A Brief Drive Through Marvel's Road To The Avengers

Since, at the latest, 2008 Marvel has been laying the foundation for the largest, most epic, and most ambitious project ever undertaken by a major movie studio. In 2008 Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau broke ground with Iron Man. However, it wasn't until after the credits rolled that Marvel Studios decided to reveal what they had planned.

The screen goes black. Fade in to find Tony Stark coming back from the press conference where he revealed to the world that he was, indeed, Iron Man. J.A.R.V.I.S. begins to welcome him as he malfunctions. We hear a familiar voice, "I am Iron Man." The camera cuts to Samuel L. Jackson casually standing in Stark's living room, looking out the window. He turns. "I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative."

From that point in 2008, Marvel Studios has been working towards the ultimate crossover film. For the first time ever, a studio was willing to truly bring the pages of the comic books to the screen in The Avengers.

Crossovers in comic books are no rare thing. The X-Men constantly team up with The Avengers, Spider-Man hangs out with the Fantastic Four just as often as he does with Mary Jane (R.I.P. Gwen Stacey). However, because of the studio system and the massive undertaking a project like that would be, crossovers on film are a very rare thing. Marvel was breaking new ground by telling its fans they were ready to do just that.

The Road to The Avengers has had its fair share of bumps. But, for all that, Marvel has finally accomplished their goal. They have done the seemingly impossible.

However, I'm not here to discuss the merits of The Avengers. I'm not here to review the film (the fanboy in me simply won't allow it). I am here to, now that the movie has been released globally, discuss what it took to get to this point and how all of the films fit into the larger vision of Marvel Studios' Universe.

It was evident from the start that Marvel had intended to create another separate universe, similar to their comic books, on film. After seeing their properties (Spiderman and X-Men) get turned into billion dollar franchises, how could they not?

The hardest part for Marvel in creating a cohesive universe was to get five different directors and probably countless screenwriters to share their vision. And that fact shows.

In fact, The Avengers scraps plenty of the roadwork Marvel had laid out. The conclusion of Thor is undone from the moment the film starts and by a single line of dialog. The Incredible Hulk is all but forgotten. The only film that really melds nicely with The Avengers is Captain America.

While every film from Iron Man to Captain America does, in its own way, offer a little something here or there to the final product, The Avengers largely stands alone.

That isn't a slight on the hard work Marvel and company put into building this road, its just what happens when you have several different creative people taking on individual projects. Each film wants to tell its own story and, aside from Iron Man 2 and Thor, the directors opt to flex their own creative muscles, leaving The Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. subplots on the back burner.

Regardless, Marvel has done an unprecedented thing and has built something for every studio to stand in awe. Marvel's Road to The Avengers may be coming to an end, but the story is far from over.