Marvel Comics has a history dating back to the 1930s with plenty of ups and downs. At times, they’ve been revolutionary, but they’ve also been redundant. But over the last 10 years, Marvel can easily be described as refreshing.

Marvel Studios was formed in 2007 and set off to ambitiously conquer not just the comic-book films industry but also the film industry in general with the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU. However, the average movie-goer will note that comic book films based on Marvel’s comics have been around long before that, but that’s because:

The MCU

In the early 90s, when Marvel was facing financial meltdown, it began licensing the film rights of some of its biggest properties to other film studios. This saw the production of film series’ like Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four, alongside films like Daredevil and Punisher.

But by 2007, Marvel was on better footing and decided to start funding its own films under Marvel Studios. However, because they didn’t hold the film rights to most of their big names, Marvel Studios had to creatively turn unknowns into box-office draws.

And so the MCU was born, with secondary characters like Iron Man, Thor and Captain America inhabiting an on-screen universe together.

The MCU was an experiment, and one that until the 2012 film 'The Avengers', was not certain to succeed, but the commitment of one man would see it through:

Kevin Feige

Some would say the MCU is the brainchild of Kevin Feige (pronounced fy-he), CEO of Marvel Studios. Feige’s rise in the industry is a spectacular story. Starting off as a personal assistant to Lauren Shuler Donner – producer on the X-Men series – his passion and knowledge of comic books would see him become an associate producer for several years before being handpicked to lead Marvel Studios.

Feige is the creative force behind the MCU, having final say on all decisions with the films. Even when Disney bought over Marvel  in 2009, they left Feige in charge of all creative decisions, while they played the role of financiers and distributors.

Feige’s love for comics translated into the smartest strategy for the MCU:

Three Phases

Comic books are notoriously episodic and almost never self-contained. Characters pop in and out of each other’s comics and even come together when faced with global conflict. This puts comic books closer to television than film.

Marvel Studios however, endeavoured to make the episodic nature work on film by breaking them down to “Phases.”

Phase One of the MCU contained five films – 'Iron Man', 'The Incredible Hulk', 'Iron Man 2', 'Thor', and 'Captain America: The First Avenger' – which introduced and developed individual characters before they all came together in 'The Avengers'. The critical and commercial success of 'The Avengers' vindicated Marvel and Feige’s vision and allowed them to open more doors to more films.

Phase Two also contained six films, with three individual sequels and two new films – 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Ant-Man' – before a team-up again in 'Avengers: Age of Ultron.'

By the end of Phase Two, Marvel Studios had made over $9 billion at the box-office, allowing for ten movies to be released in Phase Three, which kicked off with 'Captain America: Civil War.'

Every movie in the MCU is an episode, and part of an overreaching story-arc leading all the way to the final film set for release in 2019. This method stays true to comic book world-building and story-telling.

All this sounds fine and dandy of course, but none of it would’ve worked if not for the:

Cast and crew

At the end of 'Iron Man', Tony Stark announces to the world: “I am Iron Man.” Given that Robert Downey Jr ad libbed most of his dialogue in the film, it could easily be seen as him proclaiming that he was, still is and always will be Iron Man.

Chris Evans as Captain America; Tom Hiddlestone as Loki; even Paul Rudd as Ant-Man; Marvel’s casting choices have been exceptional with actors embodying their characters perfectly.

Even when Marvel has had to recast roles, they’ve picked exemplary replacements, such as when Mark Ruffalo replaced Ed Norton and Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard.

But it’s also behind the camera that Marvel has made fantastic choices. Directors like Joss Whedon, James Gunn, and Joe and Anthony Russo were relative novices to blockbuster films, but Feige trusted their vision and talent enough to let them helm what would become some of Marvel’s most successful films. This trust may well be rooted in Feige’s own experiences but by giving these writers and directors chances, Marvel Studios has managed to produce: 

Good Movies

And this is what it all comes down to. If you’re going to spend money and over 2 hours of your day at the movies, you will want to be amazed, entertained and leave with a smile on your face – and even with their less successful attempts, Marvel’s films always manage to do all three.

The light-hearted and humour-filled tone of the films may sometimes feel like they come at the expense of the drama filled, world ending stakes their characters are up against, but never at the expense of entertainment value for the audience.

But the minds at Marvel have been smart enough to realise that even if the formula works, you need to change it up to keep the audience engaged and the recently released Civil War is a perfect example. The film studies themes of political oversight, consequences of power and personal friendships in a way its previous films have glided over, bringing a new facet to Marvel’s films.

And so, with strong emphasis on story telling, amazing casting, the drive to entertain and billions in the bank, Marvel Studios has earned its throne over other comic book film universes and maybe even other films altogether.

(Photos: Marvel.com)

Film is a medium so versatile that even Shakespeare's plays come to life on it with ease.