Around 17 years ago, "X-Men" came to theaters around the world. And at the time it was simply another comic book movie-a good one, at that. Viewers simply saw it as another property brought to life. What they could not have known was that this film would birth an era. Where comic book movies were no longer films or even series, they were universes. Expanded, varied properties that could be set a million miles away from each other and still be connected. From as early as the 60's to the furthest future, and still be connected. Film makers were no longer making films for the prospect, but now for the franchise. To this day there are three kings of the comic book movie industry. Question is...What's The Difference?
Warner Bros. & DC Entertainment's DC Extended Universe
Let's start from the bottom. The DCEU began with "Man of Steel", directed by Zack Snyder. This film received mixed reviews. Some like it for it's "realistic" take on Superman, others pander it for corrupting a character not meant to be corrupted. To turn a symbol of hope, into a symbol of reluctance. After Warner Bros. didn't make the money they wanted, they asked Zack to direct "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice". With Batman added-a character who's popularity rose thanks to Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight Trilogy"-there was no way the film could bomb. But it did.
Early reviews came out, reviews Warner Bros. was adamant about keeping quiet. The fan response and critical panning for BvS was worse than MoS. The writing, characterization, and behind-the-scenes changes made what was supposed to be "the true beginning" to their cinematic universe into the smoking gun of their future failures. "Suicide Squad" was constantly re-shot and re-edited to meet the studios' demands, both "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League" are said to be disasters by the same inside source who claimed BvS was a flop months before we saw the film, "The Flash" lost two directors due to creative differences and studio involvement, and a spin-off "Black Adam" film is supposedly being produced despite the fact that the "Shazam" movie has no script, no footage, and no cast other than Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. Instead of telling their viewers how "The Flash" and "Aquaman" are coming along, Warner Bros. claims "Harley Quinn/Gotham Sirens" and "Deadshot" films are being made since the characters were so "beloved" in "Suicide Squad".
And if you think "at least they get Batman right all the time". You're wrong. Ben Affleck has dropped his director role on the film, being attached only as the title character. Another inside source-a producer-was present when someone working on "The Batman" film told Warner Bros. executives the film's script had thirty-something problems and the executives blatantly claimed they didn't care and that even if the movie was a wreck it would make money. And still Warner expects people to be excited by the prospect of a "Nightwing" movie when their most profitable character still hasn't made any traction.
By the look of things, Warner Bros. can't respond to critical complaints without making worse decisions, they can't detach from Zack Snyder's gritty vision of the DCU which means directors with passion for these films will leave out of spite. They flash names like "Geoff Johns" in our faces to distract us from Snyder and David S. Goyer (he said anyone who knew who Martian Manhunter was is a virgin) still being involved in these movies. They release extended cuts of their movies with hours of unseen footage hoping to make their money back and avoid the risk of the theater versions being too long. They cram notable song after notable song in "Suicide Squad" to distract you from the horrible editing and script. Warner Bros. have no idea what they are doing with their properties, they refuse to see anyone except Snyder as "their comic book guy" and their too old, stuck-up, and petty to rely on the voices that are truly trying to help them. The staff of DC Entertainment and DC Fans across the planet.
20th Century Fox's X-Men & Fantastic Four Cinematic Universe
Meeting us in the middle is the studio that started the craze, 20th Century Fox. In 2000 we got out first X-Men film, followed by two sequels, an awful prequel, an attempted reboot, a safe cash-in on their most popular character, a film specifically designed to continue the reboot's story while also keeping their most popular character in this film universe, and finally another film for the reboot cast with another empty promise of "okay, now they're really The X-Men". Then actor Ryan Reynolds fought with studio executives to the tooth and nail, offering up his time, money, and effort to get the perfect Deadpool movie made. And instead of seeing the success of "Deadpool" as proof that writers and directors with passion should be left alone to make their movie the way they want, all Fox saw was a Rated R superhero movie that worked. So they Googled a violent Wolverine story, thought "Hey, Wolverine is popular, and rated R superhero movies are popular. Lets do this", and now we have "Logan".
