Marvel's Plush Deal

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Marvel Enterprises (NYSE: MVL) recently signed a deal with the specialty-gift concern Russ Berrie & Co. (NYSE: RUS) to take care of its merchandising needs in the area of plush toys and novel items.

Marvel and Sony (NYSE: SNE) may be doing incredibly well with their Spider-Man films, but exploitation of Marvel's properties via licensing is an important component to the company's success. Every conceivable area of the consumer products industry must be covered so the value of the lineup increases over time. Granted, there's a risk of overexposure of its characters, but Disney (NYSE: DIS) and its cavalcade of stars have proven that brand saturation and long-term market success are not mutually exclusive.

Speaking of potential overexposure, the release mentions that -- big surprise! -- Spider-Man will be the initial focus of Russ Berrie's retail attack. The plan is to make Peter Parker and his companion persona as cuddly as Mickey and Minnie or Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Bugs Bunny. I know, I know, you can't compare an icky-eight-legged-creepy-crawly to a sweet little mouse or a carrot-chomping hare. But I'm telling you, Spider-Man is heading to that kind of iconic status...and there are ample amounts of money to be mined from such equity of image. Of course, this inventory won't be attractive to just kids; you can bet collectors will be out in force and in acquisition mode.

As I previously mentioned in a piece about Marvel's entanglement with Disney, I would love to be able to say that I hold stock in the Incredible Hulk and Daredevil. But it merits some closer attention, especially since it got walloped recently on its latest earnings report. This villainous correction will probably give a lot of investors out there a second shot at this stock. There will be more movies down the line, more plush merchandise, more video games. Marvel will eventually regain its momentum, although it will probably take some time.

Marvel Enterprises served Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscribers quite well. Although neither of the Gardner brothers was bitten by a spider genetically enhanced with a super-investing prowess, they still know the game. See for yourself by taking a free trial.

Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Disney, but none of the other companies mentioned.