Unit26

Me&MyMovies
LillyGrant

MarvelUniverse
TheMarvelCinematicUniverse(MCU)isanAmericanmediafranchiseandshareduniversethatiscenteredona
seriesofsuperherofilms,independentlyproducedbyMarvelStudiosandbasedoncharactersthatappearin
publicationsbyMarvelComics.Thefranchisehasexpandedtoincludecomicbooks,shortfilms,televisionseries
anddigitalseries.Theshareduniverse,muchliketheoriginalMarvelUniverseincomicbooks,wasestablishedby
crossingovercommonplotelements,settings,cast,andcharacters.

Content:
History-Origin
BigFranchises
Subgenres

Conventions
SocialNetworking&FanBase

AudienceTheory
Intertextuality(Therelationshipbetweenatextandformofmedia)
Liveaction

Representation-Age/Race/Ethnicity

History/Origin

MarvelComicsisthecommonnameandoriginalnameofMarvelWorldwideInc.,informertimesMarvel
Publishing,Inc.andMarvelComicsGroup,anAmericanpublisherofcomicbooksandrelatedmedia.In
2009,TheWaltDisneyCompanysecuredMarvelEntertainment,MarvelWorldwide'sparentcompany.

Marvelbeganin1939asTimelyPublications,andbytheearly1950shadgenerallybecomeknownas
AtlasComics.Marvel'spresentincarnationdatesfrom1961,theyearthatthecompanylaunchedThe
FantasticFourandothersuperherotitlescreatedbyStanLee,JackKirby,SteveDitkoandmanyothers.

Marvelcountsamongitscharacterssuchwell-knownsuperheroesasIronMan,CaptainAmerica,Hulk,
Thor,DoctorStrange,Spider-Man,Deadpool,WolverineandAnt-Man,suchteamsastheAvengers,the
GuardiansoftheGalaxy,theInhumans,theFantasticFour,andtheX-Men,andantagonistssuchas
DoctorDoom,RedSkull,GreenGoblin,Thanos,Ultron,DoctorOctopus,Magneto,VenomandLoki.Most
ofMarvel'sfictionalcharactersoperateinasinglerealityknownastheMarvelUniverse,withlocations
thatmirrorreal-lifecities.CharacterssuchasSpider-Man,theFantasticFour,theAvengers,Daredeviland
DoctorStrangearebasedinNewYorkCity,whereastheX-MenhavehistoricallybeenbasedinSalem
Center,NewYorkandHulk'sstoriesoftenhavebeensetintheSouthwesternUnitedStates.TheMarvel
CinematicUniverse(MCU)thenevolvedfromthecomics.

"Youthinkyou'retheonlysuperherointheworld?Mr.
Stark,you'vebecomepartofabiggeruniverse.Youjust
don'tknowityet."

NickFury,IronMan

TheMarvelCinematicUniverseorMCUisamixedsettingproducedbyMarvelEntertainmentandMarvel
Studios.ItwasdistributedbyParamountandUniversalfrom2008-2011,followedbyDisneyfrom2012on,
withSonyco-producingsomeoftheirfilmsfrom2016onward.StartingwithIronManin2008,thesetting
hasgrowntoinvolvevariousfilmadaptationsofMarvel'smanycomicbookattributes,withamajortarget
onTheAvengersandtheirvariousmembers.ThesettingalsopromotessecondaryMarvelproperties,such
asthespyorganizationS.H.I.E.L.D.,ascommonelementsthattiethedifferentfilmstogether.

EssentiallyeveryMarvelpropertyisbeingconsideredinsomecapacity,withmorescriptsbeingwrittenthan
couldeverbeused.KevinFeige,presidentofMarvelStudios,claimedin2014thattheyhaveMCUfilms
plannedoutuntil2028.

