Hey fellow Comic Book Movie lovers!
The
MCU. You can like it or love it, but the one thing you can't deny is the continued longevity and success they continue to have while pleasing most fans in it's authenticity, along with having respect for the essence of these comic book characters.
I'm here to really break down how they've achieved something that I didn't think was actually obtainable and that is duplicating the actual feel and familiarity of an intertwined comic book universe to film that even general audiences can appreciate.
*Warning: there will be spoilers for all things Marvel all the way up to the end of Captain America: Civil War*
Character Identities
To truly have a cinematic universe on the level of the comics they are inspired by you need to have many, many characters. Let's start off with the identities of the characters because you don't have anything if you don't feel like you know the characters personalities and motivations. Marvel has layed some pretty damn impressive ground work when it comes to the characterization of these individuals and they've done it with relative ease when it comes to the main characters. They understand that little things go a long way with getting the audience to understand why a character is doing what they do. All it takes is a line or two or a small interaction on some occasions to make things click with the viewer. This works well in the movies in comparison to the comics because you don't always have 20 pages to set up someones backstory or actually hearing their internal thoughts with little bubbles. I think a great example of this would be the introduction of T'Challa/Black Panther in
Captain America: Civil War. He shows up in the United Nations meeting and greats Natasha/Black Widow by saying he didn't expect her to be comfortable in a diplomatic setting which he says he can relate to. Within the same interaction his father T'Chaka, the king of Wakanda, shows up and thanks him for supporting this political agenda knowing he is not that diplomatic himself. That tells the audience several things, he is a prince, he isn't like his father in the sense that he is kind of outside the government in general mentally, it shows he has respect, honor and love for his father and his people. This sets up the later interaction after T'Chaka is murdered by the explosion at the United Nations between Natasha and T'Challa where T'Challa briefly explains that his father believed the legend in his culture about death being only the beginning in which after he in turn says that he isn't his father and he is now out for blood, showing his vengefulness and setting up his character arc later in the film where he lets go of his vendetta against his father's murderer becoming a bigger person. Those three small occurances are HUGE in telling the audience about who this guy is. Meaning his qualities as a character, his personality and his motivations. The attention to character is key in how they make the MCU flow together because next time they are on screen you really have a grasp of who they are.
The Set Up
Planting the seed with the idea of an extended universe was the biggest part of getting this whole family off the ground. They were smart to slowly incorporate the outside characters very gracefully and in small doses from the first appearance of Nick Fury saying he has bigger plans for all of them, to the first appearance of Hawkeye in
Thor. This kept the audience from feeling bombarded with an over abundance of new characters to keep up with. Having the plan in order since the first
Iron Man kept general audiences intrigued to learn about the unkown characters as they started releasing movies like
Captain America: The First Avenger and
Thor in fear that they would miss something on the way to
The Avengers, which was a brilliant technique to get the masses to go check out the new movies as they rolled in. Which brings me to the next step along the ride to making this comic book universe become a genuine reality.
The Event
Good things come to those who wait.
The Avengers arrived and it was do or die for the MCU. They talked the talk but could they walk the walk. The answer was a resounding YES. Having Joss Whedon come on to write and direct was a somewhat risky move on the directorial side of things because let's face it, people came to see some sweet action shots and he's no seasoned action director. What surprised everyone after watching the movie though was how well the characters interacted with each other and that's when Marvel really won people over. Joss Whedon having background working with ansembles in TV, movies and writing comics was the most important peice to the puzzle. The interactions with the characters from vastly different worlds and walks of life are ultimately what drove the movie and the investment of the audience in these people which made the action all the more satisfying. The movie took over the planet. Not even the Captain America's horrendous costume could slow it down. The big test had finally came and they passed with soaring colors. But where do they go from there?
Taking Risks
Phase 2 came around and kind of got off to a routine start.
Iron Man 3 was well recieved by critics and the general audience alike but there were mixed feelings on the Marvel purist's side and for good reason. Then
Thor: The Dark World came and was just kind of serviceable overall besides some really good relationship stuff between Thor and Loki. Next was our introduction to the Russo brothers directing
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, arguably the best Marvel movie to date and quite the change of pace in contrast to the first two films of
Phase 2. Marvel Studios, usually known for a more lighthearted ride, made a movie that was extremely grounded, mature and intellegent. It pushed Marvel to the next level and the higher ups took notice. That wasn't the only risk though. The most important decision in advancing the MCU was putting
Guardians of the Galaxy into the mix. This showed the world Marvel Studios desire to reach for something more. The confidence in themselves to put out a completely obscure band of characters in one movie, off planet, set the stage for any other direction they wanted to go in the future if it became successful and it did just that. We now have a talking racoon that could potentially be in the same room as Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in future movies, more than likely in
Avengers: Infinity War. Let that sink in for a second....Then
Ant-Man showed up. This one was risky already with it being about a hero who controls ants and simply changes size. Just the sound of it is pretty absurd and seemingly impossible to take seriously. On top of it being a risk in that way, boy did this movie have a bad buzz around it with Edgar Wright walking away from it, re-writes and Peyton Reed stepping in who a lot of people didn't have a large amount of faith in. Then to Marvel Studio's avial, the movie comes out, is well recieved and somehow manages to fit in the MCU in large part due to Paul Rudd's loveable portrayal of the main character Scott Lang/Ant-Man. He was the audience's relatability because he thought everything that was happening was just as outrageous as the viewer does. Once again Marvel showed against all odds they could produce something of value that would further instill trust in it's movie-going fanbase. Capping off Phase 2 with
Avengers: Age of Ultron, which felt sort of just like the cherry on top.
The Comic Book Universe Feel On Screen
In order for Marvel Studios to shape a universe on par with the feel of the vastness of the comics they had to implement years of content to create the familiarity with these characters needed to be able to intertwine them without it seeming shallow. The excitment that comes with seeing a beloved character that you've went on separate journeys with as a viewer is extremely rewarding. A perfect example of this would be the moment Scott Lang/Ant-Man meets Captain America and the other members of his team.
Witnessing newcomer Scott Lang interact with a renowned hero such as Steve Rogers is such a relishable moment because these two personalities are so polar opposite. He's a lax, care free individual in contrast to Steve's somewhat dry and extremely focused approach to life. These are the instances that it really feels similar to the comic book world. With the achievment that was Captain America: Civil War, involving so many different characters, they are altering the formula yet again by pairing two well known heroes in a feature film by having Thor teaming up with Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok and Tony Stark potentially playing a significant role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Just think of how the characters of Thor and Bruce Banner differ, on one hand you have a powerful god-like being from a magical realm whose spent his life as a warrior, on the other you have a timid scientist driven by logic and formulas with an unstoppable and erratic beast lurking within him. The idea sounds proposterous on paper but the possibilities are endless now that they've succeeded in making a cohesive universe that the general audiences are behind. There was always a sneaking feeling that the complexity of having all these heroes, villains, and supporting characters functioning in the same universe was just a thing of the comics. Not anymore.