Friday I’m In Love: The Marvel Cinematic Universe
I promise I’m not going to spoil Endgame.
Let’s just forget for a moment that I’m about to praise the work of a multi-billion (maybe trillion?) dollar company that owns nearly all of the entertainment intellectual property in the world. We’ll save the debates about DisneyCorp’s voracious approach to Content Building™ for another time. Today, I really just want to talk about how mind-blowing it is that Marvel (and Disney) pulled off a storytelling feat unlike anything we’ve ever seen in cinema history.
I’ve seen all 22 of these movies. When I admit that fact, I’m both proud and a little bit bewildered. I’ve never been a comic-head and I’m not even really a superhero junkie. My nerd-dom was always about spending too much time in a library or in the back corner of the bus listening to Zooropa—not hanging out at comic shops and playing D&D. But, somehow, the sheer cultural gravity of these movies pulled me in and now here I am, an unwitting expert in magical stones and inter-galactic quantum physics. Or something like that.
Making movies is hard. There are so many things that can go wrong—and so often, they do go wrong. A mis-matched director, bad chemistry between the lead actors, an over-written script, an under-written script, bad lighting, wonky camera angles, not even Red Vines at the craft services table, overworked crews, stupid concepts, etc. etc. etc. When you really get into it, it’s a miracle that any movies are ever worth our time. So I find it even more incredible that the Marvel/Disney machine managed to string together 22 movies into some sort of coherent narrative (as coherent as any scifi/fantasy/space/comic/superhero narrative ever is) over an 11-year span—and even more incredibly, that maybe only one or two of those 22 movies are truly bad (The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World). Some of them are mediocre, some of them are good, and even a few of them are great (more on that in a minute). Let’s think about that for just a second. 22 movies. Two duds. I’d kill for that kind of success rate. Anyone (or any business would). If a basketball player made 20 of 22 shots, it’d be one of the greatest performances in sports history. I guess what I’m saying is that we probably ought to give Marvel/Disney a heckuva lot more credit for being so darn consistent, for so long, with so many moving pieces.
My two sons and I saw Avengers: Endgame last night. There was no question that we’d see it on opening night. The theater was packed. We smuggled in our own candy. We bought popcorn. And then we spent three hours watching this long arc carefully twist and turn into an ultimately satisfying end. We screamed out loud. We sat in shocked silence. We somewhat successfully fought back tears. And when it was all over, we starting planning to see the movie again.
That’s the other part of the MCU experience. When it all began (with Iron Man in 2008), my oldest son (Luke) was five years old. Owen was two. Within a few years, I was sneaking them into the PG-13 movies without telling their mother. I’d guess that we’ve seen most of these movies together—and maybe all of them. The boys always know way more about the backstories and the canonical details than I do. They’re good sports about explaining it all, over and over, until I give up and pretend that I understand why Thanos wants to wipe out half the living beings in the universe (resource allocation? but also maybe he’s just mean?).
Watching these movies, talking about these movies, and anxiously awaiting the next round of these movies has been a through-line in our relationships over the last 11 years. I guess it’s the modern version of having a catch with your dad. Instead of tossing a baseball back and forth, we argue about whether Thor: Ragnarok is better than Guardians of the Galaxy. Most days, I’d rather play catch—but, like most dads, I’ll take what I can get. And I’ll love sitting next to my sons in the dark and waiting for them to whisper an obscure detail or to squeal the way only adolescent boys can whenever Captain America does something awesome. They love Cap. I guess I love Cap.
There will be more Marvel movies. At some point, my sons and I will no longer go to see them together. Assuming that the next chapter of the Marvel universe lasts 11 years, Luke will be 27 and Owen will be 24 by the time that arc concludes. It’s sobering, isn’t it? Things will change. Heroes will come and go. But this 22-movie wave caught us in just the right window of excitement, awe, and the perfect suspension of disbelief. I loved every minute of it.
A couple bonuses:
My brother-in-law, Regan, told me to follow his friend’s journey through all 56 hours of the 22 Marvel movies at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Brooklyn. This archived Instagram story is everything I could ever want from someone who decides to embark on such a ridiculous odyssey. You should watch it.
Here’s my ranking of the 22 flicks. Fight me in the comments.
- Guardians of the Galaxy
An instant classic. - Thor: Ragnarok
We need more of these oddball perspectives. Also, Hela is maybe the greatest Marvel villain. - Black Panther
Wakanda forever. - Captain America: Civil War
I love this one more than most people. Smart story choices throughout. - Iron Man
The original still holds up. - Ant-Man
Come for Kate from LOST, stay for Michael Peña. - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
I should have this one higher but oh well. - Spider-Man: Homecoming
Finally, an age-appropriate Aunt May. - Avengers: Infinity War
Confusing but Dinklage shows up so it’s automatically in the Top 10. - Avengers: Endgame
You’re gonna go see it, let’s talk after you do. - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Honestly, #11–18 could almost go in any order. - Captain Marvel
I like Brie Larson. I’m not sure what she’s doing in these movies. Also, Captain Marvel is basically an invincible space blaster? - Ant-Man and the Wasp
Much better than it should have been. - Doctor Strange
I always fall asleep in the middle. - Captain America: The First Avenger
The worst version of Cap. - Marvel’s The Avengers
Too much talk, not enough rock. - Avengers: Age of Ultron
So many space worms. - Iron Man 2
Mickey Rourke is kinda cool, but… - Iron Man 3
Whatever. - Thor
Wherein the God of Thunder cooks breakfast for everyone. - The Incredible Hulk
I love Ed Norton and Liv Tyler. I do not love this movie. - Thor: The Dark World
A truly bad movie.
Every Friday I share something I love. Usually, it’s a new infatuation. Occasionally, it’s something else. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks for the theme song, Phoebe Bridgers!
