Mouse Eats Spider

Anyone who grew up in the '60s and '70s can remember that kids chose Marvel Comics to get away from the clean-scrubbed world of Disney. Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Hulk and the X-Men all questioned the natural order of things, while Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were cartoon characters every parent could love.

That's why today's Wall Street Journal report that Disney has paid $4 billion for Marvel Entertainment comes as a total shock. The recent success of Spider-man and Iron Man movies (and the OK performance of the Incredible Hulk movie) have made Marvel the most successful independent company in Hollywood and a valuable property, but Disney seems like an uneasy fit. Captain Jack Sparrow might cut it as a Marvel character, but there's not much else in the Disney universe that seems to fit. Let's hope they know what they're doing here. No one wants to see the Hulk make a guest appearance on Hannah Montana to sing a duet with Miley.