Why Marvel Is The Pinnacle Of Hollywood Entertainment
Putting aside the billions in profit that Marvel has raked in for all-conquering Disney, its ever-expanding worldwide fanbase, and its vice-grip on popular culture today, there is a reason why — at least in my opinion — Marvel represents the pinnacle of what big-budget Hollywood entertainment can achieve artistically in the world today. That reason is its storytelling.
Recently I watched, sorry, binged the series WandaVision and was struck by the quality of the storytelling. Sure, *spoilers*, the series had flying witches shooting magic fireball-things, superman dudes laser-beaming each other, and kids zooming near light speed — which, let’s be honest, is a requirement for any half-decent hero-outing. But one could sense that the point of the series was not to put up yet another CGI fist fight. Instead, it was a show that wanted to talk about loss, and to explore how we deal with the consuming grief that follows.
In WandaVision, we see Wanda, reacting to the recent death of her lover Vision in a previous Marvel movie, construct an artificial world to be with him again. In that world, she can pretend his death never happened. She can pretend he’s still with her, that she can talk to him, and that she and Vision can live out their lives together in the classic suburban life. There are of course caveats, however, and this false pretense can never last. But the series makes us ask, what would we do if we ourselves could bring back people important to us? What would we give, or sacrifice, to make that happen, even for a short while? Will we ever see those people again, or are they truly lost to time?
Too often, these sort of stories are accompanied by a lot of noise and commotion, only for the affected persons to forget all about it by the next episode. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. As many of us know, such experiences affect people to their very core. WandaVision explored that experience with perfect sincerity. We’re given lingering shots of the couple in their final moments as they tell each other they’ll meet again soon, we spectate upon the unravelleing of Wanda’s mind — with Elizabeth Olsen in perfect form, and the show’s setting — although a little distracting — ties nicely back to Wanda’s beginnings in a Freudian-esque way. One gets the sense that such a story could not be told as effectively without the supernatural, magical elements of the show’s setting, which bring a certain tangibility and ‘realness’ to Wanda’s reincarnation of Vision. For a superhero film/series’ setting to actually work to enhance its storytelling, rather than be to its detriment, is surely something to welcome.
I would also argue this is far from the first time Marvel has prioritized a well-crafted, human story over the more traditional superhero elements of good-guy-smash-bad-guy: Black Panther felt like an honest reflection of a modern man’s westling with the scars of colonialism (combined with a fabulous celebration of African culture). There’s a family drama that is Captain America: Civil War… Even Avengers: Endgame felt more like a story of defeated not-quite-humans beaten down by life, seeking one more chance at redemption (as opposed to another excuse for more CGI fights).
Contrast this with the dribble that is Superhero vs Batman, which exists solely as a vehicle for batman to punch superman in the face. Or, say, Godzilla, where a big lizard stepping on buildings is supposed to keep us interested for 2 hours. At the end of day, all art — and yes, I do consider the superhero genre to be ‘art’ — comes down to its ability to inspire and rouse compelling human stories, and to make us feel something.
Marvel’s success comes down to its understanding of this. Its skill at combining these oh-so-human elements with humour that hits its mark, and the action we all crave is what cements its status as top dog. I just hope they pay their scriptwriters well.