While the MCU is extremely popular, it is not immune to polarizing its fanbase.
Films with their own pages
TV series with their own pages
- With the exceptions of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Luke Cage (2016), many film music fans consider the soundtracks for the MCU to be rather dull and uninspiring. As this video explains
, the MCU lacks the kind of memorable themes that one finds in a Star Wars or Harry Potter film, and tends to lack the musical continuity of those franchises. It doesn't help that a lot of the tracks are lifted from other movies (with few changes to avoid legal issues), and are thus particularly derivative. However, there are those that disagree with both of these points, as the Awesome Music page can attest. - Similarly, some fans have found the MCU’s visual style very pedestrian, with even the trippy Doctor Strange (2016) accused of retreading films like Inception and The Matrix.
- Whether or not the more comedic approach of the MCU enhances or detracts from the films. Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron are considered by many detractors to a bit too jokey for their own good, while Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange (2016) got flak for one-liners and jokes that felt out of place with their more dramatic (in the case of Civil War) and otherworldly (in the case of Doctor Strange) tones. Naturally, others think the humor works and staves off Too Bleak, Stopped Caring.
- Some feel that S.H.I.E.L.D. has too big of a role and steals the spotlight from the heroes, while others like the concept and are happy that S.H.I.E.L.D. gets some focus. This is also likely the cause for the split of opinion on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Pro-S.H.I.E.L.D. fans enjoy the show for showcasing the inner workings and day-to-day life of the agency, Anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. fans think it's pointless fat on the franchise. Then there's the fans who like S.H.I.E.L.D., but dislike the show for its various elements.
- The absence of a Hulk sequel in Phase Two and Phase Three, particularly due to the latter omission. One side is upset that another solo movie with the not-so jolly green giant won't happen until after the fourth Avengers movie, especially after several statements from Feige and company that there was interest in making another movie after Age Of Ultron. Conversely, others are happy that Marvel's Phase Three lineup is focusing on lesser-known characters like Black Panther and Doctor Strange. It was later revealed that this wasn't entirely Marvel Studios's fault, as they have rights issues with Universal regarding solo films.
- James Gunn's statement about Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 not being a prequel to Infinity War or denying a possible team-up between the Guardians and the Avengers did not bode well with several fans who felt that he wants to distance the Guardians from the MCU, (regardless of Thanos' appearance and the presence of the Infinity Stone in the movie) and that only Feige and company have the final say on how these movies will connect to Infinity War. Others supported Gunn that the Guardians should be standalone in order to explore the cosmic side of the MCU since the Avengers are more Earth-based and that there are several films before Infinity War, such as Dr. Strange and Captain Marvel, which could connect to the Infinity Stone subplot asides from the Guardians.
- Generally speaking, James Gunn's attitude and various statements post-Guardians have been very divisive in reception among fans. Some feel that he is entitled to his creative vision due to the success of the film, or that the MCU has a problem with excessive Executive Meddling hampering the quality of some of its films, and others feel as though he's become arrogant and obstructive toward the grand plan for the setting. This was exacerbated by Joss Whedon showing a similar disinclination to play with others while making Age of Ultron.
- Should Marvel acquire properties running in currently-existing film franchises?note While there’s near-universal consensus that the Fantastic Four characters are better off back at Marvel, the X-Men universe is a bigger point of contention. A number of fans want the mutants back at Marvel Studios for the sake of finally having a unified MCU with all its most beloved characters side-by-side, while others feel that Disney’s more family-friendly approach (on the film side at least) would be detrimental to portraying Darker and Edgier characters like Deadpool and Wolverine.
- The lack of crossovers with the TV shows characters on movies. There are fans that want characters like Daredevil, Quake, and Jessica Jones to show up in the movies, or for the movies to acknowledge Coulson's survival, while others are fine with the lack of crossover and think the shows should be kept as standalone stories within the greater universe and that introducing those characters and certain elements from the shows could confuse more casual fans. This got particularly bad when Joss Whedon stated that he more or less considered Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. non-canon while making Age of Ultron and stated that Phil Coulson is still dead as far as the movies are concerned.
- Kevin Feige has explained that the films have been planned so far ahead that it's extremely tricky to try to integrate the shows into them as they're airing (and it's probably hard enough just making sure the effects of the films on Agents of SHIELD line up properly). Unfortunately, he later put himself back in the doghouse with a 2016 interview about the possibility of a future Inhumans film, where he seemed to have only the vaguest awareness that they'd been a big part of Agents for the past two years, adding more fuel to the accusations that the studio doesn't care about the TV shows.note
- The announcement that the Inhumans will get their own TV show instead of a movie. Some fans are extremely upset because they were looking forward to the movie, while those who comprise the Inhumans' growing
Hatedom (largely due to the perception that Marvel is using them as substitute X-Men) are extremely happy with this development. This was made even more complicated by the reports that Feige only added the film to the slate as a compromise with Ike Perlmutter to get Captain Marvel made. - On the flipside of this are at least the Russo brothers, directors of the last two Captain America films and the two upcoming Avengers films. They have stated on-record that they would love nothing more than to include a couple of the television characters in at least one of the Avengers films, especially the Netflix-bound characters such as the Defenders or Quake from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Whether this will or even can happen is too early to say.
- While the announcement of an animated Spider-Man film that would not be a part of the MCU was met with generally positive reception due to the creative talent behind The LEGO Movie being involved and the rumors it would star Miles Morales, the announcement of a Venom movie that isn't necessarily planned to be a part of the MCU has been a cause for controversy. Some are in favor of it for having the potential to be R-rated (unlike the MCU, which currently exclusively target the PG-13 rating), while others see it as unnecessary to leave it out of a shared universe, along with the fears that Sony may do fans a disservice in adapting the character (which was a common complaint about his Executive Meddling-mandated inclusion in Spider-Man 3). The fact that Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach - the team behind the divisive The Amazing Spider-Man Series - are slated to produce doesn’t help, as the former individual is a touchy subject with fans.
- Additionally, the announcement of a Black Cat And Silver Sable team up movie was meet with similar reactions.
- Due to her popularity, Widow's lack of a film has been a sour point for many fans who feel it's unfair that the most popular and prominent female character in the franchise doesn't have her own films or solo projects, which many have accused of being sexism on the part of Kevin Fiege. However, thank to the presence of the more extreme Vocal Minority of Black Widow's fandom (particularly the ones who harassed Joss Whedon due to Widow's handling in the second Avenger movie), there's been a growing sentiment calling for other female characters to get films before Widow, like Spider-Woman, She-Hulk, Kate Bishop, and America Chavez due to the belief that Black Widow's fandom are propping her up as the only female character that matters.
- Should MCU actors be allowed to play more than one role? Some think this simply messes up with the idea that this is a shared universe, especially when it comes to the TV shows and films, as the most notable example of this is Alfre Woodard who plays Miriam Spencer in the movies, but Mariah Dillard in the TV shows. But there are also fans that don't mind having actors playing multiple roles, pointing out that in most of these case their first roles were simply minor characters that are unlikely to even show up in future stories and that it's a case of Truth in Television that some people just happen to have a striking resemblance to someone else.
- Whenever a new MCU TV series is announced for network TV or another streaming service, there's always some people that wishes Marvel aired all of their series on Netflix only and wonder why they didn’t air that show on Netflix, while there are others who are fine with other stations airing the series, pointing out that not everything has to be on Netflix to be good.
