One of the most common criticisms of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that it doesn’t have any memorable musical themes that audiences can leave the theater humming. Unlike John Williams’ unforgettable orchestrations, which have burned themselves in the minds of Star Wars fans permanently, Marvel’s scores have mostly come and gone without making a lasting impression. There are certainly exceptions – Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning Black Panther score being the obvious example – but for the most part, Marvel’s movies tend to have a safe, generic blockbuster score that does its job without drawing attention to itself.
However, Marvel does have one thing in its musical toolkit that Star Wars doesn’t: the ability to use licensed music. Most of Marvel’s most memorable music moments don’t involve original compositions (although any time Alan Silvestri’s Avengers theme made an appearance was pretty exhilarating), but rather existing classics. James Gunn made Guardians of the Galaxy stand out in a number of ways, but the most notable was its use of a diegetic soundtrack of pop hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s blaring through the hero’s Walkman.
The music in Guardians was so refreshing that it influenced the rest of the MCU. Now, Marvel’s filmmakers seem to be encouraged to bring needle-drop soundtrack moments to the table, and more often than not, these moments involve a beloved track from the rock ‘n’ roll genre. Over the course of more than a decade dominating multiplexes, the MCU has featured songs by some of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll: Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, the Kinks, George Harrison, AC/DC – the list goes on.
The MCU’s affinity for rock music was established from the outset, as Iron Man – the very first entry in the franchise – opens with AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” It plays as Tony Stark rides through war-torn Afghanistan in a military convoy, sipping scotch and snapping selfies with soldiers, before they’re interrupted by an explosion. The last thing Tony sees before he’s riddled with shrapnel and kidnapped by terrorists is a bomb bearing his own company’s logo.
Despite all the chaos after the song cuts out, “Back in Black” stuck in audience’s minds and created a strong association with Stark. AC/DC would become Iron Man’s unofficial cheerleaders throughout the rest of Phase One. “Shoot to Thrill” played over his introduction in The Avengers and the entire soundtrack of Iron Man 2 was made up of AC/DC songs. In addition to opening with a popular heavy metal tune, the first Iron Man movie also ends with one: Black Sabbath’s aptly titled “Iron Man.” It’s almost certainly unintentional, but some of Geezer Butler’s lyrics in “Iron Man” line up with Tony’s fate in Avengers: Endgame – “When he traveled time / For the future of mankind.”
Since AC/DC was linked to the brash personality of Iron Man, the MCU has done a great job of pairing rock bands with superheroes. The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” captured the youthful rebelliousness of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. The trippy sounds of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” was perfectly matched to the psychedelic visuals of Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange. And, of course, Led Zeppelin’s Norse mythology-based “Immigrant Song” was a no-brainer for a Thor movie.
When Marvel was meeting with potential directors for the third Thor movie, Taika Waititi reportedly brought in a collection of clips from movies that exemplified the zany comic tone he was going for – primarily John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China – and played “Immigrant Song” over it. Waititi ended up using the Zeppelin classic twice in the movie. It first plays during Thor’s battle with Surtur and his demons, filling him with confidence that he can win any fight and defeat any enemy. Then, over the course of the movie, his dad dies, he loses to Hela, he loses to the Hulk, he loses to Hela again, he loses an eye, and then, at the eleventh hour, Odin comes to him in a vision and reminds him that he doesn’t need his hammer to channel his thunderous powers. “Immigrant Song” kicks back in as the God of Thunder’s journey comes full circle and he crashes down onto the Bifrost in a flurry of lightning to destroy Hela’s armies.
The MCU doesn’t just have a lot of affection for rock music; it has a lot of affection for its fans, too, often including winks and nods to rock fans in its musical moments. The best example can be found in Spider-Man: Far From Home when Happy plays “Back in Black” on Stark’s jet and Peter says, “I love Led Zeppelin!” It added a musical component to the MCU’s running joke about Spidey’s cluelessness regarding older popular culture, like “that really old movie” The Empire Strikes Back. While fans looking for bold orchestral themes like the ones found in Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park will be disappointed by the music in the MCU, fans of rock ‘n’ roll will be more than happy with its soundtracks’ headbanging offerings.