By 
Welcome back to Flickchart’s Countdown to Doomsday, an article series where we tick down each era of Marvel cinema as we head towards the MCU’s big multiverse clash in Avengers: Doomsday. We are looking at all the films, the progress of superhero cinema, and speculating as to what characters and references will appear in what might be the biggest superhero movie mashup of all time.
Last time, we examined the nascent efforts to adapt Marvel Comics onto the big screen, and why they failed. After one massive dud and three movies that didn’t even get an American release, it looked like Marvel movies were destined to be a joke. How much brand damage could happen before accepting fate? Yet luckily (depending on who you ask), this was not to be the end of Marvel’s forays into movie-making. And despite decades of false starts, cheap films, and looking with envy at the success of Superman and Batman movies, the spark remained to bring some of the most famous comic book characters to life. Come 1998, everything changed.
Come with us as we dive into the late 90s and early 00s where the future of blockbuster filmmaking was decided.
Era Two: The Modern Age Begins
Marvel’s second period would be night and day from the rough start that came before. While this era was not without struggles, filmmakers finally figured out how to hit the right tone to make these characters work on the big screen. That, and studios allocated serious budgets to these movies. It would become clear, though, that money wasn’t everything.
There is no denying that the ability to hire talented actors, directors, and create cutting-edge special effects were central to the success of this era, and led to serious box office numbers for the superhero movie. Of course, Warner Bros. had already been doing this with Tim Burton‘s highly successful Batman series, carving the path forward for confident investment into the genre. Where Batman ran, Marvel could fly, or web-swing as it were. The big-budget success of Marvel’s flagship characters of Spider-Man and The X-Men signaled a sea change in the industry.
All the same, not all was roses and butterflies. There were a few notably weaker efforts, and monetary success motivated studios to start churning out movies left and right, leading to the third era of Marvel movies. For comic fans, despite higher-quality filmmaking, there were varying approaches to comic book authenticity. One could tell there was still some embarrassment about the subject matter, and there were attempts to tone down the more outlandish qualities of the source material. There are varying thoughts on whether this was a smart idea, but the battle between being overly seriousness or overly silly would be ongoing.
When we last left our story, Marvel had just had a movie completely canned to avoid embarrassment and damage to the brand. Whether that was a truly necessary decision, it did reveal a changing approach to their adaptations and that guys like Avi Arad (Marvel Studios founder and major producer for most Marvel movies at the time) saw the potential for more. This potential was cemented in 1996 with the creation of Marvel Studios.
Marvel had already created one film company back in 1993, and was successful in optioning rights for animated TV shows in the early 90s. But with the lack of success on the movie front, they needed a new tack. Thus, Marvel closed the first company, and with personal investment from Arad and Issac Perlmutter, Marvel Studios obtained the necessary start-up capital to begin again.
Their goal was simple: pre-production would be controlled by Marvel Studios where a singular creative team could commission scripts, hire a director and cast, and take the fruits of this work and sell it to a larger studio for production and distribution. This would help preserve the quality of the art while getting around their inability to fully finance production. 20th Century Fox was an early studio open to this arrangement, having already struck deals with Marvel for particular characters, and it forged a seven-year agreement with Marvel.
Troubles arose as Marvel Entertainment Group was forced to declare bankruptcy in December 1996. Overall problems in the comics industry came to a head, leaving Marvel with lots of work to resolve their massive financial issues. This resulted in some projects being canceled and Marvel Studios losing bargaining power. Marvel was forced to option off a massive chunk of their character rights to aid in recovering from bankruptcy.
The result?
Their character’s film rights scattered to almost all the major studios. This would make for a very long road for the rights to find their way back to Marvel Studios. Some of Marvel’s desired projects were never made as a result, such as a Namor movie.
The bright side was Marvel Studios now had many lines in the water for film production. Surely, with deals for their famous characters like Spider-Man or Wolverine, one of their golden boys could change their fate.
Their fate did change. Yet it came from an unlikely source: Blade.
Prior to this film debuting, Blade was a C-tier character at best. He was a somewhat goofy remnant of Blacksploitation stereotypes, fanatically fighting vampires in the smaller, supernatural side of Marvel’s universe. The character was certainly an odd choice for one Marvel’s first big-budget movies.
The early concepts for Blade bore little resemblance to the final product. New World Pictures initially obtained the rights in order to make a western-style film with the character, though this went nowhere. Marvel’s first film company then started developing a concept that would star LL Cool J, though this also fizzled out. Simultaneously with Marvel’s bankruptcy, New Line became interested in developing a low-budget Black superhero film. Seeing Marvel was desperately optioning off rights, it pounced.
Initial conversations focused on a Black Panther movie, which attracted Wesley Snipes, but that too fell apart. Screenwriter David S. Goyer then aligned with Snipes and producer Peter Frankfurt to pitch their version of Blade to New Line. They wanted a gritty vampire action film that would modernize the character for the 90s.
As studios are want to do, New Line kept pushing the project in strange directions, such as trying to make it a spoof or changing Blade to a white man. Goyer fought hard, though, and eventually got New Line committed to financing his version of Blade. While the studio tossed out names like Denzel Washington to star, Goyer remained committed to Snipes, and the deal was done.
Goyer and Snipes recruited Stephen Norrington to direct, whose career is a strange story of its own. David Fincher was an early possibility for director, though he eventually moved on. With the creative team set, filming underwent and the movie was prepared for release. Yet initial test screenings were disastrous, requiring extensive reshoots that delayed the release by a year. Stan Lee shot a cameo as well, which was also cut. Then, finally, the film released in August 1998.
Thankfully, Blade slayed at the box office. It dethroned Saving Private Ryan and held the top spot for two weeks, finishing its run with a $131.2 million gross. While critical reviews were mixed, there were a number of notable positive reviews including from Roger Ebert who praised its visual style. Perhaps it wasn’t an unmitigated success, but it did more than enough to prove that Marvel movies could be taken seriously. Talks were already ongoing for a sequel and even trilogy, and at last Marvel’s fortunes seemed to be turning.
