An Entertainment Feature
From its humble beginnings to its dominance over the Hollywood blockbuster, the story behind MARVEL STUDIOS’ rise to the top is as engaging and complex as the 2008 movie adaptation of An Armored Avenger that launched a multiverse infinity war!
Hard to believe that while Marvel Comics was on the cutting edge of revolutionizing the pulp magazine market, it was, like many of its most powerful heroes, on the brink of some financial crisis. Under the talented marksmanship of Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, among other famous creators, Marvel Comics revitalized the superhero comic book for the Modern Era, and in the 1960s introduced a pantheon of legendary personalities, that would evolve into the most sought after properties in entertainment, across multimedia.
With a catalog of surefire uniquely crafted characters like the every-man Peter Parker, who would weave a tangled web (getting more complicated as the decades go by) as everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, the misfit mutants, The Uncanny X-Men, as a metaphor for all of us who felt disenfranchised and on the outside of society, would become the publishing imprint’s best-selling book series for decades, and remain on the top of every top-selling list, even as an ever-loving Green Goliath named The Hulk smashed his way from the comic books and into primetime stardom.
One assumed that with Stan Lee and the Marvel name alone, the properties and their wild ascension to pop-culture relevance would have been enough to prove them lucrative and a mainstay money maker, but as revealed in the new book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios written by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards is an all-encompassing in-depth exploration of the behind-the-scenes and rise of Marvel Studios as a Hollywood powerhouse. It wasn’t always the case and before Kevin Feige became the President of Marvel Studios, it was in the hands of Avi Arad, a toy maker!
This book is the latest to take an analytical look at the emergence of the studio, becoming a crown jewel of the Disney brand of acquisitions, and goes a full 360 degrees into the making of not only the studio but the launch of each phase of film releases that have lead to the construction of a cinematic universe (coined the MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe) unlike anything the industry has ever seen. The MCU was brilliantly first explored in the 2-volume commemorative book The Story of Marvel Studios which stands as the first-ever, fully authorized look behind the history of Marvel Studios.
The latest novel is much more revelatory and insightful, in its approach to unraveling the density of the Marvel Studios epic origins, which are wrought with as much drama and suspense as any of the movies in the studio’s catalog. The backbiting and money grabs behind its ascent to becoming a formidable force in the movie industry, are very interesting indeed. The 2-volume offering is completely celebratory with gorgeous illustrations and photographs, many seen before, giving readers an unprecedented insider look.
What’s In a Timeline?
Another large format book just released is from DK Publishing, which has released several insightful officially licensed books that provide a unique perspective on the MCU, many helping to establish its “real world” practicality. This latest Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline has been highly anticipated by fans and is regarded as the official chronicling of the cinematic universe placing everything in chronological order. The large format, fully illustrated book features a foreword from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, adding to its authenticity. Feige, also suggests that the timeline will be incredibly useful especially as it enters its next phase.
The multiverse phase the films have currently explored may soon hit an unexpected fork in the road as the impending war with the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror portrayed by Jonathan Majors in both the Loki Original Series on Disney+ and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Further rumors suggest that Kang’s foray into the multiverse will be more complicated by the arrival of the Fantastic Four once they are introduced into the MCU. The timeline is incredibly detailed and moves fluidly with detailed looks at major players and moments in the MCU while keeping events very well organized.
Cleverly placed factoids offered up by Miss Minutes, the artificial intelligence at the heart of the TVA (introduced in Season One of the Loki Original Series) lend some support to some hiccups and inconsistencies that have sprung up over the decade, but overall impressively help to guide the reader on what has evolved over the years that the MCU has been in motion. Given that the MCU is still encouraging interest and drawing attention with new chapters of adventures including the recent Secret Invasion and the upcoming latest big-screen feature The Marvels fan appreciation is solid!
The studio has recently addressed a shift in the release schedule of most of its upcoming projects’ productions — some couldn’t be avoided due to the industry strikes, and some cynics have suggested that audiences are enduring superhero fatigue — Marvel Studios and the MCU continue to inspire the imagination and validate the most dedicated followers, who have been thrilled to see their favorite heroes come to life, and anxiously anticipate the arrival of still more to return to the spotlight. In the meantime check out these books and go further behind the curtain. Excelsior!
Get your #FansEyeView of THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE An Official Timeline trailer here:
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios | by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards is available now on Amazon for $28.83 and published by Liveright Publishing.
The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe | by Tara Bennett, and Paul Terry, with a foreword from Kevin Feige and an afterword from Robert Downey, Jr. is available now on Amazon for $108.59 and published by Harry N. Abrams Publishing.
Marvel Studios the Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline | by Anthony Breznican, Amy Ratcliffe, and Rebecca Theodore-Vachon. is available now on Amazon for $32.85 and published by Harry N. Abrams Publishing.