Marvel Toys doesn't make Marvel toys?

[luthor]

I've been wondering about this for a little while now.

At one time Toy Biz made Marvel based toys, then Toy Biz bought Marvel and it became Marvel Inc(or something like that), with Toy Biz making the toys and Marvel making the comics under the corporate umbrella.

I read that Hasbro now has the exclusive rights to produce Marvel based toys. I also read that Toy Biz is being(has been?) renamed Marvel Toys.

Does anyone know how that works?

I'm totally lost.

[kwok_talk]

Weird. But it just gave me a flashback to getting a daredevil action figure one year for my bday when i was a kid. Oddy, he came with a grappling hook. I guess Bendis and Brubaker neglected to keep him with that weapon.

[spiffy]

Originally Posted by Luthor

I've been wondering about this for a little while now.

At one time Toy Biz made Marvel based toys, then Toy Biz bought Marvel and it became Marvel Inc(or something like that), with Toy Biz making the toys and Marvel making the comics under the corporate umbrella.

I read that Hasbro now has the exclusive rights to produce Marvel based toys. I also read that Toy Biz is being(has been?) renamed Marvel Toys.

Does anyone know how that works?

I'm totally lost.

Actually, you have it backwards. Marvel bought Toy Biz.

As for the Hasbro deal, I heard that too and had the same question. I have no idea why they would do that with their own company.

Marvel's business is not the selling of comics books, it's the licensing of their properties. As far as I know, Avi Arad ran Toy Biz before he became the Executive Producer of every Marvel film/TV property. I'm guessing they figured they'd make more money licensing to Hasbro than making the toys themselves. Plus, I just don't think that Arad is paying nearly as much attention to Toy Biz as he used to.

None of this has been fact checked.

[jimski]

Josh has it right, as is often the case. Pick up the book Comic Wars, if only at the library. You never dreamed a book about comics could be so dry, but it explains the Marvel bankruptcy and Toy Biz better than I ever could.