Marketing Characters With Star Power Is Nothing New, But Now The Stars Are Their Characters

You want to be a superhero. You want to be Iron Man flying through the sky. You want to be Captain America beating up bad guys. You want to manipulate objects with the twist of your hand like Scarlet Witch.

You’ll notice these are not questions. Because it’s true of most people, I think. Those characters are power fantasies. It’s one reason people like superhero movies.

And after watching Captain America: Civil War at Countryside Mall, I thought about something. And that is that some actors really do get to be—in a way–a superhero. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man. I can’t even consider someone else in the role anymore.

It’s just him. His image is now tied to the marketing machine of Marvel. He has become Iron Man, in our hearts and minds.

Which is fascinating. Sure, other actors are well-known for being one specific role in film history, but this is different.

The Marvel Marketing Machine Is Vast And Always Expanding

Once you sign up as a Marvel person – you’re Marvel. For a long time. Claimed by the canon. And with the constant crossovers of actors and storylines like the one in Civil War, you could show up anywhere. You exist in many movies and are expected to stay your character.

Imagine if anyone else was Black Widow but Scarlett Johansson? You’d reject it!

And I wonder if the actors are okay with that? With being part of the marketing for years to come? To only be able to leave the Marvel world by having their characters killed.

And in the world of comics, even sometimes that isn’t enough to leave your story.

If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work on The Hive, or at his website: www.coolerbs.com