5 MCU Phase 4 Projects Where Detoriating Mental And Physical Health Is A Major Theme

MCU Phase 4 was bad. But there were 5 projects that accurately portrayed the degrading physical/ mental health of various characters

By Ishita Chatterjee
December 13,2022
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MCU Phase 4 has been criticized to hell and back. And deservedly so. The projects were of sub-par quality with constantly degrading CGI levels. However, there were themes that the MCU maintained throughout their shows and movies. And one of this was the detoriating physical and mental health of some characters.

So let us list the five major shows and movies that carried this theme in MCU Phase 4:

1) MCU’s WandaVision

WandaVision
WandaVision

The first project of MCU Phase 4 was WandaVision. And it was a show that dealt with Wanda’s detoriating mental health as she grappled with losing Vision and the life she had envisioned with him. In her grief, she enslaved an entire town and even emotionally abused the man she loved.

She created her ideal life within a literal bubble, but refrained others from living theirs. Wanda’s break from reality to retreat into magic and imagination is the sad journey of her constantly degrading mind.

2) Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Wanda in Doctor Strange 2
Wanda in Doctor Strange 2

Wanda Maximoff spiraled further into madness as she grappled with losing her sons, who technically never existed. In her rapidly degrading mental health she aimed to find her sons in the multiverse. But in doing so she became the villain of the movie and hurt her friends who fought with her in the Avengers.

Even though, MCU Phase 4 did wrong by a lot of characters, but they did right by Wanda. After all, her mental break was a long time coming because she lost everyone. First her parents, then her brother, then the man she loved, and lastly her children. And without any support systems, it’s bound to make anyone go crazy.

3) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Shuri as the Black Panther in Black Panther Wakanda Forever
Shuri as the Black Panther in Black Panther Wakanda Forever

The opening scene of Black Panther 2 highlighted T’Challa’s detoriating physical health, which ultimately resulted in his death. And the rest of the movie, literally till the very end, is about how all the others characters dealt with his loss.

The new Black Panther, Shuri, suffered a break in her mental health as she tried to grapple with the loss of her brother, and then later on her mother. It’s interesting that the movie juxtaposes all these deaths with the immortal Namor, who has been alive for centuries.

Shuri at the end left the path of anger and revenge to accept the path of peace. And in doing so she completed her circle of grief and attained a modicum of acceptance over fate and the losses she had suffered. Black Panther 2 is undoubtedly one of the movies of MCU Phase 4.

4) MCU’s Moon Knight

Moon Knight
Moon Knight

This list wouldn’t be complete without Moon Knight. Our protagonist Marc Spector has two alternate personalities- Steven Grant and Jake Lockley. It’s because he suffered severe trauma at the hands of his mother.

Throughout the course of the show, he repeatedly blacked out during a stressful situation and then attained consciousness after the incident was over. The DID or Dissociative Identity Disorder was portrayed realistically in the show (or as realistically it could be in a superhero setting).

And the show also made audiences question if Khonshu was even real or just a figment of Marc’s imagination due to this. The ending of the show confirmed that Marc’s mental issues were far from over. And we can’t wait to see how the MCU deals with this the next time he appears.

5) Thor: Love And Thunder

Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor
Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor

Thor 4 dealt with Jane Foster getting diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and trying to find a cure by transforming into the Mighty Thor by using Mjölnir. The hammer, enchanted by Thor, protected her and gave her good health when she was Thor.

But the moment she reverted back to Jane Foster, she became weaker. At the end, she sacrificed her life to save everyone and also succumbed to cancer. This ultimate earned herself a place in Valhalla. However, the entire course of her illness and the impact of it on Thor could have been illustrated better.

MCU’s Phase 4 bungled up a lot, but it deserves credit for portraying the detoriation of mental and physical health of various characters more or less accurately. Do you think there were other projects that dealt with the same topic? Let us know.