Oh, and off to the side is The Fantastic Four, who had two mediocre films that weren't necessarily connected to the X-Men movies. But when the film rights to The Fantastic Four were nearly back in Marvel's hands-BOOM-"Fan4stic". A trainwreck of a film, a film who's cast were unsure of any direction, who's director fought the studio, and who's plot was so cut-and-pasted around it resulted in Marvel Comics having to kill off the Fantastic Four just to avoid bad sales figures. Legendary villain Doctor Doom looked like a steel-wool mummy and the director trashed his own movie on Twitter so hard Fox cancelled all future sequels to the film. At this point, "Fan4stic" is not seen as the beginning of a series or an in-universe story, but rather an example of how far a studio will go to keep their rivals from outshining them with the same property.
The problem with Fox's X-Men Universe is that they refuse to try something new. Sure, new villains come along and "Deadpool" was refreshing, but none of The X-Men films are really different. Some new characters, maybe some new locations, but that's it. Characters barely develop, time skips are constantly made in an attempt to entertain fans with the prospect of a period piece. The bloating of Wolverine is extremely obnoxious, with a 15 minute sequence in "X-Men: Apocalypse" solely being their to show "Hey! Hey! Wolverine is still here! See!? You like Wolverine! That means you like this movie". And the real kicker is that they can't let go of Bryan Singer. Singer directed the first two films and gave the films their leather, their somberness, and the constant comparisons of mutants to homosexuals. Name one movie where a character doesn't claim to hate mutants. You can't. And I get that it's part of the X-Men's story, but it's not the only story. These are still superheroes, they still save people. And in a world where The Avengers aren't around, The X-Men are the only heroes people have. I think after killer robots and Egyptian Gods are stopped by mutants, you should stop hating mutants.
But hating mutants makes money. Bryan Singer being attached to the film makes money. Using Hugh Jackman makes money. Keeping the films consistent with Singer's vision makes money. And most importantly, making these half-assed, mundane, potential-wasting films keeps The X-Men away from a studio who could make more money off them in five years than Fox could make in twenty.
Disney & Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe
And now the straight-A student. Disney and Marvel Studios. And to think it all started with a gamble. Nobody outside of the superhero fandom knew who Iron Man was. Then a studio gave some money and resources to a director who had an interest, and boom-a franchise was born. But Kevin Feige-the mastermind behind the MCU-saw an opportunity. A chance to do something that had never been done before. Next thing we know, old-fashioned superhero Captain America gets a film. It succeeded. The Hulk-a character mocked due to his TV show from the 70's-got a film. It succeeded. Thor-obscure superhero to the general public, obscure Norse God to the general public-got a movie. It succeeded. And the through-line of these films? They all existed in the same universe. "Captain America" had a "Thor" reference, "Thor" had a character from "Iron Man" show up, Tony Stark appears at the end of "The Incredible Hulk". And then "The Avengers". A plan four years in the making. And it payed off. Not just for Marvel Studios-who got the keys to Scrooge McDuck's money vault and free-range to do whatever they wanted-but also for film in general.
Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Universal Studios, and many more movie studios began planning what was dubbed "Cinematic Universes". They all wanted Avengers money, they all wanted franchises they'd be praised for, but to this day nobody has been able to do it like Marvel does it. Marvel took "The Guardians of The Galaxy" and turned them into a house-hold name. Marvel turned silly looking characters like The Falcon and Hawkeye and made them look cool, act cool, and be better characterized than ever. They replaced the crappy "Daredevil" movie from our memories with a new, gritty Netflix Show and made two more awesome Netflix Shows after that. Not as a victory lap, but as a way to cross those shows over too!
And when Sony's emails were leaked, when their new Spider-Man movies flopped, and when all they could do was ask Marvel for help. Marvel saved them. Despite Sony rebooting Spider-Man just to keep the film rights, Marvel still chose to help them and make a better Spider-Man, an MCU Spider-Man. Not for Sony. With Sony. Even now, Marvel is helping Fox make X-Men TV shows. Why? Because befriending an enemy makes them a rival, and helping a rival makes them a friend. And friends share.
