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Walt Disney Acquires Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion!

by Alex Billington
August 31, 2009

Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today. Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28th, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion. Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. This is huge news and if Disney also arranges a distriution partnership with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks, they'll be a true powerhouse.

"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, today. "We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation."

In regards to movies, Paramount will maintain their arrangement to distribute five upcoming Marvel Studios films, including Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers. All other deals for movies for characters at other studios (e.g. Spider-Man, X-Men) will stay in place under the terms originally set by Marvel. Disney would like to start distributing Marvel movies down the line, saying "when the time comes we'll take a closer look at it." John Lasseter met last week about a possible team-up between Marvel and Pixar and apparently got "pretty excited, pretty fast." They say there's definitely an opportunity there.

We'll definitely keep you updated on all the latest regarding this groundbreaking deal, including further implications and changes and what we can expect from both Marvel and Disney now. I will be the first to say that this is fantastic news. Disney is a strong brand and one of the smartest studios in the world and they will only become a stronger, better brand as a result of this acquisition. We may not see the impact in the movie business immediately, but it will eventually be felt. You can read more over on the New York Times.

Filed under Movie News, Opinions

From around the web:

Colin

Ugh. Can't wait for Disney to fuck up the MU.
Dan

5000 characters at $4B = $800,000 per character
Al

#1, disney isn't gonna fuck it up, its all safe. Its like when they bought Mirimax, the films were still the same and what they needed to be. The comics, merchandizing, and films are all gonna continue to be what they need to be.
http://www.firstshowing.net me

Great news!! Wow... Marvel owned by Disney! Now that's a huge step. I think the movie business it's kneeling to Disney. I feel sorry for Warner Brothers. WB is my favourite studio and it will have a hard time in the future (hope not).
http://www.patiencemovie.com Nick Sears

I don't how to feel on this? Should I be scared for future projects, or is it just a factor of who's name is on the checks? This just naturally unsettles me, regardless of the walls that separate them from influencing productions.
Gonzoyote

I've seen a lot of backlash against this acquisition, but I think it's excellent news. If the working relationship between Disney and Marvel is anything like the one Disney has with Pixar, Marvel shouldn't see much interference, only with the added benefit of Disney's PR machine and Budget. Not to mention Disney-ABC, this frees up a lot of lesser-known (or even most popular) names in the Marvel library to be developed into television programs. Really excited to hear more.
kreig70

Does this mean we'll never see a rated R movie based on a marvel character? or is that a stretch?
big789

this is some motherfucking repugnant bull shit
http://www.firstshowing.net Alex Billington

^ What's so bad about it? I don't understand why it's so repugnant? They're not going to mess with the company itself - look at Pixar, they're fine. It'll just going to allow for so much more interaction, like Marvel theme parks, more movies and such, and so many different crossovers. That's all GOOD news!
MB

"This is huge news and if Disney also arranges a distriution partnership with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks, they'll be a true powerhouse." Why would they team up with Pixars largest competitor?
monal

makes the most sense to me that these 2 team up, their synergies should matchup as their going for the same demographic. Marvel will never have problems finding funding for the movies thats for sure. Just want to make sure they retain script control and bring out more quality films like Ironman and less like Daredevil or Elektra(shudder)
dac

I don't like it, it will end up slaping the fans in the face.
Rick

#10 Dreamworks and Dreamworks Animation are two different entities IIRC
mr. esbi

with all due respect to Disney, they have been known to work with the "lighter" side of things, all i hope and pray for is that they stay true to the comics and characters and not try to add in their own idea of what the character was like(that's why spider-man sucked). all im saying is that even Fox killed it, so how can we expect anything less from a studio that has for over 50 years focused on entertaining kids imagination, the MU is not one for this current genration it started in my fathers and grew stronger thru mine, i dont wanna see something i grew up with killed.
DoomCanoe

#10 to rule the world... duh my question to Alex would be... when did you not consider Disney THE powerhouse? Cause since as far back as i can remember Disney has always been the biggest kid on the block. and this is great news cause Marvel movies suck nuts! (which i hate because i love the MU and hope Disney takes it in the direction it should be going... although i do have alot of hope for the Avengers and its cast movies) BUT!!! Marvel + Pixar = best news my nerdy ears could hear I'm stoked
Cat

Is this good or bad for iron man?
Mark Drennan

Oh my god. I hope Disney keeps their distance from the material and simply collects their lousy pay checks. They were hell on Pixar.
Spider94

omg this is bad news.... i guess the punisher has to start using water guns now
Trey

for some reason...this seems bad....Ironman and Hulk will now get watered down to the point of Saturday morning status....Marvel sold out for the dough...lol
tremolan

so the 7 dwarfs vs the fantastic 4?? sounds like a GREAT idea.
Xerxex

wow its gonna be more and more difficult for future career seekers in the movie industry, if all the companies merge together and make one big company.
D

