"I think this idea is terrible. Why would we start with Iron Man? We should start with the origin of Marvel, with Captain America!" Stan Lee said, very agitated, in Isaac Perlmutter's office.
Actually, Captain America wasn't Marvel's first superhero. Marvel's very first superhero was Namor the Sub-Mariner, who debuted in 1939.
Oh, don't get me wrong, not the Namor played by Xu Jinjiang, but a Namor who was a diver and had no relation to Atlantis whatsoever.
If he hadn't been Marvel's first superhero, he would have likely been just another face in the crowd among Marvel's 6,000-plus superheroes.
Captain America was actually the first Marvel superhero who could truly carry the flag of a bestseller. Within three months of his debut, Captain America's comic book sales were on par with Superman's, a truly remarkable achievement. This is why many Marvel fans habitually regard Captain America as Marvel's first superhero.
And this superhero was also the first one Stan Lee set out to create. Although the character's persona wasn't created by Stan Lee, three months after its creation, the original editor was fired for colluding with DC Comics. Stan Lee, then an intern, took over the entire creative work for Captain America. It could be said that Captain America was raised by Stan Lee's hands and eventually became the pillar of Marvel.
Therefore, when Stan Lee heard Isaac Perlmutter state that the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film they would make was Iron Man, he immediately expressed strong opposition.
Of course, Stan Lee wasn't trying to push Captain America for his own benefit; he had his reasons.
Captain America was the most popular, the most cherished, and had the largest fan base among all Marvel superheroes. As the inaugural film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America seemed like the most suitable choice in every way. In fact, Isaac Perlmutter himself thought so too. Thus, he glanced at Huang He, who was sitting beside him, gesturing for Huang He to answer the question.
"When it comes to Marvel superheroes, I naturally don't understand them as well as you do, Mr. Stan Lee. But when it comes to movies, you don't understand them as well as I do!" Huang He said with a slight smile. Leng Zhi, who was beside him, translated crisply and clearly, "I only know that if we were to film Captain America, everything would have to be set in World War II. This would be a very bad start for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Moreover, audiences don't like stories set in WWII; they prefer modern movies filled with imagination and science fiction. Therefore, Iron Man is an excellent choice."
This reason was something Huang He came up with on the spot. He had no idea what the real reason for Iron Man being the first Marvel movie was. He only knew that in another world, when Iron Man was released, its global box office performance was astonishingly successful.
Iron Man's total global box office was $580 million, while Captain America, released a few years later, only grossed $370 million. At a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was gradually being established and had considerable popularity, Captain America, as the founding father, was still nearly $200 million behind Iron Man. Huang He saw no reason to abandon Iron Man for Captain America and go against the tide of history.
After all, Huang He wasn't like some people who couldn't even copy a test paper properly.
"I, I don't think this reason is valid. I think..." Stan Lee said a lot, but in the end, both sides parted ways unhappily. Huang He and Isaac Perlmutter insisted on making Iron Man the first film, while Stan Lee only held the title of "Father of Marvel." He no longer had any power within Marvel Company and could only leave in a huff.
As a result, any lingering thoughts or intentions Stan Lee had of returning to Marvel completely vanished.
Stan Lee's departure caused another uproar within Marvel. Many editors expressed their dissatisfaction, believing that they should heed the advice of veterans like Stan Lee rather than being stubborn and unyielding. They feared this would ruin Marvel, and indeed, there were many strong voices within the company. This continued until Isaac Perlmutter announced that he would convene a meeting of all editors.
"He's going to listen to our voices!" many editors exclaimed excitedly.
And so, the meeting was successfully held.
"I plan to gather a group of editors who will be responsible for collecting and organizing all of Marvel's animation manuscripts from 1939 onwards. These manuscripts will then be converted into electronic versions and posted on our newly established Marvel World official website for all netizens to view and appreciate for free. This will allow our fans to complete and understand the entire Marvel Universe!" This was something Huang He had discussed with Isaac Perlmutter beforehand, and Isaac Perlmutter greatly appreciated it, promptly putting it into action.
