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Writer's pictureJonathan Young
May 20, 201914 min read

Understanding Media Essay

How has the use of transmedia storytelling helped influence and create new canon storylines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?


The Marvel Cinematic Universe, across both film and television, is considered the biggest and most commercially successful shared franchises in recent years, currently including 22 films and 11 television shows as of May 2019 through a continuous, interlinking narrative arc told through transmedia stories across multiple platforms. In this essay, I will be analysing the two concepts of canon and transmedia storytelling in relation to the case study of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its development over the past eleven years. I will be looking at how, through transmedia storytelling, a new canon arcs have been created alongside the primary narrative in the comics which is the MCU’s primary form of source material. Alongside this argument, I will also be analysing the potential differences that could've occurred if Marvel Studios hadn't chosen to go for a transmedia and multi-platform structure for their universe and seeing if the overall canon may have been different if the universe had been fixed to one platform. I will then reflect on what I have learnt from this analysis and whether in the future, my consumption and overall opinions of these stories will be altered.


Figure 1: Complete MCU Timeline (Hazza9425 2019)

Part 1: The Case Study –


The Marvel Cinematic Universe first began in 2008 with the release of Iron Man and the goal of this film, according to the studio, was that it worked as a standalone film but was also the starting point for the universe to come through its end credit scene which quickly set up 2012’s The Avengers and the future ‘phases’ of films to come in the next decade. This was also the first hint in the MCU that the narrative would be told across multiple films and platforms (transmedia) even though the films wouldn't be officially announced until the following year but there were more hints through character interactions placed along the way. According to Menard (2015, p.50) “A storyteller looking to craft a potential transmedia narrative should carefully craft the world in which that story exists” and phase one of the MCU did, I believe, effectively establish a potential transmedia arc which would in turn create a new canon. However, many fans see the end credit scene of Iron Man the main building blocks of the MCU as it is now:

This scene was the first instance of a post/end credits scene in any film and showed Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark returning home to find Nick Fury waiting for him. Whilst this set up The Avengers, it became a transmedia arc in the same year through the release of The Incredible Hulk where Tony Stark shows up to speak to a military general about ‘The Avenger Initiative’. The MCU chose to spread out the initial setup to give the audience enough time to get to know the characters and adding in the future story set up as either sub-plots or Easter eggs.


The Marvel Cinematic Universe didn’t expand on to other platforms until late 2013 following the worldwide success of The Avengers as it became clear that there were key narratives that couldn’t be produced as film productions. The television segment of the MCU began with the release of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D with initially dead characters from the films returning to continue their arc on a new platform which later became key plot points throughout season one of the show. The show made the audience unaware as to how important returning characters would be and, according to Flanagan, Livingstone and McKenny (2016, p.131) “Phil Coulson’s journey to a major, storied character is synonymous with the gradual textual expansion of the MCU”. This proves that Marvel had carefully laid out long term plans for all characters from the beginning as Coulson was first featured in Iron Man but by this point, the studio was unaware as to whether the MCU would even work as a franchise but the first television show only five years into the universe established that it did:

Alongside being the first instance of being a cross platform universe, this was also the first instance of a transmedia narrative as one of the first things revealed in this trailer is the return of Coulson. This is due to the fact the audience will be familiar with him by this point as he had already appeared in four MCU projects by 2013. However the audience, despite having the comics for reference, were questioning how he had returned which was also the first hint of a new canon in the universe.

However by 2016/17, the films of the MCU begun to overshadow the television shows due to the sheer quantity of characters that had been introduced and the ones that were officially slated for films as the main television shows (excluding the Netflix shows) hadn’t introduced any major, recurring characters to balance out with the films. The cross platform system didn’t have many new shows to work with as shows like Agent Carter were axed after only one season as the films were hitting their peak with 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Proctor (2013) suggests that “the Marvel story-world cannot be underestimated, so much so, that an exhaustible cataloguing would be an impossible feat”. I agree with the idea that maintaining both a film and television franchise simultaneously is a huge challenge and even something as commercially successful as the MCU is going to have the occasional problem with storytelling across more than one platform.


My first key concept for this essay links to how the stories in the MCU have changed over the past eleven years and that is canon which is any story, whether that is a film, television show or book etc. that is seen as valid in the universe and have no reason to not be included. One of the key arguments regarding canon in the MCU is whether or not the Netflix television shows including Daredevil should be considered canon alongside the films or are their own canon all together despite the fact the shows were cancelled between November 2018 and February 2019. Alongside this, the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame have raised speculation that a new canon was made due to the new timelines created during the film which will be analysed in the next section as they also impacted the transmedia storytelling format.


