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MCU: Як Marvel Studios підкорила Голлівуд
Книга MCU: Як Marvel Studios підкорила Голлівуд — це захоплива неофіційна хроніка, яка розкриває шлях трансформації невідомої компанії Marvel Entertainment у гіганта світового масштабу. Авторами цієї аналітичної праці стали Джоанна Робінсон, Дейв Ґонсалес та Ґевін Едвардс. Видання привертає увагу фанатів кіно, бізнесу, маркетингу та всіх зацікавлених у феномені Marvel.
592 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2023
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December 2, 2023
*Yeah, so in complete honesty, being overtly critical about popular media scares me, especially when it comes to Marvel movies because their fans can be pretty intense. So, I’ll put a disclaimer the moment I start to be negative towards the MCU. Don’t worry, you won’t be able to miss it! Please forgive the essay, and also… I’m going to spoil all the movies ha ha.
Like lots of folks, I loved the MCU for a really long time. I even did the whole, “sit-through-the-credits-and-then-Wikipedia-the-random-dude-who-appears-through-the-shadows” thing! Just like everybody else! I mean, you’d probably have to at least be somewhat of a fan to even be interested in reading a book that goes into every little behind-the-scenes detail behind the entire history of the whole Marvel thing, going all the way back to 2008. And for the longest time I kept up with every Marvel property and was embarrassingly invested in everything they were doing; past, present, and future. So yeah, like I said, I used to be a pretty big fan. Warning: I’m going into hater mode now! Heavy emphasis on the “used to” part, because, man… I just do not enjoy any of these movies and shows anymore. If I can get the same amount of enjoyment out of a movie from reading the synopsis on Wikipedia as I do when I actually watch the damn thing, you know there’s a problem. I think I fell off around the time their show Moon Knight was coming out. I know that’s not all that long ago, but you have to consider the fact that they have at least five billion shows and movies coming out every month. I’m sure this has been said many times before, but keeping up with Marvel content started to seriously feel like a thankless chore. Consume content, consume content, consume content. And you know, in retrospect, not liking Moon Knight was probably my last straw because… if you can’t make me care about Oscar Isaac as a superhero, then I figure there’s really nothing left in this cinematic universe for me to like!
So, while the endless mid Disney Plus shows may have been my breaking point, I really started noticing the cracks a couple years before that with their big Avengers: Endgame movie. Culmination of ten years… blah blah blah. For all of my days, I’ll always clearly remember all the congratulatory articles about how it would feature “Disney’s first LGBT+ character” (They’ve since said this about several other movies, like live-action Beauty and the Beast and Frozen 2, by the way). Seriously, it was advertised pretty heavily and it was paraded and celebrated how the biggest corporation around was finally breaking necessary barriers and portraying more diverse characters! Yay! Yeah well… it turned out that “Disney’s First LGBT+ Character,” never named so I have to call him, “Nameless-Gay-Man,” is a nameless gay man and has three lines of dialogue where his sole purpose is to show the audience that Captain America isn’t homophobic. I even remember Kevin Feige (guy with the baseball caps) doing an interview where he was patting himself and Marvel on the back, talking about how great it was that Captain America wasn’t bothered by the fact that the dude had a husband and didn’t say anything!? Like, what do you want us to be like? “Gee, thanks Captain American for managing to refrain yourself from hurling all the 1940’s homophobic slurs you’re thinking towards this random guy in your support group! Let’s all give you a round of applause!” But hey, at least the scene gave way to “Disney’s Second LGBT+ Character,” “Nameless-Gay-Man’s-Dead-Husband!” The poor guy didn’t even get a line of dialogue before fulfilling the “bury-your-gays” trope! Groundbreaking stuff right here.
You know, one of the best things about this book is how it shines a light on everything that went on behind the cameras of the MCU, good or bad. But really, it was mostly bad. One common thread I noticed is how a lot of the bigwig higher-ups would commonly fight against the inclusion of female characters in their movies. According to them, action figures of female superheroes didn’t sell well, so I guess they’d figured the best option was that they’d just not include them in their movies. Bizarre choice, in my opinion. But it makes sense when you really look at the way Marvel’s women are written throughout their eighty-seven movies. For example, remember their “woman-killing-mountain” from the last two Avengers movies? If that sounds really bad, it’s because it is really bad. In both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame they put a plot point where the characters have to travel to an ugly purple CGI planet in outer space and, to get a magic purple stone, a person has to sacrifice someone they love by… throwing them off a mountain, where we're then treated to the camera lingering on their mangled body for some reason (they couldn’t just have them walk into a giant blue beam of light? It’s not like Marvel are strangers to giant blue beams of light). Now, I think you can probably guess that both times they used this dumb plot point that the victims being sacrificed and thrown off the mountain were two prominent female characters (Gamora and Black Widow). And then the only explanation for why the characters can’t be brought back (in a movie where the plot centered around the Avengers collecting magic stones to bring everyone back to life) was that “the magic stones wouldn’t let them” … yeah sure, whatever. And look, I’m sure there are a million lore reasons as to why it just had to be these specific characters to to die on the “woman-killing-mountain,” but I’m really just explaining the reasons why I started to lose interest in Marvel.
Homophobia and misogyny aside, in my opinion, MCU movies also have also have had an impressive track record of creating interesting moral dilemmas for their heroes to struggle with by writing nuanced villains with backstories that often make them more sympathetic than the good guys. And then, without fail, this is always squandered by the writers realizing that the heroes have to be in the “moral right” by the end of the movie so they have the villain randomly dive right into full-on evil in the third act. It’s actually a little funny how often I was able to predict the plots of upcoming Marvel movies based on this pattern. Not like that’s an impressive feat or anything, but I’m just saying. Also, isn’t it a little odd how a lot of the bad guys, who are portrayed as unequivocally in the wrong by the end, are usually the ones who are trying to impart some kind of social change? This was especially noticeable in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Secret Invasion. Now, I’m not saying that these characters were in the right (because they're purposefully written to make a complete villain turn), but I'm simply questioning the basic principle of frequently writing the “bad guys” as being characters who are forgotten, stepped on, and ignored and then promptly killed off. All I can really say is that it got to the point where I’d be relieved whenever Marvel would just write an unabashedly, straight-up, evil character, like Hela from Thor Ragnarok! Of course, this whole issue might just be the trappings of the superhero genre. A lot of folks like to say that superhero movies have a unique advantage in that they’re able to portray any kind of genre while still being about caped heroes. Captain America: the Winter Solider is a spy thriller! Thor is a Shakespearean play! And I guess you could describe those movies like that, but they’d only fit those definitions by the barest minimum. Personally, I actually think these movies existing within the confines of the superhero genre limits what they can actually be. A movie that should be about the exploration of grief is bogged down by the fact that there has to be a punch-up at the end with excessive CGI. And you know that there’s just got to be a new costume that the characters can suit-up in so that Marvel can sell more toys. It’s a little like how banana always overpowers every other fruit in the smoothie.
Anyway, if you’re wondering why I’d read a book about the ins-and-outs of a movie franchise that I don’t even like, it’s mostly because I think the book itself is really good! It gives an unbiased account on some of the biggest movies out there, without sugar-coating, or talking about how “nobody’s done something like this before.” And that’s interesting to me. Believe it or not, it’s been a little hard to find to find articles or books or whatever about the MCU that are even slightly negative. And whenever somebody does say something negative, they’re called pretentious and “unable of letting people enjoy things.” So, I’ll get this out of the way, I think it’s totally cool to enjoy a Marvel movie! I’m aware that this loyalty is largely due to the fact that these have been the biggest movies around for the better part of a decade, garnering the love and adoration of millions (to the point where I’m still a little scared of writing any of this, and I’m not a huge fan of endlessly trashing something that a lot of people care about). *End of hater mode: But I get it, you know? I loved these movies for a long time too, and was just as excited as everyone else when I’d see Spider-Man swinging around with Iron Man in *Oops, hater mode again* an ugly gray airport *End of hater mode again. Besides, it’s not like I’m completely closing the book on everything Marvel, always and forever! I still like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and I’ll still watch a Loki if they ever do another one of those (maybe I still kind of have a crush on Tom Hiddleston). And I can't deny that I still get chills and a lovely feeling of nostalgia whenever I see Tony Stark using a suitcase that turns into an Iron Man suit or whenever I see Star Lord dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone! And nothing can take that away from me, not even Marvel! Er… that sounded a lot better in my head.
