The vast wonders of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to grow as new TV shows and movies are released. Characters like Wanda Maximoff and a fan favorite, Spider-Man, enter the MCU to fight alongside the beloved Avengers team on screen in the movie Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame.

With Marvel expanding it’s vision on the multiverse, some students at South seem to agree with the direction Marvel has chosen.

“I like it. I like it a lot. I think it’s a really cool concept and I feel like it invites more opportunity for the plot,” said Ella Ohlson, senior.

After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the multiverse was slightly contained, however, in the new Doctor Strange movie, it seems that the multiverse is far from contained as chaos could break loose, as he[Doctor Strange] faces the many challenges of restoring the multiverse.

Ohlson wasn’t the only one who seemed to give her opinion on Marvel’s direction towards the multiverse. Ranjani Sundar, sophomore, looks forward to the future of the franchise.

“I have always been fascinated with the idea of there being a multiverse and I can’t wait to see where it goes! There are so many more possibilities they can do with this concept and it is very exciting! I also loved what they have done with it so far, especially with [Spider-Man] No Way Home,” Sundar said.

In the last few years, movie goers have seen movies like Avengers: Endgame and  Spider-Man: Far From Home. In fact, Avengers: Endgame is #2 on the top grossing films, but Marvel isn’t known for only it’s movies. They have started releasing TV shows as well on Disney+.  Shows like WandaVision, Loki, Hawkeye, and Falcon and The Winter Soldier have hit the screens this past year and the TV shows seem to keep growing. With the release of Moon Knight series premiering March 30, 2022, many new characters are slowly appearing.

Students at South have watched and gave their opinion on the TV shows.

“It depends on the show because I don’t have the urge to watch WandaVision or Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I watched Loki and Hawkeye. So it depends how it ties into other movies [like] Loki has a lot to do with [Spider-Man] No Way Home,” Ohlson said.

After the events of Avengers: Endgame, we saw Spider-Man: Far From Home hit the big screens on June 17 of 2019. After that, Marvel didn’t release anything in 2020 because of the COVID 19 shutdowns; however, on January 15, 2021, WandaVision was released giving people a new look at Marvel. The WandaVision series was the first MCU series to be released and produced by Marvel Studios.

“I really liked all of them except for Loki. I’m not a huge fan of Loki. I did not love it, but I really, really liked WandaVision. I think it was a great start to reviving the MCU after being absent for two years,” said Carter Myers, a junior.

Marvel fans know that with the multiverse expanding, they are seeing more new characters along the way. For example, Marvel fans will see Moon Knight in March. There have been castings of America Chavez, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Ironheart, and so much more.

Not only teenagers like the Marvel franchise, comic book readers also follow the trend.

Marvel has fans all across different generations. A quarter of Marvel fans include baby boomers, which are people born in 1946 to 1964 , and Generation X, born after World War 2. About 40% of the Marvel fan base are Millennials, 1981 to 1996,  while 9% of the fan base are Generation Z, 1997 to 2012.

Jeff Jarot,  English teacher, has read and collected comic books since he was in junior high.

“I’ve always seen comic books as an entertaining mix of visuals and words.  As someone who loves both the printed word and movies, I’ve always seen comic books as a skillful blending of those two types of storytelling,” Jarot said

Many speculations surround the idea of a new Avengers team since new characters will soon become part of the MCU. Characters like Yelena Belova have been rumored to be on the new Avengers. Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff have also been rumored to be on the Avengers. The roster of the Avengers seems to change as the years go by.

“I say bring them on! The roster for the Avengers has always changed in the comic books,” Jarot said.

It doesn’t look like Marvel is stopping anytime soon as new TV shows and movies continue coming out this year.

“I am definitely expecting a Young Avengers plot line coming up and I am so excited for it!” Sundar said.

The next Marvel film to come out is Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, hitting screens May 6, 2022.