Photo Courtesy: Patrick Janicek
With the next Marvel television show, AKA Jessica Jones, slated to come out this year, the company has been keeping themselves extremely busy. In the past year they have put out two superhero films, two television shows set inside their cinematic universe and one Netflix series.
All of this content seems like a dream come true for those who love the superheros that these pieces of entertainment contain. In reality, sometimes it seems like a bit too much to keep track of.
Was this character in Avengers a small nod to the character from Daredevil, Agents of Shield, or Agent Carter? Will that cameo provide a cross over or spin-off to any of those shows just mentioned?
At its best, Marvel’s universe becomes difficult to keep track of and at its worst the whole cinematic and television universes are a downright mess.
The other difficult question is about how thoroughly a Marvel fan should watch its movies and television shows to stay on track with the story. Is it necessary to devote several days to catch up on the television series so that every little piece of what is happening in the movies makes sense?
Is it worth pulling out hair over having to sit through a particularly boring episode of Agent Carter or Agents of Shield in the hope of getting a tiny nugget that might pay off in the next Captain America movie?
Ultimately, there are better things to do than watch every single minute of every single frame of movie or television that Marvel puts out. The amount of time simply gives diminishing returns.
Marvel has put out a flood of content and for good reason. They don’t reasonably expect all of their fans to sit down and watch through all of their films and the subsequent television series that they produce, but they do hope that fans can find something that they like.
Agents of Shield finds its niche as a network drama that happens to have super powered human beings and aliens. It, as well as Agent Carter, appeal to a much wider audience because they are on ABC.
They are there for people who sit down and watch television and they provide background and context for some of the things that will be coming up in the next few Marvel movies.
Daredevil finds a completely different audience and that it okay. Its much grittier and dark than any previous Marvel property and that sets it apart for viewers looking for something a little bit more real.
It’s also on a completely different entertainment service in Netflix which also allows it to reach a completely different audience.
Marvel has saturated and strategically over saturated the super hero market but it shouldn’t be to their detriment. They have spread out the content so that there is something that almost anyone that enjoys their movies can find to watch.
This has allowed each of those shows, Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, Daredevil, and soon AKA Jessica Jones to grow a following that tends to be unique to themselves.
Some fans will watch all Marvel programming and that is totally fine, but for those with time on their hands, try them each out and then just stick with that. It may be difficult to understand each of the little cameos in the film, but at least the time spent will be enjoyable.
