8 Book Review VIDEOAGE January 2024 Cultural commentators Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards present an all-inclusive account that chronicles Marvel Studios’ rise in Hollywood and the MCU’s worldwide appeal. How The MCU Conquered Hollywood: A New Book Highlights Marvel Studios’ History By Luis Polanco I s it any surprise how popular the fantastical superhero movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) have become? While there might be the occasional flop across the network of movies and television series that make up the MCU, overall, Marvel content delivers high production value, spectacular visual effects, a combination of action-packed drama and light comedy, and an array of iconic superheroes. Marvel Studios, the film and TV production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, draws on the characters and storylines from Marvel Comics to create a connected universe where fans can follow characters and appreciate their character development over the course of multiple films. The interconnectedness appeals to fans, especially those who grew up reading Marvel comics, and is why the MCU has a strong fanbase. The recently published MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios (528 pgs., Liveright, 2023, $35) takes on the enormous task of historicizing the Marvel Cinematic Universe and collecting the behind-the-scenes stories that explain why the media franchise is such a dominant force in Hollywood. The authors Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards turn to their own expertise as well as extensive interviews to capture the evolution of Marvel Studios and fill in little-known passages in that timeline. Robinson is a writer and podcaster at the sports and pop culture website The Ringer. Gonzales is also a podcaster, best known for hosting film and pop-culture podcasts, “Fighting in the War Room” and The Ringer’s “Trial By Content.” Edwards is the author of 12 previous books, including The Tao of Bill Murray. The authors have organized the book into chapters that move chronologically through time, starting with the MCU’s origins in comics and the Marvel Studios of the early aughts to the production behemoth everyone knows now. The chapters follow Marvel Studios’ different phases — the studio bunches its films into groupings called “Phases.” Phase One coincides with the rise of Kevin Feige as president of Production and the release of Iron Man in 2008, and also includes the releases of The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers. The subsequent phases build on these characters and storylines while also introducing new ones such as Ant-Man in Phase Two and Black Panther in Phase Three, and so on. The book celebrates Marvel Studios’ successes, but it doesn’t shy away from acknowledging its humble beginnings. “Marvel Studios began with failure and ruin and bankruptcy”, the authors write. They are referring to the mid-1990s when Marvel Studios emerged out of mergers, massive debts, and Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, newly owned by ToyBiz executives Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad, who ushered in the studio’s shift toward films. Each chapter of the book brings to the fore various executives and creatives whose hands have played a significant role in shaping the vision of Marvel Studios. Of course, Feige, who today serves as president and chief creative officer of Marvel Studios, appears throughout as a leader who was key to grounding the future of Marvel in its history. Very early on, as an associate producer on X-Men, “Feige would sneak issues to actors hungry to understand their characters.” Later on, the authors note how Feige would turn to the original comics to solve story problems in the films. They write, “The MCU became what it is because the person overseeing it understands that in many ways, it already existed.” Focusing in on executives from chapter to chapter, when different projects are emerging, allows for a wellrounded view of the studio’s history. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a titanic cultural phenomenon of the 21st century. With their book, Robinson, Gonzales, and Edwards show how MCU storytelling has an influence that extends beyond the movie screen. MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is essential reading for fans of the ever-growing and ever-popular media franchise. The three authors have gone above and beyond in presenting a compelling book that not only pays homage to the legacy of Marvel Studios but also serves as a historical record of the overall arc of the studio and the little-known stories behind the production of each film and series. This book stands as an encyclopedic chronicle of Marvel Studios’ transformation into the Hollywood hero it is today. The book celebrates Marvel Studios’ successes, but it doesn’t shy away from acknowledging its humble beginnings.
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