Since 2007 Marvel Entertainment set itself out to bring to cinemas all of the beloved superheroes from its comics in a way that had never been seen before. Of course, there were previous animated and live-action attempts to do so, but never quite matching the production values that are seen in Marvel blockbusters today.
Rewinding to the early cartoons from the 60s or the more sophisticated animated series from the 90s, all the way to the first superhero films of the 2000s -which also had Kevin Feige in producing roles-, each of those surely helped in crafting the MCU’s identity today. However, since the first Iron Man, every subsequent Marvel movie went on to be bigger in almost every way, including the music that was featured in the films.
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While the superhero movies from the early 2000s played it safe with then-current hits from contemporary bands and musical scores from the likes of Danny Elfman and John Ottman, Iron Man represents a drastic change in Marvel’s sound with Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones) bringing electric guitars and other electronic sounds into the film’s score that better compliment Tony Stark’s fondness for modern tech and classic rock. That change manifests itself from the first moment AC/DC’s “Back in Black” introduces audiences to Robert Downey Jr.’s Stark until the end credits that adequately wrap up the film by borrowing from Black Sabbath’s own “Iron Man”.
From that point onward the MCU really never looked back as far as music came, Iron Man 2 one-upped its game by not only including some songs by The Clash and AC/DC in its soundtrack but making the latter an integral part of the movie’s sound and Stark’s personality. The move would signify that both musical scores and featured songs were now more than ever in tune with every superhero’s personality and the movie’s general tone, with some space for the greatest hits available at the time, like the Foo Fighters’ “Walk” serving as Thor’s motivational anthem.
For the remainder of the MCU’s Phase One, every hero would start finding their own musical identity just like Iron Man did and this was one of the challenges Alan Silvestri faced in the first Avengers movie, the biggest MCU film up to that point, despite also scoring Captain America: The First Avenger. The MCU’s Phase Two was yet another turning point for Marvel’s superheroes to level up their musical game and there is no better showcase of this than the entire soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1.
The opening credits scene in Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 1 is certainly one of the MCU’s most iconic musical moments but the entire movie’s soundtrack, which is meant to be a symbol for Star-Lord’s links to his native planet, is a perfect example of how Marvel films narrow the generational gap for younger audiences to become acquainted with songs that were sort of lost in time since their heyday back in the 60s and 70s.
By the time Phase Three came knocking, Marvel had practically transformed superhero movies into their own genre, budgets and profits were both at an all-time high so the expenses for music royalties had to follow through. Doctor Strange introduces viewers to a new Avenger to the sound of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” and also includes clever use of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Feels So Good” to show a bit of Strange’s personality.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 repeats a lot of the same formula that was so well received to same level of success and Tom Holland’s solo introduction as Spider-Man sees the teenager web-swinger do his crime-fighting with bands like The Ramones, Rolling Stones, and A Flock of Seagulls in the background. Thor: Ragnarok only uses one classic rock hit, but it makes the best use of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” for an epic finale that’s only matched by Jack Black’s own Thor tribute.
Black Panther produced not only original songs and an accompanying album by Kendrick Lamar, it features a marvelously written score from Ludwig Göransson (The Mandalorian), which blends electronic, hip hop, and African rhythms. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel sees Carol Danvers land in a 90s Los Angeles that’s heavily loaded with hits from the decade featuring famous bands like R.E.M., Nirvana, and No Doubt.
The more recent Marvel movies have pretty much stuck with the now established trend, really big musical scores for films like Avengers: Endgame and a more personal touch for each hero’s individual story. Music is even used in Spider-Man: Far From Home as a way to bridge the gap between the late Tony Stark and a young Peter Parker who awkwardly confuses AC/DC for Led Zeppelin much to Happy Hogan’s dismay and it will probably continue to do so in the promising Spider-Man 3.
Where does it go from there? Well, Black Widow is the next solo feature for one of the Avengers and it will help to define even more the kind of identity that Marvel producers want to be associated with Natasha Romanoff. When it comes to Disney Plus exclusives, WandaVision appears to take a similar direction by using classic songs from each of the decades depicted in Wanda’s make-belief world, featuring genre-defining artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Monkees, and The Beach Boys; at the same time, Disney makes sure the show’s score is available on music streaming platforms, so expect the same for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and any upcoming Marvel series.
All in all, what Marvel Entertainment has accomplished over the past 13 years is a way to integrate music as just another vehicle to carry a superhero’s persona across the screen to fans. This not only makes for better entertainment, it also ingrains these tracks and sounds into the back of Marvel fans’ heads, it means kids that grow up watching superhero films will always remember when they saw their favorite Marvel films well into the future with just a few notes of a melody or a catchy guitar riff and that’s a really powerful thing to evoke, no matter the licensing costs for all these fantastic songs.
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