Tag Archives: Marvel

Marvel expands universe with more Agents, Daredevil

Marvel brought a lot of surprises to New York Comic Con, and I’m not just talking about announcing the return of Secret Wars. Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe received a few treats as well.

The Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel took place Friday afternoon in a packed Main Hall. Marvel’s director of television, Jeph Loeb, greeted the audience and, after a few minutes of small talk, he reminded the crowd of one lesson we learned last season: trust no one. At that point, he revealed the Hydra T-shirt he was wearing under a fleece jacket.

A shocked and offended Clark Gregg appeared on stage, greeted by a standing ovation. Gregg told Loeb that the only way to make it up to him would be to show us all something we had never seen before — an all new episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And so, this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was screened in its entirety four days ahead of time for the fans at NYCC.

The fourth episode of season 2 features a return to more of the lighthearted, witty banter we grew accustomed to last year while not letting us forget things are much darker than they had appeared then. There are some great moments between Gregg’s Director Phil Coulson and team member Melinda May, played by Ming-Na Wen, as well as a really touching scene with Fitz, who is struggling to overcome head trauma. The episode features a neat tie-in to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, though I doubt viewers see it coming. There are lots of twists and turns in this episode, and it’s probably the best of season 2 so far.

Following the screening of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gregg begged Loeb, on behalf of the audience, to show us something from Marvel’s new series, Agent Carter, set to premiere in January. The series had begun filming the week before, but Loeb had a cut of one scene that had been shot just four days earlier. The clip featured Hayley Atwell as Carter, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, and James D’Arcy as Stark’s butler, Edwin Jarvis. Stark is in embarking on an important mission and leaves Jarvis to help look after Carter. The clip wasn’t long enough to really judge what the series will be like, but it piqued my curiosity.

Saturday at NYCC, Marvel unveiled the first footage from its upcoming Netflix original series Daredevil. The series, which will debut next year, stars Charlie Cox as the blind-lawyer-by-day/hero-by-night Matt Murdock, also known as Daredevil. Vincent D’Onofrio plays Daredevil’s adversary, Wilson Fisk, aka “The Kingpin.” The series also stars Rosario Dawson, Elden Henson, Bob Gunton, Toby Moore, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Ayelet Zurer, and Deborah Ann Woll.

Loeb introduced Cox by telling a story of how Marvel Comics writer Joe Quesada, a big Daredevil fan, called him two years ago — before there was even a possibility of producing a Daredevil series — and told him he had found his Murdock. Quesada was confident the Daredevil rights would eventually return to Marvel, and he wanted Cox in that role. Even Loeb admitted to having a bit of a man-crush on the actor who was indeed hired to play Daredevil.

Executive producer Steven DeKnight, also a Daredevil fan, talked of his love for the character; while working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, he and Loeb would discuss how “we’re gonna do that show one day.”

DeKnight cited both the Frank Miller and Brian Bendis runs of the comics as the main inspirations for the series. In fact, Daredevil’s costume in the clips shown at NYCC bring to mind the outfit drawn by John Romita Jr. in The Man Without Fear. Fans will see these influences reflected in the darker, grittier tone of the show as compared to other Marvel properties.

Cox later confirmed the influence of The Man Without Fear: “Tonally, it suits our show really well.”

“What I love about this show is the moral gray area inherent within,” DeKnight said. “There will be times when you’re not quite sure who to root for.”

As DeKnight phrased it, Murdock is “one bad day away from becoming Frank Castle,” the vigilante antihero also known as the Punisher. Sometimes, the audience will be rooting for Murdock; other times, they may sympathize with the Kingpin.

D’Onofrio seems to enjoy delving into the character of the Kingpin and Fisk, describing him as “a child and … a monster.”

He went on to say that everything Fisk does comes from his own foundation of morality within, and we’ll get to see what aspects of that morality Fisk’s relationship with his wife, Vanessa (played by Zurer), brings out. NYCC attendees got to see the scene of Fisk and Vanessa’s first meeting. It takes place in an art gallery and gives a truly revealing look into Fisk’s personality.

