In the decades preceding the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel struggled through box office flops like "Howard the Duck," corporate skullduggery, and a bankruptcy.
Marvel risks everything 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.”
Kevin Feige assembles his team and maps out the road to the Avengers. Marvel must figure out how to integrate Thor into the world of Iron Man as well as creating a worthy villain.
Only one superhero story remained to get to the Avengers—Captain America. The studio had to convince star Chris Evans to return to the world of superhero movies.
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 didn’t know.