Marvelhasbecomethehighest-grossingfranchiseincinematichistory(arecordthatisunlikelytoeverbe
disputed),anditswildsuccesshascausedarippleeffect,withnearlyeverystudiolookingtobuildsimilar
interconnecteduniverses,oratleastbetterdeveloptheintellectualpropertiesthattheyalreadyhave.

Superherofilmsarecommonlyanoffshootoffantasy-action
films,basedquiteoftenonanoriginalcomic-striporcomic
bookcharacter.Fictionalsuper-heroeswithextraordinary

powers,derivedfrom1930s-1960scomicbooksandothermorerecentsources,havebeenthe
subjectsofnumerousfantasyandsci-fifilms(bothlive-actionandanimated,andserializedand
feature-length)withaction-orientedheroesandheroines.Superheroesarerepeatedlychosento
bethesubjectsofbig-budgetblockbusterfilms,withglossyproductionvalues,expensiveCGI
specialeffectsandsets,make-upandcostuming.Usually,asimplisticplotlineinvolvesthe
superhero'sstruggleagainstanarch-nemesisorsuper-villain(usuallyinterestedinworld
domination,theacquisitionofriches,orthewreakingofvengeance).

Inmodernpopularfiction,asuperheroisatypeofcostumedheroiccharacterwhopossesses
supernaturalorsuperhumanpowersandwhoisdedicatedtofightingcrime,protectingthepublic,and
usuallybattlingsupervillains.

TheSuperherogenreitselfdoeshaveseveralconventionsincluding:

Havingeitherextraordinarypowers,equipmentorskills-awideselectionof
superpowersincludingflying,superstrength,x-rayvisionoreventheunnatural
animalpowers(suchasSpiderMan'suncannyabilitytoclimbwallsandshoot
websoutofthepalmsofhishands).Howeverapersondoesnotneed
superpowerstobecomeasuperhero.Insteadtheycouldhavespecialitems
(suchasWolverine'sclaworCaptainAmerica'sshield).Orasuperheromight
notevenhaveaspecialitem,butmayjustbeincrediblyskilled(liketheBlack
Widowforinstance).

AMoralCode-whenasuperherohasawillingnesstorisktheirsafetyfor
anotherperson/groupofpeoplewithouthavingareward.Thecodeoften
meanstheywon'tkilloruselethalweaponsagainstanotherperson.
ASecretIdentity-asuperherowillalmostalwayshaveasecretidentity(like
Superman'saliasisClarkKent)tohelpprotecttheirclosefriendsandfamily.
Thesuperherowilloftenhaveaconfidantwhotheywillhaveswornthemto
secrecy.
SupportingCharacters-asuperheromayhaveasidekick(forinstanceBatman
andRobin)butthismaybecomeacomplicatedrelationshipduetothe
superhero'sduallifestyle.

Motif-Amotifwillbeindividualtoasuperheroandthiswilldistinguishthemfroma
differentsuperhero.Itcanbecometheirsignaturetrademarkandwilloftenaffecttheir
lifestyleinsomeshapeorform.
FinancialSupport-oftenindependentwealth(BatmanorIronMan)orhavingan
occupationthatrequiresminimalsupervision(ClarkKentwhoisareporter)

Headquarters-Thisisaplacewhereasuperhero(orsometimesthesupervillain)can
havetheirbaseofoperations.Theirheadquartersareoftendisguisedsotheycanavoid
detectionfromthegeneralpublicoreventheirenemies!Thesuperheroswilloftendeck
outtheirheadquarterswithtopofrange/alientechnologyhoweverforsomesuperheros,
theywillnothaveapermanentheadquartersbutratheramobilebaseofoperations
wheretheycanstoretheircostume,informationetc.

Backstory-Abackstorywilloftenadddepthtoasuperhero'spersonalityandusually
explainshowthesuperherogottheirpowers(usuallyinatragic/freakaccident)orhow
theygotspurredontowantedtobecomeasuperhero.

AchillesHeel-Thisisalsoknownasthesuperhero'sspecificweaknesswhichisan
importantplotdevicewhichthesupervilliansusetounhingethesuperhero.

