By now everyone (unless you live under a rock) knows that Disney will acquire most of 21st Century Fox. The $52.4 billion deal will give Disney the rights to a myriad of classic and pop-culture icons. The X-Men, Fantastic Four, Anastasia and The Simpsons are just a few subjects that Mickey Mouse will add to his ever-growing Magic Kingdom. The internet went wild even before Disney officially announced the deal, and rightly so. With so many titles changing hands and so much power coming over to Disney's already massive empire, there isn't a shortage of issues to argue about.
Like every good internet debate, there's an abundance of memes from every angle of the Disney-Fox deal you can imagine. There are memes about antitrust laws and memes that show our inner struggle as fans. There are memes about characters finally at home with Disney, memes about new Disney Princesses, and memes about characters who don't seem to fit in the stereotypical, and often routine, Disney scene. There are memes with Deadpool, Ellen Ripley, and Spongebob. Even Batman has surfaced for this momentous occasion. In honor of this historic entertainment merger, we've found 15 of the greatest memes featuring Disney's deal with Fox.
15 MARVEL FANS
Even before Disney officially announced the deal, fans went absolutely crazy over the possibility of Disney acquiring Fox's Marvel characters. For some, the news was their wildest dreams come true -- a bigger MCU meant bigger and better movies to them. Others wondered how Disney would handle Fox characters with established mature content, like Deadpool. Either way, we all kind of looked like Spongebob and Patrick do in this meme.
Regardless of what side you're on, Disney's deal with Fox isn't something you pass over with a "meh." You can be absolutely thrilled that the MCU is expanding, or worried that your favorite characters will be Disneyfied beyond recognition. The merger is a big deal ($52.4 billion to be exact), whether you think it's awesome or terrible.
14 I BOUGHT THE STUDIO
Wouldn't it be nice if we could deal with our problems like Disney and Batman? Bruce Wayne needs Mrs. Kent's house back from the bank, so he just buys the bank. Disney needs the rights to Fox's Marvel characters, so it just buys most of Fox. Granted, there are other strategic reasons for acquiring Fox's assets. A stronger television presence and a controlling interest in Hulu are just a few points we could mention.
Still, the idea that Disney bought Fox just so it could have the rights to the company's Marvel characters was too good of a meme opportunity to pass up. It sounded so much like a scene near the end of Justice League that fans just couldn't help themselves, and this fantastic meme was born.
13 DEADPOOL AND THE NA'VI
Some of Disney's acquisitions from Fox fit right into mainstream Disney and/or the MCU. As for other portions of Fox... well, fans are a little concerned. Deadpool's R-rated content is not what comes to mind when you mention the MCU, so it's not surprising there have been concerns about the hero's future with Disney. Tensions lessened a little when Disney's CEO Bob Iger announced Deadpool could potentially continue with its mature content.
Thanks to fans and even Ryan Reynolds himself, Deadpool commented on the merger in ways befitting the Merc with a Mouth. While Reynolds made jokes about the tension between Deadpool and Mickey Mouse, we've also seen some hysterical images, like this recreation of Beauty and the Beast featuring Deadpool and a Na'vi from Fox's Avatar. Could Deadpool have had any other introduction to Disney?
12 BALANCING THE UNIVERSE
Disney's deal with Fox wasn't complete when the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War came out, but Thanos' monologue in the trailer has some amazing comparisons to the merger. Disney was already powerful before the deal, and once it acquires Fox, it's power will increase exponentially. Many have pointed out how the deal could potentially be disastrous for the entertainment industry, but that hasn't stopped Disney yet -- "destiny still arrives."
Consolidating two Marvel universes into one is probably the best meaning to "balancing the universe" out there, and you can bet the Disney powers that be were smiling after the deal was finalized. As awesome a parallel as this to the merger is though, what's next? Thanos is out to conquer everything, so if Disney's actions are so like Thanos' at the moment, what will Mickey Mouse have his sights on next?
11 I BOUGHT THEM ALL
We certainly hope that Mickey Mouse was in a better mood than this after Disney finalized the merger, but it makes for a pretty great meme. It is more probable that Disney's mascot was over the moon with the massive deal, but how could fans pass up the opportunity to put Mickey Mouse's face on Anakin Skywalker?
Disney now owns the X-Men, and as Mickey points out here, this includes the X-Women and X-Children as well (not that anyone actually calls them that). Mickey is too caught up in his $52.4 billion buying frenzy at the moment, but for many, this is a reason to celebrate. The X-Men and the Avengers in the same cinematic universe mean we could see some amazing team-ups, as well as some epic Avengers vs. X-Men fights.
10 APOCALYPSE MEETS THANOS
In addition to being awesome in general, this meme reminds us that the Disney-Fox merger will cause some major changes for the Fox Marvel movies and the MCU. Cutting holes in and combining universes isn't a foreign concept for superheroes, but this is the first time two long-established movie franchises will combine at this magnitude.
Whatever event will cause to two universes to meet or merge is bound to epic in proportions, and will inevitably upset the balance of power in these universes. While we probably won't see Apocalypse swearing at Thanos' arrival, seeing Fox's Marvel villains interact with the MCU foes could be at least as exciting as watching the heroes from the two universes meet. Just imagine Apocalypse and Galactus meeting up with Loki and Thanos.
9 FOX, WE'VE COME TO BARGIN
Before Disney and Fox finalized the deal, Hugh Jackman said that if the X-Men made their way to the MCU, he would reprise his role as Wolverine. While it certainly wasn't Disney's sole motivation for buying Fox, it gave fans yet another reason to hope that the merger would be successful. Such sentiments brought us the hysterical meme above, which features Dr. Strange bargaining to bring Wolverine into the MCU.