Cox contrasted the creative process of a streaming show like Daredevil to more traditional series, like his work on Boardwalk Empire. Cox identified one of the biggest benefits of being on Netflix to be that there won’t be a week between each episode, so the narrative doesn’t need to remind viewers of everything that has happened — they probably just saw it. Cliffhangers become pointless because viewers can just skip to the next episode. Directors and writers can spend more time on developing a real story without having to worry about recapping anything.

“It’s going to feel like a 13-hour movie,” Cox said of Daredevil.

Three more clips from Daredevil were shown during Saturday’s panel. We saw Karen Page (Woll), known as Dardevil’s long-running love interest in the comics, attacked in her darkened apartment and Daredevil, in a black suit, coming to her aid. The hero’s fight against the assailant escalates, and Daredevil ends up on the street in the rain. There, Murdock flashes back to a conversation with his father, who he tells his son to “get to work.” Daredevil rejoins the fight and takes down the attacker.

Another clip introduced Dawson as Claire Temple, whom Loeb described as a “nurse, who works at night,” strongly hinting at the character of Night Nurse. Temple has discovered a bruised and battered Murdock on the street and brings him to her apartment to help him. Murdock is concerned that she has removed his mask and has now seen his face.

In the third clip, Page thanks Murdock and his best friend and law partner, Foggy Nelson (Harden), for winning her case by supplying them with dinner. She then volunteers to help them around the office and clean for free — which prompts a moment of levity when Murdock asks if their office is messy.

Just from these clips, it is clear that Daredevil has a darker and more serious tone than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. However, that doesn’t mean it’s taking place separate from the rest of the MCU. When asked at NYCC about its relationship to the other Marvel properties, Loeb stoked the fires of fans everywhere with a smile and Marvel’s latest catchphrase:

“It’s all connected.”

Fall changes have potential to bring new TV faves

Fall doesn’t officially start until Tuesday, but the cooler temperatures in my part of the country over the past week prove that the change of seasons is definitely upon us. As I pointed out last week, the arrival of fall also means the arrival of fall television. Last week, I shared some of the returning shows I was happiest to have back on my screen. This week, I’ll take a look at the new series I’m looking forward to checking out.

I don’t tend to watch a lot of sitcoms as they air live. The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother were exceptions to that rule, and for each of them, I came in after several seasons had already aired. I’m a fan of New Girl, though I’m usually a season behind and watching on Netflix. Last season, I enjoyed The Crazy Ones, then was disappointed when the series was canceled and even more heartbroken when we lost Robin Williams last month.

This year, I am planning to give Selfie on ABC a chance — despite its annoying pop culture title. I have to admit, if the series wasn’t starring Karen Gillan and John Cho, I probably wouldn’t even consider watching … although the idea that it’s loosely based on My Fair Lady also has me intrigued. I loved Gillan as Amy Pond in Doctor Who, but she really impressed me this summer as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. I can’t wait to see how she does in an American sitcom. Early reviews for the series have been really positive, so this may be a case of “don’t judge a series by its title.”

Speaking of former Doctor Who stars, the Tenth Doctor himself will be starring in Gracepoint on Fox this fall. Gracepoint is a 10-episode television “event” based on the British series Broadchurch. David Tennant will be reprising his role from the original series, this time with an American accent. The show centers on the investigation into the murder of a young child in a small seaside town.

Broadchurch was absolutely fantastic, and if you enjoy suspenseful crime drama, I highly recommend it. The cast and the writing were brilliant; it was easily one of the best series I watched last year. At first, I was disappointed to hear that Fox was making its own version of the series, and I was determined not to watch: there is no way they could even come close to the quality of its predecessor. But the casting of Tennant has made me curious, and I’ll willingly watch anything in which he appears.

