Is Marvel TV running out of steam?

[Dasher10]

I feel like Iron Fist was the warning shot. While Defenders was a lot of fun, the villains were beyond weak and the depiction of The Hand had more in common with Iron Fist's generic bad guys with guns than Daredevil's mystical ninjas. Jessica Jones Season 2 suffered from Marvel's weakest villain yet as Karl Malus failed to do much of anything to make me dislike him. Agents of SHIELD Season 5 is also really bad. It feels like they set the first half in space because they couldn't think of anything more to do on Earth and then blew the entire budget in those first ten episodes so the rest of the season looked incredibly cheap. Keep in mind that I hated the space stuff since it felt like a completely different show but this season has been absolutely painful.

The less said about Inhumans, the better.

I don't have Hulu so I didn't watch Runaways but I heard that was good. I also quite liked Punisher.

Anyone else scared for Luke Cage, Season 2? Marvel's current track record isn't good.

 

[Jh7058622]

Punisher I wanted to get into but it just was too boring for me. So far the Fox-Marvel shows are to me the best out rn. I liked Jessica Jones s2 fine enough and Runaways is overrated but good if a bit mediocre with it's writing issues (nothing makes sense). Never watched Iron Fist as it never interested me and the Defenders was just really forgettable so... maybe?

 

[Kuwolski]

Like most producers of television content, there's been definite hit or misses, but a lot of in-between as well. They've done great shows (DD, JJ S1, Punisher, Legion), plenty of good to pretty good content (Runaways, Defenders, LC, JJ S2, ) and really mediocre to bad content (Gifted, IF, >>>>>Inhumans). I haven't watched AOS.

They could definitely be better without question. They just need better leadership. I think the streaming content could/will shake things up quite a bit over there. Especially if they eventually own Hulu and FX as well.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Inhumans was awful, yes. I liked AoS this season though. Quite a bit. Iron Fist had problems, but I overall enjoyed it. Defenders was disappointing. Easily could have been better, but I liked it overall. The Punisher was awesome. While JJ season 2 is a tough watch in many regards, I loved it. It was unique and was very creative.

So no, I am still excited for Marvel TV's future. Luke Cage season 1 I disliked (well...I disliked the 2nd half), but season 2 looks better.

 

[Flint Marko]

I feel like Iron Fist was the warning shot. While Defenders was a lot of fun, the villains were beyond weak and the depiction of The Hand had more in common with Iron Fist's generic bad guys with guns than Daredevil's mystical ninjas. Jessica Jones Season 2 suffered from Marvel's weakest villain yet as Karl Malus failed to do much of anything to make me dislike him. Agents of SHIELD Season 5 is also really bad. It feels like they set the first half in space because they couldn't think of anything more to do on Earth and then blew the entire budget in those first ten episodes so the rest of the season looked incredibly cheap. Keep in mind that I hated the space stuff since it felt like a completely different show but this season has been absolutely painful.

The less said about Inhumans, the better.

I don't have Hulu so I didn't watch Runaways but I heard that was good. I also quite liked Punisher.

Anyone else scared for Luke Cage, Season 2? Marvel's current track record isn't good.

Iron Fist and Inhumans are the only shows where your assessment aligns with the general consensus. Maybe Defenders as well because I'm apparently one of the few people who really enjoyed that first season, but AoS season 5 in particular has been great. I also don't know how you can call it "cheap" because the past few episodes have had some downright stunning FX of outerspace and alien spacecrafts.

 

[Dark Raven]

Punisher I wanted to get into but it just was too boring for me. So far the Fox-Marvel shows are to me the best out rn. I liked Jessica Jones s2 fine enough and Runaways is overrated but good if a bit mediocre with it's writing issues (nothing makes sense). Never watched Iron Fist as it never interested me and the Defenders was just really forgettable so... maybe?

I felt this way about Punisher too. It was so tedious to watch. I only got to about episode 5 or 6.

I thought Iron Fist was boring too, but somehow I found Punisher more boring.

And Inhumans wasn't a great show either.

Haven't gotten round to the rest of Jessica Jones season 2 yet. I only reached the 2nd episode.

Runaways was okay.

 

[Rorschach2012]

I wouldn’t be upset if AOS didnt exist.

I would rather we have lower budget movies for Daredevil, the Heroes for Hire, Punisher, and Jessica Jones. It would’ve been cool to see them serve as the street level heroes of the MCU. It would’ve been great if Feige had more say with those properties.

I definitely think the TV side has lost a lot of steam. And I sincerely hope that they save Moon Knight and Blade for movies instead of tv shows.

I really have enjoyed Daredevil s1 and 2 but I would’ve liked a movie instead

 

[Spider-Fan]

Marvel cannot release that many movies a year. Someone like Daredevil is just going to be on the back burner forever (since we get 3 films a year now). Further, I think TV has allowed Daredevil to be edgy in a way a MCU film would never allow. Same with the other Netflix heroes.

 

[ernesth100]

Nope. They just don't put as much effort into the quality of certain shows as they do others. Realistically speaking a show only runs out of steam when the runner(or runners) decides to make a turn for the worst or slack on the job or maybe other behind the scenes factor.

Take Walking Dead and Game of Thrones for example. Smash hit shows with common concept and never ran out of steam. Superheroes can go as long as they want as long as they keep the shows interesting which either they are failing to do or...well there's honestly no excuse.

 

[Dark Raven]

Nope. They just don't put as much effort into the quality of certain shows as they do others. Realistically speaking a show only runs out of steam when the runner(or runners) decides to make a turn for the worst or slack on the job or maybe other behind the scenes factor.

