Modeling the marvel everyfan: Agent coulson and/as transmedia fan culture

Abstract

This article contends that the transmedia franchising model pioneered by the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has worked to structurally produce an industry-Approved conception of an everyfan. This transmedia everyfan, modeled as an avid consumer, collector and completist, importantly privileges stereotypically male-dominated modes of fan engagement, and works to contain or circumvent the transformative textual work performed predominantly by female fans. Though a close (para)textual analysis, this article uses the character of S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Phil Coulson as an allegorical lens to consider how transmedia fan participation is constructed, valued, and gendered in our current franchise-heavy mediascape.