RoguesGallery-Thesuperherohastonormallyfightasetofvillains(knownasrogues)
onaregularbasis.Oftenasuperherohasanarchenemywhoismoretroublesomethan
theothercriminalsandwilloftenbethedoppelgangertothesuperhero'spersonality(e.g
BatmanissilentanddarkwhereastheJokerisflamboyantandgarrulous).

Costumefeatures-Asuperhero'scostumeautomaticallymakesthemmore
recognisabletothereader,andoftenthecostumesareaspecificcoloursettomake
themmoreiconic.

SocialNetworking&FanBase
Whatever,orwhomeveryoureafanof-youaremorethanlikelyafanofsomethingorsomeone.
Andalsomorethanlikely,whateverorwhomeveryoureafanof,youarenottheonlywhoisa
fanofthatsomethingorsomeone.Thisisknownasafandom.

Fanstheygototheconventions,movies,buymerchandiseetc..fandomshavetakenover,not
onlythenation,buttheworld!Whilewemayjustrefertothemasfansofsomething,they
considerthemselvestobealotmorethanthat.ThinkofitkindoflikegroupiesofHarryPotter
orKatyPerry,orOneDirection.Thesearemorethanjustfans,thesearepeoplewithapassion
andnotjustsomeofthetime,lifestyle,gearedtothefandomoftheirliking.Fromwearingthe
signatureclothingofthecharacter,story,singer,actor,movie,etc.toknowingwhatthat
character,singeroractormightwear,eat,sing,walk,talk,etc...Itsmorethanjustpaying
attentionitsknowingthesubjectbywrote.Theyarepowerfulsubculturesemerginginour
society.

ManyfanbasesonTVhavetheirownnicknames.Somearegeneratedbythemselves,some
fromobserversandsomefromdetractors.MarvelfansareknownasMarvelZombies.Ifyouare
afanofaspecificherofansalsohavenicknamessuchasifyouareamassivespider-manfan
youarelikelytobetermedasaweb-headorweb-warriors,BatmanfansarecalledBatFans.
Withthearrivalofthedigitalage,theexpectationwasthatthis75year-oldcompany,whosevery
businessiscompletelyingrainedintraditionalprintmedia,wouldjustbelefttowrinkleand
brownliketheearly-90'sGhostRidercomicsboxedawayinfansattics,Howeverthishasbeen
farfromthefateofMarvel!

Marvelhasplayedahugepartinthepushtobuildabridgebetweenprintanddigitalcontentsincemid
2012byrevolutionisingthewaycomicbooksareconsumed,throughinnovativeappdesignand
comprehensiveonlineandofflineaccesstoitsbrandnewandvintagecomics.

Marvelhasalsoshownincredibleskillinrebuildingitsownbrandthroughexpertcontentmarketingand
becomingapeerlessheavyweightinthesummerblockbustermarket.
Marvelmakesahugeamountofitscontentonlinethroughitsmanyandvariedsocialmediachannels
eachofferinguniquecontent,tailoredtotherespectiveplatform.

Google+
MarvelkeepsitsGoogle+pagespecifictoitslatestcinematicendeavour.
Marvelhasgainedanimpressive4mfollowers
onitspage.Eventhoughrecentstudiessuggest
thatjust35%ofGoogle+usersareactive,
Marvelmanagesastronglevelofinteraction
andengagement.

Eachpostreceivesbetween1,0003,500
pluses,andhundredsofresharesand
comments.Mostofthecontentisexclusiveto
thischannelandMarveltakesadvantageof
Google+sfullimageview,byproviding
followerswithcontentthatdoesnthavetobe
clickedforthefullversion.Marvelalso
highlightsitstechnologicaladvancementsby
offeringinteractiveposters,thatrequiresa
smartphonetoactivatethe3Dimage.

