‘They all look so visually unappealing’: It’s 2025 and people are still refusing to give Marvel Animation a chance
Similarly to Candy Crush and women over the age of 65, “rage bait” has swept through the Marvel community like an epidemic—that is, referring to social media posts created with the intention of pissing people off for clicks. Usually, I can dismiss much of this so-called rage bait, but when someone comes after X-Men ’97…a bigger conversation is in order.
As a brand, Marvel is no stranger to animated TV shows. However, the MCU itself is still somewhat new to the party, having only released three Disney+ original series under the Marvel Animation banner: Marvel’s What If…?, X-Men ’97, and I Am Groot. Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will hit streaming on Jan. 29, with projects like Eyes of Wakanda and Marvel Zombies soon to follow.
For the most part, Marvel’s animated endeavors have been met with praise, all except for that much-disputed third and final season of What If…?. In particular, X-Men ’97, the spiritual successor to Fox’s long-running animated series, was a home run for Marvel Studios, tapping into older fans’ sense of nostalgia while also serving as a fitting introduction for X-Men in the MCU.
Season 1 of X-Men ’97 went on to become Marvel’s best-reviewed TV show of 2024, and yet, Marvel Animation projects continue to receive only a fraction of the viewership as their live-action counterparts. So while it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly is preventing the masses from giving Marvel Animation a shot, some people on X (Twitter) seem to have the answer: to them, it just looks flat-out ugly.
Is Marvel Animation actually bad? Some fans sure seem to think so
A thread on X caught my eye recently, in which a Marvel commentator (@Mutant_Menace) kickstarted a conversation about the quality of Marvel Animation, writing in response to the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man trailer: “What is up with Marvel’s animated [shows]? They all look so visually unappealing. What if, X-Men 97, and now this……” I’m not going to say this is a prime example of rage bait, but…
Marvel fans were quick to jump to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man‘s defense in the comments, with one user even writing, “Just say u hate everything Marvel lol.” But really, it’s not like this is a complaint we haven’t heard before. I’d be remiss to say that What If…?‘s animation didn’t take some time for me to get used to, with the 3D character designs tapping into mine and other viewers’ growing disdain for studios’ departure from traditional, 2D animation. What If…? certainly looks different, as we didn’t grow up watching a lot of 3D movies and TV shows—but how dare Marvel try something new!
It’s also worth noting that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is going for a hyper-stylized, comic book-y looking animation style, which may not be for everyone. Still, you can’t argue that this wasn’t intentional, and given that the show hasn’t even come out yet, I wouldn’t be too quick to dismiss it based solely on its animation. After all, people will more than happily watch a live-action Marvel Television show even if it just passes for “mediocre,” at best. So why isn’t that same luxury given to animated series?
Modern animation is being held to an impossibly high standard
Obviously, animation and technological advancements go hand-in-hand. Sony’s Spider-Verse movies have undoubtedly set a high bar, but at the cost of—allegedly—nightmarish working conditions. Not only was Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse wildly expensive to make, but it was also produced under a time crunch. Given the success of its predecessor, Sony was quick to pump out a sequel. But with the high demand of VFX/CGI houses and the extensive work required to make a film of this caliber, over 100 artists ended up leaving the project, citing long working hours and low pay.
Should we have high standards for media coming out of prestige brands like Disney and Marvel? Sure. But there are also thousands of creatives who put years of work into making series like What If…?. The animation industry has had a tumultuous past few years (i.e. Hollywood strikes), so while I’m not saying every Marvel Animation show should automatically get a pass, I do think audiences would do best to realize that the stories themselves, in my opinion, are consistently solid—good animation certainly helps as a vessel to carry the story, but whether or not think it looks “visually appealing” shouldn’t be an end-all. If you use this logic for every movie or TV show, I fear you’re missing out on some great stuff.
Again, it’s important for me to reiterate that I’m not trying to bash people for having an opinion. If you think that each animated MCU project looks like a film school thesis project instead of a proper, Disney-backed production, that’s all well and dandy. But personally, I just think that the whole Marvel = bad argument is beyond exhausted by now, and saying that an entire animation slate looks unattractive is A) an unfair generalization and B) dismissive of other qualities that make these stories so memorable. That’s so Phase 4. Plus, calling something “unappealing” is such a generic statement—elaborate, please?! These people will literally never be satisfied.
Again, bashing Marvel’s animated slate—each of which has a wildly different look and feel, FYI—just for the way they look feels like a cheap blow. Additionally, these shows have the potential to be among the studios’ best, and considering that Marvel’s animated division is just getting started, I’d like to see it get off the ground before we go and make any sweeping judgements, thank you very much. Anyway, go stream X-Men ’97 if you haven’t already.
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