I think what people are mean by when they say that it's bad is that Walt Disney was a huge racist. And that instead of spending $4 billion on something that already had an owner maybe they could have spread their stupid amount of wealth to some type of charity. $4 billion probably could have made a lot of school be able to keep their art department.
J

Why is this good news? This just means crappy direct to video sequels of great marvel movies.
Matt

As long as Disney stays out of the creative part of Marvel this should be fine. This is just business. Disney saw the Marvel Entertainment cash flows growing over the coming years and bought because of that. They are smart enough to know to leave well enough alone. They knew Pixar was great as it was so they have not messed with it. When you watch something on ESPN are you in any way aware of Disney's presence. I think this will give Marvel greater distribution possibilities in the future. You will see more stories about Marvel characters in film and TV in the coming years and Marvel will have control over that - that is a good thing. Marvel and Pixar working on things together really gets me excited. You can eventually have Marvel characters in quality movies for every age group and every demographic. The only disappointment I have is, as Marvel Shareowner, I think they could have gotten $10 more per share.
duke

so we going to see: Namor will help to find Nemo Howard the duck vs Donald Duck Beast in Monsters Inc Mikey Mouse is the new apprentice of Doctor Strange
http://juno.com Jamdolin

This is very, very bad news. Say goodbye to any hope of quality Marvel character based movies. Spider-Man 12: Pinnochio Lies Again.
Bezelbub

So what happens to the Marvel rides at Universal?
bobby

i personally not sure about all this i have a strange feeling i wont see a Black Panther movie at all
zetsu

mickey mouse vs deadpool anyone,it would be better if they took spider-man of sony & x-men of fox get all the franchises all in the house of mouse then their would be better creative control getting the charactors how they are meant to be (galactus as galactus not as a fucking cloud,deadpool in his fucking costume in x-men origins wolverine and giving venom the screen time he deserved in spider-man 3)mickey don't fuck this up.
germs

Marvel Studios will still get to make their avengers epic without Disney involvement, correct? Not that I think Disney will try messing with the film, but who knows, they might put some pressure on them to make it more friendly to the masses. Outside of the five upcoming movies in production, I really can't name any Marvel character that I think would make a good movie. All this assures is that the market will be flooded with even more second rate comic book characters.
http://www.internapse.com Internapse

"If you're familiar with the Disney/Pixar relationship, then you'll understand why this is a new dawn for Marvel and the comics industry." - Joe Quesada, Marvel Editor-in-chief from Twitter - http://twitter.com/JoeQuesada/status/3666659634 The idea of anything Marvel showing up in anything Pixar is one that has me very excited for this deal.
imarapyeyermom

I hope Disney fixes this Dark Reign shit. The MU is so fucked up right now because of that shit.
Dre

What is gonna happen to marvel comics island at universal studios? disney world and universal studios are competitors with their theme parks.
coto

WORLD DOMINATION!!!
Al

wow, you people are so dumb. Disney is just the parent company. They aren't going to fuck with anything that marvel will be doing. They will just turn over a profit from it. Look at Mirimax, Dimension, Touchstone, all owned by disney, but they aren't the "lighter side of things." Most movies by these studios are R rated or PG 13. Marvel won't change a bit.
usonnychiba1

I just hope they don't start pushing all the movies to be kiddie friendly like the Fantastic 4 titles which, let's face it, were pretty weak.
dan

#34 Al dont call people dumb most of these people are so shocked thats why they are reacting like this thats all. i agree with you with the other studios and this partnership seems like it could be a good idea i hope. im just worried that i will never see a Black Panther movie or even Dr Strange
janet

I think this is good news but I understand why some people are hesitant.
Al

36, I apologize for calling people dumb, maybe I let the heat of the moment get to me. I understand the concern, but feel that its just nervous thinking and it'll all turn out fine.
JL

my concern is still w/ others on this post. i truly hope that nothing changes on the comic-movie side. but... disney can hire some writers to forgive the masses for that AWFUL punisher #2 movie.
zetsu

whats more evil norman osborn's dark reign 0r the walt disney company, i want to see 7 dwarfs vs the thunderbolts.
http://Firstshowing.net The_Phantom

You guys are worrying way too much! Disney does make "R, Video-14" movies, (King Aurthur) Plus, Disney's live action movies are getting a lot better. I wouldn't get all frustrated about them sticking to the roots of the character or what the rating is going be if the character is for an older audience, (Punisher, etc...)
th3thirdman

That seems cheap to me.
Alex T.

