Marvel Enterprises - which owns Spider-man and tons of other lucrative, spandex-clad titles - today was forced to pay creator Stan Lee at least 10% of all the movies his characters are used in. Except, Newsday doesn't ask the one guy whose greed forced the suit anyway. But talks to a lawyer.

Marvel CEO Avi Arad has been known forever in film circles (meaning people who actually make money at it, not those who go to Tisch or Columbia taking classes with people who don't) as a tight-fisted tyrant whose greed is only matched by his need to pimp out every single character in the Marvel catalog before the world's interest in super-heroes runs out. Psst. Guys: It's running low NOW.

However:

What's Newsday doing quoting only the duelling lawyers? You missed the target, bub. (BTW, writer's name is Monty Phan, which, if you say it really fast, will definitely get mistaken for an English comedy troupe) Next time, call Avi out in Hollywood and ask him how it feels finally to have to pay an 82 year old man - to whom he owes his entire fleet of cars, houses, and miserably underpaid "executives" - a measly 10%

Pow! to you, too.