Does Marvel own Spider-Man?

Marvel owns the character and publishes the comics. Sony holds the film rights, acquired when Marvel licensed out its characters during its 1990s financial crisis.

Why did Marvel sell its movie rights?

Marvel Entertainment Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1996 and licensed film rights to studios including Sony and Fox to raise cash.

How is Spider-Man in the MCU then?

Sony and Marvel announced a partnership in 2015 that lets Spider-Man appear in Marvel Cinematic Universe films while Sony keeps the rights and handles distribution of his solo movies.

Did Marvel get the X-Men rights back?

Yes. Disney completed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in March 2019, which returned the X-Men and Fantastic Four film rights to Marvel's parent company.

Why Sony Owns the Spider-Man Movies | Explaining Superheroes

Marvel owns Spider-Man the character. Sony owns Spider-Man the film franchise. That split confuses people constantly, and it exists because of a genuine financial crisis in the 1990s.

Here is how the rights ended up where they are, and what the current arrangement actually allows.

Marvel went bankrupt in 1996

Marvel Entertainment Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1996, after the collapse of the speculative comics boom left the company badly overextended. To raise cash, film and television rights to its characters were licensed out to studios.

That is how Fox ended up with X-Men and Fantastic Four and Sony ended up with Spider-Man — not because Marvel wanted partners, but because it needed money.

FactMarvel Entertainment Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1996.Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Sony's deal and the Marvel Studios era

Sony acquired the Spider-Man film rights in the late 1990s and released Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in 2002, one of the highest-grossing films of its year and the film that proved the modern superhero blockbuster worked.

Marvel Studios later built its own shared universe without Spider-Man, starting with Iron Man in 2008. In 2015 Sony and Marvel announced a partnership allowing Spider-Man to appear in Marvel Cinematic Universe films while Sony retained the rights and distribution.

FactSam Raimi's Spider-Man, produced by Sony's Columbia Pictures, was released in 2002.Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
FactThe Marvel Cinematic Universe began with Iron Man in 2008.Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

What changed with Fox — and what did not

The Fox side of the problem resolved itself: Disney completed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in March 2019, bringing X-Men and Fantastic Four film rights back under the same roof as Marvel Studios.

Sony is a different case. Sony is a separate company and never sold, so Spider-Man remains a co-production arrangement rather than a straightforward Marvel Studios property.

FactDisney completed its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in March 2019, returning X-Men and Fantastic Four film rights to Marvel's parent company.Source: The Walt Disney Company