BREAKING NEWS: Disney to Acquire Marvel

This just blew my mind. I'm not sure what to think. 

This is very interesting.  This could turn out to be really, really good but could also be a complete mistake.  Hope to see a Donald Duck/Howard the Duck crossover!

Disney cornered the market on "princessophilia", so this looks to be a way for them to attract young males to the fore. Of course, the Mouse is a very hands-on type of business, so I would expect a lot of corporate muddling from Anaheim.

Finally my Namor/Little Mermaid slash fiction can become a reality.

I wonder if in any of the required filings information will come out about Marvel's plans re the future of digital comics.

yep, deff blew my mind

 hopefully they don't muck with the comics or movies toooo much....

wonder what this will mean for the various disney licensed comics.

Imagine if you invested in marvel back when they almost went bankrupt... today would've been a decent payday.

The crossover possibilities do make the geek mind swirl. Does this mean spider-man will be wearing a mickey mouse t-shirt in the near future?

I may actually play Kingdom Hearts if I can use Hulk to punt emo Mickey.

Well has Time-Warner made that many drastic changes or restricted content with DC? It seems DC still makes some quality books (especially with the Vertigo line) despite being part of a conglomerate. Hopefully that will be the same with Marvel, and that Disney won't try and step on their toes too much.

Yeah... I thought Boom just acquired the rights to publish a bunch of the Disney characters. Wonder how long that license will last.

I don't know how much muddling Disney will do with Marvel. Marvel has been operating on it's own for quite some time. I think Disney is much more interested in the characters/licensing than anything else. I'd guess this will probably be similar to their aquisition of the Henson Company.

From the report that I read, they will remain independent from the Disney management.  For me this is great news as a Marvel fan I think they can take more risks now that they are part of a bigger conglomerate.  Look at what ABC has done with their TV line up, they have taken chances on shows like Pushing Daisies and Lost allowing them to find their fan base or lack their of.  I think Marvel can take more chances in the same vein.  As we have seen with the Pixar situation they still make their films in the Pacific Northwest and brought on John Lassiter to head their animation department.  So they have had some intergration, but are smart enough to leave it alone when they know their product is good.  I just had some grand visions of a Pixar/Marvel project, one can only hope. 

wait wait wait wait.... that means disney owns Marvelman...

knew they couldn't keep the ownership straight for too long.. ;)

The worst thing I see coming out of this is editorial decisions overriding creative ones in the interest of not creating brand confusion, like how we all know Bruce Wayne will have to be Batman again before the new movie comes out. This is nothing we haven't already experienced with Marvel, so I'd say is business as usual for the mainstream comic industry.

Disney / Pixar already made a near perfect FF movie in the Increadible, why not go for the Marvel universe. It would certainly ensure a level of quality that is missing from some Marvel movies (I'm looking at you Punisher). Though the prospect of Marvel studios no longer being independant is a little dissapointing.

Who else just became a much bigger supporter of Image Comics, IDW and Dark Horse?

I just listened to the Remember talksplode at the gym this morning, and your indie-band-signing-to-a-major-label analogy comes to mind again. Only in this case it's like SubPop just got bought out by BMG or something. Not that Marvel is really "indie" or anything, but you know what I mean. My gut reaction is one of dismay, but time will tell. Mainly because I fucking HATE Disney. Then again, the things that Marvel has done to make me not really like them lately were all Marvel's doing, so who knows. It would be nice if it meant more money for the creators, but I'm sure they aren't holding their breath.

As long as they don't interfere with storylines and editorial, (and the movies as well) I don't really mind.

Truthfully as long as Marvel stays Marvel I'll be fine. As long as something doesn't hit the wire were Marvel is getting a huge overhaul and writers and artist are being fired. Or all the books turn PG then I'm fine. And from what I'm reading from Marvel tweets things won't change, so I'll take their words for it and hope for the best. 

I doubt Disney will be okay with some of the content that flies in Marvel books.. I'm skeptical that this will have "no effect" on the production or content that we see.

This could be either a nightmare or the best thing that marvel ever did. Only time will tell I am assuming production values may go up?

I'm getting out my mouse ears now. 

Kneejerk reaction is to say this is a horible idea. Disney has a history of neutering any property it gets its hands on and enforcing 'family friendly' values like some sort of reverse Nazi. Most people who have worked for Disney have complained of the stifling, horrible environment... but I guess we'll see overt he next few years.

Jason Wood is happy today.

How is that any different then some of things that Miramax or any of their other owned properties put out?  Disney lets the content be, remember they put out Dogma under the Miramax label, if a poop monster gets by we shouldn't be too worried. 

Disney owns plenty of properties that aren't for kids - Miramax, for example. They're not going to go messing with a company as long as it's earning money.

Like miguelfromithaca mentioned above, makes me wish I'd bought a bunch of Marvel stock when it was like a dollar a share.

Matt Murdock can finally be happy. 

@cenquist I made the same joke on Twitter some 20 minutes ago... Howard the Duck would pwn Donald.

I'm kind of concerned. Disney does have a bad track record when it comes to preserving creators' rights (that is, they've never done it). So Icon projects and new characters will be hard to come by. Also, their stock has seen better days. On the other hand, a Pixar animation with Marvel characters would be just amazing (just imagine a Silver Surfer animated feature by Pixar...)

@forestjwp 

 Your right about the Miramax thing Disney is just trying to make money they're not the content Nazis some people tend to think they are. They purchased Miramax in 1993 and put out movies like Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting and Chasing Amy. They just want Marvel to turn a big profit they could careless less what ends up on the page. 

 Is that going to make future Marvel movies as hard to get off the ground as the DC movies in recent years?

I heart Bugs Bunny aka DC.  Mickey who?

Matthew

@PaulMontgomery because he is going to disney world?

Actually, @forestjwp, Lion's Gate put out Dogma because Disney didn't like the content.

@Cheeze I don't think so, they have their own studio much like Pixar.

Hmmm I want to see a Darkwing Duck comic!

I wonder if this'll give Marvel the rights to publish the Disney Character Comics?

I see this as a potential boon for the comics indistry. Disney knows how to market towards kids. If anyone can find a way to get kids back into comic book shops, Disney could. I'm not sure if they have that in mind, but one can hope.

The only reason DC can put out lose making comics like Vertigo is because it belongs to TIme Warner. Disney are a diffrent kettle of fish so I would get too exited about what marvell will be able to do.

Hey, I just realized something

Disney now owns MARVELMAN

think about THAT

@ron I said that a while back, @cheezdog I second that... i'd ask you to have my babies but my gf might not like that...

@jimski: Sorry I knew there was some controversy but thought they did put it out, they did do Pulp Fiction though which some would say has even worse content.  

@convoy83 yes you did - sorry I missed that - comments coming fast and furious! 

Ultimate Woverine vs Mickey Mouse. Somebody call Lindeloff!!!

This deal actually makes sense for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being that Disney has a bunch of (potential) live action super hero franchises at their disposal. Wonder what their (Disvel? Marney?) booth will look like at San Diego next year.

As long as Disney doesn't try to mess with the comics or the movie, I don't really see a problem. Although, I do hate everything Disney that isn't Pixar, so I'm always thinking the worst in my mind. It is a big shock though.

@ron as to be expected this is some big news!

I really don't think Disney's aim in this move is to start changing things around at Marvel just for the sake of making changes.  Maybe a little, but I expect most things will remain the same as before.  They made this move in order to generate further capital.

