Spider-Man's Sticky Return

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With great power comes great responsibility. Spidey's motto certainly fits as Spider-Man 2 debuts today at a multiplex screen near you. After Sony (NYSE: SNE) saw the original gross $821.7 million in ticket sales worldwide, it's easy to pin the sequel as the likely top dog of the 2004 summer season.

The way ticket prices seem to inch higher every year, it's only natural to see records fall. Just as Shrek 2 became the biggest moneymaker in animated film history earlier this month, box-office inflation has often been kind to the follow-up flick.

But Sony isn't the only company banking on Spidey's buck. Obviously, creator Marvel Enterprises (NYSE: MVL) stands to reap princely sums through a variety of licensing streams if the movie and related merchandise fare well.

The original movie also lined Activision's (Nasdaq: ATVI) cash-rich pockets. The success of its Spider-Man video game made the software specialist a winner in 2002, and it is aiming for similar heights this summer, too.

While we will be thankfully spared seeing Spider-Man's logo on baseball bases, the web-slinger is everywhere. Even Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is getting into the act with its Spider-Man Store.

Maybe it's just our Spidey sense at play, but Marvel, Activision, and Amazon have all been past recommendations of our Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter. Maybe we all have a little bit riding on Spider-Man's success this summer.

Let's hope the good guys come out ahead.

Have you secured your movie tickets yet? Which Marvel character do you think would translate well on the big screen? All this and more in the Marvel discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz hasn't bought tickets to see the sequel yet, but he'll get there. Bank on it. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story.