Terribly scary news to pass along today … The Walt Disney Company has announced that it is planning to acquire the Marvel Comics company — including its 5,000 characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, etc. — for $4 billion in cash and stock. Um, to this I say, WTF????????

The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the Disney family. Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. It said the boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the transaction, but it requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

This is terrible news! While I’m sure Disney plans on acquiring Marvel Comics for the sole purpose of keeping it the way it is, I can’t help but wonder if they will start tinkering with the way Marvel operates its comics and/or movie biz somewhere down the line if they successfully gain control. I had no idea that Marvel was in a position where they would want to sell … to anyone … let alone Disney! Says Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer:

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses.”

And here’s a quote from Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company:

“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.”

I can’t help but feel deep in the pit of my gut that this is a terrrrrrrribly horrible idea … one that will adversely affect Marvel comics fans down the line. I mean … right? Does this sound like a good idea to anyone out there??

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