Marvel Comics: a business comeback of superhero proportions

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Down to Business English

Episode: Marvel Comics – a business comeback of superhero proportions

Date: November 20, 2017
Hosts: Skip Montreux (A), Samantha Vega (C)
Theme:
This episode details the remarkable, real-life business turnaround of Marvel Comics, from its 1990s bankruptcy to its current status as a powerhouse of the global entertainment industry. Through an engaging discussion, the hosts explore Marvel’s risky decisions, industry missteps, and eventual rise to box-office and business glory, with practical business vocabulary and lively anecdotes woven throughout.

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Main Discussion Points

Marvel's Origins and Differentiation (04:11–06:22)

• Founding: Marvel’s first branded comic was released in 1961, though origins date back to the late 1930s.
  • “The first actual comic book to be branded and distributed under the name Marvel was in 1961.” (A, 04:40)
• Differentiation from DC Comics:
  • Unlike DC’s superheroes (e.g., Superman), Marvel’s characters had human flaws and relatable problems—appealing to older audiences.
    • “Marvel differentiated itself... by creating superhero characters who were more like regular people.” (A, 04:57)
    • Example: Spider-Man worrying about money and romance.
    • “...instead of coming from outer space and being perfect and undefeatable like Superman, Marvel characters had everyday problems...” (A, 05:15)
• Appeal shifted from children to adults.
  • “Their marketing strategy was to create characters and stories that would appeal to an older audience, not just kids...” (A, 05:38)

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The 1990s Crash: Speculation and Bankruptcy (06:24–10:26)

• Expansion under Ron Perelman:
  • Acquired in 1989, Perelman sought to take Marvel public, raise capital, and buy toy and trading card companies.
    • “His main business strategy was to take the company public, raise capital and use that to acquire related companies...” (A, 06:27)
• Collector’s Edition Strategy:
  • Marvel raised comic prices, pushing “special” editions, leading fans to buy multiple copies.
    • “...they started publishing comics that were marketed as special or limited editions and raised the prices.” (A, 07:48)
• Resulting Market Crash:
  • Fan fatigue—sales strategy backfired; comic sales fell by 70%.
  • “...the collectors market pretty much cratered. Dozens of comic book retailers went bankrupt, and overall comic book sales plunged...” (A, 08:30)
  • Marvel’s stock plummeted from nearly $40 to $2.
    • “...it dropped to as low as $2 off its all-time high of just under $40.” (A, 08:52)
• Bankruptcy and Shareholder Struggle:
  • Perelman pushed for further mergers and declared bankruptcy to bypass shareholder opposition.
  • “Well, Marvel's shareholders didn't agree and tried to prevent him from moving ahead with that plan. So what he did was declare bankruptcy.” (A, 09:55)
  • Protracted lawsuits between Perelman and shareholders.
  • Perelman ultimately ousted; Avi Arad (from Toy Biz) emerged as a key figure.
  • “Kind of like how Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land, but wasn't able to enter himself.” (C, 10:54)
  • “...Perlman is quite disliked in the industry. Even though he personally got rich..., many people hold him responsible for ruining the business.” (A, 10:59)

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Marvel’s Pivot to Hollywood and Financial Innovation (11:24–14:15)

• Avi Arad’s Hollywood Deals:
  • Early licensing arrangements netted Marvel minimal revenue (e.g., $25,000 from "Blade" vs $70M box office).
    • “Blade made over $70 million at the box office. But Marvel’s take... was a very minuscule amount of $25,000.” (A, 12:19)
  • Pre-bankruptcy deals focused on immediate cash rather than profit-sharing.
• Shift to Direct Film Production:
  • Post-bankruptcy, strategy shifted: Marvel decided to self-finance movies.
  • Major obstacle: How to find the money?
• Breakthrough Financing Deal:
  • In 2005, Marvel secured nearly $500 million in financing from Merrill Lynch to make 10 movies.
    • “Merrill Lynch gave them access to almost half a billion dollars to make ten movies over a seven year period.” (A, 13:11)
  • Deal collateralized by Marvel’s most famous characters—if the movies failed, Merrill would own them.
    • “They put up their most famous characters as collateral.” (A, 13:24)
• Success of Iron Man (2008):
  • First Marvel Studios movie grossed $585M at the box office, sparking the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
    • “With Merrill Lynch’s funding secure, Marvel went to work buying back the rights to many of their most famous characters... In May 2008, they released their first movie, Iron Man.” (A, 13:57)
    • “Iron Man grossed $585 million at the box office and paved the way for the entire Marvel Universe franchise...” (A, 14:00)

