Episode 26: Marvel

Topics covered include: Marvel’s corporate origins as "Timely Publications”, created in 1939 by pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman in NYC, with the publication of Marvel Comics #1Creation of enduring characters such as Captain America, the Fantastic 4, Spider Man, The X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk and moreAdoption in 1961 of the "Marvel Comics” brand, and writer-editor Stan Lee’s transition of the company towards focusing on edgier characters and stories targeted at older audiences Marvel’s first sale in 1968 to the Perfect Film and Chemical Corporation (later Cadence Industries)The company’s “turbulent” corporate history through the 1980’s and associated mergers, acquisitions and lawsuitsMarvel’s reinvention as a film-focused media company in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with the launch of Marvel StudiosDisney’s ultimate acquisition of the company for $4.2 billion in August 2009, during the depth of the great recession Marvel's—and in particular Marvel Studios’—performance since the acquisition Sponsors:Sentry: https://bit.ly/acquiredsentryWorkOS: https://bit.ly/workos25Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig26Followups:  People like Spectacles!   Hot Takes: Shoutout to  Hightower & VTS merging  The Carve Out: Ben: WestworldDavid: OverdriveMore Acquired!Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodesJoin the SlackSubscribe to ACQ2Merch Store!© Copyright 2015-2026 ACQ, LLC