Are The Marvel Sequels Almost Always Worse? And Will it Continue?

[jolldan]

Just my opinion that almost all of the sequels to the MCU movies have been worse. Now I would say this is only to a very small degree for some but others far greater.

Thor 2, Iron Man 2, Avengers AOU, GOTG 2, Ant-Man & The Wasp, Spider-Man FFH.

Only real exception I can think of is CATWS being better than the original.

Just wondering if anyone agreed and if they think this will continue going forward with Dr Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvels sequels?

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Id say infinity war and endgame are better than the original.

As well as TWS as you said. Thor 3 is a drastic improvement on its predecessors. And this isn't a popular opinion but GotG2 is more enjoyable to me.

The MCU spidey movies are a tie id say.

 

[Dark Raven]

I'd say Far From Home is better than Homecoming. There's more high-rise web swinging, whether it's from places like Tower Bridge in London to the last Manhattan swing at the end. Also in Homecoming, he spent half the time not even in the proper Spider-Man suit.

Winter Soldier is better, although the first one definitely has its charm. Civil War is good too. The Cap trilogy is the most consistent.

I'd say Endgame and Infinity War are better than the original, but there was a slight dip in form for Age of Ultron.

Ragnarok was definitely better than the first two that preceded it.

I liked Ant-Man and the Wasp about equally with the first one.

For me, the Iron Man movies got progressively worse, with IM3 being probably my least favourite MCU film.

 

[Mike Murdock]

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is better than The First Avenger. I think the Spider-Man and Ant-Man sequels are just as strong as the first movie. If we're talking about third movies, I think Ragnarok, Endgame, etc. are all better than the first movie (same with Civil War). Iron Man 3 is controversial, but I think most agree it's better than Iron Man 2.

 

[MadVillainy]

I think they usually are better actually

 

[Protar]

I think Iron Man is the only franchise which got significantly worse with it's sequels. Winter Soldier remains one of the best MCU films and Civil War is up there with it. Ragnarok is a reinvention of Thor. Infinity War is the best Avengers film imo. Ant-Man and Spiderman perhaps dip in quality a little bit but not by much. I'd argue GotG 2 is a bit better than the first.

 

[Fosterson]

The only MCU sequels that were inferior to their predecessors (imo) were Iron Man 2/3, Thor: TDW and AoU.

 

[zeptron]

The only MCU sequels that were inferior to their predecessors (imo) were Iron Man 2/3, Thor: TDW and AoU.

This is pretty much how I feel.

 

[Dark Raven]

They should've kept the score from Iron Man #1 by Ramin Djwadi. That is the one I always associate with Iron Man and building the suit rather than any of the subsequent scores. I thought it captured the feel of the character and was more memorable.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I don't agree with this. Plenty of Marvel sequels were better. GotG2, Endgame, TWS, CW, Ragnarok, FFH, etc. Maybe early on this was true, but since TWS, sequels have largely been better.

Though I like Avengers more than IW personally. But I know that's a popular one.

 

[Fosterson]

They should've kept the score from Iron Man #1 by Ramin Djwadi. That is the one I always associate with Iron Man and building the suit rather than any of the subsequent scores. I thought it captured the feel of the character and was more memorable.

So much better than the generic snoozefest Brian Tyler produced for IM3.

 

[jolldan]

.

Id say infinity war and endgame are better than the original.

As well as TWS as you said. Thor 3 is a drastic improvement on its predecessors. And this isn't a popular opinion but GotG2 is more enjoyable to me.

The MCU spidey movies are a tie id say.

My mistake I should have maybe worded this better I was only referring to the first sequels. As I do agree that Ragnarok is better than Dark World, Infinity War is better than AOU and Civil War even slightly edges CATWS for me.

Rather embarrassed that I forgot to even mention GOTG 2. Recently rewatched it and it was a lot better than I originally remembered. Still think the first is the better movie though not my as much as I previously did.

 

[EnDz0n3]

Thor 2, Iron Man 2, Avengers AOU, GOTG 2, Ant-Man & The Wasp, Spider-Man FFH.

I'd agree with this list. Perhaps it should be "Are the second movies almost always INFERIOR to the first?"

As others have pointed out other sequels/Part 3/Part 4 have improved on the firsts: Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame, etc.

 

[MadVillainy]

They should've kept the score from Iron Man #1 by Ramin Djwadi. That is the one I always associate with Iron Man and building the suit rather than any of the subsequent scores. I thought it captured the feel of the character and was more memorable.

