by PETER TAYLOR
Comic book stories shape and reaffirm cultural and political attitudes. We shouldn’t settle for the imperialist propaganda put out by the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I remember very vividly the first time I watched Iron Man 2. It was the middle of the summer, and a friend of mine had invited a group to watch the movie, which must have just been released on DVD, at his house as a part of a celebration of his twelfth birthday. Eager for cartoonish violence in the manner stereotypical of boys of that age, we loved the film for its fast-paced plot and numerous action scenes, but the part that excited us most was the briefest glimpse of the famous shield of Captain America, which Tony Stark/Iron Man uses to jury-rig a machine he is building. We were still a year away from that famous hero’s true silver screen debut in Captain America: The First Avenger, but the promise of his eventual appearance was enough to rile a gaggle of kids already hopped up on popcorn and soda.
Nearly 12 years later, it’s impossible to watch that part of the movie without seeing it as anything but a glorified commercial for Marvel’s upcoming creative ventures. The scene was an augur of the model that has both made the studio’s films unique and seemingly condemned them to a superficial model of eternal self-referentiality. Now, the very word “Marvel” conjures up notions of grand scale superhero stories, none of which seem to be watchable anymore without knowing what else has happened in any of the dozens of preceding releases (good luck following the newest Doctor Strange without watching WandaVision on the subscription-based streaming service Disney+). At this point, you might be fully on board, caught up with the latest entangled installments of the ever-evolving tale of enhanced beings fighting enemies wherever they may be found. Or you’re fully lost, left out of the studio’s business model of cinematic dominance that ensures that your local theater, even if it’s no longer playing Drive My Car, has dozens of daily showtimes for Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness.
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