>What value do they have before they’re built off of years later? You say they aren’t shallow or meaningless but it sounds like they’re in a holding pattern, maybe indefinitely.

Honestly, I share the same concern. They're obviously setting the stage for some kind of multiversal/cosmic conflict, but the multiverse is just a setting, not a story hook, and "setting the stage" means your play hasn't even started yet.

The problem is that the current MCU doesn't have a story hook that teases something revolutionary (like what "the Avengers Initiative" from Iron Man did) or a main villain like Thanos to threaten the newly established status quo. So yeah, it does feel like a holding pattern. But that's also why I said I'm withholding my judgment until they start showing their cards.

> like they’re in a holding pattern, maybe indefinitely.

Holding pattern seems like the wrong term, more of an establishing peroid. Like they did pre first Avengers. They are setting up the pieces to fight the next big baddie.