Is It Marvel? The Movies People Get Wrong
Hellboy, Spawn, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Rocketeer, Darkman, The Boys, Invincible and Watchmen are not Marvel. Blade, Venom, Morbius, Howard the Duck and Big Hero 6 are, even though none of them is part of the MCU. Then there's the awkward middle: Kingsman and Kick-Ass started at Marvel's creator-owned Icon imprint, and Men in Black came from a publisher Marvel later bought.
Is it Marvel? The quick table
| Title | Comes from | Marvel? | On our watch orders? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) | The Secret Service, by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, first published by Icon | Marvel imprint, creator-owned | No |
| Kick-Ass (2010) | Kick-Ass, by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., first published by Icon | Marvel imprint, creator-owned | No |
| Men in Black (1997) | The Men in Black, by Lowell Cunningham (Aircel, later part of Malibu) | Yes, via Marvel's 1994 Malibu purchase | No |
| Big Hero 6 (2014) | Marvel Comics team | Yes | Yes, see our Big Hero 6 (2014) guide, outside the MCU |
| Howard the Duck (1986) | Marvel Comics character | Yes | Yes, see our Howard the Duck (1986) guide, legacy film |
| Spawn (1997) | Todd McFarlane, Image Comics | No | No |
| Darkman (1990) | Original Sam Raimi story | No (Marvel did the comic adaptation) | No |
| Hellboy (2004 onward) | Mike Mignola, Dark Horse Comics | No | No |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Mirage Studios | No | No |
| The Rocketeer (1991) | Dave Stevens, Pacific Comics | No | No |
| Blade (1998) | Marvel Comics character | Yes | Yes, see our Blade (1998) guide, legacy film |
| Venom (2018) | Marvel Comics character | Yes (Sony film) | Yes, see our Venom (2018) guide, Sony's universe |
| Morbius (2022) | Marvel Comics character | Yes (Sony film) | Yes, see our Morbius (2022) guide, Sony's universe |
| The Boys (2019 series) | Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson; WildStorm/DC, then Dynamite | No | No |
| Invincible (2021 series) | Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, Image Comics | No | No |
| Watchmen (2009 film, 2019 series) | Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, DC Comics | No | No |
The surprising ones that are Marvel
Kingsman and Kick-Ass. Both began at Icon, an imprint Marvel launched in 2004 for creator-owned books. The creators kept the rights, which is why neither has ever been part of Marvel's film plans. Both comics moved to Image Comics in 2017 and 2018. Marvel's logo was on the covers, not the deeds.
Men in Black. Lowell Cunningham's comic was published by Aircel in 1990. Malibu Comics had taken Aircel on as an imprint, and Marvel bought Malibu in 1994, so by the time the Columbia film arrived in 1997 the comic it was based on belonged to a company Marvel owned. Marvel even published film tie-in one-shots that year. Don't expect an Avengers crossover.
Big Hero 6. Based, loosely, on a Marvel Comics team, and made by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The filmmakers deliberately kept it out of the MCU and set it in its own universe. We list it with our animated Marvel titles.
Howard the Duck. A Marvel Comics character, and a Lucasfilm co-production. It was the first theatrical release based on a Marvel character since the 1944 Captain America serial. Howard later made cameos in Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, voiced by Seth Green, and turns up briefly in Endgame, which is as close to canon as he's gotten.
Marvel, but not MCU
Blade. Wesley Snipes's 1998 film, from New Line Cinema, is often called Marvel's first successful film. It's its own continuity. Marvel Studios announced an MCU Blade with Mahershala Ali in 2019, but it has no release date.
Venom and Morbius. Both are Marvel characters in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, which runs separately from the MCU. The two universes touch only through a few multiverse credits scenes. See our Spider-Man movies in order guide for where they sit.
Not Marvel at all
Spawn is Todd McFarlane's Image Comics character. Hellboy is Mike Mignola's, from Dark Horse. The Rocketeer is Dave Stevens's, first published by Pacific Comics in 1982.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started at Eastman and Laird's Mirage Studios. The mix-up is understandable: the Turtles' origin was partly a parody of Daredevil, down to Splinter being a riff on Daredevil's mentor, Stick.
Darkman is an original Sam Raimi character, created after he couldn't get the rights to The Shadow. Marvel published the comic adaptation, and Raimi went on to direct Spider-Man (2002), which makes Darkman look like a dry run in hindsight.
The Boys began at WildStorm, a DC imprint, before moving to Dynamite. Invincible is Robert Kirkman's Image series, though Invincible did once guest in Marvel Team-Up #14. Watchmen is DC through and through.
What this means for your watch order
If a title isn't Marvel, it won't be on any Marvel list, ours included. The Marvel-but-not-MCU films (Blade, Howard the Duck, Venom, Morbius) live on our legacy films list. The Icon books and Men in Black don't appear anywhere; they're Marvel trivia, not Marvel homework. For the main event, start with the MCU in chronological order.
For the full list of Marvel films made outside the MCU, see Marvel movies outside the MCU and every Marvel movie.
FAQ
Is Kingsman a Marvel movie?
Not really. The comic it's based on, The Secret Service, was first published by Icon, Marvel's imprint for creator-owned books, so the creators kept the rights. It has no connection to Marvel's films.
Is Men in Black Marvel?
Technically, yes. The comic came from Aircel, part of Malibu Comics, which Marvel bought in 1994. The films are Sony productions and aren't part of any Marvel watch order.
Is Hellboy Marvel or DC?
Neither. Hellboy was created by Mike Mignola and is published by Dark Horse Comics.
Is Big Hero 6 part of the MCU?
No. It's based on a Marvel Comics team, but Disney Animation deliberately set the film in its own universe.
Are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Marvel?
No. They were created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird at Mirage Studios, though their origin parodies Marvel's Daredevil.
Is Invincible a Marvel show?
No. Invincible comes from Robert Kirkman's Image Comics series, and the TV adaptation streams on Amazon Prime Video.