Movies News Talk
Robert Downey Jr.'s comeback as Doctor Doom alters the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it also renders Marvel's most recent critical bomb, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, much more disastrous. Many questioned what Marvel would do about Kang the Conqueror once Jonathan Majors was taken off the MCU. Although he debuted the villain in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, viewers had conflicting opinions about him. After Majors left Marvel, Marvel had two choices: either create a new enemy the focal point for the Avengers or recast Kang and keep down the route it was on.
Marvel followed the latter as the studio revealed at its San Diego Comic Con Hall H presentation that Robert Downey Jr. would return as Doctor Doom for Avengers 5 and 6. Marvel is done with its Kang plot, turning to a more popular villain with the Doctor Doom revelation. Downey Jr.'s comeback compromises what came before it even if it might salvage Marvel's Multiverse Saga. Critics already disliked Ant-Man 3, and Kang's absence as the main villain for the MCU renders the movie nearly completely useless.
Though it was a dismal disappointment for the company, Quantumania was supposed to be a top movie for the MCU. With a 46%, it has the lowest critic score of any MCU project on Rotten Tomatoes; moreover, those negative reviews also resulted in the disappointing box office performance of Ant-Man 3. Although the movie made $476.1 million, Marvel lost since its budget was $326.6 million. Although Ant-Man was connected with smaller-scale narratives, his trip into the Quantum Realm was meant to permanently transform Marvel, but it came out for a thud for viewers.
The movie debuted Kang the Conqueror, a lethal enemy whose variations endangered the greater multiverse. Although Scott Lang and his family overcame him, the Quantumania post-credits sequence shows an army of Kangs only on horizon. Although many people objected to Kang's easy defeat, his versions' concept was interesting. Everything Quantumania set up is basically useless because Kang is gone and Doctor Doom is the new enemy. Already on the lower run of MCU Movies, Ant-Man 3 has lost its must-watch Marvel project status.
Loki season 2 finishes with Loki becoming the God of Stories, therefore preventing the multiverse from bursting by enclosing everything beneath one big tree. This ending allows the Kang variations to leap to other worlds, but their new duty under the Time Variance Authority (TVA) calls for monitoring them to guard the multiverse. Referring to Ant-Man 3's events, Owen Wilson's Mobius notes that one Kang did cause a ruckus but he was handled. The TVA's new goal allows the MCU to go on from Kang free from future issues caused by him.
But this meant that the major plot developed in Ant-Man 3 came around in a TV show. Although Loki is among the highest watched Disney+ series, more laid-back MCU watchers do not watch every show. Given the issue was fixed without ever being followed up in a film, the post-credits sequence from Quantumania seems even more like an extraneous setup. Just to have their MCU debuts deleted on Disney+, all those CGI Kangs became quite enthusiastic.
Following Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the Kang dynasty began off really poorly. Seeing He Who Remains defeated by ants lessened his danger, even if He Who Remains set up the threat of Kang brilliantly in Loki season 1. The Council of Kangs likewise did little to pique viewers' curiosity, and the ridiculous Kang versions had the reverse impact on viewers Marvel desired. Although Majors' assault conviction may have influenced Marvel's choice to bring in Doom, the company was apparently already planning to change direction before then. Furthermore a bad concept was using an army of villains; the MCU would gain from one main antagonist.
Marvel could develop Thanos completely, hence he was terrifying since he could take on all the Avengers by himself. Thanos being a lone villain worked wonderfully. For its Multiverse Saga, the MCU requires a comparable menace; after Kang's unsatisfactory performance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Doctor Doom can fill that hole. Marvel might not have time to create the villain before Avengers 5, but a Doctor Doom variation of Tony Stark offers more fascinating story possibilities than an army of Kangs.