Thomas Roach on whether the rumours of Marvel Studios stopping origin stories is a good thing or a bad thing….
I’s been rumoured that the upcoming Doctor Strange movie that is expected to be released in 2016 will not be an origin story of the character. Apparently we will meet the character already established, he will already be the Sorcerer Supreme, and he will already be protecting Earth. We may still get some exploration as to the character’s origins, but the established Doctor Strange will likely take focus. It has also been suggested that when introducing new characters in future Marvel films the origins will be skipped over. This may be a good idea or it may not. In my eyes it may seem more suitable to skip over some characters’ origins than others. Doctor Strange may become the new face of the MCU, so not exploring his origin may be a bad idea.
When the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with Iron Man back in 2008 we were introduced to Tony Stark, the arrogant billionaire playboy who cared very little about the world. After being gravely injured he built the Iron Man suit to help protect people. This was an important origin to tackle and because he was the face of the MCU and it was the first film, it was necessary to explore his journey to becoming Iron Man.
Likewise, we were given the origin story of Captain America. We saw a weak Steve Rogers who was determined to join the army and fight against evil. But if we look at characters like Thor and Hulk, they were already some what established. Thor was already the God of Thunder and Bruce Banner had alkready turned into the Hulk and was on the run with his powers. This was also the case with the other Avengers, Hawkeye and Black Widow. We don’t get their origin stories when we meet them – they are already agents working for S.H.I.E.L.D.. Some of their past is touched upon in The Avengers but not a great deal. No more than a couple of scenes explaining where they came from. We are not shown their origins, but that works out fine.
Most recently with Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord’s origin is shown but we pick up his story when he is an adult and has been roaming the galaxy for 26 years. The film itself gives him delevlopment and moulds him into the character he should be, but this is in no way a traditional origin story. In next year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron we are going to be introduced to The Vision, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. After appearing in the end credits scene of Captain America The Winter Soldier we know that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch already have their powers and so its unlikely that their origins will not be explored. On the other hand we will see the origin of The Vision, however brief. We have been led to believe that The Vision is J.A.R.V.I.S., who we have got to know in the Iron Man films. The Vision will not just be a walking, talking J.A.R.V.I.S. though, and so he’ll likely have some form of origin in the film.
Next year’s Ant-Man is also set to be an origin story for Scott Lang but not Hank Pym. Pym is being played by Michael Douglas and it has been said that he has been Ant-Man for most of his life and the film will be passing on the mantle to the character of Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd. In a way Ant-Man looks to be a half origin story. Ant-Man is a character that already exists, but Lang’s journey from a criminal to a superhero will feature prominantly.
If the origin stories for new Marvel characters are skipped over I can see it working for some. I think that Ms. Marvel and Black Panther’s origins can be skipped to some extent but they will still require some form of character exploration, which Marvel appears to be good at anyway. As long as the film develops and changes the character then their origin is not necessary. Even with a Doctor Strange movie, we don’t need to see his life as a surgeon and the car accident as long as the character’s journey is interesting and engaging. The character needs to be different at the end from what they were at the beginning.
So, in my opinion, we should not worry about the character’s origins being explored from now on, but it would be nice on occasion to see the creation of a character from scratch and really show their journey to becoming a hero. With the universe full of characters yet be touched upon, we can assume that there are people already out there doing their own thing. Do you think that skipping over a characters origins is a bad idea? Let us know your thoughts…
Thomas Roach
Originally published August 22, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
