Marvel Cinematic Universe

About

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (Abbreviated as “MCU”) is a series of films produced by Marvel Studios and under the direction of The Walt Disney Company since 2012’s The Avengers. The films light-hearted feel, being in contrast to DC Comic’s movies such as The Dark Knight and Man of Steel, has generated an immensely large fan-base, both online as well as offline.

History

Plans for a shared cinema series using Marvel Comics characters were initially conceived back in 2005 by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. ^[1] The first film in the franchise Iron Man was released on May 2, 2008. The main film line-up has been set to continue through 2019, ending with Inhumans on July 2, 2019. With the success of The Avengers in 2012 Marvel decided to create a TV series, which eventually became Agents of Shield. ^[2] In 2014 he company pushed into less traditional forms of media by airiing their new series exclusively on Netflix starting with Daredevil and a plan for several series, all of which will culminate in The Defenders which does not have a release date at this time. ^[3]

Films

Television Series

Online Relevance

On Tumblr various posts can be found about the franchise tagged under both “mcu” ^[4] as well as “marvel cinematic universe”. ^[5] There are also Tumblr blogs dedicated to the MCU, such as The MCU Report, ^[6] Daily MCU, ^[7] Women of MCU, ^[8] as well as many others. ^[9][10] On Reddit the largest subreddit dedicated to the MCU has over 43,000 readers. ^[11]

On YouTube there are around 87,500 results for “marvel cinematic universe”. ^[12] The most viewed video based around the MCU was uploaded by channel Inside the Magic on October 29, 2014 (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has over 5 million views.

On June 20, 2014, YouTube based entertainment company Watch Mojo uploaded a video entitled “Top 10 Marvel Cinematic Universe Easter Eggs” in which the announcer gives a run down of the company’s favorite Easter eggs scattered throughout the MCU (shown below).

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki

Tom Hiddleston’s LokiTom Hiddleston’s Loki refers to actor Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of the villain Loki in the films Thor, The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World. The character received In April of 2012, a Quickmeme ^[17] page titled “Loki” was created, which features photographs of Hiddleston that can be edited with custom captions (shown below).

On April 4th, a Facebook ^[18] page titled “I Love Tom Hiddleston (Loki Page)” was launched, accumulating more than 15,000 likes in the first 16 months. On Tumblr, several Loki-related fan blogs have been launched, including “F Yeah Loki,” ^[19]“Loki Lovers” ^[20] and “Loki’s Monster Crotch.” ^[21] On July 21st, 2013, Hiddleston appeared as Loki at the San Diego Comic-Con and took over comedian Chris Hardwick’s panel to address the audience (shown below).

Fan Films

On April 20, 2015 YouTube channel Studio C uploaded a music video parody of Age of Ultron (shown below, left). As of July 2015, the video has over 1.7 million views. On May 13, 2015 YouTube channel Screen Team uploaded another music video parody (shown below, right). As of July 2015, the video has over 2.5 million views.

On March 25, 2015 YouTube channel The Warp Zone uploaded a video entitled “HODOR vs GROOTRAPBATTLE” in which the MCU version of Guardians of the Galaxy character Groot faces of with Game of Thrones character Hodor in a rap battle in a similar vein to ERB’s Epic Rap Battles of History series (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has nearly 2 million views.

Fan Animations

On June 9, 2010 YouTube comedy channel, CollegeHumor uploaded a video entitled “Iron Man 2 Alternate Takes” (shown below, left). The video has over 6.6 million views as of July 2015. CollegeHumor later uploaded a second MCU parody titled “Too Many Avengers”, uploaded on June 7, 2012 (shown below, right). As of July 2015, the video has nearly 5 million views.

On July 12, 2014 YouTuber Sky Does Minecraft uploaded a Minecraft animation parody of The Avengers (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has nearly 3 million views.

Fan-Art

On YouTube there are several videos of YouTubers doing sketches and speed drawings of MCU characters. ^[13] On August 4, 2011 YouTuber Renowned Warrior uploaded a video of their speed drawing of Chris Evans’ portrayal of Captain America (shown below, left). Later on May 8, 2012 YouTuber ThePortraitArt uploaded their drawing of Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of Thor (shown below, right).

On DeviantArt there are numerous pieces of fan-art uploaded under both “MCU” ^[14] and “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, ^[15] as well as over 280,000 pieces of fanart under “The Avengers”, many of which are depicted in their MCU incarnations. ^[16]

Related Memes

I Understood That Reference

I Understood That Reference is an expression used in online forums and comments as an acknowledgement of a pop culture reference said by another. The quote was originally said by Captain America in the 2012 Marvel superhero action film The Avengers.

Captain America: Civil War 4 Pane

Captain America: Civil War 4 Pane is a series of vertical multi-pane image macros based on an exploitable photo set from the 2012 Marvel superhero film The Avengers illustrating a deadlocked conversation between two people at odds, usually over fandom rivalries.

Search Interest

External Links