10 Things Marvel Fans Should Miss Most About The MCU’s Phase 1

The movies that made up Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually possessed a number of qualities that Marvel movie fans should miss about the franchise’s past. The earliest stages of the MCU’s movie timeline saw the franchise established as one of the most successful in cinematic history. The franchise’s first six movies, also known as the MCU’s Phase 1, went on to serve as the foundation upon which the biggest movie franchise of all time was built.

Though the movies and TV shows of the MCU have seen it grow into an expansive adaptation of Marvel Comics’ stories and characters, there is still much about its early days that should be remembered fondly. In fact, the franchise has lost some of the magic of Phase 1, with time proving to erode some of the MCU’s best qualities. With that in mind, here are 10 things that Marvel fans should miss most about the MCU’s Phase 1.

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Tony Stark & Steve Rogers’ Dynamic

The MCU Misses Stark & Rogers’ Conflicting Personalities

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Looking back on Phase 1 of the MCU, it’s undeniable that two characters stood out as especially important to the franchise’s future: Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Both Iron Man and Captain America played a huge part in leading the MCU’s Avengers, but they also served as two of the franchise’s most compelling figures. What’s more, their on-screen dynamic was perfect, particularly in their early encounters in the movies of the MCU.

Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man and the Hulk as the original Avengers team in the MCU

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Considering that both have since exited the MCU at the end of the Infinity Saga, looking back on their first meeting in The Avengers highlights what is now missing. The two sharing a begrudging respect despite the challenges of their personal differences served as one of the best-written relationships in the entire MCU. With both characters having undergone significant development before their departure, their early interactions stand out as all the more perfect.

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More Balanced Team-Up Movies

The MCU Has Too Many Heroes To Recreate Phase 1’s Biggest Success

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The MCU’s Phase 1 served as a framework for Marvel’s shared universe, and it’s one that has since evolved massively to incorporate more diverse characters and stories. However, during that process of evolution, the franchise has lost something that it will likely never regain. Phase 1’s big team-up movie, The Avengers, balanced its six heroes in a way that future MCU movies will find practically impossible given the scope of the franchise.

Introducing its heroes over five separate solo movies only to bring them together in The Avengers was a major cinematic milestone. Careful writing allowed each of the founding Avengers to be represented and explored in the team’s debut, balancing the team excellently with a limited roster. Subsequent MCU movies have seen the Avengers grow and change considerably, losing the initial magic of Phase 1 in the process.

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The Air Of Unpredictability

The Early Stages Of The MCU Were Delightfully Unpredictable

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Even in the earliest stages of the MCU, the franchise was willing to surprise its audience. One of the characteristics of Phase 1 of the MCU was the franchise’s approach to adapting the characters and stories of Marvel Comics, as it employed a tactic of selective comic accuracy. This led to developments such as Tony Stark announcing himself to the world as Iron Man, Hawkeye being introduced as an agent of SHIELD, and Loki’s apparent death in Thor.

Iron Man poses with his helmet alongside War Machine, Justin Hammer, and Doctor Strange in the MCU

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Phase 1 had an air of unpredictability that the MCU seems to have lost. Though this is potentially due to the novelty of the franchise’s approach wearing off, the MCU has developed something of an established formula which it rarely deviates from. Though the franchise has not become entirely predictable, its approach to adapting Marvel characters has certainly lost something since Phase 1.

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Banner & Hulk Being Separate Entities

Hulk’s Early Stories Were Focused On His Dual Identities

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Over the course of the franchise, Hulk’s MCU story has seen him undergo massive amounts of growth and change as a character. One of the biggest developments – which actually happened off-screen – was the reconcilation of Bruce Banner and Hulk’s identities into a single being, dubbed Professor Hulk. Phase 1, however, offered a more timeless adaptation of the character, with Banner’s transformations stemming from anger and adrenaline, causing the unpredictable Hulk to emerge.

Phase 1 having the two as separate beings is something that Marvel fans should miss, as it allowed for far deeper explorations of the characters. The separation of the two distinct beings was a great source of drama that made Banner one of the MCU’s most tragic and complex heroes, and this has been lost since Endgame. Revisiting Hulk’s early days in Phase 1 of the MCU highlight just how much promise there was to that narrative angle, but it has since passed the MCU by.

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Many Characters Possessed An Element Of Mystery

The MCU Has Now Explored Some Of Its Most Intriguing Mysteries

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Phase 1 of the MCU introduced many of the franchise’s most important characters. While some of these, such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, have been explored in great depth since their respective debuts, there were other figures in Phase 1 that were significantly more mysterious. The likes of Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury in particular teased stories that were shrouded in mystery due to their characters being high-ranking or important members of SHIELD.

Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow in Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron with a purple zany background

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The movies and TV shows featuring the original Avengers have since explored these stories in far greater detail. Black Widow’s solo movie established and resolved the mystery of her origins, while Hawkeye’s own show afforded the character time in the spotlight. Nick Fury even starred in the disappointing Secret Invasion, shedding further light on his own deeds as the world’s greatest secret agent. As the MCU has since dispelled the mystery, Phase 1’s handling of the characters is something that is sorely missed.

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Less Releases Made The MCU More Engaging

The MCU Has Become Less Connected Due To More Releases

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One of the biggest but most overlooked changes to the MCU is the length of its Phases. Phase 1 was a simple six-film arc that culminated in a big cinematic crossover. Subsequent phases have featured significantly more releases, introducing new characters while also exploring existing figures and stories in the franchise. The Multiverse Saga has seen the number of releases increase even further, with everything becoming less connected as a result.

Phase 1’s movies each led into the next, each inherently connected with the rest by the time The Avengers was released. More recent releases in the MCU have become incredibly disconnected, with some, such as 2021’s Eternals, only really tied to the existing MCU by a brief reference to earlier events. With so many stories branching out in different directions, the fewer releases and greater audience engagement of the MCU’s Phase 1 seems to be something that fans are now missing.

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SHIELD’s Role In The Franchise

Phase 1 Saw SHIELD At Its Best

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First introduced in 2008’s Iron Man, SHIELD served as the connective tissue of the MCU’s Phase 1. The organization was not only responsible for assembling the original Avengers, but also for offering context to the shared universe from the very beginning. Phase 1 established SHIELD as Earth’s most important organization, and set up the Avengers as an important offshoot of the agency.

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Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson in Front of Agents of Shield Logo

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The MCU’s Phase 2 saw the shocking fall of SHIELD in Captain America: The Winter Soldier after the reveal that it had been compromised by Hydra. The agency has since played only an incredibly minor role in the MCU’s story, making its Phase 1 importance seem insignificant. However, as SHIELD was directly responsible for the Avengers and possessed an impressive array of intelligence and technology, its presence is something that the MCU is now lacking.

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Sequel Teases Immediately Paying Off

Phase 1’s Teases Were Much Better

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From the very beginning of the franchise, the MCU’s post-credits scenes were used to tease the next development. The MCU turned the phenomenon into something of an art form, establishing them as a staple of the superhero genre by setting up the next entry into the franchise. Not only did this help connect the early movies of the MCU by establishing its shared universe, but it kept audiences in anticipation of the franchise’s next release.

The likes of Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have all offered up teases for a future that has no immediate place in the MCU’s story.

Since Phase 1, the practice has actually lost much of its appeal. In recent MCU releases, many of its post-credits scenes tease developments that take years to pay off, making them far less exciting as a result. The likes of Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have all offered up teases for a future that has no immediate place in the MCU’s story, making Phase 1’s teases so much better in comparison.

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The Timeline’s Simplicity

The Multiverse Saga Has Complicated The MCU

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Following on from the MCU’s massively popular Infinity Saga, the Multiverse Saga has seemingly not been able to capture the imagination of audiences in quite the same way. Looking at the beginning of the former in Phase 1 in comparison to that of the latter in Phase 4, the differences become all too clear. Releases since the events of Avengers: Endgame have focused on branching timelines as a result of the introduction of time travel, and this has made the MCU’s continuity messy.

Hulk using Infinity Stones Iron Man custom image

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Resolving timeline issues has become the heart of the Multiverse Saga, but the effect this has on the MCU’s wider continuity is largely negative. With stories and characters spanning centuries and even millennia, the Multiverse Saga’s increased scope is dizzying in comparison to Phase 1’s simple timeline. The quality of Phase 1 stands out starkly in comparison, as it was far easier to follow, thereby appealing to a much wider audience.

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Excitement Surrounding The Shared Universe

The Novelty Of A Shared Universe May Never Be Recreated

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One particular element of the MCU that fans will undoubtedly miss from Phase 1 is the simple excitement of the shared universe. When Iron Man first teased the appearance of other heroes in the continuity, it was a groundbreaking development that caused huge excitement among Marvel fans. This carried over into subsequent Phase 1 movies, with The Avengers serving as an unprecedented cinematic experience.

In the years since, that novelty has all but disappeared, with superhero fatigue becoming a concern for not just the MCU, but for the genre as a whole. Shared universes have since become a staple of modern cinema, and what was once the MCU’s biggest draw now seems mundane. Though it’s not something that the Marvel Cinematic Universe can ever recreate, it’s one aspect of Phase 1 that all fans sorely miss.

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Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.

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