The MCU Shocked The DCEU With Its Secret Weapon Again
For years now the MCU has been ahead of the DCEU in many areas, and they’ve once again proved why by using one of their best secret weapons in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. The continuous success of Marvel Studios’ MCU movies and TV shows comes down to several things, not least the sheer amount of content the studio produces over the DCEU, and the box office reflects that success. Audiences respond positively to the majority of MCU movies, but there is a reason why its track record is so consistent.
The MCU has always had strong characters even back to its beginnings with Tony Stark in Iron Man. The lead actors have always helped the films connect to the audience and are the biggest component of their success. The DCEU also has some great leads in the likes of Jason Momoa and Margot Robbie, but in truth, it’s not just the main characters who matter to building a long-term and loyal audience. It’s in the side characters where Marvel gains the advantage.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) once again shown in She-Hulk episode 4 how effective their supporting cast is. Madisynn, a character that is instantly recognizable, is introduced by She-Hulk to heighten the comedy and incorporate more sitcom-style aspects. Her exchanges with Wong are a high point and show how much Marvel values supporting cast members as much as it does main characters. Madisynn is by no means the only performer to win over the audience right away. In a short amount of time on screen, Luis from Ant-Man won over fans with his quick stories and upbeat demeanor. In more recent years, characters like Kathryn Hahn’s in WandaVision became so well-liked that Agatha Harkness was given her own spinoff series. Even way back in the first Avengers movie, Marvel used the audience’s connection with Agent Coulson to make a big emotional moment in the film and then later brought him back for his own series. It’s something that few other ongoing movie franchises have done as well, including the DCEU.
Why The MCU’s Side Characters Work So Well
Granted there are a few examples of side characters like this in the DCEU. Etta Candy is a nice side character in Wonder Woman; more recently The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker have done a pretty good job of this. Even with these, the examples are few, and the way they use them is different. Marvel’s supporting cast members frequently steal the show. Like Abomination’s return, She-Hulk is a highlight, but Madisynn and Wong are unquestionably the subjects of the greatest conversation among spectators. Even Wong is a fantastic illustration of how the MCU makes use of its supporting cast. He has appeared in a number of smaller roles outside of the Doctor Strange movies, and he excels in each and every one. In one of her fourth-wall breaks, Jennifer Walters even makes fun of the situation by saying that the audience is eager to see Wong. She is correct.
With the introduction of Madisynn, the MCU proved once again that its side characters are its secret weapon. The MCU has a character advantage over the DCEU at the moment, but fingers crossed that DC can start using their supporting characters to better effect (and if Peacemaker is anything to go by the future should be good). Marvel just needs to keep doing what it’s doing as Phase 4 might as well be renamed Phase Wong, and that’s just fine with audiences.