It's huge news that Disney is buying up Marvel Comics, and I don't just mean the $4 billion price tag.

The two entertainment companies have competed in a variety of different arenas, but only on an amicable, casual level. The area where the two giants are most alike is in their huge catalogue of vehemently protected character IPs, and it's these that Disney is really forking out that monumental wodge of cash for.

Despite lending licenses to a variety of different game developers and publishers over the years, Marvel has never really put its own finger in the gaming pie. But if Disney Interactive now has access to those immensely valuable characters, that could quickly change.

Disney has been making a significant push onto the iPhone and portable gaming markets recently, positioning its valuable IPs on the hottest platforms of the minute.

Likewise, Marvel's Ira Rubenstein went on stage at this year's GamesCom event in Cologne to announce its participation in a digital comic book reader for Sony's new digital outlook on the PSP, so both companies have clearly set their sights on the handheld arena.

It'll be a while before we see a Toy Story/Fantastic Four crossover game, but it seems inevitable that the handheld gaming intentions of the two companies will be combined to bring a new range of superhero adventures to the iPhone, PSP, DS and mobile platforms.