Much has been written about the death and resurrection of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and the wider superhero subgenre writ large. Fatigue! Fanfare! Box office records! In both the red and the black. The story has been told from every angle, re-examined with fresh eyes upon every new theatrical release, trailer drop, or scrap of casting news. And so the discourse around the superhero film has become just as stale and beaten to death as the genre itself. To its credit, Captain America: Brave New World, directed by Julius Onah and co-written by Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, and Dalan Musson, at least postures at doing something differently. With a fresh(ish) face donning the iconic mantle, Marvel (kinda, maybe) actually passed the torch—only to mostly fumble the handoff, failing to make it mean much of anything. Read More