Hopefully this will result in two benefits for us fans: the infusion of capital will enable Marvel to lower the prices of its $3.99 books back down to $2.99, especially if there aren't extra pages.  Hopefully it will also allow Marvel to further support books that aren't performing well financially, but are critically acclaimed.  Too bad this move came too late to help books like Captain Britain and MI-13.

@russellbuzz that would definitely be the biggest boon for this in giving marvel the upperhand in released materials. Keeping the cost of books down would be awesome, or maybe some exec at disney was a MI13 fan and we can see it comeback

I'm excited because Disney already owns the rights to all the old Marvel TV shows from the 90s.  Maybe acquiring Marvel will convince them to start releasing more of those shows more often.

BOOM! and Gemstone have to be PISSED this morning.

Has DC ever benfitted from Warner Brothers' parenting?

Meh. I'm ambivalent-to-doubtful of the whole thing, but who knows? This could be awesome.

the mouse house takes over marvel?  talk about your dark reign...

....not really, I just wanted to say that. I think it's great.  

@uvayankee1 ... well it I don't suppose that we can do worse than the avengers cartoon or the new iron man cartoon...

This will have a bigger impact on the movies than the comics. This means one more level of studio exec to give notes. One key part of the pixar deal was that Steve Jobs became a Disney exec. This offers a level of protection for Pixar. Ive never gotten the impression that Perlmutter has the same kind of insight or passion (or is as big a control freak) as Jobs. Pixar also had a serious track record, so far Marvel Studios has one hit.

 im curious how this will impact the distribution deal with Paramount. 

According to the terms of the deal "Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's CEO, would continue to oversee the Marvel properties, and work directly with Disney executives to integrate them into Disney's businesses." My husband works for ABC, and the only interference they get from Disney is overarching business decisions (like when Disney sold off a majority of ABC's radio network).  

Disney's bottom line is money. They're really don't get involved with content at all and I highly doubt they'll even notice what's going in Marvel Comics. The Dogma thing was a very rare occurancy.

I am curious to see how Disney will handle the publication/licensing of their comic properties. Disney has a large publication arm that we don't really see in the US and they still do their comics through Boom. Plus, all Disney units pay each other for services (for example Disney Theme Parks has to pay ABC if they want to advertise during Good Morning America). So, if it makes good financial sense, they may continue to publish through Boom.

Also, Disney benefits kick-ass so Marvel employees may be getting very lucky soon.

im wondering whats gonna happen to booms licences.
also i checked to see if it was april first

Rest assured no Marvel character will EVER become public domain.

I would think they would leave the comics side fairly alone, that's probably not the focus of this deal.  It's all about the movies and licensing.

 How about a separate Marvel cable channel?

Disney will not have Marvel lower prices.  "Hey, we just bought you.  Why don't you make less money?"

Pixar is not going to give up its creative freedom to do Marvel Superhero movies.

Deals like Boom's will continue under their existing contracts until their ends.  Then everything could change but not necessarily.

 Can I start  plotting my Darkwing Duck mini-series now?

Yikes.

I dunno what to say except.... Huh.

I think and hope (really hope) that this is a good thing.  I doubt there will be much involvement from the Disney side of things.  I think, since I don't really know details, that this is good for both parties.  It might be a little wierd to see the Marvel logo followed by the famous Disney Castle logo before marvel movies if Disney takes over distribution but I am hopeful that this will be a positive thing.

I think the Pet Avengers need to head on over to Duckburg!

I'm not a big fan of both of the Big Two comic companies being owned by huge multinational corperations.

You know what's really exciting? The other studios likely don't have access to any Marvel characters anymore, just like Warner Brothers has all the DC characters wrapped up.

It's a good day to have an independant superhero book. Right?

Miley Cyrus as the Wasp in the Avengers movie?

@tad DON'T TEASE!!!

@charlesp - Wow, I hadn't even thought of that. Very clever and very true...

Wow, here's a thought. Warren Ellis works for Walt Disney now.

Nooooooo!

A Marvel's Fables with actual Disney characters in the roles of Snow White, Pinochino, Robin Hood, etc.?

Do you think this is news outside of the world of comics?  I'm sure it might be mentioned here or there but I seriously doubt  that the average person knows about the deal or will even be aware of it.  It's big news to us but will Marvel and/or Disney make it big news to everyone else?

I do wonder whether Disney will take any steps to reacquire the film rights that are at other studios now. Will they buy back Spidey and the X-Men for Marvel? Right now, it's the equivalent of Sony putting out Mickey Mouse cartoons; it might "look bad."

I don't believe Disney will change anything in terms of content, unless it's losing money. If it's too edgy, they'll just move it to the Max series or another name. It's a great business decision as Disney is great at making movies of it's products, and so is Marvel. If anything, maybe the mainstream movies may become more watered down and more mainstream; but not the comics.

I can't wait to see a "Marvel Man" saturday morning cartoon on the Disney Network! 

@DarthDuck Its on CNN's headlines. http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/31/news/companies/disney_marvel/index.htm

Does this make Joe Q., Bendis and Brubaker Cast members now? :) the Tiki

War of Kings 2 will have Simba in it.

Hanna Montana: Agent of Shield

So I'm trading the only stock in my portfolio that's done well in the past two years (Marvel) for a stock which, in the 10+ years I've had it has changed only about +/- $5 (Disney). Oh boy...

Not sure how I feel about this. It's good for Marvel, and while Disney has been known to put out non-Disney content (Miramax, thsoe three 70s almost-softcore-porn-cheerleaders film, one of which stars Hassel Hoff as "Boner...") However, Disney is one to make sure certain Brands have certain reputations. We may see a codification of "Marvel Adventures" into something a little more solid as a result.

i am very glad that i stopped buying Marvel titles, but kept buying the stock.

@Darthduck....it's the top headline on CNNmoney.com right now.  The shares are soaring....Wish I hadn't sold mine last year.

This is kinda nuts!  As a DC fan, I'm not sure what to think though.  DC has WB and I don't know if that's actually helped, or further complicated things.  I see Disney's acquisition of Marvel as being the same... it will have its pros and cons. 

The only thing I'm really interested in is how this will effect movies that are currently in production, such as Iron Man 2?

Looks like Kirkman might get his wish. Disney may suspend all MAX and Icon titles, and Marvel Comics will be for kids again.

The best that can happen in my eyes is Marvel bringing books back down to 2.99 since Disney is behind them financially, and Disney throwing some more cash behind the movies. It would also pretty much avoid any distribution problems Marvel may have had with the movies.

I'm also wondering about digital distribution of Marvel comics now...will this be a plus or negative towards that goal?

Disney bought this for the movie rights. The comics are superfluous to them. It barely maks enough money for Disney to give a crap about in their bottom line. Now the movies... that, they care about. But, if you believe they will not make editorial chanegs you are very much wrong. Disney has a long and fierce history of pushing their dogma and doctrine. The examples of of movies that vary from that doctrine have been released through subsidiary groups, which they will allow because their name is buried in the fine print. Anything they put their name plate on will have to pass their standards.

Also, Disney owns Crossgen...

I'm sure this won't affect anything that's currently in development/production. But we have to worry about Thor and Cap and the Avengers flicks.

As long as this doesn't affect the publishing arm of the business, I've got no problems with this deal.

@jjcolin Yes! And I never got the ends/continuations to Ruse and Sojourn that were were promised from that purchase!

