There used to be two things that readers of Marvel comics could always count on: superheroes they could relate to—teenaged mutants (the X-Men), nerds (Spider-Man), dysfunctional families (the Fantastic Four)—and a history that was woven throughout Marvel's various titles. There was always order in the Marvel universe, a trait that their crosstown rivals, DC Comics, lacked.

However, when it came to making movies, the House of Ideas was no match for DC, which successfully transformed their two most iconic characters, Superman and Batman, into film franchises in the '70s and '80s. Up until then, Marvel's best-known film was 1986's Howard the Duck, a cinematic debacle starring Tim Robbins and executive produced by George Lucas. (View slideshow of past movies.)

The problem wasn't Marvel's characters—Sony bought the rights to Spider-Man and generated $2.5 billion in global box office business with three films; 20th Century Fox's three X-Men movies added an additional $1.1 billion. Marvel, which introduced Spider-Man to the world in August 1962, reportedly netted a mere $90 million from Sony's trilogy; in Hollywood terms, that's akin to highway robbery. 

That's one reason Marvel Entertainment gave Marvel Studios a new role in 2005 as an independent, self-financed movie company that can greenlight projects based on its own properties—nearly 5,000 characters strong. By using other studios as distributors, the company can reap the majority of the profits. "Creating their own studio is the best idea Marvel has had since the creation of Spider-Man," says Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations, a Los Angeles-based firm that tracks box office receipts. "They have thousands of characters that fans would love to see on the big screen."

Marvel Studios is in a unique position and invites comparisons to another Tinseltown dream factory with its own series of beloved characters. "In some ways, they're in a better position than Disney," says Henk Groenewald, strategy director of Methodologie, a Seattle-based branding firm. "You can do a lot more with some of their characters than with Snow White or the Little Mermaid. As a young child, I could look at the Spider-Man comic and enjoy the pictures even before I could read. As an adult, I go see the movies. There's more longevity with their characters."

Like Disney, Marvel is getting into the theme-park business; the company is partnering with a United Arab Emirates-based firm to construct a $1 billion theme park in Dubai scheduled to open in 2011.