Marvel Studios has become the premiere superhero franchise in the world today, but that was not always the case. Superhero films in the late 1990s and early 2000s were becoming less faithful adaptations of the works longtime comic fans wanted to see and more of studio-mandated cash grabs.
Bryan Singer's "X-Men" in 2000 was the first major superhero film that took the material seriously in a modern sense, at least for the time. But even that first "X-Men" film had its problems with fans as they were not satisfied with the watering down of the fantastical material from the books and the inclusion of black leather superhero uniforms rather than the bright colorful yellow and blue suits fans became accustomed to from the cartoons and comics.
This trend continued with other less than successful Marvel films released throughout the early 2000s such as "Daredevil", "Hulk", "Fantastic Four", "Ghost Rider", and even the Sam Raimi "Spider-Man" trilogy, which were successful enough films, but some were critically panned by fans and critics and ultimately did not have enough emotional attachment with audiences. Superhero films needed a new change of pace that would attract fans but, more importantly, general audiences back to theaters.
Kevin Feige was the change of pace that the genre desperately needed. He was a longtime Marvel fan who also understood what made the characters and the universe work in the first place in the comics. Being an executive producer on the earlier Marvel films, Feige was given the leadership position of producer when Marvel was deciding to branch off from other major studios and make their films independently.
This proved to be a difficult task as Marvel lost access to their main characters like "Spider-Man", the "X-Men", and "Fantastic Four" to other film studios and had to rely on more obscure faces such as "Iron Man" and "Captain America." Ironically, this was just what the studio needed to win over audiences.
"Iron Man" was a new property with up and coming director Jon Favreau at the helm ("Elf", "Zathura", "Swingers") and well-known but irresponsible actor Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man. This was a risky gamble that not many other studios would take, but Marvel Studios taking these creative risks is what would make them so successful in the long run.
Downey like the Tony Stark character was, at the time, a troubled individual who was put through the wringer but wanted to better his life and make a change for the better. This was evident in the film and part of the reason why it was so successful. Tony Stark did not start out as a morally right person; he was very self-destructive and had to go through some explosive circumstances to become the hero that would lead this franchise for years to come.
The success of "Iron Man" paved the way for Marvel Studios to finally do what they have wanted to see be done with the characters and set up for their first major film studio event "The Avengers." But before "The Avengers", Marvel had to make sure to establish the other characters that would eventually make up the team, and so came "The Incredible Hulk", "Thor", "Captain America", "Black Widow", "Nick Fury", and "Hawkeye", all of whom would be introduced in prior films.
Marvel Studios changed the Hollywood landscape with the first "Avengers" film, as it conveyed to audiences and filmmakers everywhere that shared universes can work on-screen beautifully when done correctly with the proper world-building. The critics that did not believe that this new up-and-coming studio would be able to juggle all of these larger than life characters and have them operate together in one film organically were quickly put to shame. Marvel Studios was at a point where they did not need "Spider-Man" or the "X-Men" and had newly established characters that were just as popular on film, if not even more.
Marvel's second phase of films included sequels to "Iron Man", "Thor", "Captain America", and "Avengers", which were all successful with critics and audiences alike, but arguably, the major achievement from Phase Two was said to be their biggest risk yet that would see the newfound studio crash and burn: the space opera "Guardians of the Galaxy."
"Guardians of the Galaxy", like many of Marvel Studios' films after "Iron Man" starred a relatively unknown cast led by Park and Recreation's Chris Pratt and a relatively unknown director James Gunn ("Super", "Slither"), but perhaps more concerning, it was a film set almost entirely in outer space away from the other more recognizable superheroes on Earth.
Marvel managed to prove the naysayers wrong once again and made one of the most financially successful movies of 2014. Fans and critics praised the acting, character dynamics, special effects, world-building, and, of course, the old school soundtrack that was used to connect with audiences. At the heart of "Guardian's" success was its attention to character and the bond between the cast that saw them as a family of lovable misfits by the end, as opposed to one-dimensional heroes.
"Guardians" resonated so well with audiences that a sequel was immediately greenlit by Marvel as well as giving the studio the confidence to move forward with many other obscure superhero properties that would become household names, proving that Marvel is not too afraid to stray away from the big names, but also adding some much-needed diversity to their universe.
No one questions Marvel Studios anymore because audiences know that, even if the film is not award-worthy or groundbreaking, they will be getting a film that remains true to the core character from the comics while building up to events that are even bigger and better. It is a comic fan's dream come true, and we are all living in it.
