Between Books - MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios

 

I love superheroes!

I love Marvel movies! I loved them before they were cool like broadcast poorly produced Spider-Man movies from the 70s love! And I remember sitting in a theater watching the end credits scene of Iron Man where I saw Nick Fury enter the frame and blow my mind with promises of what could happen next!

And I love history, hence an entire section of this site that is really just an index of books, mostly history. Clearly, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios was written literally for me!

MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards is a complete and thorough history of Marvel Studios’ projects before its founding in August 1996 under the guidance of Avi Arad. The book outlines how a scrappy studio with a lot of intellectual property and a mission to sell toys, started mainly by leasing characters to other studios and providing some oversight largely to support toy sales. But with 1996 and the coming of Marvel Studios, Marvel looked to make movies itself. Armed with incomplete ownership of their character roster, leadership with a vision, and taking a big bet on itself, the Studio found near-instant success in 2008’s Iron Man. This movie launched the true beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a massive storytelling endeavor under the watchful eye of Kevin Feige. The book details how Marvel Studios came to be, its sudden successes, the long-form storytelling and, the the more recent critical and financial setbacks that the Studio has seen in the 2020s.

MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is deep and wide when it comes to telling the story of Marvel Studios. It is clear writing, despite often detailing complex situations including contracts, legal cases, and personalities. You will not find a more complete one-volume history of Marvel Studios. But that being said, I did often feel like its major accomplishment was bringing together a lot of content in one title and not adding to what fans know about this Disney intellectual properly machine. However, bringing it all together in one read does help refine thoughts on specific themes.

One example that emerges to readers really early is the belief of Marvel Chief Executive Officer Ike Pearlmutter that the purpose of Marvel Studios was to sell toys. Therefore, decisions about the movies supported this belief. This does make sense when you consider that Pearlmutter came from the toy background, not the comics or publishing industries. Therefore, the guidance or interference from Pearlmutter and the Marvel Creative Committee, largely under his influence, looked to support his thoughts on toy sales. And the belief was when you wanted to sell a lot of toys, white male characters sold, not diverse heroes and villains. This drama can seen played out in the characters of Black Widow and Gamora, often hidden in the associated toy lines. This belief would be opposed by Fiege and Disney’s CEO Bob Iger who supported diversity and larger storytelling. While it’s clear that Fiege and Iger found Pearlmutter to be a difficult personality, you can also see how the creative and business beliefs only further pushed this split wider. It is also interesting to watch as the Creative Committee, largely built to act like a Pixar Brain Trust failed to support creativity despite having some talented storytellers included. In the end, the call for toys may have drowned out their voices.

Another emerging theme is how Marvel Studios has strayed from its roots. I don’t mean plausibility, a quality that Jon Favreau sought in the production of Iron Man. Instead they have lost the jazz, the inability for directors, writers, and actors to improv and creatively flex their muscles as productions were in progress. This supported a Fiege principle that the movie mattered more than the whole. But with decades of movies completed and years more in production, the role of Fiege to channel movies and TV to movie together has increased, and play by creative forces now must be limited. Fiege’s role in holding it all together is essential to this endeavor. But it also has the price of limiting creative freedom. Additionally, expensive special effects while visually stunning has blocked the ability to run with a discovered story angle. 

You like superheroes and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards is for you. The book is a complete history with many themes for readers to dive into, with me just skimming a few. The book ends in the recent past, with the future of the MCU at a potential crossroads as real-life legal events have led to a requirement to change story plans, economics have changed the movie and television business, and the MCU has had creative missteps, (I found Secret Invasion to be a giant meh). Maybe someday an expanded or revised volume will detail what comes next. But for now, MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios provides fans with a handbook of creative achievement and a record of how we got to this enormous financial and creative success…despite itself! 

 

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Between Books - Black Widow: Forever Red

After reading Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket and Groot Steal the Galaxy and reading a Red Widow short comic story in Mockingbird: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50th Anniversary #1,  I thought another Marvel prose book and another Red Widow story was a combination I wanted nothing to do with.  It seemed like the anti peanut butter and chocolate combination.  And throw in the fact that the newest Marvel prose book was Young Adult fiction, really meant  Black Widow: Forever Red had not chance with me.  But I decided it was my duty to at least borrow the book from the library.  Though I doubted that it would be worth the time needed to read it.  Would my assumptions prove correct?

Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl introduces us to Ava Orlova, a Russian girl, saved by Black Widow from Ivan Somodorov, the same monster who trained Natasha Romanoff at the Red Room as a child assassin.  After her rescue where she expected to be bonding with her red headed hero, Ava was dropped off in the United States by Natasha at a S.H.I.E.L.D facility never to hear from her rescuer again, she thought.  Ava runs away and strikes out on her own.  But she is haunted by dreams of a boy and his life.  Ava runs into the dream boy, Alex Manor at a fencing tourney at just the moment Black Widow reenters Ava's life.  But sadly for the teens, Ivan Somodorov is also attempting to recapture Ava and exploit her special relationship with Black Widow.  The international adventure the three charge into reveals secrets about all three heroes as they attempt to stop Somodorov from using his last Red Room experiment from gaining influence on the world's governments.

Here let me cut the suspense.  I really enjoyed Black Widow: Forever Red.  I found the new teen characters to be interesting and I wanted to know more about their backgrounds and struggles.  I understood Ava's resentment at Natasha Romanoff for abandoning her to S.H.I.E.LD., but I also understand why Black Widow kept her distance from a girl who looked like and had a background similar to her.  Alex is sprinkled in as the apparent normal teen pulled into the world of spies and secrets.  But Alex also is more than what he seems.  Finally, Stohl made me suitably tense by placing transcripts of a Line-Of-Duty Death Investigation between chapters.  As a reader I knew someone died, but if it was a hero or villain...well that took time to be revealed.

Additionally, the book is one that Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are likely to enjoy.  The books features Agent Phil Coulson as along with Tony Stark supporting the Black Widow in her investigations.   And the transcripts feel like the Natasha Romanoff from Captain America: Civil War in her tone and attitude.  So even if this book is not part of the MCU, it does lack the logo so its inclusion is not really confirmed to me, it is fully in the spirit of the cinematic offerings. And MCU fans are sure to feel at home in these pages. 

I enjoyed Black Widow: Forever Red as both a book fan and a Marvel fan.  My assumptions were truly turned on their head as I found Ava to be more interesting than her earlier appearance in a short comic story.  And unlike the earlier prose contribution, the story was engaging, full of interesting characters and a very enjoyable read.  Now I just hope that we might see more prose stories from Marvel when before I felt as if they were not needed.  And I would be more than happy if Stohl took a turn at writing the next prose title. 

Comic Corner - Secret Avengers #1

Marvel and Disney have an interesting situation on their hands. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is widely popular, and in 2008, Samuel L. Jackson began to firmly establish himself as Nick Fury in Iron Man. Anyone who has only been exposed to this second level Marvel character, on the big screen, can only visualize Fury as Jackson. So for those who explore comics because they enjoyed the Avenger Initiative may be surprised when the stumble upon Fury in print. Yes, Nick Fury in the Ultimate Universe is stylized to look like Jackson, but in the mainline Marvel Universe, Earth 616, super spy Nick Fury is a gruff Caucasian man. In this universe Fury is more along the lines of Clint Eastwood than Samuel L. Jackson. And though this is a comic universe where things can be changed with a brush stroke and a few lines of story, his ethnicity is a little harder to change since Fury has been Caucasian since 1963. So how does one reconcile Marvel history with the expectations of those who have only seen the movies? I believe Marvel thinks they have found their solution in Secret Avengers.

With issue 1 in February 2013, Secret Avengers caught my attention for two reasons. First, it advertised that Agent Phil Coulson was featured. I am a big Coulson fan! Second, it would feature an African-American Nick Fury. The full cast of the title includes S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill, Hawkeye and Black Widow. With 4 members of The Avengers cast, this title is clearly reaching out to fans of the movies. And then adding an African-American Nick Fury completes the attempt to bring movie audiences to a print title. And honestly, though Avengers is in the title, this really is a S.H.I.E.L.D. book. But I personally feel the title choice was to help readers coming from the Cinematic Universe, as they are not yet familiar with Avenger ID cards, an Avengers mansion or self-governing superheroes not backed by S.H.I.E.L.D. But the Avengers label is likely needed to help lead new readers to the concept that this title is related to the movie franchise. Another link to the movies is Hawkeye’s costume, which is far from his traditional over the top purple costume.

