I would try to avoid "permissions" that are loosely verbalized. Depending on where you live there is an automatic copyright on everything people make so by default others cannot do much with it. Also depending on where you live loosely verbalized permissions can be treated as invalid if they don't meet judicial requirements like being specific enough. The combination of those two things could theoretically lead you to problems in case of a lawsuit. Better use things that are published under one of those open licenses since they are usually made with a lawyer.

This is not a likely scenario (why would someone sue someone if they don't mind?) but better safe than sorry.

No, you did not find out how it was resolved. The key part is "did not disclose terms of the settlement". For all you know NCSoft needed to pay millions of dollars to "proceed unhindered".

Apparently Marvel failed to sue NCsoft for most items according to these news:

http://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/Marvel-Gericht-entscheidet-zugunsten-von-NCsoft-18253

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Federal+Judge+Dismisses+Claims+and+Strikes+Allegations+in+Marvel...-a0130132401

The court ruled that the similarities were insufficient

interesting is also this part:

"certain allegedly infringing works depicted in Marvel's pleadings were created not by users, but by Marvel itself. "

Further, if they would have paid some amount, I wonder about that statement " all parties agree that this case was never about monetary issues "