‘imho’, of course 😉
What do I mean? I am not accusing the company of fraud. This is an opinion piece rather than legal / forensic assassination. I respect Kevin Feige. No libel! An no slight on stuff that is genuinely good /exciting/might work?
That said, consider, as a critical analogy /wake-up call?:
1: Exaggeration of assets: Yes. we have more content than ever from Marvel, thanks largely to Disney Plus shows. But so what? Think about this for a second. More does not mean ‘good’. You can produce all the content you wish. Some of it might still be filler/dull/shit/an undeclared flop.
2: Accounting years open to debate? As in, yes, ok we have had a ‘phase 4’. Except we didn’t, really, did we? Same way an accounting period /year here or there can be fluffed. So it was, in effect, with a ‘phase’ that had no beginning, middle or end. No clear plan/duration/definition/destination. Where was the team up event? Who was the big bad? There were none of those icings on a phase cake here. That is a deficit. Big time! Sorry, but it just is.
3: Failure to acknowledge, well, failure? ETERNALS was not a fun or popular film. End of! Some of the tv series have been ok to start with but ultimately, dull /derivative? Once again, presenting liabilities as assets? Not good!
4: Hidden Profits? Not in any legal sense. But just the idea that there is a lack of understanding here of the SPIDER-MAN factor. Yes, he is a MARVEL property. But those movies are joint SONY pieces and the appeal of the last movie boiled down largely to a mix of IPs and old recognition of actors/characters past. There was precious little reference to the reliance on NO WAY HOME in the calculation of Marvel /Super-hero movie performance, at this recent ‘Comic-Con’. Fine! Except that rumours abound of a SECRET WARS film kind of revolving around the old Spider-men /X-Men et al, despite no announcement to that effect or even a tease / hint?
5: Debit over Credit? We wanted a FANTASTIC FOUR cast announcement /director unveiled. We wanted some indication of DR DOOM? Maybe a hint of X MEN? Return of Tony Stark? But no. NOTHING. All very obscure lists in the scheme of things, compared to where things were even five or ten years ago.
And in other news, from Comic-Con?
1: DC /WARNERS suck even more than Marvel. WHERE IS HENRY CAVILL AS SUPERMAN? Nowhere. Ditto, Keaton/Affleck Batmen: ‘MIA’.
2: JOHN WICK 4 looks like more of the same. Sorry!
3: DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS could be the next Star Wars/Pirates of the Caribbean. Or might be a bit shit. Not enough Hugh Grant on show, either, if he is indeed the baddie??
Conclusion? It is not just MARVEL. EVERYTHING WAS A BIT SHIT AT COMIC CON this year imho. But Marvel ought lead the way out of that rut. Maybe they will.
PS: wannabe a real life Tony Stark futurist? Try…
And: City Maps
Or: Augmented World
And this company, right here, which I have come across in my research.
If you are still reading at this stage then also check out these two:
