Tyler DeAlmeida

Introduction
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, is more than just a bunch of movies. It says a lot about
the current culture and is a reflection of the culture of today. Similar to how the James Bond
films are looked at as a reflection of that time period, in the future people studying the culture of
today will be able to use the MCU as a way to do so. I am very interested in how something that
wasnt popular a few years ago has grown into something that can been seem as a reflection of
today. By researching how the universe has been marketed and displayed in the public eye will
help me to prove that it is a reflection for the time.
Since I am huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there may be some potential
biases due to the fact the I enjoy all the films. I prefer Marvel over DC therefore, when I
compare and contrast the two I will more than likely favor Marvel. Throughout the rest of the
paper were will dig into what has made the MCU successful and what aspects of it are the most
compelling. From everything to movies, merchandizing and the comics themselves, we will
figure out what the true magic behind the Marvel cinematic universe is
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, says something about the current culture. In a few years
when future generations look back, these films will be able to tell them what the times were like.
Once Disney bought Marvel industries, they took their marketing to whole different level.
Marvel went from a company that was for quote and quote nerds into something that people of
different backgrounds enjoy. The Marvel brand itself has transformed into something many never
thought would happen due largely to the popularity of the cinematic universe. On the opposite

side of things, one can see how a rival company like DC has fallen since the birth of the MCU.
Now DC hopes to gain back some of its popularity by copying the model set forward by Marvel.
Lit Review
Marvel uses transmedia, which is the telling of a story through the use of multiple forms
of media (Mendard, 2015). The way the MCU connects not only through films put also on
television and in comic books gives the fans a vase amount of ways to look at the universe.
When Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion this move helped to expand the Marvel brand. The
entertainment giant calculates it will be able to exploit a powerful stable of characters across
movies, comic books, television channels, licensed merchandise and theme parks (Schuker,
2009).
Hollywood uses heroes as a reaction to both social and cultural anxieties (Cozens, 2015).
The modern hero has grown over time and these films will help to represent what a hero was by
todays standards. The merchandizing around super heroes today is based around male characters
and not female (Bell, 2015). If this were to change it would so not only the evolution of film, but
also the evolution of Hollywood as a whole.
There are many different superheroes that make up the Marvel Cinematic universe. It is
said how Captain America deals with issues in his stories that can be seen in real life (Lawrence,
2004). The issues are related and gives the reader a better understanding of the relationship.
While making the movies, Kevin Fegie tried to add the same amount of realism into the films
(Tucker, 2012) By relating the events of the film with events of today, it allows the viewer to be
more invested in the story.

The comic book industry has transformed into something greater than it had been years
ago. The stories that were first in the comic books are now being transitioned to the big screen
(McAllister, 2001). Marvel founder Martin Goodman, along with Stan Lee are also a big part of
this transition being made. Stan Lee helped bring the company to the next level by creating
heroes such as the Hulk, Thor and countless others. If it werent for their genius and vision,
Marvel wouldnt have grown into the global company that it is today (Mills, 2013).
When it comes to determining the true popularity of the MCU, it helps to ask people that
have been a fan of it since the beginning. The MCU and its popularity shows that our current
culture is really interested in the super hero genre (Mead, 2016). The universe is a huge part of
the culture today and it is only going to continue to grow over time. The MCU says a lot about
modern culture. In a way it is modern culture. It is an ever growing dynamic universe that has
changed the way movies will be made for a long time to come (Michaels, 2016).
Entering the Conversation
The Marvel Cinematic universe has been a huge part of pop culture since it began in the
late 2000s. Go into any movie theater today and their will more than likely be a movie playing
that has to do with a superhero in one-way shape or form. Go back to the 1990s and this wasnt
the case. Although there still were superhero films, they werent as abundant as they are today.
What if the Marvel Cinematic universe hadnt become as successful as it did? Would that have
been the end for superhero films? I have decided to develop a study in order to see what would
have happened if the MCU had not been successful. Throughout this quantitative study, we will
explore a world without the MCU.

