WDW Daily News

Experience an exciting journey through the 75 year history of the Marvel Universe, from its humble beginnings as Timely Comics in 1939 to the birth of The Marvel Age in the 1960s, and finally the cinematic blockbusters of today in the original special, “Marvel: Pulp to Pop,” hosted by Emily VanCamp, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Marvel has pioneered and broken box-office records around the world, creating a universe unlike any other in pop culture history through its comic books, television shows, video games, animation and blockbuster films. Marvel made its foray into the film world with “Iron Man” in 2008 and continues its entertainment domination today with “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” on ABC and the upcoming “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” and the recent theatrical releases of “Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,” as well as the highly anticipated upcoming film, “Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” The Marvel Cinematic Universe translates the excitement of the comic books to a whole new audience with some of the most groundbreaking and dynamic storytelling that brings an unprecedented vision to the world of entertainment.

But how was the Marvel Universe formed?

The special takes a look at Marvel’s roots, beginning in 1939 as Timely Comics with Martin Goodman and Stan Lee emerging as key figures in Marvel’s history in the 1940s along with the creation of Captain America, the impact of World War II and the decline of super hero stories and the subsequent downfall of the comic book industry in the 1950s. After a decade of decline, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the modern super hero team in 1961 with the Fantastic Four, helping to bring back superhero stories and ushering in “The Marvel Age,” which saw the creation of the Hulk, Iron Man, The X-Men and Spider-Man. A shift in the character paradigm in the 1970s also brought culturally relevant characters such as the Black Panther, Falcon, Black Widow, Luke Cage and Ms. Marvel to the forefront . But the mid-1990s were not so kind to Marvel as the company fell into bankruptcy. However, a new batch of creative visionaries brought about a modern day renaissance, revitalizing publishing. Soon, after Marvel saw its characters and stories take over the silver screen, and Marvel Studios was born, leading into today’s successes on the big screen and television.

“Marvel: Pulp to Pop” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to the airdate.

For more information on “Marvel: Pulp to Pop,” visit marvel.com

Robert Downey Jr. is on the verge of signing on to “Captain America 3,” with Tony Stark’s Iron Man set to play a key role in bringing the Civil War storyline from Marvel’s comicbooks to the bigscreen and trigger the start of a new phase of movies from Marvel Studios.

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Upper Deck’s Legendary™: A Marvel Deck Building Game has become the company’s top gaming property with two core sets (Legendary™ & Villains) and three expansion sets (Dark City, Fantastic Four & Paint the Town Red) in the market. Now Upper Deck brings Marvel fans even more excitement with the fourth expansion in the series. With content dedicated exclusively to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy cast of characters, comic fans have enjoyed over the years and that Marvel movie fans have come to know and love as well. Legendary™ fans are going to be thrilled to add their favorite Guardians of the Galaxy characters to their decks as this expansion will include 100 all new playable cards featuring original artwork.

This expansion will feature the five key heroes from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot and Rocket Raccoon) as they get help from Nova to do battle with one of the evil masterminds; The Kree Supreme Intelligence. New game mechanics, schemes and tactics will add to the gameplay and these new cards will all be playable with cards from the previously released sets!

“Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ was one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer, and with that, Legendary™ fans have been inquiring about when they could add content of this misfit band of interstellar heroes to the game,” said Jason Brenner, Upper Deck’s manager of entertainment brands. “We couldn’t be more excited to give our fans what they want. Not only will the cards be a great addition to the game, but the original artwork really makes this set stand out.”

Gamers can play with or against each other in Upper Deck’s latest Legendary™ expansion for Guardians of the Galaxy when it releases on October 15, 2014.