In search of a superhero: How Marvel is fulfilling our generation's longing for escape

As the phenomenally popular Marvel film franchise continues this month with the release of Avengers: Endgame, film critic Nathanael Smith explains why he believes the franchise stands for very little and resists substance at almost every opportunity

At the end of April, Avengers: Endgame will be released into cinemas, destroying all box office competition with a click of its fingers. Forget trying to see anything else at the multiplex, Captain America, Iron Man and co will be filling every screen and raking in all of the ticket money in the country. There’s a strong chance that it’ll be the most financially successful film of all time.

Of course, its certain success doesn’t exist in isolation; Marvel has been building to this moment since Iron Man was released in 2008. There are now 21 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with Captain Marvel the latest entry (and the first to be led by a female superhero). Marvel films, which feature a litany of superheroes, including Spiderman, Thor and Ant Man, have so far raked in over $17.5bn at the box office. Audiences are flocking to these movies en masse, lapping up every frame that the studio has released and buying all the merchandise, too.