When at the box office and top grossing films over the past few years, the movies in the
Marvel Cinematic universe have been at the top. The main force that drives everything in this
world is money. If the films make money, theyre going to want to keep making more. To see the
impact of what the box office would look like if the MCU had never become what it did one
must start by comparing the box offices top films before the current superhero era. Than when
looking at list over the past few years, remove all the Marvel movies from those list. This will
show what the film industry would look like today if the universe had failed. Ironman, was the
first film in the MCU, so it was the basis for what was to come. If the movie had tanked in the
box office, perhaps Disney wouldnt have bought Marvel Studios in 2009. Without the support of
the marketing powerhouse, the characters and stories that the universe tells wouldnt be as
mainstream as they are in the world today.
Recently rival company DC comics, has decided to create their own universe which they
call the DC extended universe. They are trying to copy what Marvel did while adding their own
spin to it. Now if Marvels Cinematic universe failed, could the DC universe became the main
source for superhero films? The DC extended universe began in 2013, Marvels in 2008. That
means Marvel had a five-year head start to master their films and find out what the audiences
liked. So by the time DC decided to jump on the bandwagon, Marvel had already created a
steady fan base and following for their films. What if the roles had been reversed, would Marvel
be the struggling universe instead? To figure this out one would need to look at the box office
success of the DC movies when they were released and determine what that number would be in
2008. Than take the numbers from the Justice League movie when it is released and see how it
has increased over the eight years. Now flip Marvels role maybe DC would have gotten even
more popular than Marvel did and there would be no room left for them to try and get a seat on

the bus. By determining how the timing and less competitive nature of Marvels release
influenced its popularity, itll help to show how somethings become more popular than others.
Go to a mall and walk into a store that sells clothing and there is good chance that you
can find something with a marvel logo or character on it. Now in that same mall go into a toy
store and look for a Captain America or Thor toy. Everywhere we go wheatear its at home or in
public, the influence of the MCU is all around us. Toys, clothing, commercials, comic books, TV
shows, movies and much more influences people on a day to day basis. For this study, a group of
twenty people would be needed. Ten of these people would be familiar with the MCU while the
other half wouldnt be. This group would be placed in the middle of Times Square, New York
and have to keep track of every time they notice something that has to with the MCU. This
includes billboards, clothing, toys, or those people that dress up as characters. After an hour of
roaming around they would have to report what they had seen. The list on the ten familiar with
the universe would be checked and compared with those that werent familiar. All of the things
that the familiar group found that the unfamiliar group didnt would be removed from the list.
This would represent what Times Square would look like if the MCU had failed. The unfamiliar
had the same knowledge before and after the universe grew in popularity therefore, they would
be able to show what the world would be like if the universe had failed. Next time you go out in
public look around the try to count how many times you notice something that has to do with
superheroes or comic books, the number might surprise you.
There are many factors that go into determining what would have happened if something
hadnt happened. Hopefully with the examples and questions in this study can help to show what
would have happened had the Marvel Cinematic Universe failed. The information from this
study will be helpful in showing how certain things have an influence on our world. This study

can also be used for other shows and films such as the Walking Dead or the Fast and Furious
films. By understanding how mass media influences our world will only help in making the
world a much better place.
Conclusion/So What?
Throughout my research I have come to the conclusion that the Marvel cinematic
universe is a reflection of the time. When it comes to pop culture and the movie industry the past
few years nothing has been more popular and successful than the MCU. It has influenced the
ways that movies are made today and also how marketing of the films is done. With the research
I have done I was able to show how the universe was able to integrate itself into our everyday
lives. I have learned all about how the universe came to be and all the planning and preparation
that was put into making it. Many years of hard work by everyone involved help turn an idea into
a cultural icon.
My work within this assignment has a lot to do with the research that I gathered
throughout the assignment. Through the use of multiple databases, I was able to learn new things
and make connections that I would be have been able to make prior. I went from thinking I knew
a lot about the universe and how it came to be to realizing how much more their truly was to
learn. All the hard work and time that was spent trying to find the most reliable sources possible
can be seen all throughout my work and without it I dont think it would have come out as well
as I believe it did.
Although I have done a lot of research and learned a lot, does not mean that more
research cant be done. Throughout my paper I mainly focused on the MCUs impact in the
United States. If I were to look more into it on a global scale, I could see how it has had a

different effect in each part of the world. This would help to show what pop culture is like in
each of those countries. By comparing the success of the MCU in multiple different countries
one would be able to see what pop cultures influence is in a certain area. When it comes to
research and learning new things, there is always new knowledge to acquire.
Works cited
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