The Loris Bite

 The biggest name in family entertainment is about to get Hulked up and add quite a few new characters to its collection as the Walt Disney Company prepares to buy out legendary comic book company, Marvel Entertainment.

Marvel Entertainment is responsible for a bunch of really awesome epics such as X-Men, Spiderman, the Hulk, and Ironman, to name less than one percent of the company's collection. When Disney finalizes the deal, they will have aquired over 5,000 characters from Marvel, which raises quite a few questions about the future of the classics that Marvel has created. Fans are concerned about the production of new Marvel videogames and movies as Disney has made it abundantly clear that it is a family entertainment company while the old Marvel comics depict stories of gore and revenge. Disney and Marvel have agreed on closing out the $4 billion deal as soon as it clears the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and more regulatory committees. Under the terms of the agreement, Disney will pay Marvel shareholders $30 per share for their Marvel stock, plus .745 of a share of Disney stock for each share they own. MVL stock right now (8.31.09) is worth $48.36 and DIS stock is worth only $28.

The picture above only pictures a few of Marvel's vast collection of characters.

"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company.

Marvel is happy about the deal too, this what they have to say:

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's CEO "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

All in all I think that I am happy about it as Disney might provide the funding to see more Marvel creations come to life on the big screen, but I do hope that they don't tag their family friendly ways to the brutal parts of the Marvel comics.