Marvel Success Story: In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the journey of Marvel Comics, the king of the world of many superheroes, has been no less than that of any superhero. Once this company was quite small. Then she created a huge craze through her comics and became a superhit. By 1996, it was badly beaten and reached the verge of bankruptcy. The comic market bubble had burst, the company had expanded unnecessarily, and a few bad decisions by investor Ronald Perlman were enough to sink the company.
The craze was such that in the early 1990s, people started considering comics as more of an investment than reading. People used to buy multiple copies of the same comic, so that they could sell them at higher prices in future. For example, millions of copies of X-Force #1 were printed in 1991. At that time titles like Spider-Man and X-Men were completely dominant. By 1993, Marvel had captured 70 percent of the American comic market.
The incident before the beginning of the decline should also be understood. In 1989, Ronald Perlman bought Marvel for $82.5 million. In 1991, the company was listed in the stock market. After listing the company, Ronald Perlman rapidly started making many acquisitions. Acquired Fleer Corporation in 1992 for $200 million. Buying Panini Stickers in 1993 and then Heroes World Distribution in 1994. He wanted to establish his own distribution company through Heroes World Distribution. But this created a huge controversy in the industry. During Perlman’s time, Marvel’s stock rose from $12 to $35.75 and the company’s income reached $415 million. At the same time, an author Neil Gaiman warned in 1993 that it was all a bubble like “Tulip Mania” and that it would burst soon.
The period of decline started in 1993. Here the comic market started collapsing. After 1993, investors started selling comics. Comic sales suddenly fell by 70 percent. Income dropped from $300 million in 1993 to less than $100 million in 1996. Companies like Fleer and Panini also went bankrupt.
After this, Marvel Company adopted a different method of increasing earnings. He increased the prices of comics a lot. The commission which was available for $0.75 had increased to $1.95. This was an increase of more than double. Some issues started arising such that the quality of the comic stories also declined. Crossovers (like the Clone Saga) started happening very often, which people did not particularly like. Heroes World distribution was a complete failure. Commissions and expenses increased, due to which shops started closing. By the end of the 1990s, approximately 4,000 comic shops were closed. On the other hand, for its expansion, the company had taken a loan ranging from 700 million to almost 1 billion dollars, which was now becoming impossible to repay.
The company got into such huge debt that it had to sell even its superheroes which were best sellers. Spider-Man was gone, X-man was no more, the licenses for Hulk and Fantastic Four had also been sold. Overall, the company no longer had control over the superheroes it had created. The confidence of the investors of Marvel Company was shattered. Perlman filed bankruptcy papers without shareholder permission, leading to a lawsuit against him by investors (such as Carl Icahn). The shares fell from $35 to $2. Even the fans of Marvel Comics were disappointed. This was the time when the world thought that Marvel was over.
Entry of Avi Arad and the game starts again
Avi Arad was an Israeli toy designer. He was not a man of the comic world, but of business and toys, but he had the biggest role in changing the fortunes of Marvel. How? Let us tell. Avi Arad started Toy Biz. After this he got the license to make Marvel toys. When the comic market began to collapse in 1993, Marvel purchased a 46% stake in Toy Biz. Arad was made the CEO of Marvel Toys and Marvel Films. To save Marvel, Avi Arad gave the idea to the management that instead of selling their characters to Hollywood, they should become Hollywood themselves. Meaning Marvel should make the movies themselves.
At first glance, the management board found this idea very wasteful. Marvel did not have its own studio. There were neither any actors, nor any directors. There was no distribution system either. Now the company doesn’t even have cash. In such a situation, such an idea was bound to seem useless. But AV tried her best to convince the board and said that the test should be done once. Not with a high budget, but with a low budget. A small film was made – Blade, the characters were also not very famous. No one had expectations from Blade, but it made a box office collection of 131 million dollars. This film increased the courage of Marvel.
After this, X-Man came on screen in 2000 and Spiderman in 2002. Marvel did not get much benefit from these films because they did not own the movie rights. In 2005 the company adopted another strategy. The company raised a loan of 525 million dollars by mortgaging its 10 characters (who were not very well known). Thought that even if the movies flopped, there wouldn’t be much problem.
Drug addict and controversial actor made ‘Iron Man’
The company invested good money and created Marvel Studios. The idea was to make Iron Man. But the company chose a tier-B actor for this and not a top actor. Marvel cast Robert Downey Jr. for Iron Man, who was played by RDJ. Robert was a controversial actor, no one wanted to sign him.
Robert Downey Jr. was one of the rising stars of Hollywood in the 1980-90s, but his drug addiction and related legal problems made him controversial. All this was the result of his addiction that started from childhood, which reached its peak in the 1990s. These incidents badly affected his career. He was jailed, lost several jobs, and was considered ‘unhireable’ by insurance companies.
When Marvel signed RDJ as an actor for the Iron Man film, other studios were calling it a huge mistake. But Marvel was sure. The film was made and hit the screens in 2008. RDJ did such a good job that he not only acted in Iron Man, but also emerged as an ‘Iron Man’ himself. Box office collection 585 million dollars. The audience liked this very much. At the end of this film, there came a scene which made the public crazy.
Nick Fury comes in that scene and says, “I have come here to talk about the Avengers Initiative.” This scene told that Marvel has big plans and a lot will be seen in the coming time.
Here was a new beginning for Marvel. After this, there is a long line of 2 more films of Eyreman, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther and Endgame, which were not only hits but also superhits. Now people wait for Marvel films. In 2009, Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion. Marvel’s stock rebounded again. In January 2025, it made a high of about $125 per share. It closed at $81.32 on Nasdaq on November 19. Marvel’s journey still continues.
