Movies. Marvel.

Today, a new film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hit theaters nationwide.  That’s right.  Thor 2.

Oh wait.  That’s not… okay.  Here we go.

Yes, hotly anticipated by all Loki fangirls and fanboys the world over (none quite so enthusiastic as Tom Hiddleston himself), Thor: The Dark World arrived in theaters today.  It’s already been released in some cities overseas to great success and seems to be another notch in the ever-growing belts of Marvel Studios and their overlords I mean, parent company, Disney.

Though I kid and critique these films, I actually love them a whole lot and have since May of 2008 when Iron Man first graced theaters with its hard-rocking, fun-loving, suit-wearing hero.  I saw Iron Man on what I have realized looking back was literally the best day of my life so far.  And watching it in the theater with some of my closest friends came in as a close second to the best thing that happened to me that day.  So, I’ve got a soft spot for it, to say the least.

Also, I named my (female) cat Toni Stark.

Isn’t she cute?

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe borrows significantly from previous Marvel comics runs, both character-wise and storyline-wise, it is certainly its own thing with a (somewhat) diverse cast of characters, the particular combination of which hasn’t been seen before. To comics fans, none of this is news, but to anyone looking to get into comics, knowledge of the films and knowledge of what comics have influenced the films can go a long way.

Take next year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film about which I am ridiculously excited, which seems (be prepared for slight spoilers) to have been greatly influenced by Ed Brubaker’s run on Captain America that shares the same title.

Or The Nick Fury of the Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in a nod to the character’s design in The Ultimates, which was based on…wait for it…Samuel L. Jackson.

Here’s a list of comics the library has that might be helpful.of interest to any budding Marvel Movie/Comics fans:

   

Happy reading!

-Morgan, CLP-Main Teen