Fan outrage over planned Disney alterations to Marvel characters.

Spiderman fans have reacted with outrage at a newly-released image of their beloved icon, updated by the character's new owners. The image was released by Disney to mark its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in a $4 billion deal sealed on Monday. But to many fans' dismay, Marvel's most famous character is apparently being updated by its new owners. "How can they do this? At first I thought it was some kind of sick joke," says Brad Timson, chairman of one of the dozens of Spiderman fan-clubs across the U.S. "They've slapped this idiotic smile on him and those big Bambi-esque eyes. It is really disgusting."

However, a spokesperson for Disney defended the changes: "We wanted to do something special to welcome this beloved character into the Disney family. We decided that the best way to update this great character was to widen his appeal to a broader audience. We believe these subtle changes will do that."