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In superhero movies, many superheroes do not have the superpowers of sci-fi elements (such as: Black Widow, Hawkeye, etc.), but more emphasize the psychological journey of the hero.
Therefore, superhero movies cannot simply be understood as pure science fiction movies.
01From traditional comics to the screen
As an important part of the superhero movie series, the birth and development process of the "complex link" movie is closely related to the rise of superhero movies.
First of all, the image of superheroes comes from comics. The inaugural issue of Action Comics in 1938 marked the advent of Superman.
The appearance of this image wearing a blue tights and a red cape caused a strong response from the market. DC Comics then went on to launch series such as "Batman", and the success of this model caused many other companies to follow suit.
Among the many companies, "Time Comics" (i.e. Marvel Studio) has developed rapidly and gradually become the biggest competitor of DC Comics.
Marvel's superhero-themed comic works are numerous, and these works also provide a solid guarantee for Marvel's future development.
02From manga adaptation to independent original
In the 70s of the 20th century, a major change took place in the capitalist world, and the world pattern presented a tripod in which the United States, Japan, and Europe stood together.
Due to the weakening of the United States' own power and the impact of the rise of the two major entities of Japan and Europe, the United States eventually weakened its economic and political control over Japan and Europe. The hegemony of the United States in the world has been shaken.
Coupled with the disadvantage in the second stage, the joint action of many parties led to the complete collapse of the "Bretton Woods monetary system".
While the dollar lost its dominance, it also plunged the United States into an economic crisis.
Under the background of such a social and economic depression, the American public has fallen into fear and helplessness, and urgently needs to obtain spiritual comfort and support.
At almost the same time, the pioneer of superheroes, the release of the comic book adaptation movie "Superman" in 1978, first opened the journey of the development of superhero movies, and presented the superhero image in comics on the big screen for the first time.
During this period, the appearance of the image of Superman movies just met people's psychological needs to save the bleak reality.
Because Superman has the advantages of human beings, but also has a sense of responsibility and mission to save the world. Always able to defeat villains at critical moments and maintain the harmony and tranquility of the world, Superman has become one of the symbols of American culture.
03 The brilliance of "divinity" in human nature
After the initial image was determined, the next step for Marvel Studios to create the character was to expand the character's character and explore the deep divine part of ordinary human nature.
In this regard, Joseph Campbell, a famous mythological comparator of the United States, once said: "There are myths of heroes all over the world, and although these stories differ in detail from culture to culture, their basic patterns are strikingly similar."
Marvel Studios also continues the "heroic journey" technique used in superhero genre movies to shape the character image, so that the story maintains its consistent appeal to the audience.
But it focuses on how superheroes face up to the challenges of the new world and make big choices.
The superheroes of the "complex series" are mostly based on mythological characters in ancient Greece, so like the gods, superheroes not only have ordinary human characteristics, but also have divine brilliance.
In the movie, this characteristic is most directly reflected in the image of the character, and by examining the character's image, the audience can intuitively feel the emotions and thoughts conveyed by the film.
In ordinary superhero movies, burly body is a basic attribute, but Steve, the leader of the Avengers, is just a weak and thin boy in the opening film of "Captain America 1".
As soon as he appeared, he was violently beaten by hooligans in the alley, and his health was so poor that he failed to pass the medical examination of the army after many attempts.
It was not until he was selected for the government's "American Super Soldier Program" that he became a tall and powerful image on the screen after being vaccinated with serum.
But even so, Captain America did not go to the front line of the battlefield in the early days of enlistment, but only as an actor for comforting the army and a tool for publicity to raise military spending.
Before he entered the Nazi barracks to rescue his companions, almost everyone treated him as a vase that was not useful.
But when he single-handedly rescued his companions from the Nazis, he was admired by those around him and the whole country.
This is also the first "divine brilliance" of Captain America's transformation from an ordinary person to a superhero.
04 Supporting characters push the details
Marvel Studios attaches great importance to shaping all kinds of supporting characters, making the entire Marvel Universe more closely connected, and important supporting roles are cleverly designed to trigger different effects every time they appear.
In general, the supporting roles of the "complex link" can be divided into two categories, namely "clue characters" and "villains".
By mining iconic clue characters, you can share their unique resources.
For example, Iron Man's father Howard Stark first appeared in "Iron Man 2".
