Black Panther is a real eye opener in the world of comic book movies due to its predominantly black cast and director. Black Panther is regarded as the first black superhero first appearing in a Fantastic Four comic in July 1961, the character then went on to join the Avenger's in 1963 where he became a mainstay for the next several years. Later on, Black Panther headlined his first comic book named "The Panthers Rage" which went on for two years. So, for Marvel to take this historical character as their first superhero film with a black superhero it completely makes sense. The character of Black Panther first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in Captain America Civil War, the King of Wakanda became a fan favourite from the very moment he appeared on screen. Black Panther later received his own standalone film in 2018 which achieved $1.344 billion at the box office.
Although it is hard to pinpoint the first comic book movie as it can be argued to be plenty of different characters. However, it may be hard to believe but it is neither Marvel nor DC who own the alleged first comic book movie it is widely believed that The Mark of Zorro (1920) is the first comic book movie. This shows how comic book movies haven't just been around in the 21st century as there is a long line of comic book movies released since 1920. This may not be expected as Zorro isn't even the first comic book character it is believed that Superman is the first comic book character getting his first comic book in Spring of 1939. There are so many comic book movies nowadays from the likes of Avengers: Endgame to Spider-man No Way Home to Black Adam you may be thinking why are there so many comic book movies? Superhero films sort of came back to life in the 1960s with the introduction of the Batman Television show, although the show may look weird and funky with the onomatopoeia of words like "Pow" or "Crash" or even the iconic theme tune that may be echoing throughout your head now, it really brought back the superhero genre which was reinvigorated in the 1970s with films like Superman and the introduction of the franchise Star Wars. From here on the superhero genre has been a massive part in pop culture with phrases often referencing these iconic superhero films. Furthermore, superhero films really took over not only cinema but the world in the 2000s with the introduction of the MCU.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around since 2008 with its first film being Iron man which was a great success for the MCU leading it to make 29 movies from Iron Man (2008) to Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) and 8 TV shows from WandaVision (2021) to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law with many more on the way including the sequel to Black Panther 2018, Black Panther Wakanda Forever releasing on the 11th of November. Iron Man was a great success for many reasons, one of the main reasons I believe it was so successful was it casting. Robert Downey Jr was in a lot of controversy at the time due to his personal issues however it is without a doubt that he brought his best performance to the character as he brought Marvel's success to them. Another reason for its success is probably the films trailer which looked action packed and fun. Iron Man had a very different tone to the other superhero films released in 2008 like The Dark Knight due to its light-hearted nature and excellent cast choices. The MCU has a great rivalry with the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) as both film universes often battled for the claim to be the best superhero universe. Although neither of the two have been crowned superior to one another I think Marvel sets itself apart from the DCEU, due to its lack of inconsistency. The DCEU's lack of consistency is almost the exact opposite for the MCU as fans often find themselves receiving two or three films a year and many TV shows. However, sometimes you may find the MCU hard to navigate as it's hard to decide whether to watch it through in release date order or timeline order, I think it's best to watch the MCU in release order due to its chaotic introduction to characters. One of the main reasons the MCU is considered the biggest franchise is the genius of Kevin Feige. Kevin Feige is the president of Marvel Studios and the producer of the MCU since 2007. Kevin Feige has almost perfectly crafted the MCU to make fans still interested in it for just over 15 years, Feige excellent choice in casting and deciding which movies will be being produced next made the MCU so interesting and made fans want to see more due to them leaving a little hint to their next project in the credits of the film. Feige wondered why there wasn't enough comic book movies due to his love of comics as a child and his passion for films in the 1980s. I have linked a video on how he explains he began in the movie business.
Even though the MCU has been so successful there are still many issues and debates surrounding how the MCU represents groups. A repeating critique of the MCU seems to be the concerns of a lack of representations and diversity. A popular example of this alarming area is how the Maximoff twins Jewish and Romanian origins were erased in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Although, it does seem the MCU has tried to right its wrongs and has produced more diverse films and tv shows such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Ms Marvel and Black Panther which all offer representations of different ethnic groups and varied genders. Another issue that has risen in the MCU is that there is a massive double standard between male and female behaviours. For example, Captain Marvel received an absurd amount of hate after the release of Captain Marvel in 2019 who was criticised for her confidence presented in the film. But when it is Iron Man or Doctor Strange acting in the same if not worse, they rarely receive criticism for their behaviour. While this isn't the fault of the MCU it is more a fault of the toxic fanbase surrounding the MCU this leads to a lack of strong female characters and an imbalance of male to female characters, as currently there are only five female title leads and two of which share the title with a male counterpart. I think that this shows that the MCU struggles to approach female leads as they don't want to face backlash for being too "woke".
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