Phase 4's Secret Theme Is Now Creating An MCU Continuity Issue
Warning! SPOILERS for Ms. Marvel.
Recently, the MCU Phase 4 has developed a theme that, while not entirely obvious, has created a continuity issue in the franchise. Marvel’s sweeping collection of movies has covered multiple topics and motifs since 2008, but Phase 4 has begun to tread new ground with new heroes. These storylines have broached topics that were never addressed in Phases 1-3 or have approached themes from a new perspective, which, while refreshing, comes with pitfalls.
Phase 4 titles have changed the MCU's future but also created a burgeoning continuity between Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Ms. Marvel. While these stories seem disparate initially, as they each cover different heroes from different parts of the world, they do have more in common than meets the eye. All three stories share common themes of dealing with complicated family relationships, the loss of a family member, and how one’s ancestors affect their present. But more specifically, all three contain a binding element that hasn’t been shown in the cinematic universe until recently.
Related: Why MCU Phase 4 Is So Much Darker Than Phases 1-3
While family or loss could inform the direction of the MCU’s divisive Phase 4 storylines, the secret theme that’s now creating continuity issues is the introduction of immortal (or seemingly immortal) characters. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Ms. Marvel, audiences are introduced to characters with preternatural lifespans, such as Shang-Chi’s father, Xu Wenwu, the entirety of the Eternals team, and the ClanDestines, respectively. There’s nothing wrong with creating long-lived characters, nor were any of these titles made individually worse for their
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