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Conversely, American comics and movies have increasingly leaned toward characters who are simply handed powers or titles with minimal effort. The trend of replacing longstanding heroes like Captain America with newer characters who receive their powers without substantial struggle has been criticized for diluting the narrative depth and moral virtue of hero stories.
The period around 2015-2017 marked a noticeable shift, where Marvel replaced core characters with new, often female, heroes who inherited their mantles through "inclusivity" rather than demonstrated merit. This approach, critics argue, undermines the traditional American value of earning one’s place through effort, risking a decline in the industry's cultural authority and storytelling quality.