"Thor: The Dark World", "Iron Man 2", "Ant-Man", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", and "Doctor Strange" are all considered to be Marvel's least successful MCU films. But they are still good. They are still rewatchable. And they still have potential for sequels, crossovers, and cameos. The thing people can't seem to get through their heads is that the MCU will never end. Not in our lifetime. The bottle has been opened. People won't hear how fed up you are with superhero movies or how changes made for these movies bother you. Because Robert Downey Jr. is entertaining. Because Chris Evans is likable. Because for every Chris Hemsworth getting too old to hold a hammer, there is a Tom Holland waiting pick up the slack. There is another B-list superhero with a film trilogy, there is another young actor who can win an audience. If you don't like a spy thriller, they got a space drama. If you don't like a space drama, they got comedy. They got everything, they got every actor and can get any actor. And here is the real meat of Marvel's success. They have 80 years of stories to draw inspiration from. And unlike Fox, they let their actors read the source material. And unlike Warner Bros., they listen to the writers, directors, actors, and fans. Marvel Studios has gotten to where they are by appealing to the old fans and using what hooked the old fans as a means to get new fans. That's why people of all ages can watch "Iron Man". And their stories and characters are so tangible, you don't have to watch every film before "Captain America: Civil War" to understand what's happening and what these characters are about. Marvel is not only owning the comic book movie industry, they are keeping it alive. And their keeping their competition sharp.
But not even Wolverine can be as sharp as them.
Thanks for reading.
Warner Bros. & DC Entertainment's DC Extended Universe
Early reviews came out, reviews Warner Bros. was adamant about keeping quiet. The fan response and critical panning for BvS was worse than MoS. The writing, characterization, and behind-the-scenes changes made what was supposed to be "the true beginning" to their cinematic universe into the smoking gun of their future failures. "Suicide Squad" was constantly re-shot and re-edited to meet the studios' demands, both "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League" are said to be disasters by the same inside source who claimed BvS was a flop months before we saw the film, "The Flash" lost two directors due to creative differences and studio involvement, and a spin-off "Black Adam" film is supposedly being produced despite the fact that the "Shazam" movie has no script, no footage, and no cast other than Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. Instead of telling their viewers how "The Flash" and "Aquaman" are coming along, Warner Bros. claims "Harley Quinn/Gotham Sirens" and "Deadshot" films are being made since the characters were so "beloved" in "Suicide Squad".
And if you think "at least they get Batman right all the time". You're wrong. Ben Affleck has dropped his director role on the film, being attached only as the title character. Another inside source-a producer-was present when someone working on "The Batman" film told Warner Bros. executives the film's script had thirty-something problems and the executives blatantly claimed they didn't care and that even if the movie was a wreck it would make money. And still Warner expects people to be excited by the prospect of a "Nightwing" movie when their most profitable character still hasn't made any traction.
By the look of things, Warner Bros. can't respond to critical complaints without making worse decisions, they can't detach from Zack Snyder's gritty vision of the DCU which means directors with passion for these films will leave out of spite. They flash names like "Geoff Johns" in our faces to distract us from Snyder and David S. Goyer (he said anyone who knew who Martian Manhunter was is a virgin) still being involved in these movies. They release extended cuts of their movies with hours of unseen footage hoping to make their money back and avoid the risk of the theater versions being too long. They cram notable song after notable song in "Suicide Squad" to distract you from the horrible editing and script. Warner Bros. have no idea what they are doing with their properties, they refuse to see anyone except Snyder as "their comic book guy" and their too old, stuck-up, and petty to rely on the voices that are truly trying to help them. The staff of DC Entertainment and DC Fans across the planet.
20th Century Fox's X-Men & Fantastic Four Cinematic Universe
Oh, and off to the side is The Fantastic Four, who had two mediocre films that weren't necessarily connected to the X-Men movies. But when the film rights to The Fantastic Four were nearly back in Marvel's hands-BOOM-"Fan4stic". A trainwreck of a film, a film who's cast were unsure of any direction, who's director fought the studio, and who's plot was so cut-and-pasted around it resulted in Marvel Comics having to kill off the Fantastic Four just to avoid bad sales figures. Legendary villain Doctor Doom looked like a steel-wool mummy and the director trashed his own movie on Twitter so hard Fox cancelled all future sequels to the film. At this point, "Fan4stic" is not seen as the beginning of a series or an in-universe story, but rather an example of how far a studio will go to keep their rivals from outshining them with the same property.
