Marvel Comics cashes in by producing films

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Mount Olympus never had such a potent gang as Marvel Comics, whose vast pantheon ranges from Hollywood A-lister Spider-Man to the murky shape-shifting process server Ditto.

Now producing its own film adaptations for all but a few previously licensed superheroes, Marvel Studios unveils "The Incredible Hulk" on the heels of blockbuster "Iron Man," whose 2010 sequel will be followed by an ambitious Marvel lineup.

Headlining their own upcoming movies are Norse thunder god Thor, supersoldier Captain America and bug impersonator Ant-Man, those adventures culminating in 2011's Marvel all-star tale "The Avengers."

With an estimated 5,000 characters and a wealth of stories dating back nearly 70 years, Marvel could spin an endless web of big-screen yarns.

"It's inexhaustible," said Gale Anne Hurd, a producer on "The Incredible Hulk" and Ang Lee's critically drubbed 2003 take on the character, "Hulk." "What I love is, Marvel is now controlling Marvel's destiny. They are the greatest caretakers of the characters and the stories."

Until "Iron Man," the company watched big movie studios count their millions on superpowered comic adaptations of Spidey, X-Men, Fantastic Four and other Marvel properties. Marvel made some cash by licensing the characters for films, but it was a pittance compared to what studios hauled in on such billion-dollar franchises.

Following George Lucas' "Star Wars" formula, Marvel now finances movies itself and hires studios to release them for a fee, Paramount distributing "Iron Man," Universal releasing "The Incredible Hulk."

Marvel keeps all of the profits and retains lucrative rights for toys and other merchandise based on the films.

"The financial upside on a movie like 'Iron Man' or 'Incredible Hulk' is multiples of multiples of what we had in the old arrangement," said David Maisel, chairman of Marvel Studios, a division of Marvel Entertainment Inc. "We have the power to greenlight our movies. We set our schedule. We're not reliant on a third party."

A few elite franchises — among them Sony's "Spider-Man" and 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" and "X-Men" with its upcoming "Wolverine" spinoff — remain under those studios' control.

That still leaves legions of superheroes for Marvel to put on screen.