An unexpected attempt to defend ‘Quantumania’ torpedoing the Phase Five hype doesn’t quite go to plan

Fighting an uphill battle isn’t something the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever been used to, but the terrible reception to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has put the franchise on the back foot to try and convince a jaded fandom that the majority of Phase Four and the start of Phase Five was only an anomaly, and not a full-blown downturn in quality.

That remains to be seen, especially when the recently-released threequel has fallen off a cliff at the box office a little over a week into its theatrical run, with many growing increasingly confident that the all-conquering MCU is on a downward spiral that won’t be rectified in time for the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion with Avengers: Secret Wars in May of 2026.

There are many reasons why even longtime supporters are losing patience and interest, but one of the main factors single out for Quantumania criticism is its screenplay penned by Jeff Loveness. It’s not a great script by any stretch, but the scribe admitting that he had no idea Kang the Conqueror was the new big bad when he first put pen to paper is concerning, never mind the fact he’s already behind on The Kang Dynasty.

In a remarkable turn of events, though, fans have actively been trying to defend Loveness’ work by weaponizing the superhero series and its past. Typically – as we saw with Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – films get turned on after the fact and not the other way around, but things haven’t quite gone to plan in this instance.

Dredging Thor: The Dark World up from the depths, it was pointed out on Reddit that future Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were credited on the former, before the latter quartet went to gain reputations as four of the MCU’s finest.

Unfortunately, opponents were quick to point out that they were drafted in to rewrite and polish original architect Christopher Yost’s story outline, whereas Loveness was given the sole credit on Quantumania, so it’s not quite the direct comparison capable of salvaging some goodwill for what comes next.