In the craziest real-life manifestation of crossover fan-fiction ever, The Walt Disney Company, dream-distributor and conglomerate Big Bad, will buy iconic Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion . That’s right: the Mickey Mouse moguls now own the rights to thousands of Marvel characters–Spidey, Wolverine, et. al..
The deal was reportedly mutual, without the bitter pangs of a ‘buyout’. Marvel’s team wants to take advantage of Disney’s synergistic powers that be. And Disney wants to own everything (in as many universes as possible).
Okay, Disney can be a good company. And, especially with Pixar in the picture, the things coming out of their studios are genius. But the conglomerate owns an enormous and growing chunk of the media, including
Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax Films
Hollywood Records
Hyperion Books
ABC (and its manifestations)
ESPN (all of them)
. . . not to mention the many manifestations of the Disney name-brand. Robert A. Iger, Disney chief executive, isn’t helping the (corporate hegemon robot) image either; his quote in the NYT reads ‘We believe that adding Marvel to Disney’s unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation’.
‘Value creation’? Oy.
Interesting, though, that Disney’s purchase occurs right when the company is drifting ever downward in the stock market (too big for it’s britches?), and Marvel’s film enterprise is the talk of the town. Whatever the purpose and motive of the settlement, here’s hoping that both brands, and their integrity, survive. Having Disney as a parent company is one thing. Tony Stark doing triple axels with Disney On Ice? Whole alternate universe.
Read the full New York Times article.
~Anna C
comic courtesy of Marvel Super Hero Squad
