I’m sure you’ve seen one of the many Marvel Studios movies sometime. But did you get a good look at the Marvel movie logos for the fictitious companies and organizations they feature?
We hear Tony’s footsteps echoing into his California home. Calling for Jarvis, we hear it’s voice powering down and notice the lights aren’t on. A silhouette of Samuel L. Jackson stands looking out over the Pacific. It’s no secret who he is. And when he said “Avengers Initiative,” we all wet our pants. Seriously, whose face didn’t light up?
That post credit scene set in motion something the movie industry had never seen before. A mega franchise, of multiple story lines and protagonists. Connecting, crossing over, and spanning throughout multiple movies. There have been ten movies released by the end of 2014, with twelve more coming through 2019.
This enormous world that Marvel Studios has created has spawned something of great interest: Marvel movie logos. The companies and organizations within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have their own logos. They blend into the background a bit, making their world seem legitimate and established. Pretty neat, huh?
I want you to take a look at these Marvel movie logos with me. See them in action on screen. Analyze them. Compare them. Could they exist in our world today? We’ll start with 2008’s Iron Man. What Marvel movie logos were we introduced to?
MARVEL MOVIE LOGOS: PART 1
Stark Industries
As seen in: Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier(2014).
“They say that the best weapon is the one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That’s how Dad did it, that’s how America does it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far. I present to you the newest in Stark Industries’ Freedom line.” -Tony Stark, Iron Man
What is it? The fictional company run by Tony Stark. Founded by his father, Howard Stark, it was first appeared in Tales of Suspense #40. Stark Industries rose to prominence during WWII as a military contractor. In the world of the movies today it operates as a weapons and technology company. The logo appears on building, airplanes, technology, and crates throughout the Iron Man series.
How does it look? There’s a thick, italicized font. The font is a little bubbly for a big business. But the “S” connecting to the “T” gives it a slight nod to Star Wars. Those two elements make the logo feel older, as if it hadn’t had a rebrand in a while. The streak stretches across the top and darts back beneath the last “s.” Tied with the italic font the whole logo has forward movement. Appropriate for a technology company. But it is sharp, almost spear-like. The spear was advanced weaponry in its time.
Could it be real? I lean towards “yes.” Its parts are already in use today. Modeled after real-life companies like the Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, it carries traits of both. The logo is almost a mash-up of elements from the two. Part of the start from Lockheed Martin and the font style from Northrop Grumman.
It’s simple, which if fitting for a large umbrella company. It has just enough character between the text and mark to make it distinct, like the Nike logo. Not a shape found too often anywhere else.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
As seen in: Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier(2014), Marvel One-Shots, and the ABC Television Series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
“I’m Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.” – Agent Phil Coulson, Iron Man
What is it? A mouthful. This Marvel movie logo goes way back to 1965 in Strange Tales #135. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, S.H.I.E.L.D initially focused on espionage and law-enforcement. They were organization in charge when the government would deal with superhuman and paranormal activities.
In Iron Man, Agent Phil Coulson and Director Nick Fury represent this organization. They both contact Tony Stark about the events surrounding the movie. We get to see the traditional comic-book style logo in the end credits (shown above). It isn’t until Iron Man 2 that we see the polished Marvel Cinematic Universe version.
Other characters with ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Studios movies are Natasha Romanov (Black Widow), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), and Maria Hill (Deputy Director).
How does it look? As a guy that likes bird logos, I think it’s pretty cool. The movie version is a bit different that the comics version. More streamlined, with straight lines creating the wings. There’s usually a thicker gap between the wings and the tail lines. The head in the movie version faces right, which is visually sound. The comics version faced left. Facing right in the western world relates to the future, moving forward. It’s tied to they way we read left to right. It makes sense that a spy organization would have their bird looking towards the future.
Could it be real? Nah, it’s just cool enough for any real business or organization to use it. I would like to think in 2015 someone could see the potential in using a logo like this. If any, I would guess it would be an arms or patriotic organization. Probably not any official governments though. Just look at the CIA’s logo. That bird’s got nothing on S.H.I.E.L.D.
As a logo designer I couldn’t help but notice these while watching the movies. I’m still picking them up as each movie comes out, I’m sure you’ve notice them too! There’s quite a few more Marvel movie logos to cover though.
If you enjoyed this let me know in the comments! I would love to continue taking a look at Marvel movie logos with you.
Cool Iron Man photo in the cover courtesy of Stephano Tinti / Shutterstock.com
Stark Industries screenshot provided by Marvel-Movies.wikia.com
Iron Man credits image courtesy of chantastic / flickr.com