Twitter
Marvelhasrealisedthevalue
ofTwitterasthekey
platformthatmodern
televisionaudiencesuseto
second-screen.
Thistrendhasrather
serendipitouslyoccurredat
thesametimethatMarvel
hasspreaditscinematic
universetotelevision,with
itsspin-offseriesAgentsof
SHIELD.
Duringeachbroadcast,
Marvellive-tweetstheaction
andregularlyretweets
followersbestefforts.

Infact,Marvelmakesahugeeffortinretweetingitsfollowers.Ifyouhaveaglancedownthefeedit
showsthathalfofMarvelstweetsareretweets.Thisencouragesahugesenseofcommunityand
engagement.
ThereseverythingonitsTwitterfromlinkstopodcastinterviewswithwriters,teasertrailersforfilms,
exclusivesneakpreviewsofartwork,friendlybanterwithfollowersandlinkstothird-partymerchandise.
Itsahugelyentertainingandinformativechannel,fullofpersonalityandcommunityspirit.

Instagram

MarvelsInstagramisanothersocialchannelfullof
exclusive,attractivecontentthatuserswontfindanywhere
else.
Offeringregularpreviewsnapsofnextweeksnewreleases
piledtogether.

Pinterest
MarvelrunsaPinterestpage,featuringwellthemedandstockedboards,
fullofexclusiveimages.Marvelcanbeasthoroughandcomprehensive
asitlikesinfillingupitsalbums,inawaythatwouldbealittleexhausting
forafolloweronothersocialchannels.TheMarvelNOWboardfor
instance,whereMarvelteasesitslatestcomicbooktitles,has594pins
and29,777followers.
Justlikeinitsotherchannels,Marvelhasgaugedtheexpectationsof
Pinterestfollowers,byprovidingcontentthatsappealingtothisparticular
channel.Marvelcementsitscommitment
toitsreadersbyregularlypublishing
photosofthemdressedastheirfavourite
heroesfromvariouscomicconventions.

AudienceTheory&Marvel
AudienceTheoryisabouthowaudiencesreadtextsandhowtheyinteractwiththem.

WhenamoviefranchiseisaspopularandcommerciallysuccessfulastheMarvelCinematic
Universe,itsinevitablethatalotofpeoplewilltalkaboutit.Mostpeoplespeakofitfondly,
somechoosetocriticizeit,butalmosteverybodyhastheirowntheoriesaboutwhatwillhappen
inthefranchiseinthefuture.Thatsundoubtedlyagoodthing,becauseitgivesfanssomething
todebatewitheachotherabout,itkeepsfansentertainedinbetweenreleasesinthefranchise.

Thetheoriesinquestioncanrangefromstartlinglyobviouspredictions(Thanoswilltakethe
MindStonefromVisionsforeheadinAvengers:InfinityWar!)tofarmorespeculativeones
suchastheMCUhavingmoreofaFemaleGazethereisatrendtowardswhatcanbe
interpretedasthefemalegazeandatypicallyheterosexualfemaleviewofattractiveness.There
aremuscular,partiallyorfullyexposedmenondisplay,andeachcouldbeonalistofhottest
actorsinHollywood.Theyreparagonsofmalebeauty.Youllfindfanart,fanfiction,and
photographsoftheactorsinwett-shirtstakenfrommagazines,alltheretopandertothefans
ofthesefilmsindifferentways.youcanmaketheargumentthatthesefilmsareasmuchfor
womenastheyareformen.BlackWidow,whogoesfromanobjectofdesirebeforeherreveal
inIronMan2toanagentofstrengthandpowerinWinterSoldier.Sheisamalepowerfantasy,
butinfemaleform.However,onecouldstillargueagainstthefemalegaze,sayingthatthe
purposeofthesemenintightspandexistoappealtothemalepowerfantasy.Buttheycanalso
beviewedasunattainablestandardsofwhatamanshouldbe,ahugeaspectofthesuperhero
archetype.