My second key concept is that of transmedia when in which one or more narrative arcs are told across more than one platform with each platform bringing a new aspect to the table on the universe whilst working towards the overall goal of the franchise. Jenkins (2007) stated “transmedia producers have found it difficult to achieve the delicate balance between creating stories that make sense”. This expands on my idea that Marvel deliberately waited until after 2012’s The Avengers to make the MCU transmedia, giving audience members who hadn’t seen the films before the television shows enough time to catch up with what they missed through exposition by dialogue or recaps shown before the show or on YouTube.



Part 2: Case Study Analysis –

Canon is one of the most important aspects of any expanded universe as it allows for new characters and storylines to be either introduced or connected through transmedia but there has been a constant argument since 2015 as to whether the Netflix Marvel shows are in the canon of the films or in a separate canon of their own. Even though it was the second of the Netflix shows to be distributed, Jessica Jones was the first of them to present specific transmedia connections to the films through a short scene during season 1 of the show where Jessica confronts a murderer (shown below). The main impact the films have chosen to have on the shows is through presenting the lasting effects of the battles that take place, with this Jessica Jones scene referring to The Avengers, which were the first hints given to the audience that everything is connected.


The biggest transmedia connection in this scene is through Audrey’s personal account as to what happened to her and her family during the battle of New York and the destruction she witnessed. The show’s announcement had the audience hoping that the shows and films would link together and whilst this scene supports that, there haven’t been any other major scenes such as this one. Whilst I see this as its own canon, it can be seen as a setup through transmedia for 2016’s Captain America: Civil War as the main issue for the Avengers was the damage they left behind which became a crucial plot point.


Character introductions are the key ingredient that show that that comic books the MCU is mainly based on, most recently the Infinity Gauntlet series, are in a separate canon from the films due to the changes that are made in parallel to the films. Marvel producers have stated that they started out with a five-year plan for films allowing them to figure out how to introduce key characters, most commonly through their own solo films first but this wasn't the case for Black Panther, in both the films and the comics. This character was introduced in a team up stories before his solo outing, Fantastic Four #52 in the comics and in Captain America: Civil War (see figure 2) for the films. Richter (2016) stated that, for Marvel, “everything depends on the success on the individual movies”. Despite the fact that the comics and the films are in a canon of their own, this proves that transmedia can have an effect on the universe in terms of how the canon is formed and Marvel believes that if their first plan was successful, there was limited reason to follow the comic’s method by the book.

Figure 2 – Black Panther’s First Appearance In The MCU (Trendacosta 2016)

The biggest piece of evidence showing that transmedia has been used to create new canon arcs in the MCU is that of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame as the events in the film have paved the way for a variety of different, potential stories to be told in the future. The first instance of this occurred before the film had even completed principal photography when the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, revealed that the film’s narrative was going to be an original story and not primarily based off anything from the Infinity Gauntlet comic series. This was a first for the MCU as both the audience and the filmmakers had been using the comics for reference for the previous ten years, leading to more speculation as to what the film would include. The release of the first trailers for the film’s also hinted towards the original story and futures for certain characters on different platforms and away from their comic narratives whilst not revealing any key plot points:

Avengers Endgame – Official Trailer


Transmedia and new canon arcs through Avengers: Endgame also began through another method before and after its release with the announcement of the streaming service, Disney +. Marvel Studios, currently having been a subsidiary of Disney since 2009, announced the streaming service in April 2019 along with new television shows that got audiences curious as to how certain characters would return following the events of 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, the main one being Loki. Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) was one of the first characters to die in Avengers: Infinity War (see figure 3) but due to his previous deaths in 2011’s Thor and 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, there was quick speculation that this wasn’t the last that would be seen of him. Now, following the events of Avengers: Endgame, a new timeline of the MCU was created by him by stealing the Tesseract and escaping and also preventing his future deaths. However, this was only a theory during the film’s opening week as many fans believed the narrative of his show would be displaying Loki’s influence over history. Either way, after the Russo brother’s confirmed the setting of the show as being after the events of Endgame, the transmedia arc has helped create a separate canon for both this show and the others set up during the film including Hawkeye.