Contrary to what the caption says, one thing we won't see in the post-deal MCU is the Wolverine we've had 17 years to get acquainted with. While the deal may not have convinced Hugh Jackman to continue as Wolverine, we will have the chance to see another portrayal of the character fight alongside the rest of the Marvel heroes.
8 EVERYONE'S A DISNEY PRINCESS
With over $52 billion of new assets, it's not surprising that Disney will acquire a few princesses from the Fox acquisition. Exactly how many "princesses" there are in this agreement is still up for debate though. A few of these characters are without a doubt princesses, such as Anastasia. Fans have also bestowed the Disney Princess title on other notable Fox characters, such as Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies.
Add in a few loose interpretations of the word "princess" (like the offspring of the Alien Queen), and suddenly Oprah declaring everyone a Disney Princess doesn't sound that far-fetched. While Xenomorphs probably won't be posing in front of a Disney Castle anytime soon (with the exception of fan art), Disney will definitely gain a few Princess from the deal.
7 RATIONAL VS. NERD
While some memes show us how great or potentially terrible the Disney deal with Fox could be, this one shows the inner struggle some fans have been having. Disney is already a giant in an oligopoly entertainment industry, and will now add the majority of Fox's size and power to its domain. This is scary. This should concern us.
BUT... think of the potential this adds to the MCU. The X-Men can fight alongside (or against) the Avengers. Deadpool can meet Spider-Man (assuming Sony continues to cooperate with Disney). Wolverine can battle the Hulk. The Fantastic Four might actually become fantastic (well that might be wishful thinking). How can something be so wonderful and so terrible all at the same time? It's hard being a nerd sometimes.
6 A MERGER OF MAGNITUDE
While we talk about the Disney buying Fox like it's a done deal, that's not quite the case. The merger could still be stopped by the Department of Justice, and there's plenty of grounds to raise the antitrust flag. Disney is about to have up to a 40% market share and will produce a significant portion of the superhero films made from here on out. Whether the Department of Justice takes action against the deal or not, the merger is bound to come under heavy scrutiny.
We have to wonder though, will it matter? Disney has already succeeded with some impressive legal feats in the past. They've already managed to rewrite copyright laws to protect some of their characters a couple of times, so will it be that difficult to dodge a few antitrust laws? Admiral Ackbar certainly seems to think they're up to the challenge.
5 THE ENTERTAINMENT GAUNTLET
Another meme featuring the Infinity Gauntlet, this one shows Mickey Mouse collecting the Infinity Stones of the entertainment industry. First Disney bought Marvel, then it bought Lucasfilm. Now it's set to acquire most of Fox, which will give it both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Star Wars doesn't exactly fit the superhero-theme like the rest of these stones, but it's certainly a force to be reckoned with in the box office.
Spider-Man is also featured as a stone on this Entertainment Gauntlet, although the majority of the Spider-Man rights are still with Sony. While it would make movie production far less complicated to have the web-slinger permanently housed in the MCU, Sony isn't likely to relinquish its rights anytime soon. Mickey Mouse hasn't done too badly acquiring the other stones though, so perhaps Sony should be wary?
4 BATMAN
While the majority of the hype in the Disney-Fox deal surrounds the Marvel characters, Disney bought a small sliver of DC as well. Fox's assets include the rights to the classic 1966 Batman starring Adam West, as well as the rights to the Gotham television series. The future of these series still remains up in the air at the moment, but that doesn't mean vigilant fans aren't waiting for a verdict.
Realistically, Disney would have a hard time doing much with these particular acquisitions. With most of the character rights still with Warner Brothers, expanding too much could be incredibly messy, and Disney may decide to save themselves a few headaches and sell the rights to Warner Brothers. Most of Marvel with Disney, Most of DC with Warner Brothers, that makes sense, right?
3 SAME UNIVERSE TWICE
Yes, we know characters don't automatically belong to the MCU because Disney bought them, but this meme is still fantastic (pun absolutely intended). At the very least, we can appreciate the fact that Chris Evans has now been both the Human Torch and Captain America in Marvel movies that are both owned by Disney.
While we hope the Fantastic Four live up to their name a little more if they ever appear in the MCU, a Fantastic Four and Avengers team-up with the cast from the 2005 Fantastic Four would certainly be entertaining. Would that make the Storms some distant relations of Steve Rogers? We'd also have a similar problem with the 2015 Fantastic Four, as former Human Torch Michael B. Jordan is Black Panther in the MCU.
2 WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
While most of the world stands amazed at this giant-sized merger, the deal wasn't a complete surprise to a few of Fox's characters. The Simpsons have a history of predicting the future more than a decade in advance. Back in 2000, they said that Donald Trump would be President. In 1998, they guessed that Disney would eventually own both Lucasfilms and Fox.
As we see in this meme, the Simpsons may not get along with Mickey Mouse too well. In addition to predicting the merger, The Simpsons referenced Disney multiple times throughout their show, but never in a favorable light. The future of the show itself is unclear, although it will now have to deal with a boss it's been making fun of for years.
1 WELCOME BACK
There are plenty of pros and cons to the Disney-Fox deal to spark some serious debates. There's the hope that we'll get some incredible movies with more characters, and the fear that some characters will eventually be Disneyfied. There's the excitement of an expanded universe and a legitimate argument that Disney could be accumulating way too much power in entertainment.
Can we put all that aside for a moment and be as happy as Wolverine is in this meme? For years, Marvel has existed as a multiverse split into fragments instead of the massive, connected universe that it was meant to be. While the Disney-Fox deal hasn't completely solved the problem, the MCU is one step closer to the grand scale, superhero team-ups we've seen in the comics. Isn't that something to celebrate?