ThereareaudiencetheoriesthatplayahugeroleinhowtheaudiencereceiveMarvelfilmson
theoryiscalledHypodermicNeedletheory,Thistheorywasusedtoinfluencetheaudienceto
buymediaproductsand/orforpoliticalandpropagandapurposesduringthe1920s-1930se.g.
Nazipropaganda.

Theconceptisthattheaudienceareimpactedbythemessagesofamediaproduct,which
statesthattheywillabsorbtheintendedinformationasifbeinginjectedbyasyringeaswellas
theideas,attitudesandbeliefintotheaudience.
Thisisdonethroughthepowerofpersuasionwhichisconductedineitheramanipulated
mannerorinalessinfluentialandsubtleway.Howeveritscompletelyuptotheaudienceifthey
areaffectedbyit.Thisisbecausepeopleareaffectedinvariouswaysandeveniftheaudience
aremoremindfulofthemassmediaandhowtheytrytoinjectthesemessages,therehave
beensomecaseswerefilmsforexamplehaveanimpactonpeople,bothpositive&negative.So
forexamplemarvelfilmscouldbeseentohaveanegativeeffectonthechildrenwatchingdue
totheviolenceinthefilms&comics,maybetheycouldbelievetheyhavesuperpowersanddo
somethingpotentiallydangerousoritcouldbeseenasthesuperherosarearolemodelhelping
andsavingpeople,apositiveinfluence.

AnothertheorytotakeintoaccountisUses&GratificationsTheory,Incontrasttothe
hypodermicneedletheorywheretheaudiencecannotavoidthefixedinfluencebymedia
product,makingthemapassiveaudience.Usesandgratificationtheorysuggeststheaudience
takesonanactiveroleandcanmakedecisionsontheirownastowhathasanimpactonthem
withnoconflictwithotherinfluentialaspects.

Theaudiencehasauthorityoverthemediathataffectsthem,alsoallowingthemtousethe
mediatoseekoutspecificmediafortheirowngratificationincontrasttothemediapicking
them,manipulatingthemfortheirownadvantageandfinancialgainwhichdoesnotapplywith
theprevioustheory.Sointhiscasetheaudiencearebeingactiveandwatchingforenjoyment
anddontfeeltheyhavetohavethelatestmarvelthingetc.

Anaudiencememberwatchingamarvelfilmmaybepassiveoractive,Thesetheoriessuggests

thattheaudiencesubconsciouslyconsumemediums(television,filmandnewspapers)
mindlessly,andacceptittobetruewhereasactiveaudiencesdebatesthetruthfulnessabout
themediasourceandtakesonanactiverole,criticallyevaluatingthesourcebeforedismissing
oracceptingthemessage.

Theoriessuchastheusesandgratificationtheory,encoding/decodingtheoryandreception
theorysuggeststhataudiencesconsciouslyconsumemediumsknowingly,comingtotheirown
interpretationofit.

MarvelproducersProducersusetheseelementsofpassiveandactiveconsumptionswhen
theymakefilmssothattheaudienceaccepttheintendedmessagewithoutquestionwhile
othersareconsciouslyawareofthisandquestionsit.

Intertextuality
Intertextualityaboundsintherealmofcomicbooks.LetstakeMarvelComicsforexample:

InMarvelsmovies,StanLee,co-creatorofmanycomicbookcharacters,hasappearedinmany
ofMarvelsmoviesasacameo,oftenforonlyafewseconds.Cameosareoftenusedinfilmsas
theysometimesreferencethingsoutsideoftheworldofthefilm.