The Hollywood Reporter article is great; it has all the detail we Nervous Nellies could want. These are the parts y'all care about:

-"We'll take a look and see, but the bottom line is we like what they've been doing so far," Disney studio head Richard Cook told The Hollywood Reporter.

-Iger said though that longer-term Disney wants to be the exclusive distributor of Marvel films. While the company respects and will honor Marvel's third-party licensing deals with Paramount, Fox and Sony, "it clearly would be in our best interest if we ended up as the sole distributor," he said. "When you distribute your own films, the opportunity is even better."

-Asked about potential Pixar-Marvel synergies, Iger said Disney executives have had some conversations internally, and Pixar creative guru John Lasseter has met with Marvel folks as well. "The group got pretty excited pretty fast," Iger said, adding he expects exciting collaboration opportunities. "Sparks will fly," he said.

-Iger said more Marvel content will, for example, be seen on the boys-centric Disney XD channel.

I think people should also be concerned about how this will affect the small titles released every month that budding artists and writers are working on.  Let's face it, I walk through the store every week and say, damn, Marvel will publish anything.  I'm talking about books like Ms. Marvel, Lockjaw, and extranneous "Dark Reign" title.  Disney will make them start worrying about the bottom line more.

Hmmm, pretty crazy news.  I'm not totally on board for this just yet.  Does this mean Disney won't let Brubaker kill Cap again if he wants to?

Oh, and that Daredevil pic is hilarious, Ron.  Unfortuntely, you owe Disney $50 now for using their mouse ears on your website.

wow.

WOW. This is weird news to wake up to. Was there ever any sort of hints happening or do I just not pay attention?

I'm wondering what will happen to the Marvel theming at Universal Studios theme parks.

I had one question, so the price increase on the Marvel issues was to increase the net profit; which would result in the company being sold for a higher amount? I guess the only person who gets screwed is the customer ... nice ...

Oh, most important thing about this...maybe Pluto will show up in the Pet Avengers??  Or Namor and Ariel do a crossover

The only thing I'm worried about at this point is what it means for publishing - will Disney force Marvel to soften up, or will it just leave publishing alone? Say what you will about him, Quesada has turned Marvel's comics around for the better over the last decade - to see him bounced in some corporate downsizing or whatever could be disasterous for Marvel and comics in general. Never thought I'd see something like this - guess the AOLComics jokes have been trumped.

Also, I'll be first in line for Punisher Kills The Disney Universe.

So Disney has purchased Marvel entertainment. With the purchase comes the rights to about 5000 Marvel characters, including those that built the Marvel brand in the 60's w/ Kirby and Lee (this includes Spidey, Fantastic Four and the X-Men). Along with this is a nice boost to the Marvel shareholders, but what does this REALLY mean. Let's take a look...

Garth Ennis writes Classic Disney characters for the Marvel Max line, Re-dubbed, Disney Unhinged. With it, Donald trades his undicernable beaked verbal blather with AK's and oozies, riddles Mickey w/ holes and then has his way with Minnie. Leads to millions of outraged parents, and an upsurge in male demograph from ages 14 to 35, all of which need showers and less Cheetos.

Great crossovers including Darkwing Duck and Daredevil are finally made... leads to Kingpin having Peking Duck dinner with one Matt Murdock. Also Dormammu battles the Gargoyles... which would actually be kinda cool to check out.

The seven Dwarves join the X-Men. Christopher Robin replaces Professor X... and Winnie the Pooh beats the crap outta Wolverine.

Mickey's Club House Theme is mashed up with the long forgotten "X-MEN, X-MEN! THIS IS THE DAY! THIS IS THE DAY!" theme from Pryde of the X-Men. Proceeds to future record sales fund the foundation for people with bad taste.

Millions of slashfics are distributed across the interwebs. Many featuring White Queen/Snow White crossovers, Kazar/Mowgli crossovers, etc.

Kevin Smith grows another chin.

Pixar signs on to make a Silver Surfer movie. Again... that would be interesting to watch.

Jafar takes over the Disney-verse. All future movies, and publications are now subtitled, "Dark Reign Disney"

Hercules the movie is retconned, movie re-released in blu-ray with a bearded Hercules carrying a Mace and an Avengers communicator. Unfortunatly the movie still suffered supreme suckage.

Someone awesome in Marvel realizes that they need to re-release Disney's long forgotten Black Cauldron. At least I hope it happens.

Superhuman Registration act is amended so to include talking animals.

Fans angerly say, "Enough is enough" after "Disney Zombies" is released.

Braubaker forced to write Steve Rogers reborn in the Disney Verse. Recieves enchanted shield from the Blue Fairy, and Jimminy Cricket to become the new Bucky

Joe Quesada become a regular on the Disney channel.

I think that Disney saw Iron Man and went "Oo, I'd like a piece of that!" Disney used to make awesome, hilarious, sometimes scary live action and animated movies like The Sandlot and the Black Cauldron. I think that Disney might want to find their roots again with the Non-Hannah Montana type movies and acquiring Marvel, with it's quasi-adult, character driven stories  is the first step toward doing that. A show based on Ultimate Spider-man might the next great (and long awaited) thing to come out of Disney.

Or they just want to Benjamins. 

@ PraxJarvin

You should be happy, you should sell your Marvel shares now! You made a lot of money in one day.

I wouldn't certainly wait to get Disney  shares in exchange if you don't believe in Disney as generator of increasing future cash flows (unless it is a cash acquisition, then you don't get Disney stocks anyway).

The only real winner is Howard the duck.

" Also, I'll be first in line for Punisher Kills The Disney Universe" hmmm...would be more likely called Punisher Kills the Magical Kingdom

God forbid Tony Stark has sex with a woman out of wedlock in Iron Man 2 since a whole 1 person was offended by that during the first one.

I see how this can potentially be beneficial to Marvel, but, the punk rock kid in me hates this. I know Marvel is already a big company, but, Disney is a bigger company. And it seems to me like a half dozen or so companies own the whole friggin' world!

Ok, now that that's out of my system, I guess we'll see what happens.

Capcom will want a piece and we'll see Square/capcom's Kingdom Hearts vs. Marvel vs. Capcom.

 I just wanna hear donald duck yell "Berzerker-zerker-RAGE!!!"

So does this mean that people at marvel will stop calling DC "Time-Warner Comics"?:)

Also...A Darkwing/Howard/Donald crossover??  Hell yes!! 

Disney stock is down a bit.  That isn't a good sign.  It was up earlier, so this might be a bit of profit taking.  I'd like to see what happens by the end of the day.  If Wall Street doesn't like the deal, then we should be worried.

@Ron - Yes, the majority shareholders of Marvel just made a very large amount of money.  They are getting $50 per share (that includes some Disney stock) for each share of Marvel they own (which was trading at $38 per share on Friday).  That is a very nice deal from their point of view.

Disney has very strong international publishing ties.  This could mean a lot to Marvel Comics.

 Disney didn't make the deal for the movies, it made it for the licensing - much, much for profitable in the long run.  Of course the movies add to that.  As contracts run out, Disney will take over distribution of all movie properties.

As to the Duck crossover: I see Darkwing, Donald and Darkwing in a NY Deli just talking.  "Honestly, I never even considered pants as an option." 

And Disney has handled the Muppets very poorly...

Summer 2011, Runaways - starring the cast of Camp Rock!