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Disney Acquisition – The Superhero Ending (14:15–14:35)

• Marvel’s Purchase by Disney (2009):
  • Acquired for $4.3B eleven years after bankruptcy.
    • “A happy ending just like in the comics.” (C, 14:13)
    • “...when it was bought by Disney in 2009 for $4.3 billion.” (A, 14:15)
  • “From bankruptcy in 1998 to a record-breaking purchase 11 years later. Just like their Spider-Man character. That is truly amazing.” (C, 14:26)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Marvel’s appeal:
  • “Marvel differentiated itself... by creating superhero characters who were more like regular people.” (A, 04:57)
• On the crash:
  • “The collectors market pretty much cratered. Dozens of comic book retailers went bankrupt, and overall comic book sales plunged something like 70%.” (A, 08:30)
• On licensing mistakes:
  • “Blade made over $70 million at the box office. But Marvel’s take... was a very minuscule amount of $25,000.” (A, 12:19)
  • “That can’t be right. That's a drop in the bucket—even less.” (C, 12:23)
• On risk and recovery:
  • “They put up their most famous characters as collateral.” (A, 13:24)
  • “So basically, if the movies failed, Merrill Lynch would own Captain America and Thor.” (C, 13:29)
• On the turnaround:
  • “Iron Man grossed $585 million at the box office and paved the way for the entire Marvel Universe franchise, which is still going on strong today.” (A, 14:00)
  • “A super ending for a superhero company, no doubt.” (A, 14:35)

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Business Vocabulary Explained (selected at 14:39–24:31)

• Escape: Used idiomatically to mean "avoid" or "cannot help but notice". (15:20)
  • “Who could escape knowing about the rivalry between Marvel and DC Comics?” (C, 16:01)
• Gritty: Describes characters (or people) who are tough and realistic, shaped by challenges.
• Opt to do something: To choose a course of action among options.
• Crater: As a verb, to suddenly decline or collapse (often financial).
  • “...the collectors market pretty much cratered.” (A, 08:30)
• A drop in the bucket: A very small part of a much larger whole.
  • Used when discussing Marvel’s scant proceeds from movie licensing.
• Collateral: Assets pledged as security for a loan.
  • “They put up their most famous characters as collateral.” (A, 13:24)

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Key Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------- |---------------| | Opening chat & Netflix in Japan | 01:05–02:32 | | Marvel's origins & market approach | 04:11–06:22 | | The Ron Perelman era & bankruptcy | 06:24–10:26 | | Avi Arad’s Hollywood deals | 11:24–12:38 | | Financing breakthrough & Iron Man | 13:03–14:13 | | Disney acquisition | 14:15–14:35 | | Business vocabulary explanations | 14:39–24:31 | | Closing reflections | 25:17–25:51 |

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Tone & Language

The episode maintains a friendly, conversational, and slightly playful tone, with clear explanations designed for ESL/EFL listeners. The hosts frequently affirm each other, provide real-life examples, and break down business vocabulary, making even technical content accessible and engaging.

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Conclusion

Summary:
Marvel’s rise from bankruptcy to box-office dominance is a story of risk, reinvention, and business learning. By shifting its strategy from comic book sales to entertainment royalties—and by betting big on its own creative assets—Marvel became a model for how struggling companies can leap into new markets and thrive.

