Screen Rant just published a list of "10 Marvel Movies You Need To Rewatch Before Avengers: Doomsday," and the only thing Americans actually need is to stop letting entertainment press assign them homework.
The MCU, by Screen Rant's own admission, now "stretches across dozens of movies and shows." Instead of asking whether a franchise that demands months of catch-up viewing has become a second job, the outlet prescribes more consumption. This isn't criticism. It's a conveyor belt with a byline.
Screen Rant is refreshingly honest about the scale of the obligation: "Marvel fans could theoretically spend months rewatching everything before Avengers: Doomsday." But the solution offered isn't to step off the ride — it's a curated syllabus. Ten movies, not the full catalog. How generous. Robert Downey Jr., who spent more than a decade playing Tony Stark, is returning as Doctor Doom. Chris Evans is back as Steve Rogers after his story was supposedly finished. The multiverse concept — "universes colliding could become an even bigger problem than Thanos," as Screen Rant puts it — exists to make all of this recycling narratively possible. Old characters never die; they just get reassigned to new timelines.
Gizmodo, meanwhile, covers the tie-in comic X-Men '92: Incursions #1, noting that the "Incursions" universe-destroying event is "also the big driving force of Avengers: Doomsday." Cross-media synergy means you can't simply watch the movie anymore. You need the comics, the shows, the animated series crossovers. Gizmodo even warns readers: "Try not to worry right now about whether or not this is canon." Don't ask questions. Just consume.
Follow the money. Every "must-watch" list, every "essential rewatch" guide, every tie-in comic announcement is marketing in disguise. Screen Rant and Gizmodo aren't serving readers — they're serving Disney's bottom line by turning casual moviegoing into a consumption obligation. The more homework you accept, the more subscriptions, tickets, and merchandise flow upstream.
Screen Rant notes that Avengers: Endgame belongs "among the highest-grossing superhero movies ever made," and Marvel "has an enormous standard to meet." That's a corporate problem, not yours. Whether Doomsday clears the box-office bar set in 2019 is a question for Disney shareholders. For everyone else, the question is simpler: who decides what you do with your evening?
Refuse the syllabus. The movie will still play whether you did your homework or not.