Despite this success, Marvel itself made only a mere $25,000 from the film. With the nature of the deals and signing away the rights, Marvel only saw a sliver of the success. This would be something that haunted Marvel moving forward and would soon motivate them to get more of a slice.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Medium-Small
As we’ll mention with the other Blade movies, Blade already returned to the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine. Because his character got a sendoff of sorts there, we think his chances of returning are smaller, but not outside possibility. As for any other character such as Stephen Dorff‘s Deacon Frost or Whistler, we think it is super unlikely.
Despite taking till the year 2000 for a movie to release, attempts at adapting the X-Men started back in the 80s with Orion Pictures. The first effort was among the many unproduced films mentioned in the last article. A second attempt saw Stan Lee and Chris Claremont working with James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow. This effort went farther, with Bigelow set to direct and producing a story treatment. But after Lee mentioned Spider-Man to Cameron, it diverted his attention and lead to the collapse of this version.
With multiple failures in hand, Marvel tried to get Columbia Pictures to buy the rights to no avail. Thus returns Avi Arad to the picture. Arad was having success with the animated X-Men cartoon on Fox, which did well enough that Arad managed to entice Laura Donner to purchase the film rights. She agreed to work with Fox and hired Andrew Kevin Walker to write the script. While this early script would be edited repeatedly, early elements such as focusing on Wolverine joining the X-Men, his rivalry with Cyclops, and having Magneto as the main villain all stayed in the finished film.
Several directors were offered the job, including Robert Rodriguez, and Paul W.S. Anderson, who both turned it down. Eventually, Bryan Singer was offered the role on the strength of The Usual Suspects. Active development started in 1996 with further rewrites that put focus on Rogue and sought to bring out more of the themes of prejudice and the dichotomy between Professor X and Magneto as the MLK and Malcolm X analogues. Yet by late 1998, the disastrous failure of Batman & Robin left studios cautious. While Blade‘s success convinced Fox that Marvel characters could carry movies, Fox decided to reduce X-Men‘s budget, requiring some ideas to be cut.
Despite cuts, X-Men‘s production started to heat up and signaled the entry of some figures that will become notable later in our story. Kevin Feige, future president of Marvel Studios, was hired as an assistant producer based on his impressive knowledge of comics, and he became Arad’s second-hand man. He was also reportedly charged with reigning in Singer during filming, as Singer was prone to tantrums and allegedly abusing pills. Singer also banned the comics on set, so Feige would sneak them to the actors to help them understand the characters.
Joss Whedon, meanwhile, was hired to provide rewrites to the third act, but he ended up rewriting the entire film. Fox and Singer dumped most of this script, feeling it was too focused on sardonic wit and pop-culture references, though some lines survived. Keep that in mind for later!
Just as the filmmakers realized the importance of getting the script right, they also realized a proper cast was needed. The inclusion of famed actors like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen was only natural, but casting Hugh Jackman as Wolverine was a big risk, as he was a relatively unknown actor at the time. The studio wanted Russell Crowe, but Crowe pointed them to Jackman. The rest is, as they say, history.
Realizing that they had something brewing between this and Blade, Marvel Studios negotiated a deal with now-defunct Artisan Entertainment to license 15 characters into development, including TV shows, films, and more. Unfortunately, or fortunately for the future, most of these deals lead nowhere.
X-Men debuted in July 2000 and dwarfed Blade‘s box office by earning $296.3 million worldwide. While Blade brought the keys to the door of success, it was X-Men that stuck the keys in and unlocked it. Unlike the mixed critical response of Blade, X-Men received largely positive reviews with many noting that it finally found the way to take fantastical comics characters and place them in a lived-in aesthetic that felt grounded and made something cartoonish into something more realistic and digestible. Ebert did thumb it down, though.
Despite some detractors, X-Men is now recognized as revolutionizing the genre. No longer were comic-book movies dependent on major characters like Batman or Superman, nor were they cornball. Instead, audiences could experience popular comic-book teams like the X-Men in a modern action movie that actually worked. Though they didn’t realize it at the time, Marvel had just changed the face of the box office forever. Outside of Marvel itself, this film changed how DC approached their movies, despite the fact that they had been more successful to date.
Much is made of the movie’s sleek 00s aesthetic and abandonment of classic comic-book costumes. While some credit this choice as a reason for the film’s success, many detractors felt the movie abandoned its comic-book roots in the process. To be fair to Singer and Fox, Stan Lee and Claremont completely supported the decision. Speaking of Lee, he finally filmed a cameo that made it into a movie, starting a trend that would occur in most Marvel movies until Lee’s passing. The torch of change was shining bright.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Happening
Recent trailers confirmed the return of this era of X-Men to Doomsday. Stewart, McKellan, James Marsden‘s Cyclops, and Rebecca Romijn‘s Mystique are already officially part of the cast. We think the possibility of further cast members returning is fairly high as well, with this film’s version of Sabretooth and Toad having already popped up in Deadpool & Wolverine. It seems a certainty that Fox’s X-Men franchise is going to be a foundational part of the Doomsday/Secret Wars duo.
Plans for a Blade trilogy were already brewing prior to the first film completing production. All it took was box office success, and they had that. Sequels were nothing new to action franchises, but comic-book films seem particularly suited due to the source material due to their serial nature. While Goyer wanted to use Morbius for the second film, apparently Marvel Studios wanted to give him his own franchise. It seemed the rights hadn’t gone to Sony at this point.
Regardless, Norrington turned down directing the sequel. Thus, New Line Cinema turned to up-and-comer Guillermo del Toro to direct, as Goyer and producer Frankfurt had become fans after working with him on Mimic. Studios were already recognizing the value of obtaining talented directors to raise the quality of the work, and they hoped Del Toro would bring his skillful visual style to the table.
Indeed, Del Toro left the script alone and focused on visuals and tone, wanting to make vampires monstrous again in the wake of a recent literary turn towards rendering them as tragic heroes. Little did he know what the late 00s would bring. To hone his craft, Del Toro studied all of the first film’s dallies as he wanted to make his movie look like a blend between comics and anime.
Snipes was happy to return, as his turn as Blade had redefined the character. Snipes was responsible for creating many of Blade’s mannerisms, weapon choices, and more, and he was essential to the sequel. Returning would cement his legacy as the character.
