On August 31, 2009, Disney’s marketers were exhaling sighs of relief and many Marvel fans quivered in fear of Disney and Marvel joining forces. Both companies were in full agreement of the $4 billion dollar exchange, and Disney will benefit in this deal with the appeal to a demographic they haven’t been able to break into: the young adult male stereotype.

With this long awaited breakthrough they acquired investors and rights to Marvel’s character database. According to Marvel’s official online Web site, their database includes 5,000 characters which will be battling it out along side Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and The Little Mermaid.

Much satirical speculation has been put on this conjunction and many Marvel fans are worried.

Some forums dedicated to Marvel have had posts stating that they don’t want Disney taking over the movie industry aspect. There is also some apprehension about a crossover project, much like Magic Kingdom. Would consumers and Marvel fans anticipate comics like Winnie the Pooh: Eeyorigins or Muppets: Legacy?

Amongst the many disgruntled Marvel fans, some don’t see it that way.

“I don’t think the movies that have been released so far have portrayed Marvel characters as well as I would have liked, so I say let Disney have a crack at it,” said student Chris Ferren, as if stamping his seal of approval.

Once Disney gets the ball rolling with films, they will be integrating the Marvel character collection into theme parks and producing TV shows.

Disney hasn’t invested this much into a company since the $7.6 billion they dropped on Pixar, and obviously that one was a successful investment.

The CBS Marketwatch put Disney on the negative stock listings this past weekend. Marvel hasn’t always been a top company in the stock market and when you look at the struggles Marvel has had to overcome in the past, one must stop to wonder if Disney has made a mistake.

So, is Disney aiding Marvel so they can survive longer or is Disney using Marvel so they can control the whole spectrum in demographic marketing? The fact remains that both companies mutually agreed that Disney would acquire Marvel. Therefore this merger only has two possible outcomes – success or failure.

The scary part is that it’s all up to the consumers, and that means you.

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