Marvel’s Secrets of Storytelling
How did Marvel become a marvel? After the success of Superman, there were many comic book writers and artists who hated their jobs. Again and again, they were asked to create all-American heroes who thumped the bad guy and never suffered acne. Stan Lee was so bored he wanted to quit.
His wife had a better suggestion. Instead of quitting, she told him to write the stories he wanted to. If he was fired, then he’d at least feel better about himself. This advice was responsible for the creation of Marvel Comics, not to mention the superheroes we know and love like Iron Man, the X-Men, and your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.
So, what made Marvel’s stories stand the test of time? Many factors, but fundamentally these characters and stories tap into what it means to be human. The struggle between good and evil defines all of us, no matter where we are in the world. These are seven features from Marvel that can help your own storytelling:
1. Use the outsider’s experience to hold a mirror to society
Superheroes are outsiders. They have extraordinary abilities, live under assumed names and struggle to be accepted by society.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had extraordinary abilities, lived under assumed names, and struggled to be accepted by society.
Sometimes an outsider, or even feeling like an outsider, can allow for a better observer in the story you want to tell.
2. Know where the story is going
Whenever you write a story you should have a sense of where it’s going.
Dean Koontz, the bestselling sci-fi writer, puts it succinctly:
“A novel without a strong plot is like a beautiful blonde all dressed up and ready for excitement — but with no place to go.”
Marvel provides a masterclass in weaving together disparate heroes and storylines to provide a sense of resolution.
That is, until the next sequel is inevitably commissioned by Disney.
3. Understand heroes are flawed & create sympathetic villains
Spider-Man is the most popular hero of all time for a reason — he’s goofy.
When portraying characters — with great power comes great responsibility.
In the Marvel universe many of the heroes are far from perfect and the villains can often have the sharpest insights.
No matter what you’re writing, understanding that people are nuanced gives you a much more interesting story.
4. Talk about the world as it is, not just as we’d like it to be
This may be why the supervillain and Holocaust survivor Magneto often gets the best lines.
Magneto gets bored of what he views as tedious optimism from Professor X and instead presents his fellow mutants with uncomfortable truths:
“Your humans slaughter each other because of the color of your skin, or your faith or your politics — or for no reason at all — too many of you hate as easily as you draw breath.”
Though what he says is uncomfortable, you cannot deny the truth in it.
5. Show — don’t tell
One of Marvel’s greatest gifts is that they pose moral questions, but never moralise.
Like the Superman creators in the 1930s, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby took the decision to try and show common recipients of discrimination in a positive light.
For instance, the first mainstream African comic book hero -the Black Panther- was created in 1966. Yet, a Black Panther film was only made in 2018.
What does this say about them being ahead of their time?
Letting people come to their own conclusions is a gift of great storytellers.
6. Be funny
One of the best ways to tackle something uncomfortable is through humour.
Even though I’d trust Superman to rescue me from a burning building, I would not want to hear him do stand-up comedy.
However, if the Spider-Man decided to do a set that would be a different story.
7. End with Hope
The characters in Marvel are inevitably put through the wringer. To paraphrase Stan Lee, even for superheroes life is never without challenges.
However, despite the deaths and wanton acts of destruction that take place in Marvel stories one thing remains — the hope for the triumph of good over evil.
The only place where films showing hours of relentless unremitting despair is rewarded is the Oscars. Hope is what motivates us to strive for a better future and whatever you write, there needs to be hope.
While not all of us can write for Marvel, we can use their lessons in our writing and day to day lives. Sometimes there can be snobbery towards what’s popular, but humans are sniffer dogs for good stories and Marvel provides them in abundance.
If more writing was sharply plotted, clever without being condescending, funny and showed the complexity of life — I’d struggle a lot less when choosing a film on a Saturday night. There’s a reason Spider-Man: No Way Home was one of the few successful films of the pandemic — with Marvel you know you have a safe pair of hands.
To conclude, humans are 22 times more likely to remember a story than facts alone. To this day people still go to see Marvel’s characters from the Cold War in cinemas. Where Comic Books were once considered niche, now Marvel and the stories their characters inspired are considered as American as apple pie. Yet, if you look deeply you will see at Marvel’s core is a group of outsiders trying to make sense of an unjust world and the eternal hope for good to triumph over evil. These aspects of a good story are lessons we can all take on board.
To learn how to become a master storyteller check out our course. Made in collaboration with some of the world’s experts, it will equip you with the skills you need to tell amazing tales.
