While the films of the MCU often explore new genre frameworks and visual styles, their narratives tend to follow the same predictable cookie-cutter formula. The hero acquires superpowers, fights crime, makes a couple of friends who become a sort of “found family,” and ultimately defeats the villain with their help. And along the way, they usually fall in love.
A couple of Marvel movies, like Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel, neglect to include a romantic subplot - and no romantic subplot is definitely better than a banal romantic subplot. Some of the MCU’s romances are dull and drag their movies down, while others are heartwarming and engaging. The romances of Phase Three were a mixed bag.
9 Stephen Strange & Christine Palmer (Doctor Strange)
Christine Palmer is a perfect example of a love interest who was crammed into a script for the sake of having a love interest. A fellow doctor played by Rachel McAdams, Christine has an on-and-off romance with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange that’s currently off because he’s unbearably arrogant.
Doctor Strange has one of the most generic, passionless romantic stories in the entire MCU. It didn’t help that McAdams didn’t share much chemistry with Cumberbatch.
8 Peter Parker & Liz Toomes (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming took Spidey back to basics by focusing on his struggle to balance his school life with his superhero career. But the movie stops dead whenever a flustered Peter Parker is trying to make excuses to his love interest Liz. It was clear through the whole movie that he had much better chemistry with Zendaya’s MJ.
The greatest moment in Homecoming’s romantic subplot is the shocking revelation that the Vulture is Liz’s dad, but that doesn’t have much to do with the romance itself.
7 Wanda Maximoff & Vision (Captain America: Civil War)
Earlier this year, Jac Schaeffer and her team of writers turned Wanda and Vision into one of the MCU’s most interesting and likable couples. WandaVision gave Wanda and Vision the kind of tangible love connection and relatable conflicts they were lacking when they first got together in Captain America: Civil War.
Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany’s impeccable chemistry was there from the beginning, but Civil War focuses on the skin-deep similarity that they were both created with the same Infinity Stone.
6 Scott Lang & Hope Van Dyne (Ant-Man And The Wasp)
After the ending of the first Ant-Man movie hinted at a romance brewing between Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, the sequel was burdened with forcing connections to Scott’s trip to Berlin in Captain America: Civil War.
Hope and Hank are mad at Scott for most of Ant-Man and the Wasp, but what he did isn’t as bad as they make out. Yes, he took the Ant-Man suit out of the country without permission, but it was because Captain America needed help. When their romance finally gets back on track, Scott and Hope are a cute couple, but there’s that irritating hurdle in the first act.
5 Steve Rogers & Peggy Carter (Avengers: Endgame)
Most of Steve Rogers’ MCU arc was dedicated to moving past his love for Peggy Carter and accepting that his time to be with her passed 70 years ago. But Avengers: Endgame dropped hints that he never let go of her, like carrying around a locket with her picture in it.
When Tony Stark invents time travel, it gives the Avengers’ resident man out of his time a second chance to live in his own epoch. Steve’s love for Peggy is on the backburner for most of the movie as defeating Thanos takes precedence, but there are a few powerful moments, like Steve bumping into Peggy at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the ‘70s, that build to the heartwarming final shot of Steve finally dancing with Peggy.
4 T’Challa & Nakia (Black Panther)
T’Challa and Nakia’s relationship in the MCU is similar to Jerry and Elaine’s in Seinfeld. They used to date, but they realized they work better as friends and maintain a healthy platonic relationship. This was a refreshing change of pace for a franchise that inundates audiences with the same generic blossoming romance over and over again.
While T’Challa and Nakia get along really well, T’Challa’s place is in Wakanda with his people and Nakia’s place is in the field working as a spy. So, ultimately, it didn’t work out. But throughout Black Panther, it’s clear that there are still sparks between them.
3 Hank Pym & Janet Van Dyne (Ant-Man And The Wasp)
Throughout the first Ant-Man movie, Janet van Dyne was assumed to be dead after disappearing into the Quantum Realm while disarming a Soviet nuke. However, when Scott Lang survived a trip to the Quantum Realm in the movie’s climactic battle, it gave Hank Pym hope that Janet could still be alive.
This set up a heartwarming B-plot for the sequel in which Hank works tirelessly to perfect a Quantum Tunnel so he can shrink between the atoms and reunite with his estranged wife.
2 Peter Quill & Gamora (Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2)
In most blockbusters, the hero wins the heart of the love interest by default after saving the world. One of the great things James Gunn has done with Quill and Gamora’s romantic arc in the Guardians movies is avoiding this annoying trope in favor of more realistic human emotions.
Both reeling from traumatic childhoods and representing two sides of the same coin, Quill and Gamora are clearly perfect for each other, but Quill had to mature and become a better person before Gamora would date him.
1 Peter Parker & MJ (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
Tom Holland and Zendaya share such great romantic chemistry in the Spider-Man movies that they’ve started dating in real life. After Homecoming made it clear that MJ was the best match for Peter, he started actively trying to woo her in Far From Home. MJ usually has a rough, cynical facade, but Zendaya gave the character some vulnerability in her awkward romantic scenes with Peter.
The final scene, in which Spidey swings MJ through the streets of New York, hilariously highlights the reality of the familiar romantic image from Sam Raimi’s trilogy: swinging through the city at breakneck speeds would be terrifying for a beginner.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3lieblu
0 Comments