Marvel, it's time to move on from the multiverse. As a plot device, it is sapping what little creativity remains from the Marvel team.
Back in the day, Marvel was masterful at creating mythical characters with deep and complex story lines via their comic books. The transition to live-action big screen extended and expanded their stories and characters in ways comics never could. 2002's release of Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire as Spidey is an excellent example of entertainment only Marvel could create.
Things have gone downhill since then.
As the screen adaptations of Marvel comics multiplied, something changed. I want to say that the folks at Marvel ran out of material and started scrambling. The cynic in me wants to say the folks at Marvel started to chase profits over art. Another part of me says it was the waning influence of Stan Lee, Marvel's creator - now gone. Whatever the cause, the writers at Marvel seem to be sacrificing their creative edge to special effects and glitz.
The first cycle of Marvel's downward quality spiral involves over-the-top special effects. I *love* special effects. But when the movie starts to look like a Marvel game played on a PS4 by a teenager hopped up on Jolt, the subtlety and complexity of the characters no longer matters.
The second cycle of Marvel's downward quality spiral involves more of the first. Let's have two Marvel superheroes in the movie. Now four. Now twenty. Now *all of them*.
We are currently in the third downward cycle. Marvel's creative team is using the multiverse to create fantastical plots that vary little from movie to movie. One time you can get away with using a parallel universe to explain everything. Maybe two. After that, the folks at Marvel are really stretching, milking the multiverse for every purchased ticket they can get out of it.
Multiverse: Just say no.
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