By Erin Free
With Black Widow just released into cinemas and streaming on Disney +, along with the recent small screen successes of WandaVision, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier and Loki, The Marvel Cinematic Universe has experienced incredible growth – both narratively and in terms of content – over the past two years. There are more cinematic entries just around the corner, while the streaming platform Disney + has been used to exponentially grow the biggest and most wide-ranging franchise in entertainment history. It’s a rich world of now famously interconnected storytelling, and has inspired an unofficial internet cottage industry of debate, discussion, rumour-mongering and wish fulfilment.
Courtesy of his not-officially-sanctioned-by-Marvel (don’t let that put you off!) hard copy publications Marvellous Synergy Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3, young Australian author Andy Thai has engaged with this worldwide discussion in a meaningful, studied, and extremely well thought out way. Despite whatever your opinions on the internet might be, it’s undeniable that when something is in a book, it instantly comes with an obvious set of checks and balances not required or expected of fan-sites, forums, or Reddit threads.
Things like spelling and punctuation might be irrelevant to some, but when you’re going deep on a subject, they make the whole experience a far more enjoyable one. It is, after all, difficult to take any discussion or theory seriously if it’s littered with spelling errors. As well as being highly polished and well edited, Andy Thai’s books also make for tight, focused, entertaining and strongly written reading. In short, they are rock-solid slabs of movie journalism. Marvellous Synergy is not a piecemeal, haphazard look at The Marvel Cinematic Universe, but rather – like The MCU itself – one that flows together with class and style.
Divided over three volumes, each entry tackles the different phases of The Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the films that fall under each umbrella: Marvellous Synergy Phase 1 takes in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers; Marvellous Synergy Phase 2 deals with Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man; and Marvellous Synergy Phase 3 details Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man And The Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Going film by film, Andy Thai takes the reader right through the creation of The Marvel Cinematic Universe (and how it was forged after the famous comic book publishing house had for so long licensed out its properties to various major Hollywood studios), and then onto each installment. With deft precision, Thai goes through the story and production of each film, before swinging in with a barrage of point-form extras, noting the involvement of Marvel godhead Stan Lee in each film (“Excelsior!”); a wide range of fun facts about each film (“Marvellous Miscellanea”); a run-through of all the MCU Easter Eggs and moments of connectedness in each film (“MCU Easter Eggs”); a list of extra and extended scenes cut from each film (“Chopped, Changed And Lengthened”); and a tour through all of the physical locations used (“Location, Location”).
The most fascinating element of Thai’s dissection of The MCU, however, is “From Panels To The Screen” which takes a detailed look at the various ways in which the events of the MCU movies have been influenced and often directly lifted from the decades-rich array of Marvel Comics storytelling. For those who principally get their superhero fix on the screen rather than on the page – or simply find the world of comic books too dense and multilayered to follow in a truly committed way – these sections are invaluable. As well as offering up a wealth of information, Thai also tips his hat at how effectively and amusingly the MCU’s directors and producers reference what has come before them on the comic book page. If you already thought that the films of the MCU were top-tier exercises in the meta-textual, Thai’s books will show you how truly dense with meaning and references they truly are.
While the unofficial nature of Marvellous Synergy Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 obviously prevents the inclusion of photos and illustrations (which can, of course, be found in Marvel’s many official publications), these books are literally so overflowing with information that they would just serve as a distraction anyway. Andy Thai is a super-fan of the first order, and his appreciation and understanding of The Marvel Cinematic Universe is staggering. He’s also a clear, clean, concise writer who knows how to keep the narrative going in a compelling and entertaining way. If you’re looking for an instant doctorate into the biggest pop cultural phenomenon of the last ten-plus years, Marvellous Synergy Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 is the perfect kick-off point.
To purchase Marvellous Synergy, head to Amazon. Follow Andy Thai and Marvellous Synergy on Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr. And for all you MCU fans, check out FilmInk’s profile on Kevin Feige, our list of Marvel characters that deserve some on-screen love, and our investigation into the popularity of superhero movies. Click here for our review of Black Widow.
