Disney Buying Marvel

[filkertom]

Holy crap.

Okay, very first thing: Maybe the comics will improve. Seriously. A lot of the dark, insane shit Marvel has done over the past ten years drove me out of buying comics completely. Disney won't like a lot of that stuff, though.

Second thing: Marvel has a shitload of licenses with Universal Studios down the street. Like, many of the major rides at Universal's Islands of Adventure. What's gonna happen to them?

Third thing: Status of the movie studio? Animation studio? Existing merch licenses?

Fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. Wow. I foresee a new theme park in the offing. Perhaps a Marvel-themed reboot of the former Pleasure Island.

Thoughts?

ETA: I went to the store this morning, and they had some comics in the magazine section. The most recent Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk (as opposed to Hulk) #600.

Mother of God.

Disney really can't fuck these up any worse than these yahoos already have.

Comments

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I'll be happy if Disney introduces the concept of continuity to Marvel.

[shala-beads.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Exactly. After the 3rd universal reset in 5 years with titles all over the place for all the alternate universes and not actually finishing a story line before they decide it's not working and do something else..
well.. I still read Deadpool.
Just Deadpool, the rest of my 50 dollar a week comic budget gets spent on indies and DC.

[anjala.livejournal.com]

OK, I totally agree with the WTF sentiment. Seriously! I can't believe it. And the first thing I thought of was Universal Studios. And I don't want to imagine Disney's version of Wolverine or Sabretooth. This is a very sad day indeed.

[jenrose]

Animated! With cute anthropomorphic bowls of jello for sidekicks!

Oh... wait.

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

I hope this doesn't derail the plans for the Avengers movies.

[ladysmith.livejournal.com]

This is all over the news here in Central Florida. And a friend pointed out that the licensing agreement is now Disney's cash cow. Universal has a LOT invested in Marvel Island.

And if Universal decide not to pay, Disney just might acquire a fifth gate and a Disney thrill park that fans have been wanting. Win-win.

Now, Stan Lee is already working with Disney; they own his POW label. There's some hope that this might put Stan back in at Marvel, which the blogger I read says would be a good thing. http://thedisneyblog.com/2009/08/31/disney-aquires-marvel-superheros-to-join-disney-fold/

Disney already owns all the Saban properties, so they have some action heroes in the stable already (Power Rangers being the most obvious, although when Saban sold to Disney, they owned the rights to Gatchaman II and Gatchaman F! Can't wait to see how THAT plays out with the upcoming Imagi Gatchaman movie!)

I just reread that. Power Ranger/X-man crossover, anyone?

[alverant.livejournal.com]

What about the Marvel/Transformer crossover and toys? I know there's already an Micky-mus Prime out there.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

This was a real WTF moment for me too. I agree that lately their comics have been darker, but also a bit more mature to appeal to a changing audience. I didn't mind it so much, but Civil War pretty much did it for me in a bad way. (The New Warriors was one of my favorite titles until Civil War royally screwed them over.)

I don't see this being good in the long term as Disney wants to keep everything family friendly and comics need to be a little edgy if they want to expand past their children's audience. Plus Disney has a bad habit of messing with a good thing by getting their grubby little fingerprints on everything. We'll have to see what they do, but I'm not optimistic.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Well, y'know, Disney has shown in the past that they don't necessarily mind more mature or edgy. Heck, it's part of the reason they merged with Pixar. Thing is, I feel Marvel has lost the art of telling a story. They put their characters through such a constant shit-grind, escalating the stakes beyond all reason in the interests of Story Coming Out Of Conflict, that many of their characters and plotlines have become genuinely hateful for me. Certainly a number of their creators and editors. Between Avengers Disassembled, Civil War, World War Hulk, One More Day/Brand New Day, the endless lives-after death of Dr. Doom and others, and a host of other things, I simply do not care about the current Marvel oeuvre.

[laurel-potter.livejournal.com]

Well, Universal will be opening their new Harry Potter Island next year, so that'll bring in some money if they have to get rid of all their Mavel stuff.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

Wow. I thought it was impossible for Marvel's comics to ensure a downward turn.