According to Fox, the story will not play out exactly as the mystery in Broadchurch did. The writers have apparently changed the ending so fans of the original won’t know what’s going to happen. However, the trailers I’ve seen for the show so far make it look like the series was shot matching the original, frame by frame. Changes must have been made, though, to accommodate the fact that the American version is 10 episodes long versus the eight episodes of the British series. Hopefully, those changes do not lessen the suspense or drama that was so effective in the original series.

While Marvel has proved that it can easily dominate the box office, DC has seen a lot of success on the small screen over the years. This fall, NBC, the CW, and Fox will all premiere new series based on DC comics staples.

There has been a lot of hype and anticipation for Fox’s Gotham, which tells the story of James Gordon, the future police commissioner, prior to the existence of Batman. The series will also provide origin stories for many members of The Rogues Gallery. So great is the excitement for this series that Netflix has already acquired the exclusive rights to stream it after the episodes’ first runs. I tend to be skeptical of any genre show that Fox airs — not because I don’t believe it will be good, but because even if it is, there’s a high chance of Fox pulling the plug without really giving it a chance. The success of Sleepy Hollow last year, though, has given me some measure of hope.

Gotham will bring a talented cast into our living rooms. I’m particularly excited about Donal Logue playing Gordon’s partner. Logue has the ability to pull of great comedy or serious drama, and I’ve really enjoyed every performance of his that I’ve seen. I wasn’t a fan of The O.C. or Southland, so I know nothing of Ben McKenzie, who will be playing Gordon, other than that he’s more clean-cut than I was expecting. I’m really curious to see what he’s like. Lastly, a bit of trivia for the Doctor Who fans: Alfred, the butler for the Wayne family, will be played by actor Sean Pertwee, the son of the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee.

Constantine is probably the series I know the least about but am still looking forward to watching. I’m not very familiar with the source character, beyond his appearances in the The Sandman comics and the Keanu Reeves film (or the knowledge that he inspired the look for Supernatural‘s Castiel), but I’m still intrigued by this series. Series star Matt Ryan certainly appears to have the look and attitude of John Constantine.

I haven’t heard much about this series over the summer, aside from the news that Lucy Griffiths‘ character, one of the main characters in the pilot, had been written out for creative reasons. I was a little disappointed by this news, as I’ve been a fan of Griffiths since she played Marian on BBC’s Robin Hood. Since I haven’t heard as much hype about Constantine as some of the other series on this list, my expectations for it are not as high. Of course, the lack of buzz also makes me a little more concerned about its fate at the network. (NBC doesn’t have a much better reputation than Fox when it comes to giving series a chance.) I also have a feeling my lack of knowledge about the comics will work in my favor, as I won’t be comparing it to the comics or criticizing certain creative decisions.

The new series I’m most excited about this fall is probably The Flash. I wasn’t sure about casting Grant Gustin as Barry Allen at first, but I could have been a little biased by his appearance on Glee. However, I really enjoyed his two-episode appearance on Arrow last season, and I am now looking forward to seeing what the show looks like. I’m also excited that it appears The Flash and Arrow will remain closely connected, as Stephen Amell has already confirmed his appearance in the pilot episode, and a crossover is set for episode 8 of each show’s upcoming season.

I’m also a fan of the rest of the cast, which includes Tom Cavanaugh, Jesse L. Martin, and the former Barry Allen himself, John Wesley Ship, as Barry’s father. Recurring cast members will include Robbie Amell, Stephen’s cousin and the star of last seasons ill-fated The Tomorrow People, and Prison Break‘s Wentworth Miller. The previews for the series so far have looked great, and I can’t wait for it to premiere. I just hope it doesn’t take as long to draw me in as Arrow did.

There are all the new series I’m most excited about seeing premiere in the next few weeks. What new shows are you looking forward to? Are there any here I forgot that you think are worth a mention (or worth checking out)? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Guardians: ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ Marvel can do it all

I have a confession to make. I’ve proclaimed my love for all that is Marvel in this column on more than one occasion. I’ve shared how my original doubts over Chris Evans‘ casting as Captain America were proved wrong, and how the television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took a while to get off the ground but reached a late-season greatness that was definitely worth the wait.