Blade II released in March 2002 and became the highest grossing of the franchise, earning $150 million worldwide. While critical response was even more mixed than the first film (though Ebert was positive once again), it was becoming clear that Marvel movies were no longer jokes but serious box office forces. This would be proven all the more true later that year.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Small
Aside from what we already said about the Blade character, nothing else from this film specifically seems likely to return. The villains in this one weren’t particularly memorable, and aren’t notable past being played by character actors like Ron Perlman and Norman Reedus, who would have successful genre careers afterwards.
Spider-Man (2002)
Now we come to Marvel’s big gun. If there were three comic-book characters that were the peak of recognition and popularity prior to the 2010’s, it was Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. While the other two belonged to DC and already had successful decades-long franchises, Spider-Man had somehow managed to elude hitting the big screen and was beat to the punch by more minor characters in Marvel’s catalogue.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying. Many iterations throughout the 70s and 80s reached various stages of development. Roger Corman made an attempt with Orion Pictures but got into financial disputes with Stan Lee about budget, and the failure of Superman III left studios balking on more superhero movies at the time.
Then Cannon Group obtained the rights and for some reason thought Spider-Man was a werewolf character. Tobe Hooper was set to direct a script where Peter Parker turned into a human spider monster. Lee caught wind of this and essentially killed it. Another version came to be with John Cusack considered for Spider-man and Doc Ock as the main villain. That one faltered too, and following two of Cannon’s movies bombing (including notably Superman IV), it slashed the budget, leading to more creatives dropping out and another version failing.
The last serious attempt was in the 90s. As previously mentioned, Lee brought the character up with James Cameron, who wound up getting fairly deep into development of an adaptation. Cameron was perhaps too far ahead of the curve and envisioned a darker take with profanity and a sex scene atop the Brooklyn Bridge. He planned on casting Leonardo DiCaprio as Spider-Man, but disputes arose between Cannon and other companies as the rights had split apart at this point. One more version thus died.
It seemed that Spider-Man would never be made until the success of Blade and impressive development of X-Men reignited interest in the genre. Nothing like the possibility of money to shake studios into action. Marvel had left bankruptcy by 1998 and reclaimed all of the rights to Spidey before promptly selling them to Sony.
While Sony grabbed the rights to all prior treatments, it opted to use none of them and sought its own screenplay and director. After cycling through many big names such as Michael Bay, Tony Scott, and Ang Lee, it landed on David Fincher. Just when it seemed Fincher might direct a superhero movie after all, he balked at the idea of doing an origin story while Sony insisted they needed one. Chris Columbus was then offered the job but turned it down for Harry Potter. We’ll leave it to you to decide whether he made the right choice.
It would be none other than the Chair of Columbia Pictures, Amy Pascal, who suggested Sam Raimi. Despite the flak Pascal gets today, at the time she picked Raimi because she knew he was passionate for the character. Raimi earned the job in a big meeting with Pascal, Arad, and others because of the clear love he showcased.
David Koepp was hired to write a new screenplay, though he ironically borrowed heavily from the Cameron treatment. He did make some notable changes such as keeping Peter and Mary Jane apart at the end of the movie and changing the main villain to the Green Goblin. Further rewrites were done by other screenwriters, though one controversial constant from Cameron’s script was that Peter would organically shoot webbing, rather than creating a device that did so. Raimi felt it pushed credibility to have Peter invent such a device, which would become one of the most criticized elements by comics fans.
While the studio considered many actors for Peter Parker, Raimi always had his eye on Tobey Maguire based on his work in The Cider House Rules. Columbia was initially hesitant, but his audition blew them away. Stan Lee, meanwhile, wanted to cameo as J. Jonah Jameson, but the studio felt he was too old. Thankfully they did, as this led to J.K. Simmons being cast, which is considered perhaps one of the most pitch-perfect castings for any comic-book character. Lee later admitted Simmons did much better than he would have done.
For Norman Osborn, diverse actors such as Nicolas Cage, Jason Issacs, and Billy Bob Thornton were all offered the part, but each turned it down. Willem Dafoe was intrigued at the idea of a comic-book film and accepted it, insisting on wearing the costume himself. Speaking of the costume, a more comic-book accurate version was initially created with an animatronic mask, but Dafoe was reportedly derisive of it. The film changed tacks to a more battle-armor look costume, much to fan’s disdain, with many feeling it looked cheap and resembled a Power Rangers villain.
While any concept of a connected cinematic universe was still years off, Feige was lurking in the background as an associate producer and made an effort to have Hugh Jackman cameo as Wolverine. Ironically, it wasn’t rights issues that prevented it but rather the fact that they couldn’t find the Wolverine costume. Still, the hope of a connected universe could be said to first realistically brew with this movie. Spider-Man is also notable for being the first film to use the classic “flipping pages” Marvel title card, which served as a nice nod to source material.
Spider-Man debuted in May 2002. With production occurring over much of 2001, initial posters and some scenes featured the Twin Towers, but these were removed after the 9/11 attacks. None of this prevented a buzzing critical response. CG effects were not new at this point, yet Spider-Man had implemented them in a seamless, advanced way. It blew the minds of many executives and audience members to learn many shots were not someone in a stunt suit.
Critics were quite positive, with many feeling the character had been rendered with real heart and that comic-book films had leapt forward with a grounded drama alongside the costumed hijinks and action. The upside-down kiss became a pop culture moment, and Danny Elfman’s score helped cement an iconic superhero theme. Ebert thought it was… fine.
Audiences responded with their dollars too. Spider-Man blew past expectations, becoming the first film ever to gross $100 million in a single weekend and had the highest opening of all-time at that point. Despite stiff competition from the second Star Wars prequel, Lord of the Rings film, and Harry Potter film, Spider-Man claimed the top spot at the box office in 2002 domestically and finished with a worldwide gross of $825.8 million. This was coupled with a super successful home video release and plenty of merchandising tie-ins.
Needless to say, Marvel finally hit the big time. Continuing our metaphor, if X-Men unlocked the door, Spider-Man kicked the door off its hinges. The trifecta of Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man had shown that Marvel comic-book films could matter, had potential, and did matter. Not only were they to be treated seriously but could dominate the box office.