Take Walking Dead and Game of Thrones for example. Smash hit shows with common concept and never ran out of steam. Superheroes can go as long as they want as long as they keep the shows interesting which either they are failing to do or...well there's honestly no excuse.

That means with Scott Buck at the helm, Inhumans and Iron Fist ran out of steam in episode 1.

 

[Flint Marko]

Surprised to hear some of you struggled to finish the Punisher. I found that to be just as engaging as the first couple seasons of Daredevil, which remain my favorite superhero TV show ever.

 

[Web-Head]

I can see why people would have trouble finishing Punisher. It was good but not on par with Daredevil or even JJ season 1 for me.

I wanted an actual Punisher show, not Frank Castle.

 

[Dark Raven]

I can see why people would have trouble finishing Punisher. It was good but not on par with Daredevil or even JJ season 1 for me.

I wanted an actual Punisher show, not Frank Castle.

That's what it felt like. A Frank Castle show. And some of it really dragged. Well, at least of the 6 episodes I saw. Both seasons of DD were much better than that. Even Jessica Jones.

I fell asleep a few times during the Punisher.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Punisher is a slow burn, but man do I love it

 

[Iceman]

I've loved most of the Netflix show but I do feel the momentum has dropped a little.

 

[2kt09]

Weird sense of momentum.
Iron Fist could have been better. Defenders could have been better. The "slowburn" and payoffs in other seasons/series could be better. Inhumans could have been better. I forgot JJs2 even came out. AoS peaked from the sounds of it. "Runaways" stands for some other folks. The next new show on the horizon, is Cloak & Dagger.

Marvel cannot release that many movies a year. Someone like Daredevil is just going to be on the back burner forever (since we get 3 films a year now). Further, I think TV has allowed Daredevil to be edgy in a way a MCU film would never allow. Same with the other Netflix heroes.

My assumption was a dtv. Not a theatrical release.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I've loved most of the Netflix show but I do feel the momentum has dropped a little.

I think they were. Luke Cage's second half I didn't like. Iron Fist, though I liked it, many hated it. Defenders was disappointing. But, I loved both Punisher & JJ season 2. So I think they're back on track. At least back on an upward swing.

 

[Big Bang]

Across the board, Marvel TV has been very hit or miss. That covers both live action and animated. AoS has had parts that could have been better, but this recent season really feels like they are putting a lot more effort into it. Moving to a later time slot seems to have given them more room to push the envelope. If it had been on a streaming service, it could potentially have been much better. Shame it is only coming back for a shorter season next, but that could also help up the production quality instead of stretching things out like they do right now.

On the animated side, it feels like they are rebooting things constantly. I wish they had stuck with Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes instead of rebooting. It would be great if they could produce content along the lines of the DC Animated Universe before that took a dive.

My hope is that once they've gone to the new streaming service, that they are more consistent and not as constrained as they have been.

 

[Yowza]

I think the Netflix shows have lost their steam. It just seems a lot of the initial criticisms one can find in reviews around when DD Season 1 came out weren't listened to. I think they keep getting added back to season right away as Netflix has been churning out it's own content to keep subscribers busy. Now, you'll search through any given movie category and see TV-14 or TV-MA for a given movie. Turned me off a few years ago but now just am like whatever.

Netflix 2010, Netflix 2014, and Netflix 2018 seem like completely different movie streaming service with plusses and minuses to each.

 

[Kuwolski]

The animation wing is in a sad state at the moment.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Regarding the Netflix shows specifically, here is the order I would personally put them in from favorite to least favorite:

1. Jessica Jones Season 1 (2)
2. Daredevil Season 1 (1)
3. Daredevil Season 2 (3)
4. Luke Cage (4)
5. Defenders (6)
6. Iron Fist (5)
7. Punisher (7)
8. Jessica Jones Season 2 (8)

The numbers in parenthesis show the order in which the shows were released, and there is a definite correlation between when the shows were released and how much I enjoyed them.

I asked in another thread if it was because the shows were getting worse or if they seemed fresh at first and are now losing their novelty. I suspect it's a combination, but I'm not sure how much is which.

In the case of Jessica Jones and Daredevil first seasons, they both had great villains that haven't been matched, and I think that's part of it. I wasn't even sure who the villain was in JJ Season 2, and I think that's a problem for a 'Superhero' show.

 

[Detective Conan]

I wasn't even sure who the villain was in JJ Season 2, and I think that's a problem for a 'Superhero' show.

I think that's sort of the point since they're trying to subvert your expectations, and keep you guessing and not turn it into the conventional 'beat the bad guy and everything will be solved' thing again but I really think Jones S2 was really meandering and super aimless.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I agree that was what JJ season 2 was going for. It was bold and risky for a superhero show. I easily can see why people didn't like it. But, I loved it!

 

[Flint Marko]

I think that's sort of the point since they're trying to subvert your expectations, and keep you guessing and not turn it into the conventional 'beat the bad guy and everything will be solved' thing again but I really think Jones S2 was really meandering and super aimless.

I got on board with that towards the tail end of the season and I think it ends well, but I've never had so much trouble finishing a Marvel Netflix series. Even Iron Fist, which I didn't particularly care for, was more engaging on the whole.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

I agree that was what JJ season 2 was going for. It was bold and risky for a superhero show. I easily can see why people didn't like it. But, I loved it!

I'm a simple old man. I like a good guy in a white hat fighting a bad guy in a white hat. And against seemingly impossible odds, the guy in the white hat wins in the end.

Give me that every time and I'll be entertained.