Example:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CvIX1SIJkg

MarvelComics,whichalsocreatesmanypopularcomicbookmoviesthroughitsstudiodivision,
hasashareduniverse(calledEarth-616)inwhichalloftheoriginalversionsofitscharacters
exist.TheAvengers,Spider-Man,Thor,TheHulk,andtheX-Menallexisttogetherinonesingle
universe,despitehavingdifferentwriters,pencillersandinkersfortheirvariedandrespective
titles.Notonlyisthereanin-universecontinuity,butthecharactersareoftenbroughttogether
fortheirin-universeevents(andalsotoboostcomicbooksales).Thisnotionofmultiverses

alsoexplainshowPeterParkercanbedeadintheUltimateMarveluniverse,andstillbealivein
theEarth-616universe.

Marvelsfirstsuccessfulcrossoverevent,SecretWars,literallyisatextthatisanewissueof
pastcitations.Well-establishedcharactersareputtogetherintoasinglerunofissues.Within
theconfinesofaparticularcrossoverevent,changeswilloccursometimestocharacters,
sometimestemporary,othertimespermanently.SpideyfanswillnotethatSpider-Manreceives
ablackcostumethatiseventuallyrevealedtobethealienSymbioteknownasVenomduringthe
courseofeventsinSecretWars.

Liveaction

Forthefirsttimeever,iconicMarvelSuperHeroesandvillainswillbebroughttolifein
aspectacularliveactionfamilyarenashow,whenMarvelUniverseLIVE!SuperHeroes
AssembletouchesdownatTheO2thisSeptember.Bringingtogetherthelargest
assemblyofMarvelcharactersinaliveproduction,audienceswillbeabletowatch
someoftheirfavouriteMarvelSuperHeroesstepoutofthesilverscreenandontothe
stage-bringingtheactiontoliferightbeforetheireyes.

Alive,action-packedarenaperformance,Itsbeinghailedasthemosttechnically
advancedliveshowever,withcutting-edgespecialeffects,pyrotechnics,aerialstunts,
martialarts,motorcyclesandmore.

Representation
Overthepastcoupleyears,Marvelhasputthespotlightonpeopleofdiverseethnicities,
bodytypes,religions,andgenders/sexualorientations.Thisisamassivestepforward
foranartisticmediumthathasalwaysbeendominatedbyaverymale,verywhite
demographic.Ithinkwhenyoungpeoplefromalldifferentbackgroundscanlookat
thesesuperheroesandseeabitofthemselvesinthem,it'sasteptowardabetter,more
inclusiveworld.

Examplesinclude:

MilesMorales:Spiderman
ThesonofAfrican-AmericanandPuertoRican
parents,MilesMoralesisakidfromBrooklynwhoalso

happenedtobebittenbyanenhancedspider.WhileIcouldgofurtherintohis
background(he'sactuallyfromanalternateuniverse),thegististhathe'snowthenew
Spider-ManandakeymemberoftheAvengers.

KamalaKhanisPakistani-Americanteenagerwho'staken
onthemantleofoneofMarvel'smostmarvelousheroes.
HavingaMuslimgirlasthepublisher'stitularcharacteris
ahugedeal,especiallyintimeswhereIslamophobia
seemstoberunningrampant.

RiriWilliams:IronHeart

ShebuiltherownIronMansuit.Afterthat,she
receivedTonyStark'sofficialendorsementto
becomehissuccessor.

America Chavez, Miss America

Aninvincible,super
strong,flying,
Hispanic-American
lesbiansuperherofrom
anotherdimension.

References:
www.marveluniverselive.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Comics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Universe

https://econsultancy.com/blog/64502-how-marvel-comics-uses-google-pinterest-instagram-an
d-twitter/

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/marvel-comics-representation

https://miamieng112cb.wordpress.com/resources/a-guide-to-intertextuality/

https://www.themarysue.com/marvel-cinematic-universe-female-gaze/

http://superherosummerblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/what-are-conventions-of-superhero-genr
e.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_theory
https://prezi.com/qzrhleajomeo/understand-how-media-audiences-respond-to-media-products/
https://www.slideshare.net/TheJellehKed/audience-responses-29391122
https://www.slideshare.net/snortontaylor/media-effects-debates?next_slideshow=1