The Falcon and the Winter Soldier explored the nuances of Sam being Black and Captain America, audiences applauded the MCU's newfound profundity in its character treatment. Even Black Widow, the first film of Phase 4, satisfied the audience's long-standing craving for an intimate and worthy portrait of the beloved Avenger.

Related: Black Widow Breaks An MCU Phase Tradition

What the MCU Phase 4 projects have all done successfully so far is prove that less is more when it comes to spectacle. As grand as past action scenes have been, many arguably erred on the hollow side because they favored large-scale sequences and special effects for the sake of visual awe over actual character advancement. This, of course, isn't to say there shouldn't be any action at all. However, Black Widow showed Natasha's heart made her special, not her ability to flip and kick, thereby putting her character's story arc and relationships, particularly with Yelena, at the forefront of the movie's narrative. Instead of the typical CGI smash fest that's become MCU custom, the real spectacle was seeing more of Natasha's humanity--and this applies to the Disney+ series, too.

Yes, Black Widow's final battle scene, wherein the Red Room fell from the sky, was a CGI spectacle that's akin to previous MCU final battles. However, it wasn't about the grandiosity of the special effects or stunt choreography. Natasha's objective wasn't to ace the superhero landing and eliminate Dreykov; it was to save the women he had endangered and imprisoned--it was about clearing her ledger, thus solving one of the MCU's long-standing mysteries. Saving Yelena, the other Black Widows, and Taskmaster/Dreykov's daughter served, for Natasha, as a form of atonement for initially escaping the Red Room on her own and leaving them behind. More importantly, her atonement felt earned because the film had fully invested in the smaller moments between Natasha and the other characters, from the sisterly banter with Yelena to the display of her guilt when she seemingly believed that Dreyvko's daughter had died as collateral damage.

The final battles in WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Endgame climactic battle. MCU Phase 4, now, is rightfully switching its focus to smaller moments that still pack a big punch.