10 Reasons The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Best Days Are Behind It

2. The Inter-References Are Beginning To Feel Stale

Okay, so it would be ridiculous to say that movie-goers today aren't in favour of the inter-references that make up so much of the MCU movies; the MCU flicks thrive on the fact that characters can call back to previous events, or reference happenings in previous installments. But whereas these moments felt fresh and exciting in the first bunch of MCU movies, pre-Avengers, nowadays there's a sense that they're becoming a little... well, tired. Sure, we'd probably complain if Marvel cut them out all together, though it was somewhat refreshing to see that the latest MCU flick, Guardians of the Galaxy, was relatively reference-free for the most part, and attempted to exist on its own terms. You'll remember that Iron Man 2 served as something of a nail in the reference coffin in this regard, however, and Thor: The Dark World seemed to exist purely as a inter-referencing device. It's difficult not to yearn for the old days - the original Iron Man days - when such things were fewer... and more surprising.