Before 2021, Marvel’s television shows were not their foremost priority. Shows like Daredevil on Netflix were good, but it was clear that the MCU was more dedicated to, and focused on, the movies in the universe, rather than the television programs. However, Marvel’s and Disney’s shows on Disney+ have arguably been some of the MCU’s best work yet.
While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was incredible in many ways, it couldn’t surpass some of WandaVision’s best qualities. In the end, WandaVision was a dramatically different and creative departure that it was even better than The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in more ways than one.
10 The Concept Is Not As Creative
After the Infinity Saga drew to a close, fans weren’t sure what to expect next. While it seems that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was actually supposed to come first, that honor ended up going to WandaVision instead. This ended up being an excellent move, as WandaVision is a more creative concept by far and ultimately ended up kicking off the next phase of the franchise.
In many ways, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was just more of the same for the MCU. On the other hand, WandaVision’s sitcom-style formatting and heavy focus on the characters’ arcs and growth was new for the MCU, which was very welcome.
9 WandaVision Handled Its Young Avengers Better
It’s clear that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is gearing up to unite the Young Avengers. Characters like Kate Bishop, Kang the Conqueror, America Chavez, and Cassie Lang have already been cast and/or already introduced to the franchise. WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier each introduced its own Young Avengers; however, WandaVision handled theirs much better.
Eli Bradley appeared in the background of a couple of scenes in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but he was never explored in any depth. WandaVision, however, actually explored Billy and Tommy in-depth as characters and gave them their own story heading into the next chapter of the MCU.
8 This Show Sees A Return To Form, MCU-Style
For better or for worse — and many believe it’s for worse — The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is essentially par for the course for the MCU, thematically. The series attempted to do nothing stylistically original with itself, despite the fact that WandaVision attempted to be so different from the rest.
The fact that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw the MCU returning back to business as usual was rather disappointing. The framing, the shots, and the characters were largely no different than anything else the franchise has done.
7 The Soundtrack Of WandaVision Was Consistently Better
After the first couple of episodes, it seemed that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier completely gave up on doing anything new or interesting with its soundtrack and score. There were far more missed opportunities than successes — especially after how well WandaVision utilized its sounds.
It was unfortunate that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t ultimately better utilize their potential song and soundtrack moments, because these elements could have easily been used to boost the show beyond anything Marvel has done before.
6 Difficult Subjects Were Handled With More Grace In WandaVision
After over ten years of content, at this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally attempting to handle deeper and more delicate subjects than ever before. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did try to handle difficult topics, but it was rather clumsy in doing so, at times — especially when it came to race.
However, this was one of WandaVision’s strongest successes. The show handled her trauma well, and dove deep into her psyche to explore the after-effects of everything that’s happened to her in the MCU — and even before it — thus far.
5 The Flag Smashers Are Some Of The MCU’s Worst Villains
Unfortunately for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it suffers from an issue that the MCU has had for a long time: the bland villain problem. While the MCU does have a great stand-out antagonist every now and then, this was not the case for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Karli Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers were some of the MCU’s worst and most lackluster villains. The only character who was fleshed out in any depth was Karli, and she is arguably the MCU’s worst villain to date.
4 Agatha Is Much Better Than Karli As An Antagonist
While characters like Tyler Hayward and John Walker were slightly more immediate problems in their respective shows, each show did also have its own main antagonist.
For The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, that antagonist was Karli Morgenthau; for WandaVision, that antagonist was Agatha Harkness. When it comes right down to it, Agatha is, without argument, a much stronger protagonist than Karli. While Karli is one of the worst villains in the MCU, Agatha is probably one of the best.
3 WandaVision Had A Stronger Start Than TFATWS
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may have had a stronger finale than WandaVision did, but its opening was dramatically weaker. In fact, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s first episode is probably its worst. The show only improved from there.
However, WandaVision had an incredibly strong start. In fact, when it first began, the first few episodes were so good that fans were already calling it one of the MCU’s best titles yet. That was part of what made the ending’s failure hurt so bad for some of these viewers.
2 The Costuming And Sets Were More Interesting In WandaVision
By nature of WandaVision’s more creative story the set, and costumes for the show are far more interesting. Exploring the different decades, making sets and settings that suited different sitcoms, and every fun little bit in between ultimately served to make WandaVision look and feel special.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t get many of these moments. The best it got was showing off Sam Wilson’s new Captain America uniform, or showcasing Madripoor for the first time in the MCU. In this field, WandaVision was simply consistently better.
1 WandaVision Was More Exciting To Discuss Week-To-Week
After so long without anything new in the MCU, fans were itching to get right back into their favorite franchise. With WandaVision came many people gathering (often virtually) to discuss their theories about the show weekly.
The show kept people hanging on, and always teased something new and exciting. That thrill factor is nowhere to be found in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. While the story is undoubtedly compelling and quite good, it was not exciting in the way that WandaVision’s was week to week.
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