Thomas Roach on why Marvel Studios should start pairing heroes for team-up movies…
With Marvel aiming to introduce more and more characters to the Cinematic Universe, I think it is worth them doing duo movies with two heroes teaming up as the leads. There are characters who we want to get to see more of, but in no way could carry their own movie. This is not due to the fact that the characters are bad in any way, but in my opinion how some characters have been portrayed to date has hindered the chances of them being leads in their own movies.
Personally, I feel that some characters are unsuitable for their own movie. For example lots of people are calling for a Black Widow movie but I think it is too late for her to carry a film. She has only ever been a supporting character. She was introduced in Iron Man 2 and was no more than a sidekick to Captain America in The Winter Soldier. I feel that most of the audience now see her as a supporting cast member. Even in The Avengers I saw her as nothing more than a supporting character. In order to give her a bigger lead in a film, I would suggest a Black Widow and Hawkeye team-up movie. Neither character could carry a movie on their own, but due to the relationship that the characters have I could see a duo movie featuring these two as equal leads working out really well.
I actually think Hulk would not be able to carry his own movie. I am aware that one of the first films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was The Incredible Hulk but even six years later there is no sign of a sequel in sight. Mark Ruffalo appeared in Iron Man 3 during the end credits, which makes me feel that a film that would have Iron Man and Hulk as equal leads would be worthwhile. I think the relationship between the two characters is something that has been explored in The Avengers and I hope to see more of that in next year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. With Robert Downey Jr. saying there are no plans for Iron Man 4 yet, could a team-up movie be on the table? This would certainly allow the Hulk to get another chance.
It was interesting that rumours came out suggesting the Hulk would join the Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite the reports being slammed by James Gunn, whoever was responsible for starting the rumour clearly thinks that Hulk is as yet unable to carry his own movie. I for one would love another Hulk movie at some point, but for now he needs to prove himself as a lead. I hope that Mark Ruffalo can do this in Avengers: Age of Ultron as he has said Hulk has been given a bigger role. Maybe he won’t require a team-up movie after the Avengers sequel, but it should remain on the cards.
I also think that doing team-ups will keep us wanting films. If we have lots of Marvel films each year then they will become less special. Marvel is eventually going to be producing 3 films a year and that may be too many. If we ever get to the point where we’re getting four or five each year we may become bored with the films. At the same time we don’t want to have to wait years and years to see our favourite characters on the big screen. Team-ups could be a suitable way to introduce new characters without origins stories, which has been mentioned as one of Marvel’s priorities going forward. Seeing them join films as supporting characters or as a dual lead will mean that the origins of the characters do not have to be explored as much.
Obviously this would not be suitable for every character, but it is something Marvel should consider in order to give some of their popular supporting characters a better chance of being leads. Do you agree? Would you like to see some characters teaming up for more screen time, or could they actually carry their own movies? Let us know…
Thomas Roach
Originally published September 12, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
