With now 10 years of success and an impressive 20 movies to date, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is undoubtedly the best franchise in cinematic history. Starting with “Iron Man” in 2008 all the way up to “Avengers: Infinity War” in 2018, there has yet to be a bad movie among the bunch. Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, has figured out a way to make superhero movies that appeal to more than just people who like action movies. In this cinematic universe, there’s a little something for everybody.
Director Jon Favreau started off the MCU with arguably the biggest movie of 2008: “Iron Man.” The movie focuses around weapons manufacturer and billionaire Tony Stark who gets kidnapped and builds the first Iron Man suit to escape.
Stark has been deemed a narcissistic playboy by society and seems to live up to the title. However, audiences soon find out that this facade is merely a mask that’s hiding years of mental abuse from his father and his self-sacrificing tendencies in attempts to protect anyone he cares about.
If that doesn’t scream sympathetic character then I don’t know what does.
That’s one of the reasons Marvel has such a dedicated fanbase; they make characters that are so easy to relate to even though they’re all superheroes or supervillains.
Another is the leader of the Avengers: Captain America, aka Steve Rogers, aka “the man out of time.”
Waking up 70 years in the future with all of your friends and the girl you loved dead is going to gain some serious sympathy. And then to find out that your best friend who had supposedly died after falling from a train is really a brainwashed assassin working for the Nazi organization that you thought you had destroyed but is still thriving inside of the organization you now work for? Talk about a plot twist.
Another character that keeps Marvel so interesting is Thor’s brother Loki. As a secretly adopted prince born as a Frost Giant who was told he was an Asgardian since birth, he finds out the truth about his roots and spirals into a hole because of a full blown identity crisis.
On top of all of that, he’s been living in his brother’s shadow for his entire life, never being enough to his “father.” It may only be me but that’s definitely what I’m thinking about whenever I look sad.
These story arcs are intertwined in such complex ways that it’s hard not to become incredibly immersed in the universe and in the characters.
The stories may not seem very realistic, but that’s because they exist in a universe full of magic and aliens and superpowers. What makes them realistic is the fact that all of the heroes are facing internal struggles that the audience can relate to.
Marvel also makes their movies so engaging by their incredible use of computer-generated imagery, aka CGI. In the most recent movie, “Infinity War,” the villain, Thanos, is entirely made from CGI. As are almost all of the landscapes and settings that are seen in the movie. “There’s almost 3000 shots in the film and there’s about 2900 visual-effects shots” says one of the film’s executive producers Victoria Alonso. That means that about 97 percent of the shots are visual effects shots. If that doesn’t impress you then I don’t know what will.
After 20 movies, Marvel has yet to fail at producing a movie that isn’t a perfect mix of action and humour. With one-liners such as “Hey squidward,” “Nothing goes over my head, my reflexes are too fast,” and “I’m going to have to ask you to exit the donut,” these movies never fail to get a laugh out of everyone in the theatre.
Comedic relief is also the go-to medicine for after you’ve watched your favourite superheroes die, which doesn’t help as well as I was expecting. I’m still mourning.
Another thing that makes Marvel what it is today is the diversity of the cast and crew of the movies.
The first Marvel release of 2018, “Black Panther,” opened so many doors for the continuation of diversity in Hollywood. It was the first blockbuster superhero movie to have a predominantly black cast and crew.
Marvel is also set to release “Captain Marvel” on March 8, 2019. Captain Marvel will be the first female superhero to have a solo film.
Personally, I feel as if this honor should’ve gone to Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, but I’ll take what I can get.
What really seals the deal is that March 8 is none other than International Women’s Day; Marvel truly thinks of everything.
Some say that Marvel is “predictable” or even “boring,” but I’d have to say that that is completely incorrect. If you were expecting most of the heroes to turn to dust at the end of “Infinity War” then you must be psychic or able to predict the future; and if that’s the case, then good for you. But for the rest of us normal people, we were certainly not expecting that to be the ending to the newest Avengers film.
If you are one of the few people who think that Marvel is “boring,”
I understand that you are entitled to your own opinion and that no one’s opinions are wrong, but you’re wrong.
With two and a half hours of action and humour and plot twists that keep the audience on the edge of their seat, there is no way that a Marvel movie could leave someone feeling bored.
If you get bored during one of these films, then I truly think that nothing could entertain you.
All of these aspects make up a complex and extraordinary universe that has yet to fail at keeping fans from coming back to see more.
Marvel has kept audiences entertained and dedicated for 10 years now; a milestone that the producers, cast, and crew undoubtedly deserve the honor of passing.
