I see what you're saying about Marvel churning out crap. But here's the thing... From now on, the material is going to be much better guarded, wanna know why? Marvel has realized that comics are a dying medium. Once our generation dies, comics are gonna go the way of pulp fiction magazines. Todays kids are into video games and movies with $100 million budgets. The mythology will die with it if they don't branch out. That's why Marvel has started Marvel Pictures. The movies are 100% funded and backed by Marvel itself. No retard studio exec, who doesn't know Spider-man from John Candy, saying "Well, what if we made Galactus a cloud, better yet we make Dr. Doom some whiny yuppie douche bag!". It's Marvel, the director, and the writer... that's it, those are the creative forces. I think since the powers that be in this situation know the source material, and know how it works and have a good grip on story telling, we're going to see better comicbook fare.
As for the rapidity to which the movies are coming out, I think I messed up on the time table. It's going to be 2 years until Iron Man 2 and Thor, and 3 till Cap and Avengers. I don't think 2 per year is such a bad thing. Iron Man hit big this summer, and in a few weeks they're gonna release the Hulk. I don't foresee it being a big block buster, but the quality of the effects and the story from what I can tell from the trailer make me think this is going to be a pretty solid flick. I'm convinced Edward Norton can be great in any role he's put in. Tim Roth is generally a great villain. The Hulk doesn't look like a green cartoon characature of a mongoloid this time. And I'm pretty sure the final fight is against an actual villain this time and not a cloud (what is it with shitty marvel movies and the protagonist having to fight a cloud at the end of the movie).
As for Thor, every review of the script (the only thing solid to emerge from preproduction) states that it will turn the super hero movie on it's head, but the trick is going to be casting Thor. Someone with the physicality and the acting ability to make you believe he is a god. As for the casting rumors about Matthew McCaunaghey as Cap. Well, a lot can happen in 3 years. Cap is another situation where casting is key. We have to believe an ego centric Howard Hughes type, a Nordic thunder god, and the most powerful hero (rage driven force of nature?) in the Marvel Universe, would follow this guy into battle... a tall order.
As far as Cap not playing to an international audience... I think if you did his first solo movie as a modern superhero movie, you'd be right the foreign market grosses would be in the crapper. I feel your pain there, this faggotry of America having to cow tow to a foreign market has seeped into GI Joe, which at one time was A Real AMERICAN Hero. However let's take a look at what little we've been told about the Cap movie. The title: The First Avenger: Captain America. Hmmm... notice how Cap's name is a subtitle? Secondly, Variety stated that the film will "focus on Captain America's role as the First Avenger." Now that's really vague, but my interpretation? The movie will be about his days fighting Nazis in WWII. Now most countries on the world stage may hate us. But most countries can also agree that Nazis in World War II were way worse. I think they'll make it a superhero/WWII movie, have Cap frozen at the end of the movie. Then he is discovered by SHIELD in the Avengers movie released a few weeks later. Just my prediction.