MarvelIf you're a comic-book fan, then you greeted the news of an Avengers-X-Men crossover title with geekish glee.
If you're the suspicious sort, then you greeted the news with suspicion—the suspicion that Marvel is aiming for yet another all-star, big-screen team-up.
Crazy talk? Consider two things:
One, as the upcoming Avengers movie demonstrates, Marvel is not a company adverse to all-star, big-screen team-ups.
Two, the promo picture for the Avengers-X-Men comic, formally titled Avengers vs. X-Men, features a Hawkeye who looks a lot more like the new Jeremy Renner version than the traditional, mask-wearing version.
Put 'em both together, and is it really, truly crazy talk to ask if Marvel's laying the groundwork for an Avengers vs. X-Men multiplex extravaganza?
A Marvel rep didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
Jim Littler, cofounder of ComicBookMovie.com, meanwhile, didn't dismiss Conspiracy Corner's inquiry or its inquiring mind. Well, not immediately anyway.
"Marvel is indeed leveraging their comics to tie into the movies, which they see as they natural evolution of the industry," Littler said in an email. "But Fox is still the franchise owner of the X-Men movies."
And, yes, Disney is still the franchise owner of The Avengers movies.
While rival studios work together occasionally—see: Donald Duck and Daffy Duck sharing the stage in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?—the key word is occasionally.
With Fox actively working X-Men angles, and Disney just beginning with The Avengers, "I believe it is still wishful thinking at this point," Littler concluded of an all-star, big-screen team-up.
Make that, wishful geekish thinking.