Yet, with Disney's guidance and restrictions, I fear we're seeing the end of the Tin and Lead Age.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

So this would be... the Mouse Age?

[kunzelman.livejournal.com]

I feel like Marvel will become just like DC. Not good, in my book.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

Thoughts? Winnie the Pooh. Savagely sodomized to death by the Mouse. The Mouse kills everything it touches, turning it into homogeneous, pallid goo.

Not fond of the Mouse. Sorry.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

Disney is an ideal example of "Design by committee". They are set up to not offend anybody or cause any ripples at all. After all, they are family fare. I'm not certain if the mentality predates Eisner or came in with him, however.

And since Marvel comics are decidedly NOT PC, either Disney's corporate mentality must change, or the stories under Marvel must change. See if you can guess who is going to blink first - the rich suits or the starving writers?

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

So, we can expect singing crabs and dancing flowers in the next Spiderman movie?

[fredhuggins.livejournal.com]

After Spider-Man 3, let's hope so.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

The precedent I can think of is the Muppets franchise, which has not been notably contaminated by Disney characters. If Disney keeps the Marvelverse separate, as Warner Bros. has done with the DC characters, this could work.

Note: about hmmm, 6-7 years ago, Marvel did have a theme restaurant up at Universal CityWalk in California. Marvel Mania was not bad, it was all bright colors and iffy food. The walkaround characters were pretty superior. If Captain America comes up to you and says to drink your healthful milk, you do it, And if Wolverine does the same, you drink it faster, bub!

[hyrkanian.livejournal.com]

First thing on my mind upon seeing this: What will happen to all the artists and writers (some of them my friends) who have worked for Marvel all these years.

[wingus.livejournal.com]

I just hope nobody gets nerfed, character-wise. Or at least not Deadpool.

[misterseth.livejournal.com]

Here are MY thoughts on how this aquisition will affect both companies...
http://www.monitorduty.com/2009/08/disney-to-acquire-marvel-entertainment/

[djonn]

Much to boggle about indeed.

On one hand, it's true that the Disney family-friendly image is, at first blush, not at all in sync with the Marvelverse's brand of grit, violence, and soap-operatic plotting.

OTOH, it's also demonstrably true that Disney doesn't meddle in everything it touches. As selenesue notes, the Muppet franchise has retained most of its essential Muppetness, and if anything, the last few seasons of the Power Rangers franchise have struck me as somewhat better-written and more complex.

Also, it seems to me that parts of the Disney empire have already been sticking their toes in both sides of the superhero pond; hasn't Disney's second cable channel (branded nowadays as Disney XD) acquired and shown past programming from both the DC and Marvel families in recent years?

Then, too, think about which studio it was that gave us what I consider the single best-written animated dramatic/adventure series of all time, bar none....

Gargoyles.

There are no guarantees. But I don't think the Marvel franchises are necessarily doomed.

[marsdejahthoris.livejournal.com]

Power Rangers was great until they got Bruce Kalish, which is not something I blame on Disney. "Dino Thunder," "Ninja Storm," and "RPM" are all Disney seasons, and widely considered some of the best. Especially as RPM got Judd Lynn back, and a good half of PR fandom considers him a demigod.

Personally, given Disney's love of sweetness and light, I'm HOPING they wind up pushing the Marvel Adventures line hard. Because those are everything I love about comics.

[joshuwain.livejournal.com]

"Finding Namor"

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

I know it's the wrong universe but my mind suddenly came back with "Beauty and the Beast Boy".

Umm...how 'bout..."The Boy who cried Wolverine" starring Logan and Peter Parker. Or would that be "Peter and the Wolverine"?

[sdelmonte]

Best pro comment so far is from Kurt Busiek:

"I see the fan community already salivating over Pixar X-Men (has Pixar done any adaptations, guys?) or dreading Hannah Montana joining the Avengers, or hoping that Disney will immediately fire Joe Quesada and reinstate the kind of comics they use to love back when Disney had no interest in Marvel. Or dreading that Disney will 'wimpify' Marvel. Or exulting that now Marvel can be like Vertigo and publish comics that don't make money, because they can spend Disney's money without expecting to make a profit. And a lot of other things that don't seem likely, either.

