The MCU’s Crossover With Marvel Comics Is Exciting

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Although the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has led it to exert a considerable amount of influence on the Marvel Comics universe, the sprawling franchise hasn’t produced many of its own canonical comics. There have been a few tie-in miniseries to specific movies as well as some other arcs like Fury’s Big Week that flesh out the world, but few if any of their events are reciprocally referenced by the shows or movies.

Recently, the company has taken an unexpected step forward in this regard with the first full-on crossover between the MCU and comics canons. The ongoing TVA miniseries emphasizes that the comics and MCU multiverses are in fact one and the same — despite prior evidence to the contrary — and retroactively establishes that one version of the Time Variance Authority patrols all of its different worlds. The series’ third issue also features a cliffhanger that appears to connect it to an additional corner of the MCU. As intriguing as this all is, it also highlights problems that the crossover and others like it could cause for both worlds.

‘TVA’ Unites the MCU and Marvel Comics Worlds

TVA features agents of the organization such as B-15 and Mobius M. Mobius, as well as uneasy ally Sylvie, who made up much of the supporting cast of the MCU Disney+ series Loki, interacting with Marvel Comics fan favorites like Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider (not Hailee Steinfeld‘s animated version from the Spider-Verse films), and Jimmy Hudson, the son of Logan/Wolverine from Marvel’s original Ultimate universe, among others. The series is set after Loki Season 2 and explicitly references the events of both that series and the film Deadpool & Wolverine, in which TVA agents appeared. In issue #3, while investigating strange dreams she’s been having, Gwen explores a recently discovered sublevel of the group’s headquarters. She eventually comes across a version of Wanda Maximoff/the Scarlet Witch that is identical to how Elizabeth Olsen’s MCU version of the character was when last seen in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, seemingly being held in suspended animation.

In her final scenes in the film, Olsen’s Wanda destroys all copies of the Darkhold (the dark magic book that corrupted her mind) across the multiverse, as well as the mystical castle of Wundagore, so that no one else will be similarly affected. She destroys the castle by collapsing it in on itself while still inside, leading the character to be presumed dead. However, before the collapse, a burst of red light similar to those that accompany Wanda’s use of her magic powers is seen, leading many to believe that the character used her abilities to escape or survive by some other means. The subsequent series Agatha All Along added support to this interpretation by having magically skilled characters respond in vague manners when asked whether Wanda is actually dead. Her survival in the MCU possibly being explained in a comic is something few could have seen coming. While the novelty of the choice is exciting, it also highlights how producing comics that make major additions to MCU canon is a double-edged sword.

MCU Connections Can Bring More Attention to Marvel Comics

The regular comic reading portion of the MCU’s audience is still just a fraction of the franchise’s overall fanbase, so attracting more viewers of the filmed stories to the comics is a great way to increase prosperity for the latter medium. The crossover approach used by TVA is especially beneficial in this regard, as Gwen, Jimmy, and the other comics characters featured have received just as much attention as the MCU ones so far. This will hopefully lead some of those who primarily begin reading the series for the MCU connections to also be interested in some of the other characters and seek out related comics, even if they do not have direct relevance to the film and TV franchise.

Canon comics can also help further develop the MCU itself. As the franchise has expanded in recent years, the length of time between many characters’ respective appearances has increased, leading to criticism from fans who feel that important MCU storylines are not progressing quickly enough. Comics could assuage this by keeping main characters prominent in the time between their film and TV appearances and by continuing to develop others, like the TVA, whose onscreen futures might not be as extensive or certain. Furthermore, the limitless potential of the comics medium means that story arcs, visuals, and crossovers that may be difficult to produce for either film or TV can still be delivered.

MCU Comics Could Make the Franchise Harder To Follow

Unfortunately, MCU canon comics and crossovers also bring with them some significant drawbacks. The increased connectivity between MCU films and TV has itself become divisive in recent years, with some of the franchise’s latest movies being criticized for being difficult to follow for viewers who didn’t watch prior TV shows. Given this, while the most dedicated fans will likely be happy to read MCU comics and crossovers, more casual viewers may be frustrated at having to delve into yet another medium to understand key plot points, especially if stories continue to be connected to the even more complicated original comics canon. To avoid this, executives and MCU creators will likely limit which characters the comics can use and how they can develop the MCU world, which could stifle the creativity and quality of the comics arcs. Some people will likely also become fixated on the stories’ effects and ties to each continuity, more so than on the actual meanings of the tales.

These issues have already arisen in relation to TVA. While the comic, its creators, and even Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige have been clear that the series does feature the same exact characters from Loki, confusion has sprung up in relation to the Wanda twist. After the release of issue #3, TVA artist Pere Pérez took to social media to answer a fan asking if the Wanda variant shown in the issue is Olsen’s MCU version, replying that it is. However, soon after, Pérez deleted this post and made another stating that it is actually a different variant who simply looks the same as Olsen’s, elaborating that, “MCU and Marvel Comics are not the same thing.” Collectively, his statements highlight several of the risks of MCU comics. Along with the actual artwork, his initial post suggests that the original intent for the story was for the Wanda variant to be Olsen’s, with the retraction making it seem like editors and other executives recently changed their minds on this. The last sentence about the universes being separate adds to the confusion given the explicit involvement of the MCU TVA.

This inconsistency is itself frustrating, but even comics stories that are more certainly canon to the franchise could be problematic. As previously mentioned, the MCU has already influenced plenty of main universe comics, and while this is understandable given its success, it is divisive between fans who have followed the comics since before the MCU’s creation and those who simply prefer the comics world. Even some Marvel Comics creators have expressed mixed feelings about the written versions of characters and concepts being altered to more closely match their MCU counterparts. Executive editor Tom Brevoort named Agatha Harkness as a personal example of this, noting that he’s not especially happy with how the character has been redesigned to be portrayed more similarly to Kathryn Hahn’s version since the actress’ MCU debut. While a few successful comics either involving or set within the MCU could be great treats, it would be a shame if the comic worlds lost too many of their unique aspects for the sake of synergy with the onscreen stories. For these and other reasons, as exciting as TVA is and similar stories would be, it also won’t be surprising if they remain rare.

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