| Type | Public company |
|---|---|
| Traded as | OTC Markets Group: POWN |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, CA, USA |
| Key people | Stan Lee, Chair & CCO Gill Champion, President, CEO Arthur Lieberman COO and Chief Legal Counsel |
| Services | development |
| Revenue | $2.1 million |
| Operating income | ($1.1 million) loss |
| Net income | ($1.1 million) loss |
| Employees | 11 (3/11/2011) |
| Parent | POW! Entertainment, Inc. |
| Divisions | Panda Media Partners Stan Lee Comics |
| Subsidiaries | QED Productions, LLC SLG Entertainment |
| Website | powentertainment.com |
POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment is an American media production company formed by Gill Champion, Arthur Lieberman and former Marvel Comics editor and publisher Stan Lee in 2001. POW! is made up of primarily two companies, POW! Entertainment, Inc. (POW! Inc.), a holding corporation so as to have publicly traded stock, and the operating company, POW! Entertainment, LLC (POW! LLC), the primary operating company.[1]
POW! productions include the 2006 Sci Fi Channel's TV-movie Stan Lee's Lightspeed and that network's reality television series Who Wants to Be a Superhero?. Other productions include the direct-to-DVD animated features Stan Lee's Mosaic and Stan Lee Presents: The Condor.
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In November 2001, Stan Lee formed POW! Entertainment, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company.
The separate corporation POW! Entertainment, Inc., is a holding company created so as to have publicly traded stock. This originated as the Delaware corporation Megatek Legacy Systems, Inc., formed August 17, 1998; this became Alta Pacific Minerals, Inc. in 1999, and Arturion Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. By 2004, Arturion was a public shell corporation that was used to acquire POW! on May 5, 2004, with POW! members receiving Arturion shares to take it public on the over-the-counter market "Pink Sheets". Arturion changed its name to POW! Entertainment, Inc.[1] Lee created the risqué animated superhero series Stripperella for Spike TV. In 2004 he announced a superhero program that would feature Ringo Starr, the former Beatle, as the lead character.[2] Additionally, in August of that year, Lee announced the launch of Stan Lee's Sunday Comics.[3]
In May 2004, IDT Entertainment purchased a minority share in POW Entertainment in an agreement for exclusive distribution rights to POW's animated DVD properties and joint development of 6 cartoon films.[4] In 2005, the company announced that another animated film that would feature the voice of Ringo Starr.[5][6] Also in early 2005, the company formed a strategic partnership to develop a new mobile channel with mobile-streaming pioneer Vidiator, through Vidiator's mobile streaming technology. In 2006, this resulted in an agreement with Sprint Nextel Corp. where the Stan Lee's POW! Mobile Channel is officially listed as Sprint's Channel 70.[7] The channel includes mobisodes with Stripperella, The Accuser and The Drifter.
In 2004, an agreement with Andrew Stevens Entertainment Group and Jeff Franklin of FWE Inc., POW! and Lee planned to produce three action movies for the Sci Fi Channel to be aired in 2005-2006.[8] Only the movie, Lightspeed, was completed for SciFi and aired July 26, 2006.[9] POW! president and CEO Champion said in 2005 that Lee was creating a new superhero, Foreverman, for a Paramount Pictures movie, in tandem with producer Robert Evans and Idiom Films, with Peter Briggs hired to collaborate with Lee on the screenplay.[10]
In 2007, POW! started a series of direct-to-DVD animated films under the Stan Lee Presents banner. Each film focuses on a new superhero, created by Stan Lee for the series. The first two releases were Mosaic and The Condor. POW! and Walt Disney Studios agree to a first-look deal in June 2007.[11][12] The following year, the first three titles under that deal were announced: Nick Ratchet, Blaze and Tigress.[13]
On June 9, 2007, suit was brought against Lee, POW!, subsidiary QED Entertainment, and former Stan Lee Media staff at POW![14] On January 20, 2009, Judge Stephen Wilson, in Los Angeles Federal Court, ruled that POW! had illegally transferred assets of Stan Lee Media, including the Drifter and the Accuser, to POW! in violation of a bankruptcy court order.[15]
Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Animation announced in April 2008 a partnership with POW! to produce a CGI film series, "Legion of 5".[16] That same month, Virgin Comics announced Lee would create a line of superhero comics for that company.[17]
On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company's Catalyst Investments acquired a 10% stake in POW! for $2.5 million, coinciding with its full acquisition of Marvel Entertainment.[18][1] Also, Disney's Silver Creek Pictures entered into another agreement with POW! for first-look and consulting services.[19][1]
In 2010, POW started reporting to OTC Markets Group and was moved to the Over-The-Counter QB (OTCQB) tier market from the pink sheets.[1] In February of that year, POW! partnered with A Squared Entertainment (A2) and Archie Comics to create the Stan Lee Comics print and digital line.[20] On August 5, 2010, the reality-television series Stan Lee's Superhumans show premiered on the cable channel History.[21] Also that month, Super7, a toy manufacturer, sued POW! and partners over Stan Lee Comics' Super Seven.[22] Late in the year, POW! and Boom! Studios began publishing three new comic-book series: Soldier Zero, Starborn, and The Traveler.[23] [24] In October 2010, Guardian Media Entertainment, a partnership of Lee, SLG Entertainment and NHL Enterprises, created hockey-themed superheroes called "Guardians" for each of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League. The venture includes a graphic novel.[25][26]
Ricco Capital and Panda Media Partners, a joint venture of POW! and Fidelis Entertainment, formed a partnership, Magic Storm Entertainment, in June 2011 to produce material for Asia.[27] In 2011, Lee was writing a live-action musical, The Yin and Yang Battle of Tao.[28] In October, Lee announced he would partner with 1821 Comics on a multimedia imprint for children, Stan Lee’s Kids Universe, a move he said addressed the lack of comic books targeted for children; and that he was collaborating with the company on its futuristic graphic novel Romeo & Juliet: The War, by writer Max Work and artist Skan Srisuwan.[29][30]
| Title | Year(s) | Type | Production partner(s) |
Distributor | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stripperella | 2003-2004 | animated TV series | Spike TV | ||
| Stan Lee’s Superhero Christmas | October 2004 4th Qtr. 2005 |
Book DTV |
Harper Collins[8] | ||
| Time Jumper | 2009 | Animated mobile series | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment | iTunes | |
| Lightspeed | 2006 | TV film | FWE Picture Company | Sci Fi Channel (TV) Nu Image Films |
|
| Who Wants to Be a Superhero? | 2006-2007 | Reality TV Series 2 seasons |
Nash Entertainment | Sci Fi | |
| Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (UK) | 2006-2007 | Reality TV Series 1 season |
BBC Two/CBBC | ||
| Mosaic | 2007 | DTV | Manga Entertainment (presents) Film Roman Voice Box Productions |
Anchor Bay Entertainment | released under the "Stan Lee Presents" |
| The Condor | 2007 | DTV | Anchor Bay Entertainment | released under the "Stan Lee Presents" | |
| Stan Lee's Superhumans | 2010- | Reality TV Series 2 season |
History Channel |