Humanities Honors Program

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become the most popular film franchise in the world, setting box office records that are unlikely to ever be beaten. Due to the ongoing nature of the MCU, the superhero franchise has left an irreversible mark on society due to its transmedia storytelling abilities. Research has shown that the MCU’s depictions of race, gender, violence, and morality reveal something about the real world in terms of the social constructs that govern people’s way of life. Although the characters and events in the MCU are nothing more than speculative fiction, the influence these films have had on society couldn’t be any more real. In recent years, the MCU has seen a decline in popularity and Marvel Studios has made various efforts to reignite the excitement surrounding superhero culture. However, Marvel’s studio crisis may reveal something about the world that at first glance many might not recognize as a direct correlation between the societal issues today and the declining interest in the superhero genre. While the MCU has taken steps toward adapting to an ever changing world and political landscape, there is still much progress to be made before Marvel Studios can return to its golden days when superhero films were regarded as a worldwide phenomenon, cementing them in cinema history.