GregHowley.com

I've always got so much to say about all things Marvel, so now that my blog is back up and running, it seems only fitting that my first post be a Marvel one.

There have been eight different MCU television shows to date, if you exclude the shorts and one-offs such as I Am Groot, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and Werewolf By Night. And I've found that my least favorite are my family's favorite, and that some of the shows I've loved most aren't highly regarded. Opinions on the quality of the shows is so widely divided, so of course I've got to share my own. Saddle up.

C-Tier: Didn't Love It

While I do love pretty much everything Marvel puts out, there do of course have to be some shows that sift to the bottom. Here are the two shows I liked least.

Moon Knight

The whole Egyptian pantheon thing seemed a jarring transition from the rest of Marvel, but doing different types of shows is what Marvel is all about, I suppose. It's easy to applaud Oscar Isaac's performance, but somehow Moon Knight didn't land with me like most of the other MCU TV shows did.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

I loved the re-introduction of Batroc the Leaper and of Baron Zemo, and that moment with John Walker bringing the shield down on that guy's head was pretty jaw-dropping. I like Sam as the new Captain America, and did enjoy watching with him struggle with the notion of representing a country that does not represent him. But as good as parts of the story were, and as good as some of the set pieces were, it felt like there was an overall lack of coherence in the plotline.

B-Tier: Pretty Good

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

I've been a huge fan of Tatiana Maslany since having seen the excellent TV show Orphan Black. I still think she's one of the best actresses I've ever seen, and she did an excellent job of playing a small character to contrast the titular character.

It did less to shape the future of the MCU than most other of the shows on this list, and the fourth-wall-breaking got to be a bit much in the final episode, but you need to take into account that the show was vying more for comedy than anything else. At the very least, I loved seeing Matt Murdock again.

Loki

Loki went to a number of crazy places that I hadn't expected. At the TVA, infinity stones are a dime a dozen, and the rules of reality seem to have been rewritten entirely. The final episode changed the MCU in a major way, but most of the episodes felt like a series of hijinks.

My favorite portion by far was the end, with all the Loki variants. Classic Loki and Kid Loki were excellent, and that half second shot of Throg was a lot of fun. It's really interesting that this is the only MCU show to date (besides What If...?) which will be getting a second season.

Ms. Marvel

I had been looking forward to Ms. Marvel for a long time. The depiction of her in the comics with the stretchy and embiggened limbs was such an excellent aesthetic. I was disappointed that they changed it, but the depiction of Muslim culture in America was very enjoyable, and the view of Partition in Asia was very well done.

I look forward very much to seeing her in The Marvels.

S-Tier: My Favorites

What If...?

I like anthology shows, like Black Mirror or Cabinet of Curiousities, and I like well-done cartoons, like The Dragon Prince or The Mitchells vs The Machines. Marvel's What If was both, and it brought back characters and situations from movies I love, all with a twist. Seeing Tony Stark in the Middle East again but rescued by Killmonger, seeing The Hulk on that glass bridge at the university again, seeing Dr. Strange's fateful accident again (and again), it was all just very cool. And the big reveal towards at the end that brought the episodes together was an excellent touch.

WandaVision

WandaVision was the first of the MCU television shows. They started unconventionally- the first two episodes were black and white - and the intrigue was massive. Why were Wanda and Vision alive and inside an old TV show? How was Vision alive at all? The answers came soon enough, along with Agent Jimmy Woo, Agent Monica Rambeau, and everyone's favorite Darcy.

It was amazingly fitting that Vision's final battle against Nega-Vision was a logic battle. The re-introduction of X-Men: Days of Future Past's Quicksilver variant had me out of my seat screaming. And how could I not mention Kathryn Hahn? Her rendition of Agatha All Along actually charted, and spawned spinoffs.

We still don't know what became of White Vision, although we've seen that Wanda and the Darkhold went on to become Dr. Strange's nemesis briefly. And time will tell what has become of Agatha.

Hawkeye

I loved Hawkeye. It wasn't just Rogers: The Musical. It wasn't just the LARPers, or Lucky the pizza dog, or even the amazing Vincent D'Onofrio. It was Tony's Dalton's Jack Duquesne and his obsession with swords. It was the amazing Florence Pugh's Yelena talking about how mac and cheese in a box is delicious with hot sauce. It was the Track Suit Mafia, bro. And I can always watch more Linda Cardellini.

Most of all, I loved the music. The way that they worked Christmas music into the soundtrack was brilliant, and the arrangements that they used were just damn beautiful. I somehow doubt we'll get another season of Hawkeye, but I'll certainly be going back and re-watching the one that we already have. Again.

Looking Forward

Of course, the MCU television shows are by no means over. I'm very much looking forward to Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Daredevil: Born Again, Echo, Ironheart, and second seasons of both Loki and What If?.... We should be seeing Secret Invasion on Disney Plus within just a few months!