Final Assignment 1

Final Writing Assignment

Joao Baylon

Synthesis Research and Writing: WRT-109-E1

Instructor: Lamont Rouse

12/7/22
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“There was an idea: To bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could

become something more.” These are the words that would light the fire of the leading juggernaut

of entertainment for the last decade and a half. At this point, Marvel Studios is almost

synonymous with Hollywood. Many people nowadays can’t remember a time when the likes of

Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther didn’t regularly grace the silver screen. Though

this wasn’t always the case, as not that long ago Marvel was not much more than a struggling

comic brand. I may have always known of them through a childhood filled with their comic

backlog, but general audiences didn’t know that much about the larger Marvel Universe.

However, through a carefully crafted plan, Marvel rose like a phoenix from the depths of near

bankruptcy and bolted into the pop culture stratosphere. Though at the time I was young,

nevertheless I was there from the inception all the way until today. And the impact of their

endeavors changed both the film industry and my life forever.

Marvel had many hurdles to overcome if they were to make their mark. The comic

company was truly struggling throughout the 1990s, to the point that they were risking

bankruptcy. To try and recoup some cash, they sold off the film rights to multiple characters and

franchises movie studios deemed marketable. Daredevil, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, as

well as any characters adjacent to those franchises created prior and onward, such as Elektra,

Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, and Deadpool, were sold to 20th Century Fox; The Punisher was

pawned off to LionsGate; Blade, who would end up being the first of these sold off characters to

receive their own feature film, was sold to New Line Cinema; The Incredible Hulk and Namor

the Submariner were given to Universal Studios; and finally, Ghost Rider and, more importantly,

Spider-Man and any Spidey adjacent characters created before and since then (Morbius, Venom,

Miles Morales, etc.) were sold off to Sony Pictures, who still own the rights to this day, though
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the Ghost Rider rights have since gone back to Marvel. At the time, Marvel had no real interest

in making their own films, rather splitting the profits of films made by other studios. That all

changed, however, after the successes of the likes of Blade (1998), X-Men (2000), and especially

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man (2002). Marvel got the wake up call they desperately needed. And so,

in 2007, under the guidance of one Kevin Feige, Iron Man went into production. It wasn’t

smooth sailing from there, though. The film had a lot going against it at the time: the character

wasn’t exactly a household name, the Marvel brand had lost its Hollywood luster over the years

due to increasingly mediocre films, and the film’s star, Robert Downey Jr., was very

controversial at the time. Yet despite all of this, the MCU truly came out swinging from the start,

as critics and audiences around the globe praised Iron Man upon its release in 2008, calling it a

refreshing take on the traditional origin story. For instance, in The New York Times’ review of

the film, titled Heavy Suit, Light Touches, they point out how surprisingly down to earth the

movie was, saying that “It is not quite the real world, but it’s a bit closer than Gotham or

Metropolis.” Of course, as we all know now, things would only go up from here.

But let’s take a break from the history lesson so I can explain why I’m talking about these

larger than life heroes. The larger Marvel universe has been a part of my life for as long as I can

remember, and then some. I’ve even seen photos from when I was a baby of birthday parties with

Spider-Man balloons and Wolverine plates. Of course, these were all before I truly gained

consciousness. Once I learned how to talk and read, my shelves began to fill up with second

hand Marvel Comics, either from my mom who used to collect them, or from a cousin who

worked at a local comic shop. Obviously, most of them consisted of the big characters most

people were aware of: your Spider-Man’s, your Hulk’s, your X-Men’s, etc. However, I also

owned a few issues that introduced me to characters that would stick with me for the rest of my
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life, like Black Panther, the protector and king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda; the

Fantastic Four, the first family of comic books, and of course the billionaire playboy

philanthropist Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man.

