Marvel Logo Evolution: MCU Subtly Drops Logo Changes in Various Shows--Including 'Eternals'

Marvel has been building its cinematic universe for 13 years since the premier of "Iron Man" back in 2008, which began the first string of films in the lineup canonically called "Phase One." Marvel has constantly grown and evolved with the fans' cinematic experiences.

One detail of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has been constant but ever changing is their logo.

Marvel Logo Evolution

Fans of the MCU are familiar with the variations of the Marvel Studios Logo. Logo and film enthusiasts are also aware of the logo variations found in the studios' trailers and films.

The Closing Logo Group is a wiki made by the original logo authority "that discusses all closing logos you see on TV... and much, much more." CLG has collected a number of Marvel's logo variations over the years.

Before Marvel Studios, Marvel films already had variations of their logo. In 2003, for the movie "Hulk," the background of the logo was green and the comic book panels displayed the Bruce Banner turning green. "The Punisher" (2004) had the logo shot at. In the 2009 "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the logo is black and white.

If comic books are included in the shot, it is customized to the main superhero's panels. This has been a common effect used in Marvel movies' opening, which later evolved to stills and scenes from the previous movies. Video games of Marvel heroes also carry logo variations for their games.

A notable early Marvel Cinematic Universe logo variation would be the 2012 "The Avengers" variation where the logo dissolves into the blue energy of the Tesseract.

Read Also: How to Watch Marvel Movies in Two Main Orders: By Release Date and Chronological

Marvel Logo Changes: All in the Perception?

Over the course of the MCU's growth, moving to Phase Two and Phase Three, the Studios wanted to rebrand. They enlisted the help of Perception, a cutting edge design lab, to "redesign the logo and craft the opening animation for the next era of Marvel Studios that will precede all of their feature films for years to come."

Perception has been collaborating with Marvel Studios in nearly all of their films since "Iron Man 2," Cospective said.

They weren't just in charge with the logo seen on the opening title sequence and the closing panel of the film. They are motion graphics and VFX specialists and a lot of the designing of the futuristic interfaces you've seen on "Iron Man" and "Spider-Man" films were thanks to them.

But back to the Marvel logo evolution. Marvel Studios gave Perception creative freedom in their brief, and Kevin Feige, the President of the studios, only had one request: "to combine the brand and the iconic characters into a single image, showcasing the heroes within the letterforms of the MARVEL logo."

The MCU is ever-expanding and the new logos and animations needed to make a statement. Perception took cues from past brand equities while also "showcasing the growth and expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe."

This resulted in an opening sequence tailored to every movie that showcased not just the main hero of the movie, but the vastness of the cinematic universe Marvel has created for over a decade. It had fans going back memory lane yet it also hyped them up for what's about to come.

The opening sequence became the combnation of what the MCU has been and what it will be. And the variation in logos showed the individuality of these story lines but that they all join together to make up the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe.

MCU Phase Four

Fans are excited more than ever now that MCU is back on track with Phase Four, which saw a delay because of the global pandemic. With the recent release of the "Eternals" trailer, fans get to see a new logo variation introduced to the studios' portfolio and fans are loving it.

The logo variations in the films and series captured the essence of the story, making it blend seamlessly with the trailers yet still being prominently MARVEL, a detail fans do not miss and greatly appreciate.

MCU fans will be able to watch "The Eternals" this November. The new movie and other Marvel Studios films and series on Disney Plus.