Hey, That’s My Cape! – Does Marvel Need A “Big Three?”
DC’s Trinity are certainly their most easily recognizable icons outside our little book club but who are Marvel’s “Big Three” and do they really need one?
I dive into that very topic in this week’s Hey, That’s My Cape! at Newsarama. Head on over there to read my thoughts and join the discussion!
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Going by the money Marvel spends on projects, you might have to put the FF in the number 2 or 3 slot as a single entity. 2.5 movies, 4 (or is it 5?) cartoon series over the years. They are number 2 behind Spidey in pimpage.
Hi Jill.
As far as the movies go, that image of Cap, Thor, and Iron Man is probably what Marvel has in mind as its "Trinity." Marvel's biggest properties for sure are Spider-Man and the X-Men, but the movie rights for both belong to other movie studios, whereas Iron Man and the other aforementioned characters get to be produced in-house. This fracturing of their property makes it difficult to make a concerted effort to promote, say, Spidey, Wolvie, and Tony as their main characters via movie crossovers. DC hasn't made any modern movie about The Trinity (as far as I'm aware), but the possibility remains–and the result would be tremendous in capable hands.
I don't really think Marvel has–or even wants–a trinity of icons; they're willing to try and turn any of their characters into stars, though they definitely have had cash-cows in Spider-Man and Wolverine for decades.
DC's Trinity is made up of the first superhero, one of the very next superheros, and the first prominent female superhero. I think of their special distinction over the other popular DC guys like Flash and Green Lantern as being historical. A DC history buff may corroborate or obviate any of my claims.