The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has grown since its humble beginnings in 2008. Now, if you choose to watch a Marvel property for your movie night, you can currently select from 44 movies and shows, with a new project coming every few months! With this large cinematic sage, it can be difficult to keep track of the various families and their stories across the all the movies and shows. Join me as I highlight some of these families and provide a soundtrack from their perspective properties which I feel exemplifies that family's story!
Asgard Royal Family
During Thor (2011), we were introduced to Thor and his family, the Asgard Royal Family. Thor, the god of thunder, was raised to become future King of Asgard his entire life. Loki, the god of mischief, was adopted by the royal family at a young age and became Thor's brother. Odin, Thor's father and the king of Asgard, fought many wars to strengthen Asgard. Frigga, the queen of Asgard, loved this family and tries to keep the peace between the siblings. This peace, however, is hard to keep due to a rivalry between Thor and Loki for desire of Asgard's throne. After Loki's first attempts fail, he tries again in Thor: The Dark World (2013) during the invasion of the Dark Elves. This leads to Frigga sadly being killed and Loki taking the identity of his adoptive father, Odin. In Thor: Ragnork (2017), however, Thor returns to Asgard from his Avenger duties to uncover Loki's scheme, but also to find Odin before he passes away. His death, however, allows Hela to
escape her imprisonment. Hela, the goddess of death, is the true firstborn of Odin and Frigga. She was punished by her father due to her ambitions of conquest, causing a desire for revenge. Thor and Loki, therefore, team up to defeat their sister, but it results in the destruction of Asgard. In the end, the newly bonded siblings escape with the surviving Asgardians. Thanos, however, ambushes their ship and kills Loki, resulting in Thor facing Thanos in Infinity War (2018) and Endgame (2019) without family. Now, in Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), we will have to see how Thor will continue to develop without his family and passing the mantle of Thor on to his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster!
Song - Sons of Odin from Thor (2011)
Wakanda Royal Family
In Captain America: Civil War (2016), the MCU formally introduced the mysterious nation of Wakandan and its royal family. During the signing of the Sokovia Accords, a terrorist attack kills King T'Chaka, with Avenger Bucky Barnes being blamed for the attack. This results in T'Challa, T'Chaka's son, seeking to kill Bucky for his father's death. It is revealed, however, Zemo, a former citizen of Sokovia, is the true criminal and T'Challa returns to Wakanda. Now, picking up the story in Black Panther (2018), T'Challa is reunited with his mother, Queen Ramonda, and sister, Shuri. Afterward, the tribes of Wakanda crown T'Challa the new king, officially making him the Black Panther. T'Challa, however, does not know that there is another heir to the throne. Erik Stevens, who is known as Killmonger, is the son of N'Jobu, the brother and victim of T'Chaka. This injustice to his father causes Killmonger to desire the throne of Wakanda. This results in Killmonger challenging his cousin for the throne and winning in the ceremonial duel, where T'Challa is
assumed dead. He, however, is able to survive and has to fight against his own people with his family to defeat Killmonger. At the end, Killmonger is defeated, resulting in T'Challa reclaiming the throne and the title of Black Panther. Later, during Thanos's conquest in Infinity War (2018), the Avengers come to Wakanda and ask the royal family's help against Thanos and to help Vision, who possesses an infinity stone. Thanos and his army, however, defeat the people of Wakanda, resulting in the titan killing half of all life, including T'Challa. The Avengers are able to undo this snap and restore the lives of Wakanda in Endgame (2019). We will have to see how T'Challa's disappearance affected Wakanda and see what the royal family will face next in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)!