Like lots of folks, I loved the MCU for a really long time. I even did the whole, “sit-through-the-credits-and-then-Wikipedia-the-random-dude-who-appears-through-the-shadows” thing! Just like everybody else! I mean, you’d probably have to at least be somewhat of a fan to even be interested in reading a book that goes into every little behind-the-scenes detail behind the entire history of the whole Marvel thing, going all the way back to 2008. And for the longest time I kept up with every Marvel property and was embarrassingly invested in everything they were doing; past, present, and future. So yeah, like I said, I used to be a pretty big fan. Warning: I’m going into hater mode now! Heavy emphasis on the “used to” part, because, man… I just do not enjoy any of these movies and shows anymore. If I can get the same amount of enjoyment out of a movie from reading the synopsis on Wikipedia as I do when I actually watch the damn thing, you know there’s a problem. I think I fell off around the time their show Moon Knight was coming out. I know that’s not all that long ago, but you have to consider the fact that they have at least five billion shows and movies coming out every month. I’m sure this has been said many times before, but keeping up with Marvel content started to seriously feel like a thankless chore. Consume content, consume content, consume content. And you know, in retrospect, not liking Moon Knight was probably my last straw because… if you can’t make me care about Oscar Isaac as a superhero, then I figure there’s really nothing left in this cinematic universe for me to like!
So, while the endless mid Disney Plus shows may have been my breaking point, I really started noticing the cracks a couple years before that with their big Avengers: Endgame movie. Culmination of ten years… blah blah blah. For all of my days, I’ll always clearly remember all the congratulatory articles about how it would feature “Disney’s first LGBT+ character” (They’ve since said this about several other movies, like live-action Beauty and the Beast and Frozen 2, by the way). Seriously, it was advertised pretty heavily and it was paraded and celebrated how the biggest corporation around was finally breaking necessary barriers and portraying more diverse characters! Yay! Yeah well… it turned out that “Disney’s First LGBT+ Character,” never named so I have to call him, “Nameless-Gay-Man,” is a nameless gay man and has three lines of dialogue where his sole purpose is to show the audience that Captain America isn’t homophobic. I even remember Kevin Feige (guy with the baseball caps) doing an interview where he was patting himself and Marvel on the back, talking about how great it was that Captain America wasn’t bothered by the fact that the dude had a husband and didn’t say anything!? Like, what do you want us to be like? “Gee, thanks Captain American for managing to refrain yourself from hurling all the 1940’s homophobic slurs you’re thinking towards this random guy in your support group! Let’s all give you a round of applause!” But hey, at least the scene gave way to “Disney’s Second LGBT+ Character,” “Nameless-Gay-Man’s-Dead-Husband!” The poor guy didn’t even get a line of dialogue before fulfilling the “bury-your-gays” trope! Groundbreaking stuff right here.
You know, one of the best things about this book is how it shines a light on everything that went on behind the cameras of the MCU, good or bad. But really, it was mostly bad. One common thread I noticed is how a lot of the bigwig higher-ups would commonly fight against the inclusion of female characters in their movies. According to them, action figures of female superheroes didn’t sell well, so I guess they’d figured the best option was that they’d just not include them in their movies. Bizarre choice, in my opinion. But it makes sense when you really look at the way Marvel’s women are written throughout their eighty-seven movies. For example, remember their “woman-killing-mountain” from the last two Avengers movies? If that sounds really bad, it’s because it is really bad. In both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame they put a plot point where the characters have to travel to an ugly purple CGI planet in outer space and, to get a magic purple stone, a person has to sacrifice someone they love by… throwing them off a mountain, where we're then treated to the camera lingering on their mangled body for some reason (they couldn’t just have them walk into a giant blue beam of light? It’s not like Marvel are strangers to giant blue beams of light). Now, I think you can probably guess that both times they used this dumb plot point that the victims being sacrificed and thrown off the mountain were two prominent female characters (Gamora and Black Widow). And then the only explanation for why the characters can’t be brought back (in a movie where the plot centered around the Avengers collecting magic stones to bring everyone back to life) was that “the magic stones wouldn’t let them” … yeah sure, whatever. And look, I’m sure there are a million lore reasons as to why it just had to be these specific characters to to die on the “woman-killing-mountain,” but I’m really just explaining the reasons why I started to lose interest in Marvel.
Homophobia and misogyny aside, in my opinion, MCU movies also have also have had an impressive track record of creating interesting moral dilemmas for their heroes to struggle with by writing nuanced villains with backstories that often make them more sympathetic than the good guys. And then, without fail, this is always squandered by the writers realizing that the heroes have to be in the “moral right” by the end of the movie so they have the villain randomly dive right into full-on evil in the third act. It’s actually a little funny how often I was able to predict the plots of upcoming Marvel movies based on this pattern. Not like that’s an impressive feat or anything, but I’m just saying. Also, isn’t it a little odd how a lot of the bad guys, who are portrayed as unequivocally in the wrong by the end, are usually the ones who are trying to impart some kind of social change? This was especially noticeable in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Panther, and Secret Invasion. Now, I’m not saying that these characters were in the right (because they're purposefully written to make a complete villain turn), but I'm simply questioning the basic principle of frequently writing the “bad guys” as being characters who are forgotten, stepped on, and ignored and then promptly killed off. All I can really say is that it got to the point where I’d be relieved whenever Marvel would just write an unabashedly, straight-up, evil character, like Hela from Thor Ragnarok! Of course, this whole issue might just be the trappings of the superhero genre. A lot of folks like to say that superhero movies have a unique advantage in that they’re able to portray any kind of genre while still being about caped heroes. Captain America: the Winter Solider is a spy thriller! Thor is a Shakespearean play! And I guess you could describe those movies like that, but they’d only fit those definitions by the barest minimum. Personally, I actually think these movies existing within the confines of the superhero genre limits what they can actually be. A movie that should be about the exploration of grief is bogged down by the fact that there has to be a punch-up at the end with excessive CGI. And you know that there’s just got to be a new costume that the characters can suit-up in so that Marvel can sell more toys. It’s a little like how banana always overpowers every other fruit in the smoothie.
Anyway, if you’re wondering why I’d read a book about the ins-and-outs of a movie franchise that I don’t even like, it’s mostly because I think the book itself is really good! It gives an unbiased account on some of the biggest movies out there, without sugar-coating, or talking about how “nobody’s done something like this before.” And that’s interesting to me. Believe it or not, it’s been a little hard to find to find articles or books or whatever about the MCU that are even slightly negative. And whenever somebody does say something negative, they’re called pretentious and “unable of letting people enjoy things.” So, I’ll get this out of the way, I think it’s totally cool to enjoy a Marvel movie! I’m aware that this loyalty is largely due to the fact that these have been the biggest movies around for the better part of a decade, garnering the love and adoration of millions (to the point where I’m still a little scared of writing any of this, and I’m not a huge fan of endlessly trashing something that a lot of people care about). *End of hater mode: But I get it, you know? I loved these movies for a long time too, and was just as excited as everyone else when I’d see Spider-Man swinging around with Iron Man in *Oops, hater mode again* an ugly gray airport *End of hater mode again. Besides, it’s not like I’m completely closing the book on everything Marvel, always and forever! I still like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and I’ll still watch a Loki if they ever do another one of those (maybe I still kind of have a crush on Tom Hiddleston). And I can't deny that I still get chills and a lovely feeling of nostalgia whenever I see Tony Stark using a suitcase that turns into an Iron Man suit or whenever I see Star Lord dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone! And nothing can take that away from me, not even Marvel! Er… that sounded a lot better in my head.
February 15, 2024
4.5 stars
"[Actor] Mark Ruffalo had no idea how big the future could be. But when he became a Marvel superhero, he found out . . . " -- the opening line, on page 1
Authored by the mighty triumvirate of Robinson, Gonzales, and Edwards (maybe they're secretly some sort of superhero team, just like the Avengers?), the thorough MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios documents the origin, successes, and missteps - as well as the expected behind-the-scenes show biz drama, but more so concerning the production end of things (not the performers) - of the juggernaut that has been responsible for a non-stop number of super-heroic movies and streaming TV series in the 21st century. Although it began with the trilogies of X-Men (an ensemble cast headed by Patrick Stewart, 2000-2006) and Spider-Man (starring Tobey Maguire, 2002-2007) films, the studio both fully cemented itself as a major industry player AND began a long-range multi-project timeline with the surprising blockbuster success of Iron Man in 2008, providing a redemptively career-rejuvenating second act for formerly maligned leading man Robert Downey Jr. Multiple film series then followed (including Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy) and said movies pretty much ruled at the global box office for the MCU's amazing inaugural ten years (2008-2018). To be clear, the narrative here is much more focused on behind-the-camera personalities like wunderkind MCU producer Kevin Feige, former Disney chairman Bob Iger, and visual effects producer Victoria Alonso than it is about those "guys named Chris" (lead actors Evans, Hemsworth, and Pratt, who respectively portrayed Captain America, Thor, and Star-Lord). It is also an unauthorized project, so it's free of the type of excessive sugar-coating or forced cheeriness that would likely be attached to anything with an official blessing or oversight. However, it's also sort of melancholy-inducing in reminding us that their more recent efforts (since 2020) have not carried quite the same impact, either because of shifts in quality or misguided pandering to certain segments of the audience.
