I completely love the MCU. Getting to see the characters that I’ve cherished and grown up with grow to be fixtures of popular culture has been an absolute delight. Few moviegoing experiences have been extra particular to me than when Cap known as Mjolnir or when all three Peter Parkers teamed up collectively. As a comic book e-book investor, I’ve discovered myself often fascinated about the MCU and questioning which creators had the most important impression on it. From that questioning got here this text, an evaluation of all of the totally different comics that impressed the MCU and the fabulous creators who made it potential.
This article has been a real labor of affection for me and I can not thank GoCollect sufficient for giving me the chance to put in writing it. Read on to seek out out extra in regards to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the inventive individuals who helped encourage it.
Methodology
- Data round comedian e-book inspirations for numerous MCU tasks was harvested from this checklist maintained on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki.
- The comics from merchandise one have been cross-referenced with the Marvel Database wiki to find out who the writers and artists have been for every particular person comedian
- The comics have been organized right into a spreadsheet that included extra categorical data on every MCU undertaking, particularly what part it was part of and what franchise it was part of (For instance, Iron Man 2 is a part of the Iron Man franchise, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is part of the Captain America franchise, and so forth)
- Data was analyzed to find out the variety of inventive credit every particular person creator had, damaged down throughout quite a few dimensions.
Note: For essentially the most half, the information was entered into the spreadsheet in order that it matched the model of the unique checklist. For instance, the unique checklist had the Extremis storyline (Iron Man Vol. 4 #1-6) as a single merchandise as an alternative of six particular person points. Thus, it was entered as a single merchandise within the information spreadsheet
Note: For the needs of maintaining this text succinct, the graphs and analyses solely study the highest ten inventive people associated to every particular topic, with a minimal requirement of two inventive credit in an effort to be included. In the case of ties for the quantity ten spot, all tied people are listed.
High-Level Data
Breakdown By Creator
The first three individuals on this graph actually shouldn’t be a lot of a shock. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and, to a lesser diploma, Steve Ditko, are basically the godfathers of the Marvel Universe. Stan Lee in fact has essentially the most inventive credit of anyone, partially as a result of, in contrast to everybody else on this checklist, he mainly by no means labored for anybody in addition to Marvel.
Some could also be stunned that Bendis is within the quantity 4 spot, however it is sensible when one considers A. how insanely prolific he was at Marvel, and B. his function in creating and guiding the Ultimate Universe, which the MCU closely borrows from.
Roy Thomas labored on nearly each single character throughout his time at Marvel, so it solely is sensible he could be one of many largest total contributors.
Walter Simonson was the author and artist for Thor for a few years, so he basically will get double credit score for all of his work.
Sal and John Buscema and Don Heck have been basically the go-to artists at Marvel for the primary few a long time, so their affect is plain.
Jim Starlin basically owned Marvel cosmic for a number of a long time, so he benefited tremendously from the entire Guardians of the Galaxy tasks and the cosmic nature of Infinity War and Endgame.
With the potential exception of Stan Lee, no one has written Captain America greater than Mark Gruenwald, so it is sensible he could be one of many prime ten largest contributors.
Finally, Steve Engelhart was very prolific at Marvel and labored with lots of totally different characters and tales, particularly the Avengers, so it’s pure that he could be within the prime tier as effectively.
Breakdown By Writer
David Michelinie’s in depth work on Iron Man and intermittent work on The Avengers was closely leveraged for the MCU, thus incomes him a prime spot.
Doug Moench benefited tremendously from Moon Knight and Shang-Chi displaying up in Phase 4, as he wrote lots of tales for each characters.
Both Gerry Conway and J Michael Straczynski wrote lots of pivotal tales about Thor and Spider-Man, serving to to make sure their placement within the prime 10.
Jack Kirby is primarily credited as an artist, however he additionally did an amazing quantity of writing. As a consequence, he and Walt Simonson are the one individuals to seem on each the Top 10 Writers checklist and Top 10 Artists lists.
Mark Millar’s foundational function in creating the Ultimate Universe additionally ensured he would be capable of declare a prime spot.
Breakdown By Artist
Both Romita Jr and Romita Sr have been extremely prolific throughout their respective instances at Marvel, notably in relation to Spider-Man. Like the Buscema siblings, Al Milgrom was a go-to artist in Marvel’s early a long time and loved an unimaginable quantity of labor because of this. Finally, Hitch’s work on the Ultimate Universe is plain and has been often tailored for the MCU.
Breakdown By Phase
Phase 1 Breakdown
Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers
Phase 1 of the MCU was primarily characterised by origin tales. As a consequence, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who wrote nearly all of these origins, have huge affect. The identical is true for Millar, Hitch, and Bendis, as Phase 1 closely leveraged each the unique and Ultimate Universe variations of the characters’ respective origins.
Don Heck, Dennis O’Neil, and Robert Bernstein did lots of work on Iron Man tales and no character reveals up in Phase 1 extra often than Iron Man.
