*With the rise of CGI in the 1990s, Marvel characters could finally be convincingly realized on the big screen. It began in 1998, with the surprise success of Stephen Norrington's Blade. Other adaptations soon followed, notably Bryan Singer's X-Men films and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Today, Hollywood's top directors - many of them fans since childhood - are extending the legacy of Marvel's pantheon. *Source: Card back