But I must confess, despite all this evidence that Marvel knows what it’s doing when it comes to bringing comics to the silver screen (and Marvel is much more successful than Fox or Sony), I still had serious doubts when it came to bringing to life a trigger-happy raccoon and a walking, (sort of) talking tree. I’ve never actually read a Guardians of the Galaxy comic, but I know there are some things that work in comics that just can’t translate well to the screen, and I was worried this would be the case with Rocket and Groot.

I also had some doubts about Chris Pratt as a lead. I love Pratt — I’ve been a fan since his days on Everwood — but like Evans when he was cast as Captain America, Pratt was still very much untested as a protagonist. He has appeared as a supporting character in several films, but he is best known as goofy-yet-lovable Andy Dwyer on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. I wasn’t sure how he would go from that role to action star.

Another concern I had was with the movie itself. I had heard this was going to be unlike any other Marvel film, with a lot more humor. One of the things I love about the Marvel films is the way they use humor — it’s always just the right amount to balance the action. But would a funnier action film be good? I was a little worried they would cross the line over into slapstick and ruin the integrity of the franchise.

Plus, when you look at writer/director James Gunn‘s list of credits, you’ll see nothing of the caliber of a Marvel film. Like Pratt, Gunn is still rather untested in an arena this large, and I was concerned with how that might affect this film.

Amid all these concerns I was having about the film, while I was debating whether this was going to be a train wreck or the most awesome Marvel movie yet (because I had a feeling it was going to be either one or the other), the first trailer for the film was released.

To say that trailer made me a believer is probably an understatement. I think I fell in love with Pratt’s Peter Quill the moment he realized the name “Star Lord” meant nothing to his assailants. But I really knew this film had potential as soon as I heard “Hooked on a Feeling.”

Overall, this trailer ranks pretty high on my list of favorite trailers ever. (Please tell me someone else has one of those lists, too.) It also completely changed my mind about the prospects for the film. The trailer sets the tone of the movie and lets you know this isn’t going to be anything like the other Marvel productions. But it also proves that Rocket and Groot can work in a live-action film. I can’t even count how many times I watched that trailer or each subsequent teaser and trailer, but from that first glimpse on, I was counting down to the film’s release.

Last Thursday, I made plans to see Guardians in IMAX 3D with some friends, and I could barely contain my excitement. I surprised myself with how much my opinion of this film had changed in just six months. I was even more excited to discover that the film completely lives up to the hype.

I knew this was going to be a great movie before the opening credits were even finished; like the trailer, the credit sequence really set the tone for the entire film and let you know what you can expect. I loved all the ’80s references (Garbage Pail Kids! Troll Dolls! Footloose!) and the ’80s soundtrack was perfect. But it’s not all lighthearted and full of laughs — there are a couple tearjerker scenes, including one right at the beginning of the movie.

However, overall, the film is the perfect blend of hilarity and action. It is, by far, the funniest of the Marvel films, but it’s done in just the right way. At no point did it become too cheesy that the comedy took me out of the film. It has just the right amount of everything to make this the perfect summer movie — and really fun to watch.

In contrast to my reservations, Pratt is wonderful as Peter Quill, aka Star Lord. I had been binge-watching Parks and Recreation throughout the summer and was worried I would have trouble distinguishing between Quill and Andy, but I quickly discovered that wasn’t an issue at all. Pratt holds his own among a terrific cast and was an excellent choice for the role. I was also really impressed with part-time WWE performer Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. He brought a lot of heart to the character, and I really enjoyed his portrayal.

Another stand-out performance, in my opinion, cameÂ from Karen Gillan as Nebula. Most fan*s are likely familiar with the actress as the Eleventh Doctor’s companion, Amy Pond. In Guardians, we see a whole new side to the actress’ talent. I’ve always like Gillan but was very impressed with her as Nebula, and I have a feeling she has a bright future ahead of her.

