8 Reasons Avengers: Age Of Ultron Is The Beginning Of The End For Marvel

1. It's Not Really For The Fans Any More

All of this culminates in one simple point; what the MCU actually is isn't what people think the MCU is.

Now the highest grossing franchise of all time, the series has officially expanded outside of its comic-driven origins. That should be a celebration of the geek-assimilation of mainstream culture, but practically means the studio doesn't need to be as pleasing to the fans of the obscure elements of the source; in fact, what it really needs to do is downplay the more obsessive aspects to keep the mainstream audience engaged. And, as evidenced from the previous seven points, that's exactly what Age Of Ultron's done.

This was always the case somewhat - although fans returning for second and third viewings helped, it was regular cinema audiences that carried The Avengers to $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office - but with Avengers: Age Of Ultron it's been brought to the fore. You may need to be vaguely familiar with Iron Man or Captain America to get the most out of the film, but there's absolutely no extra benefit from rewatching the other movies or pouring over all the foreshadowing ahead of time. And without that, the MCU is just a bunch of vaguely connected films

It's this gradual erosion of everything that made the MCU so beloved that means there's now a ticking clock on what has made the Marvel movies so enjoyable, and the franchise much greater than the sum of its parts. In 2018/2019 the team will be back in action for Avengers: Infinity War, but by the time we get there, will there be anything to make you care?

Is time running out for the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Or does Avengers: Age Of Ultron promise a long and glorious future? Share your thoughts down in the comments.