It is also my understanding that Disney is a very tough negotiator (See Pixar split), so I'm a bit concerned that some of the talent in Marvel's stable is going to get shortchanged.  They don't have a union (that I am aware of), so they are likely to be negotiating independently.  Creators also often want the freedom to do creator owned stuff.  If Disney gets really tough with them we may see a bit less of that.

I'd love to hear Mr. Accampo's (daccampo) take on all this.  He has more knowledge of the financial side of the industry than I do.

@Tad-Also, a conversation about hats would undoubtibly arise.

@stuclach:  Acquiring companies on average do not see an increase of their stock price at the time of the announcement of an aquisition.

The main reason: they pay a premium (in this case about $10 per share) which is in many cases pretty much equal to what analysts believe is going to be the synergy of the merger.  In other words, most of the money goes to the Marvel shareholder, not to the current Disney shareholders.

Considering the difference in size of the two companies, this deal doesn't make a lot of difference financially for Disney.

Power Pack meets Duck tales is a story I will buy today.

This just in:
Stan Lee Media buys Disney!

what will be interesting to see is how Marvel will change from a business perspective. It is interesting to think there might be some management changes and perhaps a new perspective with regard to marketing. This could very well work out well for Marvel as well as the fans. I don't think we will see any huge changes though, at least not for a long while.

Hey Guys,

So I was on the call and Tweeted as it went. Basially this is a shocking deal, but I can certainly understand why Disney felt compelled to make this move. Disney is a powerful brand to say the least, but they've been struggling to leverage their IP into new avenues while Marvel is taking long-time characters in their library and building billion dollar franchises. Marvel took a huge risk producing their own films, and it's paid off to the tune of $4 billion for shareholders.

What will this mean long term? Way too early to tell. I"ve seen literally 1000s of larger mergers in every industry imagineable and their success rates range from home runs to absolute disasters.  At their core, Marvel and Disney are both brand entities, their power is licensing their IP. So that's a good start. And Disney has treated Pixar well in the last three years, and I see no reason Disney won't leave Marvel Studios alone for now. 

As to the comics business, it can go one of two ways. Marvel's publishing business equates to 0.36% of Disney revenues, it's the very definition of a rounding error. Ergo, I'm not sure it's a priority in this deal, and will be left alone so long as it continues to produce great margins. Marvel's comics business has better margins than any publishing business I know of, so I suspect they'll maintain autonomy for at least the foreseeable future. 

Whether things change in a year or two after the merger remains to be seen. But as fans you can't sweat that. There was just as much risk that comics would inexorably change two years from now if Marvel remained independent.

Anyone have info on what either Disney or Marvel take in for internet content or projects that would benefit the other with?

@odino1 - [If you are the Finance professor Dr. Matteo Arena, then this lowly Economics professor certainly defers to you on these matters.]  However, to respond to your post: Yes, but if the acquiring company's price actually rises as a result of the acquisition (as Disney's appeared it would do this morning) it should be taken as a good sign (as it is performing better than the average for companies during an aquisition).  That is why I mentioned that the decrease may be a bit of profit taking after the gains this morning.  

I can see it now

Reporter: “Mr. Fantastic you just defeated Galactus what are you going to do now.”

 *stretchy arm grabs a Mouse Ear Hat*

Reed Richards: "I'm going to Disney Land"

Stockholders were hurting Marvel, thus the price increase.  This is a much better deal.

Pixar and Spider-Man would work very well together.

If you've enjoyed Hickman's FF run so far wait until Zack and Cody move into the Baxter Building

@Wood: excellent points eloquently stated. Thanks for keeping an ear on that call.

I hope the Surfer ride is ready at Disneyland Dec 2010. I am picturing a surfboard-like coaster that zooms through out the Marvel Universe. I wanna go to Disneyland!

the things I'm most excited for are what kind of things Disney could do with this. I'm remaining optistimic about this. I'm sure there will be some good things coming out of this down the line. Wonder if they will be minis now featuring Disney and Marvel characters. Scrooge McDuck and Iron Man? Mickey and Spidey?

I can't wait to play Kingdom Hearts: Ultimate Alliance.

@ stuclach: yes, that is me...

Yes, you are pefectly right, usually an increase in price is a good sign... unfortunately this is not what happened here... not even early morning (if we compare to Friday's price).

Who is right: the stock market or Disney? It is going to be very interesting to see in the next couple of years.

more info here: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/shocker-disney-buying-marvel/

 - Paramount still has a 5-film distribution deal with Marvel, and Bob Iger has confirmed in his press remarks that Marvel's upcoming films will be released by Paramount

- Sony's deal on Spider-Man motion picture right is unaffected by today's announcement and not subject to renewal. In fact, Sony is currently developing the next three films in the franchise.

@odino1 - When I checked the price right before my 9:30 class it was up a bit.  It looks like it has been down the rest of the day.  That's not good.

My dream of a Wolverine/Goofy team up can finally come true.

I'm pretty sure this won't (at least initially) affect Disney's current deal with BOOM! Studios either.

No sir, I don't like it.

I am shocked about his acquisition. I did worry about how much Disney will control marvels content. But they probably will leave marvel alone for a bit. If it's not broken just don't fix it. But with a hug Corp back them up. I hope marvel can give some lesser titles like mi13 a longer run. At least this acquisiion definitely will keep guardians of galaxy world alive. The only thing that i'm really worry about is the Movies. Just hope they are not making everything kid friendly.

I was thinking... What if Disney buys Boom studios and then combines everything together into a super comic company... similar to DC's  DCU/Vertigo/Wildstorm/JohnnyDC model.  I would love to see Marvel/MAX/Icon/Boom/CrossGen.

Will this benefit Marvel creators in any way (the ones that don't own Marvel stock)? If not, then it's just one more mega-corporation aquiring another mega-corporation.

This is going to be awesome.

I don't see this changing Marvel's current publishing plans or lines.  Magazines are often bought and sold but as long as the editorial staff remains the same, I don't see any big changes.  What I do see is Disney putting some more marketing behind the Adventures line because young comics fans eventually translate into box-office sales.  Has anybody else besides me thought about the McDonalds/Disney relationship and the shame associated with a grown man buying a happy meal in addition to a regular meal because he wants a Wolverine toy?

@dudevondoom, I am going to use Kingdom Hearts: Ultimate Alliance at work today, I'll give you proper credit. 

Howard the Duck and Donald Duck crossover?

Titles I'm looking forward to:

Toontown Civil War - Mickey's anti-reg forces battle Donald Duck and the opressive Magic Kingdom government, culminating with Mickey's tragic death on the courthouse steps.

Secret Invasion of Never Never Land

Avengers: Hundred Acre Woods

Aladdin 2099

Beauty and the Hulk

Iron Man: The Musical

The Infinity Glass Slipper

The Little Sub-Mariner

Snow White and the Insidious Six

Ultimate Darkwing Wing

The Panther King

The Incredible Four

In the end, there won't be any obvious changes, but (even as a DC guy) this still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I know Disney is a lot more than Mickey Mouse, but it's hard to shake that connotation.

Disney is VERY particular about their properties, and something tells me that the comics might become a little more bland.  I doubt they would have ever let Civil War happen, or maybe even Death of Captain America.

I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more throw away minis, such as Marvel Zombies, Marvel Apes, or Marvel MegaMorphs.

 On the bright side, we might get a mini with Muppets as Marvel superheroes :) 

@Casey Justice

House of M: On Ice 

@CaseyJustice - Everyone knows Donald Duck would play the Cap Role.  Mickey is such an Ironman, it isn't even funny.

