If you’ve only seen The Avengers on the big screen you could be forgiven for assuming that the cast in the movie are the biggest heroes in the super group, but that isn’t exactly the case. Other heroes like Spider-Man and Wolverine are also major players in the comics. Both of those guys already have movies, so why aren’t they featured in The Avengers movies?
The good folks over at The Geek Twins made a beautifully illustrated answer:
Long before Marvel dipped their toes in the movie-making waters, they sold the rights to some of their biggest comics to other studios. It’s been divided ever since. Right now, Marvel Studios owns most of its heroes, but Spider-Man is over at Sony Pictures (about to be featured in The Amazing Spider-Man 2). Meanwhile, Wolverine is part of 20th Century Fox. Some day there could be a X-Men vs. Fantastic Four, but no Avengers.
So what does all of this mean for Spidey and Wolverine’s chances of getting back on the A-team? Well, not good, but also not beyond the realm of possibility. Depending on your life expectancy, you may be alive when the Avengers finally truly unite. Some have speculated that after Sony releases their fourth Amazing Spider-Man film in 2018 (yes, they’ve already thought that far ahead), Marvel will enter into negotiations with them to recover the rights to the webslinger. Whether Sony takes the offer is anyone’s guess. It will be hard to part with a brand that has given them billions of dollars in profits over the years. Looks like we’ll have to wait until 2018 to find out or die trying.
