So it’s been a few months since we took a look at Marvel’s slate of upcoming movies and a lot has changed since then. For one, we now know what Avengers: Age of Ultron looks like and can look forward to months of hype before it clobbers theaters next May. Another thing is the rest of the lineup is set in stone all the way out until 2019. No speculation, no rumors, no made up heartbreaking rumors about Planet Hulk. It’s all there for us to look over and create an informed opinion on what to expect.
I said that phase two was anchored by a lot of risk taking, and those risks really paid off. Phase three has to be anchored by spectacle in my opinion, combining the first two and creating a showcase of what the company has to offer from its past and its present. When Kevin Feige talks about this being the culmination of what they’ve been doing, I believe it and I believe they’re going to go for broke to undercut any sort of audience exhaustion by the May 2019.
Does that mean phase three is the end for Marvel? Hell no. They’ll keep making comic book movies long after they’ve fallen out of favor. We’ll get a version of Captain America 8 that rivals Jason X on the sh*tty movie scale. They have the audience right now and they’re making a quality movies, so there’s no worry. It’ll happen though.
They’re not the best movies and they’re certainly full of holes, but so are comics. So I figured I’d “rank” the new offerings based on what we know and the source material they spawn from. The slate of phase three movies features some of the strongest, most memorable comics influences to this point and it’s really worth a look. Plus it’s a good way for everyone to share and tell others what is worth reading and what isn’t.
And a quick note before we start. If you’re looking for Dr. Strange, you’ll find it in my previous article. Ant-Man is there too, but it’s no longer a part of phase three and what else is there to say about that aside from, “wait and see.”
Thor: Ragnarok
Now this is the movie that seems to be creating a bit of confusion for fans out of the entire announcement. What is going to happen in Thor: Ragnarok? What story are they going to try to tell? Where does this leave Thor for the big Avengers two-parter the following?
When folks saw the name, a lot of them immediately pointed towards Captain America: Civil War and the comics storyline that is at play there. I think that’s a good place to start, but I don’t think it’s connected in the way they’re thinking. In that story, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four create a cyborg clone of Thor from a lock of his hair. This cyborg becomes murderous, has to be shut down, but then returns in later storylines with the name “Ragnarok.”
That caused a lot of folks to go directly to the obvious connection, which is silly when you think about it. There’s no reason to create a Thor robot in this movie universe and you’re already treading the same territory with Age of Ultron. Instead, via Civil War, people should look back to the event that started that whole train of mega events off for Marvel: Avengers Disassembled.
It provided a crushing defeat of the team, split them, and gave a spark to the slew of big plot changes that affected the comics for years. At the same time, Thor’s tie in story revolved around Ragnarok and led to the end of Asgard at that point. Thor disappeared for months and the whole depressing saga ended six years later with Siege.
Also looming with Ragnarok is the most memorable Thor story of all time: The Surtur Saga. Penned by Walter Simonson during his incredible run on the book from ’83-’87, the saga stands as one of the must read comics of that era. It’s something special for a book that doesn’t feature mutants or Spider-Man. All are worth seeking out and I’d say they’ll have the greatest impact on that third Thor movie if anything. And you can guarantee that Thanos will get involved somehow.
Black Panther
Black Panther is a character I’ve always really enjoyed, but never really got the larger storyline that he deserved. They’ve made him an Avenger, they’ve connected him with the X-Men through his marriage to Storm, and they’ve even tried to make him a street level hero like Daredevil. It just hasn’t ever stuck to the point where there’s a slew of must read Black Panther stories.
So why is this (and every other entry) ranked above Thor? Well my disappointment with the previous Thor movies helps, but I think it mostly stems from the potential that’s there for the character. Black Panther is damn cool and has a damn cool origin. He’s an important character in the greater Marvel Universe and I think that’s where the strength comes from.
There are no single storylines to point or great sagas that went down in history, but the character has a lasting impression. He’s the kind of character that I enjoy, like Moon Knight or Luke Cage. There’s a quality there where a great story can be told by a writer when given these characters to play around with. Unless they want to make a movie about Luke Cage getting his money back from Dr. Doom. I’m all for that one.
If I had to point to anything, I’d say to check out The Black Panther series from Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr. back in 2005. Marvel made an animated version of this which is floating around Netflix, so I’d say it is where a lot of the modern influences will come from. I’d also check out his stint with the Marvel Knights, the line of comics that brought Daredevil and The Punisher back from the dead in the late 90s.
Captain Marvel
I have no doubt that they made the right choice here for their first female superhero movie. I’ve been confused by the rumblings to make a female superhero movie for a little while, mostly based on the idea that it will be good just because it features a woman. I think history has shown that isn’t the case. It needs to be good too.
It’s just a personal opinion, but I don’t think a Black Widow movie gives us anything but Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the big screen. Captain Marvel on the other hand gives us cosmic adventure, a strong female lead, and tons of comic history to play on. It’s the perfect choice because it doesn’t carry the weight and expectations of Wonder Woman, but it features a hero that is strong enough to be her equal in a comics sense.
It isn’t like a female Captain Marvel is a new concept in the comics. Carol Danvers would be the second female and the seventh Captain Marvel overall. It’s a storied position, even if the original was a little lame.
What you get with a Captain Marvel movie is a bridge between Earth and the rest of the galaxy. Sure we’ve got Thanos and the possible Kree connection right now, but I mean an honest to god connection between someone here and someone partying around with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Peter Quill hasn’t been here since the 80s and Carol Danvers recently joined the team in the comics. I think that’s pretty perfect.
