If there’s one thing I’ve proven myself capable of over and over again, it’s the ability to never have a clue what’s going to be a big story. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve told Charles V. how excited I was to run something only to find out that pretty much me and two guys in Jersey actually cared about it. The top 10 most viewed articles of the first year of Murphy’s Multiverse make one thing very clear: most people don’t care too much about Marvel Studios’ scoops. If you had asked me a year ago, I’d never guess that only 1 of the top ten would be associated with a Marvel Studios project but that’s exactly what we have here in the Top 10 Biggest Stories of Year 1!
1. ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ LEAK OFFERS FIRST LOOK AT ‘AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.’S JEMMA SIMMONS
When I started Murphy’s Multiverse, it never crossed my mind to cover gaming. It had been years since I felt like a part of the gaming community and knew I was out of touch with modern gamers. Thankfully Charles and Joseph are part of the team and found a way to connect with gamers because the results are clear: gaming needs to be a big part of the future of the site. This one made its way to the top in just over 3 days, forcing me to reshuffle the top 10. The combination of Marvel Avengers with Jemma Simmons, star of the beloved Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series proved to be of great interest to readers as Year 1 came to a close.
2. FIRST GLIMPSE AT ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ BLACK PANTHER LEAKED
Marvel’s Avengers game has brought a lot of new readers to the site and Joseph has worked hard to find any and all new information on the game. Fans are so hungry for info on the game that 7 of the top 10 most-read pieces of the year are about it, including this one which gave fans their first look at Black Panther.
3. EXCLUSIVE: ELISABETH SHUE TO APPEAR IN ‘COBRA KAI’ SEASON 3
As mentioned in the top scoops post, this one was essentially ignored when I wrote it a year ago but once Cobra Kai hit Netflix, the flood gates opened. Shue’s role on Amazon’s The Boys certainly represents a departure from her Ali Mills persona, so it’ll be interesting to see the actress occupy two very different prominent pop culture roles at the same time. Cobra Kai’s enormous popularity got fans searching for more info on Shue’s return and there was only one place to find it: right here at Murphy’s Multiverse.
4. FIRST FULL LOOK AT ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ BLACK PANTHER LEAKED
Just a glimpse of the King of Wakanda drove people wild and the first full look at his fully realized costume from Marvel’s Avengers had a similar response. Black Panther’s popularity has grown immensely since the solo film in 2018 and the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman earlier this year only cemented T’Challa’s status as one of Marvel’s most popular characters, so his inclusion in this game has made fans incredibly happy.
5. EXCLUSIVE: MARVEL STUDIOS ‘HAWKEYE’ SERIES DELAYED INDEFINITELY
Memorable because it was A) very controversial and B) because, in retrospect, it was when it became apparent that we would eventually need to upgrade the server host, this was a huge story the day of but was rendered completely irrelevant by the COVID-19 pandemic. People seem to be in two very staunch camps when it comes to Hawkeye: The “I hate Jeremy Renner camp” and the “I love Hailee Steinfeld” camp and both camps seem hungry for news. With Hawkeye set to begin filming after Thanksgiving, news about the series should be plentiful headed into 2021.
6. FIRST LOOK AT ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ WAR MACHINE LEAKED
BOOM! You looking for this? Apparently you were because this one had a huge couple of days in late-September.
7. LATEST ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ LEAK TEASES DOCTOR STRANGE STORYLINE & ‘AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.’S JEMMA SIMMONS
The tease for the Simmons reveal had fans pretty excited (nowhere near as excited as the reveal, however) and came at a time when gamers were STARVING for info on Marvel’s Avengers. The addition of Doctor Strange to the game, at a time when his prominence in pop culture is growing, is interesting as well and may portend big things in store for the Sorcerer Supreme.
8. 15 DLC CHARACTERS REVEALED IN THIRD ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ DATA LEAK
DLC packages are probably one of the most important advancements in modern gaming. Though DLC dates all the way back to the Atari 2600, it really began to explode around the time of Halo 2 and has now become a major money maker for the gaming industry. It extends the life of each game and is something gamers look forward to from the moment the game is announced and it was no different for Marvel’s Avengers as the roster of DLC characters was one of our most read stories of Year One!
9. EXCLUSIVE: STRANGER THINGS SEASON 5 PLANS REVEALED
It’s been really hard to get the Duffer brothers to commit to just how long they planned their run on Stranger Things to be, so I was over the moon when, during pre-production for Season 4, I found out that there would be at least a 5th season. ST has become such a pop culture phenomenon and the fans are so rabid that finding any news on it is usually a big deal and this piece proved that.
10. ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ ARTWORK TEASES THE COMING OF THE INHUMANS
I mean why not close out the Top 10 with one more Marvel’s Avengers piece? After all, what is Murphy’s Multiverse if not a gaming site? I remember being as excited about this leak as any of those Joseph was able to come across because I love the Inhumans and it gives me hope that there still might be room for them in the MCU at some point.
The Top 10 of Year One! 70% gaming…who knew? We are thrilled to have made it one year couldn’t have done it without the support of all of you. Thank you so much!
