Marvel Universe

"Flame On!" - The publication of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's "Fantastic Four" in 1961 heralded the arrival of a new comics continuum - the Marvel universe. In contrast to DC comic's shiny utopian "uber-mensch", Marvel characters had 'feet of clay' - uncertain heroes for uncertain times. Try as they might to do what's right, the world seems set against them. But on they fight. And fight and fight. Etcetera. Marvel characters are visually bombastic in their goings on, limiting early adaptations to animation. During the rush for Star Wars cash in the 70s and 80s several live action Marvel TV shows were produced but technological compromise fashioned results which were a far cry from the source material. More recently, Marvel has been riding the wave of digital film-making as it has broken through the industry. They have had much success (and some wipeouts) on the big screen building cinematic franchises which will no doubt continue for years to come. Pictured: The friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler takes it all the way to the top in "Spider-man"(2002) - Marvel's biggest box-office bonanza.