It’s already been firmly stated that the MCU will not be going dark at any point, but many people would argue that it already has in a few ways since the subject matter that’s been delivered in a few movies has been anything but positive. But when talking about going full midnight, no-moon black, it feels safe to state that the MCU might not hit such a note since one has to remember that they’re owned by Disney, and…well, that’s not quite a good enough reason to be fair. Disney has gone dark plenty of times in the past, even if the Mouse House has managed to mask a lot of what they’ve done with the cute and cuddly aspects of each movie that have followed along in the wake of utter terror. Through humor and a socially acceptable outlook that people are almost always willing to accept since it’s, at this moment, deemed better to walk on one’s tiptoes rather than point out what’s wrong with coddling people. In other words, Disney is far more willing to cater to the sensibilities of those that don’t want to see a comics-accurate show or movie than those that have been following the comics for so long.
Making the point that it’s for the kids is kind of weak.
It’s true, young children don’t need to be exposed to the overt horror and adult material that some of the comics are well-known for, but at the same time, this is why there is a rating system, and parents are expected to be mature enough to know what they’re kids can handle and what they can’t. For instance, if your kids can’t handle the Moon Knight series then it’s probably not a good idea to let them watch anything worse, like Deadpool or Punisher. That’s on the parent, not on the MCU, but the truth is that Moon Knight gets a bit dark as well if one is being entirely honest.
Going darker with a story is far more realistic than keeping it light can be.
People might not want to hear this, but the stark truth is that keeping the darker aspects to any story lends far more realism to it than would give the story a facelift by dulling the rougher edges. Smoothing those edges over to satisfy people is kind of a weak and half-hearted attempt to shield people from the harsher truths of reality. On one hand, it makes sense, people don’t always want to be depressed when they want to be entertained. But that argument kind of falls apart when one notices all the things that people watch since there are enough shows and movies out there that deal with heavy and depressing subjects that are still seen as some of the most popular programs in the world. The fact that the MCU is owned by Disney shouldn’t make that much of a difference since Disney has, in the past, gone pretty dark. Anyone remember the young girl whose heart an evil queen wanted to be brought back to her in a box? How about a certain deer whose mother was shot at the beginning of the movie, or a young fox? Don’t ever say that Disney hasn’t gone dark, but take solace in knowing that a lot of us were there for those moments and yes, we turned out just fine. So to speak.
The MCU doesn’t have to go ultra dark to make its point felt.
There’s nothing saying that the MCU has to hit rock bottom to get its point across when concerning certain characters. A lot of bad stuff has happened in the Marvel Universe over the years, and it’s easy to think that Disney doesn’t want to look at half of it when trying to come up with a way to present its heroes and villains. But the fact remains that treating everyone with kid gloves isn’t the way to go since some of these stories require a darker and heavier lean that will tell their story the way it needs to be told. There’s nothing saying that the subject matter has to get to the point that it would be disturbing to most adults, but there is the need to dig deeper and find the stuff that people don’t want to talk about.
If the MCU doesn’t go a little dark then it might not last as long.
Seriously, trying to hide away material that people want to see is one of the worst ideas possible. There’s no need to come up with the type of stuff that will sink the MCU as a Disney property. But at the same time, there is a need to bring up enough stuff that would be considered pertinent to the story, so long as it doesn’t involve an X or NC-17 rating. Oh yes, the Marvel Universe gets nuts sometimes.
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