George R. R. Martin’s love for Marvel universe can’t stop him from dishing out his two pennies’ worth on the subject.

As far as the Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned, aka the MCU, there is no barrier that can justify the fans’ utter loyalty to the franchise. Unlike the Phase Four era, which alienated and divided fans more than ever, the billion-dollar franchise has always attracted the attention of critics and audiences from all over, proving its fascinating command over the IP and the power of storytelling.

A still from Avengers: Age of Ultron 

However, even in the most perfect things, there lies flaws that can be utterly damning. Soon after Avengers: Endgame, fans wouldn’t even acknowledge the existence of Phase Four, if they could help it. But it didn’t mean the era that came before Endgame was entirely faultless.

George R. R. Martin Learns the Ins and Outs of MCU

For the creator of such a vast universe as A Song of Ice and Fire — George R. R. Martin is justified in proving difficult to impress in 1 aspect of the MCU. Although the childhood dreams of beholding the power of a superhero turned out to be as real as Santa Claus when one grew up, the lingering emotion that comes with belonging in a community (or fanbase) and having a shared set of interests can be pretty exhilarating.

Paul Rudd in Ant-Man

In an update on his blog post, Martin praised Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man as “a proper balance of story, character, humor, and action.” Moreover, he claimed:

“A superhero movie needs a fair share of smashing and bashing and stuff blowing up, of course, but IMNSHO that stuff works best when it is happening to people we actually know and care about, and if you jam in too many characters and don’t take time to develop any of them properly, well…”

But despite his love for the Marvel lore, George R. R. Martin is not that easy to impress. The author had a keen eye for the arc that ran before Endgame and pointed out 1 flaw that put the entire fanbase in awe. And despite Martin’s own flaws with putting an end to his own literary franchise, his criticism of the Marvel lore is at least right in its foundation.

George R. R. Martin Takes a Stand Against 1 Marvel Trait

Thanos, the Mad Titan

Despite being a self-professed Marvel fanboy, George R. R. Martin leveled criticism at the comic franchise that can make even the creative teams at Marvel Studios sit up straight and pay attention to his thoughts. In his blog post update, the author further opined:

“I am tired of this Marvel movie trope where the bad guy has the same powers as the hero. The Hulk fought the Abomination, who is just a bad Hulk. Spider-Man fights Venom, who is just a bad Spider-Man. Iron Man fights Ironmonger, a bad Iron Man. Yawn. I want more films where the hero and the villain have wildly different powers. That makes the action much more interesting.”

For the maker of such kings and villains as Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton, it is truly a feat to be even moderately impressed by Marvel’s measly attempts at inventing original villains. Most of these bad guy arcs are simply a darker reflection of the superhero protagonist who must vanquish their nemesis to prove they’re worthy of being elevated to a pedestal.

It is not surprising then, that the advent of Kang the Conqueror, Beyonder, Galactus, and so on, has perked up the fans’ vested interest in the franchise and its future once again.

Marvel Cinematic Universe films are all available for streaming on Disney+.