costumefly

Disney buys Marvel Comics- Good or Bad?

Written by Administrator Monday, 07 September 2009 01:26

Ready for a disney version of Iron Man? Not Quite huh? That probably wont happen but Walt Disney recently unveiled the plan to buy Marvel Comics (Marvel Publishing, Inc.), the leading producer of comic book and related media franchise in US.  Now, is this merger/aquisition going to 'disneyfy' the marvel character or are Disney characters going to be "marvelized". Is this terrible news for comic fans? Only time will tell, but I don't think Disney is smart enough not  to intermingle the two brands. They serve different audiences. Agreed that there is an overlap but I would argue that its not significant. One question that comes to my mind, though, is why did Marvel agree to be aquired by Disney. Well the economy is not great but Marvel has recovered from its escaped bankruptcy era back in 2000.  Any guesses?

A bit of Marvel history
Some of the well known marvel characters are Spider-man, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man, X-Men, Thor, Spider woman, Wolverine, Elektra, Emma Frost, Sabretooth, and several others. These characters and associated stories have been turned in to successful movies. Marvel costumes are also a craze amoung young boys age 6 -14. Marvel comics was started in 1939 with Captain America comic books. Under the guidance and leadership of comic writer Stan Lee Marvel prospered. He was also the co-creator (with Jack Kirby) of the Fantastic Four which  was a huge success. They went on to create several of the above listed  trademark Marvel blockbuster characters. Marvel has had its up and downs. It narrowly escaped from filing bankruptcy  during the turn of the last centuary. It has been doing good financially since then.

About Disney
Disney is the largest media and entertainment company in the world. With an array of family friendly products, characters, theme parks, costumes and movies Disney targets the typical American household with young kids. It is the creator of severa legendary and famous cartoon characters like mickey mouse, minnie mouse,  cinderella,  Toy Story-Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story- Woody, Red Ranger, Power Ranger, Snow White, Tinkerbell, Storybook Belle, Storybook Ariel, Increbibles, Aladdin, Jasmine, Wall-E, Monsters Inc, (the robot in love) and other fictional characters like Hannah Montanna, Pirates of the Caribbean, Sleeping Beauty, etc.

That said disney doesn't just focus on PG content. It has (through its subsidiaries) produces R-rated movies and scary movies. So, I feel Marvel will still enjoy the independence within Disney with the backing and security of a cash-rich mega conglomerate that Disney is.