However, it was the characters I was originally most dubious about that ended up stealing every scene they were in. I absolutely loved Rocket and Groot. The CGI was done very well, and the characters were so expressive, you could almost forget they were animated. The entire cast (and movie) were fantastic, but I really think Rocket and Groot were my favorite parts.

There isn’t much else I can say about Guardians of the Galaxy that hasn’t already been said in hundreds of other reviews. As Marvel’s first film that is set almost entirely in space, it greatly expands the MCU as we know it, and it does this very successfully. I cannot wait for a future team-up between the Guardians and the Avengers (assuming the rumors are true and Avengers 3 features a version of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, which, given the reference to the Stones in Thor: The Dark World and again in Guardians, seems likely). I’m already imagining Tony Stark’s comments about Rocket and Groot.

I may have been skeptical at first, but after seeing what the company did with Guardians, I will never again doubt Marvel’s ability to produce great films. Now that Phase Two is nearly over, I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in Phase Three, and I can’t wait until the Guardians of the Galaxy return.

Powers, perils of building cinematic megafranchise

Every few years, a movie transforms the way Hollywood does business. The Birth of a Nation, Star Wars, and others changed the game through their financial and cinematic successes. Marvel’s The Avengers, released in 2012, changed the game again.

By taking their time and releasing five distinct movies before The Avengers, Marvel laid down a strong foundation on which to build. Audiences were intrigued by Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, and Captain America, but they were much more intrigued by what would happen when these cinematic characters met for the first time. When The Avengers was finally released, Marvel succeeded not only financially, but in creating something entirely new to cinema: the megafranchise.

The Avengers has grossed over $1.5 billion internationally and has had residual effects on other Marvel Studios releases. The Winter Soldier has grossed almost twice what its predecessor, Captain America, has, and Thor’s box office receipts increased for its second installment by around 50 percent as well. The result has been attempts by other studios, specifically those with the rights to superhero properties, to duplicate Marvel’s success. Some have done well trying to adapt to this model, but others are risking the destruction of their franchises by not understanding what made The Avengers so successful.

The idea of a megafranchise is that several stories and characters that are commercially viable in their own right work together under the same fictional umbrella in such a way that all component properties end up being more successful, with the eventual crossover making even more money. The cinematic megafranchise has roots in the superhero comic book.

Since All-Star Comics #3, released in 1940 by DC Comics, comic books have been using crossovers to build interest in new characters and to increase profits in existing titles. All-Star #3 saw the formation of the Justice Society of America, the first super-powered team to star characters from several different series, including the original versions of The Flash, Green Lantern, Sandman, and more.

DC may have been the first to use the team-up tactic in comics, but Marvel made the crossover its modus operandi. When Stan Lee first introduced his brand of Marvel heroes, he revolutionized the industry by making his heroes flawed and fallible. Flawed heroes are susceptible to human errors, including misunderstanding the motivations of other heroes. That makes the possibilities of crossovers endless, with heroes like Daredevil mistaking the antics of Spider-Man, leading to a fight in New York City.

Lee saw this potential and made sure to place all of his heroes in a single, interconnected fictional world. Creating a Marvel Universe where crossovers were expected helped to make Marvel the industry leader. Crossover stories would allow fans to see who would win in a fight between their favorite heroes, but also helped to raise the value of lesser-known characters. This tactic was used well in Avengers comics from the beginning.

The Avengers came together in 1963 with an all-star lineup of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Ant-Man, and Wasp. Three issues later, they were joined by Marvel heroes’ patriarch, Captain America. It wasn’t long, however, before the creative team at Marvel began using the Avengers to promote lesser-known heroes. In only its 13th issue, the Avengers lost the entire original lineup and reformed with Captain America leading a “cooky quartet” including Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. All three of Cap’s cohorts were originally villains and were using the superhero team as a way to achieve redemption — and to gain greater notoriety among comic book fans.

With the increasing popularity of comic book movies, it was inevitable that Hollywood would adapt Lee’s storytelling style, especially when one of the studios making superhero movies actually was Marvel. Marvel had sold away the rights to its biggest properties a long time ago, losing X-Men, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and more. So, when Marvel decided to create its own film studio, the options for franchises were limited.

