Marvel's "Creative Committee" was established by Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter and included comic book creatives like Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, and Dan Buckley. They would constantly interfere in Marvel Studios' plans, sharing what we've come to learn were either terrible ideas or notes that did nothing but harm the movies they were intended for.
It was this, and Perlmutter's cost-cutting measures (like threatening to fire Robert Downey Jr.) that eventually led to Kevin Feige getting then Disney CEO Bob Iger to make Marvel Studios a completely separate entity similar to Lucasfilm and Pixar. Even the Russo Brothers have talked about the negative impact this "Creative Committee" had, and more details have now come to light.
In the pages of The Story of Marvel Studios (via Slash Film), it's revealed that the group tried to stop Captain America and Iron Man coming to blows in the final act of Captain America: Civil War.
"We had to do a draft where they had a fight in a submarine base with five super soldiers," co-writer Stephen McFeely explains, revealing that the committee pushed for a generic superhero vs. supervillain battle. Joe Russo, meanwhile, adds: "We kept saying, 'There's nothing interesting about that film. We're not here to make that movie. We're not interested in telling another superhero story.'"
This was the straw that broke the camel's back for Feige, and he sided with the filmmakers. Russo adds: "Civil War started a civil war in Marvel. But when we drew the line in the sand, it became a moment where that company was either going to slowly bend back toward where it had come from, or it was gonna slowly start to bend toward new territory."
Needless to say, this was for the best as the Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn't be what it is today with that group of comic book writers and executives still giving their input. Now, Feige is in charge of everything in the Marvel Universe, though we've yet to learn of any influence he's had on what arrives in comic book stores each month. On the TV side, though, everything has changed in recent years.
What do you guys think of that alternate ending for Captain America: Civil War?