Popular DJ Martin Garrix just released his newest song, “Hero,” with vocals by singer JVKE, as part of a promotion with digital collectible card game Marvel SNAP. The music video is filled with references to past Marvel comic books, cartoons and video games.
Besides the superhero metaphor inherent in the term “hero,” the song is also specifically about a romance, and as a result, the music video for the song features notable Marvel romances from the comics and cartoons, including a return to the world of X-Men: The Animated Series for some Rogue and Gambit action.
Marvel SNAP References Black Panther and Storm’s Darkest Hour
After the protagonist of the video gets a text from his love interest (while he’s playing Marvel SNAP, naturally), the first comic book scene that the video’s hero encounters is a fight between Black Panther and Storm. The struggle echoes the conflict between the two during Avengers vs. X-Men, where one of Storm’s teammates hit Wakanda with a tsunami during the war between the two superhero teams. In the aftermath of the destruction, Black Panther revealed that the High Priest of the Panther Clan had annulled their marriage. Storm responded to point out that he was the High Priest of the Panther Clan, and he admitted that yes, that is true. It was a dark moment for romance, and the music video reflects that darkness.
Next, the video cuts to Gambit and Rogue, from X-Men: The Animated Series. Gambit tries to kiss her, but Rogue pushes him away, causing the house of cards in the background to crumble apart. Then Spidey and His Amazing Friends appears to be the inspiration for the next sequence, which shows Spider-Man rescuing Mary Jane Watson from the clutches of the evil Sandman. The scene then transitions to a video game design for the interaction between Daredevil and Elektra — possibly a reference to the 2003 Daredevil video game.
The next romantic scene features Thor’s sister, Angela, and her girlfriend, Sera. They are both fairly obscure Marvel characters, but it’s important to note that both Angela and Sera have recently been added as new cards for Marvel SNAP, which makes sense in terms of deciding to spotlight them in the video.
The video then spotlights the romance of Scarlet Witch and Vision, drawing from the Vision and Scarlet Witch miniseries (which showed the two heroes married in suburbia), but also the introduction of the Vision to the Avengers, which turned on the revelation that androids like the Vision could still cry.
The final romance featured in the video is the oldest one in the Marvel Universe: that of Invisible Woman and Mister Fantastic, who married in the comics nearly 60 years ago. In the video, they team up to defeat Doctor Doom in battle. Perhaps inspired by the longest-standing relationship in the Marvel Universe, the protagonist calls his love interest at the end of the video.
Source: YouTube