Marvel Studios took a gamble on a second-tier hero known as Iron Man, who was created by Lee as a sort of challenge to himself: he wanted to create a hero who would be very unlikable to his anti-establishment audience and force them to like him. And thus, Tony Stark, the billionaire, playboy, industrialist, was born. In the movies, Marvel relied on Robert Downey Jr. to deliver both the audience and a show-stealing performance.

By showing the world what could be done with its remaining superhero properties, Marvel Studios built in an audience for additional films. But Iron Man did so much more. The post-credits appearance of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury told fans there was much more to see — that the world of Iron Man was vastly larger than just Tony Stark.

Every succeeding movie built on the groundwork of Iron Man by adding more to the mythos and getting fans excited for the next new entry. People who would not normally be fans of Norse mythology were interested in seeing Thor thanks to the allusions to Mjolnir in Iron Man 2. People who thought Captain America would be a hokey movie still bought tickets because they knew it was building to something larger. By the time The Avengers was released, it was a foregone conclusion that it would be a true blockbuster.

Studios that had already been making superhero movies for years took notice but found themselves in a difficult situation. 20th Century Fox had been producing X-Men movies for a long time and tried to use the team movies to spin off into solo titles, an inverse of what Marvel had been doing. Unfortunately, to this day, Fox has created only one independent franchise, in Wolverine.

With the success of The Avengers, Fox chose to follow the Marvel model by creating a movie loaded with heroes. The result, X-Men: Days of Future Past, was an incredible movie that deserves its comparisons to The Avengers as among the best superhero movies ever made. But its success is nowhere near the level of The Avengers. Why? Because many of the X-Men characters have been seen together already, and there has been no franchise dedicated entirely to building stories for Magneto, Mystique, Storm, or any of the other heroes featured in DoFP.

Sony Pictures’ answer to Marvel has been to use the Spider-Man villains in their own spinoff movies since the Spider-Man franchise is limited to only one major hero. Rumors abound about a Venom movie, which fans hope will lead to the first screen adaptation of Carnage, and Sony has practically confirmed it will produce a movie based on the Sinister Six, a team of six supervillains.

In its attempts to build a megafranchise, however, Sony has made some mistakes. By cramming several villains into The Amazing Spider-Man 2, none of the new characters were able to flesh out their motivations and become more compelling to movie audiences. Though I believe Amazing 2 actually was pretty amazing, other fans weren’t so happy, thinking Sony displayed for everyone the pitfalls of getting too overzealous when attempting to build a megafranchise.

The worst offender of trying to duplicate Marvel’s success has been Warner Brothers. Time Warner owns DC Comics and has had the rights to make movies based on some of the most popular heroes in the world for a long time. Yet somehow, Warner Brothers has mostly only been able to spit out movies based on their two major icons, Batman and Superman, while completely ignoring their third, Wonder Woman, and doing a poor job with Green Lantern.

In a terribly misguided attempt to catch up to Marvel, Warner Brothers has been working on a sequel to Man of Steel, which has slowly evolved into a prequel to a future Justice League film. In trying to build a megafranchise, Warner Brothers has forgotten that it requires the strength of several independent franchises first. Warner Brothers is looking to skip all of that, hoping that the idea of a Batman versus Superman movie will be enough to sell tickets. And it will be.

Warner Brothers has been considering this crossover movie for decades — and for good reason. There are no two characters more iconic than the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel. But in their impatience, Warner has added Wonder Woman, who should have had her own movie years ago, as a third wheel, as well as Cyborg. Also, no movies starring Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, or any other major DC hero have been announced. What Warner Brothers did announce, however, is an official Justice League movie, to be directed by Zack Snyder.

But if a movie is coming out in two years that features DC’s top three heroes together for the first time, what reason do casual superhero fans have of going to see the Justice League movie? Are unestablished Green Lantern and Flash characters going to be interesting enough to sell tickets? It’s doubtful.

