As Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin or even the Rocket Racer could tell you, it’s not really the smartest move to make an enemy of Spider-Man. Apparently, that’s not a lesson that’s made its way to Mohammad Reza Naghdi. Naghdi, the commander of the Basij paramilitary force in Iran, has declared that Marvel Comics’ webcrawler is leading “false cartoon characters” in what he described as a “soft war” against the Islamic Republic.
(Admittedly, “soft war” does sound like something Marvel would publish, having already published series called Secret War, Civil War, Silent War and, of course, World War Hulk. Don’t be too surprised if “Spider-Man: Soft War” is announced by this summer.)
The comments were made at a meeting entitled “Basij and Media,” during which Naghdi announced the formation of The Organization of Basij and the Media, which will promote Basij activity in media – including, apparently, the creation of cartoon characters that can promote the activities of the Islamic Republic. Someone at Marvel, get on the phone to these guys, quickly – Even if you can’t get a culturally-sensitive Spider-Man spin-off out’ve this, at least try for a crossover with the new guy when he gets created. After all, it worked for the Justice League…
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