What's the first film in the Marvel universe?

The First Movie Marvel released in theaters is Howard le Canard in 1986, a resounding failure.

The first film by the MCU (the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the connected world we know today) is Iron Man in 2008. Here's the full story behind these answers.

When was Marvel born?

The story of Marvel begins at UNITED STATES in the 1930. At the time, the company was called Timely Publicationsfounded by Martin Goodman, then editor of pulps, those inexpensive publications that were very popular in the early XXᵉ century.

Enter 1930 and 1990, the group is almost entirely dedicated to comics. In 1951, Timely bECOMES Atlas Comics, still under Goodman's direction.

In 1968the publishing house was acquired by Perfect Film and Chemical. It was in 1973, when the company changed its name to Cadence Industries, and that is how the name came to be Marvel Comics Group.

Enter 1986 and 1989, the group briefly came under the control of New World Pictures, before being acquired by Ronald Perelman. It was under his leadership that Marvel Films, which would later become Marvel Studios.

The group then diversified, and Marvel Enterprises arises from the merger between Marvel Entertainment Group and the toy manufacturer Toy Biz, and the entity will then be renamed Marvel Entertainment in 2005.

The major turning point came in 2009. Walt Disney announces the acquisition of the group on August 31, 2009, a deal that was finalized in December of that same year. Marvel has certainly come a long way from the comic books of the 1930 to the pinnacle of global film production.

What's the first Marvel to watch?

The very first Marvel movie to hit theaters wasn't released in the 2000s. It came out in 1986, more than twenty years before the launch of the MCU. Movies like Hulk, Thor where the avengers seem far away when viewed from the side.

A disastrous cinematic debut

The first Marvel movie released in theaters is titled Howard le Canard, which was released in theaters in France on December 10, 1986. A far cry from the heroes we know today, it tells the adventures of an unusual character in a mix of science fiction and of comedy.

Please note: This is not a movie. Marvel Studios, which didn't exist yet at the time. It is an adaptation of a Marvel comic book, produced by other studios.

A year earlier, Red Sonja (1985), also based on a Marvel Comics character, had already been released in theaters. Howard le Canard It remains, however, the film most often cited as Marvel's first major theatrical release.

On the production side, we have:

• Steve Gerber, creator of the character in the comics; ;
• Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, for directing and screenwriting; ;
• Universal Pictures and LucasFilm, co-producers, with George Lucas as an executive producer.

The public's reaction is unequivocal: Howard le Canard is a total failure. Negative reviews and disastrous word of mouth are piling up, and the film has even received several Razzie Awards, those awards that honor the worst movies of the year.

The first successful Marvel movie

After that failure, we had to wait until the late 1990 to see Marvel dominate the box office. That first real commercial success was Bladereleased in 1998.

The character had been created in the comics as early as 1973 by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan.

This film features, among others:

• Stephen Norrington in the production; ;
• David S. Goyer screenplay; ;
• Amen Ra Films, Marvel Enterprises and New Line Cinema in production.

This blend of’horror and D'stock follows Blade, a vampire hunter who is half-human, half-vampire. He brings in about $131 million around the world on a budget of about 45 million.

It was this movie that revived the Marvel film adaptations, paving the way for X-Men (2000) and then Spider-Man (2002), among the main characters the most popular ones in the franchise.

What was the first MCU movie?

the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) officially begins in 2008 with Iron Mandirected by Jon Favreau and supported by Robert Downey Jr..

It is this movie that lays the groundwork for the interconnected universe: interconnected characters, post-credits scenes, and continuity between the movies.

Since then, the Marvel Cinematic Universe developed in several phases. Must-see films:

• Iron Man (2008): the film that launched the MCU; ;
• L’Incroyable Hulk (2008): the only solo film by Bruce Banner in the MCU; ;
• Thor (2011) and its sequels (Le Monde des Ténèbres, Ragnarok) ;
• Captain America (2011) and its sequels (Le Soldat de l’Hiver, Civil War) ;
• The Avengers (2012): the first major gathering of Marvel heroes; ;
• Les Gardiens de la Galaxie (2014): a team of unconventional heroes in space; ;
• Black Panther (2018): the first standalone film featuring the hero of the Wakanda ;
• Avengers : Infinity War (2018) and Avengers : Endgame (2019): the culmination of twenty-two films; ;
• Spider-Man : Far From Home (2019): officially concludes Phase 3; ;
• Black Widow (2021), Doctor Strange and Ant-Man et la Guêpe round out the universe.

The MCU has also expanded to include series, in particular on Disney+ with WandaVision, Loki Where Hawkeye, and earlier on Netflix with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. These series enrich the universe without always being essential for understanding the movies.

What's the oldest Marvel?

Long before the advent of cinema, the very first work Marvel was a comic book: Marvel Comics No.1, published in 1939 by Martin Goodman.

At the time, the publishing house was still called Timely Publications. That's where the story of the Marvel Universe really begins, long before the first movie.

A copy of this first edition was sold at auction for the colossal sum of 2.4 million dollars. This issue presents, for the first time, Namor, also known as the Sub-Mariner, considered to be the first Marvel mutant.

You'll also come across Jim Hammond, the Android Human Torch, which should not be confused with Johnny Storm, created later (in 1961) for the Fantastic Four.

This first comic book is now a true collector's item. The franchise has so many films that it's sometimes hard to know where to start.

To help you get started, check out our guide on the’chronological order to watch Marvel movies, and also discover Which Marvel superhero is the strongest?.