"My reaction: This will change things. Whether it'll change things in a good way, in a bad way or (most likely) in a mixture of both, it'll change things," he said. "How? No way to tell yet, so there's not much point in drawing conclusions of any kind. I hope we have Roger Langridge "Muppet Show" comics for a long time to come, though.

"I do recall, back in the '80s, people at Marvel used to say they wanted to be Disney for older audiences. Well, I guess now they are. What that means, though, remains to be seen."

[misterseth.livejournal.com]

I just hope they don't have Super Goof join the Avengers!

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I wouldn't mind at all seeing a new Super Goof comic.

Or, for that matter, seeing new Duck comics, in the vein of Carl Barks and Don Rosa.

[zillafan.livejournal.com]

I look forward to "Mickey's Murderworld" amusement park! ;-)

[misterseth.livejournal.com]

Or 'HYDRA of the Carribean', and lets not forget 'Howard the Duck tales'!

[twfarlan.livejournal.com]

What Disney seems likely to me to do is proceed with some of Marvel's plans and drastically alter those that don't see a profit.
1) The direction of the movies has drawn huge box office results. Let's all face it: if you weren't a Marvel fan, Iron Man wasn't really on your radar until Robert Downey Jr. made Tony Stark a household name. The movies will still get made as planned; deals are already inked, after all.
2) The editorial direction for the comics lines will probably get changed. I doubt we'll see Mickey wielding Mjolner anytime soon, and I really don't see a crossover with Gizmoduck teaming up with Iron Man or Moon Knight with Darkwing Duck. Whatever editorial changes happen will be in the direction of growing the brand and making it profitable again. If that means upping the "hero" factor again, that's what Disney will order.
3) Distribution. I doubt Disney is going to want Marvel comics only available from comic book stores. If anyone is going to see their business model changed by this, it'll be Diamond. Marvel comic books may end up everywhere for a while.
4) Expect more "multimedia." Disney wants content in every format, from parks to books to TV. I doubt that's going to change where Marvel is concerned. Expect more of it.

I don't see this as unavoidably negative. It could be, certainly, but it depends a lot on who they put in place of helming the changes on behalf of Disney. If it's someone who grew up reading the comics, maybe it'll be good. If it's someone who only sees this as an Intellectual Property to be mined? Then yeah, we the fans may be screwed.

[djonn]

The distribution thing is going to be interesting -- because I'm not sure there is a workable channel for selling comics into (and out of) the wider retail marketplace. The network that used to put comic spinners into every convenience store on the planet has largely imploded, and the kind of display space/hardware one wants for comic books -- as opposed to most other magazines -- largely doesn't exist anymore and/or is already occupied.

Which is to say, Disney may need to invent a whole new distribution channel in order to get comic books into wide-band retail....

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm as stunned by anyone else. Here's my immediate reaction:

Disney hasn't had a lot of creative endeavors. Their last real period of creativity was when Michael Eisner took over as CEO, got Disney characters back into weekday animation and made the Roger Rabbit movie happen. That ended as Disney became a megacorporation and fired most of their creatives.

Disney's attempt to stay alive was buying Pixar. They did this way too late, though. They did half-hearted attempts to have Pixar characters, because they were afraid Pixar was going to split and take their characters with them. Now that they're under the Mouse, there are three-quarters-hearted attempts to bring Pixar characters to Disney.

Much the same will happen to Marvel. I suspect that much of the controversial Marvel content - the kill-crazys, the gay and lesbian characters, the bizarre attempts to build massive retcon to justify an apocalypse every summer for cross-title events - will disappear. Marvel may become just another interesting entertainment source under the Disney banner.

And I suspect the success of the recent movies is a big part of it. Disney hasn't had a reason to do live-action ANYTHING in a long time. The ability to absorb the coming Avengers movie will make Disney movies look like winners - at least until the public sees them, at which point they may throw up their hands (and throw up) and leave.

I haven't had interest in Marvel characters since I browsed the early "Civil War" issues. Who knows? Maybe their comics might get interesting again.

