The effect of comics on cinematographic narrative in superhero movies: The example of the marvel cinematic universe

Superhero movies have become one of the most popular cinema products today in terms of increased production and box office success over the past twenty years. However, this rapid increase in film production has led to criticisms. There are critiques that the quality of these productions has declined, and they are produced solely for commercial purposes without any aesthetic concern. As adaptations, superhero movies exhibit different characteristics from adaptations of literary novels and similar works due to their source material being comic books. For various reasons, it is impossible to achieve a fully faithful adaptation in these films, leading to the emergence of the concept of the 'comic book reference,' which includes small quotations and allusions from the source work. These details, which can appear visually, auditorily, and in different ways within the narrative, can only be distinguished by 'fans' who have previously read the source comic book. According to the statements of film producers, it is seen that such details are intentionally included in the films to show fidelity to the source material and to attract the interest of fans. In this context, three films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that show different features are analyzed in the study. The comparative analysis method proposed by John Desmond and Peter Hawkes was used to identify the similarities and differences between the films and the source comic books, comparing specific elements that serve a common function in both works. The effect of the elements reflected from the comic book on the cinematography and narrative of the film was evaluated. By identifying the intra-textual and visual comic book references included in the films, it was attempted to prove that concerns regarding the source work corpus, aesthetics, and fan satisfaction were taken into account.