Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s, had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel branding began in 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and many others.
Marvel counts among its characters such well-known superheroes as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Punisher, and such teams as the Avengers, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, and antagonists including Doctor Doom, the Red Skull, the Green Goblin, Thanos, Ultron, Doctor Octopus, Magneto, Venom, and Loki. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with most locations mirroring real-life places; many major characters are based in New York City.
The first modern comic books under the Marvel Comics brand were the science-fiction anthology Journey into Mystery #69 and the teen-humor title Patsy Walker #95 (both cover dated June 1961), which each displayed an "MC" box on its cover. Then, in the wake of DC Comics' success in reviving superheroes in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly with the Flash, Green Lantern, and other members of the team the Justice League of America, Marvel followed suit.
According to wikipedia
