You can almost hear the fanboys cry, but this might be a huge opportunity for Marvel Comics.

Right now there isn’t much more to the story than the headline, with Disney dropping FOUR BILLION DOLLARS to obtain Marvel, but where it goes from here is the interesting part.

Marvel has literally thousands of characters and ergo, thousands of potential properties.  Provided that Disney is smart enough to see how Warner Bros handles DC, letting the comic division of the company run somewhat autonomously, this could be great.

Looking at what Disney has access to, we could see new films via Touchstone Pictures/Walt Disney/Pixar, new TV shows via ABC, new cartoons on any number of their existing networks and riskier properties handled via their Miramax division.

There are dozens of questions to be answered and the extent of changes to Marvel will remain to be seen, but right now, I lay on the side of optimism.

Don’t make me regret that, Disney!

Original Post: Disney to Acquire Marvel Entertainment - MarketWatch.