1049. MCU 5: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Revisiting Captain America: The First Avenger again has so far produced the first great reward of this series. It’s probably the first great movie of the MCU.

It’s not that I ever didn’t like it, but maybe it was just easy to take for granted, the second of two 2011 releases nakedly setting up the first Avengers movie, covering fairly easy ground: the first really good origin story of the MCU, complete with all the added mythology that wasn’t there in the beginning, which was how his story originally ends, and then gets picked back up again, how it feels like tragedy, an actual human story.

It’s the first and possibly only real benefit of these films originally being produced by Paramount, is what I realized. It’s Paramount realizing that that first act of 2009’s Star Trek could’ve used a little revising, as in, making a whole film of it, it was so good.

That act was Kirk’s dad deciding to sacrifice himself in order to save the day. It was the best sequence of that film, and it was almost impossible to live up to, so given a second chance, and the most perfect opportunity possible, someone at Paramount seizes the opportunity, and thus the origin of Captain America receives a perfect ending.

And it’s easy to take for granted, because at this point it’s just another cog in the emerging MCU machine, and everyone knew it, in 2011, which was why both First Avenger and Thor received very little scrutiny and, say. Green Lantern despite immensely more ambition and a lot less riding on it, ended up being picked apart mercilessly and needlessly…

Anyway, you’ve got Tommy Lee Jones, Toby Jones, Hugo Weaving, Neal McDonough being asked little more than to sport one of cinema’s great mustaches, Bucky, Howard Stark, Agent Carter ahead of her own TV show, Stanley Tucci in possibly the first role I really enjoyed him in…A ridiculous embarrassment of riches surrounding Chris Evans in his big comeback that he effortlessly commands despite every chance of being lost in the shuffle…

As I keep saying, easy to take for granted, but it really, really shouldn’t.

1048. MCU 4: Thor (2011)

I’m not sure you know this? But Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was kind of a big deal. Much later, Zack Snyder and/or Joss Whedon’s Justice League chased it in the opening sequence, but before that, Thor basically gave us a whole fan fiction of what if the story pivoted around Aragorn instead of Frodo.

At this point the MCU was very much a thing, with the first of two 2011 releases detailing the origins of two crucial additions to the forthcoming introduction of the Avengers. (The humongous mistake Snyder and every other attempted shared universe franchise made was believing they had to follow some version of the same template; everyone makes fun of “Martha” but it’s the laborious title Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the idea that you had to sit through all of this film just to conclude, “Oh! They’re just gonna be friends anyway”and the core members of a team we just spent two hours proving, other than Wonder Woman we don’t think are as important as them; remember: the MCU began with Iron Man, who until that moment had never been considered as important as Spider-Man or, say, Captain America.)

(That was a long parenthetical aside.)

(Anyway.)

I wasn’t a big fan of Thor when it was released. It felt like a chore, an obligation, something no one thought was worth all that much on its own (and yet ended up, until Brave New World and Brand New Day, sparking the most durable inter series franchise). I thought, as many did, that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki stole the movie, but rewatching yesterday, he seems almost insignificant, in this appearance, much more setup than reward, and not handled particularly deftly, as with any other element in the movie…

They got Keneth Branagh and Anthony Hopkins for this one, hoping they could elevate the material with them alone, but the story is still thin and it still hinges mostly on the goofy moments the later Thor films rely on, because they want to keep him grounded, even though by far the best visuals of the movie are provided in the mud fight, the only time Chris Hemsworth looks larger than life.