Personally I can't wait to see Mickey Mouse in a spiderman outfit or Goofy dressed like wolverine. I really dont know why everyone is so surprised by this it just means more marvel merchandise for them to stuff their unsatisfiable mouths with. Just more junk at comic con and walmart thats all.
http://www.patiencemovie.com Nick Sears

We're just seeing it for face value, and that's making us freak - We need more clarity in their role towards 'acquring' Marvel. Theme parks are great and all, but Alex, where's the line drawn between ownership and control(Marvel Studios Production)?
Janny

i wonder if we shall see a marvel vs capcom vs disney game i hope pixar makes some movies based on marvel characters
dan

#38 i understand Al it just shocked everyone that Marvel will be under Disney now i do hope it works well. i notice people are making jokes about Disney characters and Marvel character soon will crossover i personally wont be surprise cause we already see WB characters and DC characters crossover i.e. Daffy Duck became Green Lantern in a episode of Duck Dodgers episode "The Green Loontern" lol the Green Loontern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6dPWxme49s everyone needs to understand this is Disney/Marvel just like WB/DC its a new dawn for all of us. the people at Disney will not interfere with Marvel films cause they realise Marvel Studio knows how to make good comic books since they produce two good films Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk.
dan

sorry i mean #39 Al
Cody

Ha your all making a big deal outta nothing its not like disney is gonna turn into the EA of the movie business and fuck over all the marvel films. Theyll let them do there thing just calm down and act like nothing ever happened. Its big news outside of the realm of films but I really dont see it effecting anything. My only doubt is that they might make some of the marvel characters more soft and kid friendly like Thor and the Hulk....but Im probably wrong. If they do though THEN everyone should be bitching hardcore.
big789

hannah montana and the punisher NO FUCKING WAY I HOPE THE PUNISHER KILLS THAT MOTHERFUCKING BITCH
http://www.bleepinggeek.com Pete the Geek

I find it so hilarious that people actually believe that Disney doesn't have a hand, let alone a MASSIVE hand in Pixar's day-to-day business. It does (I went to college at AAC in San Fran, and know a few animators who works there today)... oh boy it does. Or maybe you'd all like to stop and take a guess at why Pixar - which up until the buyout from Disney made a name for themselves by producing original 1-off movies and valued original stories above franchise opportunities - suddenly got into the sequel business directly after the buyout. Anyone remember the reason Pixar split from Disney in the first place? Oh yeah, it was because they didn't want to make endless lame sequel after sequel according to Disney's business plan and Disney basically forced them to make Toy Story 2. So... this summer when you're sitting and paying money to see Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D (because Disney loves making money off of movies they've already released) and then when you're sitting in Toy Story 3 and Monster's Inc 2, and when Pixar movies start "going into the vault"... well, then you can tell me all about how Pixar hasn't been at all affected by being owned by Disney. The fact of the matter is that a major player like Disney wouldn't pick up another massive brand name without having the ability to have their say in the operation. There will be changes (even if they're minor at first), but most importantly Marvel will most likely become just like every other Disney owned company where the almighty dollar comes before anything else. And say goodbye to the decent Marvel movies we've seen so far, because Disney is a close second to Fox in their inability to understand the comic book superhero live-action genre.
big789

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK .............DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blue & Orange NY

#27 i was thinking the same, lol....i guess lift and move a few miles and reinstall lol anyway, i don't know about this....maybe Snow White can team up with Black Widow and Mickey Mouse can team up with the Avengers....oh wait isn't The Incredibles Disney? there you go..... I know there might be issues with R rated flicks, Disney is all G to PG isn't it only time will tell.... what would've been nice to hear is that Disney grew the pair of balls MARVEL didn't have and with the $4bill deal they took the rights to Spidery, XMen, etc....
http://www.efavata.com/CBM/ Landfill

I think this is a great idea since Marvel needs a global distributor to help get their products out there.
Dan the Fan

I think the only reason why this scares me is because now... there is one less colossal company out there. Meaning... when someone says there are really only 5 or 6 actual companies out there in the world, it's true. There are virtually no little fish left in the sea of enterprises. It's just whale eating whale at this point. And that's just sad. One power to rule them all
blaze

soon we will see parody from ItsJustSomeRandomGuy hi im a Marvel, Hi im a DC Spider-Man "Batman i got big news" Batman "whats the big news" Spider-Man "Disney and Marvel has joined force" Batman "thats good news for you guys i guess... i cant wait to see Zac Efron plays Marvel superhero" Spider-Man "WTF...NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
branden

this is mainly going to be about who's name is on the checks. All the stupid websites can act like it's a big deal and talk about crossovers and what-not, but if anything regarding crossover or Disney making 'light' Marvel movies, it will be VERY minimal and not even noticeable. All this will pass in about a year and we'll just know that Disney owns Marvel and that's about it.
flex

just imagine if WB/DC had Marvel LOL
theotherbluth

Great point Pete, The whole "Vault" thing has pissed me off for years. Clever and effective maketing? totally but it still sucks. I also wonder if we will get to see "not for 10 year-olds" Marvel movies. Oh well, what's done is done.
chino

i can see it now "when spiderman meets cinderella" damn i cant wait for that movie -__-
bleak

why couldnt Paramount Pictures have all the rights to Marvel Entertainment they doing well with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk
http://www.10tu.com/forums dRailer

