ICONS UNEARTHED: MARVEL: An Almost Complete History

ICONS UNEARTHED: MARVEL (Blu-ray)

2023 / 712 min

From Mill Creek Entertainment

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

Icons Unearthed is an ongoing series in which each season focuses on the history of a particular entertainment franchise. I’m typically skeptical of shows like this, since many tend to simply summarize what’s already common knowledge for fans, along with commentary from a variety of talking heads who may or may not have been involved.

But I kind-of changed my tune after catching their season dedicated to Star Wars. Yeah, there were a lot of talking heads and few of them were the “big” names associated with the franchise, but each episode featured tons of revealing information on the germination of Star Wars and the sometimes tumultuous efforts to get each film to the big screen. Though “unofficial and unauthorized,” the show featured gobs of footage, accompanied by narration that was unafraid to sometimes get snarky.

Icons Unearthed now turns its attention to Marvel, arguably the most culturally significant franchise since Star Wars. This season sets the stage with early episodes that delve into the history of Marvel Comics and attempts to expand their brand beyond the printed page. Most of the early adaptations, largely cartoons and TV shows, were hampered by tiny budgets and laughable production values (I can attest to that because I remember some of 'em).

Those shades are MARVEL-ous.

Even more interesting are the times Marvel had been bought and sold over the years, often by moguls more interested in toy sales than quality. And as the popularity of Marvel Comics waned and the company struggled to stay afloat, they sold the film rights to their biggest characters for shockingly small amounts of money (which is why Spider-Man still continues to be distributed by Sony). These early episodes are by-far the most revealing, especially in light of the juggernaut Marvel would become.

That juggernaut began with Kevin Feige, a fledgling producer whose vision of a cinematic universe not-only reversed Marvel’s fortunes, its influence was felt throughout Hollywood (for better or worse). Subsequent episodes focus heavily on the early MCU films - both before and after Marvel was purchased by Disney - and the significant financial risks being taken (almost everyone but Feige and director James Gunn thought Guardians of the Galaxy would bomb). These episodes feature plenty of behind-the-scenes stories related to casting and struggles during production.

However, this season isn’t quite comprehensive, content to conclude the Marvel story at around 2017, which means the pinnacles of the studio’s success (Infinity War and Endgame) are not covered, nor are any of Marvel’s subsequent failures or the saturation of TV shows on Disney+ . And since this was originally an episodic series with commercial breaks, many of the details (with accompanying commentary) are repeatedly summarized. Still, the Marvel story is pretty interesting, whether you’re a die-hard fanboy or feel the whole MCU has worn out its welcome. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

EXTENDED INTERVIEWS - Lengthy additional interview footage with actor Lou Ferrigno, actor J.J. Field, comic writer Mark Miller, actor/director Clark Gregg and filmmaker/comic writer J. Michael Straczynski.