But as I suggested at the start of this, they were really aiming for a buddy warrior vibe, surrounding Thor with a fellowship that is clearly subordinate to him, so that he’s clearly the guy we should take most seriously, on a quest that takes a number of twists and turns, one of which is Natalie Portman reclaiming her role as her generation’s geek queen (which once again spectacularly backfires on her in the end, at least as popular reception goes). Whereas Jackson mistakenly makes his once and future king impossibly heroic right from the start, Branagh at least knows there’s got to be an arc to the character, a true humbling, which is also the film’s real failing, not starting in the middle (which is what the recent Masters of the Universe attempts in its tribute to Thor, inadvertently revealing the whole idea to be the secret princess trope), though pretending it does. It makes no difference if we know the backstory before or after Portman and company stumble across Thor, especially since we don’t even see the guy until the flashback begins…

Anyway, this for me remains the weakest of the early films, knowing what it wants but being thoroughly incapable of achieving it.

1047. MCU 3: Iron Man 2 (2010)

This is still very high in my favorites from the MCU, and yet it’s commonly considered one of the biggest misfires, and I never understood how that’s even possible. With all due apologies to the first Iron Man, not only is it clear in Iron Man 2 that the MCU is definitely happening at this point, and is therefore the true birth of the MCU, it’s immensely enjoyable at every level, which I have never been able to say about Iron Man.

Part of that backlash is the result of Mickey Rourke’s casting as Whiplash. Rourke had just experienced a career revival in The Wrestler, and that big follow-up role was always going to receive an unusual amount of scrutiny. He opts for a character role in a superhero movie, which possibly subconsciously made some observers think back to the Schumacher villains from Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, but definitely not what his new admirers were expecting, and let’s face it, paired with Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer: Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But he’s great in the part, far better than William Hurt (who when he didn’t connect with the material always came off as bored to me, and that’s his Thaddeus Ross, for me) in Incredible Hulk, far more menacing than just about any other villain in a Marvel movie, MCU or otherwise…

Anyway, there’s also Rockwell, and I will always love me some Rockwell. He’s the only real counterpoint Robert Downey Jr. ever experiences in these movies. Guardians of the Galaxy later establishes the idea of literally chasing the same energy, but it’s Rockwell who nails it the way he does so effortlessly in all his performances.

Of course, it’s Scarlett Johansson who does all the heavy lifting for the impending MCU, and is also probably responsible for all the disinterest, since she’s a girl doing action things, and, well, that’s almost always cause for unnecessary concern from audiences (plus an expanded and more active role for Gwyneth Paltrow).

I wish they’d been interested in retaining Terrence Howard, not only because he’s perfect in the first movie, but because Don Cheadle replacing him as Jim Rhodes sabotaged Cheadle’s whole later career (whereas Howard got to do things like Empire). Before the MCU Cheadle was well on his way to having one of the most interesting careers in modern film, and afterward…It’s basically been only Jim Rhodes, who’s never had much of a part to play in these movies. It’s a terrible shame. 

The film itself is almost complete rehash of the first film, narratively, Tony Stark once again worrying about the implications of his company and his health, although I again think everything’s done better this time around. Samuel L. Jackson has his best showing to this point as Nick Fury, and in all the cameos, surely Elon Musk’s is the most interesting for later viewing, as he has literally been plowing through a real world Stark portfolio while gleefully embracing the same maverick persona. In short, as close to a true classic in the series as there’s ever been.

1046. MCU 2: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The object lesson in this one is really that as a headlining cinematic act the Hulk really just doesn’t work. It’s what Marvel clearly believed was a key to the new SFX era of filmmaking, because he’s a giant monster and traditionally, giant monsters (Godzilla, King Kong, dinosaurs) become cinematic icons. But the Hulk is a giant green man. The only thing the two Hulk movies decided to do with that was to have him fight other monsters. With apologies to the current Monsterverse where Godzilla and King have actually successfully done that (even though culturally you’d still hardly know it because while audiences show up they never talk about it), it’s the lowest grade of superhero movies. Which is insane, since this second entry, as per Edward Norton, obsesses, otherwise, in the classic vibe of its TV show predecessor, the one based on The Fugitive. 

