Lest you think people have run out of things to say about Avengers: Endgame, and it’s possible we have, there are still those who believe there are more nuggets to be mined. OK, a little too cynical.
Today’s nugget comes from one of the franchise’s most venerated stars. Mark Ruffalo’s take on the Incredible Hulk has proven to be far and away the most successful (despite not yet fronting his own movie. Some still live in hope), and now, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor has proffered his own theory as to why Marvel movies have been so well-received by the public, saying:
“It’s no mistake that people are falling in love with the Marvel universe because they want to see a world that’s just… they want to see people who are fighting for the little guy and on behalf of the little guy.”
There’s one thing me and Mark can agree on. Marvel movies are popular. Very popular. You don’t need me to tell you the box office figures for Avengers: Endgame. More staggering is the cumulative figure – $22.58 billion across 23 films, an unprecedented average across that many releases. But Mark, I’m afraid that’s where our concurrence ends.
I’m not convinced people are watching Marvel movies to see heroes fighting for the little guy on behalf of the little guy, in so much as our heroes are usually fighting evil for evil’s sake. I struggle to recall a Marvel villain who didn’t have the entire world in the sights of their dastardly machinations. Marvel’s heroes aren’t fighting for an underdog, as much as fighting for everyone on the side of “good” (which does include underdogs). It’s a little esoteric.
Sorry to have bored you half to death with a bone even less consequential than most of films the studio has produced. Whatever people are watching Marvel movies for – because I often scratch my head, too – they are watching them and the movies keep rolling on.
