Marvel Comic books became popular in 1941 due to infamous writer Stan Lee. Throughout his long career Lee wrote around 3,000 comic books and created over 300 characters. Considering the times of Lee’s career, these characters where all extremely diverse and unusually (due to the time) accepted by Marvel fans across the globe. Some examples of these characters are- Luke Cage, Storm, America Chavez, Shang-Chi, Leiko Wu, and most popular- Black Panther. The history of comic book movies dates all the way back to the late 1970’s when “Superman: The Movie” appeared on the big screen, this was the very first large budget comic superhero movie, and it certainly paved the way for many more to come. “Iron Man” (2008) was the very first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it had a significantly large impact on the superhero genre. The movies heavily drew inspiration from the comic books created by, Stan Lee, Larry Leiber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby. In the comics Iron Man made his debut in 1963 and instantly became a fan-favourite character. The film stayed true to the essence of the character and the thrilling origin story as did the many MCU films that were to come. Throughout the years, comic book films have immensely gained popularity and a large fanbase which has led it to be a major genre in the film industry. It has captured the imagination of their audience's worldwide with their captivating plots, well-known characters, and intense action sequences. Today, comic book movies have significant roles in popular culture and are even being considered for some of the greatest, most impressive awards in the industry. These movies have consistently entertained and inspired their audience for over 50 years.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a series of interconnected and intertwined superhero movies, formally written as comics, produced by Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios. The marvel pictures journey all began with “Iron Man” in 2008 played by the much-loved actor, Robert Downey Jr, and has since expanded to now include over 20 films that feature many comic book favourite characters including: Thor, Black Widow, Captain America, The Hulk...... and many more. The tremendous success of the MCU can certainly be attributed to its well-crafted storytelling and engaging characters. All of the films weave together the multiple storylines to form one cohesive perfectly unison universe. The franchise has been a hit with both comic books and motion pictures. They have achieved extreme greatness when it comes to box office success and together all of the films have made roughly $29.6 billion which will only go on to fund more beloved movies. The MCU has become a cultural phenomenon, captivating some of the world's largest audiences and creating a shared universe that keeps their fans eagerly anticipating each new instalment. Marvel's biggest success movie by far is "Avengers Endgame", this was a monumental film that marked the culmination of over a decade of storytelling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Avengers Endgame" shattered box office records and for a long time held the title of highest grossing movie of all time total with a worldwide box office revenue of 29.55 billion U.S. dollars. It was a thrilling and emotional conclusion to the Avenger's journey and an extremely remarkable way of bringing together an ensemble cast of beloved characters. As well as their success' in the cinematography industry, Marvel also have played a large role in many charitable success', Marvel Studios has donated a total of $1.25 million to both Make-A-Wish and Starlight Children's Foundation to celebrate their 10th anniversary- the benefits and effects that this charitable act will have on many families is just as big a success as any of their box office break-throughs.
By leveraging diversity & inclusion for enhancing innovation, Marvel created an inclusive cinematic universe showcasing a wide representation of society. Representation within the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a heated topic of discussion amongst critics. Some critics have pointed out the lack of diversity in terms of race, gender, and sexuality- LGBTQIA+ representation in the earlier phases of the cinematic universe. However, Marvel Studios have been making many efforts in recent years to address these concerns and right these wrongs. Examples of this is the “Black Panther” movie that was released in 2018 that has been said to be the first MCU movie with a deep connection and respect to culture, there is also the “Captain Marvel” movie that was released in 2019 with a homosexual main character. These where both truly groundbreaking movies that highlighted diverse characters and stories and did not tokenise them and hide them in the background. As well as this, there is now so many examples of diverse MCU films including Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Eternals, The Marvels and many more. Their movies now are set to include diverse casts and equal representations and Marvel are taking steps towards better inclusivity within their cinematic universe. It still cannot be erased the fact that their films in the beginning had mainly white males as the main characters and this is still a concern to many fans but, Marvel have now included these long-loved characters in thoroughly diverse surroundings- this process is still ongoing but it is much appreciated by many to see the franchise taking steps in the right direction.
A study conducted by Brigham Young found that until 2021, only 6.7% of characters in the MCU were female. Moreover, according to Forbes, nearly 61% of superheroes featured in MCU films were white until 2018. Sophomore Allison Lin states that this lack of racial and cultural representation has negatively impacted the MCU, especially its younger audience. “Because of the lack of diversity, young kids who are culturally and racially diverse didn’t get the chance to feel like they fit in [the MCU],” Lin said. “If [the kids] wanted to dress up for Halloween, there weren’t any [superheroes] that matched their skin color, and having to put on a blond wig, for example, won’t make them feel like themselves.”
“Eternals,” scheduled to release on Nov. 5, introduces an openly gay character as well as the first deaf superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The cast of “Eternals” also contains a mix of five female and five male actors of diverse races and ethnicities, such as Black, Asian and Hispanic. Lin shares that the increasing minority representation in recent movies affects her on a personal level.
“It was very exciting for me and my family to see [‘Shang-Chi’] and be able to connect to the characters, especially with their expectations growing up,” Lin said. “For ‘Eternals,’ I think it would normalize talking about LGBTQ [themes] within my family.”
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