User blog:ARTaylor/10 Years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the premiere of Iron Man. The film was the first to be produced by Marvel Studios and was the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film follows billionaire playboy Tony Stark who is kidnapped while overseas by a terrorist organization, builds a powerful set of armor to escape and later fight the enemies he helped create, all the while learning the truth of his captor and his traitorous right-hand man Obadiah Stane. The film was a hit with critics and audiences, and is still considered one of the best in the entire franchise. The success of the film easily paved the way for the following universe, which just recently released its nineteenth film and eleven series.

The film gave writing credits to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for their contributions to the characters. Avi Arad was a producer while Lee was credited as an executive producer. It features the talents of Clark Gregg in the debut of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson, who would go on to become a major character in the universe as well as comics, games, and animated series. Lee appears as himself, confused for being magazine mogul Hugh Hefner. The film was proceeded by the animated feature The Invincible Iron Man, and would feature many similar aspects outside of the comics. It would directly lead to the creation of Iron Man: Armored Adventures, featuring some aspects from the movie.