Image Explains Which Marvel Character Belongs to Which Studio:
The recent squabble between Sony Pictures and marvel Studios has made one thing pretty clear – no matter how powerful Disney might be, the pettiness of humanity can still go way more than it could ever comprehend. Spider-Man, one of Marvel Studios’ greatest assets, is now back in the hands of Sony Pictures Entertainment after the on-going deal negotiations between Disney and Sony failed to give both parties any concrete results. With the Fox-Disney merger and the increasing distances between Sony and Marvel as well as Universal Studios’ non-compliance at giving back the movie rights to Bruce Banner aka the Hulk, the fans are pretty confused as to the future of the Marvel Superhero genre in the Big Screens. To simplify matters, a newly released image has managed to explain which Marvel superhero is now the property of which Studio.
Here is the official image that explains it all:
To further simplify matters within the overcrowded Venn diagram we will explain each set in detail. The entirety of Marvel Comic Book characters are now divided between four separate entities. The biggest chunk of the Pie lies with Disney-Fox, which owns the majority of Marvel characters as well as the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. The second biggest pie lies with Netflix, which owns (or shall we say ‘owned’) the rights to Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, the Punisher and Iron Fist. Universal Studios owns the Jade Giant aka the Hulk. Sony Pictures Entertainment owns Spider-Man and Venom and all associated characters attached with both the superheroes, villain and supporting roles alike.
Universal and Disney exchange boundaries on more than just the Hulk! Even Namor the Submariner, the world’s first-ever mutant, is a character whose movie rights are owned by Universal. If Namor intends to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he needs to cross some major hurdles in the form of Universal to do so.
A-Bomb, otherwise known as Rick Jones – the Hulk’s best friend, is also lying on murky waters and his future is also extremely uncertain as far as his MCU debut is concerned. Spider-Man and Venom will have a hard time coming to Marvel Studios now since Sony and Disney are adamant on turning the negotiation talks to their favor.
Netflix owns the rights to the characters like Luke Cage, the Punisher and Daredevil. It also shares the rights to Kingpin, the supervillain in Daredevil Season 1 and Season 3 with Marvel Studios as well as Sony. While Disney owns all the Netflix characters as it is the parent company of Marvel Comics, they still cannot use the characters in TV Shows since the contract for TV Shows revolving around the Defenders universe is only going to expire 2 years later, post which Disney will start streaming these characters in their featured web series within the Disney+ online streaming network. The graphic image may not be the official release by Marvel Studios by any chance but it is the closest thing we get to when it comes to a layman understanding the complexity of the Marvel Comics superhero business.
Spider-Man first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, released on the 6th of May, 2016. The official film synopsis for the movie reads:
Political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability when the actions of the Avengers lead to collateral damage. The new status quo deeply divides members of the team. Captain America (Chris Evans) believes superheroes should remain free to defend humanity without government interference. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) sharply disagrees and supports oversight. As the debate escalates into an all-out feud, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) must pick aside.
The last Avengers movie to be released featuring Spiderman was Avengers: Endgame, released on the 26th of April, 2019. The official film synopsis of the movie has been released and it states:
“After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.”
