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MARVEL
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Features
Marvel Cinematic Universe 03 Affects of Bankruptcy 03 Marvel’s Strategy 04 Story telling 06 Future Plans 07 Avenger’s Infinity War official posters 08,16 How to bInge watch MCU movies? 12 Impact of the MCU 22 Raichuk Ha Reang 24
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Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe is as old as a fourth-grader and has made more than $14 billion worldwide. It is a behemoth, the work of countless people behind and in front of the camera, based on the countless pages of comic books funded by sticky nickels and leftover allowances. When people talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they’re not only referring to the 18 movies Marvel has produced over the past 10 years, but also the shared place where all these fictional characters exist. If a Wasp flaps its wings in one movie, its effect is felt in Marvel’s other films. With the MCU, Marvel
has created a 10-year continuous filmic narrative for dozens of characters — a cinematic rarity. Avengers: Infinity War is an inflection point in that narrative, both the 10-year anniversary of Earth’s favorite superheroes and a monumental battle without any guarantees that anyone in this epic universe is safe. As Infinity War looms — with record-breaking ticket sales — it’s as good a time as any to look back at how exactly Marvel built this cinematic juggernaut, look ahead to its future, and remember how it never would have existed had Marvel not fallen into bankruptcy.
How bankruptcy dictated Marvel’s future? To fully understand Marvel’s cinematic success story, it’s important to understand where it started. Back in the ’90s, Marvel was hemorrhaging money. In an effort to stave off bankruptcy, it sold off the film rights to its most popular comic book characters: the X-Men to Fox and Spider-Man to Sony. Marvel’s financial decision was the reason Spider-Man wasn’t part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe until 2017’s Spider-man: Homecoming, and why the X-Men won’t be (at least until Disney’s acquisition of Fox goes through). Fox and Sony got on the modern superhero movie bandwagon first with 2000’s X-Men and 2002’s Spider-Man, which were both massive financial successes and would subsequently turn into trilogies. X-Men and Spider-Man proved that the interest in superhero movies was there, but the challenge facing Marvel was that the heroes whose film rights it didn’t sell off had much smaller fan bases than the X-Men or Spider-Man (at least back in 2000). What Marvel did have was the charismatic egomaniac Tony Stark and plenty of trust in Robert Downey Jr., who reportedly beat out Sam Rockwell, Timothy Olyphant, and Clive Owen for the role. In the mid-2000s, he began making his comeback in mainstream movies. While you could make an argument that his portrayal of
Harry Lockhart in 2005’s Kiss Bang Bang might be the best performance of his career, there’s no doubt that his portrayal of Tony Stark, first seen in 2008’s Iron Man, has been his most successful. As a character, Iron Man did not have the same name recognition as the X-Men or Spider-Man and was nowhere close to DC Comics’ trinity of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Downey has always been Marvel’s Tony Stark. The same can be said for fellow Avengers actors like Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Scarlett Johansson, who have played their characters throughout the 10-year span. Downey gave Stark the arrogant, effortless charisma the character needed to make the jump from page to screen, and was a breath of fresh air compared with the very serious X-Men and Christopher Nolan’s dark take on Batman. Iron Man was a hit, grossing $318 million domestically and $624 million worldwide. If the first Iron Man movie had bombed, we would never have had The Avengers and, ultimately, Infinity War. But more importantly, if Marvel had never signed away the rights to Spider-Man and the X-Men, it never would have been forced to gamble on a superhero viewers didn’t know they wanted yet. MARVELlous 10 YEARS || SPECIAL EDITION || 03
Marvel lifted its Cinematic Strategy straight from its Comic Book Origins Marvel’s biggest contribution to the modern movie landscape has been making movies that function on their own but also help build a universe with its own narrative, a narrative that extends to both characters and themes. One example is Tony Stark’s evolving moral compass and his self-assigned duty to protect the world: You can see it come to life in the first Iron Man, then slowly evolve to the point where it becomes a liability in Age of Ultron, and then a moral fissure between him and Captain America in Captain America: Civil War. Or it could be an evolution as simple as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being introduced in Civil War and then getting rounded out as a character in the subsequent Spider-Man: Homecoming. The interconnected universe approach is what allowed the Hulk to disappear from the Marvel Universe after the events in Age of Ultron and not appear in another movie or in the universe again until he’s found in Thor: Ragnarok. And, of course, there are those Infinity Stones, which are peppered, some more discreetly than others, throughout those 18 movies. The word that comes to mind is continuity, a strategy that reflects what Marvel godfather Stan Lee did in his comic books. As Sean Howe wrote in Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Lee and his fellow writers, editors, and artists would create individual stories in specific issues but would also tinker with the overarching narrative, keeping in mind what happens in those issues. “[Lee] vigilantly kept a consistent continuity between all the titles, so that, for instance, when the Hulk was captured in Tales to Astonish, Reed Richards wondered about his whereabouts in a Fantastic Four Annual.Marvel’s comic books still operate in the same way today. This idea of a continuous narrative isn’t the only concept Marvel Studios borrowed from its comic books. With Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Infinity War, Marvel Studios has brought the comic book crossover — collecting all their heroes in one special issue or event — to the silver screen. The foundation for a crossover was laid early. The MCU’s first solo superhero films — Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger — primari04 || MARVELlous 10 YEARS || SPECIAL EDITION