LOL I've been listening to the crying all day. Let me make a quick point to see if it helps bring everything into sharp focus. Did you like The Dark Knight? Batman is DC comics. Owned by Warner Bros. LOONEY TUNES, people. Was Porky Pig in The Dark Knight? No. Stop crying and enjoy the deep, deep pockets that Disney will bring to Marvel.
David Banner

Fuck...? What can I say....no future of a 'R' rated Marvel Movie EVER now?.....Told ppl online, heared the screams of 50K "NOOOOO!!!!"
X-Men Fangirl

Lovely. I read the Wolverine: Weapon X Comics, and it is not exactly "Disney" material. What will they do with the not-so-kid-friendly comics and characters? I mean, Deadpool, practically all of the villains, hell, more than I can remember fight now. Most of the characters came from horrible childhoods, done some, well not so Disney things in their adult lives. Is Disney gonna just scrap them, change their life stories, and basically do to them what the X-Men Evolution series did to the characters? I don't stray too far from X-Men, but my little sister reads Spiderman and is a baffled as to what the Marvel Universe will become now. So that's my long version of this question: Will the keep the mature content comics and not to savory characters or will they do the Disney thing and f!ck it up?
Cameron

Sorry,But ITS True..Marvel IS GONNA SUCK!!!!! NO MORE RATED R,And No More,BLOOD And GORE!! I BET DC Comics Is having a field Day about This....
Cameron

I Bet DC Comics is having a Field Day about this..Batman is gonna be here sooner than later...
X-Men Fangirl

I can see it now... Hannah Montana in Thor, the Jonas Brothers in The Avengers, Selena Gomez in Captian America and Demy Luvato in Iron Man 2. Whatever Disney wants, Disney gets. Even if it means f!cking up beloved stories and characters.
http://www.efavata.com/CBM/ Landfill

Someone brought up an interesting point. Dark Knight is DC and owned by those who own Bugs Bunny. We didn't see anything like that so why would Dinsey/Marvel try to ruin something that will make tons of money? We will never see a Disney character next to a Marvel superhero in a film.
http://MYSPACE.COM/ESOPHUS JEFFREY

Anyone know what going to happen to Islands Of Adventure at Universal? There are so many Marvel rides there...in fact it would seem like Marvel is spread out over alot of territory. Alot of regrouping needs to be done and I think this deal is far from over.
dannyboy

Warner Bros/DC Bugs Bunny and Batman Vs Disney/Marvel Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man this is good news people it all makes sense that Marvel joins Disney
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2408/blackbabyjesus.gif Crapola

Pixar make cheesy films, so do Marvel, so do Disney, match made in cheesy heaven.
Scott

NOOO why is everyone taking Marvel away?! Superheroes will never be the same now. Pixar and Disney can go jump off a cliff....... I WANT MARVEL BACK
snickers

It's just business, and all these naïve comments are laughable.
Dr Robotnik

only thing good about this is the fact that Scrooge McDuck can now hang with the likes of Spider-Man
SS

This means Steven Spielberg may finally get to do Superhero projects.
Ajax

Well, I don't think that Disney will have that big of an impact, seriously. They will just let Marvel do what it does, and they will just take the money. Hopefully...
ImaginaryVisionary

