Disney Almost Owned Marvel 10 Years Earlier
Everybody knows the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: after the whirlwind success of Iron Man in 2008, Disney ultimately ended up buying Marvel in 2009, turning it into the modern juggernaut (not to be confused with the X-Men villain) that it is today. This might be part of our own “sacred timeline,” but there’s another universe out there where the MCU began much earlier.
In Bob Iger’s book The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company, he revealed that Disney considered buying Marvel back in the late ‘90s but rejected the idea because the comic company seemed overly “edgy.”
Marvel Was On Disney’s Radar For Years
Before Iger became the company’s CEO, the House of Mouse was run by Michael Eisner. While not a perfect exec (honestly, who is?), Eisner deserves credit for being a man of vision regarding a great many things. In this particular case, the Disney CEO seemed to understand just how important Marvel would end up being to the pop culture landscape.
The Belief Marvel Would Tarnish Disney
Iger claims that early into his Disney tenure under Eisener, his boss “floated the idea of acquiring [Marvel]” during a staff lunch. The reaction to this idea was instantaneous and negative, with executives around the table rejecting the notion outright. They generally had the same consensus: Marvel was just “too edgy.”
That may seem like a quaint idea now, but according to Iger, there was a serious concern back in the late 90’s that acquiring Marvel “would tarnish the Disney brand.” Why would a single acquisition potentially threaten the entire brand, though?
Disney Was Known For Family-Friendly Entertainment
Iger says, “there was an assumption at the time….that Disney was a single, monolithic brand, and all our businesses existed under the Disney umbrella.” The prevailing idea was that Disney potentially acquiring Marvel at this time might impact the bottom line of parents who saw the animation juggernaut as the home of all things kid-friendly. This idea endured for many years, which is why it was such a big deal for Disney+ to finally get mature content on its platform.
The Potential Sale Was Shelved For A Decade
Looking back at this time, former Disney CEO Iger thought that Eisner “knew better,” but he didn’t persist with the idea of acquiring Marvel after getting pushback. The reason was, ironically enough, that he took his job so seriously, and he therefore “took personally” both consumers’ and execs’ “negative reaction to the brand, or suggestion that it wasn’t being managed well.” Disney buying Marvel at this time could have led to such perceptions, so Eisner dropped the idea altogether, leaving it up to Iger to buy the comic company about a decade later.
The Timing Worked Out
Obviously, hindsight is always 20/20, but one of the most interesting things about Iger’s revelation is that if Disney had bought Marvel when Eisner suggested it, they would have saved plenty of money. When the House of Mouse made this acquisition in 2009, they paid a cool $4 billion for Marvel. But back when Eisner floated the idea of an acquisition, Marvel had recently filed for bankruptcy and would have been far cheaper to purchase.
A Money-Printing Machine
Now, it looks like things might be coming full circle: when Disney initially bought Marvel, the MCU became a very reliable money-printing machine. Now, collective superhero fatigue has contributed to dwindling box office returns, and it remains to be seen if even the return of Robert Downey Jr. can reignite interest in the flailing franchise. Here’s hoping that Kevin Feige turns this sinking ship around before everyone at Marvel figures out that creative bankruptcy is far harder to fix than financial bankruptcy.
