When I was rounding up my first impressions of Wong in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), I was marveling (har har 😀 ) about how many Marvel movies I had written about on my site. Then I thought… why not finally go back through all the Marvel movies, this time in phase order, and make sure I’ve watched, reviewed, and analyzed them all for any library, archives, and reel librarian scenes? Thus, the idea of the Marvel Summer was born!
Yep, that’s right, this entire summer is going to be our own Marvel Multiverse of Reel Librarians, as I wind my librarian way through the MCU, starting with Phase One.
*POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERTS*
Iron Man (2008)
I can still remember going to the movie theater to watch this movie! And yes, I still tear up at the beginning when Yinsen (Shaun Toub) tells Tony Stark not to waste his life.
Alas, there are no library scenes in the “one that started it all” — not even a private library at Tony Stark’s house!
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
At 49 mins into this movie — is this the most overlooked Marvel movie in the bunch?! — Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is trying to get away from military soldiers, so he cuts through the Culver University Library to escape. No reel librarian is visible in this scene, but you can tell it was filmed in a real university library, because there’s a yellow sign that reads “Please Do Not Reshelve Books.” 😉 IMDb says University of Toronto and Drew University in New Jersey served as filming locations for the university. Most of the action in this brief scene happens in the bound periodicals section. This movie qualifies for the Class V category, because it has library scenes with no identifiable librarians.
Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.
Below is my Twitter thread breaking down this brief library scene, also with lots of screenshots:
Iron Man 2 (2010)
No library scene.
On a personal note, I remembered shockingly little about this movie when I rewatched it. Maybe if there had been a library scene, I would have remembered more about it! 😉
Thor (2011)
Archives or vault?
My husband wondered if the vault of treasures seen at 9:56 into the movie could be considered an archives, but it’s referred to clearly in the movie as “the weapons vault” with “these relics.” Loki also refers to this vault later, at 41 minutes: “So I am another stolen relic, locked up here until you have use of me.”
Public library scene
At 49 minutes into the movie, Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) visits the public library because he needs to email a contact, after his laptop was confiscated by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. (I had vaguely remembered there being a library scene in this movie, but couldn’t remember why. But when Erik finds out his laptop had been taken, I shouted out loud, “He’s going to the library because they have internet access!” I clapped my hands in delight when this proved true. 😀 ) There’s even a “Free Internet” sign in the window of the library, along with READ posters (classic library decoration), computers, and bookshelves in an alcove. No obvious reel librarians, but we do see two other library patrons browsing the shelves.
Click on any image in the gallery below to view in a larger window.
Erik walks across the small library to pick up a book, The Giant Slayer by Iain Lawrence, on a rolling cart. He then picks up the book Myths and Legends from Around the World by Sandy Shepherd, and looks up entries for the Bifrost and for Thor (Thursday). Signs for “audio books” and “young adults” can be seen on the walls behind Erik.
Both of those titles are real books, by the way! The other titles on this cart that I could decipher, to the best of my ability, include:
- She Said Yes by Anja Talbot
- The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen
- The Unanointed by L. Chinn
- Score One for the Sloths by Helen Lester
- The King’s Trousers by Robert Kraus
- The Royal Nap by James Stevenson
- Collier’s Junior Classics: Just Around the Corner
- The Long Christmas by R. Sawyer (published by Viking Press, hah!)
- The Animal Book – The Junior Classics, Vol. 7
- David the King by Gladys Schmitt
- Great Moments in Fiction – The Walt Disney Parade of Fun, Fantasy, and Fiction
- Adventures in Fact – The Walt Disney Parade of Fun, Fantasy, and Fiction
- Fantasy on Parade – The Walt Disney Parade of Fun, Fantasy, and Fiction
- The Secret History of Giants by Ari Berk
- Myths and Legends from Around the World by Sandy Shepherd
- A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
- Bonita Faye by Margaret Moseley
Such a clever collection of book titles that reflect elements of this movie’s plot and characters — and they’re all real books. Props to the propmaster!