Marvel made an effort to make sure we fell in love with their characters who would not normally sell tickets on their own by promising us a greater movie experience in the future. Once we had that experience, we fell in love with the characters, even leaving The Avengers asking for a Black Widow movie, which would have been unheard of a decade ago. The success of the megafranchise has created greater success for its constituent franchises, with Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America all seeing increased revenue for their newest cinematic outings. These successes have even allowed Marvel to take new risks, with D-level properties Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man coming to theaters in the next year.

Marvel has proved that it has a winning formula, but it is one that takes time and patience. Fox is beginning to work toward creating a stronger megafranchise in the X-Men by producing more solo movies for characters outside of Wolverine, but Fox’s lack of faith in strong mutant characters, many of whom are women, is holding the studio back. And Sony has shown the risk of relying too heavily on creating a megafranchise, to the detriment of the existing franchises. But Warner Brothers, which has the strongest chance of creating a tremendous cinematic universe, is missing out on the opportunity to create several strong franchises in favor of taking a quicker path to a megafranchise — one that is unlikely to be able to match the success of The Avengers.

Will Justice League, Sinister Six, and future X-Men team-up movies be successful? As a fan of superhero movies, I certainly hope so. But I am willing to wait for them to be set up correctly. As fans, we would much rather see strong movies based on Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, and even Cyborg before being thrust into the world of the Justice League. Unfortunately, the promise of Avengers-level profits have clouded the minds of Hollywood producers. Hopefully, they will start to see things long-term, before a massive flop kills the momentum of the superhero genre.

Why is Captain America still relevant?

Captain America returns to the silver screen Friday, and in honor of this comic book icon, let us take a look back at the character’s history.

It was 1941. World War II was raging in Europe and the Pacific. Men and women were dying to protect their homelands from invading armies. Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito were guiding their nations toward new world empires. And the United States was enjoying its status as a neutral nation, content with being the Arsenal of Democracy. Some Americans, however, saw that entry into the war was inevitable, and it was important that we be on the right side.

Joe Simon and the legendary Jack Kirby were two such men. These comic book visionaries saw an opportunity to voice their politics and make a few dollars on the way. Captain America, a living symbol of the United States itself, was introduced in Captain America Comics #1, in March 1941 — a rare situation where the publishers had such faith in a character that they debuted him in his own book. The attacks on Pearl Harbor were still 9 months away, yet the debut issue saw Cap socking Adolf Hitler in an illustration still satisfying today. Simon and Kirby, both of Jewish families, used the comic to voice their concerns against the Third Reich. Even if America was officially neutral, Simon and Kirby knew Hitler was a real-life supervillain, and Captain America could stop him.

Captain America is a stunning character. Despite his genesis as wartime propaganda, the character has survived and flourished to this day. How is it that a character so defined by a long-passed era in history is still so relevant in the age of the smart phone?

Captain America does not necessarily evolve like Batman but is not as much of a static symbol as Superman. While both heroes represent the American ideal, Steve Rogers has a much more unique character compared to the Man of Steel, whose character is more defined by brute strength than cunning and tactical mastery.

Steve Rogers was a regular man. He had been a scrawny, naive boy who just wanted to fight for his country, and fight for what he believed was right. Steve was willing to do anything, even undergo a dangerous and untested experiment, to make himself strong enough to fight the Nazis. He represents the person we wish we could be and know we can become.

The Super Soldier serum gave Rogers near-perfect capabilities. Captain America is not impervious to bullets or faster than the speed of light, but is as fast and strong as any human can conceivably become. He is a character who is only as capable as any of us can be.

Cap remained popular throughout World War II, but became an anachronism when the patriotic fervor of wartime died down. As a result, the hero faded away from publications.

Nearly 20 years later, the hero was revived to head up a super-team, the Avengers. In Avengers #4, the old hero was found, frozen in suspended animation. When revived, Cap became a new, more intriguing character. No longer was he simply a symbol of America in a time of war. He was now the living anachronism, a man out of time, a man haunted by the death of his sidekick, with memories of the worst time in human history, trying to adjust to the world of the 1960s.