On top of that, the placement of the film between the two Avengers films has me thinking that she’s going to be dealing with the peripheral fallout from that. We don’t know what’s going to happen in those stories, but we do know what just happened in Infinity, the last big Marvel event featuring Thanos. The Avengers are away from Earth fighting in the galaxy, leaving it defenseless. Thanos’ goons stop by, cause trouble, and it’s up to the heroes left behind to defend the fort.
Now that’s probably a stretch, but I think it could play into this more than we think. Infinity is certainly going to play a part at some point, but it might not be fully felt in this movie. Maybe in the Inhumans?
Away from Danvers part in the greater scheme of the Marvel Universe, I think she has a rich comic history like the Black Panther. There aren’t a lot of solo Ms. Marvel stories to pull from, aside from the current highly acclaimed series. But I think she’s such a big part of Marvel history, it is hard to believe it took this long to give her the title of Captain Marvel. The modern stories definitely give her more due and are well worth going to seek out, be it the early 2000s Ms. Marvel series or the current incarnation. I’m just glad we don’t have to worry about Rogue leeching her powers away.
Captain America: Civil War
This is a big one and it got a lot of people talking. I think the annoying bit is about how these need to adhere closely to the actual comic books, so much that people are wondering how they’ll do it without ownership of all the characters. I know I’m writing about comic influences on these movies, but it is just that and not a direct adaptation. And at the end of the day, comics are supposed to be a fun diversion to read, something that isn’t take too seriously in day to day life. I mean we wouldn’t want to go kill someone for insisting that Marvel is hard rebooting their whole line of comics with Secret Wars next year, would we?
Anyway, I think this and the Avengers films are the most clear cut examples of the comics influencing the storyline. It’s also why I brought up Avengers Disassembled in the opening Thor entry. I think you’ll see a lot of parallels there and we’ve already got hints of it during that special leaked clip from Age of Ultron.
Civil War is going to so easy to do and they’re going to do it without Spider-Man. Captain America vs. Iron Man. It’s been brewing since the first Avengers movie and now we get to see it play out on the big screen. Will it be about superhero registration? I doubt it, but it could. The main idea to get across is that there is a big divide between the characters and it’s going to take place within the framework established in this comic storyline. We know that the Avengers will be split up at the end of Age of Ultron, so it isn’t hard to see that there will be lines drawn. Most likely stemming from Tony Stark’s muck up with Ultron.
I’m not worried. I’m interested to see how they make it happen. I think the story will play better without some of the distractions of the comic series. The silly Spider-Man armor, secret identities being exposed, and stupid Thor robots killing lower tier superheroes to sell issues. If anything, this movie and Thor: Ragnarok will help to drive the fracturing of the Avengers home and put the team in a weak place to start out with Infinity War. Avengers Disassembled and the Civil War comics do a great job of that.
Inhumans
This is the one I’m particularly excited for in my gut. The larger story and Infinity Gauntlet stuff is great, but I have a soft spot for those lower tiered characters that are just now getting a lot of attention. The Inhumans are near the top of that list, maybe only overshadowed by a few here and there (that damn Luke Cage/Dr. Doom movie). I think a lot of the credit goes to Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee for their great mini-series back in 1999, taking them away from being cool Fantastic Four supporting acts and giving them the spotlight for a bit.
You just can’t go wrong with Black Bolt and the rest of his royal gang from Attilan and that’s the series I would recommend to anyone curious about why they’re making this movie. There’s also the need to create that mutant standard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I don’t full buy it, but it is certainly an interesting concept they seem to be working with a bit in the comics.
Dan really covered the background of the team well over here, so I can only really point you in the right directions to learn more. Any of the classic Fantastic Four stories will be worth your time, but if you should slap yourself haven’t sought out this mini-series yet.
Their more recent adventures took the team into space and put them at odds with Thanos, so Infinity and the ensuing Inhumanity crossover could be worth a look too. It is fairly obvious where all of this is heading though with the final entry…
Avengers: Infinity War
The cover does not represent what we will actually get, but I wanted to show something that wasn’t Infinity Gauntlet related. I also wanted to show where the name Infinity War comes from, just so we can get a representation of what kind of story we’re looking at in 2018 and 2019.
The Infinity Gauntlet has been the goal since the first Avengers movie and its post credits sequence. Thanos is the big bad behind the scenes and his presence is mentioned in one way or another in almost every Marvel movie we’ve seen to this point. If they mention the battle in New York, that’s Thanos. If they mention an infinity stone, you’ve got Thanos to worry about. If they mention Thanos by name, you better believe we’ve got Thanos on the way.
The guy is a fixture of villainy since Jim Starlin gave him a start back in the early 70s, but The Infinity Gauntlet stories (and preceding Rebirth of Thanos/Thanos Quest storylines) are his real masterpiece. It should be required reading if you’re interested in the Marvel Universe outside of New York City. It covers a lot of the weirder cosmic entities that are out there and features some of the best mainline, galaxy shaking battles ever put to the page.
Past that, if you’re really interested to see why this character is a threat and why this story means something, check out The Avengers vs. Thanos collection. It showcases the best battles between the team and Thanos from over the years and provides the crucial background you’ll need to understand why The Infinity Gauntlet is such a major event in Marvel history.