With 70 years of history behind them, Marvel has accumulated too much cultural capital (I hope) for Disney to be able to dismantle them the way they did the Muppets. Imagine Marvel animated features of Marvel characters produced by Pixar... something to think about.

Sometimes it's hard to resist the hype, but so much of Marvel's current storylines are derivative/recycled that I've started following indies a lot more lately. Who wants to spend $5 of their hard-earned $$ on a boring hero story when one can pick up a copy of, say, the graphic adaptation of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I can't wait for Ellis' transhumanist take on GizmoDuc

This is great news for me.

It's a brilliant business decision more importantly. We have two super companies working together to provide incredible content. Now Disney is going to market Marvel and Marvel will market Disney. There is just a wealth of ideas that could come about from this merger that it really makes my head explode.

But also, and even if it is long term, this could mean the films could have a benefit from Disney's backing. I've read the other posts and news about how nothing will change as of now. But when they do change, and they will have to change, then all of these franchises could get a huge facelife. Possibly and not fully because you never know, a Marvel film with Disney's backing could be bad.

Pixar on full board with this and want to get into making films out of the characters though? Oh my god I think I'm going to need to take a nap learning how excited they are.

wat does this mean to our comics and our creators, does disney get to tell them wat and how they can write are books, i have to admit im pretty scared right now.

@fanboy360-As has been stated above, Marvel's revenue for publishing is less than half of one percent of Disney's yearly revenue.  We should not worry about the content of the books.

It does/will have an eventual effect upon the movies, because that is where the money is.

This move will only effect one thing comic wise. Plus it doesn't even really involve Marvel!

BOOM! studios is probably going to lose it's partnership with Disney/Pixar to do original stories. So now Mark Waid and the others running the studio are going to work overtime to get new content up eventually.

o im just worried that disney wont care about the quality/relationship to the books in the movies, that they;ll give them the disney effect

Yeah, I don't like the idea that Disney now receives some profit whenever I buy a Marvel comic. I don't like that at all, because I don't really approve of the Disney empire, or the idea of Disne, or the sweet way that Disney tries to subtley influence the children of the world, in very creepy ways. This is the organization that gave us Britney Spears and Hannah Montana, and I seriously think the aggregate influence of things like that are very awful for children. Still, Disney owns ABC and ESPN, and I watch those networks. So you can't really get away from it. Our tax dollars (still, post-Obama, by the way) go to fund wars we disagree with, and now my comic budget goes to support one of the most creepy, megalomaniacal corporations in the history of the world. What can be done?

Apparently John Lasseter of Pixar has already met with Marvel people.  Could a Pixar animated Marvel movie be far behind?  Here's a neat CHUD link with a wish list of properties Pixar should adapt.

http://chud.com/articles/articles/20647/1/CHUD-QUICK-LIST-10-MARVEL-PROPERTIES-PIXAR-SHOULD-ADAPT/Page1.html

I totally agree with it being a smaller character or team that's relatively unknown to the public.  Guardians of the Galaxy could totally work.  Maybe throw Nova in there for good measure.  Or hell, maybe they should make a MODOK movie. ;) 

Yes, Disney's bottom line is making money. no one will ever doubt that. But, what makes the most money for them? What are they the proven and undispited kings of? Kids content. It's universal across all mediums, but content aimed at families and kids will always have the broadest, most lasting and profitable appeal. Look at Pixar.

 What can harm established, well-received properties that are aimed at kids? Questionable content. No one will ever see Mickey Mouse seriously considering Killing a man or Minnie Mouse in the situations Jessica Jones found herself in throughout Alias, or even a Captain Hook taking as hard an edge as some mainstream bads have. I don't think that Marvel will make decisions to neuter the storytelling because they just like family friendly content and want to be nazis about it. I think that they will do it because it WILL make them more money to base the well-known properties toward kids and to sideline or nix the rest of it. No, it has no direct bearing on other titles from an editorial standpoint, but it's about brand. And you can't share a brand with something like the Marvel MAX line if you're focusing all your energies on family entertainment. 

As far as Pixar adapting a Marvel title, here's an impossible but workable suggestion -- The Avengers! Voice acting is much more affordable than actual acting, so you could still assemble the All-Star cast, and effects, believability and costume issues would go away.

 As for what could actually happen... what about the Pet Avengers!?  

Kudos to everyone for their comments. It's helped my process this news. Like most of you I'm stunned, elated, and annoyed.  This hour the pendulum has swung to the annoyed side.

For all the potential great things about this deal in terms of movies and such I can't help but feel a little gross.

I'm feeling a lot more inclined to pick up a new Indie title before a pick up a DC/Marvel title right now. 

Kndoubleu: I'd imagine that gap is shrinking with the facial mapping that goes along with the voice acting now.

Video game related nerd realization:

 Does this put Spider-Man and Wolverine in the next Kingdom Hearts? 

@CaseyJustice Actually, Ultimate Darkwing Duck doesn't sound too bad...

Excuse the link, but this lame joke is too tempting to pass.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elprofe/3875234831/sizes/l/

so steve jobs is now king of apple, pixar, disney and marvel.  More power to him I guess...

I'm definitly not looking forward to this. My main concern is that Disney will want to make Marvel family friendly, and end the MAX lines, or even some of their more adult regular series books like Punisher. I dont think this is going to go over well.

Well, there's a reason "Disneyfication" has entered the popular lexicon.

That said, I shouldn't get too upset with this. Just gives me the impression that the production of actual comic books is that much less important to Marvel than it was last week or the week before.

I don't think it's going to affect Marvel's comic publishing one bit.  At most, the Disney books at BOOM! will be moving over, but don't expect the MAX line to disappear.  Will there perhaps be more kid-friendly titles?  Who knows, maybe Marvel Adventures will be getting more of a push or more titles.  Frankly, we need kids in comics, so what's wrong with that?  Hell, I wish they'd put out cheap digest-size reprints of old stuff, whether it's 60's, 70's or 80's.  Kind of like the Archie Digests now.  I know DC did it back in the 80's (and I think they should do it too), and maybe even Marvel did.  But yeah, reprint those old 16 page stories that really didn't have a lot of continuity and can be mixed around.  Get kids interested in comics again.  It doesn't mean they need to start dumbing down the current comics, especially given the fact that Marvel has such a diverse range of writers.  Loeb couldn't write their entire catalogue.  So all this "Disney's going to ruin our comics!" is nothing more than Chicken Little screaming the sky is falling at this point.  Disney's probably more interested in the movies and other licensed materials, and does anyone care if Spider-Man is on a cup, not that he isn't already?  Or if they make some movies?  Disney did make The Rocketeer, and they seem to want to leave everyone in place right now.  If you think Miley Sirus is going to be donning spandex in a movie soon I think you need to relax.  Don't expect any changes unless Marvel's movies stop making money.  If it ain't broke, they won't fix it, just look at Pixar.

 As for other movie ideas, I know a script is being written for a live-action version, but what about Runaways?  I'd pick that over Power Pack any day of the week. 

Can you imagine if Disney made the Iron Man movie? All of the alcohol and stripper stewerdesses would have been taken out and replaced by annoying kid sidekick named Iron lad, who had a rocket powered skateboard and a pot on his head that he painted red and gold. And half of the movie would have been about that little robot with the fire extinguisher. 

 I think all of the light just went out of my life. 

