Well they certainly have a rich field to pull characters from.
As someone who was never into comics as a kid it all gets a bit one note.
It is interesting how the story lines cross, intersect and blend. I don't know if it follows the original story lines or if they are taking liberties.
It adopts bits and pieces from the comics and makes it into it's own story. A lot of times it's "nods" to a comic reference, for example, when Ultron is covered in the red shawl when meeting Wanda and Pieter.
Nothing like the MCU has been done before. Each of the characters have evolved since their first movie...THAT'S why we care so much over them.
Take Iron Man for example. That character was a B-level, border line C-level hero until RDJ and Jon Favreau made him into a phenom. That character changed so much over the 10 years:
IM - Douchebag, egoist, borderline scumbag. Realized his weapons did more harm than good and tried (failed?) to change his ways. Failed, meaning his ego was so high he had to proclaim to the world he was Iron Man.
IM 2 - Revealed more about his past, mostly about how his father's past played a part in his current chaos. Plus they revealed that he and his father didn't have the best relationship, but ultimately was not the case.
Avengers - Get's called out by Cap on his doucheness, never make the sacrifice play, only to save NYC from being nuked by almost sacrificing himself.
IM 3 - Suffers PTSD from what he saw in Avengers. Gets panic attacks and is paranoid about his role in the world. We never see him more vulnerable than he is in this movie.
Avengers AoU - Reveals Ultron, a program to put a cold suit of armor around the world, and doesn't bother to tell anyone but Bruce Banner. All based from his still current PTSD and current paranoia from what's out in space (Thanos and company).
Civil War - Gets guilted into what happened in AoU. Found out his actions caused the deaths of countless civilians. So much to let the government of all people, control his actions. Led to fighting his teammates. Then actually WATCHES his parents get killed by a brain washed Winter Solider and loses his mind (and who can blame him?). Avengers broke up.
Spider-Man - feels he is responsible and is the de-facto father figure for Peter. For a guy that had father issues through his childhood.
Infinity War - trying to make right with his girl until the Black Order arrives and gets roped back into the Avenging world. Realizes his horrors in AoU are coming to light. Loses everyone in the process.
Endgame - PTSD to the max, couldn't stop Thanos. Lost everyone. Becomes a father, has different priorities. Can't escape the fact they have an opportunity to bring all the snapped back. Had to make amends with Cap. Gets an opportunity to make right with his father. Makes the ultimate sacrifice.
That doesn't even include ALL the details, but it shows that is the complete opposite of this notion that these movies are made soley for certain audiences. That much effort and time wouldn't have been taken to make these.
For the most part it has been good movie making.
There are obviously millions and millions of fans in the US, which is to say nothing of the international fan base. I bet millions more have been inspired to go back and check out old source stories. That's cool.
But, its like being a fan of metal music. I grew up on it (and jazz) learned to play music because of it. I can listen to Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, to Motörhead, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, to Metallica and Pantera to Dragon Force and Dillinger Escape Plan and hear it like an evolution. Someone else is just waiting to hear a song they know.
And to them, it all sounds a bit one note.
And there's nothing wrong with having a global audience. Like I said before, many fans were literal kids when IM came out and now entering adulthood. Marvel's popularity has grown immensely since the 90s and 2000s.
Oh and I think superhero movies are STUPID. (With the exception of DeadPool!)
Deadpool, a character the mainstream world didn't know until Ryan Reynolds came along. What makes those two movies better? Because Ryan Reynolds says fuck and shit a lot and you see brains being exploded? They are fun to watch on a weekend at home, but they ain't better than what the MCU has done.
