Article #1

The Independent Article

Are Television Superhero Dramas Just Marketing Tools?

The main point of this article is that the television superhero dramas of recent aren't simply television shows. They're marketing and merchandising opportunities. A total of seven Marvel shows are going to be on T.V. and online by next year. All of which will be set in the same universe as the films. D.C.s television series (three in total), however, won't be set in the D.C. film universe. Although 'Arrow' and 'The Flash' have planned cross-overs. "...an existing world tied into a lucrative movie franchise with almost limitless spin-off opportunities. The TV series can reference the movies and the movies can speak to the TV series." The article also talked about how many films have been released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe already: Ten so far with the first release, Iron Man, in 2008 and the latest, Guardians Of The Galaxy, in the summer of 2014. Marvel have five more films planned for the next couple of years alone, starting with Avenger: Age Of Ultron in May 2015. However, Hughes points out that "...all the synergy in the world can't disguise lazy programming." She feels that just because the audience is lining up at the cinema, they shouldn't put on TV too, only minus the charisma and half the budget. She starts to wrap up the article by telling us that not every superhero drama is doomed to fail, using 'Arrow' as an example. She ends by saying "The trouble with too many television superhero dramas is that they put the cape before the story. It's no good that your heroes can fly if you don't make us care about their conversations." 

I agree with the article, but to a point. This is because I watch (and will watch) most of these programs and enjoy them immensely. However, programs like 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' support the main argument of the article; its marketing and merchandising over clever writing and direction executed in a way that not only pleases the fan-boys, but the general audience. To me, having the programs in the same cinematic universe is just an added bonus. It allows for the narrative to be sculpted into something more complex. A little research shows that 27 feature films are to be released between 2015 and 2020 (a few of which are only rumored); and that's just for D.C. and Marvel.