Chapter - 108 : MarvelDC (2)

….

Jerry Siegel died.

The heart attack came swiftly, exactly a year after the [Green Lantern] disaster, just as the company was gasping for air.

For the world, it was the loss of a legend.

For Stan Lee, it was the loss of his other half.

Jerry hadn't just co-built the company - he had been Stan's sounding board, his counterbalance, his brother in arms. Through every creative risk, every market collapse, every triumph and misstep, Jerry had been there.

Always. They didn't always agree, but they believed in the same thing: that stories could shape people. That heroes mattered.

And now… that balance was gone.

Stan - older now, and mourning more than just a friend, made the only decision he thought made sense.

He stepped back from his position.

He needed time. Time to grieve.

But MDC couldn't simply pause. And so, with the heavy weight of legacy on his shoulders, Stan handed over control of the company to the next generation.

His only son… and Jerry's eldest adopted son.

Two heirs of different blood, but equal history. They had both grown up in the shadow of two giants. They had seen the company from the inside, the creative storms, the meetings, the passion that lit the offices late into the night.

Stan believed they understood what had been built - that they felt the gravity of it all.

However, that belief had somehow turned into his greatest mistake.

Both successors were businessmen, and unfortunately in the worst sense of the word: Opportunistic. Short-sighted. Hungry for profits, impatient with the process.

Under their leadership, MDC spiraled from struggling to outright embarrassment. The editorial direction collapsed. They recycled old storylines without understanding why they worked in the first place. They introduced gimmicks - shock deaths, edgy reboots, crossover events for the sake of sales spikes.

What they lacked in creative vision, they tried to compensate for with brand exploitation.

It backfired.

The fans noticed. Loudly.

Social media turned into a battleground. Lifelong readers vented their disillusionment. Critics tore apart each new release. Words like 'soulless', 'lazy', 'corporate cash-grab', and 'narratively bankrupt', became the norm.

Characters lost their voices. Plotlines felt hollow. Art felt rushed. And the once-proud name of MarveleD Comic Verse began to rot from the inside out.

Every new issue reminded people not of what MDC was… but of what it used to be.

After a year - Stan returned, eventually.

But by the time he stepped back into the boardroom, it was too late.

The damage had been done. The audience's trust was gone. The name meant little more than nostalgia, and even that was starting to fade.

MDC had become a monument to its own failure.

Now, in the present, the once-mighty [MarveleD Comics] is a hollow shell.

They are barely surviving as a publishing company. Sales are at record lows. Creative talent has fled to smaller, more daring labels.

And as for film? They haven't touched a camera since [Green Lantern].

They are paralyzed - frozen in a moment of failure they have never moved past.

And so the company remains stuck.

Too afraid to leap again.

Too broken to climb back.

Too proud to sell.

That was the truth.

And that was what Regal was trying to buy.

Not just a brand or a catalog of characters, but the ruins of a dream that no one dared to resurrect.

…..

Regal couldn't help but feel a mix of frustration and pity.

How had such an empire fallen so far?

Anyway it's no wonder the reaction of people when he said he wanted to buy them there was so strong.

Regal frowned, turning slowly toward Gregor, who had been silently observing him this whole time.

"…What do you think, Gregor?" He asked. "Do you also think it's stupid?"

There was no sarcasm in the question. No defensiveness.

Just genuine curiosity.

Because beneath all the confidence and bravado, Regal needed to know: was he really the only one who could still see what this could be?

Gregor took his time before answering.

He leaned back in his chair, his hands tented beneath his chin, eyes locked onto Regal as if trying to see past the man, into the actual mechanism of his thought.

From the phone speaker still perched on the table, Gwendolyn exhaled sharply. ["Oh, don't wait too long, Gregor. He might change his mind and try buying Disneyland next."]

Regal huffed out a dry breath, but Gregor's eyes didn't move.

"…It's not stupid." Gregor said finally.

?!That surprised both of them.

["I mean—"] Gwendolyn started.

"No. It's not." Gregor cut in smoothly. "It's dangerous, potentially ruinous, borderline career suicide - but not stupid."

Regal arched an eyebrow. "That's the most backhanded compliment I have ever gotten."

Gregor cracked the faintest smile. "You are welcome."

There was a beat of silence.

And then Gregor got to his feet, crossed the room, and began scribbling numbers onto a whiteboard.

"Alright. Let's say you are serious. Let's say you actually want to buy MDC - lock, stock, and flaming dumpster fire. The first thing you need to know is their last reported valuation was around $78 million. That was three years ago. Pre [Green Lantern] collapse."

"They have lost value since then." Regal said.

"Obviously." Gregor nodded. "Post-movie flop, brand dilution, spiraling publishing losses, and hemorrhaging fanbase. If I had to guess? You could probably get them for something between thirty and forty million - maybe twenty-eight, if you find a way to leverage their debt against them. But that's just to buy the company."

"Right." Regal murmured, eyes narrowing. "Then come the other costs."

"Exactly. You will need operating capital. Staff overhaul. New publishing lines. Legal fees. IP licensing audits. Maybe even clean-up lawsuits, depending on how bad their leadership really was."

He turned and underlined a new total on the board: $60–65 million, minimum.

"Assuming you want to do it right." He added.

Regal didn't flinch. That told Gregor more than any words could.

From the phone, Gwendolyn muttered. ["Jesus."]

But then she surprised them both.

["…you will also need to pull their international distribution contracts out of limbo."] She added thoughtfully. ["Last I checked, their EU and Asian markets are technically active, but the reps haven't been paid in months."]

Regal turned his head slowly, blinking at the phone. "Wait, how do you know that?"

…even Gregor looked a bit confused.

["I just know… Somehow."] She said. ["Unlike you, I don't think this is a good idea. But if he is going to ruin himself, I want to make sure he at least does it correctly."]

