The Marvel trinity

Many people put stock in trinities, whether it be religious, in film trilogies, or in this case, comics. DC probably has the best known comic trinity in Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. These three have been among their longest running, most popular, and most widely recognized characters. I should point out, this is not a direct reflection of sales. However, the average person knows who they are. Marvel considers itself to have a trinity as well, but it's certainly not as recognizable. At least not yet.

Probably the most recognizable Marvel characters are Spider-man, Wolverine, and the Hulk. Marvel considers its true trinity to be Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. The core of the Avengers. But just like the Avengers titles struggles, a few years ago these three heroes were far from the most popular titles running. But between Marvel Studios and clever revamps of all 3 books (Iron Man twice!), they are building that image.

The books have been well received, and the Iron Man movies as well. I saw an argument on a form about Marvel's trinity the other day, and I would agree that Marvel's central heroes are not very well known. I feel like this is changing.

To avoid spoiling, I'll be vague, but there is a teaser for the new Thor movie out there that got me very excited. It then dawned on me what was happening. The movies leading up to 2012's Avengers movie are Thor and Captain America, along with the Iron Man movies and the Incredible Hulk. These movies set the stage for these characters to be more household names, for the wider world to have an idea of who they are. Marvel has cleverly made their play to create icons outside of comic fandom that DC cemented so long ago. And if they're not careful, DC could lose ground with their franchises.

While Batman continues to be healthy, Superman's film franchise has been neglected, and the comics excellent but scattered. Wonder Woman suffers from many problems that would need to be resolved prior to any film possibilities. The comics have been well written and fun, but in many ways have gained no ground. So Marvel's trinity may prove to be the one of choice by the casual fan, the comic movie fan. It's an impressive move on Marvel's part that should make DC wary.