Ever wonder why there was almost no Black Widow merchandise during the early Avengers years? The fault lies with Marvel's then-CEO Ike Perlmutter. The details of Perlmutter's obnoxiousness are long and tedious, but basically, he's the micromanaging boss who criticizes everything, always wants to cut costs, and has no passion for the project itself. You know the type.
Throughout the early days of Marvel Studios, Perlmutter was always shooting Feige down. Meanwhile, Feige also kept being roadblocked by the so-called "Marvel Creative Committee," according to Collider, a group of comic book professionals who continually thwarted the creative input of Marvel's directors. (For example, they wanted James Gunn to ditch his groovy Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack.) This messy structure forced Feige to spend all his time trying to please both Perlmutter and the Creative Committee, instead of just making great movies.
Captain America: Civil War was the turning point, as Feige's epic plans for the Avenger-versus-Avenger movie kept colliding with the penny-pinching suggestions of both Perlmutter and the Creative Committee. In response, Feige threatened to leave the company — and thankfully, Disney took notice, by ditching the Creative Committee and restructuring Marvel so Feige only had to report to Disney's CEO, bypassing Perlmutter altogether.
Guess what happened, once Feige shook the leash? Marvel's films got way bolder, better, and more experimental. See Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War.
