7 Reasons The MCU Is Better Off Without Joss Whedon

7. He’s To Blame For Age Of Ultron

Whedon spoke openly during the press tour for Age of Ultron about the compromises he was forced to make on the film. Many fans took this to mean that flawed final product was the result of studio meddling and if Marvel had left Whedon to his own devices, we would have gotten the Avengers sequel we’d hoped for. However, the truth of the matter is that much of the flaws in the film are Whedon’s fault.

One item the studio did push was Thor's awkward cave visions. According to Whedon, Marvel gave him two options; do the cave sequence or lose the sequence at the farm. For starters, the farm sequence isn't much better than the cave. It really only serves as reparations for Hawkeye's character and to bloat the plot. Secondly, as bad as the cave sequence was, Whedon admits to taking a lazy approach to it. With a little more effort he could have made it feel more organic to the plot.

Beyond that, Whedon’s own ideas contributed to the film’s problems. You might think that the overstuffed cast was Marvel’s attempt to fit in as many heroes as possible but it was Whedon who insisted on The Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver all appearing in the same film. He also chose Ultron as the villain and came up with his bizarre characterization. The flimsy plot, mismatched tone, lack of stakes- all these issues fall to the writer-director.

Whedon made one brilliant superhero film, but he also made a lackluster one. Given a third chance he might have bounced back, or he might have stumbled even more.