Disney was the company who released all those Miramax movies in the 90's right? Pulp Fiction, etc.?

That's the same company we're talking about right?

@josh - exactly.  All this "Disney is going to kidify Marvel comics" is a bunch of over-reacting.  Relax people, if they start messing with things, then you can bitch.  But let's not start jumping out windows just yet.

But Pulp Fiction wasn't a brand that was selling to families of four for billions of dollars before the Wolf was telling everyone to not start sucking each others' crotch monsters. It was an independent and original property, and it was going to be hugely successful and yet not affect any prior or future branding. That's not the case for the mainstream characters that rub shoulders with the Spider-Mans and X-Men of the world. That affects branding.

I would love to see Marvel do a whole Disney line.

What a great way to get kids and their parents together then by going to the LCS and buying comics together. Punisher MAX for the dad, Donald Duck for the son. Why that's suddenly an evil crime for posters on here I have no idea.

This story made the opening teaser on NBC Nightly News.

I don't see this changing anything that we get now, it will change how we get it, excluding comics.

Marvel Comics will run Marvel Comics the same as always and end up publishing all of Disney's stuff in an ICON or MAX imprint called Disney/Pixar.

Miramax will make Marvel Movies (once all the rights are cleared from other people.)

Pixar will start popping out Digital Marvel stuff which will be cool.

Disney will start animating the Cartoons and putting them on their own station.

This will just stream line everything and make everyone more efficient and thus make more money. 

Oh and Disney will make all the toys and sell them for stupid prices at Disney World but cheaper every where else.

The only way Disney will tamper with Marvel is if Marvel stops making money at which point most of us stopped reading their comics because they started sucking again.  

Aw, I just realized that now Chris Claremont is a Disney employee

They're going to have him put to sleep, aren't they? 

"Have you ever seen the film Bambi before, Mr. Claremont?"

175 comments? jesus

Does Disney and Apple still have that agreement they did a few years ago?  Because if so, we could be seeing lots of Marvel comics on iTunes.  If they were smart.

Bollocks. There goes my Emma Frost and Lady Mastermind screenplay. :-/ 

well all i can say is marvel stock holders just got happy. 26%!

Miramax doesn't put out big budget summer blockbuster action movies, do they? 

Darwyn Cooke's observation from the last video podcast on how DC screwed the pooch going with the Batman RIP story the same summer as the Dark Knight is a good lesson for Disney on what Not to do.

WISH I HAD SOME MARVEL STOCK BEFORE THIS NEWS

Pixar Marvel movies. 'nuf said.

The idea of Pixar doing a story involving Marvel characters is, in a word, awesome. 

Wow.  While I love the idea of Pixar doing movies with Marvel characters, the idea of Disney meddling with the um...maturity level of Marvel content worries me.

This pretty much puts Marvel in the same situation as DC Comics is in. DC has a corporate boss to answer too in Time Warner, which mostly doesn't matter, but occassionally leads to things like The Boys being dropped. I don't think this will really have a HUGE impact on marvel, but it will definitely make some things a little different somewhere down the line. But from what i just read, there is a big chance of a Pixar/Marvel team-up, so that would be pretty awesome!

i hope they dont fuck with anything. its fine that they got picked up because they can get more advertisement and stuff but leave captain america alone

@Smasher: Darwyn Cooke's observation from the last video podcast on how DC screwed the pooch going with the Batman RIP story the same summer as the Dark Knight is a good lesson for Disney on what Not to do.

I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Cooke, the Batman books are as good now as they have been in a long while and I have serious doubts that any noticeable amount of sales were achieved by Dark Knight as regards Batman Books or any Super Hero movie. You may sell Trades of Watchmen due to the movie, but Batman, Superman, Spider-man and X-men books I have serious doubts they did anything to get people into the LCS'. On the other hand you may steal some extra dollars from Comic Book readers or steal from other companies readers and I think they've achieved that. 

I think the only way the market is gaining people is 3 ways. 1. Parents to Children. 2. Friend to Friend. 3. Old readers falling back in after being away.

There is almost no main stream advertising to get people in to local shops. T.V. Shows and Movies I really don't believe pull in new readers either.

WTF????

Can we get that Daredevil pic on a t-shirt or something.  I would buy that.

The Astonishing Mickey Mouse

Folks, don't worry about the comics; no previous owner ever exercised heavy content control there, I don't see Disney wanting to. Especially since publishing is "over there" and not the most visible part to the general public. I also don't see the movies getting worked over too much either- excepting the romp in the sack, "Iron Man" didn't have any content you wouldn't see in "Tron". Also, Marvel now has ties to a T.V. studio, which is a good thing. Disney knows how to exploit intellectual property. Now if you had a contract for ancillaries like t-shirts or lunchboxes, maybe you should worry.

I'm I the only one who feels a little afraid of Disney buying out another company? It seems like entertainment companies keep getting bigger by buying others. Soon we may only have four or five companies that own everyone in "the business." I know my fears maybe unfounded, but that is how I feel. A little afraid. I don't know. I just hope that Disney will leave Marvel as untouched as possible. I don't want to see the Disney IP's start popping up in the Marvel world. 

Spider-Mouse, Spider Mouse

Does whatever a Spider-Mouse does (douse?)  Watch out!  Here comes the Spider-Mouse!

I think the Incredibles is the best team-up comic book movie ever and also one of the best comic book movies ever.  Marvel could do far worse then having Pixar "meddle" with some of their recent offerings. 

Say goodbye to ever seeing a Marvel comic like Alias again.

@WinTheWonderboy

Really?  I doubt that.  Look WB has owned DC for years and they've still done things like allow Batman to be killed off, allowed Frank Miller to turn Batman into an abusive kidnapper in All-Star, do The Dark Knight and other books.  They still have nudity and sex in Y: The Last Man, and that's a DC Comics owned by WB.  So why we all assume that Disney is going to insist that Marvel put Mickey and Minnie in every book and scrub everything shiny clean is beyond me.

In the short term we won't even notice the difference.  In the long term Marvel will have the kind of distrubtion/marketing power that DC has, in terms of a dedicated presence in Disney Stores and being able to produce their own movies without needing outside investment.  If anything this is more power to Marvel Studios to make a great Avengers movie, and more power for in a few years us to see some really good Marvel Animated fare like we had from DC/WB with the Batman/Superman/Justice League cartoons from Timm/Dini.

Marvel's always been careful with their characters, and that'll continue.  Alias never had Spider-Man using a bong or swearing at children and won't in the future.  Nothing is going to change for the worse, seriously.  

Though the thought of Pixar's John Lasseter involved with a Marvel cartoon is sending me into spasms of geek joy.  Also with Steve Jobs now the largest shareholder in Marvel Comics, thanks to his position as the largest shareholder in Disney, perhaps a special edition Shadowcat iPhone (please).

the DISNEY deal is a good one for marvel and it's stockholders. Disney does tons of other stuff that is adult oriented under and I doubt very seriously they are going consume a company that brought itself out of bankruptcy and made itself into a very profitable company in under a decade, and then change the way that company has worked ....especially since marvels approach has worked for their bottom line...and that is what disney is interested in...and why they bought marvel.
I think that the same complaints that have been around about Marvel films will still be around...and I doubt that Disney will change much at all, save for the distribution of movies and DVDs...I guess LionsGate is assed out...but not us fans...not to worry.