From someone who once worked for Disney and at Disney.....I can tell you first hand, this is not going to turn out good for comic fanboys. Someone above noted "whatever Disney wants, disney gets"....and while this can also be a good thing (as far as luring talent), but mostly it's a bad thing because what Disney wants is PROFIT. Not just ticket revenue, but synergy, cross over profit....rides, tv, toys, cd's. Which means I would not be surprised to see more "kid friendly" super hero films in order to sell more toys, and yeah the soundtracks will definitely feature Disney pop. Look at Disney's track record with big blockbuster adult films. Aside from the Pirates of the Caribbean everything else they've made hasn't really been all that great. (Chronicles of Narnia sure backfired on them, and it seems like "The Rock" is in a lot of their films) Bruckheimer puts out good films as well, but while he's connected to Disney I think he retains more independent and creative control than Disney is going to allow with Marvel. I also think this could be bad for Pixar. Pixar has always made great ORIGINAL films for kids that have so much heart and humanity it's hard to think of them as ordinary kids films. A pixar/marvel film would simply be flash and dash, but provide nothing new or original to films in general....and it would be a step in the wrong direction as far as children's entertainment is concerned (fanboys aside, ask any mother how she feels about her son watching superhero movies all the time). My prediction is Pixar's first great failure will be their first Marvel film simply because the film will be a novelty. It won't have the heart or the lasting power of say Buzz and Woody, characters that I grew up watching and as an adult still have hanging around in my house. Most of Marvel's well known characters have already been used up.....but I bet that Deadpool movie with Ryan Reynolds is going to be much better now that Disney is in the fold (crank up the cheesy dialogue, and add in a random "kid" sidekick to the storyline) This is Disney cashing in on a FAD, which is what all of these super hero movies are. Disney will take this fad and drain it for all that it's worth in profit, which is what will ultimately aid in killing super hero movies. Trust me, I'm a fan of Disney Pixar and Marvel....so on first glance this sounds awesome, but I know Disney and this will end bad for every company involved but Disney (and maybe Pixar but only because Disney won't let this ruin their animation future). At one point Disney also bought the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and also currently owns the rights to the Power Rangers....not that these programs were ever superb to begin with, but the Ninja Turtles started their decline right after Disney turned them into a traveling music group....and well power rangers were always built for profit. This deal is what it is, a deal for a profit....more particularly Disney has been failing with young males for years (hence the buying of power rangers) but knocking it out of the park with the girls (Princesses, Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers....and the all but forgotten Hilary Duff). This is Disney finally reaching a male market through Marvel. Kinda sad, I wish they would have never sold.
Jordan

Disney is going to RUIN DEADPOOL with Ryan Reynolds... nooo
Jordan

Ryan Reynolds should just direct Deadpool. he is better than Disney. lol
NeoSlyfer

No Disney can't touch DEADPOOL the Movie. Fox already has the rights to the film. Al exisiting deals are still intact so SPIDERMAN 4 - 6 is also safe.
Angry Chief

I hate life now. Alex, I know you are just the messenger, but I blame you. It could go both ways, but I foresee it going south. Comics pointed at kids. More crap like Spider-man. Ugh, poop, crap, bleh.
bill343

This is Horrible news!!! Disney is a horrible company. What the hell happened to the anti-trust laws? Any studio that starts to do well, a bigger one gobbles them up. Bunch of pussies at Disney don't want to compete in the open market. Corporatist pigs!!! I hope this gets stopped.
http://www.djsidmusic.com DJ Sid

Sid is very distraught and confused... did someone teleport me to an alternate universe this morning? Maybe I'm seeing a vision of things to come that I'm supposed to stop... "Thats what it is, I've finally discovered my powers..." It seems like a weird thing to me... just doesn't fit together. Who does one call when something like this happens? the President? the CIA? NSA? KGB? MI6? Is this a sign that my life is over as I know it? Is this the day my inner child died? Are there going to be support groups at my local YMCA where I can talk about such things? Disney buying Marvel? If someone would have said such a thing to me last week I would have looked at them and said "Hell No, have you lost your effin' mind." But yet here we are. Perhaps this will go down easier with strong drink or two.... for the next month or so... until Christmas.
http://www.patiencemovie.com Nick Sears

We need a redeeming post - Something that will address the fact either of Yes - Disney could very well have influence over future Marvel movies/etc - Or No. I'm still nervous and unsure even after these 83 posts.
RStewie

F*ck this. If Disney messes with Marvel's brand, the whole Marvel Universe will be full of FAIL and SUCK. Look how much friction there was while they were working with Pixar! And that was a relatively short term deal. Disney likes "kid friendly" and I am really falling in love with the "grown up" versions of Iron Man, Hulk, and all the others (I know Batman's not Marvel, but I think Chris Nolan paved the way to making a darker and edgier comic movies). I just don't trust Disney to respect the MU and LEAVE IT ALONE. They're too smug about their brand (which I find repugnant...have you SEEN the dreck they're shilling on the Disney Channel??) to respect someone else's. The fact that they bought them at all makes me slightly ill.
Armando

I think that the Dinseyization of Marvel characters is definitely not good news. Since Disney's decline in their animation and film department, they seem to use their monetary power to acquire talent, i.e. Pixar and Miramax. Disney's talent seem to be strained by its stress on trying to crank out a summer hit until their well has dried up. It will not be long until we see "family" orientated mouse ears on wolverine or iron man characters. R.I.P. Marvel Comics.
Colin

I hope they can pick up the Batman franchise and reboot it because Dark Night was rubbish and Begins was just ok
Armando

Spot on Conlin! I am apart of the minority that feels that the Dark Night was a completely over-rated film. I had a better time when Tim Burton's visionary version first premiered.
Jared H

