Marvel Paid Yelena Belova's Co-Creator $5,000 For Black Widow

The figures are staggeringly low, with the co-creator of Black Widow's breakthrough character Yelena Belova being just one example.

The trade states that when she co-created Yelena, the writer knew that the character would be owned by the company. She signed a contract known as a Special Character Agreement, one that outlines a payment system if Yelena appeared in other media. If Yelena Belova appeared in a film, television, video games, or toy line, she would be paid.

The original Belova artist, J.G. Jones, was expected to get $25,000, but the final cut was less than that. The contract stated that Belova would be paid $2,000 for each episode she appeared in, but after the release of Disney+ series Hawkeye, the amount was only $300 per episode.

The reduced sums are achieved by fine-print legalese in the contracts that undermine the original offered compensation through a shared-offering model. The people who worked on Red Guardian would be entitled to the same amount of money as the original people. The prominence of the original $25,000 and the wording surrounding it before the exceptions take place make this misleading.

If a character isn't in a main role, the dividends go down a lot. Sebastian Stan's performance as Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier can be considered a cameo. Ed Brubaker, who helped bring Barnes back to life in 2005, has spoken out about the disparity between him and the people working on movies.

Some creators don't want to sign. Special Character Agreements give the company wiggle room to pay whatever they want and include an NDA clause that muzzles creators from speaking out, according to some who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter. Some of the creators did not agree to the terms of the agreement. America Chavez, a key character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was not paid for her use in the movie.

Although he hasn't gotten anything for America's appearance, he's not constrained by an NDA. He wants to make sure that people like Jones, Brubaker, and Grayson are compensated fairly. America Chavez is owned byMarvel. There are systemic flaws in the way that creators are not respected or rewarded. It is not about the honor. I wouldn't expect a corporation to respect me. If I can afford not to speak about it, the next guy might get a chance to get that kind of money.

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