Larry Lieber (the brother of Stan Lee) helped to put in writing lots of the early Thor tales, so it is sensible for him to be a serious Phase 1 Contributor. Buscema was all the time a really prolific artist and had inventive credit for each single Phase 1 movie, however Iron Man.
Straczynski was arguably the architect of the trendy incarnation of Thor and the story parts he created have been closely included into the character’s eponymous first movie.
Phase 2 Breakdown
Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man
Phase 2 noticed the introduction of lots of cosmic parts within the MCU, which helped launch Starlin to the #3 spot. Unlike the primary movie, Thor: Dark World leveraged much more Simonson-era creations, making Simonson one in all Phase 2’s largest contributors.
Byrne made it into the highest ten due to his creative contributions to the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ant-Man. Lim, Friedrich, and Giffen all labored extensively in Marvel’s cosmic nook and owe the majority of their Phase 2 inventive credit to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Amongst all 4 phases, Phase 2 simply has the bottom common variety of inventive credit per creator. It can be the one part that doesn’t characteristic Brian Michael Bendis within the Top 10.
Phase 3 Breakdown
Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Spider-Man: Far From Home
Phase 3 is the one part up to now the place somebody aside from Jack Kirby claims the #2 spot. This is sensible, as Phase 3 noticed the introductions of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, the 2 biggest creations of Steve Ditko.
Bendis made his approach again into the highest 10 due to the weather of Ultimate Spider-Man that confirmed up in Spider-Man: Homecoming and numerous parts of his in depth Avengers run that popped up throughout the movies.
Phase 3’s heavy use of cosmic parts ensured Starlin remained within the prime 10, whereas the inclusion of two Avengers movies created ample alternatives for parts from Roy Thomas and Steve Engelhart’s respective runs on the Avengers title to make it into the MCU.
Phase 4 Breakdown
Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Incomplete), WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, What If…?, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (Incomplete), I Am Groot (Incomplete)
Phase 4 is the one part the place Jack Kirby and Stan Lee have an equal variety of inventive credit. Phase 4 additionally marks the primary appearances of Dan Slott and G. Willow Wilson on a prime ten checklist. Slott’s presence is because of his nearly decade-long run on Amazing Spider-Man and his phenomenal work on She-Hulk, whereas Wilson seems on account of her prolonged and unimaginable run writing Ms. Marvel
Breakdown By Franchise
Ant-Man Franchise Breakdown
Ant-Man, Ant-Man & The Wasp, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania (Incomplete)
Ant-Man has not had lots of success with solo tales, so there weren’t lots of tales the MCU might pull from in addition to the early works of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Out of all of the books that influenced the Ant-Man franchise, solely one in all them had “Ant-Man” within the title
Avengers Franchise Breakdown
Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Kang Dynasty (Incomplete), Avengers: Secret Wars (Incomplete)
Three of the Four Avengers movies are cosmic in nature and/or closely incorporate cosmic characters, so it’s not stunning that Starlin would present up within the prime ten. Bendis wrote dozens of various Avengers books through the years, so it is just pure that he would seem on this checklist as effectively.
Black Panther Franchise Breakdown
Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Incomplete)
For followers of Black Panther comics, this graph couldn’t be much less stunning. Hudlin and Priest have been the primary two writers to put in writing an ongoing sequence for the Black Panther. Jack Kirby created the character and often used him in numerous books.
Romita Jr was an artist on a kind of sequence and can be so prolific that he has drawn Black Panther in lots of totally different books.
Finally, Don McGregor wrote the acclaimed Panther Quest storyline, which was closely leveraged by each Priest and Hudlin after they have been writing their respective sequence.
Black Widow Franchise Breakdown
Black Widow
Black Widow has not often been given the highlight in Marvel Comics, so it solely is sensible that her franchise could be an amalgamation of the work of a number of totally different contributors versus the inventive imaginative and prescient of 1 or a set of people
Captain America Franchise Breakdown
Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
Jack Kirby created Captain America and was one of many solely artists to attract him for a number of a long time, so it is sensible that he would declare the highest spot.
Mark Gruenwald had an in depth run on Captain America and created USAgent, which means he benefited tremendously from the latter’s central function in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
The largest shock right here is how far down on the checklist Ed Brubaker is, exposing one of many shortcomings of the actual methodology I used.
Doctor Strange Franchise Breakdown
Doctor Strange, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
The first Doctor Strange film was an origin story, so it is sensible that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who created the character’s early tales, would declare the highest two spots.
Meanwhile, Multiverse of Madness doesn’t have a powerful foundation in any explicit funny story or set of tales. As a consequence, many of the remaining inventive credit are extremely scattered.
Eternals Franchise Breakdown
Eternals
This shouldn’t be notably stunning, as Jack Kirby created the Eternals and the eponymous movie was based on Kirby’s interpretation of the characters.
Guardians of the Galaxy Franchise Breakdown
Guardians Of The Galaxy, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Incomplete), I Am Groot (Incomplete)
While Starlin is the most important architect of Marvel’s cosmic nook, he isn’t the one one. Keith Giffen wrote lots of cosmic tales, together with the transcendent Annihilation occasion that set the stage for lots of recent cosmic tales.