Marvel’s financial troubles were left behind and with the money trough opened, Marvel Studios was no longer a desperate whelp trying to make cash however it could. It now wanted a bigger piece of the pie that its properties were earning. Marvel Studios thus hired David Maisel as its new president and COO on the promise he would make Marvel more money.
Maisel started working out deals for TV films with the Sci-Fi Channel, though they went nowhere. Marvel also licensed Namor to Universal for a film. That too never came to fruition. As is so often the case with the smell of cash luring, decision-making is compromised and the art suffers. Despite this early success, Marvel was not immune.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Medium-High
Both Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe already debuted in the MCU in Spiderman: No Way Home, which was the first MCU movie that really showed the possibility of the multiverse concept. However, while we think it isn’t likely that much of the Raimi films will be in Doomsday, we speculate that it is highly likely Tobey will reprise his Spider-Man once again. As one of the Marvel cornerstones alongside X-Men, Feige will likely want some element of these in the grand finale to this era of Marvel filmmaking.
If any film is emblematic of that turn in the story, it is Daredevil. To be fair, this wasn’t rushed into development because of money. Fox had obtained the rights to Daredevil back in 1997 and was keen to have Chris Columbus direct. But perhaps they wanted to focus mostly on X-Men and allowed the rights to expire.
Disney was in talks to get the rights, but those fell apart and Columbia wound up with Daredevil alongside Spider-Man. Yet like Fox, Columbia let the rights expire. Daredevil wound up split between two studios, with New Regency getting the primary rights and Fox signing back on to distribute.
Mark Steven Johnson was hired to write and direct based on his experience writing the Grumpy Old Men series for Fox, and the strength of his Daredevil script. Many were floored by it, with Kevin Feige noting it was one of the best Marvel Studios received. One of Feige’s jobs at Marvel at this time was reviewing scripts, and he among others were gung-ho at what seemed to be a more mature, darker, character-driven work. With Spider-Man‘s box office success, Fox threw more money at the film, ready to get their own mega-hit.
While Fox wanted to film in Canada, Johnson fought hard to film in LA to better recreate the gritty feeling of Hell’s Kitchen. Plus, Ben Affleck was reluctant to travel to Canada, causing Fox to acquiesce. As to Affleck himself, he was cast on the back of the leading-man status he obtained in the late 90s and early 00s. The studio had considered a number of other actors first, including Affleck’s best friend Matt Damon; Damon turned it down despite the fact that he and Affleck had grown up as big fans of the character.
Jennifer Garner was cast as Daredevil’s love interest and famed femme fatale, Elektra. It was on set that Affleck and Garner met and fell in love, resulting in a major Hollywood marriage that lasted thirteen years. Affleck ironically calls this the one movie he regretted doing.
As for the major antagonists, Michael Clarke Duncan was cast as Kingpin, notable for being a Black version of a character who is always white in the comics. Colin Farrell also joined as the super-accurate killer Bullseye. Johnson intended to present a source-accurate version of the psychotic villain, but the oft-derided writer and Marvel’s one-time editor-in-chief Joe Quesada apparently talked him out of using the comics costume, and Farrell wound up depicting Bullseye with his native Irish accent.
Daredevil released in February 2003, with everyone involved ready to replicate Spidey’s success. Unfortunately, they found critics far less kind, and the latter ripped the movie apart on multiple levels. Most found the film dramatically shallow with a confusing story and mismatched tonal issues. Contemporary reviews were kind to the performances, though people have become less favorable towards those as time has gone on.
Even Stan Lee felt they took his creation and made it too tragic. The film’s reputation has soured more and more, with Johnson admitting he tried to put too much into the movie, though he also blames the studio for forcing him to cut it down and emphasize the romantic elements. Daredevil has a director’s cut that many consider a better movie.
This critical response didn’t kill the movie’s box office, though. It was one of the biggest February openings at the time and finished with a worldwide gross of $179.2 million. Arad commented that he saw it as an unmitigated success, with all five Marvel releases since 1998 doing well and two potentially strong ones still coming that summer.
It wouldn’t be enough to get a direct sequel. While there was a spin-off film (we’ll get to that next article) that Affleck recorded a cameo for, Affleck was not pleased with the final product and only agreed to return if they told the stories he wanted to tell. Apparently they refused, and Affleck soured on the idea of playing anymore superheroes (though this wouldn’t last).
Daredevil is notable for starting a trend that soon became a signature of Marvel movies: a post-credits scene. While cinema had had post-credits scenes in the past, they were usually jokes and funny little stings more than storytelling devices or sequel teases. Daredevil used its post-credits scene to tease the return of Bullseye, if in a semi-humorous way. Of course, this wouldn’t pay off, but the idea of a stinger intrigued Feige and others. There would be one or two more experiments before stingers became a foundational part of the MCU.
Anyway, while Fox eventually tried to do a reboot in the late 00s, nothing came together in time and the rights reverted to Marvel. By that time, Marvel Studios was pursuing its own path, a path that would change the course of comic-book movies. Daredevil would have a future, but not on the big-screen. We’ll get to that later.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Medium
Daredevil is a street-level character and not necessarily suited to the cosmic exploits of Doomsday. Not to mention, there is an MCU version of the character that is well-liked. That said, we think there is some chance of Affleck returning for a small cameo. Despite the issues with this version of the character, Feige will likely want him back, as he is part of the history of Marvel movies. Plus, Jennifer Garner already came back. We think there is little chance of Farrell’s Bullseye coming back, and Duncan sadly passed in 2012, so his Kingpin won’t be making a return.
X2: X-Men United (2003)
The success of the first X-Men started immediate development of a sequel. Envisioning his own Empire Strikes Back, Singer searched for a darker storyline that could bring real gravitas to the series. David Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write separate scripts which later were combined, taking the best elements from each. Hayter worked further with Singer to refine the script. Singer initially turned to the famed Dark Phoenix saga, but Penn convinced him that plot line needed further development first. Further rewrites were done by Michael Doughtery (Trick ‘r Treat) and Dan Harris.
