Disney’s Marvel unit is suing to hold on to full control of Avengers characters which includes Iron Man, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Falcon, Thor, and others. The unit is suing the heirs of the iconic comic creators to retain full rights to Avengers characters.
Marvel has released one hit after another, like Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, WandaVision, Loki, and What If…? during Phase 4. However, the studio will also release some more films and shows over the year, including Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Although the media biggies are being credited with several notable names under their banner yet they have decided to sue the heirs of the Marvel comics creators.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, some complaints were filed against the heirs of some late comic book geniuses, that also includes Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and Gene Colan. A lawsuit was filed against Don Rico, Don Heck, Stan Lee’s brother Lawrence Lieber by Disney to seek solitary ownership of comics like The Avengers, Iron Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Strange Tales, and Tales of Suspense.
According to the report, Disney has also been included earlier in the lawsuit to get the full copyrights to the characters and story elements that have formed the basis for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The lawsuit followed after Lieber and Ditko sent termination notices to reclaim part of the rights on many Marvel characters like Spider-Man. These notices indicate that the creators and their heir share the publisher’s profits.
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However, the studio proclaimed that Marvel has full creative control over the characters and the comic books in question, as per the report. The lawsuit against Lieber reads, “This case thus involves an invalid attempt, by means of termination notices… to acquire certain rights to iconic Marvel comic book characters and stories.”
Disney has been involved in several lawsuits such as the one against Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson over the hybrid release of the film. As per some reports, in 2014, Disney settled a lawsuit against the children of the Marvel legend Jack Kirby.