So, college move-in is finally finished and the whole time, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the Disney/Marvel merger. Reactions are generally mixed, with some people fearing Disney sticking their fingers into the editorial content of Marvel, and others salivating at the crossover potential that Disney has to offer (especially with Pixar). However, when viewing the motivations from the perspectives of the parties involved, a real narrative of the future emerges.
Disney has a lock on intellectual properties in the children’s demographic, but, as Ryan Gilbey points out, it has little way to access the teenage market. Thus, a watering down of the properties is not very likely, considering the already proven appeal of the intellectual properties with markets in which Disney has had only middling success. Thus, Marvel fans fearing the loss of violence that so characterizes their favorite books can rest easy, knowing that Marvel isn’t going to kill the Goose that lays the golden “14-25 year old male” egg. And anyway, Marvel’s debut of the “Superhero Squad” is evidence enough that an entertainment company can target both children and adults without dilution of its core brand.
However, Marvel fans have something slightly different to fear–that is, narrative being subordinated to intellectual property management. This is what I see happening in DC right now with Geoff Johns and company, with their their “let’s make these old villains cool again” formula. Any of Johns’ little “reboots” (Ultimizations, if you will) are perfectly suited to serve as templates for translation into non-comics properties, and that can explain how those types of stories are a major part of the DC universe right now. And mining that sort of formula is totally fine, as DC fans tend to love it, and it is pretty entertaining in its own way.
But my issue is that interesting, less “reboot-y” versions of characters like War Machine (see post below) and the Iron Fist, that attempt to push the boundaries of comics storytelling without really focusing too much on the properties themselves, will be discarded in favor of “ultimization” of mainstream Marvel properties. Of course, the Ultimate Universe looks like it’ll be fun post-awful-reboot (much in the same way as Spider-Man Brand New Day was fun post-One More Day), but to lose the cool narrative possibilities of mainstream marvel universe storytelling modalities via subverting the superhero genre would be a damn shame. Updated superhero stories would be cool, but the coolest stories being told right now by Marvel aren’t even superhero stories in a traditional sense, but the Ultimization of Marvel properties ala Johns and co. would necessitate sticking fairly close to superhero storytelling modes. And so, I’m wary. If I wanted Ultimization i’d read DC and the Ultimate universe. But I also want to read stories about badass Kung Fu tournaments that take place in alternate dimensions. And i’m worried that the Disney merger will take that away from the fans.
Of course, on a personal note, this whole merger changes my thesis dramatically. Though it makes my lack of summer research seem like less of a bad idea, so hooray for that.
Tags: DC, Disney, Geoff Johns, Marvel, Narrative
