The Art of Network in Marvel Cinematic Universe
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/05/the-social-networks-of-superheroes/239599/
The article shown in the link above discusses the presence of social network in movies, in particular, the superhero genre. It has shown that the movie seems to attract more audience when network of superheroes introduced, that is because the element of network contributes to the nature of story telling, since it strengthens the ties among different characters and everyone is excited to watch a crossover movie. The networks of superheroes not only make their character more memorable, but also help the audience to get a better sense of their connected world or timeline. The origins of each superheroes may be independent and different, but the audience appreciates the story more after they see the interactions of different characters in the same timeline and how their relationships influence them in different decision making process. The inserted graph reveals the complex network that Marvel has created among all their characters. Even though each character has their own franchise, the edges in between them still links them together in a crossover.
For instance, the first blockbuster in Marvel Cinematic Universe is “Ironman”, though the whole movie focuses on the origin story of Tony Stark, the after credits introduced Nick Fury, who was the director of the S.H.I.E.L.D., and it functions to create a link between “Ironman” and the next movie. One of the best crossover superheroes films is “Captain America III: Civil War”, where the superheroes were divided into two opposing groups due to their different beliefs in policies. The diversity of origins provided them with different backgrounds and life stories. Superheroes who have similar background tends to stay in the same group. For example, ant-man is a friend of the falcon and falcon is friend with Captain America, the strong triadic closure suggests that Captain America and ant-man must be friends, which forms the first group. Ironman, War Machine and Black Panther are mutual friends because they all have shared interests and they all resemble authority figures (Tony Stark is the owner of Stark Industries; Colonel Rhodes is a decorated colonel in the army; The black panther is the king of Wakanda). In this case, Captain America functions as a bridge that connects Ironman and ant-man and the formed link between them must be a weak tie.
In conclusion, character’s network in movies deepens the audience’s understanding of different characters and it has also become a powerful technique for directors to market their upcoming movies. The after credits scene started to become a tradition in the movies productions of Marvel Cinematic Universe, as it brings all the characters in a big group and leaves a suspense for the new movie. Movie directors use the networks in the cinematic universe to plan out their new movie and it has become a very profitable business.