The editors naturally had no objections to this news, as it did not infringe on their own interests and would indeed attract fans.
However, the crucial issue was who would be assigned to organize these materials.
After all, being transferred meant leaving their positions as frontline comic editors or artists. This was tantamount to a demotion, and no one would want to go to such a post.
"The second matter is that we need to create a new superhero!" Isaac Perlmutter said calmly. "This superhero will serve as our future flagship hero and carry the banner of the new generation of Marvel."
"Wow!" The editors present began to get excited. Since Isaac Perlmutter had said this, the superhero would undoubtedly receive massive promotional resources from Marvel. As their creators and editors, they would also receive considerable resources. If the creation was successful, the editor would gain immense credit and might even become the next Stan Lee in the future.
All the editors had their eyes on this superhero, hoping to become its creators.
"Then, I will tell you all some basic settings for this superhero. In three days, each of you will submit a proposal for this superhero to me, and I will choose one to be the person in charge of this superhero!" Isaac Perlmutter continued.
"This is going to be a fair competition!" The editors became even more excited.
"First, let's discuss the race of this superhero. Considering the growing sentiment for ethnic diversity in our America, I do not wish this superhero to be white. However, I also do not want this superhero to be purely Black."
"Therefore, I hope this superhero's father will be Black and his mother will be White. He will be a mixed-race hero!" Isaac Perlmutter began.
The editors nodded. This setting was fine; it was meant to please two of America's major ethnic groups.
Such a setting would not have been popular before the 1990s, but after the 1990s, this setting gained more traction.
"However!" Isaac Perlmutter hesitated for a moment, then continued, "The hero's parents died when he was very young, and he was raised by a Chinese couple."
"Chinese?" The editors were collectively stunned for a moment. Marvel wasn't without Chinese superheroes; for example, Shang-Chi was perhaps Marvel's most well-known Chinese superhero.
But having an American-born Chinese couple raise the son of a Black father and a White mother was an exceedingly novel concept.
"Ahem!" Isaac Perlmutter coughed and then continued.
Later, during the Civil War storyline of the Avengers, it affected a high school student, who was a new hero, causing his girlfriend to die in the disaster. Thus, this superhero vowed to destroy the entire Avengers to avenge his lover!
"Destroy the Avengers?" everyone exclaimed again. There were too many superheroes in the Marvel universe who wanted to destroy the Avengers; this itself wasn't unusual. But the problem was that this was a superhero who would be heavily promoted for the next ten years, a frontline pillar like Iron Man and Captain America. Such a pillar not only wouldn't join the Avengers but would also seek to destroy them. This setting was too novel.
"But this might be good. The Avengers' stories have become stale anyway. Perhaps something different will bring some novelty!" The editors reluctantly accepted this setting and then continued to hear Isaac Perlmutter say.
Then, in a museum in New York, he found a Chinese book with Hanzi characters, titled "Nine Revolutions Profound Art" (九转玄功). Because the book was written in Chinese, no one could understand it. However, due to his upbringing by his Chinese parents, he understood Chinese characters and discovered that it was a book written by a Chinese deity named Yuanshi Tianzun. It taught humans techniques to absorb the energy of heaven and earth into their bodies and transform it into their own strength.
This technique was more powerful and magical than Chinese Kung Fu. It was called "cultivation" (修真). Cultivation allowed an ordinary person to gain immense power without any divine intervention. Furthermore, cultivation also involved magical powers such as divine artifacts, formations, and alchemy. Specifically, I will arrange for a Chinese person to be your assistant and help you create the story for this superhero.
There was no need for high technology or mutations; one could gain power comparable to deities, capable of destroying planets or even the entire world.
Well, in the early stages of the story, he would fight with the Avengers, but in the later stages, he would also join the Avengers.
This is more or less the setting for this superhero. You can write any ideas you have into your own proposals for this superhero.
Isaac Perlmutter said in conclusion.