@Jazzlawyer: Do you really think Disney will let Spider-man or Captain America appear in a comic were the lead character has anal sex, was tortured/raped and talks about how spider-man should shoot webs out his asshole? And I know DC would not let Superman or Batman appear in a comic like that. Hell, DC stopped publishing The Boys, cuz some of the characters were doing naughty things and they just so happened to look like some of their most famous icons.    

On a gut level I'm nervous because I fear the mouse, my rational brain thinks the deep pockets distribution opportunities the mouse provides make perfect sense for the house of ideas.

All this talk of Disney will cancel the Max line and the like is a bunch of hogwash (That's right I said Hogwash!) Disney owns a LOT of things that aren't family friendly I'm not sure if people are aware of that.  I mean, Miramax anyone?  Did ABC suddenly go all family friendly with their TV lineup?  Did ESPN?  I don't expect to notice a difference on our end for some time... if ever.

@WinTheWonderboy, even "indie" Marvel would only barely let Spidey/Cap appear in a book like that; they have always been opposed to the idea that a kid would buy an Alias thinking Spider-Man was in it only to discover a world of horror and filth. That's why, when Bendis wanted to plunge more fully into the Marvel Universe, Alias became the Pulse. These are not Disney issues; it has ever been thus.

@WinTheWonderboy

Jimski is exactly right, Spider-Man appeared in the book only sort of sideways, as Peter Parker in one scene, and Captain America was only in a few scenes.  Also there's a world of difference between The Boys and Alias.  Yeah we can assume that Jessica Jones had rough sex, but it was never shown.  The same rules are going to apply, and assuming otherwise like you are is just fear mongering.  Any public thing we've seen from Disney or Marvel has said that it's business as usual editorially.

Look Disney does a lot of things I don't like, such as fuck up ending the concept of public domain by having the US government keep extending it beyond Walt's death to protect Mickey Mouse, but it's not going to ruin Marvel.  In fact don't forget that this isn't the Disney you might be familiar with.  Steve Jobs is its largest shareholder and John Lasseter from Pixar is in creative control of the animation studio. It's a much more youthful and forward thinking company than it was years ago.  Sure Brian Bendis' "I hate God and all you Christians" comic that Marvel WAS going to publish will have to be an Icon book but other than that... 

@Jimski: and I hated when that happened. 

@WinTheWonderboy

Then your sadness began years ago.  Sure I'd love for Bendis to be doing dirty filthy comics, but that's why we have Powers.  And I bet you despite being owned by Mickey Mouse, that doesn't go anywhere anytime soon.  Well the fact that it comes out once every 8 months probably will help keep it under their radar. 

One good thing I have realized about all this after reading about it a lot is that maybe there will be a Kingdom Hearts comic, or Marvel characters will be appearing in upcoming Kingdom Hearts games.

 One other concern I have though, (and I know this is all speculation and not based on any facts, but I've heard many other people say this is a likely possibility), is that Disney characters will appear in mainstream Marvel comics. Personally, I don't think Marvel would let that happen, but I think it is a valid concern. I would be okay with Disney making their own comics under Marvel, I just dont want them infringing upon all the comics that are already established.

@Jazzlawyer: I'm not trying to fear monger. All I meant was that a big corporate company, like disney or time-warner, won't like their icons get dirty..... maybe smudged.   

Also, now that Marvel will have more money and resources, will we be seeing the price on all the comics going back down to $2.99, or will some of them still be staying at $3.99 like they are now?

@WinTheWonderboy

I think we've seen DC being as adventurous with its icons, or more so, than Marvel ever has been with its.  I mean The Dark Knight was hardly a kid's book.   

 @ThePunisherMAX

Man that ship has sailed, comics are $3.99 now, face it.

Also I'm sure this will be exciting for Stan Lee's lawyers, they now have someone new to sue for payment for inventing Spider-Man, the FF and so on. 

Where does it say that Disney is going to censor Marvel? Where does it also say that it's going to dumb down the comics as well?

Disney owns film studios that release R rated films all of the time. Their Pixar work is getting more adult as it goes on. (Up was a really depressing film at some points) The only thing this fully effects is the film, animation, and video game front for the company.

It shames me to say this; but the industry is so insignificant that it's probably last on Disney's mind with money. Will we see Disney related comics in the future? Sure, but they will have no editorial mandate to control the company. If people are a bit iffy with this merger on film/tv/video game front then I am fine with that. But if your going to be spouting conspiracy theories on something you have NO PROOF of showing me otherwise. Then your just sounding insane.

DAMN YOU STANDARDMAN! YOU TOOK MY PUNCHLINE >_<*

I've never played Square Enix games but if they produce a KH III with marvel characters... then I'm in.

What happens to poor Boom Studios now with their Disney Licenses?

This just in Fox Entertainment is now talking with Image Comics. We'll be seeing a Republican vision of the "Invincible" Series very soon.

-(j/k)

I'm excited and concerned all at the same time.

Disney didn't buy Marvel to strip it for parts!!  Disney owns a lot of companies and IP's that you might not even realize.  This isn't the end of (Marvel) comics as we know it!  So maybe now Spider-Man pops up at a parade or show at Disney World, is that really so terrible?  Or maybe Mickey becomes the famous superhero: Marvel Mouse!  (Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing that)

There has been so much bitching about Disney being for kids, but kids are tomorrow's comic book readers!!!  Disney can attract and create a whole new generation of comic book fans now.  There has been speculation and concerns of the audience growing smaller, but if Dsney wants kids to buy comics, the kids will buy comics!

Disney wanted Pixar to get in on a good thing and take their cut.  And since they accuired Pixar they have still let Pixar do what Pixar does.  UP was one of the best movies I've seen this year.  And it was a pure Pixar movie.  Movies like UP and Ratatouille are being made by Pixar because Pixar wants to make them.  They aren't the easiest movies to market and 'exploit' but Disney lets Pixar do what Pixar does.

It'll be okay!

After a full day of worrying and fretting and pondering this news, my main concern is still that they better not make Emma Frost cover up even more than she already is or else I will be seriously PISSED!!!

this is really disappointing for me. I don't like corporate behemoths(spelling?), especially when they are in the culturally sensitive creative industries. Obviously Marvel is no small fry but this makes it much worse. The homogenisation of culture and entertainment just got a little more entrenched. As a Brit it is sad to see yet more of the small amount of  American culture that I like, being dominated by a small minority of dubious companies. 

Holy crap, this news kinda broke the internet didn't it?

@iFanboy this news is ideal discussion for some sort of Special Edition podcast. Have you guys ever thought about doing one-off comic news-type discussion podcasts when big stories like this hit?

Here's something interesting: How long has Disney been planning this? Because if you saw last months Preview catalogue, you know that Disney has a deal with BOOM! studios to put out the Disney comics. Why not just have Marvel put out Uncle Scrooge and stuff if Disney was buying Marvel? I think marvel would certainly have a better chance of getting Disney comics on the shelves than Boom! does. (Not that BOOM! isn't a great little company, it is. But it's not Marvel.)

Disney's stock continues to be down.  Wall street doesn't appear to be exceptionally fond of this deal.

@stuclach: Just put Sarah Palin on the signing of this merger. Then the stocks will go up!

ZING!

I love that Joe Q. is insisting that it's a great day for Marvel and no one should worry.

Which is easy to say when you just scored millions from someone buying your stocks and you get to keep your job on top of the deal.

That said, worries that Marvel will be messed with from a business perspective can be quickly cast aside when looking at Pixar.   