"[Actor] Mark Ruffalo had no idea how big the future could be. But when he became a Marvel superhero, he found out . . . " -- the opening line, on page 1
Authored by the mighty triumvirate of Robinson, Gonzales, and Edwards (maybe they're secretly some sort of superhero team, just like the Avengers?), the thorough MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios documents the origin, successes, and missteps - as well as the expected behind-the-scenes show biz drama, but more so concerning the production end of things (not the performers) - of the juggernaut that has been responsible for a non-stop number of super-heroic movies and streaming TV series in the 21st century. Although it began with the trilogies of X-Men (an ensemble cast headed by Patrick Stewart, 2000-2006) and Spider-Man (starring Tobey Maguire, 2002-2007) films, the studio both fully cemented itself as a major industry player AND began a long-range multi-project timeline with the surprising blockbuster success of Iron Man in 2008, providing a redemptively career-rejuvenating second act for formerly maligned leading man Robert Downey Jr. Multiple film series then followed (including Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy) and said movies pretty much ruled at the global box office for the MCU's amazing inaugural ten years (2008-2018). To be clear, the narrative here is much more focused on behind-the-camera personalities like wunderkind MCU producer Kevin Feige, former Disney chairman Bob Iger, and visual effects producer Victoria Alonso than it is about those "guys named Chris" (lead actors Evans, Hemsworth, and Pratt, who respectively portrayed Captain America, Thor, and Star-Lord). It is also an unauthorized project, so it's free of the type of excessive sugar-coating or forced cheeriness that would likely be attached to anything with an official blessing or oversight. However, it's also sort of melancholy-inducing in reminding us that their more recent efforts (since 2020) have not carried quite the same impact, either because of shifts in quality or misguided pandering to certain segments of the audience.
August 20, 2023
As a lifelong comic book fan, I naturally fell in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I've kept up with related news and rumors, so I didn't have high expectations regarding this book as far as deep dark secrets were concerned. I own the slipcased two-volume hardcover set that was published a few years ago, which was basically a glossy propaganda effort, so I was mainly hoping to have my main two questions answered by this book, which were: What happened to Terrence Howard, and what happened to Edward Norton?
MCU: THE REIGN OF MARVEL STUDIOS did, indeed, answer those questions (Cost too much and was a pain in the ass, respectively), and answered so many other questions that I didn't even know that I had, so....highly recommended for fans who want a deep-dive on the history of the studio. Not so much of a recommendation for fans who are looking for dirt on the making of individual films and the actors, though. This is a real Inside Baseball type of book, with page after page of mover-and-shaker machinations and dollars and cents breakdowns.
My main takeaways were:
The cheapness and shittiness of Trump sycophant Ike Permutter, and his obsession with selling toys.
The deplorable treatment of screenwriters by Hollywood. Almost every time a screenwriter gets mentioned, there follows a story about how James Gunn, Edward Norton, Joss Whedon, etc., tried to steal their credit and fuck them out of residuals . Fuck these millionaires....no amount of money is ever enough for them. Support the writers strike, because they are the heart and soul of filmmaking, and they need to be protected and compensated.
The ego of Robert Downey, Jr., who seemed to be forever trying to make Tony Stark the center of every film he appeared in.
The cheapness and shittiness of Disney, who clings to the thought that, no matter how much of a comic-book story they steal, the original creators and writers and artists really deserve nothing but a "Special Thanks..." credit., because, hey....they signed a work-for-hire contract, so they should just be happy that we reused their storyline and made billions of dollars off of it. Yeah, I pay to see these movies, watch the streaming service, buy the ancillary products, but I shouldn't, until they decide to share the wealth.....I feel guilty for giving Disney my money. There's just no way to defend their use of The Winter Soldier and reconcile it with Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting receiving no compensation for the wholesale use of their ideas and storylines from the Captain America comics. Stan Lee should have died a billionaire, and the estates of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko should likewise be worth billions. Honestly, just fuck Disney, Iger, Chapek, all of them. Don't even get me started on the near-slavery of the effects house employees they hire on to provide their excessive CGI.....
There's a lot to recommend here, if you have the stomach to endure hundreds of pages of inside stuff about producers and behind-the-scenes folks. I'm one of those people who find that all fascinating, so...your mileage may vary.
MCU: THE REIGN OF MARVEL STUDIOS did, indeed, answer those questions (Cost too much and was a pain in the ass, respectively), and answered so many other questions that I didn't even know that I had, so....highly recommended for fans who want a deep-dive on the history of the studio. Not so much of a recommendation for fans who are looking for dirt on the making of individual films and the actors, though. This is a real Inside Baseball type of book, with page after page of mover-and-shaker machinations and dollars and cents breakdowns.
My main takeaways were:
The cheapness and shittiness of Trump sycophant Ike Permutter, and his obsession with selling toys.
The deplorable treatment of screenwriters by Hollywood. Almost every time a screenwriter gets mentioned, there follows a story about how James Gunn, Edward Norton, Joss Whedon, etc., tried to steal their credit and fuck them out of residuals . Fuck these millionaires....no amount of money is ever enough for them. Support the writers strike, because they are the heart and soul of filmmaking, and they need to be protected and compensated.
The ego of Robert Downey, Jr., who seemed to be forever trying to make Tony Stark the center of every film he appeared in.
The cheapness and shittiness of Disney, who clings to the thought that, no matter how much of a comic-book story they steal, the original creators and writers and artists really deserve nothing but a "Special Thanks..." credit., because, hey....they signed a work-for-hire contract, so they should just be happy that we reused their storyline and made billions of dollars off of it. Yeah, I pay to see these movies, watch the streaming service, buy the ancillary products, but I shouldn't, until they decide to share the wealth.....I feel guilty for giving Disney my money. There's just no way to defend their use of The Winter Soldier and reconcile it with Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting receiving no compensation for the wholesale use of their ideas and storylines from the Captain America comics. Stan Lee should have died a billionaire, and the estates of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko should likewise be worth billions. Honestly, just fuck Disney, Iger, Chapek, all of them. Don't even get me started on the near-slavery of the effects house employees they hire on to provide their excessive CGI.....
There's a lot to recommend here, if you have the stomach to endure hundreds of pages of inside stuff about producers and behind-the-scenes folks. I'm one of those people who find that all fascinating, so...your mileage may vary.
October 29, 2023
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is the most successful film franchise there’s ever been. Starting in 2008, the series turned former B-list characters like Iron Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America into household names, as famous and iconic as the likes of Spider-Man and the X-Men. It was an unstoppable, money-making juggernaut that only became more and more popular over the years, leading up to the incredible double-whammy finale of Infinity War and Endgame.
But, following the completion of the Infinity Saga (as Phases 1-3 came to be known, culminating in Avengers: Endgame, or maybe the belated Spider-Man 2: Far From Home that followed Endgame), Marvel Studios has struggled to latch onto a new ongoing storyline while simultaneously ramping up its already fast-paced production of three movies a year to include multiple TV shows on Disney+, which has led to a quantity over quality issue, and increasing apathy and indifference from its previously massive and now ever-dwindling audience.
Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards chart the story of Marvel Studios and the MCU from its inauspicious beginnings, the giddy rise and steady fall, to its current shaky present and uncertain future, giving a thorough and behind-the-scenes look at the myriad films of the series in MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.
I’m speaking for myself of course but I think many, many people will echo the same sentiments: I loved the MCU. Every movie was a must-see event, nearly every movie was high quality, and, as crazy as it seems now that we have so much Marvel content being released, in the years 2008-2019, three movies a year didn’t seem enough - I could’ve easily watched a Marvel movie a month if that had been possible; they were that good.
It’s a different story now, but I still go back and rewatch those movies, and they still hold up - I’ve even come to have a new appreciation for films I didn’t love at the time like Thor: The Dark World. So it’s nice to have a book like this to go back and revisit the films, learn something about how they came about and some of the gossip surrounding them.
