Comic Book Firms to Duke It Out

Marvel Comics Ltd., the publisher of Spider Man and the Incredible Hulk comic books, has sued upstart rival Defiant over an action character Marvel introduces next month.

“They are aggressive competitors and turf warriors,” said James Shooter of the two firms he worked with as a principal executive at Defiant and former editor-in-chief at Marvel.

The filing Tuesday in Manhattan federal court accuses Defiant of infringing on Marvel’s trademark for “Plasmer.”

Marvel claims that a Defiant comics series, originally titled “Plasm” and changed to “Warriors of Plasm,” too closely resembles its character. Defiant has been selling “Warriors of Plasm” trading cards since June and will begin selling comic books today.

Marvel’s “Plasmer” has superpowers and was created when a female scientist is “protoplasmically” split into two personae--a good one and an evil one, the lawsuit said.

Defiant’s “Plasm” is a planet, not a character, said Defiant’s publisher, Winston Fowlkes. Its characters have names like “Lorca” and his love interest, “Laygen,” but certainly not “Plasmer,” Fowlkes said.