The Universe-al Storytelling. Towards A ‘Spatial’ Narrative Model in Modern Comic Book Cinema

The aim of the article is to analyze modern superhero films through the specifics of superhero narratives in comics. By referring to the ‘organic’ elements of graphic super-storytelling – like retcon or crossover – the author tries to explain the main shift within comic book adaptations heading towards a ‘universe-al’ mode of narration. By doing so the analysis concentrates on the most succesful recent cases of superhero films as attempts to achieve a narrative ‘remediation’ of comic books’ spatial organization that requires reconsideration of the status of an individual superheroic franchise (or sub-franchise) within the larger universe of pre-existing, future and even alternate texts.