Disney.... owns... Marvel....

There is a part of me, maybe the rational part, that says this could end up being a positive. Disney is the evil empire, but they won't hesitate to put money into a property that they feel will make them money. You would think they are smart enough to let Marvel's people maintain the comic side of the business, while the good people at Miramax will take over the film licenses. The hope would be that they would leave the creative people well enough alone, but ensure a greater film quality and higher budget with their near infinite resources.

That's likely just me trying my hardest to put a positive spin on things. However, with the exception of properties currently in production, Disney will have creative control over all of Marvel Entertainment's current cast of 5000 characters. And, thus, will have the ability to whore them out to sell the rest of their crap as they see fit. The first time I see the Disney insignia in front of a Marvel game or movie, I might lose my lunch (a warning to those that might accompany to such an occasion). Can you imagine teenagers dressed as Wolverine hanging out in Cinderella's castle at Disney in Florida? Iron Man on Saturday mornings on the Disney channel? Maybe the most horrifying prospect is the next batch of Disney groomed teenage stars cutting their teeth in "big boy" movies in Marvel features. If you thought Kirsten Dunst sucked as Mary Jane Watson, imagine Miley Cyrus... and try not to cry.

The other scary part of Disney's "creative control" would be the potential censorship and content control a company like this would impose on all books, movies, etc that are associated with its brand. For example, imagine if Wolverine's or Nick Fury's trademark cigars are replaced with chewing gum. Or if Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, suddenly stopped his drinking and womanizing and settled down with a wife and kids. Could the Punisher even exist in a Disney universe? It saddens me that these titles that I've grown up with and loved for years will likely never be the same. I'll have to tell my (god help the world) grandchildren about the days when comics were still good, and a place where free expression was possible. Much like science fiction writers, comic writers are given license to imagine the world they way it could be, and tell their story in a completely unique medium. They are able to dream up their world in word and color, and it would be a shame for the biggest of these companies to have their creativity stifled by a company that cares about imagine first, profit second, and quality somewhere further down the priority line. I hope I'm just being alarmist and nostalgic, but I think another piece of my childhood is about to be dismantled as I watch.