Icons Unearthed: Marvel

In the decades preceding the Marvel Cinematic Universe we know today, Marvel struggled through a series of box office flops like Howard the Duck, corporate skullduggery, and a bankruptcy. But with a slate of iconic comic book characters like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, Marvel knew they had potential. It would just take them about twenty years to realize it...

Marvel risks everything, putting up their character rights as collateral to start their own studio, betting it all on a second-tier character called Iron Man. Kevin Feige takes control of the fledgling Marvel Studios, hoping to build up to the Avengers. Lead by a director with no action experience, and an actor considered box office poison - what could go wrong?

With a popular hero in The Hulk, a bankable star in Edward Norton, and a French director known for action, it seemed like The Incredible Hulk was a safe bet. But when struggles between actors and the studio threaten to derail the MCU, Marvel goes back to the recipe that gave them their first hit, hoping for another smash.

Kevin Feige assembles his team and lays out the roadmap to get to the Avengers. But how will Marvel integrate the world of Thor into the technological world of Iron Man? With a Shakespearean director at the helm and two unknown actors in the leads, will Marvel be able to create a villain worthy of the Avengers?

Only one superhero story remained to get to the Avengers - Captain America, one of Marvel Comics' earliest, and most famous, creations. The studio had to convince star Chris Evans to return to the world of superhero movies after a tough previous outing. But the biggest problem would be how to turn buff Chris Evans, into Skinny Steve...

Without knowing if Thor and Captain America would succeed with audiences, The Avengers was already underway. With a brand-new Hulk, as well as new corporate leadership in the form of Disney, Feige's plan would be put to the test. Could Joss Whedon, whose directing experience was almost entirely in genre TV, steer a film of this size and scope? Or would The Avengers fall flat?

Emboldened by their against-the-odds success, Marvel ventured onto new terrain with a little-known space fantasy title even most hard-core comic book fans hadn't heard of - The Guardians of the Galaxy. Can director James Gunn, whose film experience centered on dark horror comedies, make audiences care about a talking tree and a raccoon?

The comic studio has weathered every storm and become a filmmaking powerhouse, but it faces its greatest challenge yet. After being in development for almost a decade, Ant-Man's original writer and director, Edgar Wright, departs from the project months before shooting, taking his department heads with him.