ly functioned as introductory origin stories. But they were also loosely connected by Iron Man’s “Avengers Initiative” post-credits scene: In that scene, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) tells Tony Stark that there are other super powered individuals and that he (Fury) is working on tracking them. Of course, the cherry bomb in this scene is that anyone familiar with Marvel knows the Avengers are a superhero team, meaning this first MCU’S post-credits scene was playing a long game, foreshadowing the team-up we’d see four years later in The Avengers. By now, Marvel’s cinematic strategy is well-known and well-proven, but at the time, it was starkly different than that of its superhero movie peers. The X-Men, with the exception of Wolverine, have always functioned more as a unit than individuals, and none save Wolverine had solo movies. Meanwhile, the super-powered individuals who kept popping up in Spider-Man’s universe were villains; Spider-Man himself operated alone and wasn’t part of a bigger team. Though Marvel didn’t have the film rights to the X-Men and Spider-Man, it did have the Avengers, and it smartly used its movies to showcase its heroes. The prosperity of Marvel’s box office has gotten to the point where it helped shape, inspire, and promote the comic books — the source material that all these movies are based on. Heroes like Scarlet Witch (in 2015), Black Widow (in 2016), and Vision (in 2015) have all gotten their own solo comics after their status was raised by their respective movie introductions. And in anticipation of Infinity War, Thanos received his own comic book in 2016 that has run through this year. Even though Marvel’s model has proven successful — while not entirely avoiding criticism that so many of its movies are the same — it hasn’t been replicated successfully. With the exception of Wonder Woman, all of those films struggled to achieve the combination of warm reviews and big box office that’s greeted most MCU movies; Justice League has the dubious distinction of being the highest-grossing “flop” ever. The studio’s cinematic universe is struggling for the moment — proving just how hard it is to nail Marvel’s winning formula.
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Marvel’s storytelling has evolved to become more self-aware. When Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige talks about Marvel’s movies, he’s referred to them as parts of phases — one, two, and three. Infinity War, at the 10-year mark, is the seventh movie in phase three.
comic books these movies borrow from are political and have been political since their creation. But the shift also stems from audiences and critics searching for deeper meaning in superhero films. The “superhero saves the day” story can’t be repeatLooking at these movies in phases, it’s evident that ed the same way for 10 years. the storytelling has evolved. Marvel began shifting its focus from origin stories (Iron Man, Thor, Cap- Marvel’s early movies dazzled us with the stories of tain America: The First Avenger) to more personal great power. By phase three, its movies aren’t just ones (Iron Man 3, Captain America: Winter Soldier, reinforming us that with great power comes great Avengers: Age of Ultron) in the first two phases. responsibility, but also asking if great responsibility A lot of that is just the result of storytelling within alone is enough to contain great power. a world that Marvel’s movies have already established; it’s easier to take risks when you’re playing with Marvel’s house money. Further, many of the
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Black Panther movie banner
The future of the MCU is going to need new leaders Black Panther is the last movie that Marvel produced before Infinity War and was its most successful in recent memory. Director Ryan Coogler’s film has made $1.3 billion worldwide and $675 million domestically, making it Marvel’s most successful movie on American soil. Its success has been so massive that it’s now impossible to imagine a Marvel Cinematic Universe without Wakanda and T’Challa. Getting Black Panther to the screen was a different story. Black Panther was the first nonwhite superhero to get his own movie in Marvel Cinematic Universe history, which began with Iron Man in 2008. Nonwhite characters existed in the MCU but mostly as sidekicks or under prosthetics and makeup. Black Panther and its hero represented a superhero fantasy that Marvel, and cinema in general, has had little time for.That Black Panther was so successful and has a story that unapologetically deals with themes like racial
inequality, colonization, prejudice, and pride is a glimpse of what Marvel Studios can do with the power it has. Black Panther is life-affirming for fans who have been waiting for representation — and possibly life-changing for kids lucky enough to see themselves in Black Panther and Wakanda. Black Panther also might be a preview of Marvel’s future. When Marvel Studios began its cinematic universe a decade ago, Iron Man was a bold gamble on a hero and character. I’d wager that no one, not even the most optimistic Marvel executives, could have foreseen Iron Man as the foundation for 10 years of movies, 2,200 minutes of film, and such a long, complex continuous narrative on the silver screen. At this point, passing leadership and the responsibility of the franchise to new heroes and the actors who play them sounds potentially blasphemous. But it’s not like Marvel hasn’t done this before.
