Do You Need To Watch Hawkeye Before Seeing Marvel’s Echo?

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By Sedoso Feb

So you don’t need to watch “Hawkeye” to enjoy “Echo,” but is that a good thing? Once upon a time, the MCU’s biggest asset was considered to be the idea that you had to see the previous movies to understand the new one. Connectivity helped build the MCU, as it made each movie feel important to the larger story, with each character playing a significant role.

But at some point, the number of MCU movies became so big, the number of stories to remember so large, and the timeline so convoluted that Marvel began to ignore the world-changing things that happened in the movies. This is how we got the colossal Celestial sticking out of the ocean in “Eternals” which has not been mentioned since, or how “Secret Invasion” seemed to have zero consequences for the future of Marvel.

In order to prevent audiences from being confused because they missed a movie or a TV show, each new title ignores everything except the most basic details that they nevertheless repeat in the new title itself. If you missed out on Wanda’s whole journey in “WandaVision,” then “Multiverse of Madness” ignores that story and simplifies it. The movie still makes sense if you didn’t watch the TV show, but if you did, then Wanda’s whole character arc gets ignored at best, and betrayed at worst.

As superhero fatigue takes hold, it’s time to reassess what we want out of superhero movies and shows. Is interconnectivity and continuity important? Is it better to be able to skip movies and shows and still understand every new title? At what point does a feature become a bug?

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