Not So Secret Identity

Alright so this is my first post for the Hungry Dog blog and I want to see this thing get off the ground. I thought that it would be best if I did not write about sports or a movie review, and give this blog a bit of a refresher for potential readers who are not into sports. So obviously those that are not interested in sports must be interested in two things movies and Superheroes. This is a big summer for Superhero movies with the Avengers which came out in May (which if you have not seen yet you need to Figure it out and probably go check your lawyer), and July will see the releases of the highly anticipated The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most daring, and most successful film franchises in history. With the exception Iron Man 2 all the films so far have been your basic Superhero Origin story with your basic formula of white male goes through drastic physical changes, at first struggles with those changes, and then embraces their identity as a superhero. However there is something Marvel has done without directly stating it that gives their movies a twist and breaks away from the Superhero formula to give us something fresh and exciting. They have successfully abolished the secret identity. Before Marvel decided to make this change almost every Superhero movie pointed out that they must keep their real identity a secret so that their friends and family will be safe. It also gave us for sub-plots for characters to find out the identity of a hero and exploit it. However no one in the Marvel movies keep their identities a secret. Sure all besides Thor have duel identities Iron Man is Tony Stark, The Hulk is Bruce Banner, Captain America is Steve Rodgers, Black Widow is Natasha Romanoff, and Hawkeye is Clint Barton, but nobody keeps these identities a secret except for the latter two but they are agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. and not technically superheroes and did not have their own independent movies. Tony Stark flat out admitted he was Iron Man, Cap never tried to make his identity of Steve Rodgers hidden during WWII, and fights without his mask for a portion of the final battle, Bruce Banner is one of the most wanted men in the world because of the destruction the Hulk has caused so it would make sense for his identity to be public knowledge, and Agent Coulson is tricked into thinking that Thor’s actual name is Donald Blake by Erik Selvig, but Thor never personally assumes that identity in both his movie and the Avengers. So by now your probably saying, “Great observation Pat, you are so smart and clever and most likely handsome, but how does this actually effect the Marvel Movies.” First off thank you, you are too kind, and second off it does a great deal to the movies. The secret identity of a hero can dictate the tone of a film. The main reason that the Dark Knight was able to explore such dark and edgy themes which results in a dark and edgy tone of the film is because Bruce Wayne does not suffer the consequences of Batman. It is all about responsibility, Batman was tested and put to the limit by the Joker, and even after he apprehended the Joker he took responsibility for the crimes of Harvey Dent. Batman is responsible for all of his crimes, and the crimes of another, and do you know who is not responsible for these crimes? Bruce Wayne, thats who. Nobody is calling for the capture and trial of Bruce Wayne because they have no clue he is the Dark Knight. However a villain like the Joker who pushes the hero to the absolute brink could not work for a Marvel movie because the public in those films would hold the person and not the hero responsible. Instead of Iron Man having to chose between saving either Pepper or Rhodie it would be Tony having to make that choice. So naturally the Marvel movies are going to be more rooted in comics and have a lighter tone. Not having a secret identity also changes the movies because there is no pressure on the hero to live a dual life, where the superhero has to juggle being a normal life to blend into society, and their superhero hype. This allows for newer and fresher story lines to be present in the movies. You will not see any Peter Parker story lines where the hero has to go to job at the Daily Bugle, go to school, deliver pizzas, and visit Aunt May while trying to find the time to be your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Being a hero will be these peoples full time job, and it seems that the pressures of being a superpowered human will come from feeling alone and alienated from society. Almost no one is on Tony Starks intellectual level, Steve Rodgers knows nobody, Bruce Banner has to deal with his dark side and stay away from society on the whole, and no matter how humiliated Thor gets he will still have a bit of a God-Complex on Earth. So I think that the isolation will drive these characters to re-consider their career choices. I think it would be a good idea for Marvel to write it in by the second Avengers to have the heroes give up their lives as heroes, so that their will be a challenge to again in the second movie. So how will the abolishment of a secret identity come into play in the future Marvel movies? Well I can only hypothesize but here it goes: Tony Stark/Iron Man: well his ego has always been huge but since becoming Iron Man its has soared and I cannot help but think that it will have grown even considerably since the Avengers so he needs to be brought down a peg and humbled and a way to do this is to attack Tony Stark and not Iron Man Thor: Well Thor is tough since he is just Thor and his interaction with humanity is limited but I would like to see a love triangle develop between Sif in Asgard, and Jane Foster on earth. This would cause tension between Thor’s God-complexed attitude in Asgard, and his new found humility on Earth. Bruce Banner/Hulk: I am not sure with Hulk either and he may not get another movie but be present in the other movies. The extent to which Bruce can control the Hulk is still unclear because he was seen as not being able to control it, and then being able to control it. However going on the last time we saw the Hulk, I will guess his story will be his insights as an observer of society and his disillusion with humanity which will anger him, as well as being able to use the Hulk for good instead of mindless violence. Steve Rodgers/Captain America: I am most excited for this one because Steve is going to have to struggle with the fact that he does not know a single soul on the planet, but everyone knows who he is. The most popular guy in the country will have to deal with being also incredibly alone and secluded from society and how he deals with that will make an interesting movie. Stay Hungry My Friends