The team made initial attempts to give more screen-time to other X-Men such as Cyclops and Storm, but Fox demanded the movie be cut down and the focus wound up on Wolverine again. Elements such as the Danger Room and Sentinels were cut out once again, as they had been in the first film. By summer 2002, filming started with most of the cast returning and newcomers Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, and Kelly Hu joining.
Speaking of Cumming, he joined as popular character Nightcrawler, another element cut from the first film. Despite the notable use of digital effects, Singer still utilized practical effects, which remain the standout aspects of these early superhero movies. The looks of characters like Mystique and Nightcrawler remain impressive due to the makeup and costuming.
The cost is an often arduous process of application, with Rebecca Romijn having to spend nine hours in the makeup chair for the first film to get all of the scales applied. The process was thankfully refined to a mere six hours for this movie, and Nightcrawler’s look only required four hours, except for Nightcrawler’s shirtless scene which needed nine hours. Little mercies.
Adding to the overall struggles was an extensive production. While praise is rightfully directed for filming not entirely on green- or blue-screen sets, the other side of that is the labor involved. This film had over 64 sets in 38 different locations, and many a problem had to be solved such as finding insufficient snow in Alberta, two stuntmen suffering nearly fatal injuries, Hugh Jackman’s stuntman enduring an injury, and hilariously, McKellen and Stewart lacking knowledge on how to play chess for their scenes together. Worst of all was Singer’s continuing erratic and demanding behavior, which caused clashes with Halle Berry and others.
Despite Singer’s crazed antics, it did not hinder X2. It released in May 2003 as the widest release ever, debuting on 7316 screens. It was part of a mighty 2003 box office season that saw itself and four other films all cross $200 million in one summer. It finished at $407.7 million worldwide and received rave critical reviews. The movie was not without detractors, but most felt it improved upon the first film and deftly handled its ensemble cast to provide great thrills, real humanity to its underlying themes of prejudice, and continued to up the ante for comic-book movies. With X2, not only did Marvel confirm its popular success, but it also saw comic-book films taken seriously as top-grade action movies. Even Ebert liked it!
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Happening
While we already discussed that a chunk of the main cast of the X-Men are returning for Doomsday, X2 is getting its unique character joining as well, with Cumming’s Nightcrawler reprising the role for the first time since this film. It really is all hands on deck.
Hulk (2003)
One of the few original successes joined this era of Marvel movies. Outside of Spider-Man, Hulk was probably the only other Marvel character that mainstream audiences had familiarity with. Avi Arad had been trying to make a movie happen since the 90s, with Universal acquiring the rights at that time. Universal remains one of the few non-Disney studios to still have stake in any Marvel characters. Stan Lee worked alongside John Turman to develop a script that included all of the key elements from the comics. But Universal was concerned and developed further scripts, though many elements of this initial script wound up in the final film.
The creative team of Jonathan Hensleigh and Joe Johnston was put at the helm, but Johnston soon dropped out. Further rewrites were done, with Zak Penn providing some treatments. Two of his scenes did not wind up in this movie, but would be put into the 2008 film. Hensleigh was prepared to take over as director and pre-production began, yet in 1998 escalating costs caused Universal to put the movie on hold. Hensleigh attempted rewrites to lower costs, but his frustration over the process caused him to drop out as well.
Michael France, who initially helped out Lee and Turman back in the 80s, returned to rewrite, yet he found Universal’s executives split on whether to make it a serious action film or a comedy. He decided on the serious route and added the element of Bruce Banner’s father being a primary antagonistic figure. While producers were finally pleased with his script, still more rewrites were commissioned. Ang Lee became involved by 2001, passing on the opportunity to direct the third Terminator. He had further rewrites done, drawing inspiration from Universal horror and Greek mythology.
Lee cast Eric Bana as Banner after seeing him in Chopper. Bana was simultaneously auditioning for Ghost Rider, but he lost that part. Bana was a fan of the Hulk show, though he wasn’t the first choice for this part either, with Tom Cruise, Ed Norton (more on him in a future article), and Billy Crudup all reportedly turning down the role. Lee also lured in Jennifer Connelly and Nick Nolte with his Greek tragedy pitch.
At last, filming was underway in early 2002. Unlike most, cowriter James Schamus didn’t feel inspired by the success of Spider-Man in the middle of filming. Instead, he was worried they weren’t up to the level of that movie. Bana reported that the sets were deadly silent with Lee bringing a serious arthouse approach to the filming. Production finished all the same, and Stan Lee provided what was starting to become his standard cameo. Lou Ferrigno, who played the TV Hulk, also cameoed. Extensive CGI was used to create Hulk and the comic panel look that Ang Lee wanted.
Indeed, Lee’s entire approach was to recreate the feeling of a comic onscreen. The results of his committed direction were mixed. While critics appreciated his ambitious attempts and stylistic depiction of comic visuals, with Ebert providing a positive review, others criticized the movie as dramatically lacking and then too silly when the action scenes came. Despite being comic-accurate, the Hulk dogs were singled out for criticism as well as most of the other digital effects for looking cheap and cartoonish. Retrospective reviews have lauded it for standing out among the other comic films at the time and even those since.
Hulk certainly didn’t fail at the box office. It had a fairly strong opening weekend and finished worldwide with a $245.4 million gross. Still, a high mark had been set. While plans for a sequel were immediately underway, Schamus eventually walked out due to creative differences and Universal never got anything else off the ground in time for the release date Arad wanted. The rights reverted to Marvel, with the odd caveat that Universal retained first right of refusal on distribution for returning the rights early, thus still holding the keys on Hulk movies making it to the theater. This is why there has only been one solo Hulk film since.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Low
We think the only character with any chance of making it to Doomsday would be Eric Bana’s Hulk. But funnily enough, Bana has directly commented on his returning to the role by opining that he very much saw it as a one-off role and said he could not see it happening. While actors have lied about returning to their roles in the past, we think Bana is genuine in his lack of desire. This movie probably won’t make it to the big dance.
By the end of 2003, Marvel Studios was looking brighter and brighter. Without any box office bombs and many sequels brewing, they were trying to strike the iron while it was hot. As previously mentioned, Marvel had hired David Maisel as its new president and COO, earning the job by pitching that Marvel should self-finance and produce its own films. This would give Marvel the most profit and most control. Kevin Feige liked this idea as he saw the potential of having a shared cinematic universe that mirrored the comics. But could such an idea work with so many characters licensed out? Well, Feige noted that Marvel maintained control of some of the key Avengers characters, and many other characters would soon return under Marvel’s wing.
