Mouse House Ponys Up Cash For Marvel

The big news of the month occurred yesterday, with Disney coughing up $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment.  Its not just the comics obviously, its the 7,000 characters in the library that lend themselves to licensing of bedsheets, movies, and videogames.  I was laughing as the financial press kept stressing that with this acquisition that Disney could reach young males.  I suppose so, but isn’t that what ESPN is for?  Most of the people I know that read comics are in their 30s and 40s.

I saw a few mentions of the dreaded “S” word– synergy.  I guess now Norman Osborn can appear on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and then drop hints about Disneyland vacations while he tortures Bucky Barnes.  Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) could appear on a very special episode of Hannah Montana.

It may not be so bad.  Disney does value customer service, maybe they’ll be left alone to just make decent comic books.  Maybe we could get some consistency with the art teams.  In recent years, the books have felt like a sideline business while they churned out film after film all over Hollywood: Spider-Man (Sony), X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil (Fox), Iron Man I & II (Paramount).  Apparently Disney chief Bob Iger is a fanboy. According to Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Iger’s late great-uncle (his grandfather’s brother) was illustrator/cartoonist Jerry Iger, who partnered with illustrator/cartoonist Will Eisner back in the 1930s. Will Eisner created The Spirit.  So looks like the Marvel Universe will be a good hands.  Although I wonder if Disney references will become as obnoxious and overwhelming as last month’s Norman Osborn storyline appearances:

Iron Man 16

Tony continues his Flowers for Algernon bit, with a StarkTech suited Pepper in tow.  Tony’s brain is deteriorating and he’s becoming a simpleton, but not before he can destroy his world wide network of bunkers with data backups.  Then Tony’s crazy disfigured mafia hit-woman ex-girlfriend Whitney Frost (Madame Masque) shows up and explosions ensue.  Whitney was sent by Norman Osborn who wants to get the last bit of useful intelligence out of Tony’s head–something to do with having the identity of everyone who registered as a superpowered being with the Feds.

Captain America Reborn 2

Steve Rodgers isn’t dead, he’s in some kind of time loop limbo.  Bucky Barnes, Black Widow, Falcon, and Sharon Carter (Steve’s girlfriend) have figured this out. Unfortunately so has Norman Osborn.  He’s blackmailing Sharon Carter. Somehow Sharon is “the key” to bringing Steve back.  So Osborn has teamed up with Crossbones and Sin (Red Skull’s Daughter)  Its playing out slowly and I’m not looking forward to the resolution since, I’ve enjoyed Bucky as the new Captain America.

New Avengers 56

Norman Osborn hits a brick wall, when Dr. Jonas Harrow makes his move.  Harrow has been in the shadows making hardware for various villains and now he wants to cut in on Osborn’s Godfather III, “I’ve gone legitimate” action.  Harrow has built a power nullifier that weakens superpowered types.  It seems like an overreach.

Whatever is in this black box, took out Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Man.  But then Osborn loses his Iron Patriot armor and Ares goes down.  How do you make a box that takes out a Greek god and suit of bastardized StarkTech?  Ronin and Mockingbird weren’t phased– because they don’t have powers, they are just athletic vigilantes.  So they’ll probably save the day next issue.  For some reason, The Hood is still the B-story.  Loki agrees to help The Hood get his power back by finding some lost artifact of Asgard in Cuba.

Dark Avengers 8

I was enthusiastic about the X-Men/ Dark Avengers crossover and then the whole thing kind of fizzled out.  All we got was civil unrest in San Francisco, mutants rounded up and sent to Alcatraz, and then Emma Frost leading a team of Dark X-Men.  It was nice to see forgotten mutants like Cloak and Dagger, Mimic, and Namor mix it up with Sentinels.  Scott plays his hand when the X-Men create a new island in SF Bay and break all the prisoners out of Osborn’s Alcatraz.

Secret Warriors 7

Norman Osborn appears yet again.  Baron Von Strucker wants Osborn’s Thunderbolt team to take out Nick Fury and the gang.  This issue felt like a lot of filler and the art was sub par compared to previous issues.

Agents of Atlas 9

Like Secret Warriors this book had been really good, but then this month a lame art team and filler as
the Terror of the Jade Claw story line begins.  Sad too since, it was a good read and they’ve been touting that fact on the cover each month.

Books without Norman Osborn…

Mighty Avengers 28

Still the only book worthy of the Avengers name and the one that Bendis isn’t writing– there is a corrleation.  Some ancient evil from the Inhumans is spoiling for a fight in China. We have Loki still maqurading as the Scarlet Witch, trying to pull the levers of this new team.  Which brings him/her into conflict with the Young Avengers.  The cover action actually matched the inside story.

Batman 689 vs. Batman & Robin 3

Judd Winick’s view of Dick Grayson as Batman is that he enjoys the gig and smiles a lot. He does everything by the book.  Which has Two-Face suspicious that there is a new Batman in town.  Grant Morrison opens his book with a splash page of Dick dragging a perp through the streets as he rides his quad-bike.  Something that Bruce would have done.  So which is it?  Happy Bat or Ruthless Bat? They seem to both work.