Wolverine, Hulk, Spiderman To Wear Mouse Ears

[MA-Caver]

Guess it's true... everyone has a price. $4 Billion bucks is a hefty price indeed.

Disney to buy comic book powerhouse Marvel for $4B






By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer Ryan Nakashima, Ap Business Writer – 1 hr 3 mins ago

Full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090831...luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNkaXNuZXl0b2J1eWM-LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, were co-created by the comic book legend Stan Lee.
Analyst David Joyce of Miller Tabak & Co. said the acquisition will help Disney appeal to young men who have flocked to theaters to see Marvel's superhero fare in recent years. That contrasts with Disney's recent successes among young women with such fare as "Hannah Montana" and the Jonas Brothers.
"It helps Disney add exposure to a young male demographic it had sort of lost some balance with," Joyce said, noting the $4 billion offer was at "full price."

So will the grittiness of some of the Marvel stories get softened up? Will we see the likes of Sabertooth pal around with Goofy? Thor picking flowers with Minnie?

Wonder what the future holds?

 

[AceHBK]

I jsut read this on IGN.com

I am not thrilled about this at all and see nothing but bad coming from this.

 

[Steve]

I'm stoked. I've been a big fan of both all my life. We're planning a trip to DisneyWorld in February, and I think it would be awesome to see Ironman and Spidey at the Hollywood Studios park!

 

[arnisador]

Casper the Friendly Ghost Rider!
Deathlok, the huggable cyborg, and his Smurfy friends!
The Punisher...if you don't finish your veggies, he won't let you have dessert!

Ugh.

 

[celtic_crippler]

...and so ends the Marvel Era.

RIP

 

[Steve]

You guys are such defeatists. Disney has many different subsidiaries running the gamut from family friendly to otherwise. Between Touchstone and Miramax, Disney films cater to every audience.

There's no reason to believe that Marvel will change in any substantial way. Likely the only noticeable difference will be that you very likely see theme park tie ins. This is a perfect fit for Disney's Hollywood Studios, after having dropped the MGM association a few years back.

Change is scary! Someone moved my cheese! The sky is falling!

Just edited to add, I think it would be kickass to see superhero themed rides and shows at DisneyWorld/Disneyland, and the prospect of seeing Spidey or Thor cruising the park just sounds awesome. My only regret is that it didn't happen 30 years ago!

The only possible downside is that it eliminates the advantage that Marvel has had over DC in greenlighting movie production. the WB's oversight of DC has caused a lot of red tape that has, by what accounts I've read, hampered their efforts to get their movie's made. This will possibly create some of that same red tape for Marvel. That remais to be seen.