America Chavez Creator Speaks Out Against Marvel’s Low Compensation

America Chavez‘s creator has spoken out about the low compensation Marvel has offered him. A relatively new character in Marvel Comics, America Chavez made her first appearance in September 2011 and was created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta. Since her creation, the character has appeared in a number of Marvel adaptations, like the hit animated series, Marvel Rising, and will make her live-action debut in the MCU in the upcoming film, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Co-creator Casey is no stranger to his creations getting major attention, as he was one of the creators of the hit Cartoon Network series, Ben 10, which launched a massive multimedia franchise that began in 2005 and is still running to this day. America Chavez joining the extremely popular and financially successful MCU is a big deal, and it’s the largest platform a character that Casey has created has gotten. In March 2022, Casey spoke about how psyched he was to see America Chavez in the MCU but did voice some frustration with Marvel’s compensation of talent. Now, the creator has doubled down and has a bit more to say on the matter.

In a recent interview with THR, Casey reveals that he rejected what he described as a “pittance” of an offer ahead of America Chavez’s MCU debut. Reportedly, when Casey heard about Marvel’s plans to bring America Chavez into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Casey contacted the publisher to request paperwork that would also cover her previous appearances in animated TV episodes and video games to which Marvel sent over a special character agreement for him to sign that included a cash offer. While it was not disclosed how much was being offered, sums for other creator agreements are projected to be in the $5,000 range, though a source on the Marvel side disputes that figure, saying they are generally higher. Casey refused to sign, and his lawyers were dissatisfied with the offer. And while Marvel notes the conversations are still ongoing, Casey is frustrated with the lack of transparency from Marvel regarding how they came to that value offer and have not presented a counter offer. Casey said:

The fact is Marvel owns America Chavez. That’s not in dispute on any level, but there are still systemic flaws in the way that creators are neither respected nor rewarded. Marvel has paid me nothing for America Chavez, not only for appearing in the Doctor Strange sequel, but in numerous animated TV episodes, for the numerous action figures they’ve made of her, for video games she’s appeared in. They seem to be fine with that. For me, it’s not about money. It’s not even about the respect. I would never expect to be respected by a corporation. If I’m in a position where I can afford not to take their insult of an offer, and be able to talk about it, maybe the next guy — where that kind of money could change their life — would get a fair shot of receiving that money. I’m a happy guy. I’m not disgruntled. I’m not bitter. Because I know this is how this goes. I also know, this is how you change things, by talking about it.”

This is not the first time Marvel’s poor treatment of comic book creators has been news. Famed comic book writer, Ed Brubaker, well known for his run on the Captain America comic, revealed he made more money off of his cameo in Captain America: The Winter Soldier than he did for actually creating the concept of the Winter Soldier in the pages of Marvel Comics, a character Marvel and Disney have spun off into a profitable name. Rocket Raccoon creator, Bill Mantlo, has needed round-the-clock medical care since 1992 and relies on donations from fans and other creators to pay for medical bills, something Disney could probably take care of quickly with just one year’s worth of profits from Rocket Raccoon merchandise.

It should be noted that DC pays comic creators more for their work than Marvel. While Marvel is not legally obligated to pay creators when their work is adapted, they traditionally try to offer some form of compensation in the form of movie premiere invites and some cash settlements. It does not reflect kindly on the company to offer the individuals who create the characters that serve the basis for their film and television slate so poorly, as the case appears to be time and time again. The films draw heavily from the comics, as that is the starting basis, yet, the people who work in that medium creating characters like America Chavez are paid so poorly for their hard work, and that should change.