Every once and a while, I see a piece of news online that gets me worried. This is one of those pieces of news.

It would seem that, as of the morning of this writing, Disney has agreed to purchase Marvel. They’ll be paying out $30 per share and about three quarters of a share in Disney stock to everyone who presently owns stock in Marvel. This means that Marvel shareholders as a group will be receiving about $4 billion total from the deal.

Stock options and payouts are not what has me most concerned, however. What has me worried is that Disney’s purchasing of Marvel gives them the rights to the entire portfolio of Marvel characters. This is the whole team, people – Iron Man, Spider Man, the X-Men, Nick Fury, Thor, The Hulk – the entire house that Kirby & Lee built, rounding out to a total of something like 5,000 different characters. And Marvel Entertainment encompasses all of Marvel’s properties – comics are just the beginning of the deal. As far as geeks go, one of the biggest concerns in this realm is the films division of Marvel – the crew that has made the comic book story a mainstream, blockbuster phenomenon is now under the aegis of Disney.

So…I have mixed feelings about this, because the whole thing could go a few different direction. On the positive side, having Marvel as a Disney property is good for its future. the Disney Corporation are masters at leveraging intellectual property. If you have any doubt, visit one of the major Disney theme parks. Hell, you’ll get an idea of the effects of this ability from just watching a tourism video of one of the theme parks. In the world that Walt built, Mickey is king. After all, his head is EVERYWHERE. These skills, no matter how you feel about them, there is no denying that Disney as a company is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to selling their products. Imagine this power used for the good of Marvel…the future growth of the company, and its mediums, could be intense. In fact, Disney could bring a tremendous growth to the world of comics, bringing them even more into the mainstream. For example – and please restrain the shivers that will begin going up and down your spine on this one – just imagine the effect if suddenly Hanna Montana reads an issue of Spidergirl on her program. You could not keep the latest issue on the shelves as money-bloated tweens engorge themselves on the product. On another positive bend, imagine what this means for the Kingdom Hearts series. All of a sudden, we’ll be seeing Captain America fighting alongside Sora, Goofy and Donald…well, okay, I can imagine some of you curling your hair in horror, but some of you are pleased. On top of all of this cross-promotional magic, Disney is a strong, multi-vectored company. No matter the financial climate or the way the public view comic books (after all, this whole “geek is cool” think will come crashing down some day…), Disney will continue to be strong and survive. This means that Marvel is likely safe for many generations to come, a settling feeling amongst the geeks who love them.

However…this could go very poorly for Marvel. Because for all of the magic, and the wonderful things that Disney can do for the brand, so too does Disney have darker elements. Disney now has rights to ALL of the characters from the Marvel universe. For those of you who were cringing at my Kingdom Hearts example, let’s delve into that pain a little further. How about…a public service special. Featuring Mickey Mouse and the gang, and the Avengers. Targeted at drug use prevention. Include cameos from Hanna Montana, the guys from that hotel show, and the boy band that Disney made. Are you horrified yet? This could just be the beginning…after all, one of the markets that Disney has been big on taping recently is that Tween market. What would we do if we discovered that our comic book stores, havens for geek kind everywhere, were invaded by these vapid younglings as the result of a Disney Channel pop culture tie-in?
Certainly, these are extremely over-dramatic examples. The viability of them is low. However, the plausibility is not so. After all, not only is Disney now responsible for the growth of Marvel and its properties, Marvel is now a source of income. Disney must do whatever it can to improve its profits and make strong its new acquisition. And sometimes, corporations that want to find a new source of income from a beloved franchise just don’t get it.

True Believers, I would love to hear what you have to say on this matter. Please, use our new comment management system to its fullest, and share your thoughts on this momenteus merge. Or, if you’re a social community sort of person, get the conversation going at GwI United. But let’s hear some thoughts, people – I want to know what you think!