As the story opens in Secret Avengers #1, Hawkeye is being taken captive in a foreign land, on a mission that Hawkeye has no knowledge of, in an undisclosed location. This leads to a series of flashbacks where Coulson recruits Hawkeye and Black Widow to serve as Black Ops agents for S.H.I.E.L.D. The duo is introduced to their new field commander, an African-American Nick Fury dressed in a Captain America inspired uniform. The team hits the ground attempting to capture a dealer in black magic before his skills can be used to strike a vital title in the United States. Throughout the book we learn there are secrets upon secrets ranging from why Hawkeye and Black Widow took this assignment to what S.H.I.E.L.D.’s full motivation for using these former Avengers. The story provides hints to action that could happen in future issues and the secrets that can be revealed but the main story is fully resolved in this introductory issue.

Secret Avengers is part of the Marvel NOW! reboot, restructure, reset, or whatever "re" word you want to use. Basically this is a good opportunity to reconcile the print and the cinematic world. And since other changes are occurring, now is the time to bring an African-American Nick Fury into Marvel mainstream with the least disruption. I do understand that Nick Fury is already modeled after Jackson in the Ultimate universe, but I can see how cinema fans want their preferred Fury in the main universe and not a secondary, though exciting, Marvel storyline. At the same time, they also make it clear that this Fury is not the same one that has been around since 1963, a move which should satisfy long-term fans.

Baby Variant Cover - Pointing Out this Team is Low on Powers

Of course it is Fury and Coulson that I laid down my money for. This young and new Nick Fury is modeled after Jackson. He also is a character with unclear motives, much like the movie version. The biggest difference is this Fury is fighting and leading in the field while the Jackson version is largely directing from the bridge of the Helicarrier. I do have a lot of questions about this Fury. It appears that I can find answers to some of these questions in a title called Battle Scars which concluded before Secret Avengers. That series also introduces Coulson to the Marvel mainline universe. I have to admit that I did really enjoy Hawkeye’s reaction to this new Nick Fury! Hawkeye and Fury discuss if the name Nick Fury and James Bond are actually code names for agents and not specific people. It kind of cracks me up to watch a Marvel character attempt to reconcile Bond canon which is far from as complicated as Marvel fictional history. I must admit that I have not warmed up to this version of Coulson. I have seen an animated version of Coulson in Ultimate Spider-Man which is part comic relief straight man and part action hero. This Coulson in this single issue is, well, a used car salesman. I feel like the Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a straight up guy. This guy on the other hand feels a little slimy as he plays let’s make a deal.

The graphics are, in my opinion, solid in this issue. They really help set the stage for a tale that it more spy story than superhero epic. The settings are dark and filled with the back alley type settings you would expect from a black ops team. Sadly, unless the images are super cutting edge, I really do not take full notice of them until they are distracting from the story.

From the business side, I can see why Marvel and Disney both want Secret Avengers. In this title, Marvel brings the movies and Marvel tradition together in a way that could bring new readers to print, paper or digital. I found Secret Avengers #1 a solid endeavor. But with limited money, and new Dole Whip shirts to buy, I will probably wait to borrow the collected trades of this series instead of following it month to month.

Mousey Movie Review - The Avengers

I have been waiting years for the fulfillment of a promise.  In Iron Man Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury told us he was looking to get the Avengers together.  Now Marvel and Disney have paid off on this promise, and most fans will not be disappointed.  If you like action films, if you enjoy things going boom, and if you love superheroes, The Avengers is probably going to be a hit for you.  Here are my initial thoughts about the film after a very early morning viewing (as spoiler free as possible):

·         Laugh-o-Gram:  I underestimated how funny this movie was going to be.  Quick quips, puns, and fun dialogue are traditional comic book tools.  And we have seen some humor in the past films.  But in The Avengers the fun lines are ramped.  I really should have expected this because Joss Whedon wrote the story and screenplay.  Overall my experience with his work is limited.  But the one franchise of his that I love is Firefly which shares this type of witty dialogue.  I quote Firefly lines all the time!   I cannot really tell you all of the lines that clicked with the audience because I missed some payoffs because everyone was drowning out the audio laughing.  I do think Whedon gave the best lines to Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man who continues to shine in this role.   

