Apart from any Amalgam Comics.
With DC owned by Time Warner and Marvel owned by Disney they seem further away than ever, but I remember at different times in the past, there was some speculation that the two companies could merge into one and I wondered if anyone knew when this could have happened. Or if it could ever still happen in the future and under what circumstances.
If Disney sold Marvel to Warners (for example) I could still see the DC and Marvel brands being kept separate in the comics (with possible occasional crossovers), but truly mixed up when merchandised.
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I'd never heard of any such possibility, but I can't see it ever happening now. Time Warner and Disney are large companies that wouldn't be likely to give up assets such as their comics divisions, even if the time comes when they don't want them any more.
On the other hand, who's to say that either company (or both) could someday have a top executive who follows that Jack Welch dictum: Any division that isn't first or second in its field is a division we don't want.
As for when it could have happened, I suppose Marvel was at its most vulnerable in the 1980s during the Ronald Perelman years and the whole ToyBiz-Fleer trading cards-bankruptcy debacle.
The best time for DC to have purchased Marvel or, that is, for National to purchased Timely/Atlas was in the 50s when Atlas was forced to use National's distibution system when their's failed. They were limited to EIGHT titles a month which was really sixteen bi-monthly books. Atlas' main assets were their iconic trio of Captain America, the Sub-Mariner and the original Human Torch and their artists, even without Jack Kirby. Bill Everett, Gene Colan, John Romita, Steve Dikto, Joe Manilee, Dick Ayers and of course writer/editor Stan Lee were all valuable talent. I don't know if National would have expanded its line. Remember they bought Quality and only used Blackhawk for the longest time.
Perhaps Len Wein would have brought them back in Justice League of America living on Earth-T or Earth-5. But DC would have had no major competition, No Marvel Age, no Archie "marvelized" heroes, and no reason for DC to experiment in the late 60s. It would be a really odd line of comics, I think.
But then again DC could actually publish a comic titled Captain Marvel!
...BEFORE the Marvel buy-out from Disney happened , apparently Disney considered/did some bruiting about of a " buy Marvel and Dark Horse too with DH managing Marvel " plan !!!!!!!!!
I have sometimes wondered if DC might buy out Archie ( They already have what I guess is a co-printing and selling advertising deal involving DC's what-were-once-called Johnny DC titles and Archie's 32-page titles - Which are a pretty marginal percentage of the company's whole sales , remember . ) , and , when the DisMar buy-out happened , wondered whether DC might get in a " Must not be oughtbough/overjumped on " mood AND buy both Archie and Dark Horse !!!!!!!!!
As for the 90s - Perhaps with Clinton in , the existing anti-trust laws might've been marguinally more likely to be , at least tacitly , enforsed , at least to the extent of shaking a few bells a few times ????? :-)
As a kid in the 60's DC, for me, meant the Superman books, JLA, Batman, Legion, Flash, Lantern, etc. I didn't care at all for Metamorpho, Creeper, Doom Patrol which I thought were as "crappy" and as "ugly" as the Marvel comics. I would buy all the Superman, etc titles I could afford. But even if I had more money to spend I would never have bought those 'other' titles. I used to look at them with disgust - especially Metamorpho - I would only want more Superman comics, or Superman colouring books - anything 'Super'.