Marvel's Runaways Premiere: 7 Ups & 1 Down From The First Three Episodes

The latest television series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel's Runaways, has just premiered on Hulu, coming hot on the heels of Marvel's The Punisher and serving as the first step of the TV MCU expanding past ABC and Netflix.

Runaways tells the story of a teenage group of former friends having to reunite upon learning that their parents' charity group, The Pride, is actually a congregation of villains who have been operating right under their noses.

The first three episodes have been released, and paint a pretty good picture as to what fans can expect from the series, and the short version is: it's looking good.

Save for one issue, Runaways is a very strong show thus far. In fact, if it keeps up the level of quality it established in its premiere episodes, it's poised to become the best MCU TV series to be released in 2017.

It didn't get that way without all those involved giving their best to create a Marvel show that is both great and distinct from the rest, mind you. So, let's take a look at the reasons why Marvel's Runaways is a must-watch for fans so far (and the one drawback you should prepare for).

Thus far, the only real drawback present in Marvel's Runaways is the way some of the props and visual effects clash with either each other, or the setting they're in.

Runaways exists in a peculiar gray area between the more realism-based MCU Netflix series, and the more sci-fi heavy realms of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans. In turn, a lot of the outlandish props, such as the X-ray goggles, feel out of place in the otherwise down-to-earth Los Angeles setting. To an extent, that was probably part of the idea to show how out of their element the characters are, but it can still be rather distracting at times.

In addition, some of the CGI effects are more believable than others. For instance, Karolina's glowing skin looks fantastic, but the same can't really be said for Molly's glowing eyes. And the convincingness of the Yorkes family's dinosaur varies from scene to scene.

In short, the visuals in Runaways are a mixed bag. They did their best considering the TV budget they had to work with, but not all the visuals shine through.

With that out of the way, however, let's get to the ups.