Throughout 2023, the MCU has grown at the movies and on the Disney+ streaming service. It has introduced new characters, delved deeper into established ones, and changed the status quo in ways big and small. However, just because the minds at Marvel Studios have made an effort to do these things doesn’t mean they’ve done them well in the eyes of critics. As the year draws to a close, only two MCU projects, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Loki” Season 2, have managed to stay away from a rotten critic score. As previously stated, the year’s other three haven’t, making 2023 the MCU’s worst-performing year on Rotten Tomatoes.
Before “The Marvels” brought the MCU’s rotten 2023 project count to three, the year was tied with 2017 for the title of worst-rated year. Though it brought out critical favorites like “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” and “Thor: Ragnarok,” that year also featured two infamously maligned MCU efforts. First up is the Netflix series “Iron Fist,” which scored an atrocious 20% critic score for its debut season that year. Then there’s the short-lived “Inhumans” TV adaptation that outdid “Iron Fist” Season 1 by crashing and burning with an 11% rating.
Hopefully, “The Marvels” is the last rotten MCU project for a while. Surely, those at Marvel Studios are going to make it a priority to win back the favor of critics in 2024.