Was it Norton or the budding MCU that ends up forgetting, after a while, right around the third act? Well, probably the MCU. The weakness and repetitiveness of its third acts became a staple of the film series, after all, and eventually helped torpedo the whole point of the latest volume, which was supposed to revolve around Kang (a controversy surrounding the actor portraying him was partially responsible, too, but recasting was a thing literally with this second entry, a loose sequel to Hulk starring Eric Bana).

The MCU machine would have you believe that Norton was the problem, taking an admittedly active role in the production akin to his infamous handling of American History X, which is regarded by some (me, certainly) as a masterpiece, and, well, The Incredible Hulk is not, though it spends most of its time trying to obsess over more grounded elements, which end up being rewarded almost twenty years later in one of the few MCU sequels, Captain America: Brave New World, which brings back Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and the character of Thaddeus Ross, all of whom are riffing on the events of this film. The only one missing is a version of Bruce Banner (but we see more of his actual current state and relationship to the Hulk, rewardingly,  in Spider-Man: Brand New Day).

By the time Robert Downey Jr. saunters in, at the very end of the movie (not yet solidified as post-credits material) and makes the crucial connection between films and ensuring that audiences are aware that the MCU is in fact a thing, it no longer matters what exactly Incredible Hulk does or doesn’t accomplish on its own, if it’ll even be remembered, because suddenly there’s a sense of momentum that moves everything along without having to worry too much about individual installments, so much as the sense that there’s more to look forward to, the excitement that this crazy superhero world continues, and that you never know how these characters are going to react to each other, which is the classic Marvel model all over again, from the comics. They aren’t just good buddies and teammates. Frequently, and this is where the studio heads who obsessed over Batman and Superman fighting each other when their respective film franchises had stalled (that’s the real reason that film happened) didn’t get, Marvel characters will fight first and wonder if they’re friends only later. That’s what made the ‘60s the original Marvel Age. Any one of these new superheroes could randomly show up in each other’s comics and they’d probably end up in combustible situations…

So what does Iron Man have to do with the Hulk? The filmmakers themselves left it wide open, in case they got to make another one, the way they instantly made another Iron Man, before introducing other Avengers. Was the Hulk stuck in opposition to the world? Was he doomed to a lonely existence?

Well, not exactly built for stealth, as the big green guy. That’s the real message of his escape at the end. And that’s why you can’t just have a Hulk movie of his own anymore. Too much Hulk just isn’t interesting. But he’s impossible to ignore in literally any other context. He needs good material to bounce against. But the comics never figured that out, either. They get weird. With apologies to Peter David, the Hulk ain’t exactly the Ninja Turtles. He’s a Thing without a Fantastic Four, who does his best moping when he isn’t a monster. General audiences want the monster. But Marvel can’t figure out (it was never about the tangled rights) how to have its cake and eat it too, except as a support act. Which makes him, in the end, perfect MCU fodder.

1045. MCU 1: Iron Man (2008)

In 2008, Wizard Magazine was still at the height of its influence. For me, very unquestionably, that was the year of The Dark Knight. I obsessed over The Dark Knight. I believed, as I still do, that it was not only one of the best superhero movies ever made, but one of the best movies ever, period. But Wizard insisted Iron Man was…as good. Possibly better.

This was before anyone could reasonably expect the Marvel Cinematic Universe to become as big as it did. Certainly, Nick Fury shows up in the post-credits sequence introducing filmgoers to “the Avenger Initiative,” but it was Iron Man himself who was the revelation.

If you’d polled filmgoers even a year prior, they would have had no idea who Iron Man even was, much less the Avengers. Iron Man was well-known in comic book circles, but he wasn’t exactly Spider-Man. The original Spider-Man films, and the original X-Men trilogy, were over, by 2008. The Fantastic Four had already spectacularly failed to provide Marvel with a third film franchise. And here comes…Iron Man.