Before launching into the MCU proper, the authors take us back to the murky days of the ‘80s and ‘90s when Marvel movies were a joke and nobody thought they were viable characters for film. At one point Sony were offered a mere $25m for nearly every character in the Marvel catalogue - including Captain America, Doctor Strange and Black Panther - which, if they had accepted, would’ve meant no MCU later on. Thankfully Sony’s shortsightedness was as bad as Marvel’s, declining because, according to a Sony exec at the time “no one gives a shit about any Marvel character besides Spider-Man!”
Sony ended up paying $10m for the Spider-Man movie rights, a deal that looks like a bargain now. And if you’re wondering why we’ve had so many Spider-Man movies these past 20 years, it’s because, per the terms of the agreement, Sony have to get a Spider-Man movie into production within 3 years and 9 months and then into theatres within 5 years and 9 months, or the rights revert back to Marvel - so basically we’ll never stop getting regular Spider-Man movies, for better or worse, because he’s too valuable for Sony to give up!
I had no idea that James Cameron had at one point in the ‘90s been developing a Spider-Man movie, which would’ve starred Leo as Spidey and Ahnuld as Doc Ock - we live in the timeline that the movie never happened unfortunately and Cameron called it “the best movie he never made”.
There’s other tidbits like this scattered throughout the book - glimpses into what might’ve been: Tom Hiddleston being considered for Thor; Sebastian Stan for Cap; Jason Momoa for Drax; Amanda Seyfried for Gamora; Emily Blunt for Black Widow; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Ant-Man. Oh, and Michael Jackson wanted to be Professor X in the first X-Men movie!
It was Avi Arad’s terrible movie licensing deals - wherein Marvel received just 5% of the Spider-Man box office with Sony and a stunning 1% of the X-Men box office with Fox - that spurred others at Marvel on to reconsidering their business model. Instead of licensing characters, what if they made the movies themselves and then sold them to distributors, allowing them to pocket a much larger share of the box office?
This leads to a new name I hadn’t heard before but will remember going forward and should be better known. Kevin Feige is the figurehead of Marvel Studios, and he deserves his due, but he didn’t create the studio - that was the unsung David Maisel who had the vision of Marvel producing its own movies, especially as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Bryan Singer’s X-Men movies showed just how profitable they could be.
Still, regarding the content of the movies themselves, what made Marvel Studios’ movies stand out from previous non-Marvel-produced Marvel movies was how much the characters looked like they did in the comics - this was in large part to Feige’s dedication. They weren’t all dressed in black leather like in Singer’s X-Men; Cap looked like Cap, Thor looked like Thor, Iron Man looked like Iron Man. It was one more indicator why Marvel Studios were finally doing Marvel movies properly.
What’s really surprising is learning how throw-together and slapdash the movies were, even right at the beginning with Iron Man - especially given how well the movies turned out, at the rate they were churned out. There was a bare-bones shooting script for Iron Man when they began principal photography - that was promptly thrown out. Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr and Jeff Bridges would meet in Bridges’ dressing room each morning, spend a few hours writing the script for the scenes they were shooting that day, then film them! That’s an insane way to do things - no wonder Bridges remarked that he was making “a $200m student film!”
Even the Infinity Saga just sorta happened. Joss Whedon wanted the Thanos cameo at the end of Avengers to be an easter egg for fans. Thanos was never intended to be the series villain, he just ended up that way from that one throwaway scene - it just shows how little planning there really was and how Marvel seemed to fail upwards and succeed accidentally.
The same thing happened with Kang recently. Marvel Studios apparently made him their new big bad solely on audience reaction to the character’s appearance at the end of the first season of the Loki TV show, so their lack of planning hasn’t improved over the years - and unlike Thanos, Kang isn’t working out quite as well for a number of reasons. Luck runs out eventually for even the luckiest - it is… inevitable.
(Also, why were the first two Marvel Studios films Iron Man and Hulk? Because they market-tested the highest as desirable toys for kids - Ike Perlmutter, the owner of Marvel, made all of his business decisions based on projected toy sales! He had no confidence the movies would be profitable.)
We find out what Ed Norton was like to work with on The Incredible Hulk, why Hulk hasn’t starred in a solo movie since 2008, and that Mark Ruffalo was director Louis Leterrier’s first choice for Bruce Banner.
Robert Downey Jr’s fees for playing Tony Stark are staggering. He received “just” $500k for Iron Man, but then the numbers start going crazy: $10m for Iron Man 2, $50m for Avengers, $70m for Iron Man 3, $64m for Civil War, and $75m apiece for Infinity War and Endgame. It’s because of RDJ, who wasn’t, that leading Marvel actors were now signed on for multi-picture deals in order for the studio to avoid having to pay out such hefty amounts later on down the line.
Some of the things the studio did early on are good indicators of its success. Like starting the Marvel writers’ programme where writers were encouraged to pick lesser-known characters from the Marvel catalogue and develop them into potential movies, which led to Nicole Perlman putting Guardians of the Galaxy onto the fast track for production.
(James Gunn is often credited with the Guardians’ success but it’s worth remembering Perlman was the one who got the series going and wrote many of the early drafts that became the movie. She and Gunn butted heads as Gunn tried undermining her contributions - she eventually got a co-writing credit on the first Guardians film, which is still the best one, and she threw a “Fuck James Gunn!” party when Guardians premiered.)
Utilising as much live action in the movies rather than relying too much on CGI are why movies like The Winter Soldier look so good. And having a strong narrative voice throughout a series of films, like Joss Whedon overseeing Phase 2, helps bring it all together. Scrapping the writers’ programme, making your films almost entirely CGI (like the goopy Quantumania) and losing strong narrative voices all point towards why Marvel today is so much weaker than it was 10 years ago.
There aren’t that many interesting production stories from the Thor movies, Cap 2, Iron Man 3, et al. while Doctor Strange is completely omitted for no reason. A lot of the gossip from this time is fairly well-known too, like Edgar Wright leaving Ant-Man because he didn’t want to shoe-horn in unnecessary scenes (despite Feige’s motto of focusing on making good movies first and thinking about the cinematic universe second) or that an estimated 50-75% of Marvel actors are on steroids.
Nor did I find a lot of the Ike Perlmutter stuff all that compelling - he was basically the New York Creative Committee that would often put a check on Feige’s plans (which might’ve been another reason why Phases 1-3 were good too; Feige no longer had these limitations in Phase 4 and look how that turned out). And the overlong and uninteresting section on how the CGI was done didn’t do much for me. There’s also stuff on the controversy around pandering to the emerging Chinese film market, an audience that is unabashedly racist with weird rules on supernatural content. It’s strange that Marvel Studios and Marvel TV didn’t get along but there was a split in the early days where the TV division was looked down upon and vehemently separated from the MCU.
The authors also simplify the backlash to Captain Marvel, characterising its detractors and critics as “cranks”, even though it’s more nuanced than that, especially as it marked the politicisation of Marvel, to its detrimental current position. They also gloss over the negative reactions to She-Hulk as “misogynistic”, even though the show was boring, pointless, overly political rubbish.
The section on Phase 4 was what I was most interested in reading about and found the most disappointing. It felt like the authors were being hamstrung from being the least bit critical even though I don’t think they had direct access to any of the main players in the MCU, so it’s weird that they pulled their punches from not pointing out the distinct lack of quality that permeated Phase 4.
The way Marvel poorly treated visual effects artists (which isn’t exclusive to Marvel either - all the studios unfairly treat these artists like shit) is covered, and the movies’ overreliance on CGI has led to Marvel burning through more visual effects companies and shoddier CGI. But that’s not the reason why Quantumania was panned - the movie was, yes, again, boring, pointless, overly political rubbish!
The chapters on the Phase 4 movies read like banal press releases, while the authors studiously avoid mentioning the falling profits of the Phase 4 movies, instead making the bizarre claim that Marvel was profitable in the COVID era, which isn’t the case (not least because Marvel underreport their budgets and always have reshoots for their movies). The occasional sentence is patently false too, like when they say that Wakanda Forever was Phase 4’s most successful entry when Spider-Man 3: No Way Home made more than double the box office - unless they meant successful in terms of awards, which is true as Wakanda Forever racked up some Academy Award noms and even a win for Best Costume Design, but then the sentence should’ve been rewritten to reflect that meaning.
They do at least acknowledge the hefty demand Disney placed on Kevin Feige to produce a ton of content for their new streaming service, Disney+, in return for his new position of power (Perlmutter was squeezed out of the picture so that Feige’s new boss was Bob Iger, the head of Disney, only). So the reason for the crappiness of Phase 4 was self-evident all along: quantity over quality - no surprises there.
(There’s a discussion to be had about how Disney seems to ruin great companies after buying them - Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel are all shadows of their former glory just a few years after having been absorbed by Disney - but that’s for another day in another book.)
