What if Disney suddenly decided to just stop making Marvel Comics? Disney only cares about their IP (Intellectual Property), what they own, and how much it can be licensed out for.Take Mickey Mouse, for example. We no longer see Mickey Mouse cartoons because they make more money using the character as a mascot and for marketing than they ever would with an animation segment or movie.

Mickey's Ascension to Becoming a Mascot

(Bear with me here. This section of the article might seem out of context but hear me out. It comes back around later.)Most people likely don't know or even remember this, but Mickey used to be both clumsy as well as angry and vengeful. Just take a look at some older Disney animation shorts. You know, the old black-and-white ones that Disney has tried to hide away (but can still easily be found on Youtube).

Not wanting Mickey to be seen that way and wanting to elevate him to the company's family-friendly mascot, Disney introduced two new characters to inherit his more questionable traits: Donald Duck and Goofy.

- See my previously written article: The House is set to Lose its Mouse. -

Marvel make more from releasing just ONE movie than they do in an entire year of publishing comic books

As far as Disney's bottom line is concerned, Marvel Publishing and its comic book releases do not make them any money. In fact, they likely view it as a loss or write-off. Accepting, for now at least, that it serves to bolster their movies.

After purchasing Marvel in 2009, Disney gained access to not only the character IPs but also the publishing house. And sadly, as we have seen recently in 2023, they have since shut down that separate entity. Instead, they chose to absorb it into their own already-established Disney publication house.

Now some, like myself, might say this day was long overdue and actually inevitable. Why would they need to keep two sets of staff that pretty much do the same job within their overall business umbrella? It makes a lot of sense for them to do this.

What about Marvel's Legacy?

But all this comes just as Disney has announced their documentary for the legendary Marvel Father, Stan Lee, and well... I don't know. It just doesn't sit right with me. Here they are, praising a creator who was on par with their own founder, Walt Disney, all while shutting down his life's work and legacy in the background.

- See my previous Article titled: Will Future Generations Care about Stan Lee? -

All that being said, Marvel comics are still being made by Disney (at least at the time of writing this article), and hopefully, they will continue to do so for many years and decades to come. But what if Disney did suddenly decide to stop printing our beloved superhero comics? What would happen next?Marvel Comics is not a farm, producing new ideas for the movies, but it is kind of being operated like a test bed. It seems like Disney is currently using the comic landscape as a testing ground for their cinematic ideas. It's like they're choosing to pull from these more recent stories instead of actually going back and putting the older tales to the big screen. Worse yet, at times they even ignore the original comic book concept all together and release a whole new (extremely similar BUT different) story just because they have an upcoming movie based loosely on the same idea.- See the Original Civil War compared to Civil War II. (Which to be fair to Marvel, wasn't awful. But was it really needed?)Now many will argue that we need new comics in order to make new stories for the movies, but the truth is that they do not. Disney as a company could (if they choose to) reboot their movies every five to ten years and re-use the backlog of source material they already have. Or just simply bring in writers to create new ideas just like any other movie studio.

SO HOW LONG DO WE HAVE?

The truth is, comic collectors are aging out of the hobby. Please don't hate on me for saying this, but kids just aren't reading comics these days like they were back in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70, 80s, and even 90s. Instead, kids' entry points to a lot of these superhero characters and the Marvel universe IS ACTUALLY FROM THE MCU MOVIES THEMSELVES.

So if Disney did close down their comic book publications, instead choosing to use their IP for movies and video games, what then? What would happen? Well, I think there are two answers and, sadly, one is a lot more likely than the other.

Option One

Disney shuts down their own comic book publications and chooses to license out their IP to other publishers for short durations of time or run length. (Eg. For X number of issues)Disney has kind of already done this with companies like IDW and their Marvel Action series, which I believe they are only allowing because Sony owns the movie rights to Spider-Man. Do you remember the time before Disney acquired Fox? They had a real lack of interest in promoting characters like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four within their comics and toy lines. This meant that kids didn't really relate to them as characters; they lost their appeal within the market space.This same tactic thankfully for Sony has not worked. And they have nailed it time and time again with their younger audience. In fact, I would argue that it was likely Sony's doing that Spider-Man is now Marvel / Disney's poster child.  Disney realizes this and continues to make deals and work alongside their rival, Sony, ensuring that both teams win.

Option Two - The most likely option

Disney chooses to shut down their comic book publications and do nothing. Why would they choose to do nothing and leave this money on the table, I hear you ask? Well, it all goes back to that clumsy and angry mouse Mickey used to be. Disney wants control of their characters. They need their IPs to fit their family-friendly ideology. They cannot risk a third party tarnishing their brand and name.Also, what happens with new characters introduced in these non-Disney publications? Oh sure, it might not be a new hero or villain but a new character, nevertheless. This character would not be owned by Disney and yet would become part of that universe's mythology moving forward. It can all get very messy with who licensed what and created who at any given time, not to mention that from then on every character ever created by Marvel would then only be able to exist in a vacuum. No more visits between Spidey and the Fantastic Four and no more X-Men crossovers with the Avengers.

It's going to be a sad day if / when it happens.