I’m not a big fan of the Marvel and DC franchises, but I have seen some of the most popular and hyped films. This isn’t surprising, as just as Arabs dictate terms in football, in the film industry, which I am interested in, one cannot overlook the companies and their movies that significantly influence this industry.
About 15-20 years ago, Marvel and DC films had very linear narratives. Their plots were straightforward and smooth. Just think of the early Spider-Man films or Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. I chose the latter example for a reason, which you will likely understand shortly. The storylines of these companies’ films, as I emphasized earlier, were linear in time. All events occurred in the present moment, and subsequent installments expanded on the storyline. Films like Guardians of the Galaxy or The Dark Knight fit this description well.
At some point, the ideas for films started to run dry. The heroes began to age. It’s impossible to continue a linear narrative indefinitely, creating plots where the protagonist saves the world yet again, especially when it seemed that in the previous installment, they had already defeated all the villains. So, what did the screenwriters of these companies start to come up with? They pursued two main directions.
Firstly, they began to assemble all the heroes together. In the initial years, this approach yielded positive results, and the plots genuinely resonated with audiences since everyone wanted to see multiple stars in one film. However, they soon found themselves in a deadlock with these storylines. In the “Avengers” series, with each installment, they raised the stakes, ultimately culminating in a "battle for the entire universe." There was nowhere left to escalate the stakes or scale up the heroes.
Secondly, they began to create storylines that supposedly took place before the familiar linear narratives. There was nothing inherently wrong with this. Viewers were interested in seeing the childhood (or youth) of a particular hero or understanding why a certain character gained a superpower or why a specific villain became evil. However, even here, it’s hard to produce many films, and the plots quickly began to run out.
So, what did these companies do next? They raised the stakes even further and started making films with parallel worlds and alternate universes. They began to manipulate time, moving into the future and the past. This was evident even in the latest Avengers films. Then came Spider-Man, and it was even more pronounced in the film "The Flash," which I also watched this year. Heroes started traveling through time or to parallel worlds, providing audiences with plenty of new storylines. But the problem is that all of this is done cheaply in relation to logic and often contradicts the laws of physics. A plot that may seem exciting can ultimately turn out to be completely illogical and meaningless at its core. However, the average viewer rarely questions the source of the problem or the lack of logic within it, as their attention is still captivated by the action, which remains abundant in the film.
Evidently, this was a rather desperate move by the screenwriters and directors, as even Christopher Nolan, who employs time manipulation, can construct a very interesting film without violating any physical laws (such as in "Memento," "Dunkirk," and others). Even in "The Dark Knight," he did not resort to tricks involving time manipulation and maintained a linear storyline. Sooner or later, plots involving parallel worlds and time travel will also run their course, and Marvel and DC will have to come up with something new.