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And with Carol Danvers having led the Avengers phase four — a clear opportunity to pass the torch. in the comic books, it’s not out of line to think she could end up commanding the next iteration of When Marvel Studios began its cinematic universe Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the silver screen. a decade ago, Iron Man was a bold gamble on a hero and character. I’d wager that no one, not even the Robert Downey Jr. isn’t getting younger, and Scar- most optimistic Marvel executives, could have forelett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth seen Iron Man as the foundation for 10 years of movhave been playing their characters for about seven ies, 2,200 minutes of film, and such a long, complex or eight years in a plethora of movies. Meanwhile, continuous narrative on the silver screen. characters like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Captain Marvel are just getting their At this point, passing leadership and the responsistart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After Cap- bility of the franchise to new heroes and the actors tain Marvel hits theaters, the next Avengers movie who play them sounds potentially blasphemous. (still untitled, and due out in May 2019) follows and But it’s not like Marvel hasn’t done this before. marks the end of phase three and the beginning of 08 || MARVELlous 10 YEARS || SPECIAL EDITION
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HOW TO BINGE WATCH MCU MOVIES 2) Iron Man
The film that started the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes in as the second movie to watch. “Iron Man,” of course, gives us our first glimpse at billionaire playboy Tony Stark as he builds himself a suit of armor. In the post-credit scene, Nick Fury approaches Stark to discuss the Avengers Initiative.
1) Captain America: The First Avenger Although this 2011 film is the fifth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s the first flick that should be watched becTause it takes place decades before “Iron Man” and “The Avengers.” It also introduces viewers to Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, an essential character in the universe.
7) Iron Man 3
The third “Iron Man” movie, directed by Shane Black, is set six months after the events of “The Avengers.” In the film, Stark is still dealing with PTSD-like symptoms following the Battle of New York.
8) Thor: The Dark World
The “Thor” sequel, “Dark World,” is set only one year after the events of “The Avengers.”
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4) Iron Man 2 3) The Incredible Hulk
The events of “The Incredible Hulk” take place simultaneously with those of “Iron Man 2” and “Thor.” The Edward Norton-led movie also features a cameo from Stark.
Because it includes footage from “The Incredible Hulk” and a post-credit scene featuring Thor’s hammer, the second entry in the “Iron Man” franchise fits snugly between “The Incredible Hulk” and “Thor.”
In the alternative opening to the film, Captain America is shown frozen in ice.
5) Thor
With nearly the entire Avengers crew assembled, the only major character missing is the crown prince of Asgard. The first “Thor” movie, which takes place at the same as “The Incredible Hulk” and “Iron Man 2,” introduces the god of thunder and other characters essential for “The Avengers.”
6) The Avengers
Now that the entire superhero squad has been introduced, it’s time to see them come together in “The Avengers.”
The post-credit scene, directed by Joss Whedon, helps set the stage for the ensemble superhero movie.
This film marks the conclusion of Phase 1 of the MCU, which introduces the Avengers team and brings them together. Now we enter Phase 2 which begins after the Avengers survive the Battle of New York
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10) Guardians of the Galaxy 9) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The sequel to 2011’s “First Avenger” takes place two years after “The Avengers.” In the film, Rogers -who’s now working with S.H.I.E.L.D. -- teams up with Black Widow and Falcon to stop the Winter Soldier, Rogers’ best friend Bucky.
