Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics is an American comic book company that makes "superhero" comic books. Marvel was started in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel era began in 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee,^[1] Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko^[2] and many others. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company bought Marvel for US$4 billion. Its top rival is DC Comics (the publications of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman).

The company is known for featuring such well-known superheroes such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel; as well as popular superhero teams including the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The universe also features well-known supervillains such as Doctor Doom, Magneto, Green Goblin, Red Skull, Loki, Ultron, Thanos, Kang the Conqueror, Venom, and Galactus. The majority of its publications take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, with most locations mirroring real-life places; many major characters are based in New York City. Additionally, Marvel has published several licensed properties from other companies. This includes Star Wars comics twice from 1977 to 1986 and again since 2015.

Marvel Comics has adapted its characters to different forms of media, including action figures, animated and live-action movies, animated and live-action television series, and video games, which have made them even more popular.

1. ↑ Rapoport, Michael (2021-02-20). "How Much of the Marvel Universe Did Stan Lee Really Create?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
2. ↑ Couch, Andy Lewis,Aaron; Lewis, Andy; Couch, Aaron (2018-07-06). "Steve Ditko, Spider-Man Co-Creator and Legendary Comics Artist, Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)