The worldview of these films is grounded in the materialist philosophy embodied in the first one in the series, Iron Man, a world where everything is ultimately attributable to super-science. Even Thor, overtly based in myth, attempts to hand-wave the magic away by invoking Clarke’s Law (namely, that any sufficiently advanced technology will seem like magic to an outsider’s eyes). Finding a way to meld that science-fiction mindset with the fantastic world of myth has caused enough friction for the series; reconciling it with real-life religion may simply have been too much to ask.

Adam Frank appreciates the film's adherence to Clarke's Law: