10 Problems The MCU Desperately Needs To Fix

8. The Obsession With Pointless Romance

Avengers Age Of Ultron Hulk
Marvel

This is one area where the MCU has been improving somewhat, but it's still not perfect. Studio executives are obsessed with the idea that audiences won't watch blockbuster movies without "human interest", which typically either translates to a family dynamic or a shoehorned romance.

The MCU's low-points in this regard are the utterly chemistry-free pairing of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and the hilariously forced love-in between The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Black Widow.

The series has served up a few genuinely heartfelt and appealing romances - namely Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) - but largely the love subplots feel forced and perfunctory.

Even Phase Three has been guilty of this, sadly: Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp); Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams); and T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o).

Enough romance-free MCU movies have released to stonking box office numbers that executives really should have confidence in keeping the random soap opera subplots to a sensible minimum.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.