Did Marvel 'Go Broke' after going 'Woke'? A look into the studio's greatest problem

There is no denying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become quite a juggernaut ever since it kickstarted in 2008 with the release of Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. The films since then have always raked in huge numbers at the box office and have received critical acclaim from both fans and critics.

However, a striking problem with many of the MCU's recent flicks has now emerged and has become synonymous with Marvel: wokeness or woke agenda. The phrase "Get Woke Go Broke" has also become quite notorious.

Due to this, one question pertains in the minds of fans: Did Marvel go broke after going woke?

The answer is no, not exactly. The MCU has not yet fully lost its reputation or its money. However, recent films have done significant damage to its profits and box office to the point where the brand is at risk of being run into the ground.

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Marvel might be losing its sheen because of woke agenda

One must first understand what the word "woke" means. In the literal sense, "woke" essentially refers to being alerted to and being concerned about social injustice and racism. However, the internet definition, especially with regard to entertainment, is quite different.

"Woke" in film and television refers to anything that does not star a white-straight man but instead promotes diversity and stars a diverse character, someone from a different race or gender.

To answer the question of whether wokeness is currently killing the Marvel brand, yes, it is, as many angry fans are being turned off by woke politics being forced onto them. This, however, is only part of the problem amongst a multitude of issues slowly drying out the otherwise successful franchise.

Other problems currently plaguing the juggernaut superhero franchise are bad writing, sloppy CGI and visual effects, and a huge number of projects across film and television being churned out, making it harder for the average viewer to keep up with the content.

Wokeness or the woke agenda has certainly affected the box office numbers of almost all recent MCU projects. Films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, have not even come close to making a billion dollars and have faced significant drops at the box office, despite having strong opening weekends.

The woke agenda or wokeness started late in Phase 3 when projects such as Black Panther and Captain Marvel were released. Both these movies featured characters who were not white men but were of a different race and gender.

Although Black Panther was popular and received positive reviews, Captain Marvel was hated by multiple fans as they did not like the lead character, particularly the actress playing her, Brie Larson.

She made controversial comments at a Critics' Choice Award Ceremony in 2018 which hurt the sentiments of white people, particularly white men, which ultimately led to the film being review-bombed by angry fans.

Avengers: Endgame, one of the most popular and well-received films of the franchise, had a hint of "woke" sprinkled onto it as it featured an all-women superhero scene that irked many fans, who found it to be forced and unnatural.

Director Joe Russo also made a cameo appearance as a gay character in the film, although this was not explicitly stated.

Following Endgame, however, Marvel went all in on the woke and diversity train. At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige announced three to four projects in Phase 4 which featured diverse characters: an Asian man (Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings), an ensemble of multiracial superheroes (Eternals) and women (Black Widow and WandaVision).

Unfortunately, two of the projects, Eternals and Black Widow, failed either critically or commercially. And woke politics alone did not play a part, it was also due to bad-writing, choppy VFX, and underwhelming and boring characters.

Another woke problem affecting Marvel is how popular male superheroes like Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Hawkeye are sidelined, replaced, or overshadowed by female versions of themselves or female heroes.

This practice has made multiple angry fans call the MCU the derogatory name, "M-SHE-U". Also contributing to the "M-SHE-U" problem is how female heroes like America Chavez, Cassie Lang, or Ironheart are somehow geniuses, are better at everything they do, and are not challenged at all by any obstacle.

Also, if one notices the battle between the Illuminati and Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, one will see how the male members are quickly taken out and the female members are shown as competent and actually putting up a fight. Yet another product of the woke agenda.

Marvel projects like WandaVision, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Ms. Marvel only furthered the woke agenda. These films, via the writing, blatantly attacked white men or men in general and also forced down the throats of audiences how the titular heroes' respective gender and race justified their actions, whether it was cruel or not.

Ms. Marvel in particular featured a white person as one of the main antagonists.

Also contributing to the woke agenda was how female antagonists in Phase 4, such as Karli Morgenthau and Scarlet Witch, were portrayed as tragic, empathetic, and sympathetic figures and justified in their actions despite their horrific crimes.

For example, Sam Wilson tells a U.S. senator in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to stop calling Karli a terrorist and how the senator has to do better in helping people like them, even though Karli has killed multiple innocent people and was beyond redemption.

Also in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Strange tells Wanda Maximoff how she made things right in Westview and saved the residents, even though she was the one who caused problems for them and the town via her magic in the first place.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also contributed to the woke agenda by race-bending Namor, who is traditionally a white character in the comics, and turning him into a Mayan-Aztec man. Eternals had previously done the same thing by race and gender-swapping the characters of Ajak, Sprite, and Makkari, who were male and white in the comics.

It remains to be seen whether wokeness or woke agenda will ever leave Marvel.

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Do you think the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone woke? Are you fine with it or not? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.