If Marvel/DC went out of business...

**trevor hale** · 10-30-2006, 09:10 AM

I'm not sure how this would work, and not something that would happen any time soon, but it's something I thought about yesterday:

If Marvel/DC were to suddenly announce that it went bankrupt and was closing up shop immediately, do you think they'd try to sell off characters to get out of debt?

For instance, in the 90's when they were in bad shape, if Marvel were down a few million and needed money, could they technically sell Spider-Man to DC?

Or Vice Versa, could DC have sold the rights to Batman to Marvel?

I know, there are corporations involved to protect these things (i.e. Warner Bros.), and this is strictly hypothetical, but do you think it would have been possible? Or would they have just ceased and those characters would never exist again?

And what do you think would happen once any of those characters were dropped into a new universe?

Just curious. And it's monday so I thought I'd try and have some fun.

**The Doctor** · 10-30-2006, 09:11 AM

Marvel once out a bid in for DC's characters in the 80's. I think.

**NickT** · 10-30-2006, 09:11 AM

I don't think they'd sell them for as long as possible, as they can still make money out of them. Even if they stopped making comics.

**xyzzy** · 10-30-2006, 09:12 AM

If they were bankrupt and closing up shop, then all of their assets (including IP) would be sold to pay off debtors.

**SCOURGE** · 10-30-2006, 09:12 AM

When CHAOS went out of business, I believe they sold there characters to someone else. So, yeah, while it is highly unlikely to happen they could sell their characters to raise money...

**RickLM** · 10-30-2006, 09:15 AM

DC has bought other companies' characters in the past, like Shazam. I'm sure they'd buy the Marvel characters if the price and circumstances were right. Marvel would probably do the same thing.

**bachman** · 10-30-2006, 09:17 AM

"If Marvel/DC went out of business..."

Goddard would bust hard 3 times in a row, under 30 seconds. It would be a mess.

**Jacob Lyon Goddard** · 10-30-2006, 09:17 AM

DC is a research and development branch for AOL-TIME/WARNER's for film, merchandising, books, television show, roller coasters, ecetera
it wouldn't go out of business, it would probably just drastically change format if society in general one day decided it didn't want Superman tie-tacks or batman roller coasters, and nobody went to the movies or watched the shows including films that grew out of DC comics concepts like The Matrix and non-superhero comics like A History of Violence (and it would have to be nobody)

DC's not going anywhere

**trevor hale** · 10-30-2006, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by Jacob Lyon Goddard

DC is a research and development branch for AOL-TIME/WARNER's for film, merchandising, books, television show, roller coasters, ecetera
it wouldn't go out of business, it would probably just drastically change format if society in general one day decided it didn't want Superman tie-tacks or batman roller coasters, and nobody went to the movies or watched the shows including films that grew out of DC comics concepts like The Matrix and non-superhero comics like A History of Violence (and it would have to be nobody)

DC's not going anywhere

Like I said, I know there's corporations involved to protect things like this, but it's kind of a hypothetical "What if" situation.

I know it actually wouldn't happen, but it's fun to think of the possibilities that would come from it.

**Anna** · 10-30-2006, 09:23 AM

Originally Posted by xyzzy

If they were bankrupt and closing up shop, then all of their assets (including IP) would be sold to pay off debtors.

But isn't DC owned by WB or some such? I don't know how this company business works, but Superman, Batman et al belong to WB, right? No?

In this case, the only way DC could lose their IP is if WB went bankrupt, right?