Disney/Marvel Merger Will NOT Result In Iron Mickey

Posted on September 10, 2009 - 12:18pm by Contributing Co... I have no doubt that you all are pretty conscious of Disney buying comic book giant Marvel last week for $4 billion dollars. It was big news.  Personally, I was astounded when the news came out, but after a while, a new feeling set in.  Panic.  Panic because I was actually afraid that this would happen.  I was honestly worried.  What if Mickey Mouse shows up and becomes Wolverine's Side-Kick?  Or if Goofy replaces The Punisher?  Or, worse, Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers team up with the X-Men?

[caption id="attachment_54544" align="aligncenter" width="197" caption="If you look closely, you can see bloody bits of Joe Jonas flying around."][/caption]

But, thankfully, my fears were unfounded.  The world of comic-book fans was able to breathe easier after industry insiders, mainly writers and editors who have written excellent stories for both DC and Marvel, expressed excitement over last week's major business deal. When you've got Jason Aaron, who has written Marvel's "Wolverine: Weapon X" stories, talking excitedly about getting to work with CG Animation giant Pixar, it's a big deal.  If you read what they're saying, you'll notice mostly optimism, which is good.  Disney is not stupid enough to destroy an entire demographic that they want to tap into (that of Comic Book fans) by trying to get twelve-year-old Hannah Montana fans into reading The Mighty Thor.  A move like that would damage Disney and Marvel both, and horribly.  Writers would likely refuse to put Miley Cyrus side-by-side with the Winter Soldier, and Disney is not going to try.

[caption id="attachment_54545" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="I can't see Hannah Montana teaming up with a dead guy."][/caption]

The major reason behind the buy-out was Disney was trying to reach a new audience, and possibly acquire some wicked distribution and movie rights.  For Disney, this mostly means new ways to make money, not new ways to wuss-ify comics, which are irrevocably violent (if one of your most famous characters, Wolverine, is a lunatic with an indestructible metal skeleton and claws for hands who has fought in pretty much every war since WWII,  you probably don't write stories about him fighting evil with song and dance), and for Marvel, this means the opportunity to gain a larger audience and a larger readership.  If anything, I'm excited now.  This means I don't have to search for a comic-book store to get my fix on Wednesdays.  I can just hop on over to the Disney store and pick up whatever title I'm reading.  So, c0mic book fans (myself included), breathe easier in the knowledge that Disney won't release a Jonas Brothers music video featuring Magneto on bass.