When the audience watched "Captain America", they were pleasantly surprised to find that Team America was actually the product of serum vaccination in the "American Super Soldier Program" hosted by Tony's father.
The vibranium shield, the iconic weapon of the American team, was also created by Howard, one of the core founders of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Invincible, Dr. Selvig's first appearance on the screen was "Thor 1", and the direction of astronomy research is related to the Cosmic Rubik's Cube, so it is natural to become a clue character that drives the storyline in "Avengers 1".
Although he is a supporting character, he helps to save the superheroes at the most critical moment and solves the crisis caused by the villain Loki.
Among the second key supporting villain, the big boss Thanos is the most representative - but he is not a pure bad guy in the traditional sense.
When the film portrays this character, although the image is somewhat ugly, the purple skin is often jokingly called "big purple potato" by the audience.
But in terms of the character's motivation and behavior, he doesn't make him evil.
On the contrary, his existence, although the greatest threat to the "Avengers", is very different from the protagonist in thought and behavior.
But at the beginning of "Avengers 4", after Thanos completed his mission, he watered the land and planted vegetables on a planet alone, like an ordinary person living in retirement.
This is in stark contrast to the previous image of holding five rough stones flying and destroying the sky and the earth, which further deepens the audience's understanding of the character of Thanos.
In addition, before this, he did everything to achieve his goal, even at the expense of his adopted daughter Camorra, in exchange for the soul gem.
But when Camorra was sacrificed, this villain who looked like a "straight man of steel" would actually have tears, even the tears of a crocodile, but it moved the audience.
In the last "Endgame" of "The Reunion Column", when the last Thanos is about to be annihilated, he does not look angry, but walks alone to a clearing, silently waiting for death to come, and his lonely back echoes the beginning and end.
These are enough to prove that Thanos, as a villain, his inner world is rich and real.
This also makes his speech and action motives appear more logical and reasonable, and enhances the audience's sense of identity.
05 Origin of contradiction
One of the narrative methods commonly used in movies is this causal mode. This structure of a single-line narrative that uses time as a clue includes the origin, climax of development, and end of contradictions.
This pattern seems a bit stylized, but it fits well with the theme of superhero movies.
In this type of film, catharsis in the story is one of the main selling points of the film.
It is this emotional venting function generated by the narrative structure promoted by cause and effect, and the logical relationship of this narrative structure is very tight, which can constantly grab the audience's attention and care about the development of the plot.
The conflict that accompanies the confrontation intensifies, the final conflict breaks out, the story reaches its climax, the villain is usually defeated by the protagonist in the end, and in the end evil will finally be defeated by justice, and the audience can also be emotionally released in the process.
For example, in "Iron Man 1", the protagonist Tony appears as the owner of Stark Arms Company, and sits on champagne beauties to gamble in the casino.
But soon after the opening, Tony's group, who was on an expedition to the Middle East, was ambushed by terrorists, and the soldiers responsible for protecting him died, and he himself was shot and captured.
When his life was in danger, he was rescued by scientist Ethan and helped him design the steel suit and escape from the terrorist base camp through hardships.
After returning to the company, Tony discovers that his partner Stanley is ambitious to become a villain and take control of the Steel suit.
Finally, in the factory Tony and Steiney fight to the death, defeating it and winning the decisive battle, the story ends here.
The storytelling of the film only uses the main narrative line of the protagonist Tony from beginning to end, and there are no other sub-lines interspersed in the middle, and the entire story space is not open.
Although such a story line seems thin, it can firmly grasp the emotions of the audience in the advancement of the plot, and in the development of the ups and downs in the plot, the contradictions between the opposing sides in the film gradually intensify and then break out into conflict.
In the end, good defeats evil, and the audience gets good emotional mobilization and emotional catharsis in it.
To some extent, this model follows the genre narrative pattern common in American Westerns, but in "complex column" films.
From a simple single-handed "cowboy of the west" defeating the vicious bandits, it has become a group portrait of "superheroes" collectively fighting against evil forces to defend the earth.
In the accelerating pace of society, the public feels the pressure from all aspects of life and work, and various emotions gather together to find a breakthrough, and the audience is undoubtedly very buying of this fast-food-style emotional catharsis mode.
Therefore, in terms of cathartic emotions, the "complex link" film chose the correct narrative mode and successfully captured the needs of the audience.
I thought about what I thought in my heart, so I could achieve a double harvest at the box office and word of mouth.
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