Questions will now be raised as to how this will effect the future of all Marvel comics, movies, and video games, amongst other potential properties such as television shows. This now makes Marvel part of one of the biggest media conglomerations around, competing on a similar level to the Warner Bros. owned DC Comics. There is no doubt that this comes with some inherent bonuses. The ability for product placement in movies and TV shows could be a huge advertisement stream for the comic giant, for instant.

However, it’s clear that the DC Comics/Warner Bros. merger of the past hasn’t always worked out in the favor of DC Comics. Being restricted to only having your movies produced by Warner Bros. has in recent years led the DC movies to be of a lower quality level than the Marvel properties. For every Batman Begins and The Dark Knight that the company has released, there have been equally troubling decisions such as Catwoman and the Joel Schumacher Batman films. In addition, it has been at times puzzling as to why Warner Bros. has failed to take advantage of the Super Hero movie boom of sorts that we had been witnessing in recent years.

However, for better or worse, this move is the future of Marvel Comics. You certainly have to give credit to Disney for recognizing good opertunities to grow their company. In 1995, Disney picked up a majority stake in ABC and ESPN. Disney followed up in 2006 with the purchase of Pixar Studios. Amongst a handful of other properties, Disney is certainly creating a strong family of companies to compete in the modern media market. Time will tell which of the two parties, if not both, will benefit from this arrangement. But it’s needless to say that the game has changed.