A few points of order:
Despite showing it right there on the screen, Lee kind of ignored that Perlmutter said women and characters of color underperformed internationally–as in China. Hollywood has been courting China for the past few years, and they typically don’t care for those kinds of characters, and a few other messed up governments who hogtie their cultures feel the same way. This is why the Black Panther movie posters hid T’Challa’s race, why Finn was shoved into a small spot on the Star Wars sequel trilogy posters, why the gay kisses Disney celebrates in the US were removed in those countries, and so on. Perlmutter had nothing to do with those decisions at least.
Captain Marvel and Black Panther did decent numbers, but their sequels failed due to how the characters were treated and the current mindset at Marvel Studios about no longer caring about the source material. (Then again, neither do the current comic writers. Every comic critic I follow HATES the “Krakoa era” and is glad it’s finally dead.) That’s under Feige having unlimited control while Perlmutter had a committee (sorry, Snyder) that kept Feige on track, knowing that making the fans happy were as important as keeping it open to new viewers who didn’t read the comics when it came to pushing the merchandise. I’m not saying Perlmutter was a saint by any means (supposedly he didn’t think anyone would notice when Rhodey changed actors from Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle after Howard wanted more money than they offered for his return), but this plays into the narrative Disney wanted out there when they got rid of him. It’s also under Feige’s watch where Rhodey became a Skrull, another sign of doing my first comics Iron Man dirty. When working with Paramount, Universal, and even Fox, Marvel Studios was doing pretty well. At Disney it’s been falling apart along with Star Wars and other LucasFilm properties and Doctor Who.
Finally, Ms. Marvel going mutant was a response to how badly the Inhumans movie did to the point that Disney and Marvel Studios want you to forget it exists. Lucky for them the feeling is mutual, but Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl both have spun off of the comics. Kamala had her own series, where they rewrote her powers while the Disney Junior Spidey show has her actual comic powers, and Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur has a cartoon spinoff. (Not sure if she’s still an Inhuman or another black teen supergenius like Riri “Ironheart” Williams.) Meanwhile, Disney’s Big Hero 6, a movie and series I admittedly enjoy, is NOTHING like the comic its inspired by beyond names. It’s not only the X-Men suffering at the moment.
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