Is there a Mickey/Spidey mashup in the future?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Comic book fans are already abuzz about the news that Disney is acquiring Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion in cash and stock. The AP story says that Disney will aquire ownership of Marvel characters. The transaction still requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

From the press release on Marvel’s site:

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses,” said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer. “This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney’s tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world.”

We know that many Geekend readers are comics fans (Hi, I’m a Marvel… and I’m a DC! and My first comic book: What got you hooked?), so we’d like to know what you think of this announcement. Do you think this means that Marvel will be asked to start watering down its grittier comics, or do you think Disney understands the power of the geek crowd (IronMan 2 was one of the most popular stories at last month’s Comic-Con 2009) and will let Marvel operate as basically status quo? What bizarre character mashups come to mind, including interesting character names (maybe Midey or Spickey)? Let us know in the discussion.