Investigating the Character-Network Topology in Marvel Movies

Abstract

Marvel Entertainment movie production house has rolled out movies that have seen record commercial success over the years. In this article, the authors investigate the social network formed by connecting the characters that have featured in the Marvel movies and thus examine their structural topology. Characters like Quicksilver and Hulk emerge as the main “bridging” characters. Movies, such as the Avengers series, emerge as central “bridging” movies. A positive relationship between user ratings and commercial success was seen with larger star cast being preferred choice of the audience in the recent years – especially the ones that bring supermen together. The network of 393 actors consists of 2814 unique edges. Cluster analysis using the Clauset-Newman-Moore cluster algorithm detects communities of actors who have acted together, but yet may be connected to the overall character network through a character who may have co-acted in two different movies dominated by the different “universes.”