10 Shocking Cover Ups Marvel Comics Wants You To Forget

Ike Perlmutter, the former CEO and current chairman of Marvel Entertainment, is a mysterious man. So much so, that until recently, the last known photograph of him available to the public was one taken in the 1980s. However, the hack that leaked Sony's emails a few years ago ended up revealing quite a lot about the shadowy figure.

If there is one criticism that the Marvel Cinematic Universe often (and fairly) receives, it's a lack of diversity in its leading characters. Until Black Panther and Captain Marvel were given their own solo films, every protagonist the studio had ever produced was another white man. These two films went on to become two of the highest grossing non-team-up movies in the series, proving that the audience was hungry for them. If Perlmutter hadn't been asked by Disney and Kevin Feige to step away from Marvel's film division, this would very likely never have happened.

Perlmutter simply believed that female superheroes were not profitable, and wrote an email citing films like Elektra, Catwoman and Supergirl as proof of his theory. He also had some choice words about non-white actors playing superheroes, allegedly stating that nobody would notice if they recast Terrence Howard's War Machine with Don Cheadle, as all black people "look the same".

It's no coincidence that movies like Captain Marvel, Black Panther, and Black Widow began development almost immediately after Perlmutter stood down.