A comic book company went bankrupt and sold its most famous heroes. Then it used the heroes nobody wanted to make the biggest film series in history.
Harder version: read this lesson at C1 level →
Look at each word. Say what you think it means. Then tap the card.
Tap a card to see the meaning.
Write one word from the cards in each gap.
1. My little brother reads a every night before bed. He loves the pictures.
2. In the book, the main is a twelve-year-old girl called Alice.
3. The restaurant could not pay its bills, so it went .
4. I asked the bank for a to buy a car.
5. Driving fast on an icy road is a big .
6. She's very — everyone in the country knows her face.
1. comic · 2. character · 3. bankrupt · 4. loan · 5. risk · 6. famous
Read each part. Then answer the questions before you read the next part.
Marvel is a company that makes comics. It owns hundreds of characters, like Spider-Man and the X-Men.
In the early 1990s, many people bought comics as an investment. They thought old comics would be worth a lot of money one day.
People bought five or ten copies of the same comic. But there were millions of copies, so they were never going to be rare.
Suddenly people understood this. They stopped buying, and the prices fell. Thousands of comic shops closed.
Marvel had borrowed a lot of money. In December 1996, the company went bankrupt.
To get money, Marvel sold the film rights to its most famous heroes. Sony got Spider-Man. Another studio, Fox, got the X-Men.
In 2002, the film Spider-Man earned about 800 million dollars. But Marvel got only a small part of that money. It couldn't control the film either.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. In the early 1990s, people bought comics because they hoped to make money.
2. Marvel went bankrupt in 2002.
3. Marvel got most of the money from the 2002 Spider-Man film.
In the 2000s, Marvel's bosses had a new idea. They wanted to make their own films and keep the money.
But a superhero film costs more than 100 million dollars. Marvel didn't have that money.
In 2005, a bank gave Marvel a loan of about 525 million dollars.
But there was a big risk. If the films failed, the bank could take the rights to about ten Marvel characters, like Captain America.
Marvel's first film was Iron Man, in 2008. At that time, most people did not know Iron Man.
The actor, Robert Downey Jr., was very talented, but he had had personal problems in the past. Many people thought it was a risky choice.
The film was a big success. It earned about 585 million dollars.
Marvel planned all its next films as one connected series. In 2009, Disney bought Marvel for about four billion dollars.
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Marvel had enough money to make its first film without help.
2. If the films failed, the bank could take some of Marvel's characters.
3. Before 2008, Iron Man was not very famous.
The Marvel films became the most successful film series in history.
The Avengers earned about one and a half billion dollars in 2012. Avengers: Endgame earned about 2.8 billion dollars in 2019.
Marvel was also able to get back some of its old heroes. In 2015, Sony agreed to share Spider-Man. In 2019, Disney bought most of Fox's film business and got the X-Men back.
Then Disney started a streaming service. Marvel made more and more films and TV series.
Some were very good, but some were not. Many people felt they couldn't understand a new film without watching all the others.
In 2023, The Marvels earned the least money of any film in the series. Disney's boss said Marvel had made too much.
So here is the question. The heroes nobody wanted built a huge success. But can a series stay special when there is so much of it?
True or false? Click your answer.
1. Avengers: Endgame earned about 2.8 billion dollars.
2. Marvel was never able to get Spider-Man back in any way.
3. Disney's boss said Marvel had made too many films and series.
This story is about what Marvel couldn't do, and then what it was able to do.
can / can't — now: My sister can play the piano.
could / couldn't — in general in the past: I couldn't ride a bike until I was nine.
was / were able to — one special success in the past: The road was closed, but we were able to find another way.
will be able to — the future. can has no future form: Next year I will be able to drive. (NOT will can)
Careful: after can and could, use the verb with no to and no -ing: I can swim.
| Time | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Now | I can speak Spanish. | I can't speak Chinese. |
| Past (general) | She could read at four. | He couldn't swim as a child. |
| Past (one success) | We were able to fix it. | We weren't able to fix it. |
| Future | You will be able to see it. | You won't be able to see it. |
Use can, couldn't, was able to, will be able to or Could. Use each one once.
1. In 1996, Marvel pay the money it owed.
2. After a long search, the director find the right actor for the film.
3. Next year, you watch the new film at home.
4. My daughter is only four, but she already read short words.
5. you swim when you were five?
1. couldn't · 2. was able to · 3. will be able to · 4. can · 5. Could
Each sentence has one mistake. Say the correct sentence out loud, then check.
1. I can to speak three languages.
2. She will can drive when she is eighteen.
3. Marvel couldn't making its own films in 1996.
4. Do you can come to the cinema tomorrow?
5. I didn't could sleep last night because of the noise.
1. I can speak three languages. (no to after can)
2. She will be able to drive when she is eighteen. (future = will be able to)
3. Marvel couldn't make its own films in 1996. (no -ing after couldn't)
4. Can you come to the cinema tomorrow? (no do with can)
5. I couldn't sleep last night because of the noise. (not didn't could)
Take your time. Short sentences are fine.
Tell me the Marvel story in your own words. Six or seven sentences is enough.
Tell me three things you couldn't do as a child but can do now.
And one thing you will be able to do next year.
Tell me about a time a problem forced you to try something new.
What happened in the end?
What kind of films or series do you like?
Do you prefer one story, or a long series with the same characters? Why?