Time for a new next gen game. "Marvel vs Disney". I wanna be able to kick Iron Man's ass with Mickey. Marvel vs Capcom happened when Capcom has rights to marvel. Now its Disney's turn. I would play as Jaffar and send Spidey back to his LAMP!... HELL YA! On a serious note: This blows. Disney will water down the movies (after these next 5 of course since they wont be hands on yet because the movies are already well into the planning and development stage) and put Spider-Man on "Its a Small World" and Iron-Man will join "The Pirates of the Caribbean" as one of the pieces of treasure. Wasp will become the new Tinkerbell. Super Duper Excited I totally Is yes I R. Ugh good thing im giving up comics this week.
David Banner

WD comics suck, atleast in sales. In scandinavia, mainly norway(?) the comic "Donald Duck & co." has been the no#1 comic for like forever, mostlikely the only place WD comics sells well. I know this same comic is one of the least selling comics in the US, maybe in the really bottom list. Marvel comics sells quite well(?) worldwide so maybe this is the main reason WD wanted Marvel? $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment seems....alot? Or? Have they really grown this big? Only a few years back Marvel were at deaths door, and from what I gathered, they didnt/dont have such a big % cut on the blockbusters, but I might be wrong. Would be great if someone could link or write an article on Marvel(not a wiki-link) how they rose to become worth $4 billion and how WD will make this money back, and the potential future profits. Maybe $4 billion is wholesale? Could be the first 5-10 Marvel/WD movies make $4billion intotal, 'problem solved'. Of course, if they wasp down marvel, and make marvel as 'safe' as Disney is, it's all over. I guess I might be on the run forever
big789

Disney is the anti-christ
big789

Mickey Mouse is Hitler
big789

Disney are a bunch of fucking nazis
big789

i hate these motherfuckers
Demtor

Whatever. I've always felt Marvel has "sissified" plenty of it's own characters themselves anyways. Why not let Disney show them how to make PG rated X-Men movies and REALLY make bank...
Italian Jo

wow... Disney is taking everything. :/ Monopoly.... They better not touch Ryan Reynolds film: Deadpool.
zetsu

@ 91,92,93,94 i asked the question who was more evil norman osborns dark reign storyline or the walt disney company.house of m is now house of mouse.let the thunderbolts loose on the disney charactors now that would be worth watching.i can see thor's helmet changing to,two big black mouse ears.
http://www.jefusion.info JEFusion

It's so unlikely to see Marvel being sold to Disney, ButI honestly can't wait for a team-up movie or game something like Kingdom Hearts.
Matt

Saw an interview on G4 where they said the Disney takeover may mean a reconsideration of the Thor, Cap, and Avengers movie - possibly scrapping them b/c Disney might not think that their appeal is broad enough. Please say this isn't so. Anyone have any thoughts - inside info on this?
Henrik (Sweden)

Ok, so no more blood and noone dies in any Marvelmovie and everybody is happy at the end.
splinter

I have mixed feelings about this, especially when it comes to the gaming end, marvel like to outsource to raven studios, ubisoft etc for most of the game's and Disney like to do everything in house, i love disney but i love marvel more and i am not to happy that we most likely will be seeing that disney logo on the upper corner of every comic from now on. All i know is if i see the x-men in kingdom hearts i will puke, i really hope they do not do any crossovers keep the worlds separated the last think we need is the adventures of Micky and wolverine, or the dynamic team up of Donald duck and Howard the duck
andrew

give runaways to pixar!!!
http://www.kanker.nl Kankertje

Kanker Disney, kanker trust beetje alles kopen voor een beetje fluss. Marvel en nu wordt DC ook nog gekocht door WB stelletje kanker joden dat het zijn
kid cool

i feel that with Disney on board there will be more funding for the stories in the films to be better but my fear is that because Disney has a strong policy on the violence, alot of Marvel fans will see the water down of favorite characters ( action and speech) The comics will be affected. i love Marvel and Disney so i hope things get better not worse. i cant imagine Marvel getting watered down to be like Hanna Montana? I heard rumours that Disney has their sight on things in Japan ( Anime wise) that would be good and bad too, but all in all we have to wait and see what happens if Disney helps Marvel on sink it worse than the Titanic............ will be praying all the way.
sam

well never see spiderman getting his eyeball pulled out, well never see black cats tits im done with marvel
JDamon

Disney owns a porno company Nuff Said!!!
Mavrick

Well great, not looking forward to the tamer more 'family friendly' x-men. Disney skrewed up Gargoyles when they got Buena Vista and enjoy releasing movies for a few months and then putting them away so you have to wait again for 10 years to get the remastered 20th anniversary version. Well, was fun while it lasted eh guys?
Ventura428