Ultimately, the MCU from 2008 to 2019 remains an incredible achievement - and one we will likely never see again. Many studios tried replicating the success and all of them failed - now even Marvel is failing to do what they pioneered. I’m glad to have been there to experience it firsthand and we’ll always have those movies, even if the ongoing slate of movies and TV shows feels like doing homework, for those still bothering with it, rather than witnessing an exciting spectacle, as they once were.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is a fine, informative overview of what went on behind-the-scenes of the MCU and how it all came together. I didn’t find it consistently interesting nor does it have all that many exciting new revelations, and the Phase 4 section was, appropriately enough, very lacking, but it’s definitely worth reading if you’re an old or new fan of the MCU as there’s something here for all.
But, following the completion of the Infinity Saga (as Phases 1-3 came to be known, culminating in Avengers: Endgame, or maybe the belated Spider-Man 2: Far From Home that followed Endgame), Marvel Studios has struggled to latch onto a new ongoing storyline while simultaneously ramping up its already fast-paced production of three movies a year to include multiple TV shows on Disney+, which has led to a quantity over quality issue, and increasing apathy and indifference from its previously massive and now ever-dwindling audience.
Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards chart the story of Marvel Studios and the MCU from its inauspicious beginnings, the giddy rise and steady fall, to its current shaky present and uncertain future, giving a thorough and behind-the-scenes look at the myriad films of the series in MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.
I’m speaking for myself of course but I think many, many people will echo the same sentiments: I loved the MCU. Every movie was a must-see event, nearly every movie was high quality, and, as crazy as it seems now that we have so much Marvel content being released, in the years 2008-2019, three movies a year didn’t seem enough - I could’ve easily watched a Marvel movie a month if that had been possible; they were that good.
It’s a different story now, but I still go back and rewatch those movies, and they still hold up - I’ve even come to have a new appreciation for films I didn’t love at the time like Thor: The Dark World. So it’s nice to have a book like this to go back and revisit the films, learn something about how they came about and some of the gossip surrounding them.
Before launching into the MCU proper, the authors take us back to the murky days of the ‘80s and ‘90s when Marvel movies were a joke and nobody thought they were viable characters for film. At one point Sony were offered a mere $25m for nearly every character in the Marvel catalogue - including Captain America, Doctor Strange and Black Panther - which, if they had accepted, would’ve meant no MCU later on. Thankfully Sony’s shortsightedness was as bad as Marvel’s, declining because, according to a Sony exec at the time “no one gives a shit about any Marvel character besides Spider-Man!”
Sony ended up paying $10m for the Spider-Man movie rights, a deal that looks like a bargain now. And if you’re wondering why we’ve had so many Spider-Man movies these past 20 years, it’s because, per the terms of the agreement, Sony have to get a Spider-Man movie into production within 3 years and 9 months and then into theatres within 5 years and 9 months, or the rights revert back to Marvel - so basically we’ll never stop getting regular Spider-Man movies, for better or worse, because he’s too valuable for Sony to give up!
I had no idea that James Cameron had at one point in the ‘90s been developing a Spider-Man movie, which would’ve starred Leo as Spidey and Ahnuld as Doc Ock - we live in the timeline that the movie never happened unfortunately and Cameron called it “the best movie he never made”.
There’s other tidbits like this scattered throughout the book - glimpses into what might’ve been: Tom Hiddleston being considered for Thor; Sebastian Stan for Cap; Jason Momoa for Drax; Amanda Seyfried for Gamora; Emily Blunt for Black Widow; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Ant-Man. Oh, and Michael Jackson wanted to be Professor X in the first X-Men movie!
It was Avi Arad’s terrible movie licensing deals - wherein Marvel received just 5% of the Spider-Man box office with Sony and a stunning 1% of the X-Men box office with Fox - that spurred others at Marvel on to reconsidering their business model. Instead of licensing characters, what if they made the movies themselves and then sold them to distributors, allowing them to pocket a much larger share of the box office?
This leads to a new name I hadn’t heard before but will remember going forward and should be better known. Kevin Feige is the figurehead of Marvel Studios, and he deserves his due, but he didn’t create the studio - that was the unsung David Maisel who had the vision of Marvel producing its own movies, especially as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Bryan Singer’s X-Men movies showed just how profitable they could be.
Still, regarding the content of the movies themselves, what made Marvel Studios’ movies stand out from previous non-Marvel-produced Marvel movies was how much the characters looked like they did in the comics - this was in large part to Feige’s dedication. They weren’t all dressed in black leather like in Singer’s X-Men; Cap looked like Cap, Thor looked like Thor, Iron Man looked like Iron Man. It was one more indicator why Marvel Studios were finally doing Marvel movies properly.
What’s really surprising is learning how throw-together and slapdash the movies were, even right at the beginning with Iron Man - especially given how well the movies turned out, at the rate they were churned out. There was a bare-bones shooting script for Iron Man when they began principal photography - that was promptly thrown out. Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr and Jeff Bridges would meet in Bridges’ dressing room each morning, spend a few hours writing the script for the scenes they were shooting that day, then film them! That’s an insane way to do things - no wonder Bridges remarked that he was making “a $200m student film!”
Even the Infinity Saga just sorta happened. Joss Whedon wanted the Thanos cameo at the end of Avengers to be an easter egg for fans. Thanos was never intended to be the series villain, he just ended up that way from that one throwaway scene - it just shows how little planning there really was and how Marvel seemed to fail upwards and succeed accidentally.
The same thing happened with Kang recently. Marvel Studios apparently made him their new big bad solely on audience reaction to the character’s appearance at the end of the first season of the Loki TV show, so their lack of planning hasn’t improved over the years - and unlike Thanos, Kang isn’t working out quite as well for a number of reasons. Luck runs out eventually for even the luckiest - it is… inevitable.
(Also, why were the first two Marvel Studios films Iron Man and Hulk? Because they market-tested the highest as desirable toys for kids - Ike Perlmutter, the owner of Marvel, made all of his business decisions based on projected toy sales! He had no confidence the movies would be profitable.)
We find out what Ed Norton was like to work with on The Incredible Hulk, why Hulk hasn’t starred in a solo movie since 2008, and that Mark Ruffalo was director Louis Leterrier’s first choice for Bruce Banner.
Robert Downey Jr’s fees for playing Tony Stark are staggering. He received “just” $500k for Iron Man, but then the numbers start going crazy: $10m for Iron Man 2, $50m for Avengers, $70m for Iron Man 3, $64m for Civil War, and $75m apiece for Infinity War and Endgame. It’s because of RDJ, who wasn’t, that leading Marvel actors were now signed on for multi-picture deals in order for the studio to avoid having to pay out such hefty amounts later on down the line.
Some of the things the studio did early on are good indicators of its success. Like starting the Marvel writers’ programme where writers were encouraged to pick lesser-known characters from the Marvel catalogue and develop them into potential movies, which led to Nicole Perlman putting Guardians of the Galaxy onto the fast track for production.
(James Gunn is often credited with the Guardians’ success but it’s worth remembering Perlman was the one who got the series going and wrote many of the early drafts that became the movie. She and Gunn butted heads as Gunn tried undermining her contributions - she eventually got a co-writing credit on the first Guardians film, which is still the best one, and she threw a “Fuck James Gunn!” party when Guardians premiered.)
Utilising as much live action in the movies rather than relying too much on CGI are why movies like The Winter Soldier look so good. And having a strong narrative voice throughout a series of films, like Joss Whedon overseeing Phase 2, helps bring it all together. Scrapping the writers’ programme, making your films almost entirely CGI (like the goopy Quantumania) and losing strong narrative voices all point towards why Marvel today is so much weaker than it was 10 years ago.
There aren’t that many interesting production stories from the Thor movies, Cap 2, Iron Man 3, et al. while Doctor Strange is completely omitted for no reason. A lot of the gossip from this time is fairly well-known too, like Edgar Wright leaving Ant-Man because he didn’t want to shoe-horn in unnecessary scenes (despite Feige’s motto of focusing on making good movies first and thinking about the cinematic universe second) or that an estimated 50-75% of Marvel actors are on steroids.
Nor did I find a lot of the Ike Perlmutter stuff all that compelling - he was basically the New York Creative Committee that would often put a check on Feige’s plans (which might’ve been another reason why Phases 1-3 were good too; Feige no longer had these limitations in Phase 4 and look how that turned out). And the overlong and uninteresting section on how the CGI was done didn’t do much for me. There’s also stuff on the controversy around pandering to the emerging Chinese film market, an audience that is unabashedly racist with weird rules on supernatural content. It’s strange that Marvel Studios and Marvel TV didn’t get along but there was a split in the early days where the TV division was looked down upon and vehemently separated from the MCU.
