Summary
When it comes to the superhero genre, Marvel Studios’Marvel Cinematic Universeis often cited as the model for other studios. The cinematic universe was crafted at a time when Marvel Studios was without some of its biggest characters, namely Spider-Man and the X-Men, as the rights had been purchased by other studios years prior. Despite this, Marvel managed to build an impressive universe, beginning with 2008’sIron Man. There has only been one complaint regarding the cinematic universe, though: its villains.
With thirty-four films under its belt, Marvel Studios has certainly found a way to tell stories in a way that keeps fans coming back time-and-time again. However, while the studio does a great job fleshing out its heroes, theMarvel Cinematic Universeusually fails to fully develop its antagonists. This is a problem that the studio’s latest release,Deadpool & Wolverwine, also struggles with, sadly.
Deadppol & Wolverine’s Villain Deserved Better
Cassandra Novamade her Marvel Comics debut in 2001’sNew X-Men#114 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. She is the twin of Charles Xavier, who sought to destroy her while still within the womb because of her negative presence. Unfortunately for Charles, though, Cassandra managed to survive and sought to seek revenge on her brother. She stood for everything Charles stood against as his negative reflection, and she was incredibly powerful. So, when Marvel Studios announced plans for Cassandra to play the antagonist inDeadpool & Wolverine, fans were understandably excited. A supervillain capable unlike any we’d seen before, one who had the potential to appear in numerous projects, if handled accordingly. Sadly, however, Cassandra, like many other Marvel villains before her, was dealt a shorthand and was incredibly underused. With such a fascinating lore behind her,Deadpool & Wolverinehad plenty to work with but barely made use of the character. Despite the lingering threat of what Cassandra could do, the character barely appeared on the screen, and when she did, the duo somehow managed to overpower her multiple times.
Emma Corrin did a fantastic job with what little she was given to work with. While the film did briefly explain her relationship with Charles Xavier, her character was simply explained as a very dangerous being who was sent to the void by the TVA. With so many layers to the character, she could’ve been more than another angry villain who acted reckless out of necessity to move the story forward.
Why Does Marvel Suffer With its Villains?
Marvel Studios has a pretty solid track record. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has successfully steered the ship of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for sixteen years already, delivering some of the best comic book adaptations, includingCaptain America: The Winter SoldierandThe Avengers: Endgame. Yet, despite having a rather solid track record, the studio continually struggles with its villains. Thanos, of course, wasan exception to this rule- having had time to be thoroughly fleshed out by the time the Mad Titan sought to destroy the Avengers. And Loki, who started out as one of the big bads in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, had a chance to be not only further explored, but also redeemed thanks to continued appearances and the addition ofhis own television series on Disney+. It seems when Marvel Studios takes the time with its bad guys, they get a chance to truly shine. However, when they rush them for the sake of fitting within a contained storyline, such as with Crossbones in theCaptain Americafilms, and even Cassandra Nova inDeadpool & Wolverine, they do a disservice to the characters. In the case of Cassandra, she’s a complex character with incredibly impressive abilities. Although she might not fit into theMultiverse Sagaleading up to Doomsday, they could’ve explored the character further in the film, or at least found a way to revisit her down the line. Instead, she was beaten and seemingly killed off in a big stand by the heroes, but one that hardly saw any consequences or difficulties for our heroes.
Then again, it is important to rememberDeadpool & Wolverinewent into production before the strikes. Marvel Studios has been very open about seekingquality over quantity going forward, especially following the strikes andmultiple box office failures. With that in mind, it’s possible the studio will seek to try and turn its attention toward its weak points, including its villains, and hopefully, learn from its previous mistakes. After all, with Robert Downey Jr. set tomake a return to the Marvel Cinematic Universeas one of Marvel Comics' biggest bad guys,Victor von Doom, a character set to wreak havoc on the Avengers, one can only hope his story arc is well-thought-out. Until then, Marvel needs to remember that even the small bad guys deserve to be fully fleshed out characters.