This happened after The Punisher released (see our earlier article in this series). As Blade entered production, Marvel saw the potential for another Punisher film and included the character in their 2000 deal with Artisan Entertainment. This deal was unique for giving Marvel equity ownership and a stake in the cost of production, thus functioning as an experiment of sorts for the type of production Maisel envisioned, even if it wasn’t intended as such.
Despite the issues with Hulk‘s script, Marvel still liked Jonathan Hensleigh and signed him here to write and make his directorial debut, with his wife Gale Anne Hurd producing. He drew primarily from two main comic storylines, aiming to give Frank Castle a gritty, grounded storyline to differentiate him from the other comic characters in development at the time. However, Hensleigh was quickly frustrated with Artisan not providing the budget he wanted, requiring more of the same type of edits that had driven him from Hulk. Action scenes were cut down, storylines reduced, and studio interference played the unfortunate role it often does.
France, another cowriter from Hulk, joined to help Hensleigh in the rewrites and was key in pushing the film to shoot in Florida, where it would be cheaper. Hensleigh wanted to replicate the griminess of ’60s and ’70s action movies such as Bonnie and Clyde, Mad Max, and Dirty Harry, with a dose of Othello for good measure. France attempted to introduce comics characters like Jigsaw and Microchip, but was shut down by Hensleigh.
The Punisher opened on April 16, 2004 and did decently in its opening weekend. However, it was the least successful Marvel movie in the new millennium, finishing with a worldwide gross of only $54.7 million against its $33 million budget. Critics rather harshly derided it as cheerless violence and sporting a silly plot. Most of the cast was criticized as well, with John Travolta singled out as not up to the task of his role, though Thomas Jane‘s turn as Punisher was one of the few bright spots. Some did praise the throwback to grittier revenge movies of the 70s and as accurately aping the aesthetic of Punisher’s 70s comics.
This wouldn’t be enough to get it to a sequel. As production wrapped, Lions Gate purchased Artisan and took over distribution. Though Lions Gate was never involved with the actual production, it was initially interested in working with Avi Arad on a sequel. Development lingered for three years but never made it anywhere due to creative issues and budgetary fights.
Though Lions Gate would eventually produce another Punisher film, it was a reboot. And the difficulties seemed to push Lions Gate off making more comic-book movies. Lions Gate had acquired all of the deals Artisan had with Marvel and initially produced eight animated films for the direct-to-DVD market. But afterwards, whether because of a positive relationship with Arad and Marvel, or annoyance, Lions Gate decided to release the rights for all other characters except Punisher back to Marvel. And thus, Marvel’s dream of self-financing seemed to grow closer to reality.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Low
We rate the chances of Jane’s Punisher appearing just slightly higher than Dolph Lundgren’s. While neither seem likely to get the nod with so many other higher-profile characters to fit in, there is some small chance Marvel may want to gather all of the Punishers since all of the actors are still living. But we just don’t see it happening.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Despite The Punisher being the first arguable failure for Marvel Studios, this would be quickly forgotten in the wake of its biggest success to date. Because Spider-Man was the juggernaut that it was, a sequel was immediately greenlit with Raimi returning. They also hired Smallville‘s Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to write a script, with David Koepp soon joining the writing team and Michael Chabon hired to do rewrites.
Raimi picked through the various treatments to pick the elements he liked best and narrowed down on a story that would focus on Doc Ock as the main villain and Peter Parker’s struggle between personal responsibilities and being a hero. It would be Raimi who altered Doc Ock’s backstory into a tragic figure that Peter admired, which added further dramatic weight.
Despite the excitement, there was trouble in paradise. Tobey Maguire had back issues develop and he was reportedly quietly pushed aside for Jake Gyllenhaal. Maguire fought hard to get the role back, including getting the head of Universal Studios to pressure Columbia into restoring him to the cast. It worked, and Maguire delighted in the reverse of fate by performing many of his own stunts and even dropping a line about his back that wound up in the final film.
While CGI effects were growing in prevalence in Hollywood, Raimi still leaned into practical effects and stunt work. Massive sets were commissioned in addition to filming in NYC and Chicago, including one for Doc Ock’s lair that put filming on hiatus for eight weeks. But with that much financial success, the studio got of the way to let the creatives cook. Doc Ock’s tentacles were physically created as well to add realism in addition to the CGI that was used.
With the right elements in place, Spider-Man 2 was another smash success. Critics lauded what was seen as a step up in the dramatic storytelling with true emotional weight. The performances and action were all universally praised as well, with Ebert giving it a 4/4 and calling it the best superhero film since the genre launched. Many today still consider it one of the best comic-book movies and action films of the 00’s. It won an Academy Award for Visual Effects to top it all off.
As for what really gets the studios salivating, money rained down on this movie. It hit $200 million within eight days, a record at the time. It took many other weekend and day of the week records, and finished with a gross of $795.9 million worldwide. A third film was already approved before release, but this gross likely emboldened them all the more.
Likelihood of Doomsday Connection: Medium-High
As already mentioned with Tobey above, we think he’ll likely return again after No Way Home was so well received. But as with Spider-Man, we don’t think any supporting characters like Kirsten Dunst‘s Mary Jane or James Franco‘s Harry Osborn will return. Alfred Molina already reprised his role as Doc Ock but likely won’t be in any Avengers film.
As we close the door on this era of Marvel, it’s clear the intrepid company was in a much better place. Saved from the brink of destruction and bankruptcy, it found itself with an opposite view as 2004 closed its doors. Despite mixed critical reception to a few films, most were positively received and two were considered among the best of the decade. Not only was Marvel saved, it was starting to take over as a dominant cultural force.
Still, there was a price to this for comics fans. As good as the movies often were, there were numerous changes from the source material as many felt comic-accurate costumes or character origins were still too zany for mainstream audiences with the X-Men being the notable victims of this mentality. Furthermore, Marvel Comics thrived on its shared universe and crossovers. Yet with so many different studios owning the rights, the chances of such crossovers seemed near impossible. It seemed there was only an appetite for Marvel’s flagship characters. More obscure characters like Iron Man, Thor, or Ant-Man didn’t seem the most marketable.
