By the time Marvel reached Avengers: Infinity War, it had developed a rich, wide, inter-connected mythology. Infinity War was sold as the culmination of the 10-year journey for the cinematic universe. Even though it was not a secret that there was going to be another Avengers movie the year after, Marvel gave the strong impression that this was the ultimate end of this first generation of the MCU
Infinity War was a monster hit and rightly so. As I wrote in my review for the movie, I was in awe of of how the writers and directors balanced the amazing cadre of characters that Marvel had assembled over the last 10 years. I was even more impressed by the boldness that their narrative structure took by making Thanos' quest take the place of the traditional hero's journey. The movie was a big and bold spectacle that popped because of the chemistry between the odd mash-ups of film franchises. The Iron Man movies are so different than Doctor Strange, and yet the interaction between the two worlds was fun and fascinating.
But the most important thing that Infinity War did was letting our heroes lose. Up until this point, the heroes had never really lost. Even Captain America: Civil War was a kind of stalemate. But here, the best that the MCU had to offer failed horribly. And the price that was paid devastated fans as we watched some of our favorite characters disappear. To this day, people still quote: "Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good." And the emotions that this line dregs up are unpleasant. I have likened this film to The Empire Strikes Back, because (as I have said often) after the first Star Wars you wanted the Rebels to win but after Empire, you needed the Rebels to win. Handing the Avengers their worst defeat made audiences desperate to see them come out on top again.
And as with the original Avengers, there was a bump in box office for the following films. Ant-Man and the Wasp earned $36 million more than the first Ant-Man. It would have helped more if this film was more closely tied to Infinity War. I think this is why the next movie was placed so close to Endgame.
Captain Marvel came to the box office amidst controversy. There had been a lot of rumbling online about the movie's content, but particularly there were those who found star Brie Larson to be abrasive towards a significant portion of the fan base. There were those who were predicting that because the pre-buzz on the movie was so negative that this could lead to a soft box office and derail the MCU. However, that did not happen as Captain Marvel has made $424 million domestically, making it highest grossing non-Avengers film in the MCU besides Black Panther.
So why didn't this supposed backlash manifest? Here are a few reasons:
1. Endgame Pre-show.
Many people who were hungry for any hints as to what was going to happen in Endgame were excited to take in any clues regarding the more anticipated film.
2. The Marvel Brand
In an age when no franchise, not even Star Wars is a guarantee of quality, Marvel has been zealously engaged in quality control over its franchise. As I have stated in previous articles, people criticize Marvel (unfairly in my view) of playing it safe to the point of mediocrity. But Marvel knows that it has created a certain set of expectations in its viewers and that they are guaranteed a certain level of quality and a certain type of film.
3. Oblivious to Controversy.
While many on the Internet raged against elements in Captain Marvel, the general public was mostly unaware of them. All they knew was that this was a Marvel movie that opened close to Endgame.
And then finally we reached Endgame. The box office records shattered as this movie entered theaters. This, rather than Infinity War, was the true send off to the first decade of the MCU. The movie was all about wrapping up the major story lines in a cathartic way that would be emotionally fulfilling for the audiences. Again, Marvel understood something that many movie franchises need to learn: the economy of emotional investment.
Audiences not only invested their time and money into the MCU, but they also invested their emotion. They bonded with the characters in a special way. And this was not a simple investment of a couple of hours. This was an investment over several years through multiple movie series. This was unlike any emotional investment in movie history. However, the "in thing" to do in movies, it seems, is to subvert expectations. However, if you do this at the expense of the emotional investment of the audience, they will feel as though they have been robbed, cheated by the filmmakers. But the Russo Brothers and Marvel were smart in subverting plot expectations while using that as a set up for enormous emotional pay-offs. Because of this, Endgame struck a chord with so many audience members and will go on to be one of the highest grossing films of all time.
We will see if the the Spider-Man movie gets an Avengers bump, which I believe it will. But this takes us to the end of what Marvel calls "Phase 3."
So what is in store for the future for Marvel?
We know that we are going to be getting sequels to Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Guardians of the Galaxy. They are also developing a movie about The Eternals. It has been widely stated that Captain Marvel would go on to be the figurehead of this next phase, the way the Iron Man was of the first decade. I think that this would be a mistake. Though her movie made a great deal of money, general audiences are not emotionally connected to her the way they are to the one who should be the new figurehead: Spider-Man.
Not only is Tom Holland young enough to show a much longer evolution to the character, Spider-Man is one of the most popular, if not THE most popular, super hero ever created. Now that Marvel has them back in their stable of characters, this should be a no-brainer.
A friend of mine asked if it was all downhill after Endgame. I said yes and no. The next few movies will not make nearly as much as Endgame, nor should they be expected to do so. Marvel has ended their first major story-arc. They now have to start over with the seeds planted in their current series. If they take the same care as they did this last decade, I do not see a reason why they can build over the next ten to another mega-hit like Endgame. And keep in mind, with the acquisition of Fox, we will see a reintroduction of the X-Men and the Fantastic Four into the MCU.
But the question is: will Marvel stick to their winning formula or experiment with it? Can they keep telling exciting stories about the traditional values of heroism and courage? Or will they slowly start declining into irrelevance.
Only time will tell.
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