The Future of Superman with Disney/marvel?

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http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2009/09/could-disneymarvel-buy-the-rig.html

Could Disney/Marvel buy the rights to Superman?
By David Bentley on Sep 11, 09 06:15 PM


IT could soon be one last look back at Metropolis for troubled Superman following the kryptonite of court rulings and studio failings.

A whole new world of possibilities is opening up for the iconic hero and they could include a new home at the Disney/Marvel empire.

We have already seen crossovers - like the Superman/Spider-Man stories in 1976 and 1981 - and 'what if?' specials. But we might witness a full defection of the caped Kryptonian from DC into the pages of Marvel Comics.



The rights to the character will be fully 'recaptured' by the families of the character's creators (Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster) in 2013, after decades of legal action.

Unless the heirs make a new deal with Warner's DC Comics before then - and this seems a little unlikely given the bitter and protracted legal disputes between the two sides - Superman will be for sale on the open market. The heirs could offer the character to other film studios, with the new Disney/Marvel giant emerging as the biggest possibility.

After a recent court hearing, Shuster's lawyer Marc Toberoff said: "In 2013, the Siegels, along with the estate of Joe Shuster, will own the entire original copyright to Superman, and neither DC Comics nor Warner Bros will be able to exploit any new Superman works without a licence from the Siegel and Shuster [families]."

With Disney now the owner of rival publisher Marvel Comics, they could easily snap up the rights and get Superman on the big screen again.

So what would it mean if Superman made such a move and ended up in Marvel Comics and in Disney/Marvel films?

There'd be no more Superman in DC's groups such as Justice League of America or World's Finest. It wouldn't mean the end of the teams, but it would be interesting to see if and how the disappearance of Superman might be mentioned or explained in DC's titles.

Would we see a second Death of Superman from DC, this time more final? Or another Crisis series to change the character and his world, introduce a radically different version or just remove him from it forever?

He might undergo a radical revamp into another form - as I mentioned before, an electrically-powered Superman appeared in DC comics in the 90s.

Over at Marvel, we would probably get a miniseries to give a proper introduction for the character. Once established he could end up in the Avengers or other teams; he could be more powerful than many other heroes, but he wouldn't be able to fly.

The character would come with only his original powers - superhuman strength that allows him to lift a car; the ability to run faster than a speeding bullet; leap one-eighth of a mile to clear tall buildings in a single bound; and incredibly tough skin that can be pierced by nothing less than an exploding artillery shell. Powers added later on - including flight, heat vision, X-ray vision, super-breath and super-hearing - remain the property of DC Comics.

It's worth adding that DC also retains the rights to the term Kryptonite so he would need a new weakness. DC also holds on to Lex Luthor, so his most classic supervillain wouldn't be following him into the Marvel comics world. And neither would Jimmy Olsen, who also stays at DC. These retained rights are explained in a Variety article following the most recent legal ruling.

The Flash would definitely be the fastest man alive at DC if Superman left. But how Superman compares with Marvel's speedsters such as Quicksilver in the sprinting stakes is up for debate. New parameters would need to be established to fit Superman and his capabilities and limitations into Marvel's existing superhero world.

But the character could be expanded in new directions by his owners (and perhaps given similar versions of his missing powers).

Most significantly, Disney and Marvel would no doubt capitalise on the character and get him on the big screen again. A stark contrast to the long wait for Warner Bros to get moving on another Superman film.

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Other stories:

http://www.examiner.com/x-19312-Columbus-Comic-Books-Examiner~y2009m8d17-DC-Comics-loses-another-chunk-of-Superman-to-Siegel-Part-1-of-4

[Dangelus]

Wow what an interesting article! I've learnt a few things here.

[Jaames]

Wow what an interesting article! I've learnt a few things here.

Me too. I had no idea all of this was going on. I haven't kept up with comics in years. Very interesting.

[Jobydrone]

Pretty sad, I hope it doesnt go down that way.  There's the whole issue of creator's rights and the way the major companies have traditionally abused the writers and creators of these characters, but Superman is so iconic and it is really hard to imagine the DC universe without him.