Still love driving around with this playing. Really wish they kept it

 

[Web-Head]

This thought crossed my mind a few years ago and aside from Winter Soldier, the answer is yes. Strictly talking direct sequels and not the third film in the franchise.

Iron Man 2 was clearly rushed and is much worse than Iron Man.

Age of Ultron is still enjoyable, but doesn't match the first Avengers.

Thor: The Dark World is similar to Iron Man 2 and is one of the worst MCU movies to date.

Ant-Man and the Wasp is fun, but is one of the weaker entries in the MCU in recent years.

Spider-Man: Far From Home was a huge disappointment for me, but I can see why some might prefer it over Homecoming.

Guardians Vol 2 is a tricky one. I really loved it after I saw it opening night but I feel it gets worse on each rewatch and isn't one of my favorites.

I don't believe it will continue though. I think Doctor Strange can easily surpass the first one and I think Black Panther 2 can be something special.

 

[Dark Raven]

But not all sequels are necessarily worse with their second instalment for films in general. Star Trek The Slow Motion Picture had a better sequel with The Wrath of Khan, which was one of the best of the series. Unfortunately it had an even number rule where they were usually better (save for Star Trek Nemesis). Then it switched to an odd number rule for the Kelvin universe.

Maybe the MCU are either following the odd number rule or the even number rule at the start of their franchises.

 

[EnDz0n3]

I don't believe it will continue though. I think Doctor Strange can easily surpass the first one

Doctor Strange was a borefest. So I don't it'll be tough to top. Plus we got Raimi now.

I'm also glad Captain Marvel is getting new directors. I would put that first movie in the lower tier of Marvel's releases.

 

[sherman]

Just my opinion that almost all of the sequels to the MCU movies have been worse. Now I would say this is only to a very small degree for some but others far greater.

Thor 2, Iron Man 2, Avengers AOU, GOTG 2, Ant-Man & The Wasp, Spider-Man FFH.

Only real exception I can think of is CATWS being better than the original.

Just wondering if anyone agreed and if they think this will continue going forward with Dr Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvels sequels?

I disagree not only was winter soldier better than captain america so was CACW. I also likes Ant man & the Wasp, Iron Man 3 and Spider man FFH better than the first movies.

 

[Batmannerism]

Dude - I realise it's been said before but:

Captain America : The Winter Soldier and Captain America Civil War ?

GOTG vol 1 is magic, straight up love that film. I still love Vol 2, and it's more emotional at the end.

Thor Ragnarok ? ( and I'm the one person on this thread who actually liked Thor TDW over the original)

I liked Age of Ultron more than the first film, which is overrated IMO, except for the last 30 minutes. Infinity War is a terrific film, and Endgame brings a pretty satisfying conclusion.

Spidey movies are equally enjoyable IMO.

So all in all, the Iron Man sequels got worse, but I can't say the same for the rest.

 

[The Batman]

If by "Sequels" you mean "Second Films", then yes. Winter Soldier is literally the sole exception, and it helped that The First Avenger wasn't a particularly great or good film to begin with.

That's why I think Dr. Strange 2 and Captain Marvel 2 could also end up being exceptions to the rule. Both their initial movies are pretty "eh", so there is room for improvement.

 

[Flash525]

As direct sequels, it's probably only the Captain America sequel that outshines the first, but if we start looking at the sequel sequels (trilogy films and onwards) then I'd say the majority of them are better than their predecessors with the exception of Ironman 3.

Thor Ragnarok was obviously standout, as were Infinity War & Endgame. I'm confident in saying that the sequels to Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Captain Marvel will outshine their initial instalments too.

 

[psylockolussus]

Iron Man 2
Thor: The Dark World
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Guardians of the GalaXy Vol. 2
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Marvels

So yes. There's definitely a pattern. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the only eXception so far. Outside the MCU - Blade II, X2, Spider-Man 2, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Wolverine and Venom: Let There Be Carnage were improvements.

 

[Duran Man]

I'd only say that about Iron Man to Iron Man 2, Thor to Thor 2, Thor 3 to Thor 4, and Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp (I haven't seen The Marvels yet lol).

 

[Bayne]

Dr Strange 2 is vastly better than the first one. I like Wakanda Forever more than BP, too, but that's much closer. And I wouldn't call Vol. 2 or AoU worse than their predecessors. They're about dead even - worse than the originals in some ways but better in others.

If we're including third and fourth installments, then IW and EG clean house and I'd also consider Civil War, No Way Home, Love and Thunder and Quantumania to all be clear improvements over their predecessors.