While the Marvel superhero film may have floundered in the past, it is surprising how quickly things can change. With the creation of Marvel Studios specifically looking at the creation of movies based on Marvel heroes, a phenomenon was born. No longer were X-Men and Spider-Man the successes, but even bigger heroes made their way onto the big screen too.
Any company that finds success with properties the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest of The Avengers understand merchandising is imperative. This is something that Marvel have done well. It is easy to not only buy all the Avengers figures now, but it seems that the superheroes are everywhere these days.
With such a rise, controversy is likely to happen, as was found with Black Widow. In a changing world where many look for the rise of the female role figure, Black Widow is the perfect hero to use. She kicks ass, and even without super powers can stand as a member of the Avengers. This is why problems were caused with the lack of Black Widow in Avengers figure sets. When even male viewers understood the power of the character on in the film, to see her left out is confusing.
Where Black Widow does appear, and makes a big impact is in games. The LEGO games that have included the Marvel franchises make use of not only Black Widow, but a wide list of other female characters that tend to kick ass. Another example of a game that makes good use of the female characters as well as male is of course Marvel Heroes. A Diablo-like internet based game, it goes deeper into the Marvel comics than the movies, making it even more popular with the more hard-core fans.
It is through the smart use of the Marvel characters that the company have made a success from their hold on the superheroes they own. This hasn’t been lost in other online games such as if you were to play bingo or online slot machines where you’ll see Marvel Avengers, Captain America and Iron Man make appearances often. Full of adventure they are an interesting interpretation of the Avengers world.
Marvel is striving to gain more control over their own Universe, which is harder than it sounds. With Fox and Sony holding some rights to character such as X-Men, Deadpool, and Spider-Man it is clear that there is some way to go before they have full control over their memorabilia and gaming potential. Spider-Man shows that this is changing though with the arrival of Spidey in Captain America: Civil War, where he was a game changer for Iron Man.
While DC Aren’t exactly having the same success with their movies, Marvel have continued to flourish with their movies and with the use of their licenses in memorabilia sales and gaming. With bigger Avengers movies on the way, and more heroes making it onto the big screen, look for toys and gaming potential to continue to grow.
