Marvel has had some interesting choices in the last couple decades. Some have worked out, like Marvel Studios creation, and some haven’t…like selling the rights to some of their characters. But during New York Comic Con, a “reveal” of a partnership with a well-known arms manufacturer truly got fans riled up.
Revealed on Twitter, Marvel noted that they were teaming up with Northrop Grumman for a comic. But to fans, this seemed to be a comic maker promoting guns. As such, a planned panel for the partnership was canceled, a statement made:
“The activation with Northrop Grumman at New York Comic Con was meant to focus on aerospace technology and exploration in a positive way. However, as the spirit of that intent has not come across, we will not be proceeding with this partnership including this weekend’s event programming. Marvel and Northrop Grumman continue to be committed to elevating, and introducing, STEM to a broad audience.”
Furthermore, at a panel at New York Comic Con today, Marvel CCO Joe Quesada talked about the Northrop Grumman comic. Quesada said, “I’ll be honest with you, I saw it for the first time as you guys. I think there were some messaging issues. It was really about science and education.”
We’ll have to see how this all plays out.