The authors also simplify the backlash to Captain Marvel, characterising its detractors and critics as “cranks”, even though it’s more nuanced than that, especially as it marked the politicisation of Marvel, to its detrimental current position. They also gloss over the negative reactions to She-Hulk as “misogynistic”, even though the show was boring, pointless, overly political rubbish.
The section on Phase 4 was what I was most interested in reading about and found the most disappointing. It felt like the authors were being hamstrung from being the least bit critical even though I don’t think they had direct access to any of the main players in the MCU, so it’s weird that they pulled their punches from not pointing out the distinct lack of quality that permeated Phase 4.
The way Marvel poorly treated visual effects artists (which isn’t exclusive to Marvel either - all the studios unfairly treat these artists like shit) is covered, and the movies’ overreliance on CGI has led to Marvel burning through more visual effects companies and shoddier CGI. But that’s not the reason why Quantumania was panned - the movie was, yes, again, boring, pointless, overly political rubbish!
The chapters on the Phase 4 movies read like banal press releases, while the authors studiously avoid mentioning the falling profits of the Phase 4 movies, instead making the bizarre claim that Marvel was profitable in the COVID era, which isn’t the case (not least because Marvel underreport their budgets and always have reshoots for their movies). The occasional sentence is patently false too, like when they say that Wakanda Forever was Phase 4’s most successful entry when Spider-Man 3: No Way Home made more than double the box office - unless they meant successful in terms of awards, which is true as Wakanda Forever racked up some Academy Award noms and even a win for Best Costume Design, but then the sentence should’ve been rewritten to reflect that meaning.
They do at least acknowledge the hefty demand Disney placed on Kevin Feige to produce a ton of content for their new streaming service, Disney+, in return for his new position of power (Perlmutter was squeezed out of the picture so that Feige’s new boss was Bob Iger, the head of Disney, only). So the reason for the crappiness of Phase 4 was self-evident all along: quantity over quality - no surprises there.
(There’s a discussion to be had about how Disney seems to ruin great companies after buying them - Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel are all shadows of their former glory just a few years after having been absorbed by Disney - but that’s for another day in another book.)
Ultimately, the MCU from 2008 to 2019 remains an incredible achievement - and one we will likely never see again. Many studios tried replicating the success and all of them failed - now even Marvel is failing to do what they pioneered. I’m glad to have been there to experience it firsthand and we’ll always have those movies, even if the ongoing slate of movies and TV shows feels like doing homework, for those still bothering with it, rather than witnessing an exciting spectacle, as they once were.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is a fine, informative overview of what went on behind-the-scenes of the MCU and how it all came together. I didn’t find it consistently interesting nor does it have all that many exciting new revelations, and the Phase 4 section was, appropriately enough, very lacking, but it’s definitely worth reading if you’re an old or new fan of the MCU as there’s something here for all.
November 15, 2023
I would describe myself as a casual Marvel person. Partially because these movies have been so ubiquitous in my lifetime, easily coming to dominate the blockbuster landscape of my teenage and early adulthood. Parts of this were validating as a person who has never bought that these films were made with quite the level of inter-connectedness capitalism would like me to believe and seeing the more spontaneous beginnings to the reaching back and having so much product that years-long planning can just be simulated in post. The reliance on fixing everything in post has clearly caught up with the Marvel machine, and that was sort of touched upon in this.
Honestly, the amount of 2023 developments included in this final book is pretty impressive and I can only imagine the down-to-the-wire editing that was happening to get this book out to meet its publication time.
It's not a book that looks to tear down the Marvel machine or blame the collapse of cinema on how superhero movies have come to dominate the release schedule. It's really just an honest look at how a company on the verge of bankruptcy was able to become the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, and how it's also started to falter under some of the systems in place that were responsible for the success in the first place. It's well-reported and well-written for fans and non-fans alike. The bonus chapter after the epilogue in a nod to the post-credit scene was definitely cute.
Honestly, the amount of 2023 developments included in this final book is pretty impressive and I can only imagine the down-to-the-wire editing that was happening to get this book out to meet its publication time.
It's not a book that looks to tear down the Marvel machine or blame the collapse of cinema on how superhero movies have come to dominate the release schedule. It's really just an honest look at how a company on the verge of bankruptcy was able to become the highest-grossing film franchise of all time, and how it's also started to falter under some of the systems in place that were responsible for the success in the first place. It's well-reported and well-written for fans and non-fans alike. The bonus chapter after the epilogue in a nod to the post-credit scene was definitely cute.
August 27, 2023
This book is the equivalent of a published Thomas' English muffin: there are so many nooks and crannies filled with the buttery goodness of Hollywood dirt.
Want to Read
October 13, 2023I am Ringer-pilled and addicted to inside baseball
August 8, 2023
Thank you W. W. Norton & Company for providing me with an ARC
I've been a Marvel fan since X-Men '92 and watched every MCU entry since Iron Man. However, I didn't know about the behind-the-scenes process and the people behind the studio. For example, I knew that getting a female fronted solo film was not happening because they (the faceless they) didn't think it would sell toys. But I didn't know the who specifically, or the why, or the culture of Marvel. MCU was a great deep-dive into twenty-plus years of the cinematic history of Marvel movies and the MCU.
It's fast-paced for a non-fiction book. I couldn't put it down, which is a non-fiction rarity for me. I was interested in reading this book because of one author: Joanna Robinson, who I listen to on the House of R podcast on the Ringerverse network. If you are a Marvel fan, I'd recommend that pod, and this book.
I've been a Marvel fan since X-Men '92 and watched every MCU entry since Iron Man. However, I didn't know about the behind-the-scenes process and the people behind the studio. For example, I knew that getting a female fronted solo film was not happening because they (the faceless they) didn't think it would sell toys. But I didn't know the who specifically, or the why, or the culture of Marvel. MCU was a great deep-dive into twenty-plus years of the cinematic history of Marvel movies and the MCU.
It's fast-paced for a non-fiction book. I couldn't put it down, which is a non-fiction rarity for me. I was interested in reading this book because of one author: Joanna Robinson, who I listen to on the House of R podcast on the Ringerverse network. If you are a Marvel fan, I'd recommend that pod, and this book.
April 5, 2024
Very good! Have a lot of insight into this movie powerhouse and its sudden decline in its film. Definitely recommend it for Marvel fans and movie buffs.
November 7, 2023
I love the nitty gritty inner workings of how movies and television get made. It’s the reason why I listen to so many pop culture and Hollywood history podcasts. Podcasts are another reason I knew I was going to enjoy MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. Two of its authors are podcasters that I have been listening to for the better part of a decade (Joanna Robinson and Dave Gonzales) and I trust them to be able to put together a narrative in a way that keeps me engaged and to do the work to bring a well-researched and nuanced take as they do in their various shows and articles.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios delivers on that trust. The four years of research, interviews, writing, and addition of a third author in Gavin Edwards created a narrative that brings into focus all of the unlikely things that had to happen for Marvel Studios to exist in the first place and the strategies, luck, and good timing that led to the truly impressive track record and cultural phenomenon that it has become. I’m not a big comic book fan, but I watched almost all of the MCU content that has been put out since 2008 (well, with a significant drop off in Phase 4 which as the book chronicles is not necessarily uncommon). This book goes a long way to explaining the whys and how's of fans like me and for fans like me. It even has its own version of a mid-credits' scene, which while silly is also indicative of the way in which this book was crafted.
I received this book as an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. It has not affected the contents of this review, only its timing.
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios delivers on that trust. The four years of research, interviews, writing, and addition of a third author in Gavin Edwards created a narrative that brings into focus all of the unlikely things that had to happen for Marvel Studios to exist in the first place and the strategies, luck, and good timing that led to the truly impressive track record and cultural phenomenon that it has become. I’m not a big comic book fan, but I watched almost all of the MCU content that has been put out since 2008 (well, with a significant drop off in Phase 4 which as the book chronicles is not necessarily uncommon). This book goes a long way to explaining the whys and how's of fans like me and for fans like me. It even has its own version of a mid-credits' scene, which while silly is also indicative of the way in which this book was crafted.
I received this book as an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. It has not affected the contents of this review, only its timing.
Read
November 10, 2023Limited hangout. The authors mostly summarize known information but come off as both defensive and pandering. Early on they compare the original Iron Man to a Douglas Sirk movie without explanation, seemingly to bolster their cinephile credibility. Later, in the chapter on Chadwick Boseman, they include parentheticals explaining to the reader who James Brown and Jackie Robinson were.
