# Marvel - Micronauts rights **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137 "2016-04-25T23:19:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/1 "2016-04-25T23:19:28Z")
Does still own the license to the Micronauts? I was watching Ant-Man and Hank Pym mentions shrinking to a sub-atomic dimension and the Micronauts immediately jumped into my mind. I might be the only one, but I would love to see the Micronauts or Rom in a movie. I know Marvel lost the rights to Rom. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/2 "2016-04-25T23:35:51Z")
Owned by Hasbro. Movie is in development. > **[Hasbro's Cinematic Universe Has One Hell of a Writer's Room](https://gizmodo.com/hasbros-cinematic-universe-has-one-hell-of-a-writers-ro-1772320410)** > > Remember those crazy plans to bring a bunch of Hasbro toy properties like G.I. Joe, Micronauts, and Rom into one hot, trendy cinematic universe? Well, those plans just took a huge step forward with the creation of a writers room that is filled with... ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/3 "2016-04-25T23:36:13Z")
IDW has the comics rights now. Word is, they’re working on a new series, but they’ve only got rights to stuff that came from the toy line - Marvel introduced a significant number of new characters that they maintain the rights over - often in a fairly convoluted manner. For example, one of the Micronaut toys was a guy called “Space Glider.” In the comics, he was the Micronauts leader, and given the name Arcturus Rann. Marvel no longer has the rights to Space Glider, but retains the rights to Arcturus Rann, and most of his backstory and personality, which they had invented for their comic. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/4 "2016-04-25T23:45:13Z")
I don’t know the answer but I’m just jazzed that they apparently still have rights to Howard the Duck based on the post-credits stinger for _Guardians of the Galaxy_. I can’t waith until MCU Phase 4 rolls around starting with a Howard the Duck/Earthworm Jim teamup, fighting Fin Fang Foom and MODOK. Who’s with me on this? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/5 "2016-04-26T01:41:49Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I don’t know the answer but I’m just jazzed that they apparently still have rights to Howard the Duck There’s no real reason they wouldn’t. He was created for a Marvel book in an era where ‘creator owned’ and ‘published by Marvel or DC’ were, if not mutually exclusive, very rarely paired. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/6 "2016-04-26T12:53:57Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I don’t know the answer but I’m just jazzed that they apparently still have rights to Howard the Duck based on the post-credits stinger for _Guardians of the Galaxy_. I can’t waith until MCU Phase 4 rolls around starting with a Howard the Duck/Earthworm Jim teamup, fighting Fin Fang Foom and MODOK. Who’s with me on this? > > Stranger They don’t own Earthworm Jim, though. Never have… ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/7 "2016-04-26T14:02:18Z")
Damnit! I suppose we can’t get an MCU/The Tick crossover, either? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/8 "2016-04-26T14:20:09Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > IDW has the comics rights now. Word is, they’re working on a new series, but they’ve only got rights to stuff that came from the toy line - Marvel introduced a significant number of new characters that they maintain the rights over - often in a fairly convoluted manner. For example, one of the Micronaut toys was a guy called “Space Glider.” In the comics, he was the Micronauts leader, and given the name Arcturus Rann. Marvel no longer has the rights to Space Glider, but retains the rights to Arcturus Rann, and most of his backstory and personality, which they had invented for their comic. I think issue #1 is out soon. I will be checking it out, hopefully it will retain some similarity to the original, which I really enjoyed. I think Marvel missed a trick by not keeping the rights, having said that though comic books do not sell like they used to. Bug is another Micronaut that Marvel retain the rights to. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/9 "2016-04-26T14:22:52Z")
As shown in the Hasbro link a similar situation has occurred with ROM. Back in the 1980s with the Original Secret Wars and Secret Wars II particularly there were tie ins with ROM and the Micronauts. These were not included the the TPB reprints due to licencing issues. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/10 "2016-04-26T14:28:06Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Owned by Hasbro. Movie is in development. > > [http://io9.gizmodo.com/hasbros-cinematic-universe-has-one-hell-of-a-writers-ro-1772320410](http://io9.gizmodo.com/hasbros-cinematic-universe-has-one-hell-of-a-writers-ro-1772320410) > [@Miller](#): > > IDW has the comics rights now. Word is, they’re working on a new series, but they’ve only got rights to stuff that came from the toy line - Marvel introduced a significant number of new characters that they maintain the rights over - often in a fairly convoluted manner. For example, one of the Micronaut toys was a guy called “Space Glider.” In the comics, he was the Micronauts leader, and given the name Arcturus Rann. Marvel no longer has the rights to Space Glider, but retains the rights to Arcturus Rann, and most of his backstory and personality, which they had invented for their comic. How can so many things be cool yet suck at the same time? A movie is being worked on but it probably won’t be based on the comics? I never owned any of the toys, the comics were where I got interested. Loved Acroyear and Bug. Still, I would be interested to see how it turns out, not that I have any hope of it being good since the GI Joe team is involved. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/11 "2016-04-26T14:41:06Z")
