I believe one of the key reasons is an aspect of narrative structure that Marvel Studios has executed on better than anyone else in the history of modern blockbuster entertainment. I’m calling it Exponential Intertextuality. Brief note below.

Every time a narrative franchise adds a creative element that interacts with another film/series/game etc. in the same franchise to create meaning, it unlocks a satisfying payoff for the audience, even if it doesn’t further the central plot.

This element can be a narrative beat, an aspect of worldbuilding, or a character detail. If multiple such elements create an intertext meaning with even two other elements then an exponential effect can be unlocked relatively easily in a large narrative franchise.

That said, these elements are strongest when they also enhance causality in the narrative. The Force and the Infinity Stones are great examples - they create endless opportunities for intertextuality while also being central to the plot.

When executed well, this leads to a “network effect of meaning” and the payoff for fans increases exponentially rather than linearly as it would with conventional sequels. This is why the MCU is so far ahead and almost unassailable. It hit Exponential Intertextuality years ago, and the final moments of the recent Loki series on Disney+ are proof of the incredible narrative possibilities that open up because of it.

In my opinion, this effect is so powerful that it can and should be used in the design of new narrative universes. Audiences love seeing a grand pattern emerge since that's what often answers the big questions for them -

Why am I engaging with this story?

What is it adding to my life?

Why should I care?

Hi, I’m Prateek. Some of the things I think about (a lot), and hope to write more about soon: cinematic universes, streaming video, the metaverse, and what the creator economy means in the Indian context. If this sounds interesting, subscribe!

Subscribe now

You can also find me on twitter.

Analogous to the MVP, the MVS should be the lowest cost way you can create, test, and get validation for your superhero concept. Just like a successful MVP can change your startup's destiny, similarly, in the current entertainment landscape, a proven superhero concept is extremely valuable, even if it comes from creators who are "outside the business". The genre continues to lead demand across geographies and formats. 

Key elements of the MVS

Core Creative: Memorable name, easy to understand visual concept (a vigilante who dresses as a bat), character arc ("with great power comes great responsibility"), effective worldbuilding ("Wakanda Forever!"). High quality of execution is table stakes here.

Theme & Cultural Context: This is a big reason why some superheroes have always resonated more than others. Batman originally captured the anxieties of early 20th century America, and evolved to capture the anxieties of every decade since; the first X-Men comic book came out at the height of the Civil Rights movement; the Iron Man movies have often explored the implications of rapid technological progress, etc. So creators should ask themselves - what are some of the big things that are going to shape society in the years and decades to come? Personally, I am fascinated by the incredible progress in biotechnology.

Choice of Medium: Every medium has advantages and challenges. Films allow for spectacle, a webseries lets you get really close to characters, comics can be created by smaller teams and thus allow for the author's voice to be preserved, games create agency for the player and thus allow for near-total immersion in your fictional world, and so on. However, I believe that at the MVS stage, the choice of medium should be dictated by how much it allows you to iterate, and if it allows you to build direct relationships with fans.

Iteration & Fandom Building: An effective feedback loop is critical to superhero creation. The MCU is so successful in part because they have decades of feedback from comic book fans. This is also why starting with an expensive VFX-heavy film production has often failed to create superheroes that endure beyond the film - you have no way to build a genuinely engaged fandom till the film is already out or iterate on core creative aspects based on feedback. Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, and fan-friendly content platforms like YouTube, Webtoon, and Wattpad are possible startup-friendly alternatives.

What would you add to this framework?

Leave a comment

This is something I hope to expand on soon, so if you’re interested in this, or generally in storytelling & entertainment, hit the subscribe button below!

Subscribe now

This means finding radically new stories to tell, and new ways to tell them.

Which is probably impossible to do without engaging with complex and often contradictory forces that shape our current cultural landscape:

• Emergent behaviors on social networks

• Online-to-IRL subcultures

• The emotion-panopticon

• The gig economy

• Power and its relation to technology access

• Information flow via unusual media and hacker-punk approaches to free speech

• Privately owned mythologies

• Cultural exports and global soft-power

• Frictionless self-expression and how it’s changing notions of society, family and individual, especially in India

There are of course many, many more points of inquiry, but these are the ones that I personally find to be the most provocative and rich for narrative exploration right now. From these will emerge new plots and new protagonists - and hopefully, new living, breathing story-worlds.

However these are thorny subjects with no easy answers, and if you gaze long at the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you etc etc., but it seems like the only path towards a newer, more illuminated storytelling idiom is through the wasteland of cultural detritus. This seems like a challenging but worthwhile exploration. Now more than ever we need compelling, hopeful visions of the world and our place in it.

I intend to use this space to document some of these explorations. You can also find me on twitter.

Subscribe now