Chapter 802: An Unblinking Killing Machine

Following the solid success of their previous four films, Marvel Comics and Marvel Pictures were brimming with confidence. Perhaps it was more fitting to say that "no film franchise is as ambitious as Marvel." Through post-credits scenes in every movie, they constantly reminded audiences that all these superheroes coexisted in a single universe. Just how vast and wondrous would the scope of that universe turn out to be?

Something known as the Marvel Great Law was undeniably taking shape.

At the end of May, Duke brought all the Avengers to the premiere of Thor. As an adaptation centered on a second-tier Marvel hero, the film still drew the attention of countless fans. The recent greenlighting of The Avengers made this solo outing all the more prominent, pushing the Marvel Great Law to its absolute limit.

In its three-day opening weekend, Thor—a character who had never been particularly prominent or popular in Marvel Comics—pulled in a staggering $78.09 million at the North America box office. Even though word of mouth was not spectacular, the film still drew massive crowds.

Perhaps Thor himself seemed a bit dull, but the villain Loki possessed astonishing personal charisma. With the film's release, Tom Hiddleston became an overnight sensation, driving audience anticipation for Loki's performance in The Avengers to new heights.

Piggybacking on the hype generated by the aggressive marketing for The Avengers, Thor raked in $150 million in North America in just ten days, and its global box office surpassed $250 million. It could already be called a resounding success.

For a movie without a single A-list star attached, achieving such brilliant results in such a short timeframe was nothing short of a minor miracle in Hollywood.

But for Marvel films, this had already become the norm.

In the past, franchise films were primarily built around their core creative teams—the directors, actors, and screenwriters. Take the first three Superman movies, for example. The directors were Richard Donner and Richard Lester, while the scripts were largely penned by David Newman and Mario Puzo. Most importantly, audiences simply could not imagine another actor replacing Christopher Reeve as Superman—so after Reeve's accident, no one made a Superman movie for years.

Now, in Marvel's superhero films, the indispensability of the lead actors had dropped significantly. A few years prior, Tobey Maguire felt his worth had skyrocketed after starring in Spider-Man and demanded that the studio raise his salary to $20 million. Sony Columbia Pictures simply responded that for a character who spent two-thirds of the movie wearing a mask, recasting the actor would take minutes. In the end, Tobey Maguire had to swallow his pride and drop the demand.

Even though Captain America star Chris Evans had signed a six-picture deal with Marvel, and Sebastian Stan had signed on for a staggering nine films as the Winter Soldier, both men were replaceable. Recasting the entire roster to explore the past relationship between Professor X and Magneto—as X-Men: First Class had done—was always a viable option.

While recasting a lead actor was a last resort, the unique draw of individual stars within the Marvel Universe films had been reduced to a barely noticeable degree. Fans often struggled to remember exactly who starred in which superhero movie. What they did remember was how the film connected to previous ones, and how the relationships between the heroes had evolved.

Particularly under Duke's recommended approach of prioritizing world-building, the actors were no longer the soul of these superhero films; they had become mere outward shells. With their indispensability reduced, the development of superhero movies would no longer be restricted by an actor's departure. Instead, the franchise could adapt more freely to market demands, allowing the story to grow organically.

Across the entire franchise, as long as a character proved popular, they could be expanded into a new universe of their own—even if they were originally just a second- or third-tier hero.

Of course, the success of Thor was not solely due to the Marvel Great Law; it also benefited from the film's outstanding digital effects.

The rapid advancement of digital effects was undoubtedly one of the key guarantees allowing Duke and Marvel Comics to bring their grand master plan to life.

In the 1970s and 1980s, practical effects and props were the wings that allowed sci-fi films to soar. Entering the 21st century, computer-generated imagery completely took over visual effects production, completing the Hollywood film industry's upgrade and allowing technology to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with creativity.

Today's technologies—3D, IMAX, Dolby Atmos, high frame rates, and motion and facial capture—were even better equipped to unleash the unbridled imagination found in comic books. After years of bitter struggle, Marvel Comics had finally welcomed the digital technology that could transform two-dimensional drawings into live-action films, letting imagination leap onto the big screen.

Driven by producers like Duke, alongside various technological and commercial interests, superhero films became the perfect models for digital technology. Different styles of cinematic spectacles took turns on the screen, taking audiences on a rollercoaster ride that flew from one climax to the next.

Would audiences eventually grow tired of superheroes? The answer was absolutely yes, just as they had grown tired of western cowboys, musical stars, robots, and aliens.

