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
WandaVision Episode 1.06 “All-New Halloween Spooktacular” | The Devil’s In The Details
WandaVision episode 1.06, "All-New Halloween Spooktacular" is a creepy experiment framed by and existential crisis where the devil's in the details.
WandaVision: Episode 1.05 “On A Very Special Episode…” | What Is The Cost Of Lies?
WandaVision episode 1.05, "On A Very Special episode..." goes full 80's and we are forced to ask ourselves, who is the real villain here and what is the cost...
WandaVision: Episode 1.04 – We Interrupt This Program… | Things Just Got Really MCU-ey
WandaVision episode 1.04, "We Interrupt This Program..." reminds us there's a big vast world which keeps spinning outside Wanda's sitcom bubble and connecting the two is a very hard...
WandaVision: Episode 1.03 – Now In Color | Something’s Wrong Here
WandaVision episode 1.03, "Now In Color" tacks on more sitcom hijinks while also exposing the emotional framework of a very real prison for the mind.
WandaVision: Episode 1.02 – Don’t Touch That Dial | Control Over The Stakes
WandaVision episode 1.02, "Don't Touch That Dial" gets more gimmicky than the first episode, yet it showcases something Wanda and Vision have been lacking for their whole MCU existence:...
WandaVision: Premiere Episode 1.01 – Filmed Before A Live Studio Audience | Guys, Where Are We?
The first episode of WandaVision isn't about the what, so much as it is about the where and why, and I am HERE for it.