Marvel Comic Disproves Falcon and Winter Soldier’s ‘Big Three’ Theory
Warning: contains spoilers for The Marvels #1!
A Marvel comic is offering up new fare for comic book readers that actively refutes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s “Big Three” theory.
In Disney+’s wildly popular new Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, audiences get to enjoy new Captain America Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers’ childhood chum, Bucky Barnes, butt heads and banter as they scramble to save the Earth. At one point, Wilson tells Bucky that all threats the Earth faces fall under, as he puts it, “aliens, androids, and wizards.” A point with which Bucky disagrees. According to comic books, there’s more villains to be had than just “the Big Three.”
In The Marvels #1, by Kurt Busiek and Yildiray Cinar, a story is slowly unfolding. The history of Siancong—a comic book stand-in for Asian countries that experienced American meddling post-World War II—is provided to the reader as a series of interconnected flashbacks and flashforwards. They are introduced to criminals balking at colonial control, shady American soldiers taking advantage of civil unrest, and something else—something other, ancient, and almost unbelievable. In The Marvels, it’s not androids or wizards the heroes need to worry about—it’s giant, eldritch monsters. In the Free State of Sin-Cong, American “observers” are led into the jungle to gaze up in shock and awe and the bones of a massive, ancient creature. “People are starting to talk about the old tales again,” the audience is informed. Years later, Thor and Iron face off against a monstrous sea-creature that even Thor doesn’t recognize.
The creatures from Siancong’s old tales aren’t even the first time that something ancient and eerie has been used by the baddies. In 2012’s Secret Avengers, Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, and Natasha Romanoff attempt to track down the source of a new, dangerous super-soldier drug. Instead, they learn of something much bigger. The drugs are not drugs, per se, but the crushed bones of something unearthly. When inhaled, the fumes provide superhuman abilities said to be from the souls in the bones.
The Marvels’ eldritch creatures aren’t the only thing currently bucking the concept of “the Big Three” in comic books. The supernatural has become increasingly prevalent in comic books. In Avengers #45, the ancient vampire, Dracula, reappears after helping the Avengers defeat Knull’s army with a demand for the United Nations—a sovereign nation for vampires that would mean that any attack by superheroes would be seen as an act of war. His careful choices for recruits mean that his spooky, blood-sucking army is a big threat, no matter how much the world tries to control his movements. Between ancient gods and mutant cosmic powers, the bad guys that modern superheroes face are a bit more complicated than just “aliens, androids, and wizards.” Even Spider-Man fights his clones on a bizarrely regular basis.
MCU films and series have clung to the safety and security of “the Big Three” for a long time. The familiarity of the villains to the casual viewer and reader makes for an easy, accessible story, consumable and palatable to a large audience. There’s, of course, plenty of space to play and explore for creators inside those confines. Doctor Strange provided gorgeous visuals and a unique story, while tap-dancing around Benedict Cumberbatch’s bizarre accent and other larger issues. Disney+’s other recent Marvel series, Wandavision, cleverly played with TV tropes while still having an evil witch as the central villain. But, none of these properties have dipped a cautious toe into the shallow end of Lovecraftian horror like The Marvels seems to be doing. What comic books like The Marvels and Secret Avengers tells readers is that there is a lot more left unexplored in the world of comics and our own beyond “the Big Three.” Ancient things can sleep, but not forever, and it appears that Marvel is more than eager to wake up a few monsters.
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