Of course, “Guardians of the Galaxy” begins in 1988 when Peter Quill is abducted by aliens after his mother dies. According to a graphic in “GotG,” the first film in the franchise takes place 26 years after his abduction, which means this film is set in 2014.
15) Doctor Strange
In the first “Doctor Strange” film, Stephen Strange -the world’s best neurosurgeon- suffers a career-ending injury after a car crash.
16) Spider-Man: Homecoming
The first standalone “Spider-Man” film since “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (which was not connected to this universe). Starring Tom Holland, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is set several months after “Civil War.”
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The post-credit scene features a Thor cameo, setting up the third film in that franchise, “Ragnarok.”
12) The Avengers: Age of Ultron
The sequel to 2012’s “The Avengers” is the penultimate film in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The ensemble action movie brings together the heroes while introducing the Vision and twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.
11) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Director James Gunn confirmed to Slashfilm that “Vol. 2” is set just three months after the original film, which makes sense since Groot is still a baby in the sequel. Despite fitting into the chronology here, “Vol. 2” is technically a part of Phase 3.
In the post-credit scene, the flick helps set up the future of the MCU by showing Thanos with Ulysses Klaue, villain in the upcoming “Black Panther” film.
In one of the post-credit scenes, The Grandmaster is seen dancing. He’ll appear in “Thor: Ragnarok.”
13) Ant-Man
The final film in Phase 2 of the MCU focuses on Scott Lang, a thief who helps Dr. Hank Pym protect his technology.
14) Captain America: Civil War’
Set one year after “Age of Ultron,” “Civil War” acts as a quasi-”Avengers” film. In the movie, the Avengers split into two opposing factions: one led by Captain America and the other by Iron Man.
Set months after the events of “Age of Ultron,” this 2015 film includes a scene that shows Lang trying to infiltrate an Avengers facility -- first seen in “Ultron” -- until he’s interrupted by Falcon.
“Civil War,” the first film in Phase 3 of the MCU, also helped set up the franchise for the future by introducing Black Panther Spider-Man, who both get standalone films later.
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The charm of Groot is not difficult to understand. Groot is the moral center of the film. He is the one chartacter who has already chosen to be the good guy and helps everyone else in the story do the same. His pairing with Rocket is no accident, as the furry hothead is the most destructive and self-absorbed protagonist in the film by far. Their partnership is a one-sided ordeal in which Groot continually supports Rocket through all of his escapades until it is revealed that Rocket needs more than an accomplice, he needs a friend. When Rocket divulges the experiments that transformed him, it’s clear the character has suffered and Groot’s role as a support network is clarified.
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James Rhodes is a proud and highly distinguished officer of the United States Armed Forces. Though he is supportive of his best friend Tony Stark and generally enjoys being involved in his revelries, he is sometimes annoyed by Stark’s flippant and reckless behavior. He is a firm believer in people being held accountable for their actions and a proper chain of command. Rhodes maintains a sense of professionalism and strives to do whatever he feels is the right thing for the people. This often causes tension between him and Stark, though the two nonetheless maintain a strong mutual respect and friendship.
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Okoye is a fiercely loyal protector of Wakanda who isn’t afraid to question her king, but would defend him with her life, fiercely protective of him despite his warrior abilities. A staunch traditionalist who is as formidable with her Sonic Spear as she is with her tongue
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Wong is a Master of the Mystic Arts within Kamar-Taj.
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The Impact Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe “I can do this all day,” Captain America says as he faces off against his friend Iron Man. After watching “Captain America: Civil War,” the 13th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I came out of the theatre quite impressed with the movie itself, and the magnitude of the franchise as a whole. Under Disney and the guidance of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or the MCU, debuted in 2008 with the movie “Iron Man.” Golden Globe winning actor Robert Downey Jr. portrayed the self-proclaimed “billionaire philanthropist” Tony Stark on screen. According to Box Office Mojo, “Iron Man” made $585 million worldwide over its duration in theaters. Downey Jr. became synonymous with the character Tony Stark, and the iron weapon of death officially sparked the beginning of one of the greatest franchises in cinema history. After the success of “Iron Man,” Marvel Studios began producing films featuring other Marvel comic book characters. The beauty of this film universe is that every movie within the series is connected, so events in one film affect events in another movie. The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America received their own feature films soon thereafter. Actors Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, who play Thor and Captain America respectively, became movie stars overnight. At first, movie critics and the casual movie audience saw these comic book movies as a positive trend, but nothing more. In 2012, those same people were proven wrong as Marvel officially took over the film industry when the Avengers assembled for the first time on screen.
