Sketches prove Marvel created ‘Iron Man 3’ poster

At the heart of a lawsuit filed by two comic book artists against Marvel Entertainment LLC over its “Iron Man 3” film poster is this risk-management tip for creatives: Never toss out your sketches.

A judge in New York granted the comic giant, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co., summary judgment in a case filed nearly four years ago by Horizon Comics Productions Inc., a comic book company operated by Ben and Ray Lai, brothers who created a character named Caliban for their comic book series “Radix,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The pair also alleged in their suit that they had had been hired by Marvel back in 2002 as artists working on various comic book franchises, including “Thor,” according to the news site.

While the poster and Horizon’s comic show some similarities, the judge examined what was considered ample proof that Marvel independently created the movie poster — and ruled in its favor, according to the ruling.

"In contrast to Horizon’s virtually non-existent evidence of copying, Marvel has introduced unrebutted evidence showing its independent creation of the Iron Man 3 Poster,” the judge wrote.