Next time we’ll see how the fruits of success fed Marvel Studios and motivated them to go further. Already, the seeds were being planted for Marvel to get into film production. This would take time though, and in the meantime, there were sequels and spin-offs to be made. Will comic book movies be able to escape the plague of diminishing returns and creative bankruptcy that often seizes studios when they sense a money opportunity? Or will Marvel mar the reputation it had built up over the course of late 90s and early 00s?
Ranking Era Two
Time to rank the next era! We have a much stronger set of movies this time, even if with some duds. Let’s see how they stack up!
#9: Daredevil
Pulling up the rear of this era is Daredevil. It’s not an entirely terrible movie and if we were ranking the director’s cut, it might not be last. Despite the reputation of this era being a bunch of origin stories, this and many others were actually trying somewhat unique approaches to avoid a simple rote telling of a hero’s creation. But Daredevil still felt obliged to tell the origin in flashback and it hurts the dramatic momentum when it happens.
The film takes so long to reach its main plot that it then rushes through the introduction of Kingpin, Bullseye, and more. Focus is instead put on extended scenes of Affleck and Garner flirting, with little dramatic heft. Garner is a clear miscast for fans of the comic-book character, unable to come across as convincingly intimidating. Affleck fares slightly better, if only just. The movie is also hilariously bound to the early 00s with the soundtrack wielding the notable “Bring Me to Life” and other such songs punctuating moments.
The villains are given quite a bit of short shrift with no clear idea of the threat they pose, past Bullseye just appearing and killing people. The taint this had on the reputation of the character is unfortunate, given the few neat things the movie does. The depiction of the radar vision brings one of the few genuine romantic moments and the potential was here for a solidly gripping take on the character. Sadly, it fell short.
#8: Blade II
The Blade sequel isn’t an entirely bad experience, but it lacks more than a bit in plot. While Wesley Snipes is more assured in the role, the script is even weaker than the first movie. The vague overtones of more thematic depth involved in a family of original vampires who are cruel to each other are lost in the silliness that started to overtake this entry. Further, none of these villains are distinctive and well-written enough to really work.
Kris Kristofferson’s Whistler returns in a convoluted manner, but he’s a welcome presence all the same. The smaller performances from Reedus and Perlman who were still building their reputations are fun to see, both suiting their roles well. It’s also funny how this plot resembles that of the superior X2 by having heroes and villains team up. Must have been something in the writing room air.
#7: Hulk
Hulk suffers from many of the same problems as Daredevil. With comic-book films still navigating tone, many of the scripts layered on too much melodrama without the proper balance of true character development. Ang Lee saw the dramatic potential for a Hulk movie and tried to develop it into the epic tragedy it could be. But it gets far too self-serious at times for a film with super poodles and a giant green rage monster.
The cast is solid all around. Bana seems a suitable Banner, and Sam Elliot as General Ross is also inspired casting. Nolte’s character is too erratically written to truly work as a villain, but it’s no fault of Nolte. This is just another movie that tried to do too much. Like Daredevil, it wanted to put all the good stuff on screen at once and ended up giving everything short shrift.
That said, Hulk avoids last place due to Lee’s admittedly unique approach and making the movie look like a comic book come to life. With screen transitions and other editorial cuts trying to resemble panels changing, Hulk does remain distinctive even over 20 years after its release. One can admire what Lee was going for with it, even if it often didn’t work.
#6: The Punisher
The Punisher is carried over some of the other movies in this era purely on the strength of Thomas Jane’s performance. Jane brings a real gravitas to the role and anger that most other takes on the character lack. But like the other movies below this one, it is laden with script issues.
It features an overly-long origin story that goes on and on. The villains are underbaked with it seeming to rely mostly on John Travolta’s star power. But Travolta seems directionless with his character, and is easily one of the weakest Marvel villains across all of the movies.
While the unrelenting tone is a strength in some ways, it is almost too relentlessly grim. This needed better designed action scenes to sustain the method the movie used. But at the least, the grit the movie has suits the character. Like all of these lower half films that are half-baked, it has good ideas. We think at least this one’s good ideas shine the brightest.
#5: Blade
Blade is where the films cross from average or mixed to good. Not to say Blade doesn’t have its own flaws, but the strengths outweigh the weaknesses here. It all starts with Snipes who owns the role and helped transform the character forever. While he may reflect certain tropes of the era, the stoic, black-leather clad, and sporter of occasional whips Daywalker remains a distinctive character today and the comics version changed to match this portrayal. Snipes brings a natural presence that carries the entire trilogy.
Not to be overlooked is Kris Kristofferson as Blade’s mentor. His gruff take on Whistler almost seems in disbelief about the movie he’s in, which somehow works with the tone Norrington created. His relationship with Blade is perhaps the highlight of the movie.
To be fair, Blade comes across as dated in many respects. This is the era where The Matrix took off and everything felt derivative of that aesthetic. The pounding club music that comprises the score also dates it to a late 90’s style. Yet, there is a visual flair throughout that helps make the action pop. While Stephen Dorff is a better villain than the one in Blade II, his motivations aren’t much more complicated than conquering the world.
Blade probably could have used with some beefing up to the script. But it is by and large entertaining at the least, and set the mold for all of Marvel’s future success.Plus, the cheese of Blade’s iconic line is hard not to smile at. It was the first Marvel film to recognize that comic characters can work on the big screen if treated like human beings, even when they aren’t.
#4: X-Men
For all that Blade does right, X-Men expands on it positively, and in some pretty direct ways. The black leather look carried over to this film and the overall cool color palates as well as having a grizzled veteran as the lead character. It’s easy to take for granted how much this movie does right, now that we have over 25 years of experience furthering the strengths of big screen superheroes, but everyone involved deserves lots of credit. Special effects finally caught up enough to display the diversity of powers in these characters without it looking totally silly.
