A New York Times article has reported that comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment is collaborating with animation studio Madhouse to create four separate anime series that are based on Marvel superheroes but re-imagined for the Japanese market. The shows are scheduled to air in Spring 2010, and there are also plans for comic versions.

It is not yet clear which franchises are being adapted, though it was hinted that "Iron Man" will be one of them. In the past, several comic book characters have already been transformed into manga, including adaptations of "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" by Ryoichi Ikegami.