Phase 3 as a whole.
• Hawkeye is a light, comedic Buddy Picture Action Genre series, released between the apocalyptic Eternals and the multiversal chaos of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
• Thor: Love and Thunder is a lightweight romantic space opera that was released between the cosmic horror of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the intense and melancholic Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
• Ms Marvel is a far more lighthearted show about an Ascended Fangirl discovering her superpowers and making up with her family, following as Disney+-project on Moon Knight, one of the darker and more brutal projects within the MCU.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a twofold example. It's a lighthearted Christmas Special that ends Phase Four on an optimistic note following Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and one final, frivolous adventure with the Guardians after the apocalyptic Infinity War/Endgame and the emotionally heavy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Fittingly, it's also the first MCU project to eschew a traditional villain.

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