Image Source: TopPng, Dreamstime
Marvel has recently filed a lawsuit to prevent the copyright to some of its key characters. The list of characters that Disney's Marvel Heads are taking action against includes Spiderman, Dr. Stephen Strange, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor.
The lawsuits are filed against the heirs of comic book legends such as Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Gene Colan.
The lawsuit states, "declaratory relief that these blockbuster characters are ineligible for copyright termination as works made for hire."
The lawsuit is filed to prove that these comic book characters were created as "work for hire" which means that Lee, Ditko, and Colan are not the original creators of these characters but worked as freelancers for Marvel. In other words, these are legally owned by Marvel and not Steve and the team.
If Marvel loses the lawsuit, the Walt Disney Company will have to share the ownership of Spiderman, Dr. Stephen Strange, Black Widow, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Thor.
The termination notice was filed by Steve Ditko's estate administrator for terminating the use of Spiderman under the provisions of copyright law.
It stated, "authors or their heirs can reclaim rights once granted to publishers after waiting a statutory set period of time."
Similar termination notices were also filed by Larry Lieber, who is also a Marvel writer, and Don Rick, creator of Black Widow in May.
Source: Cbr
Iron Man is a comic book superhero co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby.
The character has appeared in various American comic books published under the banner of Marvel Comics. The fan-favorite superhero first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39 cover in March 1963, with later on receiving his own comic titled Iron Man #1 in May 1968.
The superhero as of now has appeared in various animated Television shows and films. The character made his first live-action appearance with Marvel Cinematic Universe's Iron Man released in 2008, since then he has been featured in The Incredible Hulk (2008) as a cameo, Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) and final appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Iron Man was ranked 12th on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes" in 2011.
Source: WallpaperAccess
Spider-Man is a fictional character created by writer and editor Stan Lee with writer-artist Steve Ditko. The character first appeared in a comic book by the name of Amazing Fantasy #15 cover in August 1962.
The superhero continues to appear in Marvel Comics movies, television shows, and video game adaptations set in the Marvel Universe. Peter Parker also known as Spider-Man is an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash.
Spiderman has been featured in many live-action films such as Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy; the first Spider-Man movie of the trilogy was released on May 3, 2002, with a follow-up of Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 in 2005 and 2007 respectively, The Amazing Spider-Man released on July 3, 2012, followed by a sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: Far From Home and a scheduled appearance in upcoming Spiderman: No Way Home.
Source: Geekiary
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional superhero who appears in American comic books published under the name of Marvel Comics. The character was created by Steve Ditko and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 cover in July of 1963.
The sorcerer supreme in live-action made his first appearance in 1978's live-action television film Dr. Strange, starring Peter Hooten, later on appearing in the MCU's 2016 Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. The character will next be seen in the upcoming superhero film Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Source: Cbr
Thor Odinson is a fictional comic book character who appears in Marvel Comics. The character made his first appearance in Journey into Mystery #83 cover in August 1962, created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. He is based on the Norse deity of the same name.
The live-action version of the character is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, who has appeared in various films such as Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Doctor Strange (2016, cameo only), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder (2022).
Source: Comicbook.com
Hawkeye, also known as Clinton Francis Barton is a fictional superhero appearing in Marvel comic books. The character is created by writer Stan Lee and artist Don Heck.
The character first debuted as a villain in Tales of Suspense #57 cover in September of 1964. Hawkeye was even listed at #44 on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes ranking.
The live-action version of the superhero is played by Jeremy Renner, who as of now has appeared in Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Endgame (2019). The actor will return to portray the character in the upcoming series Hawkeye (2021).
Black Widow, also known as Natasha Romanoff is a fictional comic character created by Stan Lee, scripted by Don Rico and artist Don Heck. The character made his first appearance in Marvel Comics Tales of Suspense #52 cover in April 1964.
The live-action version of the character is played by Scarlett Johansson, who as of now has played Black Widow in films such as Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), a cameo in Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Black Widow (2021).
Source: Cbr
Ant-Man also known as Scott Lang is a fictional character who made his first appearance in the comic book by the name of The Avengers #181 cover in March 1979. The character continues to appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.
The comic character Ant-Man was created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton, and John Byrne,
Ant-Man aka Scott Lang has made various appearances in live-action films starring Paul Rudd such as Ant-Man (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and a scheduled appearance in Marvel Studios upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quintumnia, which will be released in 2023.