But it wasn’t just Iron Man. It was, of course, Robert Downey Jr. At that point in his career, he’d already begun rehabilitating his image. The studios were willing to work with him again. But audiences still thought of him in terms of his late ‘90s scandals. They had, really, forgotten all about him.

So Tony Stark was a reintroduction, and as it turned out, a perfect fit for an older, more experienced, more relaxed actor, a total departure from the templates established in every other successful superhero movie to that point.

It was also special effects capable of selling Iron Man. If anything, he actually looked cooler than Spider-Man. Coloring in comics can’t really pull off that kind of shine.

But subconsciously, the selling point was very similar to Tim Burton’s Batman some twenty years earlier.

Burton’s Batman was a deliberate pivot away from the popular take on the character, still frozen in the image of the TV take itself twenty years earlier. He made Batman moody, and he stuck him in a rubber suit. He made him look like Darth Vader.

In 1989, Star Wars had actually begun to fade in the popular imagination. Fans had started to drift to other things. Nothing had quite matched Star Wars. At that point nothing could! But the ride seemed to be over. And then Tim Burton dresses an icon in black, and lets the image do most of the work, an imposing figure. In the original films, Darth Vader is all presence. 

In 2008, it’s three years after audiences have gotten to see Vader in a very different light. It’s the origin most fans probably weren’t even aware of, despite the original novelization bringing it up, almost as an aside, that burnt body encased in that outfit (“more machine now than man”). Thirst for the Vader who suddenly seems ripe for new adventures becomes very evident, later, when audiences see him tear through a corridor in Rogue One (2016). 

But in 2008 they’re left with Vader at the cusp, bursting free from his origin in Revenge of the Sith (2005), suddenly vital again, and no place to go…

Then Tony Stark builds his armor, and it’s safe to cheer again. Safe to be a fan! At the start of a whole new saga…

1044. MCU up thru Brand New Day

Don’t really have anything new to bring up as a new feature here, except I’m a physical media collector and as of now I have the complete theatrical run of the MCU, and that’s because I realized how close I was so I just bought the remaining titles…

This MCU thing has been a thoroughly unlikely ride, from 2008’s Iron Man to Spider-Man: Brand New Day taking over as the domestic all-time box office champion this summer.

Now, I’m much more of a DC guy, but I’ve been following this phenomenon from the start, never quite loving it but occasionally very interested. My oldest brother apparently got onboard a few years back, which makes it one of the few recent pop culture overlaps between us (he connected with the flerkens from Captain Marvel most obviously). 

In a few years it hits twenty years, two decades, and while all the twists and turns haven’t been uniformly successful, it keeps going, and even includes the third and officially most successful cinematic take on Spider-Man, which is a considerable achievement, and headed toward the first full reboot of the X-Men, the film franchise that first proved Marvel could succeed on a wide scale at the movies. 

What’ll all this look like in another twenty years? What’s its legacy at fifty? 

It’s fun to speculate about. Maybe I’ll spend some time each week exploring this.

1043. Bonds of Freedom 13 (Finale)

In 1812

We conclude our delve 

Into the bonds of freedom

With Madison: we need him

To secure the independence,

The superintendence

Of basic dignity

To end the malignity

Against the human spirit,

To finally hear it,

The clarion call

To end the fall

Of man.

Madison,

And the War of 1812,

The very garrison

Of the Revolution,

Seldom acknowledged 

As a resolution,

The war dismissed

As unnecessary,

Nothing more than a fist,

An embarrassment 

A fiasco,

The last experiment 

Against Canada,

For which the White House burned,

And Dolley earned

Her image in history,

While Oliver Hazzard Perry

On Lake Erie,

Made merry

In a moment of triumph

And then Jackson

Sounded the klaxon

Of what would follow,

Which we have

Ever since

Failed to nav,

That pernicious popular folly,

By golly!

Still misleading us

As to the true course,

The true source

Of our glory,

What Americans have been chasing,

The allegory

Of the story.

But we still seek our quarry!