Memorable Wrap-up:
“A super ending for a superhero company, no doubt.” (A, 14:35)

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Transcript

[A]

Hi, everyone. Skip Montreux here. Can I ask you to do me a small favor? We are currently conducting a D2B listener survey. We'd like to know more about our listeners. Who are you, what are you interested in, and how do you feel about down to Business English in general? I promise it is a very short survey and would only take a few minutes of your time, but will help us out tremendously in bringing you better content. To help you improve your business English, just visit our website@downto businessenglish.com and click on the D2B listener survey link at the top of the page. Thank you very much. Now, on with the show.

[B]

From Tokyo, Japan, and Auckland, New Zealand, this is down to Business English with your hosts, Git Montreux and Samantha Vega.

[A]

Samantha Vega, so lovely to be back with you. How are you keeping these days?

[C]

Doing really well. The weather here in New Zealand is perking up and we're getting. It's summer. Well, it's pretty much summer now. Looking forward to the sunshine.

[A]

I keep forgetting that we are at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to seasons.

[C]

Well, how about you over in Tokyo? How's it going over there? Keeping your nose clean, are you?

[A]

And what do you mean by that?

[C]

You know, are you staying out of trouble?

[A]

Oh, absolutely. Over here, it's nothing but work, sleep, work, sleep. Maybe sometimes. Catch a movie on Netflix when I have a minute.

[C]

You have Netflix in Japan? How do you like it?

[A]

Oh, it's good. I think they put some really nice original content on there.

[C]

You can watch the latest Hollywood movie titles then.

[A]

Not so much. Netflix here is a little bit behind the times. Hey, but speaking of Hollywood movies, when was the last time you went to a movie theater and actually took in a movie?

[C]

Oh, it was a while ago. It might have been about eight months to a year.

[A]

Wow. It's been about a year for me, too. I think the last movie I saw was Rogue One, that Star wars movie that came out here in Japan last December. Well, the movie business, like most industries, has really had to adapt to a new marketplace in the last 20 years,

[C]

as the Netflix business model illustrates.

[A]

Yes, the Internet and technology has certainly democratized the movie business in many ways, making it easier to produce and distribute films.

[C]

I think show business is just as healthy as ever. People may not be going to the theater as much, but there's no shortage in customers who want to watch their entertainment over the Internet.

[A]

And one company that has really profited from getting into movies has been Marvel Comics.

[C]

Marvel Comics, the makers of Superman and Batman.

[A]

No, that's DC Comics. I'm talking about Marvel comics and the Marvel universe. With, you know, characters like Iron Man, Captain America, the X Men, Thor. What's the green one? Oh, the Incredible Hulk. And of course, the Amazing Spider Man.

[C]

Just joking. Of course I know the difference between Marvel and DC Comics. Who can escape knowing about that famous rivalry between them? When I was a kid, I used to like characters. I guess I like characters from both camps. But it sure seems that Marvel is beating D.C. at the box office at the moment.

[A]

It does, but with the recent release of Wonder Woman, I wouldn't give up on DC just yet. Now, here's a fact you might not know. Did you know that Marvel Comics, only a short 20 years ago, went bankrupt?

[C]

Really? No, I didn't know that. With the success of the Avengers and Iron man, it's a little hard to imagine them being out of money.

[A]

Well, I'm not lying. It is a fact. And today on D2B, we, we are going to take a look at how they made it from the bottom back to the top of their game.

[C]

Sounds good.

[A]

Great. So let's do it. Let's get D2B down to business with Marvel Comics. A business comeback of superhero proportions. Marvel Comics. So any idea how old this company is?

[C]

My guess would be somewhere in the neighborhood of at least 50 or 60 years.

[A]

Oh, that's a pretty good guess. Although it grew out of older companies that date back to the late 30s, the first actual comic book to be branded and distributed under the name Marvel was in 1961.

[C]

56 years ago. I was right on the money.

[A]

You were. Now, throughout the 60s, Marvel differentiated itself from their rival DC Comics and DC's market, leading Superman by creating superhero characters who were more like regular people.

[C]

Regular people with superpowers.