While the depth of the conflict between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men wouldn’t be developed further until the sequel, all of the basic ingredients are here. The battles take on their appropriate gravitas because actors like Stewart and McKellan bring their stage training to the forefront and lend it power. The metaphor of mutants as the disenfranchised part of society works even here because the bigoted behavior of Senator Kelly feels recognizable.
And, even if limited in scope, the battles between the mutants still have a spark and fun. Seeing Cyclops blast Sabretooth with an eyebeam for the first time or Storm sparking Toad with lighting (ignoring the infamous cringey line) had to be a blast. The extensive makeup work for Mystique remains impressive as well. Though Berry’s failed attempt at an African accent in this movie is amusing. The film also let Hugh Jackman show his talents to the world. He may have had complaints regarding comic authenticity but he brought enough of the attitude to cement his career.
X-Men does have awkward pacing at times and it does feel like the ensemble gets short shrift to Wolverine more than a bit. Yet it does just enough to cement itself as a solid comic book action flick and still presents as a decent alternative to the Avengers-style team-up movie.
#3: Spider-Man
With now three major big-screen takes on the Webhead, different generations all have their favorites. Newer fans consider this take dorky and silly now, but we find it is the best interpretation of Stan Lee’s awkward hero to date. Tobey Maguire alone has portrayed Peter Parker as the dopey moody dork that he is in when he first gets his powers. While he may not nail the quippiness of Spidey’s costumed form, he still has his share of solid funny moments.
So much of Raimi’s film still works. The moments where Parker learns and discovers his powers are excellent. Raimi approaches it with such a love for the comics and his desire to bring to life not just the lead characters but a complicated supporting cast and making the civilians as much of a force as anything else is still appreciated. The MCU should be lauded for advancing the boundaries of where superhero movies were in this era, but one thing that’s been lost is that these heroes are saving regular people most of the time in the comics pages. Spider-Man spends plenty of time with the costumed hero helping out average Joes and it pays off in the climax with Green Goblin. Speaking of, Dafoe’s performance still remains a delight with Raimi’s quick zooms helping emphasize the finer points of it.
This movie has its problems too, to be fair. The origin story does feel rather split from the second half where Spidey deals with the threat of Green Goblin, though Raimi does thread Goblin’s origin into the first half to be fair. The Goblin costume has also aged horribly and one wishes they had stuck with the original concept. And as important as the MJ and Peter romance is supposed to be, with the iconic upside kiss scene, it still feels somewhat underdeveloped. But overall, Spider-Man is a strong introduction to the character and remains a fun time 20+ years later.
#2: X2
While the stereotype is that sequels provide diminishing returns, in this early era of superhero movies, sequels benefited from the filmmakers figuring out the finer points and getting bigger budgets. Such was the case here, as X2 improves on the first film in every way. There is still a large focus on Wolverine but the ensemble gets more breathing room here with Magneto and Xavier’s relationship becoming a standout with more screen time. It’s not an accident that this frenemy relationship wound up as the centering point for the prequel, later sequels, and in the Doomsday trailer. Their metaphorical representation of the extremist and moderate response to oppression works well on the page and these actors deliver it live neigh perfectly.
The interesting part of X2‘s plotting structure is that the Brotherhood are not the main villains and team up with the X-Men for a chunk against a greater threat represented in William Stryker (a perfectly smarmy Brian Cox), who wants to eradicate all mutants. The film picks up from the threads of the first movie quite well, using Mystique as a wild card character to introduce other Brotherhood characters at the right moment. The introduction of Pyro, Iceman, and more focus on Rogue as the younger mutant characters forms a strong subplot on the way people react to somebody different and why Magneto’s viewpoint feels right to so many people.
That’s not to mention the excellent action set-pieces. The opening Nightcrawler White House attack remains iconic and may be Singer’s finest moment as a director. Not to be overlooked are the brutal battle between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike (sadly a bit underdeveloped) and Jean Grey’s heroic rescue of the team from being drowned. X2 understands why grand moments on the comic-book page work and found a way to bring the tone of such scenes to the silver screen.
X2 isn’t without chinks here and there, but it remains one of the best comic films out there. While it may have lost the friendly war with the Spider-Man films as far as quality or money goes, this rivalry was to both franchise’s benefit. With the releases of these two flagship movies, it felt like the sky was the limit for Marvel.
#1: Spider-Man 2
And boy did Spidey ever swing through that sky in this one. We won’t bury the lead here: Spider-Man 2 rules this era and will likely remain as one of the top films even after the MCU gauntlet arrives. This features one of the best recreations of a comic book storyline with its translation of “Spider-Man No More.” It understands the weight of Peter’s struggle between being a hero and a regular human being from the opening scene, humorously featuring real NYC pizza joint Joes. Indeed, much of the opening act is showing how much Peter has falling through the cracks by being a hero, a running theme in the comics.
The film’s structure asks the important question of why heroes matter and what sacrifices they require. The dissolution of friendships with Harry and Mary Jane for varying reasons, failings in a professional capacity, and feeling helpless against the superpowered threats he faces all are given proper weight. This movie feels so much like the 70’s era books brought to life, especially with Raimi’s funny camera cuts and framing techniques. And speaking of threats, Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock remains the standout Raimi villain for the depth he has. The scene of his tentacles coming to life is also some excellent horror in the middle of an action film.
Peter’s navigation of this conflict is so relatable to those of us who have split responsibilities in life. Which makes the scene at the 2/3rds mark with Aunt May sound so strongly on why we need heroes. Dare we say it outshines Uncle Ben’s famed statement on great power and great responsibility? If only because Rosemary Harris is such an excellent and unheralded gem of these movies. She nails that scene.
An article as long as this one already is could be written on Spider-Man 2‘s merits. We cut it short here by stating this one rocks from start to finish. Even the final shot packs a punch of melancholy and thus more emotional depth into what seems like a moment of triumph for the characters. Hats off to you Sam Raimi and company.
Marvel Chart
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
X2: X-Men United (2003)
X2 (2003)
Spider-Man (2002)
X-Men (2000)
Blade (1998)
The Punisher (2004)
Hulk (2003)
Blade II (2002)
Daredevil (2003)
Fantastic Four (1994)
The Punisher (1989)
Howard the Duck (1986)
Captain America (1990)