Gregor couldn't help the grin that pulled at the corner of his mouth. Regal just raised an amused brow.

But he could tell she isn't that happy with his decision but he also sensed something else…

Like there is a lot more going behind her mind than what she is letting on.

["…and you will need to renegotiate the character estate licenses too."] She went on. ["Some of the original contracts - like for Wonder Woman and Batman - aren't owned by MDCV outright. They're partially tied up in old creator-rights clauses. You will need to either buy out the rights or restructure."]

Regal straightened slightly. "How many of them?"

["Depends. I know for a fact the Batman and Superman estates were renegotiated in the '90s but only granted MDC film rights for a 25-year span. That expires in 2021."]

Gregor gave a low whistle. "And that's only ten years away."

["Ten years?"] Gwendolyn scoffed. ["You think the public forgives a dead IP in ten years? You would need five minimum just to restore fan faith. At that point, the clock's already half-gone."]

Gregor blinked, genuinely impressed. "I have been in the comic world for ten years. Since when do you know more than me?"

["I am dating a peculiar man… So I am prepared."] She said flatly.

Regal barked out a laugh.

But Gregor was still watching her name flash on the speaker, something unreadable passing through his eyes. He didn't say anything, though. Just nodded.

"You are right." He said finally. "This isn't just buying a name. It's buying liabilities with legacy."

"Then… you think I shouldn't?" Regal asked.

Gregor paused.

Then said carefully. "I think… If you are trying to save MDC, then don't. Let it die. Let the fans remember it fondly, or angrily, but as something that was. But if you are trying to rebuild something new from it… then maybe it's worth the blood."

Regal nodded slowly. "I don't want nostalgia. I want potential."

Gwendolyn was quiet for a second. Then, softly. ["…Just don't let the past blind you. Even legends rot if you don't cut out the decay."]

Gregor wiped the board clean.

"Well, then." He said. "Let's see if we can save a few corpses."

Gregor crossed his arms. "So the question becomes… how do we even approach them?"

["You don't."] Gwendolyn said, her voice sharp and sure from the phone speaker.

?...?Both men turned toward it instinctively.

["You can't just show up at their door with a checkbook."] She went on. ["This isn't a garage sale. Even in the state they're in, there's too much pride. Too much history. Too many eyes watching. If you make noise, they will dig in or worse - tip off competitors."]

"So?" Regal asked slowly.

["I will handle it."] She said. ["Leave it to me."]

Gregor raised his eyebrows, genuinely caught off guard. "You? No offense, Boss. But Everleaf Press, only just started dipping a toe in comics. How would you have the pull to talk to MDC's board - let alone Stan Lee himself?"

"...." - "...."

A beat of silence.

Regal narrowed his eyes. "Gwen… are you hiding something?"

More silence.

"Gwen?" He repeated.

Then came a long breath. And finally—

["…He was my grandfather. Stan Lee's friend Jerry Siegel and the co-founder of MDC'."]

Neither man spoke.

Gwendolyn's voice was calmer than they expected. Not dramatic. Just... resigned. Honest.

["As you know, one of the current heads at MDC is Jerry's adopted son. But what no one knows is… there were two adopted sons.]

[My father was younger. He kept his birth name, the one his mother gave him before Jerry took him in. Legally, there is no trail. Jerry wanted it that way. Said it was about giving a kid a life, not making headlines."]

Regal's expression shifted slowly from surprise to realization.

Gregor, however, was already muttering, doing the math. "Wait… wait, that would explain it. That is why I couldn't trace anything back. All the public records for Siegel's family stop at the first adoptive son - the one that stayed. The second one just... vanished."

["He didn't vanish."] Gwendolyn said. ["He walked away."]

Gregor frowned.

["My father left everything after Jerry died. He couldn't take it - the fighting, the lawsuits, the legacy being twisted. He loved Jerry, but he didn't want any part of the mess MDC became. So, he started something of his own."]

"…Everleaf." Regal whispered.

"Yes."

"And now he is—?"

["—Sick."] She confirmed, softer this time. ["I have been running things quietly while his condition worsened. He is still lucid - sharp, on good days - but he can't lead anymore. And I… I didn't think I wanted to be part of this world either."]

"Until today." Gregor said.

Gwendolyn hesitated. ["…Until I saw someone who actually wanted to fix it."]

That landed hard.

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. It was heavy. Reverent.

["So."] She continued, steady again. ["If anyone is going to reach out to MDC's board, it will be me. I have …old contacts. There are people on that board who still respect my father. They will take my call. At least long enough to hear us out."]

Regal leaned back, studying the speakerphone like he was seeing her for the first time.

"You have been full of surprises today, Gwen."

["I plan to stop now."] She quipped. ["Two is enough for one morning."]

Gregor, meanwhile, was still scribbling notes. "…You think they would actually be willing to sell?"

["They might not want to."] She said. ["But they may have no choice. Their finances are wrecked, their investors are ghosting them, and their leadership is splintering."]

"And you will reach out to the board directly?"

["Not all at once. I will start with the two people that are incharge currently… Carrow and Prisha. If even one of them is willing to listen, we will have an opening."]

Regal gave a slow nod. "Do it."

["You sure?"] She asked, one last time.

"Yes."

["Then I will make the calls tonight."]

She ended the call with a soft click, leaving a hollow echo in the room.

Gregor stared at the now-dark screen for a long beat. Then shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "That woman was the first one calling you crazy for even thinking about this."

Regal smirked. "And now she is the one kicking the door in for us."

"World is strange." Gregor muttered. "But I will take strange over predictable any day."

Regal didn't respond. He was already thinking ahead.

MDC had been a graveyard for years.

But now, for the first time in a long time.

Someone had found a way in.

.

….

[To be continued…]

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