Posted in: Comics, Ike Perlmutter, Marvel Comics | Tagged: alan fine, ike perlmutter, kevin feige, marvel

Report: Alan Fine Gone From Marvel Too, Talent Questions Ike Perlmutter's "Conservative Bent"

Published Wed, 23 Oct 2019 14:00:27 -0500

Last updated Tue, 14 Mar 2023 05:37:43 -0500

Yesterday, a report claimed that Jeph Loeb is set to leave Marvel Television by the end of the year, and though Loeb's reported departure will take place in the wake of the shocking news that Kevin Feige has taken over all creative at Marvel, the report says that Loeb was planning his departure before then. But in another report looking at the fallout from the Feige news on spice-of-life-themed website Variety, another former Marvel executive is said to be gone from the company already.

Back in 2017, the previous time Marvel experienced an executive restructuring, Dan Buckley was promoted to president of Marvel, a title previously held by Alan Fine. A new title was not announced for Fine, and his (admittedly infrequently updated) Wikipedia page still lists that as his most recent position. However, according to Variety's report, Fine was at the forefront of the 2015 feud between Feige and Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter that ultimately led to Disney moving Marvel Studios outside of Perlmutter's control and under Feige's. The report specifically cites Fine clashing with Feige over making a female-led Marvel movie, and even goes so far as to say it was Perlmutter taking Fine's side that started the rift.

According to Variety, after Disney head Bob Iger intervened to force Perlmutter's camp to stop blocking Captain Marvel and Black Panther, it led to Fine's departure from the company, the first time any such departure has been mentioned.

The creative committee was eventually disbanded, and Fine is no longer with Marvel.

Another interesting note from the article quotes an anonymous executive-level source as saying that Perlmutter's famous connections to President Donald Trump, oft-reported on this website, have led to problems for Marvel in Hollywood and with its own creative talent.

One executive recalls that a Muslim American television writer cited Perlmutter's support for Trump when declining an opportunity to work on a Marvel project. The individual added that it is common for Marvel talent to raise questions about Perlmutter's conservative bent.

Indeed, G. Willow Wilson, co-creator and at-that-time writer of Ms. Marvel, spoke out about Perlmutter's funding of Trump's presidential campaign in 2016 in a series of now-deleted tweets, though she ultimately decided to stick with the company at that time. We don't know which television writer the Variety report is referring to or what other talent at Marvel have raised concerns similar to Wilson's, who now writes for DC Comics.