Expansive superhero teams present filmmakers with a unique
challenge. It’s hard enough to tell the
story of a single character. Trying to sufficiently
handle a group of said characters can be a logistical nightmare. How does one divvy up the screen time in a
way that appeases general audiences and remains true to the source
material? How can multiple subplots and
characters arcs be organized into something resembling a coherent and streamlined
story? Logically, the most popular
and/or marketable characters will take center stage while the others are
relegated to the background. Such
problems have plagued both the X-Men
and Fantastic Four film franchises to
varying degrees. In the face of such
odds, Marvel Studios presses on with the grand experiment that is The Avengers, the most ambitious production
of its kind thus far.