I noticed that there were no call numbers on the books on the cart, but there were call numbers on the books on the bookshelves lining the wall behind the cart. I immediately theorized that the books on the cart were book donations for sale, which is a common thing for libraries to do– and indeed, there is a “Book Sale” sign near the cart!
Again, this movie qualifies for the Class V category, because it has library scenes with no identifiable librarians.
Library book debate
At the 1 hour mark, we return to the book that Erik got from the public library, and that book then inspires a debate about science fact vs. fiction. Darcy (the ever-hilarious Kat Dennings) is flipping through the book on the table, and she points to the page for Mjolnir (which she pronounces as Myeu-muh, like a cat’s meow, and to this day, I cannot help but also say Mjolnir like that).
Jane: Where’d you find this?
Erik: The children’s section. [Turns to the page for Loki.] I wanted to show you how silly his story was.
Jane: But you’re the one who’s always pushing me to chase down every possibility, every alternative!
Erik: I’m talking about science, not magic!
Jane: Well, magic’s just science we can’t explain yet. Arthur C. Clarke.
Erik: Who wrote science fiction.
Jane: A precursor to science fact!
#TeamJane
And OF COURSE you know I looked up that Arthur C. Clarke quote, right? Right. 🙂 Clark’s original quote — known as “Clarke’s third law” — is:
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
This was published in a 1968 letter to Science magazine and was added to the 1973 revision of the “Hazards of Prophecy” essay. But Clarke had written a similar sentiment earlier in 1952, and this Wikipedia entry traces earlier variations of this concept that pre-date Clarke. The bottom line? Science as magic, and vice versa, is not a new idea.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
No library scene.
Do I still tear up every time when Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) explains the good he sees in Steve Rogers (Chris Evans)? Yes, yes, I do. No shame in feeling emotions, y’all. Movies are good for emotional catharsis. ❤
The Avengers (2012)
No library scene.
This movie is notable for Mark Ruffalo’s first outing as Bruce Banner/The Hulk, a role that Edward Norton did not reprise (thank goodness).
Keeping score
Phase One:
- 6 movies
- 2/6 library or archives scenes
- 0/6 reel librarian sightings
The Avengers will return…
… in our next regular post! 😀 Yes, we will continue our Marvel Multiverse of Reel Librarians for Phase Two. Stay tuned!
Sources used
- The Avengers. Dir. Joss Whedon. Perf. Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston. Paramount / Marvel Studios, 2012.
- Captain America: The First Avenger. Dir. Joe Johnston. Perf. Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson, Sebastian Stan. Paramount / Marvel Studios, 2008.
- Clarke, Arthur C. “Clarke’s Third Law on UFO’s.” Science, vol. 159, issue 3812 (19 Jan. 1968): 255. doi: 10.1126/science.159.3812.255.c
- “Clarke’s Three Laws.” Wikipedia, 26 May 2022. Accessed 17 June 2022. CC BY SA 3.0 license.
- The Incredible Hulk. Dir. Louis Leterrier. Perf. Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth. Universal / Marvel Studios, 2008.
- “The Incredible Hulk (2008): Filming & Production.” Internet Movie Database, accessed 17 June 2022.
- Iron Man. Dir. Jon Favreau. Perf. Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard. Paramount / Marvel Studios, 2008.
- Iron Man 2. Dir. Jon Favreau. Perf. Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell. Paramount / Marvel Studios, 2008.
- “Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One.” Wikipedia, 15 June 2022. Accessed 17 June 2022. CC BY SA 3.0 license.
- Thor. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba. Paramount / Marvel Studios, 2011.
REEL LIBRARIANS 
My favorite librarian movie scene is in Major League when she talks with her ex-husbands about his not reading Moby Dick, his affairs, and finally gets very loud. So funny!
Yes, that’s one of my favorites, too! 🙂 I’ve done a deep-dive into that movie and scene here in this post, https://reel-librarians.com/2020/04/22/summer-school-library-scene/