January 3, 2024
A thorough exploration of Phase One and Two of the MCU that gripped me pretty quickly. Unfortunately, I found as we moved into Phase Three/Four, details grew more sparse, the sections felt a bit cobbled together, and there was slightly more conjecture than I liked. All in all, it was a good read and made me sad that I just don't like the MCU anymore.
December 18, 2023
The book was written as a celebration, but reads better as an obituary. I did enjoy some of this book. Not sure I learned anything new about marvel, not sure that was the intention of this book, but it was cool confirming stories that were always talked about. The biggest flaw of this book was it didn’t really care to go beyond surface level on any of business dealings. The author is such a fan of all the marvel products it felt like they threw the cgi teams working with marvel under the bus.
In the end this book was written as a form of myth building. It was written to be a victory lap for Kevin Feige and Disney but it’s bizarre reading this book after the recent marvel flops. If you can read between the lines it’s actually easy to see why marvel/Disney fell off. They have really started to believe they created it all.
Anyways easy read. Not very insightful, but nonetheless very interesting.
In the end this book was written as a form of myth building. It was written to be a victory lap for Kevin Feige and Disney but it’s bizarre reading this book after the recent marvel flops. If you can read between the lines it’s actually easy to see why marvel/Disney fell off. They have really started to believe they created it all.
Anyways easy read. Not very insightful, but nonetheless very interesting.
January 12, 2024
This received so much positive buzz from fans that I felt it was a must-read book. I had hoped it would provide tons of previously unreported details or analysis of the films and television series. I got a well-researched book (despite errors I caught in chapter one alone) that didn't uncover a lot of new material, but did show just how heavy-handed Ike Perlmutter was, an impediment based on outmoded thinking and inbred prejudices. The wheels started to come off the machine in 2023 and I wish they delayed the book six to twelve months to better report on what went wrong and if things could be righted.
I did enjoy it enough, but after all the superlatives, I had expected more.
I did enjoy it enough, but after all the superlatives, I had expected more.
November 4, 2023
A breezy yet in-depth look at a studio that’s changed Hollywood (for worse, I’d say) by some of the my favourite culture critics. It leans a bit too into the “genius” of Feige, but because of it, I can finally say I am an educated hater.
This was a bit like reading about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire (by the way, if your boyfriend thinks about the MCU or the Roman Empire often, that’s a red flag). Marvel Studios, this creative vacuum and cultural monolith that has all but erased the independent/mid-budget movie from existence, never really had a plan. The very things that kick-started its dominance - the slapdash improv culture, the throw-everything-at-the-wall, consistency-what’s-that approach - never had a chance for any kind of sustainability, let alone the scale-up and cultural overload that capitalism demanded of it.
But it’s also wild how the pure dumb luck they had suddenly became extraordinarily bad luck - Marvel was betting on Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Brie Larson, and Jonathan Majors to lead “Phase 4.” But whether through tragedy, petty studio negotiations, misogyny, or abuse allegations, the MCU lost all of them, leaving the studio rudderless not just in plot but characters. And if a studio has no characters to care about and no plot to follow, what’s left?
This was a bit like reading about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire (by the way, if your boyfriend thinks about the MCU or the Roman Empire often, that’s a red flag). Marvel Studios, this creative vacuum and cultural monolith that has all but erased the independent/mid-budget movie from existence, never really had a plan. The very things that kick-started its dominance - the slapdash improv culture, the throw-everything-at-the-wall, consistency-what’s-that approach - never had a chance for any kind of sustainability, let alone the scale-up and cultural overload that capitalism demanded of it.
But it’s also wild how the pure dumb luck they had suddenly became extraordinarily bad luck - Marvel was betting on Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Brie Larson, and Jonathan Majors to lead “Phase 4.” But whether through tragedy, petty studio negotiations, misogyny, or abuse allegations, the MCU lost all of them, leaving the studio rudderless not just in plot but characters. And if a studio has no characters to care about and no plot to follow, what’s left?
February 19, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is a well researched look at Marvel’s rise to blockbuster dominance, covering its early struggles and massive success through Endgame. It offers behind the scenes insights but skips over Phase 4 and avoids Marvel’s recent decline, making it feel more like a celebration than a full story.
8 out of 10
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is a well researched look at Marvel’s rise to blockbuster dominance, covering its early struggles and massive success through Endgame. It offers behind the scenes insights but skips over Phase 4 and avoids Marvel’s recent decline, making it feel more like a celebration than a full story.
8 out of 10
May 21, 2024
The movies that came out from Marvel till Endgame are some of the most excitement I have felt in a movie hall. The thrill of watching the trailer of Infinity War for the first time, the excitement that buzzed through the movie hall when a bearded Steve Rogers stepped out of the shadows, the cheer that went up when Thor arrived in Wakanda and later when Captain America lifted Mjolnir and the gasps when Iron Man sacrificed himself are all moments I will cherish forever. Having said all this, my interest in the MCU died with Tony Stark and I have never been emotionally invested in any of their movies or shows post that. And yes, that is it about my relationship with Marvel.
This is an extremely easy-to-read and very comprehensive history of Marvel studios and how it rose from relative obscurity to become a global cultural icon. MCU has made truckloads of money, it has given global stardom to multiple actors and influenced the lives of many people in the movie industry. How did they really do it ? And what is Kevin Feige’s secret sauce ? These are the questions that the authors tackle in this book. If you are/have been a Marvel fan, this is a book I would surely recommend to you.
Being an unauthorized work, it doesn’t have a glossy picture overall to paint either. Recommended.
This is an extremely easy-to-read and very comprehensive history of Marvel studios and how it rose from relative obscurity to become a global cultural icon. MCU has made truckloads of money, it has given global stardom to multiple actors and influenced the lives of many people in the movie industry. How did they really do it ? And what is Kevin Feige’s secret sauce ? These are the questions that the authors tackle in this book. If you are/have been a Marvel fan, this is a book I would surely recommend to you.
Being an unauthorized work, it doesn’t have a glossy picture overall to paint either. Recommended.
September 12, 2026
Kevin Feige is a legend. Marvel got out of hand with Disney plus shows. Toy sales have way too much power. The film industry is so much more complicated than I could have ever imagined. RIP to the James Cameron spider man movie with DiCaprio as peter parker.
It really did change so much about the movie industry, therefore pop culture, therefore culture more broadly. Conclusion, the MCU is indeed the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time.
It really did change so much about the movie industry, therefore pop culture, therefore culture more broadly. Conclusion, the MCU is indeed the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time.
August 27, 2025
“The open secret of Marvel Studios was that Kevin Feige was a shadow director for all its movies (page 235).”
This fun book chronicles the behind-the-scenes history of Marvel Studios, from near bankruptcy to creating one of the most successful film franchises. It highlights the enormous challenge of building an interconnected cinematic universe, which no other studio has replicated. Marvel’s success was primarily the result of Kevin Feige’s quality control ensuring high standards. As the closing chapters emphasize, Marvel’s recent struggles stem from Feige’s inability to oversee every project amid the surge in films and TV series. Whether the studio can regain consistent success remains to be seen.
This fun book chronicles the behind-the-scenes history of Marvel Studios, from near bankruptcy to creating one of the most successful film franchises. It highlights the enormous challenge of building an interconnected cinematic universe, which no other studio has replicated. Marvel’s success was primarily the result of Kevin Feige’s quality control ensuring high standards. As the closing chapters emphasize, Marvel’s recent struggles stem from Feige’s inability to oversee every project amid the surge in films and TV series. Whether the studio can regain consistent success remains to be seen.
November 8, 2023
What a great read! Tells the story from the uncertain beginning to the uncertain present of Marvel. It makes you root for these movies to come back around to goodness, just maybe leaving a little space for others things as well.
December 30, 2023
I liked this book but I m type that would like this book… summed up this covers the MCU from a 1994 fantastic 4 movie (I never knew existed), through avengers peak, to current not so great state.
January 14, 2025
a perfect lil “hey, the more you know” read.
apologies in advance for all the fun facts to be dropped
apologies in advance for all the fun facts to be dropped
July 19, 2025
Koga zanima, zanimljiv uvid u početke Marvelovog filmskog svemira uz pokoji zakulisni začin.
Read
March 5, 2024Ty Emma for the ARC!!!!
This was such a good look behind the curtain of the Marvel empire. Behind the shiny superhero suits, and empathetic characters we all love lies corporate greed, messy legal negotiations, and probably the most mind boggling movie/show making processes I've ever heard of.
INSANE to me that these writers are crafting their stories, all the while knowing that the path of the broader MCU vision may change at any time, and they somehow just have to build in the new plot lines as they come.
