How Marvel Television Undermined The MCU

Comic Book Movie has a new article up about how the Marvel Television shows affected the Marvel Universe negatively.

Before Marvel Studios fully embraced TV storytelling under Kevin Feige’s leadership, Marvel Television—led by Jeph Loeb—tried to build its own corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, the experiment mostly backfired.

1. Costumes Were an Afterthought- Despite operating in a superhero world, many shows avoided comic-accurate costumes. Daredevil took 12 episodes to don a suit. Iron Fist? Just a hoodie. Black Bolt in Inhumans never wore his iconic gear.

2. The Inhumans Disaster- Inhumans was marketed as a blockbuster-style show but looked cheap, had poor casting, and neutered key characters like Medusa and Lockjaw. It bombed so hard, IMAX abandoned similar projects.

3. Iron Fist Flopped- Scott Buck’s take on Iron Fist failed to deliver a compelling origin or effective action. Danny Rand struggled through both seasons, making one of Marvel’s most powerful characters feel useless.

4. Episodes Dragged On- Netflix’s Marvel shows often ran for 13 episodes when 8 or 10 would've sufficed. Luke Cage and Daredevil both suffered from pacing issues, undercutting otherwise solid storylines.

5. Coulson’s Resurrection Broke Continuity- Bringing Coulson back in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. after his death in The Avengers felt forced and unacknowledged in the films—showcasing the disconnection between TV and movie branches.

6. Botched Characters- While Kingpin was a win, others like Deathlok, Trish Walker, and even the Kree were mishandled. The Hand, supposed to be a fearsome ninja cult, became a forgettable mess.

7. A Scattered Slate- From Helstrom to MODOK, Marvel TV's scattered, loosely connected projects lacked a cohesive vision. Promising crossovers like The Defenders failed to leave a lasting impact.

8. Long-Term Damage- Many characters remain sidelined because of poor initial adaptations. The shadow of Marvel TV's mistakes lingers—though Feige is slowly undoing the harm.

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Source: Comic Book Movie

Photo Credit: Marvel