Today, “Marvel’s The Avengers,” directed by Joss Whedon, is not only one of the best comic book movies ever made, but it is also the fifth highest grossing film of all time at $1.5 billion. The movie brought together famed Marvel comic book characters Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye (played by Downey Jr., Evans, Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner respectively) in a super hero team-up film for the first time ever. The fight choreography, the CGI and the massive scope of the movie created an excitement that had never been experienced before. A Marvel pandemonium ensued after the film’s release as children and adults alike flocked to buy Marvel shirts, comic books, toys, games and other memorabilia. The Marvel renaissance had arrived, and it was far from being over. Fast-forward to today and Marvel Studios is currently in their third phase of films. So far three Marvel movies are in the top 10 of the highest grossing films in movie history. The most recent film in the MCU, “Captain America: Civil War,” is on pace to be yet another high-grossing comic book movie as the third installment in the Captain America series made $179 million its opening weekend according to ComScore. In summation, according to the box office results from Box Office Mojo, every movie in the MCU has generated close to $4 billion. The revenue won’t end there, however, as Marvel has scheduled around ten more movies in the foreseeable future, featuring both new and old comic book characters. The third Avengers film (split into two parts) will be among these future releases.
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Raikchak Ha Reang The MCU is what it is today because of it fans. They show fierce passion and dedication, show love and share their fondness all across the world. One of these people is Raikchak Ha Reang. Widely known as @raichu.copper on Instagram is a Bangalore based professtional graphic designer and illustrator. This 22 year old is a big pop culture fan and makes fan art related to comics and sic-fic movies. He has over a fanfollowing of over 55k on Instragram and has over 20k project views on Behance. He and his, this year’s 36 days of type collection was ever featureed on Marvel India’s official Instagram account. Here is an interview with him. Q1) How long have you been an artist? What is your specialty? Where do you find inspiration? I tried my hand at art in school and high school itself, but I gave preference to my studies and the whole “Science” bandwagon and lost touch. Thankfully I started making digital illustrations in college and it’s been 3 years since. I’m honestly not great with traditional ‘art’ on paper. I mostly work on vector illustrations and have a clean and minimal approach to my artwork. I predominantly draw inspiration from superheroes and fictional characters because they have no limits and anything is possible in their world. But apart from that, movies, television series and the like that grab my attention. If something engages me I’m probably gonna illustrate it. Q2) Do you have a job in the art industry? If So, what’s one thing you don’t like about it? If no, where would your dream job be? Not necessarily art per se, but I do work part time at an advertising agency. It’s a learning process. I get to work with so many interesting people, be it Creative Directors or Brand Managers, to understand the client requirements to create amazing stuff for them. My dream job would be me, making and selling my own merchandise and curating my own personal brand. Q3) Do you have a favorite Artist? I do have a long list of artists I look up to, but a few that stand out would be: @mexifunk @wizyakuza @datrinti @bosslogic I feel their work is unreal, original and very hard to replicate. Q4) Where do you see yourself in 10 years? 20 years? In 10 years: Having an established brand and having some talented designers work for me. In 20 years: Going through my e-mails and suddenly finding an offer that pops up from Marvel asking me to illustrate something for them. 24 || MARVELlous 10 YEARS || SPECIAL EDITION
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He uses Adobe Illustrator for his vector illustrations and Adobe Photoshop for any editing and color grading. One of the acomplishments he is exceptionally proud of was the Yahoo interview for his ‘hairy Wonder Women.’ For this set he was inspired by No-Shave November. “I thought it would be unique to show a woman doing this with her body hair,” Reang told Yahoo. “I chose Wonder Woman because she represents strong and fearless women — but even superheroes don’t always have time to take care of their physical appearance.” “We get super busy in life sometimes and do not have time to maintain ourselves,” he wrote in the caption. “It’s natural to have body hair and Wonder Woman approves too.” Something tells us when Wonder Woman left Themyscira, the last thing she thought about packing was a razor and shaving cream. His main advice to new budding creaters is to NEVER STOP CREATING. “Always practice and be your own critic. It’s ok to fail and make mistakes but don’t get discouraged. Believe in yourself and your art and make something which makes you happy. There is nothing wrong to get inspired but start developing you own style in the process. Lastly, never be afraid to experiment and create awesome shit.”
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