Marvel Universe
"Flame On!" - The publication of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's "Fantastic Four" in 1961 heralded the arrival of a new comics continuum - the Marvel universe. In contrast to DC comic's shiny utopian "uber-mensch", Marvel characters had 'feet of clay' - uncertain heroes for uncertain times. Try as they might to do what's right, the world seems set against them. But on they fight. And fight and fight. Etcetera.
Marvel characters are visually bombastic in their goings on, limiting early adaptations to animation. During the rush for Star Wars cash in the 70s and 80s several live action Marvel TV shows were produced but technological compromise fashioned results which were a far cry from the source material. More recently, Marvel has been riding the wave of digital film-making as it has broken through the industry. They have had much success (and some wipeouts) on the big screen building cinematic franchises which will no doubt continue for years to come.
Pictured: The friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler takes it all the way to the top in "Spider-man"(2002) - Marvel's biggest box-office bonanza.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
7/10
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jr, Sam Rockwell, Sam...
Robert Downey Jr. returns as billionaire Tony Stark in this thrilling sequel to the worldwide blockbuster. Now that his superhero identity has been re... Read more
Iron Man 2 ( Blu-ray ) (2010)
7/10
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jr, Sam Rockwell, Sam...
Robert Downey Jr. returns as billionaire Tony Stark in this thrilling sequel to the worldwide blockbuster. Now that his superhero identity has been re... Read more
Iron Man 3 (2013)
7.2/10
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Robert Down...
In his third solo adventure, Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark, the billionaire industrialist also known as armoured superhero Iron Ma... Read more
Iron Man 3 ( Blu-ray ) (2013)
7.2/10
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Robert Down...
In his third solo adventure, Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark, the billionaire industrialist also known as armoured superhero Iron Ma... Read more
Iron Man 3 ( Blu-ray ) (3D) (2013)
7.2/10
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Robert Down...
In his third solo adventure, Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark, the billionaire industrialist also known as armoured superhero Iron Ma... Read more
Jessica Jones: Season 1 (2015)
8.1/10
Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, David Tennant, Rachael Taylor, Krysten Ritter
Former superhero Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) opens her own detective agency after her superhero career comes to an end. Initially hired to inves... Read more
Logan (2017)
8.1/10
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E Grant, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Bo...
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and... Read more
Logan ( Blu-ray ) (2017)
8.1/10
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E Grant, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Bo...
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and... Read more
Man-Thing (2004)
4/10
Director: Brett Leonard
Starring: Rachael Taylor, Matthew Le Nevez, Jack Thompson
When nature fights back! Investigating a string of bizarre killings, the new Sheriff of Bywater Kyle Williams (Matt Le Nevez), begins to suspect that... Read more
Planet Hulk (2010)
6.8/10
Director: Sam Liu
Starring: Rick D Wasserman
A secret group of superhero leaders, the Illuminati, consider the Hulk an unacceptable potential risk to Earth, and rocket him into space to live a pe... Read more