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Frank Gurstelle
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 12:10pm | IP Logged | 1  

Just to reiterate the thread topic.

The question is if Marvel bought DC at the height of their success in the 80s.  In the 80s.  Under Shooter. Not now.  Not when they were into trading cards.   When DC wasn't as popular or successful and Marvel was smoking.

Alternatively, if DC bought Marvel when Marvel was about to go bankrupt, before Arad become involved.

This is not a question about how you would react to the merger.  It is how the companies would respond. 

The consensus seems to be that whichever company we are talking about, the two universes would be kept separate.  While probably the pragmatic choice, it also is the boring choice in my opinion.  The thought of how to mix the two universes is fun speculation. 

I like the distinctions that were drawn in the Avengers vs. JLA crossover: that in the DCU the common citizen likes the heroes, in the MCU much less so.  With this in mind, it would seem whichever company was the buyer, the other universe would be adapted to meet the new company/universe sensibility.

One would also have to deal with all the seemingly redundant characters and teams.  Keep Hawkeye or Green Arrow?  Batman or Daredevil?  Avengers or JLA?  It would seem to me if Marvel had bought DC they would have used Superman and Batman.  They are too valuable.  Then the question would be what their status in the new universe would be.  Would they still maintain their icon status as the top heroes?  If DC bought Marvel, I think they would similarly have kept using Captain America.  And, I think that character would have had no problem adapting to DC sensibilities.

Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts on the topics.  Maybe later we can start a thread about John Byrne or IDW buying one or both of the companies!

Thanks JB for answering the question and giving us some of your insider information. 

 

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Scott Richards
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 12:24pm | IP Logged | 2  

better yet, IDW buys both Marvel and DC...

Yeah.  All the comics would be $3.99.  I'd be sooooo out of there.

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Gene Kovacs
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 1:18pm | IP Logged | 3  

During Crisis on Infinite Earths, I convinced a buddy of mine that Marvel did just that.

I convinced him that DC was bankrupt, and that Marvel bought them out . At the end of Crisis issue 4 (or was it 5? I dont have by books handy at the moment), where everything faded to black and the last panels were blank was where they officially ended the DC Universe; I told him that the following issue of Crisis was filled with completely blank pages, and that Marvel would begin publishing after one month had passed.

To this day he still tells me that was the best prank I'd pulled on him because he was so totally taken in by it!

(and yes......he got me back in spades, many MANY times!)

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Mikael Bergkvist
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 1:39pm | IP Logged | 4  

Interesting notion..



Edited by Mikael Bergkvist on 28 November 2007 at 1:40pm
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Jim Lynch
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 1:51pm | IP Logged | 5  

80s Marvel: Fantastic Four c. #260

"Hey Stretch, what're alla the alarms goin off fer?"

"A new planet just popped into being, Ben, a world filled with colorful superhumans.A flying god, a man dressed as a bat, a man whose green ring makes anything out of willpower. Let's get to the Pogo plane and investigate.On the way we'll pick up Rom, the Transformers, the GI Joe team, and Royal Roy"

"Say, Stretch, shouldn't Wolverine come too?"

Facetiousness aside, I can't help but think of all the monthly Byrne books if Marvel bought DC back then.

I get the idea that if DC bought Marvel in any capacity, Marvel would now be Earth 46 or something,

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Aaron Smith
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 7:44pm | IP Logged | 6  

At this stage in the game, if something like this were to happen I'd hope it
would be going the other way around...

***

Agreed 100%

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Chad Carter
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 8:06pm | IP Logged | 7  

 

Frankly, I can't even imagine a "split" universe under the Marvel banner. That would run contrary to everything Marvel had established about their company under Stan Lee. He was always about the "neighborhood" superheroes, one rubbing elbows with another, creating a sense of comraderie in both heroes and villains alike.

Marvel buys DC and incorporates the DC characters into the Marvel U, immediately.

In terms of what to expect, Moon Knight becomes unnecessary with Batman in the MU, say. Characters who developed as dopplegangers of DC heroes would be relegated to some forgotten limbo. Characters like Wonder Man would be redundant, as clones.

The most important aspects of the DCU involve geography. As such, Marvel would simply become more diverse.

Gotham City and Metropolis would be New York State cities, surrounding the hub of Marvel's Manhattan, probably smack between them. In one sense, Gotham and Metropolis would be the nimbus cast from New York City's dichotomy of gritty Daredevilesque Hell's Kitchen type stuff and the FF's skyscraper science HQ.

Central City and Keystone City are in Missouri, home of Barry Allen and Jay Garrick respectively.

Midway City as Chicago is Hawkman and Doom Patrol territory.

Los Angeles? Home of the Justice League.

I think the "Justice League" becomes what we'd call the "West Coast Avengers".

The Avengers got a little out of hand at one point, but perhaps the inclusion of the Justice League changes that to a degree. Also, the Justice Society would remain the "first" superheroes, encompassing WW 2 and now retired.

I think Marvel would attempt to integrate the Avengers and Justice League, but split them geographically.

However, it's a tricky business. Essentially the Avengers are the East Coast team, the Justice League is the "West Coast" team, or the A-plus version of the Champions.

How do you divvy up the superheroes? Do you want a team with both Thor and Superman? Is Batman a loner, as Spider-Man was always supposed to be? Do Captain America and Superman cancel each other out on the same team? How does the Vision and Martian Manhunter, or Green Arrow/Hawkeye not create a redundancy as well?

 

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Matthew Chartrand
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 9:13pm | IP Logged | 8  

I picture the Watcher standing on an asteroid witnessing two universes colliding, running his hands over his immense bald head and saying:

 

Shit there goes all hope of continuity......

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Thomas Moudry
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Posted: 28 November 2007 at 10:28pm | IP Logged | 9  

Must admit, while I would certainly hate to see the current version of Marvel
get its mitts on DC, that Marvel Red/Marvel Blue idea is kinda cool.

If Marvel had purchased DC during Jim Shooter's tenure, it would've cool to
see an Invaders/All-Star Squadron crossover.
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David Lopez
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Posted: 29 November 2007 at 12:58am | IP Logged | 10  

When I was a kid, I was disappointed when I discovered that Marvel's "Captain Marvel" wasn't the Captain Marvel as published by DC. When you stop to think about it, Marvel really doesn't have a Superman analog (I love Thor, but he isn't exactly cast in the Superman mold). I suppose Gladiator comes the closest, but, again, he doesn't exactly serve the same purpose as Kal-El. I think Captain Marvel would have filled that position for Marvel rather nicely.
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Michael Kane
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Posted: 29 November 2007 at 1:08am | IP Logged | 11  

Did marvel Comics consider buying the rights to Captain Marvel? I agree
Marvel could have benefited more from this character and could have had
pretty neat story lines with the marvel list of villans.
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Pete Carrubba
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Posted: 29 November 2007 at 2:12am | IP Logged | 12  

I really don't know what the companies would do, regardless of which one was "on top" of the merger. I'd imagine Superman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Hulk, and all the "flagship" characters would inhabit the same universe, whatever it was called. The Avengers and could co-exist with the JLA as easily as it does with The Fantastic Four and the X-Men, so teams wouldn't necessarily be affected, but membership might become a mess.

Since both companies have similar characters, such as Namor and Aquaman, I would wonder if one would be shelved in favor of the other, or if an explanation of the characters co-existing would be in order.

Of course, JB would be revamping everything and become a multi-multi-millionaire so as to get the proper treatment for his drawing hand cramping up, and so he could buy the life-size replica of the Starship Enterprise.
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