With
Thor: The Dark World out in cinemas,
Iron Man 3 still fresh in our minds, and
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the small screen on a (almost) weekly basis, phase 2 of the Marvel/Avengers project is in full swing. If anything, it's been a bigger roller-coaster ride than phase 1. Principal characters have been established. The events of New York in
The Avengers have acted as a kind of catastrophic September 11th to this epic and always-growing universe. And "bigger and bolder" is certainly the motto at play now. Okay, so I'm writing this article as someone who loves superhero films and television, but doesn't actually read the comics. I know enough to know there have been some amazing characters and stories written over the years, but I just prefer my superheroes to be based on the screen. Whether it was
Superman or
Batman on film or animated shows like
Spider-Man and
X-Men on TV during the 1990s, this genre has always sparked my interest. I prefer to approach superhero films and television with a bit of a naive eye. I am really enjoying Arrow now; four episodes into its second season so far. I don't know where it is going, but I can have fun guessing. The same goes with the movies. I know titbits about the comics. I'm aware of Doctor Strange, for example, but I also appreciate that I know virtually nothing about
Guardians Of The Galaxy. A walking, talking tree and a raccoon with a rocket launcher? Sign me up! I'm the superhero viewer who simply enjoys seeing the genre unfold before my eyes without background knowledge of every main plot or character. I'm very excited for
X Men: Days Of Future Past. I'm intrigued by the rumours going on with
Batman Vs. Superman. I'm looking forward to a whole host of Marvel shows on Netflix over the coming years. But you won't get the 'which villains should appear in future movies' or 'which classic comic story lines should be adapted next.' I'll leave that to the experts like WhatCulture's own Kev Stewart. This is an article from a fresh pair of eyes. As someone who loves the genre but doesn't know too much about the detailed comic history most of these stories are based on, how is Marvel's phase 2 shaping up for me? On the back of experiencing
Thor: The Dark World at the cinema just a couple of days ago, let's take a look...
PLEASE NOTE THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING MCU RELATED: PLEASE DON'T READ ON IF YOU'RE NOT UP TO DATE