Disney buys Marvel
Of course, the question all over my Twitterfeed is "will this make things better for female fans?" There's some people dreaming of a bright future where X-women marketed side by side with Cinderella and superhero comics aimed for teenaged girls are sold as well as illustrated fairytale classics, but I find myself pessimistic.
Yeah, Disney's good with girls, but a) the word is they acquired Marvel to attract male customers and b) they're the producers of the ultra-feminine Disney Princess line, the long-standing keepers of traditional gender roles. I wouldn't hold out hope that Disney will make Marvel somehow more girl-friendly, when what they want is a boy's club under their banner and they aren't exactly into kickass women themselves.
I suppose there's some hope after the Tinkerbell movie, where Tink was remade based on strength of her name into a complete gadget-geek. The Fairies stuff suggests they're branching out to girls beyond the Princess line, so maybe they'll use some of the superhero characters for that.
At best, we get a court above Judge Joe Q to appeal to when we see something truly heinous. We may even see them pass on the more disgusting ideas for the mainstream titles. But I just don't expect female superheroes to suddenly get better billing and treatment out of this, or that they'll be seen as more than just candy to entice a pubescent male audience.
Aside from the gender-worries, I'm happy for Marvel. Big company, more stable than Marvel on its own. Better resources, more movies and support. Possibly some Uncle Scrooge reprints under the Marvel banner. And a few hours coming up with silly jokes (as well as some inspiring realizations about existing stories.)
