6 Reasons Why Marvel’s Third Phase Will Be Its Best Yet

Captain America: Civil War marks the beginning of Marvel's third phase, which is looking to be the studio's most ambitious work yet. After all, Phase 3 will encompass an astounding 11 movies to be released between 2016 and 2019, almost double the number of films in Phase 2. Considering how elaborate the Jenga tower that is the MCU has become, can Marvel actually pull it off? Or is this whole thing about to collapse in front of our eyes? After Civil War, there is little reason to doubt the studio. Not only is it one of the best films in the series, but it demonstrates a total mastery of so many of the elements that are necessary in making Phase 3 a success. Plus, recent news about the forthcoming installments has been incredibly promising, and it appears Marvel is taking concrete steps to not repeat the failings of its more forgettable outings, like Thor: The Dark World. All in all, it's a fabulous time to be a Marvel fan. Judging by what we see in Civil War, as well as behind-the-scenes information and interviews, here are 6 reasons why we think Phase 3 should be the best that Marvel has to offer. 6) Characters Will Appear In One Another's Movies One issue with Phase 2 was that after seeing the team form in The Avengers, it was disappointing going back to the solo movies and only spending time with one character. This group is so perfect together that it was no longer as satisfying to watch Thor by himself, for example. Luckily, many Phase 3 movies will include more than one Avenger, which should make standalone adventures based around even the not-as-exciting protagonists feel significant. That was already the case with our first Phase 3 movie, Captain America: Civil War; it's technically a Captain America film, but it might as well just be the third Avengers. Before that, Ant-Man managed to tie into the overall franchise with a brief Falcon fight. Looking ahead, Thor: Ragnarok isn’t just another Thor film. The Hulk is set to appear as a major character, and it has been described as a road-trip movie featuring Thor and Bruce going on adventures together. Honestly, that sounds amazing. The Thor films have always been the weakest part of the MCU, but this addition instantly makes Ragnarok a must-watch, especially since it will answer the lingering question about what happened to Bruce following Age of Ultron. The same goes for Spider-Man: Homecoming, hitting theaters in 2017. In order to make it stand out from the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, we'll be getting two for the price of one here. Iron Man will show up, and apparently not just in a cameo. You know what that means, right? Even more Aunt May flirting. Based on the end credits of Civil War, some Avengers may pop up in Black Panther as well. And while Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Captain Marvel and Inhumans will likely stand on their own, there’s potential for some crossovers in Ant-Man and the Wasp. All in all, then, only four out of the 11 Phase 3 movies are likely to not feature at least two Avengers. After Phase 2, in which every sequel made us wonder why the heck the other Avengers weren't helping out, this is an encouraging change. 5) Marvel Knows How To Organically Set Up Future Films It used to be that Marvel had a difficult time teasing sequels in an elegant fashion. That was most readily-apparent in Iron Man 2, which awkwardly shoehorned in a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. scenes that were only intended to set up The Avengers. This destroyed the pacing and left many with a sour taste in their mouths, and to this day, it’s one of the most poorly-reviewed films in the MCU. But over time, through trial and error, the studio has figured out exactly how to sow the seeds of future movies without disrupting whatever we’re currently watching. In Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, we learn a bit about Thanos and the Infinity Stones. That's a teaser for Infinity War, but it's also pertinent because it explains Ronan's plan, and so it would serve a purpose even if Guardians was not part of any cinematic universe. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, a conflict between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers is established, subtly setting up a rift between the two that pays off in Civil War. (Thor's vision sequence is a bit clunky, though.) This continues with Civil War, which sets the stage for Phase 3 but without making us feel like we're just watching commercials. Take the newfound friendship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker. Clearly, Marvel wants to get us hyped for Spider-Man: Homecoming, and their relationship will naturally lead into the 2017 film. Yet, the scenes would serve a purpose in Civil War even if Spider-Man never returned, as Parker’s speech about responsibility is quite relevant to the themes of the movie. Compare that to Batman V Superman, where Warner Bros.' idea of teasing us literally involves having a character read an email that previews their next several films. As the MCU becomes increasingly complicated, fans should have tremendous faith in Phase 3 because Marvel has finally proven an ability to simultaneously focus on the story at hand while also setting up sequels. 4) Infinity War Will Be Two Entirely Different Movies Aren’t you sick and tired of films being split into two parts? Inevitably, the first one is little more than a setup, and we’re left on some contrived cliffhanger so the experience is essentially a two-hour preview for the real movie. Think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 or The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. That’s why it was so disconcerting when Infinity War, the showdown the MCU has been building up to since 2012, was announced as being two parts. Uh-oh. Granted, there’s plenty of material for the Russos to work with, so it's not like they'd be chopping up a 300 page book for no reason. But wouldn’t it be unsatisfying to watch Part 1 and then have to wait a full year for the conclusion, especially after already waiting so long for the battle against Thanos? Thankfully, Joe and Anthony Russo recently explained that the two Infinity War movies will be completely standalone, to the point that they are no longer even going to be titled Part 1 and Part 2. Instead, we’ll be getting two separate Avengers sequels that happen to be released a year apart rather than one movie cut in half and released in pieces. They will lead into one another, but probably more in the way that Age of Ultron leads into Civil War rather than the way Deathly Hallows: Part 1 leads into Deathly Hallows: Part 2. This is magnificent news that assuages one of our biggest fears about Phase 3, and it means that both Avengers films could truly be monumental cinematic achievements. 