Despite star Tobey Maguire’s blather about why Spider- Man 4 has been shelved, the real reason is: Marvel has gone to war in a federal court!
Marvel Entertainment/Disney unleashed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Manhattan today to insure the rights to their stable of superheroes including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Hulk and The X-Men, the ENQUIRER has learned.
The federal lawsuit asks a judge to invalidate notices sent by the heirs of artist Jack Kirby to try to terminate Marvel’s copyrights.
The heirs notified several companies last year that the rights to the characters would revert from Marvel to Kirby’s estate based on the belief that Kirby co-created Spider-Man with writer/ editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko.
While Marvel has admitted Kirby’s contributions in the past, the major bone of legal contention is who really created Spider-Man?
The lawsuit says Kirby’s co-creations were a "work for hire" thereby rending the heirs’ claims invalid.
Comics based properties such as Spidey and the X-Men have generated billions for Marvel and their partners.
The legal attack is a first-strike aftermath from the recent Marvel/Disney merger designed to clear all legal entanglement for future heroic synergy for upcoming film and TV properties, an industry insider told The ENQUIRER.
The case differs from the ongoing Superman lawsuit in the fact that creators Siegel and Shuster brought their character to the publisher DC while Kirby was teamed with Lee in forming the fledgling Marvel universe along with artists Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Dick Ayers and others.
