There’s been plenty of fan excitement surrounding the Disney/Fox deal because of what it means for Marvel’s movies, but the deal would also have an impact on Marvel Comics and the comic book industry at large. As we begin the long wait for the regulatory process to play out, an estimated 12-18 months, let’s dive into the biggest effects this deal will have, if it does indeed happen.
The most obvious is the treatment of the X-Men and Fantastic Four in Marvel’s publishing strategy. It’s no secret that Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter previously made moves to spite Fox because they held the movie rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four. For Marvel’s comics line, this caused a reduced the presence of the X-Men and outright cancellation of the Fantastic Four ongoing comic.
But despite those efforts, the X-Men line has been pretty strong recently. Currently there are a healthy number of X-Men books and they embrace the glory days of the franchise. What the Disney/Fox deal will change is where the X-Men sit at the table of the Marvel Universe. In the past few years, they haven’t played much of an important role in Marvel’s big crossover events. It’s obvious the X-Men were used as a stepping stone in order to try and make the Inhumans a thing (emphasis on “try”). But with the Inhumans comics failing to catch on and the TV show bombing, while the X-Men join the MCU (again, if the deal goes through), the X-Men will be able to take back their seat as a main player in the Marvel Universe.
The same can be said for the Fantastic Four. Marvel’s First Family has always been an integral yet admittedly smaller part of the Marvel Universe. They’re who you call when you have a scientific emergency or it’s time to clobber somebody, so they’ll likely to return to filling that classic role. There’s currently a comic series called Marvel 2-in-1 where the Human Torch and the Thing are teaming up to look for the missing members of the team. This is a Fantastic Four series in everything but name, so the Disney/Fox deal would allow them to actually call it what it is.
And it’s important to point out that if the deal goes through, all of the big changes done to make the comics more like the MCU won’t suddenly disappear. Marvel values having the comics line up with the movies, so don’t expect Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to suddenly become mutants again.
Because of stuff like that, Marvel has had to deal with the perception that they hate the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, but if this Disney/Fox deal goes through, all of that will become a thing of the past because there would be no longer be a reason for any of it. After talking to several former and current Marvel employees while researching this piece, it was clear to me that the actual people making these comics love the X-Men and the Fantastic Four and are just as eager as you and I to see them back in the game.
But Disney’s acquisition of Fox won’t just affect Marvel superheroes. Marvel Comics also could take over key Fox comics properties. Currently, Dark Horse Comics licenses several franchises from Fox, including Aliens, Predator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and James Cameron’s Avatar. Bongo Comics has The Simpsons and Futurama. And Boom! Studios has Planet of the Apes. The last time Disney acquired a big company, it was Lucasfilm, and they took the Star Wars comic book publishing rights from Dark Horse and gave them to Marvel. The same thing will likely happen if Disney gets Fox, which will take valuable IP away from smaller publishers that are already struggling to compete in a market completely dominated by Marvel and DC. This echoes the sentiment felt across the film industry about how this deal might do more harm than good.
I've Got Issues is an ongoing comic book and superhero column by Joshua Yehl, IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.