The problem with Fox's X-Men Universe is that they refuse to try something new. Sure, new villains come along and "Deadpool" was refreshing, but none of The X-Men films are really different. Some new characters, maybe some new locations, but that's it. Characters barely develop, time skips are constantly made in an attempt to entertain fans with the prospect of a period piece. The bloating of Wolverine is extremely obnoxious, with a 15 minute sequence in "X-Men: Apocalypse" solely being their to show "Hey! Hey! Wolverine is still here! See!? You like Wolverine! That means you like this movie". And the real kicker is that they can't let go of Bryan Singer. Singer directed the first two films and gave the films their leather, their somberness, and the constant comparisons of mutants to homosexuals. Name one movie where a character doesn't claim to hate mutants. You can't. And I get that it's part of the X-Men's story, but it's not the only story. These are still superheroes, they still save people. And in a world where The Avengers aren't around, The X-Men are the only heroes people have. I think after killer robots and Egyptian Gods are stopped by mutants, you should stop hating mutants.
But hating mutants makes money. Bryan Singer being attached to the film makes money. Using Hugh Jackman makes money. Keeping the films consistent with Singer's vision makes money. And most importantly, making these half-assed, mundane, potential-wasting films keeps The X-Men away from a studio who could make more money off them in five years than Fox could make in twenty.
Disney & Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe
Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Universal Studios, and many more movie studios began planning what was dubbed "Cinematic Universes". They all wanted Avengers money, they all wanted franchises they'd be praised for, but to this day nobody has been able to do it like Marvel does it. Marvel took "The Guardians of The Galaxy" and turned them into a house-hold name. Marvel turned silly looking characters like The Falcon and Hawkeye and made them look cool, act cool, and be better characterized than ever. They replaced the crappy "Daredevil" movie from our memories with a new, gritty Netflix Show and made two more awesome Netflix Shows after that. Not as a victory lap, but as a way to cross those shows over too!
And when Sony's emails were leaked, when their new Spider-Man movies flopped, and when all they could do was ask Marvel for help. Marvel saved them. Despite Sony rebooting Spider-Man just to keep the film rights, Marvel still chose to help them and make a better Spider-Man, an MCU Spider-Man. Not for Sony. With Sony. Even now, Marvel is helping Fox make X-Men TV shows. Why? Because befriending an enemy makes them a rival, and helping a rival makes them a friend. And friends share.
"Thor: The Dark World", "Iron Man 2", "Ant-Man", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", and "Doctor Strange" are all considered to be Marvel's least successful MCU films. But they are still good. They are still rewatchable. And they still have potential for sequels, crossovers, and cameos. The thing people can't seem to get through their heads is that the MCU will never end. Not in our lifetime. The bottle has been opened. People won't hear how fed up you are with superhero movies or how changes made for these movies bother you. Because Robert Downey Jr. is entertaining. Because Chris Evans is likable. Because for every Chris Hemsworth getting too old to hold a hammer, there is a Tom Holland waiting pick up the slack. There is another B-list superhero with a film trilogy, there is another young actor who can win an audience. If you don't like a spy thriller, they got a space drama. If you don't like a space drama, they got comedy. They got everything, they got every actor and can get any actor. And here is the real meat of Marvel's success. They have 80 years of stories to draw inspiration from. And unlike Fox, they let their actors read the source material. And unlike Warner Bros., they listen to the writers, directors, actors, and fans. Marvel Studios has gotten to where they are by appealing to the old fans and using what hooked the old fans as a means to get new fans. That's why people of all ages can watch "Iron Man". And their stories and characters are so tangible, you don't have to watch every film before "Captain America: Civil War" to understand what's happening and what these characters are about. Marvel is not only owning the comic book movie industry, they are keeping it alive. And their keeping their competition sharp.
But not even Wolverine can be as sharp as them.
Thanks for reading.
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