[A]

Precisely. So instead of coming from outer space and being perfect and undefeatable like Superman, Marvel characters had everyday problems, like being short on money, arguing with their girlfriends, and having jobs and bosses they didn't like.

[C]

Interesting. You would think that they would try to imitate the successful sales model of Superman over at DC Comics.

[A]

Actually, it's just the opposite. Their marketing strategy was to create characters and stories that would appeal to an older audience, not just kids who were the traditional demographic for comic books up until that point.

[C]

Makes sense when the market is crowded, expand into new territory. So who were these new adult oriented characters?

[A]

As I mentioned, there was Iron Man, Captain America, and Spider Man. But also there were the X Men and the Fantastic Four. My favorite was Thor.

[C]

Thor. I took you, for a Spidey fan?

[A]

Well, honestly, I like them all.

[C]

So in the strength of these grittier characters, Marvel rose to the top of the heap in the superhero comic world?

[A]

Pretty much, yes.

[C]

So what went wrong? What led to their bankruptcy?

[A]

Well, let's jump forward from the 1960s up until the 90s, because that's when things started to fall apart for them. Marvel had been acquired by a man by the name of ron Perlman in 1989, and his main business strategy was to take the company public, raise capital and use that to acquire related companies. That would give Marvel more access to secondary markets.

[C]

Secondary markets? You mean markets other than the comics themselves?

[A]

Yes. Perlman spent upwards of $700 million buying toy companies and trading card businesses that could produce and distribute product with Marvel characters on them.

[C]

That sounds like a reasonable strategy. Why did it fail?

[A]

Well, the strategy was fine, but what really hurt Marvel was the bottom dropped out of the comic book market in the early 90s.

[C]

I suppose in that era of video arcades, in the early days of home video games, that must have cut into the comic book sales.

[A]

I'd imagine that might have had some impact for sure. But what really hurt Marvel was their sales strategy. You see, in order to put Marvel onto the stock market, they needed to keep their sales numbers really high. But instead of trying to grow their readership, they opted to exploit their existing customer base.

[C]

And how exactly did they go about doing that?

[A]

They started publishing comics that were marketed as special or limited editions and raised the prices. You see, Perlman strongly believed that hardcore fans would pay top dollar for these collector editions. So they started packaging them up in sealed plastic covers so that fans would buy two or three copies, one copy to read and the other one to keep in its sealed bag to resell in the future when its value had increased.

[C]

The vintage comic book market isn't that quite lucrative? I seem to recall reading somewhere about the original Superman comic selling for $5 million at auction.

[A]

Well, that is what Marvel hoped a lot of people would believe. But by the mid-90s, comic fans had grown very tired of the inflated prices, and the collectors market pretty much cratered. Dozens of comic book retailers went bankrupt, and overall comic book sales plunged something like 70%.

[C]

What happened to Marvel's stock prices at that time?

[A]

Well, it reflected that trend, and it dropped to as low as $2 off its all time high of just under $40. And to add insult to injury, by 1995, Marvel was deep in debt, and

[C]

that's what caused them to file for bankruptcy, I guess.

[A]

No not directly. Now, Perlman had a strategy to get Marvel out of the hole, and that strategy was again, to head into new territory. Specifically, this new territory was the movie business. And to do this, he opened a new company, Marvel Studios, and planned to spend even more money to completely buy out Toy Biz, one of the toy companies that Marvel had purchased a few years earlier. He felt that by uniting those two companies, it would give them a stronger base from which they could take the Marvel universe to the big screen.

[C]

This Ron Perlman guy sounds fearless. It takes a certain amount of courage to spend more money when you're heavily in debt. But as the saying goes, you need to spend money to make money.

[A]

Well, Marvel's shareholders didn't agree and tried to prevent him from moving ahead with that plan. So what he did was declare bankruptcy.

[C]

Ah, so by doing that, he could bypass the shareholders.

[A]

Exactly. But the shareholders didn't take it lying down. They sued Perlman, and the whole issue was tied up in the courts for several years. But finally, In December of 1998, the suit was settled and Marvel was allowed to declare bankruptcy.