In the long-term vision drafted by Duke and Marvel Pictures, there were already tentative plans for movies ten years down the line. Would the next generation still fanatically chase after the superhero universe? Would this world-building-centric approach ultimately stray too far from the art of storytelling?

Duke did not know the answers to these questions; only the future could tell.

As contemporary myths, as long as profit existed, superhero stories would surely continue to be told—right up until society and culture themselves underwent sweeping changes. Duke knew very well that commercial interests had shaped superheroes, and societal needs had bestowed them with godhood.

Whether it was Superman, Batman, Iron Man, or Spider-Man, they were all ultimately just projections of the real world in another parallel universe.

The arrival of The Avengers also meant that the Marvel Universe films were entering their second phase. In this phase, superhero movies would no longer just be about individual heroes showing off on screen. Marvel's entire cinematic lineup would interweave, forming a nearly realistic societal landscape that allowed their roster of superheroes to live, fight, clash, and cooperate together.

Duke's layout for the entire Marvel slate was already incredibly clear. In terms of stylistic direction, for instance, the Thor series would focus on gorgeous high fantasy; the Iron Man series would lean into the wealthy playboy and high-tech angles; the Captain America series would likely continue its grounded, realistic tone; and the already-scheduled Guardians of the Galaxy would dive into a hilarious comedic style almost untouched by previous superhero films...

In the future, the superhero world would only grow more expansive and realistic—and potentially, much darker and more chaotic.

By July, when all the prep work for The Avengers was in full swing, Thor's cumulative North America box office was nearing $230 million, and its global haul had surpassed $450 million.

The latest San Diego Comic-Con had also kicked off in San Diego. As a crucial promotional battleground for Hollywood, Marvel Pictures certainly was not going to miss the grand event.

On the opening day of the San Diego Comic-Con, Duke led all of Marvel's main cast members into the Marvel Comics exhibition area.

The media reporting live on the scene immediately described the promotional event with the headline: "Avengers All-Star Lineup Debuts at Comic-Con, A Massive Gathering of Superheroes."

At the Marvel Comics panel that day, facing an audience of nearly ten thousand comic lovers and movie fans, S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Samuel Jackson took the stage. He introduced the super-cast of The Avengers, slated to meet audiences in 2012: "Agent Coulson" Clark Gregg, "Black Widow" Scarlett Johansson, "Thor" Chris Hemsworth, "Captain America" Chris Evans, "Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr., "Hawkeye" Jeremy Renner, and "Hulk" Mark Ruffalo.

At the same time, Marvel also unveiled the film's first batch of posters at the convention, revealing the new looks of the six Avengers for the very first time.

"When we were shooting our costume photos, 'Thor' gripped his Divine Hammer, 'Captain America' had his Shield, 'Hawkeye' was equipped with his bow and arrow, 'Iron Man' hovered above us, and the 'Hulk' was massive enough to instantly crush everyone," Scarlett said during an interview, seemingly a bit indignant. "I was the only one left holding two little handguns. But the stylist immediately comforted me, 'Those guns are an absolute perfect match for you! You look exactly like an unblinking killing machine!'"

Compared to the undivided focus of his cast, Duke had his attention pulled away by other work while preparing for The Avengers.

This month, he also attended the premiere of Transformers 3. Ever since Michael Bay took the helm, the franchise had already reached its third installment. Even though its word of mouth was not quite as rock-solid as the first film's, its commercial performance remained sufficiently dazzling. The second movie had grossed over $350 million in North America and hauled in over $1 billion globally.

Michael Bay himself had relied on this franchise to completely shake off his past slump, fighting his way back into the ranks of Hollywood's A-list commercial directors.

The franchise had always maintained close ties with China, repeatedly setting new box office records in the Chinese market. In the third film, revenue just from Chinese commercial sponsorships exceeded $30 million.

Transformers 3's commercial momentum showed no signs of slowing down. It seized over $130 million in its opening weekend in North America, while simultaneously hauling in more than $400 million across nearly a hundred global markets where it premiered.

Those once-fictional mechanical lifeforms had become a global pop culture phenomenon.

Duke felt perfectly at ease when it came to Transformers. It was a thoroughly commercialized franchise, making Michael Bay the absolute perfect fit for the director's chair. If they had listened to those so-called professionals and forced Optimus Prime and Megatron to constantly engage in philosophical reflections or ponder the meaning of existence, the series would have rotted away entirely.

Beyond keeping an eye on Transformers, Duke poured even more of his energy into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The film had already finished its theatrical run in North America, and both he and Warner needed to pull a lot of strings to prevent certain parties from siphoning off too much of the profits that belonged to them.