Marvel Boss is Done Using Deaths for 'Shock Value'
The Marvel Cinematic Universe in recent years has been compared to HBO’s Game of Thrones, in that fan-favorite characters are never safe from sudden deaths. 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War shocked audiences by concluding with the movie franchise’s most detrimental villain to date snapping away half of the universe with his fingers. But despite the heartbreak fans faced seeing many of their favorites disintegrate, we all knew most of them would have to be brought back to life for the next film in the series, this year’s Avengers: Endgame. This pattern of killing off characters just to have them come back down the line has become somewhat expected for both the MCU and Marvel Comics, and one person is over it.
As CinemaBlend reports, this pattern stems from the comic books which the films are based on, and Marvel Comics Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski doesn’t want it to carry on any longer.
"I don't want death to be used to boost sales or to use as a shock value so people go 'Oh my God, Johnny Storm is dead!' or 'Wolverine is dead!' knowing that they're going to be coming back," Cebulski said at a recent Swedish conference, according to ComicBook.com. "If we choose to do it now, we're going to add a little more weight and permanence to the situation."
My friend Julian would refer to it as the "Marvel Revolving Door of Death", and I tend to agree. Without meaningful, lasting consequences, death in super hero movies and comics is just for shock value, not any deeper dramatic / thematic purpose.
— Paul Chapman (@Gooberzilla) April 28, 2018
Marvel Studios certainly made some changes with Infinity War from the miniseries it’s based on, Infinity Gauntlet, however Thanos’ deadly snap, along with all the fallen heroes coming back to life in Endgame, did happen in the comics as well.
We’ll have to see if the MCU takes any inspiration from Cebulski’s call for less deaths with the franchise’s upcoming Phase 4.
This article also appears on Mental Floss.