How Marvel Keeps Getting It Right

Written by John Edward Betancourt

So here we are once again, May is upon us and the talk of the movie world is Marvel's next gigantic hit in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Once more this studio has hit it out of the park, and at this point it's simply incredible to see them do it again. By now most movie series have started to wear on us or show their age. But not Marvel movies. They are truly magical in their own right and quite frankly, I'm glad to see them continue their runaway success.

After all, this is the golden age of comic book motion pictures and I want this to keep on going. But seeing that Marvel once more obliterated the competition did leave me wondering exactly how on earth they manage to get it right and satisfy the fans so often, and as it turns out the answer to my question was far easier to discover than I originally anticipated. The fact of the matter is, Marvel's strength is in its characters, and all of their flaws.  You see, Marvel's characters are instantly relatable to us, and that's a huge deal.  

Because let's be honest, the characters we grew up reading about in comic books appealed to us on a supremely personal level. There was something about them that we instantly attached to because it was an element we saw in ourselves. It led us to follow their every adventure and that's what gives Marvel it's incredible dominance in the film world and it's the blueprint that every single comic book film should follow quite frankly, especially after Age of Ultron because the sequel managed to add a new wrinkle to the mythos that I'd never seen before, the fact that these damn near omnipotent beings can experience fear.

In fact, seeing that new element introduced into the MCU actually made me enjoy the movie more, because we've all experienced self doubt, we've all been afraid and sometimes it is extremely hard to overcome those emotions once they've taken hold.  Suddenly I was rooting for the Avengers with more enthusiasm than I ever had before. Much like the comic books I picked up as a kid, I was fully committed to the story now and that was a wonderful way to make a sequel that surpassed the size and scope of the first film an enriching experience. It really all boils down to this. Marvel has managed to take a core element of storytelling, relatable and realistic characters, and apply it to perhaps the most outlandish of ideas. People that can fly, that are invincible or immortal are no longer simply figments of our imagination they are grounded, they hurt, they feel and they make stupid mistakes just like the rest of us. 

In this case a dumb mistake almost caused the end of the world...looking at you Tony Stark. But let's be honest, sometimes our mistakes feel like the end of the world and we feel as though the odds are against us when we try to correct them or repair the damage done. That's why I'm a huge fan of the MCU and everything Marvel does, because the message at the core of it all is the same. That despite our flaws, despite our occasional foolishness, we really can achieve wonderful and heroic things...and there's nothing wrong with having that kind of message in film right now. They can change directors, change characters, do whatever they need to do...but as long as Marvel keeps bringing us these kinds of wonderful and dynamic characters...I'll keep watching.

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