Worries that Disney will screw with Marvel over content can be assuaged by the fact that Disney also owns Miramax and has since 1993.

I don't think we have to worry about the Mouse neutering Marvel....  Miramax has released The Crow, Clerks, From Dusk till Dawn, and Trainspotting not to mention many many other gritty and decidedly not family friendly fare while working under the Disney umbrella.

I think other people have said this, but Marvel was a public company before being bought out, it's not like they were an underground comic book company. It's still gonna depend on if profits are high, like always.

@stuclach:  As far as Disney stock going down, the stock will continue to go down until the actual deal gets done.  Disney is "creating" an inflation in the market with the giving the stocks to Marvel shareholders.  Therefore with a surplus of stock the market price will drop.  Disney has all ready said that they will be buying back and cutting the surplus to allow the stock to bounce back to the level that it was at earlier.  So as the stock loses value those that play the market will pull their money until the bounce back can take place.  For those that are sit and waiting on Disney (like myself) we have seen this before when they bought ESPN/ABC.   

@forestjwp - If the benefits of the deal outweigh (or are at least equal to) the supply effects that you are discussing, then we shouldn't see a drop of the magnitude we are seeing. Essentially, if the deal is considered strong enough, the demand for the stock should rise offsetting the supply increase caused by Disney issuing stock to Marvel shareholders. IF the two effects are similar there should be no (or a very small) surplus like the one you mention.  

If you search the thread for a post by odino1 (a Finance Professor), you will see that on average the effect of a merger on the buying company's stock price is essentially nothing (or at least not an increase) at the announcement of an acquisition.  I genuinely hope you are correct and that Disney bounces back up (for obvious reasons) and that the merger benefits both companies.

The problem is that Disney paid a huge premium (28%, more than 1 billion $), the market clearly says that the general perception is that the present value of the synergy between Disney and Marvel is less than that.

Indeed, most analysts agree that Disney overpaid... good bargaining job by Marvel CEO!

@odino1 - Have you read Comic Wars?  It details the various wheelings and dealings that resulted in Ike Perlmutter becoming the CEO of Marvel in a very unlikely scenario.  It is written by Dan Raviv.  He does an excellent job summarizing the events that occurred before and after Marvel declared bankruptcy in 1996.  Mr. Perlmutter appears to be one hell of a negotiator.

A short take on Comic Wars.

@conor - I forgot about that mini.  Damn I loved those minis.  How the hell did I not comment on that video?

Great recommendation guys, thanks!

Today's Headlines from the Disney/Marvel front:

* Disney's Hercules, Marvel's Hercules to duke it out in 2010 event.  Project tentatively titled "Battle for the Hide"

* In related news, "Sorcerer's Apprentice" Mickey vyes with Doctor Voodoo to become Sorcerer Supreme of the combined Disney/Marvel Universe

* Marvel villains, needing new gathering place, take over Pleasure Island club in Walt Disney World, re-christen it Island With No Name

* Punisher's guns taken away, given new torture device: sonic device that plays endless loop of "It's a Small World After All"

* Guardians of the Galaxy plot line revised, find out that the cosmic rift is really the black hole from "The Black Hole"

* Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to be re-animated with new sign: "No Mutants Allowed"  

* Felicia Hardy replaced by Hannah Montana as Black Cat.  Still acts just as slutty, just changes wig color.

Does this mean no FABLES TV show on ABC?

@BC1: I am 100% sold on everything you just posted right now. :)

Especially Herc against Herc!

...I was kind of excited for that...oh well...now i guess we will get a RUNAWAYS TV show on ABC Family...

Also I think Disney won't take anything away from the comics, only add, if anything...They may be a giant corperation but they don't pretend to know everything about what comic fans want just because they now own a company that publishes comics...of course they are more interested in the movies and TV show oppertunities...

Hopefully we see a resurgence of animated series from Marvel. Cause I am not a fan of the Spider-Man show right now; nor for the Iron man one.

@TNC- thank you! Just got one more:
* Marvel forced to shelve "Identity Disc 2" project. Was to focus on Black Panther, Falcon and Luke Cage. Plot involved the trio infiltrating Disney Vault, bringing to light director's cut of "Song of the South". When creator, militant writer/artist Hooper X, was informed of development, accused the Man of suppressing the truth, said he would focus on his revisioning of "Star Wars" for Dark Horse.

latest retcon: Turns out Frank Castle was the hunter that killed Bambi's mom....

@BC1: Touche subject. Cause that is the most racist film you'll ever watch.

BREAKING NEWS: Dr. Doom kidnaps FOX from the 'Fox and the Hound'. No comment on HOUND for the details.

I find this idea that Warner Bros won't let DC do anything to undermine the main characters amusing. Bruce Wayne was basically removed from all the important Batman books "twice" and the second time was around the same general time as Dark Knight in theatres. Wonder Woman twisted a guys head so his chin could touch his spine. Superman is not in Action Comics or Superman comics. As for dark and messy, Spoiler got a drill taken to her decimated body. Kyle Rayner found his girlfriend in a fridge, they kill people left right and center, I realize Martian Manhunter is a second stringer but he got brutally murdered. WB as a corporate entity probably isn't even aware. The actual comics are so below the radar.

There is a decent profit in comic books, but not big enough for Disney to even care what goes on in any Marvel book I doubt there will ever be any involvement at all in what happens in the Marvel books, unless they start losing money. The real money is leveraging toys, movies and other media, that's what Disney mainly wants with secondary goals of what Marvel can do for them. 

@TNC- Yeah, I know.  That's why they were going to bring it to light- to show how bad the real one was (if you've ever seen the TV Funhouse of the kids entering the Disney Vault, you'll know what I'm talking about).

Marvel will get some do s and don'ts that can be sure of. Their movies, games, and shows aren't problem in the end. Disney would have no problem putting their stamp or the castle logo on them. It's the comics that really are the problem.

Unlike ABC and ESPN, Marvel has a lot of characaters and items that can and are marketed toward kids. I wouldn't be surprised if Disney wanted some crossover between all aspects from movies, to games, to toys, and to the comics. The comics would have to match up more and at the moment they do. Doesn't mean they have to be kiddified. They won't as Disney isn't crazy. However at the moment they are more a R rated (sometimes very strong R and close to NC-17) item to the shows, movies, and games PG or PG-13 rating.  We might (and it really should happen) see that changed to the comics being more PG-13 to the shows and movies PG and PG-13 ratings in terms of content. That way things aren't so disconnected. I don't think that is a bad thing at all either.  DC needs to be changed that way as well and I wish Time Warner would do that. It too doesn't match up with the content found in their movies, shows, and video games or even novels.

Say what you will, but Hitler is pissed.

does this mean that we will see the disney characters  in X-men outfits?

imagine Mickey Mouse as Wolverine

Disney actually has an excellent oppurtunity to destroy Diamond's control over comic publications and knock the crappy old distribution system out of the park.

But it's not going to happen.

Mickey Mouse as a Wolverine doll or as Spider-man would be pretty cool and sell a LOT. 

Found some pretty funny political comics about the merger. Made me chuckle at least...

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/lalo-alcaraz (This could be a good first issue for Steve Rogers return)

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/mike-luckovich (How many times will this joke be stated in Disneyworld)

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/henry-payne (Cute)

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/jeff-stahler (What Josh will read as a future father)

Well..i read an article saying disney can't touch the movies until marvels deal with paramout is over in 2013.  so we might get an avengers movie before disney makes em kid friendly.