·         Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.:  We have been introduced over the years to agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. including Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Black Widow and Clint Barton/Hawkeye.  These agents have also been support but never the stars.  In a film with heavy hitters like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk the characters that get the most development are these agents along with the newest member of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill.  With the big guys we have seen them developed in their own films, so it honestly fells like these are the characters who should be built out further.  Honestly, these are the characters you will probably look forward to the most in the future.    

·         Reality Check:  So villain wise this is probably the most ambitious of the non-human villains to date, therefore a ton more of CGI.  Yet I still felt like these alien invaders fit within our world and were believable.  I think an element that works to help establish reality are heroes with basic earthly weapons.  Having Black Widow and Hawkeye with guns and bows sprinkled throughout scenes with CGI villains and heroes helps to ground the image in our world.   

·         Fearless:  The Avengers breaks the expected conventions.  So be prepared for a ride.  In The Incredibles we get an education on some of these clichés, like monologuing for example.  In The Avengers the story breaks these clichés.  Characters do the things that you would want to do in the real world.  If this was a horror movie, somebody on the screen would say “hey don’t be foolish and walk into the woods unless you want to die first.”  And the story takes risks.  I had done a really good job avoiding spoilers and I am glad I did because within the first 15 minutes something I had not expected had happened and changed what I thought of the story rolling out in front of me.          

As a side note, The Avengers is not really a Mousey Movie except for links to the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  But I will not be pointing fingers.  There is a lot happening in this film and I would not ask for them to force in hidden Mickeys just to impress a Disney fan!  No, I will take The Avengers as it is a popular and growing Disney franchise that we will love for years to come.  I am sure many of you will be assembling with your fellow avengers at a theater near you, maybe even for a second or third time. 

Mousey Movies - The Avengers Primer

With John Carter behind us we move onto Disney’s guaranteed blockbuster, The Avengers.  Disney you say, why yes, yes it is.  Though we find Marvel characters and rides in Universal Studios Orlando, Disney owns the Marvel universe.  If you question whether or not the Avengers or Marvel is part of the Disney family, prepare yourself for an Avengers monorail wrap much like we saw with Tron Legacy.  Disney may not be able to host Iron Man or Captain America meet and greets in the parks due to the Universal contract, but the Marvel presence is soon to be evident in our favorite vacation spots.  Bob Iger at the 2012 Annual Meeting stated that there are plans to introduce Marvel characters into the theme parks.    

Captain America is Ready to Meet You, But Not at Walt Disney World!

As a kid who grew up reading The X-Men, The Amazing Spiderman, and the occasional Avengers I have been excited about what I have informally referred to as the “Avengers Project” for over five years.  And after Disney bought Marvel after the project kicked off, my interest went straight through the roof. 

Development of The Avengers actually started in 2005, years before Disney purchased Marvel Comics.  So in many ways, Disney inherited a string of blockbusters.  The concept was to release several Marvel hero movies and then have then all wrap together into one movie that included the stars of the previous films.  The connective tissue was a initially minor character, Nick Fury.  Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson in the Avenger movies, is the longtime director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division) a government agency working to ensure the overall security of the United States.  S.H.I.E.L.D. would appear first in 2008’s Iron Man in Agent Coulson, brilliantly played by Clark Gregg, but Fury would not appear until a short interaction with Tony Stark after the credits!  Though the role of Nick Fury was expanded in some future offerings, especially Iron Man 2, Fury has largely been a secondary plot point which guided viewers forward to this year’s The Avengers.  The following are quick summaries of the movies to date leading to The Avengers including which major characters key to the plot of The Avengers are introduced, as we know it to date:

Iron Man (2008) 

·        The audience is introduced to billionaire playboy and arms manufacturer Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr.  Kidnapped in a foreign land the genius Stark develops the Iron Man suit of armor.  Stark struggles with balancing his own personal failings with becoming a public superhero and fights to save his technology and company from falling into the hands of his business partner and mentor turned bad.

