It’s the start of a new year—a great time for some introspection on the one that just passed, and so, we’re back with another edition of the most-read stories of the year on The Mary Sue! (You can find 2017’s here.) Here’s the full list of our top stories of 2018, ranked by total number of readers, from the highest on down.
1. Dear Hollywood, Please Stop Making Musicals With People Who Can’t Sing
(image: Disney)
Unsurprisingly, the internet has strong feelings about musicals. It’s nice to see a post that’s a bit of a break from the bleakness of the world top the list this year, and out of all the critiques we make when it comes to bad decisions made by movie studios, this one seems to be the least weighty and dark.
(image: Netflix)
On the other side of things, the Weinstein exposé that started a reckoning with sexual assault, harassment, and abuse arrived near the end of 2017, making 2018 a year when we wrote many, many stories like this.
2b. Sentences That Contain Every Letter of the Alphabet
This list is primarily for articles that were written in 2018, but this time around, I decided to include even those that fall outside of that period of time, denoted with the “b” next to the number.
The most popular articles of the year are sometimes very different from the most popular of the day, week, or even month. While timelier stories see far more readers while they’re relevant, some things stand the test of time with more of a “slow but steady wins the race” effect—and one of those things is this 2010 story about sentences that contain every letter of the alphabet.
3. What Actual Fresh Hell Is This Review of The Incredibles 2 in The New Yorker?
(image: Pixar)
Here’s a reminder that sexism in the movie industry doesn’t just come from people making movies. Sometimes, the people responsible for shaping public opinion about those movies have plenty of problems of their own.
4. Thor’s New Avengers 4 Costume Leaked and Thanks, I Hate It
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
Marvel fans just can’t read Avengers content fast enough in anticipation of Avengers: Endgame.
5. Three Women Have Now Accused Neil deGrasse Tyson of Sexual Misconduct
6. I Hate to Agree With William Shatner, but Paramount Needs to Pay Chris Pine
(image: CBS)
When you’re right, you’re right.
7. Why Is Lindsay Lohan Suing This Video Game Publisher? And What Does It Have to Do With Free Speech?
(image: Rockstar Games)
8. We Are in Love With the New She-Ra Design (and the Awful Men Hating on It Is Just a Bonus)
(image: Filmation Associates/Mattel)
This was just the beginning of our She-Ra coverage.
8b. Pay This Bench Money or It Will Poke You With Spikes
That pretty much sums it up.
9. Netflix Cheekily Promotes Thor: Ragnarok, Forgets Someone Very Important
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
Marvel knows that plenty of fans want more Loki, but Netflix was a bit behind.
9b. The Most Important Thing That The CW’s Reign Got Right: Its Women
(image: Sven Frenzel/The CW)
This one is more recent than some of our other non-2018 contenders, published in May of 2017 and regularly drawing in readers throughout 2018.
10. Why the MCU Needs to Deal With Its Whitewashing Problem
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
Not all of the Marvel stories that took off this year had to do with Avengers hype.
11. Did Supernatural Just Undo Its Most Infamous Fridging?
(image: The CW)
12. Johnny Depp Breaks Silence on Fantastic Beasts Casting
(image: John Phillips/Getty Images)
13. Let’s Stop Romanticizing Mr. Darcy When There Are Way Better Options in Literature
(image: Focus Features and BBC)
14. Why Is Johnny Depp Still Employed, You Ask?
(image: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
15. Dear BBC, This Caption Change About Alex Kingston Being Jodie Whittaker’s Wife Sucks
(image: Doctor Who Twitter)
It was surreal to watch this one happen in real time, with our team chat going from sheer exuberance to extreme disappointment in a very short span of time.
16. Star Trek: Discovery Has Lost Three of the Best Things About It
(image: CBS)
17. Disney Won’t Rehire James Gunn … and That’s a Good Thing
(image: Ian Gavan/Getty Images for Disney)
18. The Replies to Anthony Bourdain’s Last Tweet Are Devastating
(image: Getty Images)
19. Marvel Fires Star Wars Author Chuck Wendig for Not Being Civil, and We’re Furious
(image: Gage Skidmore)
20. So, About That Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Movie on Netflix
(image: Netflix)
(image: Shutterstock)
22. If The Avengers Were Cast in the ’90s Is the Most Perfect Thing I’ve Ever Seen
(image: Bochi-Bochi on Facebook)
23. Bill Cosby’s Treatment of Lisa Bonet Should Have Been an Early Sign of His Behavior
(image: ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/AFP/Getty Images)
24. Marvel’s Cinematic Superheroes Are All Killers, With Two Exceptions
(image: Marvel Entertainment)
25. What It’s Like to Be a Woman Playing Dungeons & Dragons on the Internet
(image: Tyler Curtis/ @tyliner)
Tabletop gaming coverage of Dungeons and Dragons (and Magic: The Gathering) has been a big hit for us this year, with exclusives and inside scoops, and we’re excited to bring you more in 2019!
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