With the March 4 premiere of Marvel's Daredevil: Born Again fast-approaching, I'm reminded of how ready I am for MCU TV to really step up its game. There have been VERY good Marvel shows on Disney+ (with She-Hulk and Hawkeye landing at the top of my list), but few of these shows have hit as hard as the ABC and Netflix shows of the 2010s for me.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was one of the first MCU shows I ever watched, and especially in its first few seasons, that series absolutely delivered. And I'll never shake my disappointment in the abrupt and admittedly a bit disappointing end to Agent Carter. Netflix's original Daredevil series, however, was the first time I really felt "in the know" as a baby MCU fan. I wasn't just hitting the shows you could watch on network TV; I was diving deep into the streaming side of the universe. That felt fun, and it felt important.
There are a lot of reasons the Disney+ Marvel shows have felt anticlimactic in comparison, and there's definitely not room to touch on all of them in just one article. For me, most of these shows have just felt aggressively forgettable. I might have enjoyed watching WandaVision or Moon Knight as they aired, but the second they were over, I stopped thinking about them. I've always measured the quality of a story largely on whether or not I think about it after it ends.
I hate to admit it, but the nostalgia I now associate with Charlie Cox's character might hook me before the first episode even drops. Nostalgia works, and these mega-franchises know it. I'll come for the nostalgia and, hopefully, stay for the story, the action, the thrill. I had a positive experience with Captain America: Brave New World, and I know a lot of MCU fans didn't. But Marvel has slowed down their releases a fair amount, and it has helped me feel less overwhelmed -- to the point where I'm excited as a new show premiere approaches, where in years past I've felt rather indifferent.
I haven't seen any episodes yet -- I'll be watching right along with all of you. But I'll be doing so excitedly, and I hope it will be worth the wait.