When the Avengers came out some people were asking about why Spider-man wasn't in it? Why is Wolverine not in?
Well there is technically two answers. One nerdy and one that is actual. The nerdy one is that the original Avengers were Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Night Hawk, Ant-Man and Wasp. Though later in the New Avengers and other incarnations of the Avengers, Spiderman and Wolverine were in the Avengers line up. So if nothing else they could be referenced in the Avengers film along with some of the other properties
Now the actual reason they aren't in the Marvel films is due to licenses. Marvel doesn't have the licenses to make Spiderman or Wolverine movies or even mention their existence in their films. Sony and Fox own the rights! Here's why. In 1996 Marvel was broke. They filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They started a new corporation and to raise money it looks like they started to sell there properties to big studios.
This is part of the reason why there is a distinct line in the sand in terms of quality of the movies relative to the source material is because of the way other studios handle the material. Studios like Fox, Universal and Columbia with input from Marvel did the movies. When you compare the movies done by other studios to the ones done by Marvel studios (their own film company) you notice that the homemade ones are better, truer and made with more of a love for the comics, then a director proving his salt.
To make the Avengers and all the films prior Marvel had to get the rights back from other studios. In the mid 2000s Marvel started to get the licenses back, with characters like Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor...basically the Avengers. They have slowly been getting the rights back and are investing heavily in developing the properties. We have already see the Avengers, and their origin films but you can expect to see Iron Man 3, Captain America 2, Thor 2, a Hulk film and TV and then some of their lesser known B series names like Ant Man, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, and Power Man/Luke Cage.
But they won' be getting all of their licenses back right away. Fox is making money on the X-men and will continue to develop properties like a sequel to First Class and Wolverine. For them to retain the rights to the Fantastic Four they have to make another film, which will likely be a reboot to the previous franchise. Same thing with SpiderMan unless Sony gets into real trouble and needs to earn some cash quick (their stocks are at record lows right now)
But here's the thing. I look forward to a day when Marvel has all the rights back to all their properties which may be ten to twenty years from now, and they are making films and team ups on a regular basis. The strength of the Marvel comic franchise hasn't been in the strength of the couple of characters but in the strengthen of the community of all these characters. Their relationships together and the challenges they face against and with eachother. I want to see the decimation, House of M, World War Hulk. And then I want it to get to a point where they make the Civil War. This is where Iron Man and Captain America are on polar opposite sides about a government bill and it draws a line in the middle of the Marvel universe. Heroes on either side fighting heroes. It would be epic, but it is something that would need to draw all the heroes together from all the film franchises into one movie.
For me that is the dream but until then we will have some exciting things coming out of Marvel Studios and some interesting films from the other studios that will really make you ask, "What if this film was made by Marvel? Made by the people that love the characters, know the characters and aren't afraid of the decades of source material that they can draw upon.