[C]

So in the end, Perlman got his way.

[A]

In a way, yes. Marvel went bankrupt and could merge with Toy Biz. But in a strange twist, Perlman was pushed out of the company by Marvel's board of directors. Instrumental in getting rid of Perlman was a man by the name of Avi Arid. He used to be the CEO of Toy Biz and had been appointed to Marvel's board of directors after they had been acquired by Marvel.

[C]

Kind of like how Moses led the Israelites to the promised Land, but wasn't able to enter himself.

[A]

Hmm, nice analogy, but not quite. Unlike Moses, Perlman is quite disliked in the industry. Even though he personally got rich via his involvement with Marvel, many people hold him responsible for ruining the business. Remember, hundreds of people lost their jobs through this period as the bottom fell out of the comic book industry.

[C]

I see. So Perlman is out, Arid is in. And 1998 is rock bottom for Marvel. How did they turn things around?

[A]

Well, when Arid first came to Marvel in around 1993, he was involved in Marvel films. Actually, he is the person who is responsible for brokering deals with Hollywood to make TV shows and movies. The X Men franchise and the Blade movies were results of his work.

[C]

Well, those were successful films.

[A]

Yes, they were. But the deals that he had made simply licensed those characters to 20th Century Fox. Marvel, in fact, made very little money from the movies. For example, blade made over $70 million at the box office. But Marvel's Take. This is quite surprising. Marvel's take was a very miniscule amount of $25,000.

[C]

Oh, my goodness. That can't be right. That's a drop in the bucket even less.

[A]

I know. But back in the early 90s, when Arid made that deal, Marvel really needed the cash. And their hope was that a successful movie would lead to higher sales in merchandising.

[C]

Oh, that deal was made before their bankruptcy.

[A]

Yes. After the bankruptcy and after arid had taken the reins to lead Marvel Studios, the strategy changed. They finally decided to take full control of making movies using Marvel characters. But one last large hurdle remained.

[C]

And what was that?

[A]

Financing.

[C]

Of course. Movies are always expensive to make, and Marvel was broke.

[A]

But the breakthrough came in 2005 when they negotiated a financing deal with Merrill Lynch.

[C]

The Wall street investment firm?

[A]

The one and only. Now Merrill lynch gave them access to almost half a billion dollars to make ten movies over a seven year period. Wow.

[C]

How did Marvel get them to agree to do that?

[A]

Quite simple. They put up their most famous characters as collateral.

[C]

So basically, if the movies failed, Merrill lynch would own Captain America and Thor.

[A]

Exactly. But obviously they didn't fail. With Merrill Lynch's funding secure, Marvel went to work buying back the rights to many of their most famous characters, which they had sold over the years for quick cash. Characters like Iron man and the Incredible Hulk. And in May 2008, they released their first movie, IR Iron Man.

[C]

And that was the start of their movie fortunes.

[A]

It was. Iron man grossed $585 million at the box office and paved the way for the entire Marvel universe franchise, which is still going on strong today.

[C]

A happy ending just like in the comics.

[A]

Well, I think the real happy ending for Marvel shareholders was when it was bought by Disney in 2009 for $4.3 billion.

[C]

From bankruptcy in 1998 to a record breaking purchase 11 years later. Just like their Spider man character. That is truly amazing.

[A]

A super ending for a superhero company, no doubt.

[C]

Well, on that note, I think it's time for you and I to get D2V down to vocabulary.

[B]

Down to business. English audio scripts are a great learning tool. Be sure to visit the D2B website and download your free audio script of today's podcast. Downtobusinessenglish.com that's www.downtobusinessenglish.com.

[C]

I will start vocabulary off today with the verb to escape. Now, you might at first think that this word is a little on the easier side.

[A]

Sure. Escape is a fairly basic word that means to get away from something dangerous, to Escape from a fire or escape from a bad relationship, for example.

[C]

Yeah, like to escape from a bad relationship. But I bet that most listeners only use escape in its literal sense and do not use it idiomatically.

