27 Apr – Disney and Marvel find themselves the target of a new lawsuit, this time over the armour worn by one of their superheroes, Iron Man. Ben and Ray Lai, who run Horizon Comics, accused the studios of copying the characters they created for their comic called "Radix", where the characters featured wear "highly detailed, mechanized suits of body armor". The full lawsuit can be read over at The Hollywood Reporter, but the gist of it says Marvel and Disney have appropriated their characters' looks for Iron Man's latest upgraded full body armour. The lawsuit argued that Marvel comics "typically depicted Iron Man wearing simple spandex-like attire and minimal armor", therefore the idea of "a fully mechanized suit of body armour" is not originally its own, and was allegedly ripped of "Radix" after the latter's debut.
Marvel is reportedly ignoring the brothers' cease-and-desist letter, though this isn't the first time for them to issue one. Previously, the Lai brothers claimed that Iron Man's pose on the "Iron Man 3" poster was an exact copy of their "Radix" pose, a claim quickly refuted by superhero fans as it is a clichéd pose often used by countless other superheroes. Iron Man recently makes a return to the big screen in "Avengers: Age of Ultron", where Tony Stark once again reunites with Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk and Hawkeye; this time also joined by supertwins Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Yet to be released in North America, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" currently has a collection of USD201 million overseas, based on the figures on Box Office Mojo.