Strange doings are afoot. According to the guys at Hollywood Reporter...
Disney is acquiring a 10% stake of POW! for $2.5 million. It is also acquiring "enhanced rights" to the company's creative side as well as exclusive consulting services. It was not clear what the rights and services entailed or the reason for expanding its relationship with POW!
My instant reaction to this is... "what on earth for?"
There must be something else going on here beyond the obvious. Either that, or the middle-aged businessmen who negotiated this deal have somehow lost touch with the fact that Stan Lee hasn't had a marketable idea in thirty-odd years.
I'm all for retro, nostalgia, and a respect for the classic comic book creators. But seriously, has POW! produced any decent intellectual capital since it came into existence? If so, please do email us and tell us about it, 'cos we must have blinked and missed it.
Presumably this is some kind of kick-back deal that ties in with something else. Most likely it's part of wrapping up some other Stan Lee IPR, and this is Disney tying up some loose ends and closing up some legal loopholes.