The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have liberally borrowed from totally different cosmic tales, resulting in very diffuse inventive credit.
Hawkeye Franchise Breakdown
Hawkeye
As the creators of Kate Bishop, Jim Cheung and Allen Heinberg have been capable of declare the highest spots for Hawkeye. Like the Captain America franchise, the Hawkeye franchise does present a few of the limitations of the chosen methodology.
The Hawkeye sequence closely borrowed from Matt Fraction’s acclaimed run on the Hawkeye comedian, however this graph does not likely seize that.
Hulk Franchise Breakdown
Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (Incomplete)
The Hulk franchise might be the weirdest franchise of all. It has the longest hole between entries and the 2 entries couldn’t be extra totally different.
The Incredible Hulk was largely a by-the-numbers action-adventure story set within the earliest days of the then-fledgling cinematic universe.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, however, is an off-the-walls meta-comedy that happens after greater than a decade of prior storytelling.
Stan Lee claims the highest spot because the creator of each Hulks.
Iron Man Franchise Breakdown
Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Ironheart (Incomplete), Armor Wars (Incomplete)
Iron Man is probably essentially the most easy franchise there may be. Every single individual listed on this graph had an in depth run on a flagship Iron Man comedian.
The Marvels Franchise Breakdown
Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, The Marvels (Incomplete)
Almost each single Ms. Marvel story has been written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Adrian Alphona, whereas the MCU’s model of Carol Danvers clearly takes its biggest inspiration from Kelly Sue DeConnick’s run with the character.
Moon Knight Franchise Breakdown
Moon Knight
Moon Knight has had lots of extraordinarily totally different takes and interpretations through the years. Rather than concentrate on anybody particular person interpretation, the present discovered a approach to masterfully combine all of them collectively.
As a consequence, no one aside from Doug Moench (who wrote the character’s early tales) actually has a leg up in inventive credit.
Shang-Chi Franchise Breakdown
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
This graph is actually only a checklist of people that have written Shang-Chi solo tales.
Spider-Man Franchise Breakdown
Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Freshman Year (Incomplete)
As the creators of Spider-Man, it is sensible that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko would declare the highest 2 spots. Bendis is available in at #3 due to his in depth tenure writing Ultimate Spider-Man.
Sara Pichelli seems for the same motive, however she is farther down on the checklist as a result of she was not the one Ultimate Spider-Man artist, whereas Bendis was successfully the one Ultimate Spider-Man author. Conway was the primary common author of Amazing Spider-Man after Stan Lee and wrote dozens of different Spidey tales through the years.
Quesada made it on the checklist as a result of No Way Home closely leveraged One More Day, the terrible story Quesada insisted needed to be informed.
Thor Franchise Breakdown
Thor, Thor: Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Loki, Thor: Love & Thunder
Simonson didn’t write Thor greater than Stan Lee, nor did he draw Thor greater than Jack Kirby. He is, nonetheless, the one individual on this checklist who did each. As a consequence, he claims the highest spot.
WandaVision Franchise Breakdown
WandaVision
WandaVision borrows from lots of totally different Scarlet Witch and Vision storylines through the years and, because of this, doesn’t have lots of inventive credit from any explicit creator.
What If…? Franchise Breakdown
What If…? Season 1
What If…?, by its very nature, shouldn’t be constructed round a specific character or story and, consequently, doesn’t have any creators notably answerable for it.
Issues And Opportunities
In order for any of this data to be helpful, it is very important perceive the varied points and limitations which can be at play. Otherwise, it will grow to be perilously simple to attract conclusions that the information can not substantiate.
First, it is very important do not forget that there was no weighting performed as part of this evaluation. Amazing Fantasy #15 and Marvel Comics Presents Vol. 1 #19 are each listed as inspirations for Spider-Man: Homecoming. The significance of the previous to the general movie is vastly better than the latter, however that nuance shouldn’t be mirrored wherever within the information.
Furthermore, the inventive course of is an extremely nebulous one and credit score shouldn’t be all the time equally distributed. Brian Michael Bendis performed a far greater function within the creation of Miles Morales than Sara Pichelli, however are credited equally right here. How precisely to account for and/or mitigate these points shouldn’t be clear and would probably contain including vital complexity to the evaluation. Were I to conduct this evaluation once more or work to broaden it, I’d most likely strive to determine the weighting drawback in addition to extra closely analysis every particular person movie to find out the importance of anybody particular person comedian.
Conclusion
I hope you loved the article and located the evaluation attention-grabbing. I really like conducting these sorts of deep dives into information and would like to do it extra. If that’s one thing you have an interest in, ensure to go away a remark letting me know what you have an interest in and share the article with others. So, till subsequent time, face entrance True Believers and make mine Marvel!
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*Any perceived funding recommendation is that of the freelance blogger and doesn’t symbolize recommendation on behalf of GoCollect.
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