Slowly but surely, Marvel Comics has made the transition from comic books to television and movies. The success rival DC Comics had in television and movies influenced Marvel Comics to dabble in the entertainment world.

After years of disappointment trying to get its product on television, Marvel finally had a success, with “The Incredible Hulk” in 1977, starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. It would later have success with “Spider-Man” in its second animated series in 1995. The series took many of the well-known plots and story ideas from the comics to the series. The series would go on to spawn numerous spin-offs with other Marvel characters, such as “X-Men” and “Iron Man.”

Not until “Blade” in 1998 did Marvel finally hit it big on the silver screen. After a successful debut for Marvel, a long list of Marvel’s most popular characters had been slated to hit the silver screen. “X-Men” became Marvel’s next box office success story in 2000. Marvel set a standard in how the comic book universe should be portrayed on the silver screen in 2002 when Spider-Man became the biggest and best success in Marvel movie entertainment history, with nearly $822 million worldwide. It was the highest grossing comic book film of all time. “Spider-Man 3,” which hit the box office in 2007, garnered $50 million more than the original. The record, achieved by both Spider-Man films, would last only one more year.

With each success, Marvel just keeps plowing through its vast list of characters to portray on the big screen. With recent releases such as “Iron Man” and a revamping of “The Incredible Hulk,” Marvel looks to release the first comic book team-up film, The Avengers, coming to theaters in 2011.