Superheroes, Communication, and Culture: Popular Culture Perspectives on the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
7-9-2026
Abstract
Contributors explore the intertextuality of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, illuminating its ability to both interpret and influence audiences and culture.
The sustained popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and its continued ability to spark fan and cultural responses with each phase of the franchise – achieving both commercial and critical acclaim in its quest to transform a once-niche genre into a pop culture powerhouse – demonstrate the vast potential it holds to convey, channel, and challenge existing discourses of culture, society, politics, entertainment, and education at their various intersection/s. While the franchise relies heavily on genre-based tropes of good versus evil, the intricate intertextuality of the extended universe offers a diversity in character, story, and setting that renders it a particularly deep well for crafting and communicating culture.
An interdisciplinary roster of contributors has selected a wide range of MCU texts, from series like She-Hulk and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to feature films including Captain Marvel (2019) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), to offer critical interrogations through varied lenses across four thematic sections of the volume: political economy and politics; gender studies and feminisms; race, ethnicity, and identity; and symbols and signs. Through their analyses, contributions to this volume ask us to reflect on what messages may be uncovered and understood through deeper interrogation of the texts that entertain and inform us.
Recommended Citation
"Superheroes, Communication, and Culture" (2026) Editors: Adam W. Tyma, Matthew R. Meier, Dana Schowalter.
Comments
Chapter 9 - Marvel's Monstrosity: Deadpool and the Delight of White Violence
Matthew R. Meier
EXTRACT
The drums, horns, and strings of the20th Century Fox title give way to the all-too-familiar Marvel credits sequence—but something isn’t quite right. The deep red background, stark block lettering, and rapidly scrolling images of comic book pages are as they should be, but the music lacks the triumphant, heroic quality that audiences have come to expect from the MCU. Instead, the title card is accompanied by Juice Newton’s 1981 cover of “Angel of the Morning.” From the outset, this looks like a superhero film, but it doesn’t feel like one. The opening credits leisurely pan around the frozen image of a fight scene replete with a glowing cigarette lighter, bullets, muzzle flashes, broken glass, blood, ichor, and one serious wedgie. Introduced as “Some Douchebag’s Film” featuring “God’s Perfect Idiot,” “A Hot Chick,” and “A CGI Character,” among others, Deadpool (2016)—produced by “Asshats”—establishes itself as an atypical superhero film before we meet the titular character. The tongue-in-cheek satire of the title sequence works at least in part because Deadpool is not a superhero. He has superpowers—he can heal from almost any injury, and he occasionally does things that help people—but he is not a hero. Deadpool is incredibly, gratuitously violent. Deadpool is impulsive. Deadpool is selfish. Deadpool is deformed. Deadpool is a murderer for hire. Deadpool is not a hero—Deadpool is a monster....