Rob Liefeld is done with Marvel.
The comic artist and creator says that after more than thirty years, he is severing ties with the publisher for whom he created renowned characters Deadpool and Cable.
Liefeld laid out his decision in a 90-minute episode of his
Robservations podcast as well as in a followup interview with
The Hollywood Reporter, where he detailed a series of perceived slights at July's New York premiere of
Deadpool & Wolverine.
At the premiere, Liefeld learned he and his family were not invited to the afterparty, something he was accustomed to attending. He also felt snubbed by Disney brass, including Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, whom he says was near him on the red carpet but did not acknowledge him.
"It was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me," Liefeld said on his podcast of not gaining access to the after party.
And there was another slight: Liefeld said he posed for professional photos with creatives on the
Deadpool & Wolverine team, but later was told by his publicist that those photos were deleted. He believes they were only taken as a courtesy and not intended to be used, though other photos, featuring Liefeld alone as well as with his family, appeared as part of Disney's Getty press portal from the event.
Soon after July's premiere, he decided he would cut ties with Marvel, which he believed no longer wanted him around. "At some point, you go, ‘I've received the message, and the message is clear,'" he said on the podcast.
Liefeld said that his discomfort with Marvel began in early 2023, when he learned the company made the controversial decision to change the credits on Wolverine,
awarding co-creator status to editor Roy Thomas. The character was created decades before Liefeld worked in comics, but he is close to Christine Valada, the widow of late Wolverine-co creator Len Wein, who was upset with the decision.
A year later, on June 3, 2024, Liefeld fired off an email to Marvel asking if he could receive a special credit on
Deadpool & Wolverine, and inquiring what else might be offered to him, in terms of access to movie premieres and other promotional opportunities. Liefeld did not ask for more money, as he already has perhaps the richest deal for among Marvel creators.
Marvel generally credits comic creators at the end of the movie, but Liefeld wanted to be elevated to something more significant, citing the
opening credits of 1978's Superman, which prominently listed Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster as the co-creators of Superman.............
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/deadpool-creator-rob-liefeld-1236128162/