Will Marvel Lose The Avengers And Spider-Man?

There’s a new twist in the ongoing lawsuit by legendary comic book creator Jack Kirby’s heirs to wrestle some control over the biggest superheroes back from Marvel.

This, of course, is the lawsuit that could potentially see Marvel (and by extension Disney) have to go to court to battle for the right to make films based on Kirby’s characters, which include Spider-Man, X-Men, The Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk. That’s a lot of future blockbusters.

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Several Hollywood guilds have added their weight to ‘Lisa Kirby v. Marvel Characters’ – a case against the comics giant asking the US Supreme Court to rule in favour of the late artist/writer.

The guilds of Directors (DGA), writers (WGA) actors (SAG-AFTRA) have submitted amicus briefs – i.e. additional documents given to the court but not required for legal reasons – in support of the Kirbys, who are asking America’s highest judiciary for the opportunity to terminate Marvel’s copyright to several of their highest-profile properties.

A more junior appeals court has previously denied the request and Marvel are arguing that Kirby did the work while an employee and thus doesn’t have any legal access to their copyright.

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Still with us? Well, the main point of this confusing state of affairs is that were Kirby’s kin to prevail, Marvel and therefore Disney would not be in full control of any sequels to ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’, ‘Avengers’ follow-ups, as well as standalone movies for ‘The Incredible Hulk’ and ‘Thor’. The list goes on. As you can imagine, they are somewhat vexed.

There’s no word on how the suit will play out, or even if the Supreme Court will take the case. But the fact that so many serious bodies within the industry are pulling for Kirby speaks a lot to current views on ownership and intellectual property (IP). In an era when Hollywood relies on established IP for their tentpole movies, this decision could send shockwaves through the filmmaking fraternity and cause seismic changes in how everyone does business.

For Disney and Marvel, it’s all about protecting the sacred cows. What would summer be without a superhero?

Photos: Rex