- Superhero franchises and the SL market
You’d need to be living under a rock not to know what a superhero is. Even if you aren’t a comic book geek, the phenomenon that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could not have failed to capture your attention. If Marvel isn’t your speed, then the DC Comics Extended Universe (DCEU) (Justice League, anyone?).
Launched in 2008 with the film ‘Ironman,’ the MCU marked a new frontier in storytelling because it was telling an overarching story in a different way to most other franchises that limit themselves to three movies or so. The MCU embarked on telling some of Marvel comics’ biggest stories in film, introducing us to a range of Marvel comics’ characters, some known to the larger cultural zeitgeist and some unknown.
The different phases of the MCU
Where the MCU broke new ground was in its scale and also in its storytelling. Essentially, all films in the MCU take place in the same universe. Some of these characters’ stories take place on planet Earth, some on different planets, and some in different galaxies. But they are all interconnected and the overarching story of the MCU was bringing these different characters together across space and time, most often to fight a common threat, and sometimes to coexist.
This frankly mammoth storytelling undertaking was tackled in different phases. Phase One began with ‘Ironman’ (2008) and culminated with the forming of the superhero coalition – ‘The Avengers’ (2012), which was effectively when the MCU and superhero movies as we experience them crossed into mainstream culture, attracting comic book geeks and general viewers alike.
Phase Two began with ‘Iron Man 3’ (2013) and concluded with ‘Ant-Man’ (2015), and for the most part, this phase was a filler phase (in this writer’s personal opinion) that set the stage further for the Avengers to grow to meet a larger common threat that at this stage was still evolving.
Phase Three is where the MCU’s biggest films and biggest engagement with audiences took place. It was also the endgame (pun intended) for the Avengers and included films that captured widespread public imagination like ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018) and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019). It also saw the largest number of films for any MCU phase at that point, and this was when Phases One, Two, and Three began to tie together into what collectively became known as ‘The Infinity Saga’ (named after the Infinity Stones that became a key part of the climax of the Avengers storyline and the first three phases of the MCU).
For general audiences, the culmination of Phase Three of the MCU would be ‘Avengers: Endgame’ which followed on from a massive plot twist at the end of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ which saw a half of all life in the universe (and at least half of the Avengers) wiped from existence at the snap of the villain Thanos’ fingers.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ saw the remaining Avengers deal with the after-effects of ‘The Snap’ as it had come to be called and fight one last climactic battle against Thanos to save the world and bring back all those who had been snapped. This was, of course, not without casualties which set the stage for Phase Four of the MCU. Phase Three was effectively the end of some of the Avengers characters (certain key Avengers died without hope of resurrection) and some passed their torches on to characters who had previously only been supporting characters.
This was essentially where Phase Four began (there was one more film after ‘Avengers: Endgame’ – ‘Spiderman: Far from Home’ (2019) that officially marked the end of Phase Three). Phase Four then commenced in 2021 (2020 was a hiatus year because the pandemic saw releases being delayed for a calmer time which may or may not have ever arrived).
In many respects, Phase Four of the MCU has not seen the same kind of response from viewers – both dedicated fans and casual viewers – something that is strange because it is by far the largest phase of the MCU. It has seen 13 instalments of storytelling released so far and is only at its halfway point. For context, the entirety of Phase Three was 11 instalments. The instalments of Phase Four include both feature films and television series and in a lot of respects, mark the first time the MCU is using TV series as a key part of its larger storytelling (its previous TV series were largely spin-offs).
Some popular criticisms of Marvel’s Phase Four include the sheer volume of content; the quality of the content (Marvel movies have long been panned as formulaic to a fault and prominent directors have even marked that Marvel movies are akin to the death of quality film); overly convoluted storylines that put off viewers; stories that aren’t compelling enough to hold attention; and content having become too niche for the casual viewer.
In truth, there is a lot less hype now around a Marvel release than there was around films like the later Avengers instalments and their related content. For example, just last week, the latest film instalment in MCU’s Phase Four, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ was released, and well, there just isn’t a lot of buzz about it. There has not been any real hype about a Marvel release locally since ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ to the extent that it has not translated to the casual viewer that there is a new Marvel film out.
So, have we got tired of superheroes? Brunch spoke to a few superhero movie fans for some perspective.
Is it the 2020s syndrome?
As with most things in life, timing is everything, and this is where the MCU may have taken a big beating. Phase Three concluded in 2019, with Phase Four’s kickoff scheduled for 2020. Its opening film ‘Black Widow’ was scheduled for May 2020, but was repeatedly delayed and ended up opening in June 2021 simultaneously in theatres and through Disney+ with premier access.