LMAO I can't believe so many people are this worked up over a studio acquisition. It's just movies! Who really cares and how does this lower your quality of life. There is such a big world out there to see. Movies are 2 hour sniglets of entertainment and not an axis on which so much of our lives should revolve. If this turns out to be a good thing, that's great. If it turns out to be a disaster, who cares. Movies are like buses, there will be another coming soon if this one doesn't work out. In free markets dominance is determined by who sells and who doesn't. If you hate Disney, then don't watch thier movies and shows and don't buy their crap. Simple.
Mavrick

I never said I hated disney, i just think this is going to end up killing off comic book based movies. Disney will dumb down and tame anything which wont make enough money as it is to get families to see the films. X-Men 1 and 2 were great, the third was good but not like the previous two. Now we will most likely see a 4th which has been tamed enough to open to a broader audience while at the same time destroying the movie by making it too PG. The end has come, though I thought it would have lasted at least 5 years longer.
Alex T.

wow really Mavrick? the end has come. Marvel lost its way a long time ago. It just like many other companies decided that quantity was a bigger priority than quality. They used up all their ideas and eventually took their quality down to the level of the disaster that is the alien vs. predator franchise. I can just see the brainstorming process that goes into a marvel comic now and it really disappoints me. "Hey guys we're out of ideas........so how do we get iron man to fight captain america? Fuck we'll make a CIVIL WAR! And after the war is over we can fuck up spiderman and make it seem like the war never happened in his universe and that everything people have read about him in the past decades never happened.YEAH!" Anyways if theres anyone out there that really believes that all of marvels characters, except the punisher and maybe a handful of others, arent already kidified and dumbed down I want some proof. As far as I can tell all the characters are wearing a bright shiny costume. Do you know why that is? So they can sell their shit to little kids. Advertisers make toys bright and shiny so that it will attract a kids attention and get them to scream "Mommy I want that!". Honestly I'm surprised Disney and Marvel never partnered up before, they both target little kids. If you want proof do an experiment. Go to your local Walmart or Target and compare the DC toys to the Marvel toys. You'll notice that DC sells only action figures and The Dark Knight related toys. Marvel on the other hand does sell action figures but they sell little plush toys directed at kids 2 and under as well. Go see for yourself or look them up online. The two I have seen are "Spiderman & Friends Hulkey Pokey Hulk" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider-man". If you don't believe me look them up on amazon for yourself and tell me those dont remind you of a disney product. As for the marvel movies.......honestly who gives a shit? Marvel had one good flick and that was Spider-man. After that they just started pumping movies out and didnt give a shit about quality. So honestly if you think that the violence in marvel MOVIES( and I stress the word movies because they are in no way shape or form FILMS) is the only thing making the movies watchable.....than is the movie really worth watching? Personally I would rather have disney make a family movie that at least sticks to the plot of the comics than have Marvel make a violence fest that contradicts their own publishings.
person

well, the reason marvel makes little kid toys is to get the kid's attention away from dc toys that to them would seem boring because they're not short and bulgy...thats what i think. and about the costumes, marvel has a wide variety of costumes that look cool and not so kiddish. its dc where all heroes are wearing a freakin speedo over brightcolored tighs. if there is a heroe that i like from dc and is badass, its batman and his enemies, but thats it, whereas marvel, well i admit theres alot of boring and kiddish ones, but there are alot of characters that are probably just as good as batman, like punisher, daredevil, wolverine, ghostrider, and all other dark and cosmic dudes and their corresponding enemies. and these are exactly the characters that will be affected by disneys family friendly rules severely. and everything i said goes for the comics...not the movies. so if even other companies(sony, fox, etc.) couldnt make them good enough in the aspect of making them dark and violent, what makes disney think theyll do better?? sure, maybe THEY will stick to the plot of the original story from the comics, but we should say goodbye to the violence....:( no more punisher blowing someone's head away...
Alex T.

Good. In a way I'm glad disney will tone the violence down because as far as I'm concerned alot of the violence in movies nowadays is just a gimmick. Studios flood movies with such a high kill count and tons of bloody fight scenes to destract people from the lack of plot and lack of memorable story. On a side note. DC will always beat the hell out of Marvel in my book because they have so much more variety because of branches of their company like Vertigo.
Mavrick

Apparently Alex T is unfamiliar with the definition of the word gimmick. Gimmick as defined is 'something used to attract attention to something or someone'. I've never heard anyone say 'man im going to see spider-man because it has a ton of violence!'. We dont want to see x-men, and the rest of the characters, being destroyed like they did with Gargoyles.
Alex T.

