The Rise of Marvel: How a Comic Book Franchise Became a Cinematic Powerhouse

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How Marvel Comics Became the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Comics was founded by Martin Goodman in 1939 in New York, New York, under the original name of Timely Comics, starting a journey that continues almost a century later. At the time, comic books were becoming increasingly popular amongst the American population, and Goodman decided to hop on the bandwagon of superhero comics. The first edition of Marvel Comics featured Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. The Human Torch went on to become a founding member of the Fantastic Four. Since Comic No. 1 sold an estimated 900,000 copies, Timely continued to release superhero comics. The 1940s were known as the "Golden Age" for comics, and so Captain America was introduced as an American soldier fighting the Nazis. From then on, comic books continued to introduce hundreds of superheroes that are now on the big screen, continuing to entertain millions of fans almost a century later.

The Marvel Universe that is known today started with the pairing up of writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. The two men did the first Fantastic Four comic book, which became wildly popular because, for the first time, readers got to see superheroes in their daily lives, acting like regular people, and seeing these superheroes in a realistic light worked for Marvel. This continued with other stories like Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men series.

The movies began with Iron Man as the leading man for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, he is not the first superhero in the comics, his movie came first setting the tone for the upcoming films. This universe has continued since 2008 and now includes phases in the timeline. Many will debate about the order in which the movies should be viewed, but they are all enjoyable in any order.

The popularity of this franchise can be linked to the writer's ability to keep the stories current. Some of these stories are decades old, but even when they were first released, the comic books addressed current issues, and the movies continue to do the same. The comic books dealt with social issues such as race relations, drug abuse, and pollution. The movies followed suit and have addressed racism, mental health, and the impacts of war.

These movies and comic books remain a cornerstone of pop culture due to the heroes being relatable to the everyday person and how current these stories feel.

Who is your favorite Marvel superhero?

• Iron Man
• Captain America
• Reed Richards
• Thor