Mickey Meets Marvel

The hot news of the day is that the Walt Disney Company bought the Marvel Comics Group for $4 billion dollars. No, this is not an April Fool's Joke! It is the real deal!

What does this mean for fans of Spidey, the X-Men and the Avengers? It is unclear at this time as far as movies and television are concerned since the rights to the characters are tied up between various movie studios and television companies and it will be a while before the licenses expire.

I have mixed feelings about this merger. On one hand, Disney is known for their animation. They do it well and have built a legacy on it. Would they be able to make a Marvel cartoon up to the caliber of their other animated series? Gargoyles is a great example of a solid Disney-produced superhero cartoon, so I think it could be done. And a Marvel movie by Pixar could be huge!

Plus, Marvel shows already make up a majority of the programming on the newly retooled Disney XD network. Maybe having the shows actually be in-house would mean that they get even better treatment than Spectacular Spider-Man is now.

But on the other hand, Disney's constant strive to create family programming may hinder the PG-13 line of DVDs. But who knows, maybe they just won't put their name on the product.

Also, I love the Muppets and have been really annoyed at the poor treatment the Jim Henson Company has been getting from Disney. I find that kids these days don't even know who the Muppets are and that is a very sad thing. I don't really think this would happen with Marvel, but your never know.

I hope that the situation will be similar to the DC Comics/Time Warner relationship which hasn't really affected the production of comics, with the studio footing the bill for the features.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject! Please be professional and keep your language clean or your comments will not be approved.

New Super Hero Squad Video!

Marvel has launched the official website for their new Super Hero Squad Show which is coming to Cartoon Network on September 19! There isn't much on the site yet, except for this video which could possibly serve as the show's theme song!



Also, in a few days I will be posting some exclusive images courtesy of Marvel Animation! Here's one just to get you interested:

DVD News and Updates

There has been much to talk about in the world of DVD over the past few weeks. I know I haven't posted this news as it arrived, but here it is all together in one post!

New Releases:

Super Friends: The Lost Episodes was released last week. This two-disc set contains some rare Super Friends and is definitely worth your money.

Batman: the Brave and the Bold, Volume One was released yesterday and contains the first four episodes of the first season. (Volume two is coming November 10.)

Change of Date:

Plastic Man, The Complete Collection DVD Box Set has been pushed back to October 20

The first volume of Iron Man: Armored Adventures on DVD has been delayed by one week. The new date is October 27. The Blu-ray release has been taken off the schedule.

Just Announced:

Just like last year's Batman: TAS Complete Series Box Set, Warner Home Video is giving Superman: the Animated Series the same treatment. Although the package doesn't look nearly as nice as Batman's, this release contains all 72 episodes of the series on six discs, plus a seventh disc full of bonus features, including a featurette on Darkseid! The release date is November 24.

Also being released in time for Christmas is Justice League: The Complete Series on DVD! This stunning set includes 14 discs containing every episode from Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, a bonus disc with all new special features, and a collectible episode guide booklet! Look for this set on November 10

Super Hero Squad Show Concept Art

Marvel has posted a Facebook Photo Album loaded with concept art from the upcoming Super Hero Squad Show! Here are a few of the images:


Can You name all of the heroes and villains in these pictures? I know I can!


Captain America, Reptil (created specifically for the show), and Ms. Marvel


Fantastic Four, Wasp, Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Storm, and Heroes for Hire (Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Misty Knight)


Abomination, MODOK, and the Mole Man


Beautiful background art of Hero City!

Iron Man: Armored Adventures Concept Art

Thanks to Superheroes-R-Us for pointing me toward Marvel's Facebook Photo Album where you can see concept art from Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

Wolverine DVD Volume Three and Other Merch

The third installment of the Wolverine and the X-Men DVD line has been announced. November 3 will be the release date for Wolverine and the X-Men, Volume Three - Beginning of the End. This single disc volume will be similar to the previous release, with five widescreen episodes, an audio commentary by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost, and an issue of The Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic.

The next five episodes bring us to the middle of the first season:

Future X

Greetings From Genosha

Past Discretions

eXcessive Force

Battle Lines

A special gift set that includes the three Wolverine and the X-Men volumes will also be released on November 2. The package will include a special Collectible Laser Cell.



Merchandise for Wolverine and the X-Men has hit the world in force. I was reading the latest issue of Ultimatum and saw an advertisement for Wolverine and the X-Men Cake Toppers!

