This Just In: Donald Duck now part of the X-men

[Xavier Synik]

Okay not really... But Disney did just buy Marvel...

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22747

[Emelie Shadowstar]

"I felt a great disturbance in the Force... as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror..."

:ohno

[Nathanial K'cansce]

Snacky sense is tingling. Badly. :(

Don't get me wrong, Disney is cool and all, but... I don't think I understand this buy-out? Is it economically driven?

Also, I didn't read or clicky the link, so all my questions might be answered within!

[Captain Untouchable]

Read the same news on five or six different websites now, and nobody seems to be saying exactly the same thing.

From the sound of it, the movie contracts with Fox (X-Men) and Sony (Spider-Man) are staying intact. Great news if you like those movies; bad news if you were hoping that Disney could work some sort of corporate magic and get Wolverine to show up in The Avengers.

Also, Marvel Studios should be allowed to carry on doing what it is doing with regards to Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Avengers, etc; they're citing the "hands-off" approach that they've had with Pixar, so I guess we don't have a huge amount to worry about there.

However, they do reserve the right to first dibs on any new projects. I remember there being talks of relaunching Fantastic Four (presumably so that Mr Fantastic was available to show up in Avengers, like he did in Ultimates), so Disney would have the opportunity to fudge up those proceedings if they really wanted to.


On the plus side, at least you'll be able to buy Marvel merchandise in the Disney Store now. Maybe some of you parents out there will be able to buy your kids a teeny set of Captain America pajamas?

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Actually, it's a good move. Let's not forget, ten years ago, Marvel declared bankruptcy and the joke going around was "How soon until DC buys Marvel?" Marvel was pretty much dead.

Disney wouldn't have bought Marvel unless it saw it had a future. A lot of the future is in Marvel's movie projects (that's the only reason Marvel's making money). Even the bad Marvel films (Daredevil, X-Men: Last Stand) made money. Now they have the chance to make even more money and, while they can't go over budget, Marvel will have a major presence.

Marvel can also expand their comics lines a bit more, take more chances on books (think Vertigo), and they have a solid financial base. The Marvel MAX line can be more than 'just' Punisher Max and the occasional miniseries. Marvel Knights (which I think is dead) can be brought back. The Kids line can be expanded. There's a lot of potential here.

Especially...think about it...a Pixar/Marvel film.

[Atreyu]

I waiting for a Mickey Mouse/Spider-man crossover (with Minnie playing Mary Jane). :p

[Dasquian Belargic]

*looks at Kingdom Hearts.... looks mournfully at the X-Men*

:( Not like this... *shakes head*

[Captain Untouchable]

Disney owns Winnie the Pooh, right?

Maybe we could get a Peter Parker / Piglet crossover, and encounter the real Spider-Pig? That's make Homer Simpson happy, at the very least...

[Dasquian Belargic]

By crossover, I hope you don't mean illicit love affair....

[Xavier Synik]

*avoids seriously inappropriate comment/joke*

[Captain Untouchable]

A little mood music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn_x1zqLj1k) to get things started... ;)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Penny Arcade did a surprisingly amusing strip about this:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/9/2/rightsizing/