Disney to buy Marvel comics

Disney to buy Marvel comics

Talk about strange bedfellows. The Walt Disney Co. announced today that it will spend $4 billion to buy Marvel Entertainment -- and the more than 5,000 Marvel characters, including Spider-Man, Hulk, X-Men, Captain America and Fantastic Four.

Disney boss Bob Iger told CNBC that the acquisition was a way to attract more boys. Iger said Disney would not rebrand the Marvel characters as Disney ones, but would find opportunities to mine Marvel characters that are not well known.

Great news. Finally, a chance to see Post-It Note Man, a Spidey wanna-be who is held back from stardom because of inferior adhering powers. Or Octo-Mom, a single parent raising eight kids, working two jobs and stopping alien invaders in her spare time. Or RealFake, who exists in the shadowy netherworld between reality TV shows and real life. Maybe we can add some new X-Men: Scrooge X-McDuck, who can make the historic figures on money come alive.

Or X-Sneezy, a dwarf who can make villains dissolve into fits of sneezing (a good commercial tie in with tissue-makers).