It was a long and difficult wait for Marvel Cinematic Universe fans during the worldwide pandemic, especially since no new Marvel Studios content had debuted since Spider-Man: Far From Home's release in Summer of 2019. That wait ended in grand fashion thanks to the studio's first two Disney+ exclusives, WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which came earlier this year.
Both series helped to expand the MCU narrative as they continued the stories of Wanda Maximoff, Vision, Sam Wilson, and Bucky Barnes in 15 TV episodes. MCU regulars returned to their roles as their stories moved smoothly from the big screen to the small screen, with both shows also introducing a host of new stars and giving fans their expected dose of Marvel action and drama.
Marvel Studios' efforts quickly paid off, as both shows saw two of the three most watched premieres in Disney+ history. Now, the fruits of their labor are continuing to receive praise thanks to a major awards show.
MARVEL WINS BIG AT MTV MOVIE AWARDS
At the 2021 MTV Movie Awards, Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Anthony Mackie and Elizabeth Olsen won awards for their respective performances in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision. Mackie won the award for Best Hero while Olsen won the award for Best Performance.
The finale battle between Kathryn Hahn's Agatha and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch in WandaVision also won for "Best Fight" against other superhero brawls like Zack Snyder's Justice League and The Boys.
The love-hate duo from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, also took home gold, winning "Best Duo" over the fan-favorite Mandalorian and Baby Yoda from The Mandalorian Season 2.
Kathryn Hahn found herself on top a second time as well, with Agatha Harkness winning the award for "Best Villain" over Ewan McGregor's Black Mask from Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey and Giancarlo Esposito's Moff Gideon from The Mandalorian.
In the race for "Best Show," Marvel found itself with another winner in WandaVision, beating out stiff competition like Netflix's Cobra Kai and Amazon Prime's The Boys.
The nominees read as follows, via the Hollywood Reporter:
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHOW
Elizabeth Olsen – WandaVision
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit
Elliot Page – The Umbrella Academy
Emma Corrin – The Crown
Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You
BEST HERO
Anthony Mackie – The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Gal Gadot – Wonder Woman 1984
Jack Quaid – The Boys
Pedro Pascal – The Mandalorian
Teyonah Parris – WandaVision
BEST FIGHT
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – Final Funhouse Fight
Cobra Kai – Finale House Fight
The Boys – Starlight, Queen Maeve, Kimiko vs. Stormfront
WandaVision – Wanda vs. Agatha
Zack Snyder’s Justice League – Final Fight vs. Steppenwolf
BEST DUO
Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar – Star (Kristen Wiig) & Barb (Annie Mumolo)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Falcon (Anthony Mackie) & Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)
The Mandalorian – Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) & Grogu
Emily in Paris – Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) & Mindy Chen (Ashley Park)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan – Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) & Tutar Sagdiyev (Maria Bakalova)
BEST VILLAIN
Aya Cash – The Boys
Ewan McGregor – Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Giancarlo Esposito – The Mandalorian
Kathryn Hahn – WandaVision
Nicholas Hoult – The Great
BEST SHOW
WandaVision
Bridgerton
Cobra Kai
Emily in Paris
The Boys
PHASE 4 EARNS ITS FIRST AWARDS
Fans and critics quickly realized that Marvel Studios brought its best with its efforts on Disney+ just as they do consistently with its major theatrical debuts. That being said, both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier found themselves on top of the pack against some impressive competition from the rest of the field.
Olsen and Mackie both came with a great deal of hype, leading the way in their own series after both saw their initial MCU introductions in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The two leading actors found themselves sporting visually stunning new costumes as they gave their all to help their characters evolve into heroes that will play key roles in the MCU's future.
Olsen stood out as well with co-star Kathryn Hahn as Wanda and Agatha soared in the air and dealt one magical blow after another in Episode 9 of WandaVision. The drama and story came to a head as the SFX department gave fans a stunning final battle that would've fit in perfectly in any of the MCU's big-screen outings.
As for Mackie, his partnership with Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes made an impact on the MCU fandom as their friendship developed, both as friends and partners. Particularly in the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, they found a way to set their differences aside for the greater good, which fans are hoping to see more of in the recently announced Captain America 4.
On the villainous front, Kathryn Hahn found herself in quite the favorable position once again after bringing the witch Agatha Harkness to life within the MCU. Her transition from the sitcom-style nosy-neighbor to an immensely powerful magician flowed seamlessly through WandaVision's nine episodes, and the hope is that she could somehow find her way back into the story in some form or another.
WandaVision's win for "Best Show" comes as a fantastic early sign that Marvel's run on Disney+ is on the right track. If this trend keeps up through Phase 4 and beyond, these awards likely will be far from the last the MCU receives.
All nine episodes of WandaVision are available to stream on Disney+, as are all six episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Congratulations to all of the winners at tonight's MTV Movie Awards!
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