What Happens when MARVEL goes Corporate?

We are watching you Marvel. The success of the Movie Iron Man has put Marvel on the map as being a major Hollywood player. Before now Marvel was pretty much an independent film company. Believe it or Not Iron Man was an Independent film. It was the first film Marvel made with money out of their pockets. Prior to Iron Man Marvel was licensing their characters off for other studios make the movies like Spider Man and X-Men.

It was a smart move for Marvel to finally want to take control of their properties, which Major Studios either made some good films out of or just totally Butchered. So here they are with a great and successful Iron Man movie, ready to move forward with more! Its great! We are going to be able to see Thor! Captain America! The Avengers! Iron Man 2! And Runaways! Wait I mean Runaways? Not sure why they are going with it but they must have some good ideas for it. Marvel also has its animated DVD features that have be fairly successful and now they have announced a slate of animated films such as The Double Feature Hulk Vs. Thor and Hulk Vs. Wolverine! Super Hero Squad! And Planet Hulk! This is all very exciting and so far Marvel has delivered some amazing film entertainment for geeks like us who love their stories and characters.

I am excited as I am sure you are to see all of these projects come to life. So here is the question, will the new films Marvel makes be as good or better than what they have given us so far? Because I will tell you right here, now is not the time to drop the ball. We don't want to see any cheap, half-assed attempts at these new movies they have planned. The bar was set really high with the live action ‘Iron Man', and the animated ‘Dr. Strange'. If they go below the bar the audience and fans are going to tell.

I think Major Studios think the audience is ignorant and doesn't know any better, but I am here to tell you they do know better and they can tell when they give us terrible movies like ‘Daredevil', ‘Catwoman', ‘Spiderman 3', Ang Lees 'Hulk', 'X-Men 3' and 'Electra'. For some odd reason Major Studios tend push the creative people making the films to do things a certain way which cause the movie to suck. Like throwing in 3 villains for Spiderman 3. Why do they do this? They either think it is a really good or cool idea, or they think the movie will make more money. Another reason some of these movies are bad is because for some odd reason they go out and hire untalented directors, like Brett Ratner. Look what he did to X-Men. He ruined it! I could not believe how he butchered it. These are the types of decisions Marvel needs to steer clear from.

So what is this rant leading up to? Marvel has changed allot the last month. People moving up and around the company, new people being brought in, policy changes, structure changes. Marvel is becoming more corporate. This worries me. It is beginning to build itself up as a Major Studio. After ‘Iron Man' I knew Marvel would be a driving force in this industry. It has the potential to become the most powerful studio in Hollywood. I think they will get there if they stick to their guns and not fall in with the rest of the crowd. They need to rise above. It seems like a place where if they hire someone, that person has the gift, the creative spark and talent they are looking for. Then they set that person loose in the wild and the powers at Marvel listen to what they have to say, and trusts their judgments. This is why Jon Favreau loved working with them so much. They trusted him. That is a hard quality to find. If Marvel is able to keep this same type of atmosphere and feel as they continue to grow. They will come out on top, and have the best talent in the world working with them. Bringing fans some of the best movies ever made. If Marvel looses its personality it will show in the movies they make. Marvel Entertainment has a lot of work to do. But with the right structure, talent and attitude they will be king of the mountain.