The second wave of Disney+ Marvel TV shows are wrapping up and Marvel is continuing to go off the beaten path and explore interesting and unique corners of their established universe in order to make room for their increasing catalogue of heroes (and villains). While Loki introduced the Multiverse and the ominous threat of Kang (maybe we’ll see more of this in Loki season 2?) and Hawkeye made Kingpin once again canon. This new crop of shows are focused on starting a lot of new lore from scratch so that the seeds planted here will grow into new and captivating storylines in the years ahead.
Can’t get enough of Marvel heroes, check out these TikTok accounts for Marvel fans.
4. I Am Groot
Watch on: Disney+ (5 episodes)
Speaking of seeds, our first show has a lot of literal seeds, but plot-wise is of little consequence to the MCU as a whole (You won’t see any big universe-changing reveals in this one), but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a show with a lot of heart in it. I Am Groot is a collection of shorts dedicated to showing little one-off Groot adventures taking place between the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies.
The show is solely focused on Groot as none of the other Guardians make an on-screen appearance with the exception of Rocket, who has found himself having to transition from being a partner in crime figure, to a parental figure. Which must be hard, can you imagine if your best friend was suddenly one fourth your age? Yeesh.
While the stakes may not be as high in this show compared to some of the ones later on down our list, these are still pretty fun. Think of them as the little heartwarming shorts that play before Pixar movies, these are essentially the MCU version of those.
3. Moon Knight
Watch on: Disney+ (6 episodes)
The biggest offer this show delivered on was Oscar Isaac giving us a captivating performance of two duel personalities who each harness the powers of Khonshu in their own unique way. Moon Knight is a character whom most of us who aren’t extreme comic fans, probably only recognized from those fictional comic panels that make Moon Knight seem like an unhinged lunatic (basically Deadpool without the fourth wall breaking)
However the Moon Knight show told us all about Mark Spector and Stephen Graham, their Jekyll and Hyde dynamic and the unfortunate backstory that haunts both of them. While the show does follow the Marvel beats and tropes in a pretty predictable way, it does give a lot of attention to building the foundation of this new world of magic that comes with introducing some new Egyptian-based heroes. And while super hero origin stories have gotten pretty rote and boring over the last decade, especially when stretched out over multiple episodes of television, very few of them involve a talking hippos goddess or a giant talking bird mummy.
Something about this show that seems out of character for Marvel is that it does not tie in with anything already happening in the universe. While that may be disappointing for some, it is a breath of fresh air to others for a Marvel hero to have their story told with out any other already established characters getting inserted into it. Something Marvel hasn’t done since the first Doctor Strange in 2016.
2. Ms. Marvel
Watch on: Disney+ (6 episodes)
This show took the most liberties with the comic book version of Ms. Marvel. The big one being that her powers are creating hard-light as opposed to being able to stretch and grow like Mr. Fantastic. This show also has created another fun aesthetic that separates it from the other Marvel shows. With fun graphic art that highlight important moments for Kamala and the fact that this is a coming of age story that feels more like a single-cam sitcom than, say, any Spider-Man origin story.
It also can’t be understated that Ms. Marvel is the first MCU property to actually drop the big M-word that Marvel fans have been waiting for since the 20th Century Fox merger when Bruno tells Kamala her powers come from a “mutation” (cue X-Men theme).
Ms. Marvel also fills in another interesting aspect of the MCU that hadn’t been touched on in as much detail, which is the superhero fandom that exists within the universe itself. The show’s pilot introduces the first Avenger-Con and Kamala herself is shown to be a huge nerd for Carol Danvers. It’s sort of a lower-stakes version of how Falcon and the Winter Soldier did a good job of highlighting all of the political and economic repercussions of the Blip.
1. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Watch on: Disney+ (9 episodes)
When it comes it comes to their television shows, Marvel is at its best when they lean into the fact they they are episodic to create a story that isn’t essentially one seven hour movie cut into segments. That was true for last year’s WandaVision and it is true for this year’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
Phase 4 had been giving a lot of people, including dedicated comic fans, Marvel fatigue after the culmination of Endgame, which is why She-Hulk came at the perfect time. Written as a court procedural that takes place within the MCU, She-Hulk uses that opportunity to make useful and interesting commentary on the legality of a lot of old Marvel plot points in a manner that isn’t too self-referential and in your face, which is a hard to balance when your show consistently breaks the fourth wall and is by it’s very nature, self-aware.
As the MCU continues to grow and heroes continue to be more and more commonplace, it becomes harder and harder to do something that isn’t derivative of what’s already been done (This isn’t a knock against Marvel, it’s the issue plaguing any successful franchise that’s been going on for over a decade). So something like She-Hulk, with a creative voice and plot pacing that stands out from all the other Marvel shows is promising for the future of the MCU. The biggest question left is: Will Jennifer Walters continue to break the fourth wall if/when she cameos in other Marvel properties? And if so, will her and Deadpool be able to see each other doing it?
And if you are wondering, here is our ranking of the Marvel series from 2021:
5. What If…?
Watch on: Disney+ (9 episodes)
What If…? is the fourth series Marvel Studios put out in 2021, with the animated offering releasing on Disney+ in mid-August. A unique concept, the show explores alternate timelines in the multiverse, showing what could happen if major moments from the MCU movies happened differently.
The show is brilliantly animated and a heck of a lot of fun – with many of the core MCU cast members reprising their roles as voice actors.
4. The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
Watch on: Disney+ (6 episodes)
The second MCU show of 2021, Falcon and the Winter Soldier continues on from the events of Avengers: Endgame, as two characters who initially despised each other – Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes find themselves teaming up against the anti-nationalist Flag Smasher group, in a global adventure that tests their abilities and their patience, but brings them closer together.
3. Hawkeye
Watch on: Disney+ (6 episodes)
Taking place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, it sees Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton inadvertently teaming up with Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop – the character who would go on to become the new Hawkeye after Barton in the comics. It’s set entirely in New York, where the pair investigate a criminal conspiracy that leads them to a major Marvel villain.
2. Loki
Watch on: Disney+ (6 episodes)
In the third MCU series of 2021, the rogue time variant of Loki finds himself captured by the Time Variance Authority and enlisted to help them fix the broken timeline. With help from Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius and Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie, Hiddleston’s character becomes a bona fide antihero. It’s fun, engaging and absolutely inspired, ushering the whole franchise in an intriguing new direction with the official introduction of the Multiverse.
1. WandaVision
Watch on: Disney+ (9 episodes)
Without a doubt, the first Marvel Studios series of 2021 was also the finest. The show sees Wanda using her immense powers to create a fake reality in a small New Jersey town called Westview. There, she lives the perfect suburban life with her lover – the presumed-dead Vision – in the style of the American sitcoms she watched as a child in her native Sokovia.
If the above are not enough, check out the upcoming Marvel movies for 2022.
