10 Ways The Marvel Cinematic Universe Proves That Dreams Do Come True
5. Marvel Have Succeeded Where Other Studios Haven't
Netflix
Remember when Fox butchered Daredevil back in 2003? Yeah, I'd prefer to forget about it too. But it was a thing. It happened.
So too did the company's numerous failed attempts at creating a just Fantastic Four adaptation, producing mediocre and down-right contemptible releases in 2005, 2007 and 2015 respectively. Columbia Pictures messed up Ghost Rider, and Lionsgate turned in two passable Punisher films during their tenure holding the license. Compared to what Marvel Studios has done in just eight years, these companies failed spectacularly. (excluding the X-Men franchise of course).
So far, two of those characters have risen from the ashes; Daredevil and Punisher. Perhaps Marvel's two most riveting and compelling characters, Matt Murdock and Frank Castle were given a new lease of life when Netflix heavyweight Drew Goddard incorporated both vigilantes into the MCU. The Daredevil TV show is everything the Mark Steven Johnson flick should've been and then some. Along with Jessica Jones, Marvel on Netflix may just even surpass the company's big screen outings.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
