The abridged version of this article appeared in the Feb. 2023 print edition of The Mirror. This is an uncut version.

Over the past fifteen years or so, Marvel has become a cornerstone of pop culture, cementing itself as something much more than just a comic book company. And yet, ever since the pandemic struck almost three years ago, Marvel has found itself on a downslope, with most of the movies and shows associated with Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) receiving heavy criticism from fans. 

For those who have disconnected from the MCU entirely, here’s a rundown. Phase 1 covers all Marvel movies from the years 2008 to 2012, starting with “Iron Man” and ending with the first installment of the “Avengers.” Phase 2 is all the movies released between 2013 and 2015, or everything between “Iron Man 3” and “Ant-Man”. Phase 3 began in 2016 with “Captain America: Civil War” and ended in 2019 with, of course, “Avengers: Endgame.” Phase 4 started with “WandaVision” in 2021 and ended with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022.

One of the criticisms involves the wavering direction the MCU has taken recently, with all of Phase Four’s movies and shows seeming to be incoherent puzzle pieces scattered on the floor. “Loki” and “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” for example, seem to be busy establishing Kang the Conqueror as the MCU’s main villain for the next few years. “Ms. Marvel’ and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” are introducing new mutants with genetic mutations that give certain powers to the multiverse. Meanwhile, the rest of Marvel’s projects are self-contained and seem like they are only there to introduce a new character or two.

I’m sure everyone remembers watching “Avengers: Endgame” and seeing Iron Man in the scene that was the emotional climax of not just “Endgame,” but the entire MCU. It was a very fulfilling moment, and it brought everyone’s character arcs —especially Tony Stark’s —into a full circle.

That moment was the result of an 11-year plan by Marvel Studios. Almost every movie in Phases One, Two and Three had some role in creating the plot of “Avengers: Endgame.” The Infinity Stones, for example, were introduced in various “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Thor” and “Avengers” films. And, of course, all of the heroes in the final battle were introduced at one point or another —some of them in their own solo films or franchises.

That last point brings me back to Stark, also known as Iron Man, and his role in the MCU. While he clearly isn’t the strongest hero in the MCU, he’s arguably the most important. Not only did his trilogy kick off the MCU, but the entire MCU was constructed around his character. 

Originally, for the post-credits scene in “Iron Man,” Marvel wanted to have Nick Fury, Director of the MCU’s special law enforcement agency S.H.I.E.L.D, mention Spider-Man, the Hulk and the X-Men. However, they decided to pivot and replace the planned post-credits scene with the current one, where Fury simply approaches Stark about joining the Avengers, in order to maintain the focus on growing Stark’s character arc. They knew that Iron Man was going to be the central character in the MCU right from the beginning, and they made it happen by having Stark snap Thanos and his army into dust during “Avengers: Endgame.”

The point is, it takes an enormous amount of planning to set up an arc like the one seen in Phases One,Two and Three. Entire character arcs, macguffins and plots needed to be written before the first movie camera started rolling. It may not be easy to see now, during Phase Four, but if the last fifteen years shows anything, Marvel is definitely setting up a major plot line that will play out years from now. The themes assuredly will lead to a common goal created through the various shows and movies Marvel released and will release.

The takeaway is that Marvel is tumbling downhill right now. However, I am optimistic about the MCU’s future. The trailer for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” just released, and it promises the introduction of the MCU’s next major villain, Kang the Conqueror. In other words, it will most likely be the movie that will begin to unfold Marvel’s grand plan for Phases Five and Six. In the past, Marvel knew what it was doing and it seems intent on making the next few years as wild of a ride as possible for its fans.