Michael Rowan
Professor May
English 102-04
27 April 2020
Marvel: Expanding a Universe
As a successful comic book enterprise, Marvel has undergone notable shifts over thirty
years.
The company started as a popular comic book brand that went bankrupt in 1996, and now,
the highest-grossing branch from the Walt Disney Company in 2009.
Recently, the brand
became a popular icon, as Marvel grew to be the most lucrative franchise in film history.
The
cultural impact of Marvel films has expanded because they are enjoyable movies filled with
lovable characters, engaging stories, and the innovative decisions made by Kevin Feige.
Marvel Studios has successfully introduced its followers to a variety of diverse characters
that interconnect in a cinematic universe.
Marvel Studios released the live-action film
Iron Man
in 2008, in which the character evolved from the “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist”
(
The Avengers
) to the person who made the final sacrifice to save the universe in 2019’s
Avengers: Endgame
, which bookmarked a 10-picture journey to the character.
After the success
of
Iron Man
, Stark became an iconic character because of his relatable flaws of humanity; he
started as an egotistic man of wealth that went through a traumatic experience that pushed him to
abandon his old life and discover his true purpose.
Many characters in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe (MCU) have appeared in their stand-alone films; however, Spider-Man made his MCU
debut in the third Captain America film and was portrayed by Tom Holland, as the protégé of
Tony Stark.
Holland’s unexpected appearance as the stereotypical “everyday man” superhero, he
remained a fan-favorite by many because of his representation of young individuals who want to
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find their place in the world ("Spider-Man").
Throughout the decade, Marvel Studios provided a
variety of female characters like Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Pepper Potts, and several others,
which helped Marvel’s dedication to gender equality and female representation.
Many of the
strongest characters in 2018’s
Black Panther
are women; for example, the titular character, King
T’Challa, was protected by the Dora Milaje, an all-women guard who protected the king.
Another example came from Letitia Wright’s Shuri, one of the most intelligent people in
Wakanda, who was responsible for the latest technological developments in her brother’s
uniform.
Fans are connected to these iconic characters; they root for them to succeed and go to
theaters and watch their latest adventures.
Marvel Studio’s profits come from the production of a series of commercially successful
movies with diverse storylines.
Since
Iron Man
was released, the MCU expanded, which
incorporated a variety of fictional characters, while looking at the real world for inspiration for
storylines; for example, 2018’s
Black Panther
was the first big-budget superhero movie with an
enticing storyline.
The film saw Chadwick Boseman’s T'Challa crowned king of Wakanda after
his father's death, but was challenged by Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, who planned to
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