3) Marvel Trusts Its Audience In the early days of superhero movies, filmmakers had to really hold our hands when introducing new characters. Each and every hero required a whole movie dedicated to their backstory to the point that when Sony rebooted Spider-Man, it was apparently necessary to retell the entire tale just in case there was anyone left on Earth who doesn't know how Peter Parker gains spider powers. At this point in the MCU, though, Marvel has faith that its audience can follow along as protagonists are thrust upon them without elaborate setups. In Civil War, two major Avengers are introduced, yet the Russos understand that viewers are smart enough to pick up on who these people are without lengthy origin stories. With Spider-Man, we don’t need a slow motion sequence depicting the death of Uncle Ben for the umpteenth time. Hell, the name Uncle Ben is never even mentioned. The Russos operate under the assumption that we all know who Spider-Man is, and the result is an impressively economical character debut. With a lesser-known hero like Black Panther, in mere minutes, Civil War communicates everything we need to know about him through the actions he takes rather than through exposition. Marvel has actually been doing this for a few movies now. Scarlet Witch and Vision, for example, are now crucial to the series' events. Both of them were unheard of until Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the latter character only showed up in the final act of that film, yet we as an audience get who they are without hours of screen time. When it comes to Civil War, it is just assumed that you saw Age of Ultron, or if not, you can figure out through context what Wanda's role is. Even the first Avengers provided some brief lines to recap previous installments, but Marvel is done with the hand-holding, and Phase 3 will be better for it. 2) The Comedy Has Been Perfected Joss Whedon’s Avengers movies are both highly entertaining entries into the MCU, full of quotable lines and amusing interactions. But the constant quipping does mean that it can be hard to take what’s happening seriously. That’s fine if you’re just in for a fun blockbuster ride, but as we head towards the universe-shattering events of Infinity War, the films must become a bit more serious. The humor does not need to be abandoned entirely, though; that's part of what we love about the Marvel universe, so it’s important to find a healthy balance between drama and comedy. The Russos have done a magnificent job of that with The Winter Soldier and particularly with Civil War. In the latter film, events are treated with the dramatic weight they deserve, and there are some gut-punches in the final act. Yet, thankfully, the experience of watching it is not equivalent to attending a funeral, as is the case with another 2016 superhero film that will remain nameless. Despite featuring the darkest events in the Marvel canon so far, i.e. good guys fighting good guys, there are several sequences in Civil War that rank up there with the series' funniest moments. Take the interactions between Bucky and Rhodes, Spider-Man’s role during the airplane hangar battle, or Ant-Man’s utter confusion at everything that’s happening and his request of orange slices. The comedy doesn’t feel shoehorned in but instead is a natural part of this world, and the comedic lines all come across as things people would actually say rather than exaggerated movie dialogue. Of course Spider-Man would be making jokes because that's just the kind of kid he is. Civil War isn't the only example of this. Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man also found a fabulous balance; it’s one of the most hilarious films in the MCU, yet Scott’s emotional arc still lands. Going into Phase 3, Marvel has found a way to juggle the seriousness of the early movies and the non-stop comedy of the Avengers films, and Civil War exhibits exactly the tone they need to maintain going forward. 1) There Are Real Stakes A frequent complaint about the MCU has been that there are no real stakes, but Civil War shatters that notion. Keep in mind, having stakes does not simply mean that characters are constantly being killed off. It means that the events that unfold have long-lasting consequences and are not simply reset by the time the credits roll, and that’s definitely the case with Marvel's latest. Hell, the movie actually has the guts to conclude without the team having reformed. There is a division at the center of this group that will take years to repair, assuming it’s possible to repair at all. On a more practical level, a brief scene results in Rhodes' suffering a grave injury, making clear that these people can’t just fly around avenging all day without someone getting hurt. With Phase 3 being the most colossal yet, it’s crucial that Marvel sees the importance of treating big events with solemnity and making the audience feel that the drama is having an impact. After all, that will be necessary once we get to Infinity War, as the Thanos conflict must seem like a massive crisis and not simply another instance of a big bad alien trying to take over the universe and standing no chance against our heroes. We must feel the heaviness of it. Luckily, after Captain America: Civil War, it's clear that Marvel can craft a movie that’s both enjoyable to watch but that also has palpable consequences. That will, it appears, be the overarching theme of Phase 3, and we couldn't be more excited to see what's next.