OPINION
18
Marvel Fans on Disney Deal: 'SOOOO NOT HAPPY!'
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Aug 31, 09 2:54 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Comics fans are just a little miffed by Marvel’s $4 billion acquisition by Disney: “SOOOO NOT HAPPY! Spider-man should not be co-mingling with Goofy,” reads one blog post. The problem, Linda Holmes writes for NPR, is “one of perception: Put simply, Marvel has a cool factor and Disney doesn't.” Marvel devotees don’t “see themselves as close cousins of people who love Donald Duck just because there's drawing involved.”
The perception problem may be unclear—“Will hanging with Goofy ruin Spider-Man's reputation, or will Spider-Man make Goofy seem cooler?” Holmes wonders—but the business end will likely be boffo, the Washington Post reports. Jon Favreau’s Iron Man franchise could see a boost in promotion with Disney money behind it. And Marvel icon Stan Lee, who long complained of Hollywood’s inability to get his material right, must be happy with the prospect of a dedicated lot.