Marvel owns the characters they created (Commander Rann, Marionette and Bug), but not the ones that were toys to begin with (Acroyear and Baron Karza). There are a bunch of other characters, some based on toys and some not, but those are the core five. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/12 "2016-04-26T18:18:32Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > I think Marvel missed a trick by not keeping the rights, having said that though comic books do not sell like they used to. But when did they lose the rights? Recently, or back in the timeframe where they themselves were selling off rights left and right? I know even in the 90s, the New Warriors were off fighting the Dire Wraiths from ROM, I suspect they could have fit in well (GotG, perhaps?) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/13 "2016-04-26T18:31:39Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > But when did they lose the rights? Recently, or back in the timeframe where they themselves were selling off rights left and right? The rights to Micronauts lapsed in '86, a good decade before Marvel’s bankruptcy - and some six years _after_ the toy line that inspired it was discontinued. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/14 "2016-04-27T01:38:56Z")
> [@G0sp3l](#): > > How can so many things be cool yet suck at the same time? A movie is being worked on but it probably won’t be based on the comics? I never owned any of the toys, the comics were where I got interested. Loved Acroyear and Bug. > > Still, I would be interested to see how it turns out, not that I have any hope of it being good since the GI Joe team is involved. I’d forgotten that Micronauts was going to be part of the proposed shared Hasbro-verse. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the first _GI Joe_ movie, and never even bothered with any of the _Transformer_ films, the idea of taking those two properties, and smashing them together with everything from Rom to M.A.S.K. is… interesting, if nothing else. I don’t really expect anything brilliant from it, but I like the “floor of your bedroom when you were ten” aspect to the concept. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/15 "2016-04-27T01:55:13Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “floor of your bedroom when you were ten” THAT is a great pitch, Miller. Simply great. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/16 "2016-04-27T02:13:04Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > They don’t own Earthworm Jim, though. Never have… The people who do would probably be happy to hear an offer! Currently, EJ is as dead as the Sonny and Cher show. You could probably pick up the necessary limited rights for lawn mulch! ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/17 "2016-04-27T03:15:49Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I’d forgotten that Micronauts was going to be part of the proposed shared Hasbro-verse. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the first _GI Joe_ movie, and never even bothered with any of the _Transformer_ films, the idea of taking those two properties, and smashing them together with everything from Rom to M.A.S.K. is… interesting, if nothing else. I don’t really expect anything brilliant from it, but I like the “floor of your bedroom when you were ten” aspect to the concept. ThunderCats are the undisputed champions of the G0sp3l ThunderDome!!! (with an assist from the Starriors) ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/18 "2016-04-27T12:43:53Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > The people who do would probably be happy to hear an offer! Currently, EJ is as dead as the Sonny and Cher show. You could probably pick up the necessary limited rights for lawn mulch! I’m honestly not sure who does own them. The creator and Shiny Entertainment sold them at some point, but I haven’t been able to find out who bought them in a thirty second Google effort. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/19 "2016-04-27T13:17:22Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > But when did they lose the rights? Recently, or back in the timeframe where they themselves were selling off rights left and right? > > I know even in the 90s, the New Warriors were off fighting the Dire Wraiths from ROM, I suspect they could have fit in well (GotG, perhaps?) IIRC the Dire Wraiths were a Marvel creation and therefore they can continue to use them. They have recently appeared in the Inhumans Limited Series after War of Kings and other limited series at the same time. Not sure if they have been seen since Secret Wars (IV). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137/20 "2016-04-27T22:36:22Z")
When the (Marvel owned) characters from Micronauts would occasionally show up in the 90’s, they were redubbed the Microns. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marvel-micronauts-rights/753137.md?page=2)