15 Crazy Facts You Just Have To Accept To Enjoy The Marvel Cinematic Universe

9. The Plots Are Mostly Nonsense

It's just as well that the MCU hasn't gone the route of, say, Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder's grimdark DC comic adaptations, because few of the plots in Marvel's franchise really hold up under intense scrutiny with a self-serious approach. Sure, the original Iron Man is tightly-plotted and The Avengers is magnificently conceived, but the slow-building hunt for the Infinity Gems is pretty messy at best, and the latest MCU film, Guardians of the Galaxy, featured probably the most forgettable plot of the entire franchise (but made up for it with so much personality). By their fantastical nature, these movies can pretty much just make up the rules as they go along, and so it's best to just enjoy them as absurd magical light-shows adorned with brilliant characters and some interesting themes. Of course, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was more grounded as a paranoia-laced, 70s-style spy thriller, but this is an exception: the Thor movies are particularly bad offenders in terms of disposable plotting (especially the second movie), but they're stylish and charming enough that it's hard to care all that much. What Can Be Done About It?: Not a whole lot. The danger with forging increasingly more intricate narratives is that the MCU might start taking itself too seriously, which is the exact opposite of what it should be doing. By keeping the plots light, silly and easily digestible by children (yet in their best instances, boosted by witty dialogue), the focus stays on the characters, for whom people are ultimately going to see these movies anyway (alright, and for the explosions, too).