Marvel Is Better When It Gets Real About Society and Politics

Marvel is better when it focuses on real-life issues of society and politics. That seems to be the growing sentiment amongst Marvel fans who are tuning into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and discovering that the new series isn’t shying away from some of the most hot-button societal topics of the last years. Episode 2 of Falcon and the Winter Soldier went even deeper into the issue of race and the history of black characters in the Marvel universe, and how they related to the struggles of people of color today. And fans seem to be behind it. Clearly, Marvel doesn’t just have to offer escapist fantasy – and there’s definitely a proud history of the franchise doing more.

We’ve already done an extensive breakdown on the 2000s Marvel Comics miniseries Truth: Red White & Black and how it is shaping some of the more powerful moments of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. That includes the story of the Black Captain America, Isaiah Bradley, at a time when that story couldn’t be more timely. The legacy of how black people have been treated by America (and history) is raging harder than ever – and the vaccination anxieties over the medical community’s past treatment of POC felt all too alive in Isaiah’s tormented monologue. Between that scene, and a scene of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) receiving very different treatment during a police encounter, Marvel hasn’t been the usual “escape” fans are used to. Even WandaVision took on themes of grief and mental illness that felt both bold and timely in a year where isolation, loss, and the resulting negative feelings were at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

And yet, it’s often the case that fans and/or trolls insist that Marvel ‘shouldn’t get political’ or adopt the talking points of ‘social justice warriors.’ But that’s an easy attitude to have when you’re simply commenting on initiatives in the comics (see: the LGBTQ+ Captain America about to debut) – it a much harder argument when Marvel is generating socio-political discourse on a weekly basis, on a massive mainstream platform. It’s also a pretty confusing claim to make in the first place, as quite a few Marvel concepts and characters were born directly out of socio-political realities of their day.

That includes Captain America and the X-Men – the latter of which would be seemingly impossible to launch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe without including the core themes of discrimination and bigotry. Is it a coincidence that the X-Men, Marvel’s most pronounced socio-political franchises are also one of its most popular? Maybe people just want something real to ground their fantasy. You could even make that argument for Marvel movies: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War are overtly political in theme – and Taika Waititi managed to marry a serious rumination on the dark history of nationalism into a comedic action blockbuster. Each of those projects was more popular and successful than their less serious predecessors – so again, is it a mere coincidence? Because there is definitely room to argue there’s a common correlation…

Marvel Studios is clearly using these Disney+ series to affect things blockbuster movies cannot, and it’s good to see that fans are by and large welcoming that more serious-minded material. After all the 2020 lockdowns, it would be easy to make a profit off giving fans anything but something serious to think about.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is now streaming on Disney+ every week.