Marvel's Legendary Turnaround

To set up an independent studio, president of Marvel's film division, Avi Arad, sought funding from Wall Street backers. Because Marvel had licensed its main characters to movie studios, it had to pitch films with B-list heroes like Iron Man. And to secure funding it used character rights as collateral. Like a superhero plot, if Marvel’s first solo project flopped, shadowy investors would control the Avengers.

But the gamble paid off. With Iron Man (2008), actor Robert Downey Jr and director Jon Favreau’s first blockbuster took half a billion dollars at the box office. And gave Marvel the credibility and cash it needed to push on.

Telling Stories

By producing its own films, Marvel got more than a profit boost. It now controlled its intellectual property. While Christian Bale brooded as Batman, Downey Jr’s Iron Man cracked jokes. And audiences loved that Marvel was investing as much time and effort into script and story as it did with special effects.

To measure the love, online research provider ZappieStore used facial and emotional recognition software to find out how people react to comic book film trailers. So, how much audiences enjoy them, how much they grab attention and how shareable they were on social media. [4] The study revealed that filmgoers connected more emotionally with Marvel than DC characters.

A big part of that's down to humor. With its irreverent characters, wisecracks and 80s music, 78% of people loved the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) trailer. [5] As ZappiStore research architect Ernie Collings says, "We were surprised to see, across all trailers tested, that the emotional response was lower than expected for set pieces and special effects, particularly in the genre we were looking at." [6]

As well as better jokes, the study showed that audiences associate Marvel movies with a wider universe. But they didn’t really know or care if DC's Batman and Superman shared the same fictional world.

Thinking Big

Audiences now know to hang around in the cinema for a Marvel movie’s ‘post-credit stinger’. Like when we’re introduced to Thanos at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

But these scenes are more than just cameos. They reveal the prep Marvel's leaders put in to plan who’ll star in the next film, what characters will team up and which villain they’ll take down.

This comic book style approach to film-making has heroes stretching between movies like Mister Fantastic’s arm. And Marvel’s ‘brain trust’ of producers, directors and chief fanboy/president of production Kevin Feige masterplan it all. Back in 2008, with Iron Man still to hit screens, Feige had already charted a universe of 19 films and seven TV series to complete by 2018.

This franchise universe offers more than money-making opportunities. It lets Marvel stay true to its comic book roots and storytelling tradition. As Feige says about latest blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War, "It starts with the comics and us getting to rip pages out, put them on the walls and start to be inspired. It is always a guide point, a North Star for us as we lead these giant productions into reality." [7]

Breaking new Ground

Back in 2009, media giant Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion. Now with Disney’s global reach, the Marvel Universe is set to expand even further. It has rights to 7,000 characters and as Disney CEO Bob Iger says, "We’re looking for worlds that are completely separate – geographically or in time – from the worlds that we’ve already visited." [8]

A big part of Marvel’s journey is breaking away from superhero conventions around sex, race and even religion. After Chadwick Boseman became Marvel’s first African American lead in Black Panther (2018), Brie Larson will be its first female lead as Captain Marvel next year. And who’s next? We’ll soon see our first Muslim superheroine – a Pakistani-American teenager – aka Ms Marvel.

Superhero Summary

Looking to turnaround your organization? Take a page from Marvel's book and:

• Be accountable – by setting up an independent studio and cutting out unwanted contributors, Marvel made the films it and audiences wanted to see.
• Take risks – using characters as collateral. Going solo. Making a film starring a talking racoon. Marvel’s leaders keep taking risks.
• Know your audience – however big the budget, Marvel’s leaders know to stay true to its comic book and story-led origins.
• Look after your team – when Peter Cuneo became CEO in 1999, he hired writers back who left under previous management and gave them greater creative freedom. [9]
• Plan for opportunities – to keep populating the Marvel Universe, you can bet Feige has a plan in place for when Downey Jnr, Ruffalo and Hemsworth hang up their capes.
• Innovate and diversify – it would be easy to stick to a tried-and-tested formula, but Marvel’s casting for upcoming films shows a willingness to diversify its cast and characters.