Here is one of the cooler merch items: Wolverine and the X-Men Busts! Three new 10.75-inch tall, hand painted Polystone Resin busts have been sculpted by One2One Collectables.

Click here for more details on the Logan, Wolverine, and Magneto busts!

90s Spider-Man now Showing at Marvel.com

Marvel.com is now showing an episode of the 90s Spider-Man animated series every Tuesday. Marvel.com has been doing this with the 90s X-Men animated series for a few months, but pretty soon we'll have that series on DVD, which is more than I can say about Spider-Man.

I'm hoping that the next series Buena Vista releases on DVD is Spider-Man, but until then this will have to do:

Iron Man Meets the Black Panther

Here is a short video clip of Iron Man meeting the Black Panther in an upcoming episode of Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

Marvel Super Hero Squad Show -- UPDATE: Music Video Added!

UPDATE: Marvel has released a music video promoting the Super Hero Squad Show. Watch it and be amazed. This show will be unlike anything we've ever seen before! If I have one complaint, it is that the animation looks a bit simple and limited, but I'll save my actual opinions until I see a full episode.



Marvel's Super Hero Squad Show panel was a huge hit this morning at the San Diego Comic-Con as hundreds got to see the first clips from the show as well as a live reading from some of the show's stars! The scene was a exclusively written for the Con and revolved around Doctor Doom as he scoured the Convention in search of the My Little Pony Comic-Con exclusive figure.

And speaking of voice actors, check out some of the talent that will be providing their voices during the first season of the show:

Charlie Adler (Cow & Chicken, Transformers 1 & 2) as Dr. Doom

Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy) as Iceman

Alimi Ballard (NUMB3RS) as Falcon

LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Rhodey

Grey DeLisle (Fairly Oddparents) as Ms. Marvel and the Enchantress

Taye Diggs (Private Practice) as Black Panther

Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) as Dormammu

Greg Grunberg (Heroes) as Ant-Man

Mark Hamill (Star Wars) as the Red Skull

Lena Headey (Sarah Connor Chronicles) as Black Widow

Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) as Sif

Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Ugly Truth) as Stardust

Tom Kenny (Spongebob Squarepants) as Iron Man, Captain America and M.O.D.O.K.

Wayne Knight (Seinfeld) as Egghead

James Marsters (Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayeras Mr. Fantastic

Jennifer Morrison (Star Trek, House) as the Wasp

Adrian Pasdar (Heroes) as Hawkeye

Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) as Ka-Zar

George Takei (Heroes, Star Trek) as Galactus

Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl) as the Valkyrie.

Now check out the show's theme song, which looks like it was shot on someone's camera phone. I'm not sure how long it will be on youtube before it gets removed.



The Marvel Super Hero Squad Show debuts September 19, 2009 on Cartoon Network with a four-episode marathon. I know this show won't be for everyone, but I can't wait.

Ruby-Spears Superman Series Coming to DVD!

Warner Home Video has publicly announced that they plan to eventually release every DC Comics related animated series on DVD, and a new press release from WHV proves that they intend to do just that:

The short lived Ruby-Spears Superman series from 1988 that was created as part of Superman's 50th anniversary is coming to DVD on November 3, just a few months after the release of Ruby-Spears' other animated superhero show, The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show!

All thirteen episodes, including the Superman Family Album segments will comprise the two DVDs and the press release reveals a special featurette:

Corruption of the Corrupt: The Rise of LexCorp: A fascinating glimpse into the Decade of Greed, when Americans were growing more and more distrustful of corporate leadership. From the headlines of the day to the pages of Superman arose a new vision of an old villain, Lex Luthor and his conglomerate, LexCorp.

Here are the disc contents:

Disc One:

Destroy The Defendroids/ The Adoption

Fugitive From Space/ The Supermarket

By The Skin of the Dragon's Teeth/At The Babysitter's

Cybron Strikes/ The First Day of School

The Big Scoop/ Overnight with the Scouts

Triple-Play/ The Circus

The Hunter/ Little Runaway

Disc Two:

Superman and Wonder Woman vs. The Sorcerer of Time/ The Birthday Party

Bonechill/ The Driver's License

The Beast Beneath These Streets/ First Date

Wildshark/ To Play or Not to Play

Night of the Living Shadows/ Graduation

The Last Time I Saw Earth/ It's Superman

I am absolutely thrilled to see WHV releasing three rare shows on DVD this year (the third one being The Super Friends Lost Episodes). If only Buena Vista would sit up and release even the more popular Marvel animated shows. The X-Men DVDs are a good start.