[A]

No, I suppose not. Native English speakers do often use the verb escape followed by a gerund to communicate that they are avoiding something.

[C]

That's right. And in the story, I asked the rhetorical question, who could escape knowing about the rivalry between Marvel and DC Comics? In other words, the rivalry between them was so famous in the 1980s and 90s that it was impossible for anyone to avoid it.

[A]

You know, I was watching a business report on Bloomberg.com the other day, and they were reporting on how Apple recently fired one of their iPhone engineers because apparently his daughter had posted a video of the new iPhone X on YouTube before it was released to the public.

[C]

Oh, I heard about that. Not very smart of him giving his daughter access to a top secret handset.

[A]

Well, as I watched the story, I couldn't escape noticing that the daughter had made the video of the iPhone X when she was visiting Apple and having lunch with her dad in the cafeteria. If you ask me, Apple security is not what it used to be. I don't think anything like this would have happened if Steve Jobs was still in charge.

[C]

Des is right. No one could escape seeing that you are the ultimate Apple fanboy.

[A]

Now, let's not go down that rabbit hole.

[C]

Good idea. What's our next word?

[A]

Next on the list is the adjective to be gritty. Imagine that you have a nice glass of cool water, and when you drink it, it goes down really smoothly.

[C]

That is a very refreshing image.

[A]

Now, imagine that you added a tablespoon of salt. When you take a sip this time, it is no longer smooth. It's much, much rougher.

[C]

Not to mention salty.

[A]

Don't focus on the taste. Focus on the texture. We call that texture. Salt mixed with water. We call that gritty.

[C]

Okay, so that is the literal meaning, a liquid with a rough texture. But in the story I used gritty. Idiomatically, I commented that Marvel's sales increased based on the strength of their grittier characters. Grittier compared to the superheroes from DC comics?

[A]

That's right. Idiomatically, gritty is used to describe a person who is very tough and has become that way through experiencing many challenges in life. So a gritty superhero like Spider Man, a teenage boy who is responsible for his uncle's murder, who is in love with a girl but is too scared to tell her about it and is always in trouble with his boss. That is a much grittier character than the fairly simple black and white DC character of Superman.

[C]

So in a business context, you could say that some jobs require a much grittier personality than others. For example, I've always thought in order to be a good entrepreneur, you need to be quite gritty. If you always give up the minute you face any type of serious challenge, you will never succeed.

[A]

Absolutely. Just look at people like Steve Jobs.

[C]

Wow, you are really getting the Apple references in today.

[A]

And Jack Ma and Steve Bezos and Elon Musk.

[C]

Thank you. Yes, each of those individuals have demonstrated that they are quite gritty when it comes to business. Shall we move on?

[A]

Sure. Do you have our next word?

[C]

I do. Next, I'd like to take a close look at the verb phrase to opt to do something. To opt is the verb form of the noun option. When you opt to do something, you are communicating that you have chosen that action as the best option or best way to proceed.

[A]

In the story, I reported that instead of trying to increase their customer base, Marvel opted to exploit their existing readership and charge them higher prices.

[C]

In other words, they chose to take advantage of their current readers rather than try to find new customers.

[A]

Can you give us a business example of to opt to do something?

[C]

A good example would be the developing scandal at the Japanese Kobe Steel Company. Oh, yes, they are in serious hot water at the moment because they opted to sell inferior products and lie to their customers about the quality of their materials. Some experts are saying this could be the end of the of Kobe Steel.

[A]

Very good example. Do you know why they opted to do that?

[C]

My understanding is that they just couldn't compete with their rivals and the only way they could match their lower prices was to lower the quality of their steel.

[A]

Well, they certainly made the wrong decision because their stock price is cratering.

[C]

Cratering? Is that our next word?

[A]

Yes, it is. Our next word is indeed the verb to crater, which is a great way to describe a stock price that is quickly dropping. The noun crater is a dent or hole on the surface of a planet that is created when it is hit by an asteroid from outer space.

[C]

You just need to take a look at the moon on any clear night and you can see it's completely covered with craters.

