Elon Musk’s impact on superhero film culture is undeniable, but always changing. The SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. entrepreneur influenced Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man, the kick off to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and most recently, seems to have served as an inspiration for Riz Ahmed’s evil visionary in Venom, Carlton Drake. Critics have argued that Musk had an indirect influence on supervillains like Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and even Danny Rand in Marvel and Netflix’s Iron Fist series. There’s a good reason: Musk, who broadcasts his technological ambition through a blustering, Silicon Valley personality, represents a shift in how superhero cinema grapples with science and innovation in 2018. 2008 was an integral moment in genre entertainment. The Dark Knight and Iron Man both premiered, forever changing the projection of superhero movies at Marvel Studios and Warner Bros., where DC Entertainment blossomed into a Hollywood entity. That same year, the United States entered one of its worst recessions in decades. Facebook and Twitter thrived as people around the world purchased more iPhone, BlackBerry and general smartphone devices than ever before. Silicon Valley had the same momentum as everything else seemed to be failing. Heroes became villainous (Kanye West’s infamous moment at the VMAs with Taylor Swift), and people who sound like Bond villains on paper became heroes. As engineering and interconnected technology took center stage, Silicon Valley, and its CEOs, represented the country’s future — a silver lining for a… [Read full story]
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