Many people argued the current superhero trend is merely that — a trend.
However, with the release of “Avengers: Infinity War” we are seeing innumerable records being broken.
Anything from biggest superhero movie to highest weekend debut of any movie in history.
All of this points to a healthy and growing market for our beloved heroes.
How can something as canned and predictable as bad vs. good, where good always wins, continue to be so attractive?
First and foremost is Sarah Finn.
Most of you probably don’t know who Sarah is, though you have her to thank for actors like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and most recently Chadwick Boseman appearing in their big screen costumes.
Sarah Finn is the casting director for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), from its inception in 2008 with “Iron Man” all the way to “Avengers: Infinity War.”
Griffen Winget | Argonaut
She has been there every step of the way making sure the actors match their silver screen personas.
However, she wasn’t responsible for breathing life into these characters. That responsibility falls on the actors.
There are two notable standouts in this category, though there are many in the MCU.
First is Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man. No one embodies the spirit of their character more fully than RDJ.
He is nigh inseparable from Iron Man in many people’s mind. Though he doesn’t fall into the Samuel L. Jackson Syndrome where Sam Jack plays Sam Jack just in a different setting.
The second example is new to the MCU, and that is Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther.
“Black Panther” found incredible success in theaters in part to Boseman’s excellent performance as the clawed crusader.
He fit so naturally into his role as T’Challa that from here on out, it will be jarring to see him in any non-hero roles.
Part of his fluidity comes from the lack of on-screen success prior to “Black Panther.”
That isn’t meant as a slight to his career, but rather this was the first big role he found and it fits like a glove.
The last reason is Marvel’s incredible finesse when it comes to plot and planning.
At the minimum, they have been plotting the universe our heroes reside in since 2008.
They have had years to iron out any plot holes, continuity errors and goofs.
It’s difficult to create meaningful content that keeps you guessing when your source material has been out for decades.
Part of the way they have overcome this is through artistic liberties, with which plot points to keep and which they can do without.
Recently with “Infinity War,” they have started doing crossovers between franchises, with Guardians of the Galaxy mixing in with the Avengers crowd.
This helps give the series longevity and allows for more interesting interactions and potential plots.
Surprisingly, they haven’t run into the Superman issue, which is how to balance your villains and other superheroes when one of them is almost all-powerful like Superman.
Thanos had the possibility to become too powerful for the series but, without spoiling anything, Anthony and Joe Russo worked around that in a way that didn’t feel contrived.
Personally, I am all aboard the superhero hype-train. I love the characters and eagerly await seeing what will happen to them next.
My only hope is that Marvel will know when the right time is to stop.
They have control of millions of people’s hearts and minds, and as the late-great Uncle Ben once said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Griffen Winget can be reached at [email protected]