·         S.H.I.E.L.D. comes out of the shadows to discuss with Tony the implications of his technically advanced suit of armor.  Agent Phil Coulson is charged with investigating the Iron Man technology.  The unintimating Coulson proves to be more than a man in a suit but an ally in Stark’s struggle to control his invention.

·         Nick Fury after the credits visits Stark on a recruiting visit to work with S.H.I.E.L.D.  

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

·         In this semi-sequel to the 2003 Hulk, Doctor Bruce Banner, played by Edward Norton, struggles with overcoming the Gamma radiation poisoning that turns the bookish scientist into the mindless and destructive Hulk.  Norton taking over the role from Eric Bana, plays a more cerebral Banner and is a character more familiar to fans of the 1970’s Bill Bixby The Incredible Hulk, than a smash everything brute. 

·         A cameo from Tony Stark after the credits notes that a team is being put together. 

·         Honestly this is the one Avengers movie that I have never watched more than once.  So I think many forgot its role in moving forward the Avengers story. 

·         Norton is replaced as Bruce Banner/Hulk by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers.  In my opinion, Ruffalo’s appearance appears to be in the brainy Banner mold, not the hunkish and rock hard action hero.  

Iron Man 2 (2010)

·         Iron Man 2 was released after the Disney acquisition of Marvel and was promoted heavily by the Walt Disney Company as seen by the merchandise found in places like the Disney Store. 

·         Tony Stark returns and seriously loses his mojo as he faces death due to a heart defect.  He is also confronted by business rivals and a new villain that insists that Stark’s business and personal life should be his own.

·         Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, with the aid of Agent Coulson put Stark on a path to hopefully restore Tony’s groove.  Fury does question if Stark is able to cooperate with others and be material for the team he is assembling. 

·         Another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent The Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson is introduced.  The Black Widow is a martial arts and espionage expert assigned by Fury to keep a watchful eye on Stark and will return as a member of the Avengers.

·         Coulson is called away to a situation in New Mexico.  After the credits, Coulson calls back to report he has found something.  This scene leads us into the next Avengers themed movie. 

·         Many prefer the first Iron Man movie to the sequel but as a Disney fan this is my favorite due to its Mouseyness.  The parallels between Howard Stark, Tony’s father, and Walt Disney are impossible to miss. 

Thor (2011)

·         This film introduces another member of the Avengers team in the Norse god Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth.  Thor due to a poor decision making is thrown out of his home of Asgard by his father Odin.  Thor must find himself and his power again during a busy weekend in New Mexico.  As he finds himself, he struggles for control of Asgard and with his brother Loki, brilliantly portrayed by Tom Hiddleston. 

·         A post credits scene with Nick Fury hints that Loki will return.  The trailers for The Avengers confirm that Loki returns as a major villain.

·         It is revealed that the item Agent Coulson has found in New Mexico is Thor’s mystical hammer Mjolnir.  S.H.I.E.L.D. has a major presence in the story, guarding and investigating Mjolnir. 

·         Another Avenger is briefly introduced.  As Thor attempts to steal back Mjolnir from S.H.I.E.L.D. he is under the watchful eye of Clint Barton or Hawkeye played by Oscar nominated actor Jeremy Renner.  Hawkeye is a sharp shooter whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow.    

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

·         Captain America: The First Avenger is the last piece of The Avengers puzzle at it introduces World War II era hero Captain America played by Chris Evans.  Lightweight Steve Rogers fails in his attempts to be inducted into the Army to fight the Axis powers.  Noticed by a government scientist he is selected for a program that gives him superhuman strength.  Under the name Captain America he fights a faction of Nazi scientific elite called HYDRA under the command of the Red Skull. 

·         The ending of the movie, sorry for any possible spoilers, transitions to the modern day as Nick Fury introduces an unaged Steve Rogers to the modern world.  After the credits, Fury returns to ask Rogers about joining a team he is putting together.  

Setup your Netflix queue or visit your local Redbox because you have your homework to finish before May 4^th.  The Avengers, unlike one of my favorites of this year John Carter is sure to be a hit for Disney.  And as a Disney fan we are sure to be seeing much more from the Avengers team and these individual superheroes to come.  Follow-up movies from Marvel Studios have already been announced including an Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Nick Fury.   Superheroes are going to be supported by the House of Mouse for years to come!