The MCU Diaries is Blake Larsen’s craft-first Marvel essay series for people who love the MCU but want more than recap, Easter eggs, or empty hype.
This is where I break down what Marvel stories are actually doing under the hood: character pressure, moral debt, value shifts, structure, theme, and the choices that make something hit — or miss. These essays are built around one idea at a time, with on-screen receipts to prove it.
That means you’ll find writing on Loki, WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the bigger road to Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. Sometimes the question is about a single episode. Sometimes it’s about a saga-level move. Either way, the goal is the same: figure out why the story works, why it doesn’t, and what it teaches us to watch for next.
If you’re looking for smart Marvel essays with a character-first lens and no sacred cows, you’re in the right place.
Start Here
- RDJ As Doctor Doom: The Mirror Villain Move
- What Secret Wars Is (Defined In LOKI Season 1)
- Why Doctor Strange Matters to Marvel’s Multiverse Saga
- Secret Wars Explained Through Loki Season 1
Prefer audio?
If you'd rather listen than read, the companion podcast lives here: The MCU Diaries podcast.
Latest MCU Diaries Entries
Who Is White Vision? Is He Really Wanda’s Vision?
White Vision has Vision’s original body and restored memories. But is he still Wanda’s husband? VisionQuest shows why remembering a life isn’t the same as reclaiming it.
VisionQuest Trailer Review: Marvel Gave Vision His Memories Back. That Wasn’t Enough
The final VisionQuest trailer makes its story clear: White Vision has the memories of a hero, but he still has to prove the virtue behind them.
“You Have Lived Stolen Lives”: Doctor Doom Just Put The Entire MCU On Trial
Doctor Doom says Marvel’s heroes have lived “stolen lives.” That may be more than a threat. It could turn the MCU’s biggest victories into evidence against them.
“Did You Do This, Victor?” Why Doctor Doom Is Reed Richards’ Perfect Villain
“Did you do this, Victor?” may reveal the key to Reed Richards and Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday: two geniuses trying to solve the same crisis by very different...
Cyclops in Avengers: Doomsday: Marvel Is Finally Fixing the X-Men Movies’ Biggest Mistake
Cyclops gets one of Avengers: Doomsday's biggest X-Men moments. Here's why Scott Summers matters, what the old movies got wrong, and what Marvel can finally fix.
Avengers: Doomsday X-Men: The Sentinels Reveal Why Marvel Brought Them Back
The X-Men aren't in Avengers: Doomsday just for nostalgia. Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops and Doom's Sentinels reveal the survival argument at the heart of Marvel's multiverse collision.