Saturday, May 2, 2015

The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Historical Persective

So I just got a chance to watch Avengers: Age of Ultron with my wife this weekend.

Let me preference this blog, by saying there are absolutely no spoilers.

Suffice it to say, the movie is amazing! Full of heart and comedy and excitement. There are certainly some tense moments, but it wouldn't be a great one without them. The other thing I will add about what is essentially Avenger 2 is that it is a successful sequeal, going above and beyond its predecessor.

So let's start there.

For generations the adage, "The Sequel is never better than the original" has stood the test of time.

While there are certainly exceptions to break the rule: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and, of course the granddaddy of them all, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Usually what follows the original work, can never exceed what came before: Raiders of the Lost Arc, Ghostbusters and of course, Police Academy. I kid about the last one. Actually when it comes to comic movies the best example is to look to Superman with Christopher Reeve, released in 1978. The film had its share of success and was followed by an equally well done, Superman2  in 1980. But, I remember hearing at the time that it was so successful the industry already green-lighted a third and fourth picture which devastated the franchise.

I have lived many years watching sequels which never lived up to the original, until now. Not just Avenger2 but the entire Iron Man trilogy and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Marvel has managed to do something any movie corporation would be thrilled to see: sequels that shine brighter than their progenitors.

But with Marvel, it's something even more amazing.

In 2008, Marvel released Iron Man.  The feature piece was so successful the company decided to make a sequel, but, then, in an absolute stroke of genius decided to do something unheard of: create another movie which on it's face had absolutely no connection with its predecessor.

So right after Iron Man2, Disney/Marvel released Thor and Captain America. The movies which were so much more than spin-offs held their own, and it wasn't long before the world began to realize what Marvel was up to: an eventual massive cross-over team up known as The Avengers.

And the franchise has never looked back. But, now, after seven years, maybe it is time for us to look back. Not just on the lifespan of the current Avengers series, but on the entire history of fiction writing.

What Marvel has done is create a cohesive universe which has now spanned eleven successful movies, one broadcast television show in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.and even a streaming serial in Daredevil on Netflix.

I have spent the past 24 hours trying to recall a time in film history when several different story lines have been created in the same narrative to create standalone stories as well as these epic team up features. I can't recall anything. Even in the realm of fiction itself over thousands of years, nothing even comes close.

If you can thing of anything, I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

In the meantime, the future continues to look bright for Marvel with more stories on television, Netflix and of course the big screen,

But, I feel the biggest winner is going to be us, the viewers.

So, what do you think about the historic aspect of the MCU? Let me know in the comments...


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