Song - Loyal to the Throne from Black Panther (2018)
Eternals
From Eternals (2021), the
Eternals, the immortal protectors of Earth, were introduced in the MCU. This team, though not genetically related, have fought together for thousands of years. The Eternals were first sent to Earth in 5000 B.C by Arishem the Celestial to defeat the Deviants. They, however, did not know the true goal was to develop human life and grow Tiamut the Celestial, who was planted inside of Earth. After many years, the Eternals believe they succeed in defeating all Deviants and part ways, hoping to one day be called back to their fictional home. When the Emergence begins, Ajak, the leader of the Eternals, is aware of Arishem's plan and considers rebelling. Ikrais, however, is loyal to Arishem and sacrifices Ajak
to a group of recently discovered Deviants. One by one, the scattered Eternals learn about the Deviants and decide to team up against Arishem once his grand design is revealed to Sersi, the new leader. This results in a clash between this family as their loyalty to Arishem is tested. In the end, their rebellion is successful, but Ikrais decides to sacrifice himself, knowing his loyalty to his family and the Celestial are both broken. Now, with future Marvel projects, we will have to see the bonds of the Eternals are tested as Arishem judges Earth for their actions and the remaining heroes team-up with fellow Eternals across the galaxy!
Song - Eternal Loss in Eternals (2021)
Maximoff Family
In WandaVision (2021), we pickup Wanda Maximoff's story after her return in Endgame (2019). Wanda, dealing with the grief of Vision's death, travels to Westview, NJ. Here, she visits the plot of land where the two were going to develop a life together. This increases Wanda's sadness, causing her chaos magic to unlock inside of her. This magic results in a border forming around Westview, allowing her to control the townspeople and the town itself. In this hex, Wanda creates a new Vision and tries to live a false life with him in a sitcom-like world. During this time, she also creates twin boys, Billy and Tommy, using her magic to fulfill the family she always wanted. At the end of the series, Wanda decides to
take the hex down once she realizes the pain that her control is having on the townspeople,
resulting her family to disappearing as well. Through this experience, however, she is able to
gain access to the Darkhold, a magical book which contains spellings for accessing the multiverse. With these spells and under the dark influence of the book, Wanda tries to seek out real variants of her children across the multiverse in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). This results in Wanda, now the Scarlet Witch, rampaging through different universes through monsters or variants as she seeks America Chavez's power, which is being able to travel across the multiverse. In the end, a variant of Billy and Tommy see the Scarlet Witch as a monster, causing Wanda to realize she must stop the Darkhold's corruption on her. Though Wanda may be gone in Earth-616, we may see a return of the Maximoff family in the future of the MCU!
Song - Wanda and Vision from WandaVision (2021)
Shang-Chi's Family
During Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), we are told the story of Xu Shang-Chi and his family's history. Xu Wenwu, Shang-Chi's father and the Mandarin, was a man of conquest until he met Ying Li, the gatekeeper of Ta Lo. Together, the couple live a peaceful life, putting the Ten Rings away and starting a family. This peace, however, is cut short when Ying Li is murdered by previous enemies of Wenwu. This causes a dangerous spiral of grief for Wenwu, resulting in him taking up the Ten Rings once more and training Shang-Chi to become an assassin. During Shang-Chi's first mission, however, he flees to America, hoping to one day come back for his sister, Xu Xialing.
Many years go by as the family is separated, but Wenwu eventually forces them together. This is because he believes Ying Li is alive and trapped in Ta Lo, and he needs the pendants from the children to unlock a map to this realm. In reality, the Dweller-in-Darkness was corrupting Wenwu with the Ten Rings to free him. This results in the siblings joining forces with the people of Ta Lo to fight their father and the Ten Rings organization. During this fight, the Dweller-in-Darkness is freed, causing Wenwu to realize his mistakes. In the end, he releases the Ten Rings, sacrificing himself, but allowing Shang-Chi to use them against the giant soul eater. We will have to wait until a future sequel, however, to see the bonds between Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing grow!
Song - Family from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
I hope you enjoyed my MCU insight on the families of our favorite characters! While the stories for some of these characters may be over, we will have to wait for more Marvel projects to see the family dynamics of many of these heroes. In the meantime, you can binge the previous movies or enjoy some tunes from every Marvel soundtracks. If you seek the latter, please enjoy my Marvel Mix playlist on the UCLP Teens' Spotify account. You can also use the embedded playlist attached below as well!
So, next time you are watching a Marvel project and you see these super families interact, just remember all the great bonds and memories you have had with your family! Just as these families (mostly) looked out for each other in the end, so too your family is there to help and strengthen you!