Cap was the perfect man to lead the Avengers. A team full of hot-headed individuals like Thor, Iron Man, and Ant-Man needed a uniting symbol to rally the troops. Cap was a hero to the heroes, and a warrior of honor to be respected and revered.

Captain America became the traditional leader of the Avengers through most incarnations of the team. His tactical abilities make him an invaluable member of the group, even if his strength and speed can’t compete with his teammates like Thor and Quicksilver. Cap’s abilities are so valued that, even in a rare crossover comic featuring the stars of Marvel’s Avengers and DC’s Justice League, JLA/Avengers, Rogers was asked by Superman to lead the joint effort to bring down the supervillain Krona with no objections made by any of the other heroes.

Captain America’s status as a symbol has allowed him to tackle some of the United States’ most difficult and controversial topics over the decades. The first African-American superhero in mainstream comics, the Falcon, was introduced in Captain America #117 in 1969. The Watergate scandal was handled by Cap, with the hero becoming so disillusioned with his government that he abandoned his longtime moniker in favor of “The Nomad,” to denote his status as a man without a country. Rogers eventually re-assumed the identity of Captain America, deciding he should act as the symbol of the American ideal, not the American government.

In the 1980s, Cap was placed into an impressively progressive story arc. Rogers found his best friend from childhood, Arnie Roth, still alive after all these years. Arnie is, without ever explicitly stating it, obviously gay. This revelation doesn’t phase Cap in the least. Captain America accepted his friend for who he was without ever questioning Arnie or himself. Rogers continued to be emblematic of Americans at our best.

It was only a matter of time before one of America’s icons made a successful venture onto the big screen. Seventy years after his debut, Captain America: The First Avenger did a magnificent job of telling the essential origin story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first superhero. Cap was shown in his element, punching Hitler, fighting Nazis wielding super-weapons, and inspiring his troops to follow his example. He saved the world from nuclear-level catastrophe and sacrificed himself in the process. His actions would reverberate across the Marvel world and inspire generations of heroes.

In the deleted scenes to Marvel’s masterpiece work, The Avengers, Chris Evans’ Rogers character is shown adapting to a world no longer his own. Unlike in the comics, in which Cap was revived after only 20 years, the cinematic Rogers was revived after nearly 70 years and was introduced to a world far beyond his comprehension. It’s a shame these scenes did not make the final cut, as Evans’ acting ability is on full display when he portrays Captain America as a lost soul trying to find his way in a new world. The subtlety in his expressions brings the inner turmoil to light remarkably well.

The success of The Avengers was unparalleled for a movie based on a comic book property, but it is the success of the Captain America standalone movie that is truly astounding. Pulling in $370 million worldwide and receiving a 79 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Captain America proved that Cap is a hero for all ages. But how?

In a world full of cynics and overwhelming use of irony, Captain America seems quaint and ridiculous — an odd relic from a more black-and-white time in which good and evil could be easily defined. Perhaps we yearn for that level of simplicity and can relate to Cap’s struggle to understand a world of deeper conflict. Maybe Captain America speaks to the more innocent times all of us experienced in our lives. He acts as a reminder of our idealism and the world we wish to see. Or maybe we can all relate to the scrawny kid who just wanted to do good. Captain America has always been a man who speaks to what we want to be and is the appropriate surrogate for when times get tough. We may not be able to stop Hitler, but Cap can travel to Germany and sock him on the jaw for us.

When Captain America: The Winter Soldier comes to theaters Friday, we will see the return of Cap, Black Widow, and Nick Fury, along with the introduction of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The movie promises to examine government overreach and the military-industrial complex. Cap will again fill the role of the common man working to fix the mistakes of our world. Winter Soldier looks to be a movie that will challenge our view of the world and ourselves — and will look really cool when doing it.

Wonder Woman deserves her own movie

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