MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT

Marvel Entertainment, Inc. engages in the licensing, publishing, toy making, and film production businesses with a proprietary library of approximately 5,000 characters. Its library of characters include Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Ghost Rider, The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Blade, Daredevil, The Punisher, Namor, Nick Fury, The Avengers, Silver Surfer, and Ant-Man. The company operates in four segments: Licensing, Publishing, Toys, and Film Production. The... Licensing segment licenses its characters for use in various consumer products, including toys, apparel, and video games; feature films; television programs; DVD animated feature films; theme parks, shopping malls, and special events; promotions; and publications. The Publishing segment publishes and sells comic books and custom comics to the direct market and the mass market, as well as to teenagers and young adults through comic book specialty stores and retail outlets, including bookstores and newsstands. This segment also sells advertising and subscriptions. The Toys segment designs, develops, creates, markets, and distributes character-based toys, such as Most Marvel and Spider-Man, as well as based on licensed-in characters, such as Curious George and characters from Code Lyoko and TNA wrestling. This segment markets its products through specialty toy retailers, mass merchandisers, mail-order companies, and variety stores, as well as independent distributors worldwide. The Film Production segment develops, produces, and distributes films. Marvel Entertainment, Inc., formerly known as Marvel Enterprises, Inc., was founded in 1988 and is based in New York, New York.More