And if the creators don't like what Disney is doing, they have the option of working for DC, or Image, or maybe some other house, IF they still have creativity in their souls and aren't just coasting.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

This does give Marvel to push the big-old RESET button and start fresh and actually put a little more effort into continuity. DC does it often enough. OK, DC does it too often but Marvel never did it period. Marvel has a cast of 5000+ characters according to the news article. They don't need that many. Trim the cast of characters down and firmly establish their history and track their current activities. If you're going to present a false history, make sure the real one is known in-house and use that for continuity so the reader can pick up on how the presented history really is false and INTENTIONALLY false instead of a result of poor writing.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Actually, the problem that I have is that Marvel retcons everybody, all the damn time, whenever some writer or editor gets a hey-wouldn't-it-be-cool-if idea. In many ways, the Big Two have become purveyors of the kind of fanfic they used to deride. And they have so many versions of canon that my head hurts just thinking about it. Yesterday I found my copy of The Marvel Guide to Daredevil 2004, which was a complete rundown on the history of DD's cast at that point. Pretty much all of it has been bulldozed over, and half of the characters are dead now.

I shudder to think of what people would think of Marvel comics if they pick them up -- not even because I think the stories are shit and the characters emotionally damaged and the universe is overly dark and complex, but because these are iconic characters and they've all been stripped of many of the qualities that made them iconic.

Disney/Marvel linkage

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/aug/31/disney-marvel-buy-out).

The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/business/media/01disney.html).

Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090831-marvel-disney-reaction.html) (source of Busiek quote).

Variety (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118007932.html).

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

I finally quit buying the last few remaining comic titles I was following sometime in the past year. This doesn't really give me any incentive to start back.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

Have you looked at any of the independent companies or non-superhero titles? Both GIJoe and Transformers left Marvel years ago. GIJoe did a reboot earlier this year (due to the movie) and is pretty good. Transformers has a continuity separate from the movies and is a little darker (as in characters die), but the story lines are much better than before. Plus Knights of the Dinner Table recently hit #150.

Most of the comics I collect these days are outside the big two. I think they tend to be better overall because they have to compete with more famous titles in Marvel and DC.

[amazingadrian.livejournal.com]

Thoughts? I think this heralds the end of the comics industry.

Disney has shown repeatedly that it doesn't give a shit about the fans or the individual creators. All they care about is the money, and they aren't satisfied with owning a franchise less than 100%. If they don't like something Marvel has, they are going to toss it in the garbage and then sit on it so that others won't be able to pick it up. Writers will have less leeway over the characters, and if Disney owns them, why they can decide who works on the titles and who doesn't. We could yet see the outright firing of many of those starving artists. Disney's choke-hold on their franchises is a vice-like grip. This could derail movies already in production, trash existing licenses in everything from video games to apparel, and make it excruciatingly difficult for others interested in the comics/characters to obtain those licensing fees. You just know Disney will want them to jump through hoops and pay out of their nose.

Not to mention what you suggested about what Marvel already owns, including Universal Studios, the theme park which is a direct rival of Disney's.

Sorry, but no. The mouse will stomp down on Marvel like the boot on the human face in George Orwell's classic. Even if they put Stan Lee back in charge, he won't be around forever, and it's only a matter of time before Disney digs their fingers into it. It's what they've done with everything else.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

One interesting datapoint here...

Disney corporate boilerplate is that if you are a Disney employee, then all drawings, all stories, and all characters you create belong to Disney, regardless of whether you are on the clock or not. The Marvel artists are not currently under such draconian rule afaik. Will Disney try to force their new contracts on the artists and guarantee that they walk? Or leave the current contracts as is and only try to push the new hires into it?

This may actually start a new golden age of comics though. There are indies out now. Get some of the best talent from DC and Marvel to walk to their stables, and you have new brands that can eventually eclipse DC and Marvel.

50 years from now, we could be looking back at these days as the second Golden Age when the corpses of the old were bought up by megacorps in the hopes that nobody but the megacorps could then tell any story in any medium. The megacorps found out that by having online and hardcopy issues of a comic, the independents could still make money AND tell any story they pleased to anybody.