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.