Daily Comics Digression #15: Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe a House of Cards?

Daily Comics Digression #15: Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe a House of Cards?

This will be a minority opinion; but in terms of net good, I don't think that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all that it's cracked up to be. Although the current popularity of the films is universally acknowledged and no one can doubt their financial success, I worry for the long term health of the Marvel brand.

Marvel has created an interlocking series of films, each one building up the hype for the next, all building towards a giant crossover. If you take a step back and look at the big picture, this strategy has been employed for years in the comic book industry. Marvel loves to do giant comic book crossovers, so much so that the industry has taken a beating, leading to event fatigue. I am curious how long Marvel can duplicate in film what has ultimately proven to be a poor decision in print. I would say that film is a more unforgiving medium than comics. It's more expensive, and mistakes are harder to fix. While you can easily reboot a comic and hire a new artist, switching actors in a film series can be problematic. Can you imagine what would happen to the Avengers films if you were to lose Robert Downey Jr.?

In addition, the jigsaw puzzle model of filmmaking making has to be perilous. What happens to this house of cards if one or more films bomb at the box office? Everything is great when interdependent movies all succeed, but things will get really bad when that falls apart.

I also suspect that the ever growing amount of hype is actually making it harder for the next films to succeed, especially the crown jewel Infinity War. The expectations for this two-part film are exceedingly high, and every contributing film franchise will have fans who want to see their superhero represented. As hard as it was to balance out the six main characters of the first Avengers movie, imagine how impossible it will be when the cast balloons to over twenty superheroes.

I predict that Infinity War will  be well received upon release but will not age well at all. A growing pit of disappointment will grow in the stomach of those who watch it as impossible-to-meet expectations go unfulfilled. Unfortunately, this entry may be what breaks the spell of the MCU upon audiences and may signal a downturn in the superhero film trend, which cinematic professionals proclaim cannot reign supreme at the box office much longer. What will happen to the comic book industry when the films no longer function as money printing machines?