Mess with the bull, and you get the horns. Mess with the multi-billion dollar bull, and you get threatened by a school yard bully?
Our friends over at Latino Review deliver breaking news and fresh updates just as any good reporting website should, but apparently their diligent efforts to uncover unique stories have recently rubbed Marvel Studios the wrong way. Site author Da7e publicly posted an article yesterday featuring a laughable email sent in by an “independent security consultant” working with Marvel to expose whoever leaked exclusive Iron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy information a week early.
Take a look at Marvel’s attempts to strong-arm Latino Review:
Dear Dave:
My name is [COOL STORY, BRO!] and I am an independent security consultant working for Marvel. I have worked as a security consultant for Marvel since 1982. I am currently conducting an investigation on Marvel’s behalf regarding the dissemination of confidential, non-public information concerningIron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy. The executives at Marvel are extremely upset regarding the release of this information and they have instructed me to find you and ascertain how you received it. My goal is to accomplish this in a quiet manner. I do not want to see you or anyone else get into trouble nor do I want to see anyone’s career be tarnished because of this. However I am very confident that through your efforts and mine, we will be able to work through this together.  I personally feel that you did not have any malicious intent when you posted your spoilers on the fanboy website. Like many fans out there, you just wanted to be the first one to post something on the internet. I get it, however the Iron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxyinformation was confidential and you did not have Marvel’s consent to post it. That was illegal!
If you provide me with your source, I will make it worth your effort. I want to work with you. As I stated above, I do not want to see you or anyone else get into trouble. That would be a lose-lose for everyone. I would hope that you are now realizing that this is a very serious matter and the consequences will be quite severe if I do not find out how you obtained the Iron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy information.
My goal is to ascertain how you got the Iron Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy informationand make this go away.  All information you provide will remain confidential, even your identity. Your source will never know.   Let’s work together and make this happen before it is too late. To date, everyone I have worked with has not suffered any consequences. I do not want to see this situation get blown out of proportion. However if we do not work together, I will have no choice but to take this investigation to the next level and I will not stop until this investigation is completed.
Please get back to me with your thoughts and let me know how you would like to proceed. It is my goal to bring this matter to closure as quickly and quietly as possible.  Thank you for your time and please get back to me as soon as possible.
If you would like to talk, you can reach me at [xxx-xxx-xxxx]
But what did Latino Review do wrong? All Da7e did was put rumors to rest, proving professional success when his article became reality at Comic-Con. But isn’t that what we do as reporting journalists? How many sites besides Latino Review were speculating Guardians of the Galaxy would be slated for 2014 weeks before Comic-Con?
Which leads me to believe that an internet troll could possibly be behind this email. Just after one read, a complete lack of professionalism resonating through our writer’s voice is noticeable. Lines such as “Like many fans out there, you just wanted to be the first one to post something on the internet” and ” I personally feel that you did not have any malicious intent when you posted your spoilers on the fanboy website” seem out-of-place coming from such a major company.
Plus, don’t you think if a juggernaut like Marvel wanted to take immediate action, more swift justice would have been carried out rather than an imposing letter? Not to mention a letter filled with grammatical errors, missed spaces, and lackluster writing.
Hey, if this is real, I fully support Latino Review in their decision to hold strong and stand by their professional duties to deliver the best news possible. It’s what we all strive to do as reporters. No one broke into Marvel Studios Mission Impossible style and cracked open some magical vault holding every future comic book movie secret. Nope, there was a leak, plain and simple. Marvel should just stop pouting about someone stealing their thunder a week early like a spoiled schoolgirl and just focus on delivering more crowd pleasing movies.
Hold strong Latino Review, the entire internet community is on your side.
Do yo guys agree this letter could be nothing but a hoax? Or do you believe Marvel is still stewing over some information leakage.