Speaking of which, while I didn’t always keep up with it, nevertheless I was there when

the MCU first took form. Granted, I was only 5 when Iron Man came out in theaters, so I wasn’t

exactly frothing at the mouth to go see it in theaters. I only found out about it later, since my dad

brought some totally legal movies on DVDs from trips he took to Peru. But after seeing it once,

forget it. I would rewatch the movie so much that I eventually messed up the disc it came on and

my dad had to get me another one. After reading about so many of Iron Man’s adventures, seeing

him brought to life for the first time by the talented Robert Downey Jr. was such a surreal

experience. Eventually, my dad got me the DVD for 2008’s The Incredible Hulk for my 7th

birthday in 2010. While today I’ll gladly tell you that the movie is mediocre at best, back then I

absolutely loved it. And let me tell you, the excitement that coursed through my veins when I

saw RDJ’s Tony Stark pop up at the end of the movie to discuss “putting together a team” was

indescribable.

Now, let’s get back to Marvel Studios’ exploits. Iron Man wasn’t just a one and done

movie. Rather, it was the first part of a carefully crafted plan put together by the aforementioned

Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios. This plan was to slowly, but surely, plant the seeds of a

more connected world throughout more films, which included 2008’s The Incredible Hulk,

2010’s Iron Man 2, and 2011’s Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Throughout these

movies, audiences began to catch on that these were all connected, displayed greatest by the

thread that sewed these stories together: Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury character, who

constantly referenced the putting together of a team. And, in May of 2012, audiences would
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finally get to see the fruits of Fury’s, and to a greater extent, Kevin Feige’s labor as The Avengers

released, becoming a worldwide box office record setter. This movie brought together the six

heroes of all the movies that came before to form what is now one of cinema's most iconic

ensembles: Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr.; Captain America, performed by Chris

Evans; Thor, portrayed by Chris Hemwsowrth; Mark Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner and his alter

ego, the Hulk; Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow played by Scarlett Johansson; and last but

not least, Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye portrayed by Jeremy Renner. These six protagonists came

together to stop Thor’s evil brother, Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), from taking over the

Earth. Viewers around the globe were enthralled by their true first taste at what this cinematic

universe had to offer, with an enticing promise of more to come. Coincidentally, around this time

is also when the acquisition of Marvel by the Walt Disney Company, first announced in 2009,

finally became official, thus financial limitations were no longer a concern going forward. All

these factors combined led to more creative endeavors, such as 2014’s Captain America: The

Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Thus, over the span of almost a decade, Marvel had

grown an unwavering audience who would come to see what the next part in this ever evolving

story would be.

Even back then, anticipation for this movie was high, as nothing on this scale had ever

really been done in the world of cinema. Audiences all over the world were excited for what

Kevin Feige and the Marvel machine had cooked up, myself included. Up until that point, I had

only ever seen Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. But after I saw the trailer for the movie, I

knew I had to watch the other movies. My parents bought the DVD’s for the remaining movies,

which were Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. I’d watch these movies

over and over again, making sure I knew everything I needed to know for the upcoming
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blockbuster. And eventually the day came, and for the first time ever, me and my dad actually

went to the theater to see the movie, and on opening weekend at that. That day is one I will

surely never forget. To this day, I can’t describe the feeling I had seeing these characters I had

been reading and watching since before I could even talk on the big screen teaming up together.

It was nothing short of incredible, even for a 9 year old me.

Ever since then, I began to fall more and more in love with the Marvel brand. Obviously,

it was a big bonding point for me and my dad, since he first gave me the comics when I was

little. But after The Avengers, it became our tradition to see every Marvel movie on opening

weekend. Of course, all these movies only strengthened my interest in the comics even more. At

this point, I would be getting at least 2 physical comics every month. This is when I became fans

of even more characters, like the new Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan, Hawkeye’s successor Kate

Bishop, the Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales, and my personal favorite Marvel character,

Matt Murdock, the Daredevil. On top of that, I was able to start making more friends through

Marvel. I wasn’t very social up until a few years ago, but starting in high school, my love for

Marvel allowed me to meet the people who I now consider my best friends. We bonded over

having seen the movies when we were younger, and even some of them also read the comics. In

fact, the one of the first times I recall going out with this group was seeing Avengers: Infinity

War opening night after class. And while we’re on the topic of that movie in particular…

It seemed like nothing could stop the bullet train that was the Marvel Cinematic

Universe. Everything was going right for them: slowly but surely, they were reacquiring the

rights to all the characters they had sold; their biggest possible competitor, DC Comics’ attempt

at a cinematic universe had flopped; they had even struck a deal with Sony to include arguably

their most popular comic character, Spider-Man, in the MCU. And, of course, their movies were
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nonstop hit after hit, with the likes of 2016’s Doctor Strange and Captain America: Civil War,

