Marvel Studios is famous worldwide for its consistently spectacular and big-budget movies, including Avengers: Endgame, which swept the leaderboard last April, breaking records. Marvel Studios began in 2008 with half a billion dollars, giving them the jumping-off point to earn over 22 billion in the last 12 years.

Marvel, now worth 13 billion, currently has several titles on the way since beginning Phase 4 of their movie production and Disney+ shows. Marvel has come a long way from its beginning to present times, as now they are the most well-known studio for superhero movies.

Like most companies, Marvel has had its ups and downs. For example, Marvel had to give up their heroes to save the company from bankruptcy. Did you know that Spider-Man was once a DC character? Marvel bought Spider-Man back, but Sony still has primary ownership of the character.

Yet, after signing a deal with Sony, Marvel has been able to have spider man in movies like Captain America: Winter Soldier, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spiderman: Far From Home. 

Initially, Marvel was just a superhero comic publishing company. In fact, it was one of the top competitors in the comic book industry at the time. The company was founded on January 12th, 1939 under the name Timely Comics Inc. Over the next few years, they would release the early versions of modern iconic superheroes, such as the Human Torch. 

On February 19th, 1961, publisher Martin Goodman established a new name for the company: Marvel. He was also responsible for the creation of some of the most well-known and favorite superheroes of all time including Captain America. 

In 1972, a man named Stanley Martin Lieber (better known as Stan Lee) joined Marvel, and he would rise to Editorial Director and Publisher positions that same year. He is known for the creation of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Black Panther, and many more characters.

Lee quickly became the public face for Marvel Comics. He made appearances at comic book conventions across America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions. He was also an executive producer for Marvel, making cameo appearances in numerous film adaptations and other movies. 

By about 1996 or 1997, the “Marvelous” bubble burst, and several smaller publishers died completely. In order to stay afloat, Marvel sold the film and television rights to many of their big-name characters to pretty much anyone who wrote them a check. This included Spider-Man, Deadpool, X-Men, and Daredevil. They sold to 20th Century Fox, Universal, and Sony, but recently Marvel bought back most of its characters. 

Disney bought Marvel Studios for 4 billion dollars in 2009. Since then, Disney has made 18 billion dollars, making the company a worthy investment. 

The famed company, known for its blockbuster films, has had an interesting and tumultuous past, but they have prevailed, leaving a lasting impact on pop culture throughout time. If one thing is clear, it is that  Marvel’s name will never be forgotten.