From literally billions of dollars generated from the silver screen, Marvel still manages to dominate its roots in comics, television, and of course, video games.
If you have been to the theater in the last ten or so years, you are likely no stranger to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you hate the theater, you still undoubtedly have heard of the MCU, either through On Demand, video games, or practically any product you see in the grocery store it seems like. Regardless, you know what it is, and you can’t deny that on its own, Marvel is a massive juggernaut (not THE Juggernaut, that guy’s stuck in the X-Men Universe).
FILM
Most notably, Marvel has their own little movie universe comprised of some of the most well-known heroes, consisting of a dozen films over the course of their first two film phases.
PHASE ONE
- Iron Man (2008)
- The Incredible Hulk (2008)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Thor (2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- The Avengers (2012)
PHASE TWO
- Iron Man 3 (2013)
- Thor: The Dark World (2013)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
- Ant-Man (2015)
Um, guys? Ultron is like, right behind you.
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Captain America: Civil War kicks off Phase 3 in May of this year, with Doctor Strange coming this holiday season. Beyond that, we will see sequels to Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, as well as solo films for newcomers in Black Panther, and Spider-Man in the Sony/Marvel reboot, After all that is said and done, Marvel’s Phase 3 wraps up with their two-part Infinity War, and then 2020 will mark the kickoff to Marvel’s plans in Phase 4.
TV
Okay, so when the hangar door opens, turn your backs to it and place your hands on your hips. Perfect.
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Other characters, perhaps lesser known in the eyes of some, like Elektra and Punisher made their debuts in films that garnered (no pun intended) some attention, good and bad, before receiving acclaim in the popular Daredevil Netflix series. Jessica Jones, perhaps the most unknown character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (despite not having made an appearance in film just yet), is Jessica Jones. Her series alone has brought to life characters like Luke Cage, who will be receiving his own spinoff series soon, along with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher.
Though not everyone may be familiar with these characters, many have begun to delve deeper into the world of Marvel through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a series that focuses on what is being built up into Marvel’s Inhumans (2019) and Agent Phil Coulson, a character who debuted in Marvel’s Phase One film lineup.
VIDEO GAMES
Some of the more notable video game franchises under the Marvel roof are anything and everything with Spider-Man, X-Men, and collaborations among them and the Avengers. Of course, video games tend to have more freedom with crossover films than say, film or TV.
While we haven’t see a whole lot of large Marvel titles in games reach critical acclaim on current generation consoles like the PS4 or XBO, a few exceptions have made their way into the hands of many, receiving high enough scores among critics and fans alike. Among them are practically anything LEGO related, and of course, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes.
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes and LEGO Marvel’s Avengers standout as being some of the most addicting games with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and company to date despite having been aimed at a potentially younger demographic of gamers.
More like ‘Plastic Man’, am I right? Because he is made of LEGO. Get it? I’ll see myself out.
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Marvel, having been purchased by Disney some time ago, has found major success in Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, a sandbox adventure game that grows the more collectible figures you have. Say you want to play as Spider-Man; this means you would have to go out and hunt for the figure of the wall crawler before you can connect it to your console and play as the Marvel hero. This creates a sense of collection for those that want to get after their favorites, while building a larger platform for lesser known characters, should a player wish to dive into their world for an hour or two and make use of their powers and abilities.
Then for adults, you can play these titles or something more for the 21+ in online pokies or other various casino-type games, should you wish to try your luck, or skill while facing some of Marvel’s biggest characters in online obstacles.
In any case, Marvel is a step above most who wish to dominate more fields than one, when it comes to superheroes and an ever-expanding world. Regardless, whatever you’re into, Marvel definitely has a something for your enjoyment and entertainment.
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Captain America: Civil war sees the introduction of Spider-Man into the MCU and kicks off Phase 3 on May 6. The film stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl.