Vasanth Kahandawela, who is a dedicated comic book enthusiast and Marvel fan, explained that it was a balance of timing and quantity. “We are distracted by all the problems we’re facing, but on top of that, there’s a lot of content, and not just from Marvel, but from other production units. You have Amazon with its TV series ‘The Boys,’ DCEU’s ‘The Resurgence,’ and other networks coming up with their own shows. Compared to Phases One, Two and Three, there’s a lot of superhero content for people to consume.”
Uwin Lugoda, a more casual superhero fan and admittedly a bigger fan of Marvel’s biggest competitor DC comics and its extended film universe, also shared his thoughts on the timing of Marvel’s Phase Four and Sri Lankans’ response.
“People do have a lot going on and are focused on more important issues. There was also more happening leading up to the movies of Phase
Three – like cosplayers coming in, and even events like Lanka Comic Con and other events and meetups for geek fans which happened every few months that no longer happen because of the pandemic. Now, more pressing issues like the current crisis have everyone focused on dealing with surviving.
“Theatres are also running fewer promotions for these films, while people are also going to the cinemas less, which means a decline in posting about it for others to see, adding to the likelihood of missing out on these as well as other movies.”
Is it the storytelling?
Also commenting to Brunch on the hype was hardcore Marvel fan and frequent Marvel superhero cosplayer Shamindri De Sayrah, who shared that there definitely had been less hype around Phase Four compared to the highlights of Phase Three like ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’. However, she hinted that it may not simply be due to timing, but people’s own biases against the main characters being put out so far.
“This time around we’ve got films like ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Shang Chi’ and I feel like people are less excited to see those. I don’t know if it’s an issue of them just not wanting female superheroes or Asian superheroes. There was huge hype for some instalments like ‘Spiderman: No Way Home’ and ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ but not so much for films like ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Eternals’.
Phase Four also sees a huge dependence on new faces, with familiar faces like those of the core Avengers being few and far between. Is this impacting audience interest in the new instalments of the MCU?
From Uwin’s perspective, it plays a part: “We were invested in those characters, and when they’re not there the interest dies down, but they could have done it differently, maybe introduced some of these characters earlier or made them take on larger roles earlier. For example, I love Falcon [Sam Wilson] as the new Captain America, and I get the handover of the Captain America mantle to that character. But with Hawkeye, it’s not the same. Some of the movies are well-considered, but some aren’t. It feels like Marvel has got lazy and is just profiting off the franchise.”
Is this huge quantity of content, half of which is long-form TV shows, overwhelming viewers? For hardcore fans, obviously not: “I will never complain about there being a lot of superhero content as long as it’s done properly, and not overdone just for the sake of money,” said Shamindri, noting that Phase Four did need to have as many shows and movies as was being planned. She added that Marvel could have saved some for its next phase of storytelling and focused on making fewer but better pieces of content, especially in a genre that was now overrun, so that there might be more enthusiastic followings of this latest phase.
Getting back into extended universes
Regardless of the reasons for the current lull in interest in extended universes like the MCU and the DCEU, Brunch asked these fans how people could loop themselves back in. What happens with continuity? How many hours does a fan coming back to the MCU, for example, after the chaos of the last two-and-a-half years, need to commit to staying updated with the happenings of that universe?
“First off, you don’t have to read the comic to know everything,” Vasanth said. “Lots of people say you won’t enjoy Phase Four without reading the comics but these movies and TV shows are in fact trying to reach audiences who have no idea about the comics as well. But, if you feel like you’re consuming too much, stop. Superhero fatigue is real, and this content isn’t going anywhere. You don’t have to watch it at the cinema, you can take it at your own pace. Especially if you’re not a committed fan, you will get fed up, and when that happens it’s very hard to get back into it. It’s not just superhero content, this happens with other genres as well.”
Shamindri also spoke in particular about the continuity of the MCU for the casual viewer, saying not every bit of MCU-related content needed to be consumed, as in many cases watching the big pieces could give viewers a basic understanding of the events that had happened in other instalments.
These explanations may not be great or might have gaps, but it is possible to keep track of the big movies alone. “‘Thor: Love and Thunder,’ for example, makes sense without any of these shows and is totally stand-alone. You don’t need to have seen any of the last few movies, you only need to have seen ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017) (from Phase Three). They still find ways to make it entertaining even for casual viewers.”
This said, Shamindri did note that there could be instances and films where viewers were in the dark as to the finer points of the story.
Superhero fatigue: Yay or nay?
As with a lot of things in life, a lack of hype doesn’t mean things aren’t happening. The superhero content genre is most definitely at its peak or perhaps just past it based on how engaged you are with the genre.
To say we’re done with superheroes might be too much of a blanket statement. As a nation, we have recently learned that we need to be our own heroes and that even that may not always be enough to pull through. Whether we will continue to grow disenchanted with the feel-good everything-always-works-out Marvel formula is yet to be seen, but until then, perhaps we’ve just not fully begun to appreciate this new phase of superhero storytelling.