[A]

That is a very good illustration of crater. Now, the verb to crater describes a sudden loss. It could be the loss of value or a significant loss of performance.

[C]

And it is often used when talking about financial products like stocks or mutual funds.

[A]

Sure, I'd say it's pretty commonly used like that, but you can use Crater for almost anything. For example, the speed of my Internet connection craters every time I log into Skype.

[C]

That happens to me a lot too. In fact, the entire performance of my laptop craters when I'm on a Skype call. It's not just the Internet connection.

[A]

And that is why we should try using Google Hangouts next time we record together.

[C]

I look forward to that. Moving on. Next on the list today is the phrase a drop in the bucket. A drop in the bucket is something that is a very small amount of something, especially when you compare it to something larger. When you reported that Marvel comics only made 25,000 compared to the $70 million the movie Blade took in at the box office, I commented that it was just a drop in the bucket. In other words, it was a very small amount of money. Do you know what else is a drop in the bucket? Skip?

[A]

I have a feeling you are going to tell me.

[C]

Well, as you probably know, Facebook recently disclosed that a Russian linked agency spent $46,000 on political ads during the US 2016 election.

[A]

Who can escape hearing about that news? It is quite a bombshell.

[C]

True. But compare that to the $81 million Trump and Clinton spent on Facebook advertising. It is just a drop in the bucket.

[A]

$81 million. Wow. Politics is such a big business.

[C]

It certainly is, but it must be very stressful being a politician. You'd have to be a fairly gritty character to live under that kind of public pressure.

[A]

I suppose so. Certainly not my cup of tea.

[C]

Me neither.

[A]

Finally, today is a financial term related to borrowing money. The term is collateral, and it is most often used with the two part verb put up. So the full expression is to put up collateral. When you want to borrow money from a bank or other lending company, you need to put up collateral. Collateral is something of value that you own that the lender gets to keep if you can't pay back the loan.

[C]

In today's report, Skip reported that in order for Marvel to secure financing from Merrill lynch, they needed to put up some of their most famous super superheroes as collateral. In other words, if they couldn't repay their loan, Merrill lynch would become the new owners of the copyrights to those characters.

[A]

Here in Japan, with the 0% lending rate, banks have been having a hard time making any profits whatsoever with traditional loans. So recently they have started offering no collateral loans at higher interest rates.

[C]

No collateral loans. So you don't need to put up anything as collateral?

[A]

That's right. And for taking that risk, the banks only want to charge 15 to 18% interest.

[C]

18%? I definitely would not opt to take out one of those.

[B]

Would you like to support the down to Business English? Be sure to visit the D2B page in iTunes and subscribe to the show. While you are there, why don't you leave a rating and a comment? This will help D2B reach more people wanting to improve their business English skills. Down to Business English Business News to improve your business English.

[C]

That was a very informative report on Marvel Comics, Skip the next time I watch an Avengers or Iron man movie, I certainly will be thinking about the history of this company.

[A]

Me too. I am very much looking forward to escaping into the Marvel Universe in the near future. The new Thor movie is playing in Japan now and I hope to get out and see it in the next few days.

[C]

My goal is to take in the new Blade Runner 2049 as soon as possible. I loved the original and can't wait to see Harrison Ford in this sequel. That man is a real life superhero.

[A]

Harrison Ford. One of my favorites. Thanks for listening everyone. If you enjoyed today's episode of down to Business English, consider supporting us by becoming a D2B member. Your support helps us bring you more business news to help you improve your business English. Just visit our [e-mail] and click on the membership link at the top of the page for more details. We would sincerely appreciate your support. Thanks again everyone. See you next time.

[C]

Take care.

[B]

Have a comment or question about today's show? Don't be shy. Visit the D2B website or the Facebook page and post any comments or questions there. Skip Des or Samantha will be sure to leave a Reply Want to get even more down to Business English? Sign up for the D2B Newsletter and receive updates on some of the stories covered on down to business English. That's www.downtobusinessenglish.com down to business English Business News to improve your business English.