Just consider Marvel's larger Avengers universe, which began onscreen with 2008's "Iron Man," where the combination of Robert Downey Jr.'s charm and the fun, lighthearted approach to superhero saviors (compared to films such as The Dark Knight trilogy, or 2006's "Superman Returns") struck a chord with moviegoers. Fortunately, fans were relieved when Disney's purchase of Marvel and its associated film rights set the stage for an interconnected movie and TV universe that felt more like comic books. It was an irritating arrangement for comic book fans - they could read crossover stories with multiple Marvel characters, but they couldn't watch them on TV or film. You wouldn't see Spider-Man and the Hulk team up onscreen, for instance, because the character rights belonged to Sony and Universal, respectively. Marvel Cinematic Universeīefore Walt Disney purchased Marvel in 2009, Marvel sold and licensed various film rights to a number of studios, prohibiting certain characters from appearing in each other's movies. And because different actors will be playing the same role (at least in name) on TV and the big screen, that can get frustrating. While it's possible this approach will be easier to follow, there's a catch: DC's TV programs like "Arrow" and "Gotham" have no connection to the movies. Future DC films will pick from that storehouse of heroes and focus on a single character each. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" recently introduced a slew of characters at once. Unlike Marvel, you don't have to watch years of movies to get to know DC's new filmic universe. But those hours and hours of stories to watch can get a little overwhelming - miss a single episode or film and you may miss references to past events or inside jokes. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, populated by the Avengers (a team of superheroes that includes Captain America and the Hulk), is filled with stories crossing from the big screen to the small, which makes it a lot of fun to get involved. Since there are only so many hours in a day, which universe should you invest your time and energy in? Let's look at the players.īoth Marvel and DC's approaches have their pros and cons. Marvel's biggest rival, DC Comics, is diving into the cinematic-universe-building business, too, but with a less cohesive strategy where its TV and movie worlds don't intersect - ever. And as more characters become box-office draws, they've continued to exist in the same interconnected movie and TV universe. Though popular Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and the Hulk have starred in films and TV shows since the 1960s, the publisher has dug into its portfolio over the past few years to make stars out of lesser-known characters like Iron Man and Daredevil. Now, Marvel Comics in particular is driving this trend. The next high-profile comic franchise was 2000's "X-Men," which reinvigorated this style of movie Sony's "Spider-Man" solidified that superheroes could be viable in film again. If a movie was based on a comic book, studios were less than forthcoming with that information. The critically slammed 1997 "Batman & Robin" put the genre on ice for some time. We're living in a golden age of comic book movies with more characters making their way to the big screen than ever before.īut years ago, comic book movies were a rarity.
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