After having been previously teased, another Marvel Studios executive brought up their own take on a Black Superman-like character in the MCU.
VP of Production & Development at Marvel Studios Nate Moore seemingly wants to bring Blue Marvel to Marvel Studios’ super-powered franchise, a character that has been brought up in the past.
Back during WandaVision‘s run, Teyonah Parris brought up wanting to bring the hero to the MCU as a love interest for her Monica Rambeau. In a video interview, Parris noted that she is aware of Monica’s “love interest with Blue Marvel,” calling the prospect of the pair meeting on-screen “pretty spicy.”
Now, Blue Marvel has come up yet again, hinting that an MCU debut for the character might be closer than one may think.
The MCU’s Own Black Superman
On Deadline’s Crew Call podcast, Marvel Studios VP of Production & Development Nate Moore said that he is interested in bringing Blue Marvel to the MCU, a character akin to DC’s Superman.
Moore was asked about what Marvel character he wants to see come to the franchise, and he was quick to jump to Blue Marvel, remarking that he’s “a fantastic character” who’s “almost Superman in strength and powers:”
“And then there’s a fantastic character who’s relatively recent in Marvel, named the Blue Marvel, who is fascinating. So, he’s a character who is almost Superman in strength and powers, who in the ’60s, operated as a Blue Marvel masked character.”
The Marvel Studios executive lamented that the character is interesting because in the comics he’s a Black superhero operating in “the powder keg of the Civil Rights era:”
“But, in a fight, his mask is ripped off and people realize he’s Black. And [John F.] Kennedy actually asks him to go back undercover because he’s scaring people, ’cause he’s gonna upset the powder keg of the Civil Rights era. And he’s since been reintroduced into… Marvel publishing as a really smart, almost Captain Nemo character. Like he takes great space voyages and he goes on these grand adventures. But he’s a great character. But there’s so many. I mean, there really are a lot. There’s a lot of exciting stuff that’s gonna come.”
This comes as Warner Bros. (WB) and DC are in the middle of developing their own Black Superman project, with J.J. Abrams attached to produce. There is no production timeline for the film, but it has been noted that the comic book epic is still moving forward at WB.
Who is Marvel Comics’ Blue Marvel?
At this point, it feels like a question of when a Blue Marvel project will pop up on the MCU calendar rather than if. The character of Adam Brashear (the hero’s alter-ego) feels primed and ready for a jump to live action.
If higher-ups within Marvel Studios like Nate Moore have the character as their number-one choice for a film or TV adaptation, then the chances of it happening are high. And it could be an interesting project to tackle, dealing with themes that are not often touched upon in the comic book movie genre.
If a Blue Marvel movie were to center on the Superman-like character in that Civil Rights era of the 1960s, sure, fans would not get the Monica Rambeau love story Teyonah Parris wants so badly, but Marvel Studios could craft a story of a troubled hero who, while celebrated by the public, cannot show his face or get the credit he deserves because of the color of his skin.
There were many faceless heroes during that 1960s era, and this could be a fascinating historical allegory for the MCU if Marvel Studios were to find the right people to take on such a heavy narrative prospect.
Plus, it could be interesting to see this and DC’s Black Superman film both happening within a close time frame. Blue Marvel’s powers – as noted by Moore above – are Superman-like in nature.
Superstrength, invulnerability, flight, and energy manipulation are three of the biggest common powers between the two heroes. While Blue Marvel has a few traits that make him unique, like being able to absorb anti-matter and create forcefields, it’s hard not to see the similarities between the two characters.
Rarely on the big screen has there been the sort of direct competition there could be between these two projects. So this unprecedented circumstance could potentially serve as a bit of a market and narrative experiment for Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios.
