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Marvel Publishing, Inc. , commonly referred to as , is an American company that publishes comic books and related media. Marvel Entertainment, Inc. , a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, owns Marvel Publishing (since 2009) .Marvel counts among its characters such well-known properties as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Daredevil, Thor, the Sub-Mariner, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange, and the Silver Surfer; antagonists such as Dr. Doom, the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Venom, Magneto, Sabretooth, Galactus, the Red Skull, the Kingpin, and Bullseye; and others. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with locales set in real-life cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The comic book arm of the company started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvel's modern incarnation dates from 1961, with the company later that year launching Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others. Marvel has since become the largest American comic book publisher, surpassing its longtime competitor DC Comics. On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion.

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