This was such a good look behind the curtain of the Marvel empire. Behind the shiny superhero suits, and empathetic characters we all love lies corporate greed, messy legal negotiations, and probably the most mind boggling movie/show making processes I've ever heard of.
INSANE to me that these writers are crafting their stories, all the while knowing that the path of the broader MCU vision may change at any time, and they somehow just have to build in the new plot lines as they come.
February 27, 2024
Had a blast with this - so well researched, and so much detail (some I knew already, some was new to me). If you're at all interested in Marvel, it's worth a read.
October 29, 2023
A compulsively readable, breathlessly paced history of Marvel Studios. The authors are a lot less critical of the many ways in which the MCU contributed to the franchise- and IP-driven media monopoly that now governs the American entertainment industry, but they do rightly draw attention to the many complicated ways in which what sometimes seems like a top-down entertainment business developed in messier and less straightforward ways than some might imagine.
October 23, 2023
Four stars but Joanna gets an extra star for House of R. I followed along with this story in real time so not many "revelations" but a good chronological retelling with added context. Most of what I didn't know was about Ike sucking. Which he does!
November 14, 2023
Hey I actually read this one and didn't just audiobook it!
If there was any doubt of my fandom, my reading of a history book on the MCU surely cements it. And, honestly, this gave me both way more appreciation and way more perspective of both the MCU past and where we are now. I won't recount the major themes of the book - go and read it yourself if you're actually interested - but I will provide some things that stuck out in particular.
1. The cracks of the MCU that are so obvious now have actually existed since Iron Man began preproduction. They have become more apparent because of the number and pace of the content being released, but they've always been there. Too many cooks, strain on CGI artists, murkiness around cultural issues - these things have always been around. Certainly part of the issue now stems from these but they are clearer in part due to the oversaturation of content and in part due to not having quality plots and characters that these issues could previously hide behind.
2. One of the greatest strengths of the MCU during Phases 1-3 is now one of its greatest weaknesses - Kevin Feige. When the MCU was releasing 2 or 3 movies a year, that left enough time for Kevin to have the central creative vision for all that was being released. Now, with more shows and movies coming out (in 2021 there were 4 movies + 5 shows released), the quality control has dropped significantly due to the need to delegate things out. This makes consistency and central vision basically not exist.
I could say more about all this, but the final thing I'll add is this - the MCU has already peaked. That's not to say it can't make great films and shows in the future, but it will never be in the cultural zeitgeist as it was in 2019 when Endgame came out. In my unsolicited opinion, what will make great content going forward is not a vast interconnected universe with world-ending or universe-ending stakes. Instead solid character work driven by passionate and patient writers and directors will yield greater quality, and therefore fandom, in the long run.
If there was any doubt of my fandom, my reading of a history book on the MCU surely cements it. And, honestly, this gave me both way more appreciation and way more perspective of both the MCU past and where we are now. I won't recount the major themes of the book - go and read it yourself if you're actually interested - but I will provide some things that stuck out in particular.
1. The cracks of the MCU that are so obvious now have actually existed since Iron Man began preproduction. They have become more apparent because of the number and pace of the content being released, but they've always been there. Too many cooks, strain on CGI artists, murkiness around cultural issues - these things have always been around. Certainly part of the issue now stems from these but they are clearer in part due to the oversaturation of content and in part due to not having quality plots and characters that these issues could previously hide behind.
2. One of the greatest strengths of the MCU during Phases 1-3 is now one of its greatest weaknesses - Kevin Feige. When the MCU was releasing 2 or 3 movies a year, that left enough time for Kevin to have the central creative vision for all that was being released. Now, with more shows and movies coming out (in 2021 there were 4 movies + 5 shows released), the quality control has dropped significantly due to the need to delegate things out. This makes consistency and central vision basically not exist.
I could say more about all this, but the final thing I'll add is this - the MCU has already peaked. That's not to say it can't make great films and shows in the future, but it will never be in the cultural zeitgeist as it was in 2019 when Endgame came out. In my unsolicited opinion, what will make great content going forward is not a vast interconnected universe with world-ending or universe-ending stakes. Instead solid character work driven by passionate and patient writers and directors will yield greater quality, and therefore fandom, in the long run.
November 26, 2023
Rating: 5 stars.
An accessible but in-depth look at the making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Marvel Comics selling movie rights and making deals in the 90s through to Marvel Studio's present-day empire of 2023. I'd say I already knew much more than the average person about Marvel behind the scenes, but this book still served to enlighten me on and contextualise over fifteen years of storytelling and business decisions. Thorough and well-written, The Reign of Marvel Studios is easily recommendable to fans and non-fans alike.
That said, I don't think Marvel haters will be 100% satisfied with this book; it isn't the teardown they might want it to be, and is willing to give credit where credit's due. But this isn't a hug box either, and the line it walks in critically reporting on the behind-the-scenes workings of a notoriously secretive studio is commendable. This book isn't going to tell you the MCU is a cancer on society and the film industry, but it will expertly explain how Marvel went from almost bankrupt to behind some of the highest-grossing movies of all time. In doing so, it reports on both the problems that arose along the way and reveals the behind-the-scenes factors (and, very often, people) that caused them.
Honestly, the worst part of The Reign of Marvel Studios was that the MCU is currently in such a precarious position, still trying to find its footing post-Endgame, that I really wanted the book to keep going and tell me what's going to happen next. I'd love to read an expanded version or sequel in five to ten years—the name perfectly sets them up for a second-part "The Fall of Marvel Studios", though I think people crowing over the MCU's corpse might be getting a little ahead of themselves. But, only time will tell, and if Marvel does collapse, this book will have already covered all the fault lines.
An accessible but in-depth look at the making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Marvel Comics selling movie rights and making deals in the 90s through to Marvel Studio's present-day empire of 2023. I'd say I already knew much more than the average person about Marvel behind the scenes, but this book still served to enlighten me on and contextualise over fifteen years of storytelling and business decisions. Thorough and well-written, The Reign of Marvel Studios is easily recommendable to fans and non-fans alike.
That said, I don't think Marvel haters will be 100% satisfied with this book; it isn't the teardown they might want it to be, and is willing to give credit where credit's due. But this isn't a hug box either, and the line it walks in critically reporting on the behind-the-scenes workings of a notoriously secretive studio is commendable. This book isn't going to tell you the MCU is a cancer on society and the film industry, but it will expertly explain how Marvel went from almost bankrupt to behind some of the highest-grossing movies of all time. In doing so, it reports on both the problems that arose along the way and reveals the behind-the-scenes factors (and, very often, people) that caused them.
Honestly, the worst part of The Reign of Marvel Studios was that the MCU is currently in such a precarious position, still trying to find its footing post-Endgame, that I really wanted the book to keep going and tell me what's going to happen next. I'd love to read an expanded version or sequel in five to ten years—the name perfectly sets them up for a second-part "The Fall of Marvel Studios", though I think people crowing over the MCU's corpse might be getting a little ahead of themselves. But, only time will tell, and if Marvel does collapse, this book will have already covered all the fault lines.
December 31, 2023
The stories behind the stories. The book was coherently written even though three authors collaborated on it. I undertook watching all of the MCU movies in order during lockdown and have seen all of the more recent ones as they were released, so I liked that they organized the story largely by timeline, but also encapsulated how some stories played out if they were not going to be a big part of the overall arc. I liked the nice touch of putting the last chapter in the midst of the appendix material like a mid credits scene in a Marvel movie.
Although I knew of most of the major highlights through media reports, it was interesting to see how largely uncredited writers and producers nurtured stories until they could be made into movies, and how the big egos and small-mindedness of James Gunn and Joss Whedon fought to keep them from getting credit for it. And I feel sorry for anyone who has to work with Ed Norton on anything. It was also shocking to see how long it took to remove the bigoted, misogynist Ike Perlmutter from his executive role. In the case of Victoria Alonzo, it seemed to me that she failed or refused to see that the VFX production model that she drove and which made the business hugely profitable was unsustainable. I wished there had been more information in the book to better illuminate whether she was scapegoated or could not be reasoned with.
Although I knew of most of the major highlights through media reports, it was interesting to see how largely uncredited writers and producers nurtured stories until they could be made into movies, and how the big egos and small-mindedness of James Gunn and Joss Whedon fought to keep them from getting credit for it. And I feel sorry for anyone who has to work with Ed Norton on anything. It was also shocking to see how long it took to remove the bigoted, misogynist Ike Perlmutter from his executive role. In the case of Victoria Alonzo, it seemed to me that she failed or refused to see that the VFX production model that she drove and which made the business hugely profitable was unsustainable. I wished there had been more information in the book to better illuminate whether she was scapegoated or could not be reasoned with.
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