2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok, and 2018’s Black Panther. Of course,

their biggest success comes in part to how they manage to connect all these movies in small but

meaningful ways. As noted in HBR’s article Marvel’s BlockBuster Machine, they get audiences

hooked for the next story “by putting “Easter eggs” in its current releases that suggest a future

product without giving away the story”. After years of buildup, however, the saga that started all

the way back in 2008 was nearing its end. Announced in October of 2014, Avengers: Infinity War

Part I and Avengers: Infinity War Part II, later renamed to Avengers: Endgame, promised a

crossover of epic proportions while also concluding the current story arc that the movies had

been building up until this point. They would see the Avengers, alongside newer heroes such as

Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy,

try and stop the Mad Titan Thanos (played by Josh Brolin) from collecting the six Infinity Stones

in order to wipe out half of all life in the universe. Infinity War and Endgame were released in

2018 and 2019 respectively to unprecedented acclaim. The linchpin films of the MCU were both

massive successes, with Avengers Endgame even going on to become the highest grossing film

ever, albeit only for a brief period of time. However, Marvel Studios wasn’t only succeeding on

the movie front. Also in 2019, after years of back and forth negotiations, Disney had finally

acquired 20th Century Fox. Many outlets reported on how this would make Disney as a whole

such a larger brand. However, NPR’s article Disney Officially Owns 21st Century Fox highlights

how this benefits Marvel Studios specifically, noting that the studio “will now also get Deadpool

and the Fox-owned Marvel characters such as the X-Men and Fantastic Four, allowing for the

full Marvel family to be united.” Since then, Marvel has gone on to release more successful

films, such as 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as starting to make
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shows for the streaming platform Disney+, such as 2022’s Moon Knight. On top of all that, they

have announced even more projects in the works, such as a new Fantastic Four film, a third

installment of the Deadpool franchise, and even two brand new Avengers movies. Although the

story that began all those years ago with Iron Man had finally come to a close, the future of the

MCU has never looked more full.

That being said, while I love Marvel ‘til this day, I’ll admit that I’m personally uncertain

about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, I’m excited that the likes of the

X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Deadpool will finally join this grand universe. I watched the

original X-Men movies alongside Iron Man and grew to love those characters as well, so seeing

them interact with the likes of Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Daredevil is an exciting

prospect. Regardless, I feel Marvel has been a little directionless since Endgame, and while most

of their products have stayed at high quality, some of them felt like they weren’t trying. And in

an era where some of their multimedia projects are growing in scope and creativity, such as

recent comic arcs, or game’s such as the 2018 PlayStation 4 title Marvel’s Spider-Man, the

possibility of the movies stagnating and not trying new things will only become increasingly

more noticeable if they don’t try new things. Despite all of this, I’m still there opening night for

every movie, and tune in every Wednesday for a new episode of any of their Disney+ shows.

Because at the end of the day, I grew up with this brand and these characters,s o no matter what

endeavors they’ll embark on, I’ll surely be there to see.

With many projects announced and much more in the pipeline, the Marvel train isn’t

stopping any time in the near future. Of course, not every single move of theirs is a sure fire

success. They’ve had many missteps along the way, even recently. However, the fact that

audiences still stick around and have faith is a testament to the achievement that Marvel has
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accomplished. They’ve managed to go from a near defunct company that focused on a niche

corner of entertainment to the dominant force of pop culture around the world. Marvel has

forever changed the face of entertainment, and one thing is for sure: they aren’t going away

anytime soon.

References

Scott, A. O. (2008, May 2). Heavy suit, light touches. The New York Times. Retrieved

November 29, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/movies/02iron.html

Schwartz, Matthew S. (2019, March 20). Disney Officially Owns 21st Century Fox. NPR.

Retrieved December 7, 2022, from

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/20/705009029/disney-officially-owns-21st-century-fox
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Harrison, Spencer. (2020, February 13). Marvel’s Blockbuster Machine. Harvard Business

Review. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from

https://hbr.org/2019/07/marvels-blockbuster-machine.