Over the years, there have been many prominent players in the film industry. Marvel Studios, the movie company that produced some of the greatest superhero hits such as “Iron Man” and “Captain America,” remains one of them.
Marvel remains the highest earning movie franchise in history, and the Marvel Entertainment Studio we know today came from Marvel Comics. Founded in 1939 by pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman, the company produced many of the popular superheroes we know today, like Captain America. In order to take advantage of the growing popularity of comic books, especially those featuring superheroes, Goodman created the company Timely Comics.
The shared storytelling platform known as the Marvel universe was revealed in 1961, when Goodman commissioned none other than Stan Lee to create the Fantastic Four.
With this release, Marvel started to gain more attention. The characterization was built on real world scenarios, people and events that appealed to readers and viewers. It also started to tackle topics that were harder to swallow, such as pollution, race relations and drug abuse.
Currently, in the 21st century, Marvel has become more commercialized, with profits derived mostly from toys, video games and other merchandise. By 2020, the franchise’s total global box office receipts had topped $22 billion. As of July 2024, the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the highest earning movie franchise worldwide, earning more than 30 billion in total.
With the Marvel films receiving so much attention, Stan Lee reminisced on how it all started, before he unfortunately passed away Nov. 12, 2018. “All I thought about when I wrote my stories was, ‘I hope that these comic books would sell so I can keep my job and continue to pay the rent.’ Never in a million years could I have imagined that it would turn into what it has evolved into nowadays.”
The cast of the Marvel films are still tightly knit. Scarlett Johansson, who portrays Black Widow, revealed that they still have a group chat. ”We’ve been through an incredible experience over a decade plus of time. It was life-changing for all of us,” she said. “If you text the chain, you can guarantee that within a few minutes, most people will respond, which is great.” (Photo/ Dave M. Bennett @ Getty Images)
