2022 leaves us with eleven productions*, including movies, series and a Christmas special, in addition to the superhero stories produced by Marvel or DC. In fact, of those eleven, except three, all were from Marvel. 2023 will bring even more, there are thirteen announced**. It has been said of the genre, which has been very trending for a little over a decade, that it has already given of itself, that it is running out or that it is wearing down audiences, how much is it like that?
The Fandom platform conducted a survey of five thousand fans of the genre between the ages of 13 and 54; the platform impacts 300 million users through different means. The results are very revealing.
In principle, it is clear that Marvel dominates the market both in quantity of content and in consumer preference. It is who has more “Lawyers” or viewers who are the base of the fandom; they will see the content as soon as it comes out and talk about it. They will “advocate” in front of them and are opinion leaders in their circles. Marvel has 66% compared to 61% for DC. More interestingly, 81% of fans watch whatever Marvel releases, while only 67% of DC fans would do the same.
Now, on the other hand, 62% of Marvel fans are interested in the entire universe; with DC that only stops for 43%. That is, the difference focuses more on a character than on its connection with other products. This element is of great relevance and explains, in part, why only 20% of DC fans indicated that they were tired of the number of product releases in the genre, compared to 36% of Marvel fans.
Marvel’s multiverse strategy has served it well over the past decade. He helped her build a line of products that work independently, but help each other, building a foundation and narrative that explodes to the max at a “big event.” “Avengers: Endgame” is the best example and proof of this. With its budget of about 400 million dollars (one of the highest in history) it reached a box office of almost 2.8 billion, becoming the highest grossing for that moment. “Avengers: Secret Wars” will be the new closure in 2026.
What Marvel has achieved has led other studios to seek to create their own franchises and transmedia narratives (Harry Potter, Fast and Furious, Spider-Man, among others). The advantage is precisely that, if the titles work independently, the connections that are built between them generate interest for a future installment. However, that same advantage, when it is exploited more, could be generating that wear and tear on Marvel.
For example, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has connections, of course, with the previous film, “Black Panther”, but also with the series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” and the film “Black Widow” where Valentina Allegra from Fontaine, director of the CIA and whose role is expected to be more important in upcoming installments such as “Thuderbolts” (film announced for 2024). It also introduces Riri Williams / Ironheart who will have her own series in 2023. As if that were not enough, she builds subplots around the Dora Milaje, guard of Wakanda, who is expected to have a series in the future. There is also the understanding that Namor, the antagonist, will have other appearances and, most likely, given the weight and legacy of the character in the comic, his own movie or movies. Just, any explanation, accounts for the problem. Before, the connections in Marvel productions were fewer.
Although “Wakanda Forever” is understood by itself just like the rest of his productions, the need is generated before the viewer, which becomes somewhat anguish, commitment or anxiety, according to what he prefers to classify, to see the rest. Then, it may be generating the opposite effect and resulting in viewers moving away by giving up on everything they should see, let alone remember and make sense of it.
So, regardless of whether the genre has exhausted itself narratively (on which studies have worked by integrating resources from other genres into the narratives, such as the political thriller in “Captain America: Civil War” or the sitcom in “She-Hulk”) ), the question is whether viewers will be able to keep up with their heroes.
* Marvel released the films “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”, “Thor: Love and Thunder”, “Black Panther Wakanda Forever” and the series “Moon Knight”, “Ms. Marvel” and “She-Hulk: Defender of Super Heroes”; in December he will launch a Christmas special of “Guardians of the Galaxy”. DC released the series “Peacemaker” and the movies “The Batman” and “Black Adam.” Only new productions that are part of the same continuity are considered. It’s not mentioned in the list, but Sony’s “Morbius” was also released.
** Marvel, the movies “Ant-Man 3”, “Guardians of the Galaxy 3”, “The Marvels” and the series: “What if…?” Season 2, “Secret Invasion”, “Echo”, “Loki” Season 2, “Ironheart” and “Agatha: Coven of Chaos”. DC only has announced movies (they are restructuring and about to announce the change of strategy): “Shazam 2”, “The Flash”, “Blue Beetle” and “Aquaman 2”.