When newly appointed DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson first made the interview rounds in September, she said she believed her company's character library was "even bigger" than its competitor's.

At the time, Marvel boasted "a proven library of over 5,000 characters," a figure long touted at the bottom of press releases and repeated in news coverage of the company's acquisition by Disney. That's a slight increase from the previous tally of 4,000 or so ("nearly," "over" or "more than," depending on the source).

But this week that number seems to have risen again.

At an upfront presentation on Tuesday for media buyers and clients, Disney Channels Worldwide's new president of entertainment confirmed that The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series will air this fall on Disney XD.

In doing so, Gary Marsh teased the likelihood of more Marvel cartoons while ratcheting up the size of the character catalog: "We've been pouring through the library of 7,000 Marvel characters looking for the next Spider-Man."

Seven thousand, huh? I  wouldn't know; I stopped counting at Phineas T. Coroner.