Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Marvel’s super-heroes look to invade cell phones
In a sign of the merchandising potential the Walt Disney Co bought with its $4 billion purchase of comic book house and movie studio Marvel Entertainment, Marvel on Tuesday teamed up with ring-tone company Vringo to launch a new service — cell phone videos of characters like Wolverine, Captain America and the Fantastic Four.
Customers can view animated clips of Marvel characters on their mobile phones, and turn them into video ringtones. In addition to video ringtones, Vringo also has a service that allows customers to call their friends, who would then see a Marvel super-hero or villain on their phones, and identify the caller that way.
The Marvel video clips available on cell phones can be seen here.
Disney officials have cited the merchandising potential of Marvel as one reason that the deal makes sense for them. Now that we know that Marvel characters who have long graced lunch boxes and T-shirts can invade cell phones, can the day be far away when we see your iPod comes equipped with Spider Sense? If it can ward off bad music purchases, it’s all good.
