Marvel-lous? What the new Disney/Marvel merger really means?

September 2, 3:24 PMPhiladelphia Generation Y ExaminerKimberly Zapata

Previous Next

4 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Philadelphia Generation Y Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

So by now most have already heard the news about the new mega-merger, i.e. Disney’s buyout of Marvel Entertainment, “for about $4 billion” (Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion). This is certainly not the first buyout of it’s kind; corporations like Disney, Time Warner, and Comcast are constantly acquiring new sects for their ever-growing empires, but this particular acquisition raises several questions, i.e. what’s next for the Marvel characters many of us have grown to love? Moreover, many fans are now concerned that The Incredible Hulk will soon be holding hands with Hannah Montana and Mickey Mouse. Is there any merit to all the alarm?

Well, according to Disney, no. In a conference conducted by Disney CEO Bob Iger , "[t]he intention is not to rebrand Marvel [as] Disney, in fact [it's] the opposite - to really emphasize the Marvel brand and to use Marvel where we can on Disney platforms and in Disney places to grow both businesses" (Disney Buys Marvel). However, Disney’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs did state that due to the fact “Marvel owns the rights to [so] many action-hero characters that are not widely known… Disney [does] anticipate bringing [these characters] to the forefront for future movies or TV shows” (Disney to buy Marvel for $4 billion). So, rest assured, it sounds as though Spiderman will not be swinging from building to building in the hopes of rescuing Belle from the Beasts vile clutches--or at least not yet.

But an interesting question, and one that been yet to be truly answered, is what happens to Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure (Disney’s rival Florida-based theme park)--as Islands of Adventure has an entire section of its five-part park devoted solely to the Marvel Universe. When CNBC posed this very question, Iger’s response was simply that “Marvel characters have already proved strong when it comes to theme park attraction. We believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world. Not in every one of our parks, because there are existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people" (Disney Buys Marvel). So what this means for Universal, Disney, and the Orlando staged rivalry has yet to be seen?

Being a born and bred Disney fan (and, actually, self-proclaimed freak), the merger, for me, means yet another acquirement to Disney’s endless arsenal of characters and stories, but what do you think? Of course, Disney made the acquisition in this case; but how do you feel Marvel (and their fans) made out?  Aside from the obvious fears and trepidations of die hard and casual fans alike, do you feel there is any potential in this pairing--disregarding, of course, the aforementioned Hulk sing-along (which, by the way, should be out sometime next summer)?