As we gear up for Loki, the latest Disney+ Marvel series, I wanted to take a look back at the first two series: Wanda Vision and Falcon and The Winer Soldier, and discuss which show I enjoyed the most.
We are going to discuss the show's story line, the numerous villains encountered, and then take a look at some viewer ratings. So, without further ado...here we go.
1. Story Lines
I think most of us would agree that WandaVision's first couple episodes had us conflicted. On one hand, we were saying "this is stupid....I don't even know what's going on", while on the other hand we were saying "I want more!!!!!!!!!!". The writing was pretty ingenious and the show was very unpredictable, which left me counting the days and hours until the next episode. The addition of humor into the show was great. It didn't diminish the seriousness of the storyline at all.
Finally, the connection between Wanda and Vision was fantastic and the build up to Vision's ultimate demise (again) was very painful, and I don't think I'm alone in saying that it tugged at my heart strings.
For Falcon and Winter Soldier, I can sum up the story line in one word.....BOOOOORING. Ok, this show also had its highlights, like the fighting scenes. There was definitely quite a bit of work that went into making the action very similar to a live action MCU film, but that didn't eliminate the fact that the show had way too much down time. At times, it was almost depressing. Dialogue is good and really important for a story line, but constantly reminding us about how horrible everyone's lives are can really wear on the viewer. It did for me. The only humor (if you can call it that) was Falcon and Bucky telling each other how much they dislike each other...over....and over again. Ok, we got it!
The best way for me to summarize these two shows is like this: I didn't want WandaVision to end...while I couldn't wait for Falcon to get to the season finale, in hopes that I might enjoy at least one episode or at a minimum be glad the series was done.
STORYLINE RESULTS:
Wanda Vision: 4/5 stars
Falcon: 2/5 stars
2. The Villains
First, in WandaVision, I thought it was a brilliant move to conceal the true villain's identity until late in the series. The speculation all over social media was rampant. Whether you were on Instagram, YouTube, Tik Tok, etc. people were making references to this show everywhere I looked, guessing at who could be behind all the madness. Finally, in the next-to-last episode, we learned that Agatha Harkness was indeed the mastermind of all the chaos.
We were introduced to Agnes (aka Agatha) in the very first episode of the series. She was the nosey, quirky neighbor that made the show better, whenever she showed up in a scene.
Unless you were completely ignoring social media, or aren't familiar with her appearances in comic books, you probably were able to connect the dots that Agnes was indeed Agatha Harkness, First appearance in Fantastic Four #94.
Even though the final climactic battle between Agatha and Wanda might have been a slight let down, it didn't erase the entertainment Agnes gave us for the entire season. Glad they're keeping her around for the future.
Next up, the villain(s) from Falcon: Although we could consider Zemo and John Walker (Cap wannabe) to be minor villains in the series, the true villain was the leader of the Flag Smashers, Karli Morgenthau.
Karli, right from the beginning, was essentially a snot-nosed brat who was mad at the world for the way the displaced people from "the blip" were being treated. Her "one world, one people" mantra was repeated over AND OVER...and I just became numb to it....along with the whining. Another question, why did Disney feel the need to not stay true to the comics and change Flag Smasher from Karl to Karli? Not sure if there is something political behind that, but more points lost for that move. In addition, it was odd that Sam continued to make out Karli to be some kind of a martyr and a "she's not that bad" type of person, even though she and her buddies continued to set off bombs, kill people, and wreak havoc because they weren't getting their way.
There is so much more comic book history behind Zemo and John Walker, that Disney would have faired better building more on those two characters than a "nobody terrorist". John Walker's character was first introduced in Captain America #323, almost 35 years ago in 1986.
You have to go all the way back to 1964 to see Baron Zemo's first appearance in Avengers #6, and he continues to be a character used in comics to this day. Based on the shows ending, it's now clear that both John Walker and Zemo will continue to have a future in the MCU. Fortunately, we can't say the same about Karli.
VILLAIN RESULTS:
Wanda Vision: 4/5 stars
Falcon: 2/5 stars
3. Viewer Ratings - I simply looked up calculated reviews from some of the more popular movie review websites. I have no opinions of any of the websites so I'm just letting the numbers speak for themselves.
Rotten Tomatoes Audience scores
Wanda 81%
Falcon 72%
IGN
Wanda 8/10
Falcon 7/10
IMBD
Wanda 8.1/10
Falcon 7.5/10
VIEWER RATINGS RESULTS:
Wanda Vision: 4.5/5 stars
Falcon: 3.5/5 stars
Conclusion:
Whether you like it or not, WandaVision gets the edge on Falcon and The Winter Soldier in all categories. I'm sure it's fairly obvious from this blog that I highly preferred WandaVision over Falcon, and it seems like I'm not alone, based on the viewer reviews. Falcon and the Winter Soldier was not a bad show by any means, but it just left too many opportunities on the table and the producers made decisions to turn the characters into melancholy, boring, super-heroes. Marvel and Disney can certainly redeem themselves with Falcon. The comic book history behind Sam temporarily taking over for Captain America is something I'm happy Disney decided to maintain for the show. Now they need to get back to what they do well...and make him into a dynamic super-hero who's ready to take on (and take out) some of the baddest baddies around. As for Wanda and Vision, not only is there a good chance of them getting a second season on Disney+, but the possibilities of how their storyline can work into other aspects of the MCU is endless, and I can't wait to see what they do with it. Unfortunately, we won't be seeing any of these characters from either of these shows for quite awhile, so we will need to fill our time with some other entertainment.
Now, let's get ready for LOKI!!!