Figure 3 – Loki (Tom Hiddleston) In Avengers: Infinity War (Den Of Geek 2019)

Whilst the events of the film were more focused on setting up the television shows, the ending of the film set up future arcs for both the films and the television shows for Falcon & Winter Soldier. The ending of the film showed old Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) handing the role of Captain America to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) after Steve stayed behind in the 1940’s This will create a new canon for both the future films and the television as Sam was only Captain America (see figure 4) briefly in the comics when compared to Bucky Barnes meaning the majority of the stories will either be a continuation of events from the most recent films or a completely original story again. Flanagan (2014, p.17) stated “Cap as a one-off is regularly foregrounded in the dynamic of his relations with other heroes” which would explain why Marvel chose to team Sam up with Bucky as he understands the values that Captain America held based on their previous films together e.g. 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I believe the new canon made by this transmedia story won’t just make a carbon copy of Captain America out of Sam Wilson but will still focus on the character dynamics whilst dealing with the outbreak of the most recent films.

Figure 4 – Concept Art of Sam Wilson as Captain America (Bone 2019)

Each of the newly announced Disney + shows announced in 2019 primarily feature the newer characters of the MCU, the time periods the shows are planned to be set in present that alongside Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. the MCU could become more of a cross platform franchise now that powerhouses like Iron Man are no longer involved in the films. According to Yockey (2017, p.235) “there is surprisingly little consensus regarding the qualities of a story that effectively spans media platforms”. I believe this explains why Marvel chosen to focus more on television after the film that concluded the last 11 years of films (or The Infinity Saga) but wants to keep it different for the audience by having the shows WandaVision set during the 1950’s and bringing to life favourites from the comics. This comes in the form of the What If series which will take key events from the MCU films and have occur in an alternative way throughout their animated series. I believe this will also have the largest impact on how many key canon arcs there are in the MCU as there is no plan to obtain these scenarios from the comics and this creates more opportunities for transmedia storytelling due to the wide choice of events to pick out from in the films.

Through my analysis, I believe transmedia having created new canon arcs has become more precedent in the last five years of films and television shows (phase 2 and 3) as phase 1 of the MCU was mainly made for character introductions and to set up the future phases. However, Avengers: Endgame has, without a doubt, had the largest challenge of any of these as it both had to conclude crucial character arcs but also had to create space for the Disney + shows and the eight new films that are being release by 2022 that were announced in May 2019 (with no official details as of yet).



Part 3: Reflection –

The use of transmedia storytelling has effectively laid out future plans for their films and television shows but they do seem to be moving more away from just recreating classic comic book storylines at this current time to make sure everything is concluded from phase 3 of the films, which ends with Spiderman: Far From Home. This analysis has helped me have a better understanding regarding the level of planning and dedication put into the franchise even before the first Iron Man film was distributed and why it was key for the MCU to wait become a fully cross platform franchise until after 2012 with the release of The Avengers. This makes the connection between canon and transmedia more important because if even one hadn’t been taken into consideration at the level it has, the MCU would be very different and my analysis helps explain this. Like any cross platform franchise, there are certain stories that require more time to create like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. meaning there is the possibility that this show may never have been made if the MCU wasn’t transmedia and would later effect the chosen stories for films such as 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which would have further changed the overall canon.


When looking at how I have consumed the last 11 years of Marvel media, this analysis has altered my future consumption in a few small ways, mainly regarding what stories Marvel Studios plan to develop over the next few years. Since this analysis involved figuring out what films including Avengers: Endgame set up for the future phases, I believe I will apply this to future Marvel projects as well across all platforms whilst looking back at classic comic books for potential references. Following on from this research, I will look back at the older films in the MCU to see what I may have missed the first time round to understand all the connections between the franchises.



Part 4: Conclusion –


My main argument is that essay was the idea that Marvel Studios has used transmedia storytelling to create new canon arcs and timelines across films and television shows with the key ingredients being specific character interactions and certain adapted storylines chosen from the comics. Of everything I covered in the analysis, transmedia has come into play in the biggest way with the Disney + shows with seven shows announced in bulk in April 2019 as the events of Avengers: Endgame have pushed the main MCU timeline from 2018 to 2023, opening the door for more comic characters to appear in screen in the foreseeable future.

Overall, even if the MCU hadn’t of chosen to go fully transmedia and cross-platform, I believe the franchise would’ve still had wide commercial success because, as I mentioned before, the films have begun to overshadow the television shows in terms of number of productions and key narrative arcs in the past few years, which is why Marvel is using the announcement of Disney + to their advantage. The goal of the MCU at this current time is to leave the audience with a high amount of content as they figure out their new three to five year plan without some key starts due to contact expiration’s (namely Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans. I believe the MCU has worked very well as a transmedia franchise and will continue to do so as they now have more character to work with thanks to Disney’s acquirement of Fox and their Marvel properties in 2019.



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