Right but you're saying things are going to be destroyed because the violence is going to be removed. So basically you guys are sort of saying that the only reason you are willing to see the marvel movies now is because they arent afraid to include violence.
Mavrick

Uhm no Alex, what im saying is that a action movie is composed of several elements, one of them being the actual action. The violence already in the movie is mostly composed of interpreted shots. Disney will tame down the characters further so that they act in ways that would be 'out of character' for them. This will further alienate people who are already put off by the disregard for the comic timeline(s) and event changes (for example, the phoenix is a split personality instead of a cosmic force). Disney has already done this in the past, so its not too much of a leap to assume they will do it again. Are there people who goto the movie just to see some violence? Sure there are, it would be foolish to assume otherwise. However the majority of the people who go to see a comic movie is because they are fans of the comic character, or because their kids are. If disney leaves the marvel studios alone and only collects a fat movie check from owning the company then i think good things will continue to come out (if you discount the first hulk movie they did). If disney starts thinking of $$$ and how much more they can make by lowering the rating to G, then its the end.
Alex T.

Well thanks for clarifying. I have to agree with you on alot of points. However I think you and alot of other people are making this out to be a bigger deal than it really is. Honestly it's a comic company not a way of life. Grow up and move on if it gets wrecked. If not just go back and let yourself be absorbed by all the old stuff Marvel has made, most of which was shit to begin with. It's not like marvel hasn't already spewed out enough material to keep the average person preoccupied for their entire lives.
Max S.

I cant believe this. I have absolutely nothng against disney but action movies aret exactly there thing unless michael bay or john turtletaub are direting them and we all know how the last 2 pirates movies were a little disapointing i really hope that disney can pull this off but i have some doubts
Max S.

I cant believe this. I have absolutely nothng against disney but action movies aret exactly there thing unless michael bay or john turtletaub are direting them and we all know how the last 2 pirates movies were a little disapointing i really hope that disney can pull this off but i have some doubts
Max S.

hey ventura, the reason we actually care about movies they are pretty much the most entertainment we get and one of the slightest changes can make a movie a huge movie that everybody loves like the dark knight and movies that barely anybody watches like the first hulk moviethatudio is why we care about the studio changes.
Max S.

actually x-men fangirl all those movies you are talking about are not being touched by disney but after those 4 or 5 its over for marvel
jonny p

well disneys huge power could make great films... but with great power comes great responsibility (did i think that up lol)....keep true to the marvel universe, give stan lee a knight hood... and lets have some top class movies...
Gabriel

When I was a kid, my high school art teacher tried talking me out of pursuing a career drawing comics for Marvel. He told me that he believed comics to be a fad and that Marvel comics would be lucky if it was still around in ten years. This was back in 1986. I now manage a Chilis and only draw on napkins to impress the ladies. The moral of my story: Kids, don't listen to your teachers.
Walt Disney

Stan Lee is rolling around in his grave!
Lokiluvcocky

You're all retarded. Who gives a fuck. Your fruity superhero movies will still be made and you will now have even more of a reason to sit on here and rant like little girls about how the movie studios ruined your beloved comic book characters. You can now blame Disney instead of Stan Lee for selling out his universe. Get a life fuck heads and snap into reality.
Alex T.

Wow. I'll have to agree with Lokiluvcocky.
browneyes

#123, it would be hard for Stan Lee to be rolling around in his grave, because he's very much alive! Grow up people! There are more important things happening in the world worth your anger and frustration then which company bought what this week! Please open your eyes!
Jennifer Kiltz

You know what is really sad about all of this... If you go to the Marvel web site the forums are practically dead except the vs forum which is ran by a Thor fanboy dick head who goes on and on about how powerful his own genitalia is~! You have the herohq web site for Vicarious Vision that did MUA2 Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 you can tell it was done by software people in India who know next to nuts about the Marvel Universe. They are great at software engineering but the rest nope. I don't blame them I blame the director. I really wish someone like Epic did a Marvel game. What we can do is simple, there are plenty of people out there who can draw such and such characters so we simply make Marvel go underground... Or make our own website and tell Disney how it should be or simply boycott their products... however, as someone mentioned above which you all seemed to miss out on DISNEY OWNS A PORN COMPANY!!!!!!! They know how to separate their wheat from their chaff folks! The kiddie stuff will still be fore kids... They probably figure by now your Pentecostal, Muslim or Baptist dad would make sure your not reading Wolverine Origins! Same goes for the movies... Marvel is safe from Disney but..........IS IT SAFE FROM........ These weak ass writers who keep changing the story line making 5-7 different alternative universes and doing things like giving Thor a Vagina... I MEAN THEY GAVE THOR A VAGINA!!!!!! THOR IS NO LONGER A WARRIOR in my view... In fact Thor has always been something of a coward every time he cannot win a battle he will teleport you far away so you can't whoop his ass!
Dave

It sounds great. The more money can help pay better directors and writers. Not all the Marvel Movies are bad but the ones with a three next to them can be prevented from happening again.