For every superhero story we read or movie we watch, there is always a dark phase. A phase in which everything seems lost, and it looks like the world is going to end. Well, for one of the world’s largest creators of superhero stories, Marvel, this phase came in the winter of 1996.
Through the early 1990s, Marvel was enjoying a lot of success as their Spider Man comics were selling like hotcakes. However, they soon started to face issues due to their deteriorating financial state and a series of unjust business decisions. The entire comic industry was based on a bubble, which included people to buy comics as collectors’ items for thousands of dollars, and that bubble soon burst.
By 1996, Marvel was heavily in debt. In the face of losses, the company’s then CEO, Ron Perelman decided to set up Marvel Studios to finally get the company’s characters on the big screen. However, the company’s shareholders resisted, and in response, Perelman filed for bankruptcy, which gave him power to reorganize Marvel without the shareholders’ consent.
After a lengthy court case, Marvel eventually merged with ToyBiz, but Perelman had to leave the firm. Things began to change in the late 90s, with Blade being a hit and XMen finding its feet. However, Marvel earned very little on these, for example, Blade made $70 million at the box office, and in return, Marvel made just $25,000.
Marvel finally decided to take a risk by producing their movies themselves. However, they required funds for that, and they had to put their crown jewels Thor and Captain America with the bank. If they failed, these characters would then belong to the bank.
Shortly after that, Marvel decided that their first independently produced movie would be Iron Man, and the rest is history. The next turning point in the company’s history came in 2009, when it was acquired by Disney for $4.3 billion dollars.
For a company which had to sell off the rights of Spider-Man to Sony, the Hulk to Paramount and Daredevil, the X-Men and Fantastic Four to 21st Century Fox, it was a remarkable recovery.
Image credits: StudioBinder
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