Marvel/DC: Spider-Man/Superman #1
Exactly 50 years ago, Spider-Man and Superman; the two biggest comic book super-heroes; teamed up for the first time. Essentially, these two are the flagships of their companies. Respectively, Spider-Man and Superman are to Marvel and DC what Mickey Mouse is to Disney. Sure, Wolverine, Batman, and Donald Duck (or Stitch) may have their popularity, but Spidey, Superman and Mickey are the mascots or faces of their brands. In the distant years of my youth it wasn’t uncommon to call one “the Spider-Man Company” or “the Superman Company”.
Nowadays, it’s true that I don’t salivate over new releases and make “New Release Day” a priority, anymore. Yet with the butt-load of history and significance that comes with a new Spider-Man/Superman comic FIRST ISSUE, I’d figure it’d be worth it to don the HAZ/MAT suit and venture to a Local Comic Shop. I fired up the ol’ eco-friendly 38Cycle, visited a place that sold comics (with guys LOUDLY talking about p*rn in the back corner), picked up this shiny new Spider-Man/Superman #1 FIRST ISSUE, grabbed an overpriced pack of 2026 Topps Baseball, paid the dudes, then retreated the 7.55 miles to my cell.
I read the whole thing, full of multiple standalone stories, and found it to be a…friendly… celebration of Marvel and DC with enough nostalgia and connections that could, at least, make comic fans do a Kevin Macguire SMIRK. It gave off a sense of fun and, while nothing earth-shaking, I was hoping this would turn into an annual event.
Then I put my hamster wheels to work and fired up the ol’ Internets and wanted to see what YOU, the fans, thought about it.
I was immediately perplexed, as people were talking/typing about…completely different stories?! Wait, was there a Spider-Man/Superman last year? Did I miss a special Free Comic Book Day giveaway? Sure, the main Spider-Man/Superman story started with things in progress, but I didn’t think a backstory was necessary. This clearly said “#1” on the cover, in large type for old farts like myself. Was there a…gasp…SECOND ISSUE? I searched around for “Spider-Man/Superman #2”, but found nothing.
Yet in my searching, I found a cover that was different from the #1 I had. I figured it was just one of the 18 cover variants that were produced.
Then I actually, y’know, READ the words on that image. It was “Superman/Spider-Man #1“. Not “Spider-Man/Superman #1“. Yeah, it took me awhile to figure out the switch and ordering of the characters on the title. I was disappointed that I missed this, since I lived through “DC vs. Marvel/Marvel vs. DC” and “JLA and Avengers/Avengers and JLA”. Yet those titles had issues numbers that increased from 1 to 4.
You can imagine how ashamed and embarrassed I was. I had just purchased a NEW #1 FIRST ISSUE… and it was actually a #2 SECOND ISSUE! To quote great American orator James Earl Jones: “Noooooooooooooo!” How…how.. can I go on in this cruel, gray, world? Where things that are actually a #2 have been blatantly labelled as a #1. All the values I hold dear as a comic book geek are being destroyed. The End Times are upon us. A #1 is NOT a FIRST ISSUE. To quote great Australian orator Bandit Custard Heeler: “oh, biscuits!”
Regardless… it took me about three months to get over this and actually write this article. I think laziness had a role in my delay, as well (a 5 to 99% chance; with odds on the higher end of that scale). So what actually happens in this FIRST…dadgummitt… SECOND issue? As alluded to, above, it’s more of a “Marvel/DC comic book jam.” It takes well-known existing characters and concepts off the shelf (or out of the toy box) and gets them to play well with each other. The spotlight isn’t only Spider-Man and Superman, there’s also Thor, Steel, Lana Lang, Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man Noir, Golden Age Superman in back-up stories. The bad guys team up with other bad guys and the heroes team up with other heroes. In that sense, everybody has friends and there’s not the usual Superhero Fight of Misunderstanding.
The only “new” twist is that Superman gets possessed by symbiote and becomes Super-Venom for a few panels. I usually dislike alternate versions of a character (like: “Oh! He’s GENERAL America and he has a SQUARE shield!”), but this was fine for a one-time effect. Yet I’m sure somebody will manufacture a Super-Venom action figure or poster, someday. Because comic fans tend to dig that stuff.
While there is quite a bit of action in the main story, there’s also a lot of dialogue. While trapped in a black mass, Spider-Man and Superman openly bond with each other over their lives. After the bad guys are mopped up, Peter Parker even takes Aunt May to Smallville to have dinner with Clark Kent and his parents; in the second half of the main story. Clark even gives Peter a signal watch. Awww.
If you’ve ever wondered who would win in an arm wrestling match between Aunt May and Ma Kent… well, we don’t get an answer, but do get a cute visual:
Oh, and while we’re down here, we should probably score the remaining stories, in order:
- Spider-Man (Noir) and (Golden Age) Superman
- Gwen Stacy and Lana Lang
- Superman, Thing (and more) vs. The Hulk (by way of Mysterio)
- Steel and Thor vs. Hobgoblin
- Ghost Spider and Supergirl vs. Livewire
- (Miles Morales) Spider-Man and Superman vs. Dormmamu and Brainiac
- Wonder Woman and (Jane Foster) Thor
- A final Spider-Man and Superman, about carrying on as a hero
Spider-Man Noir and Golden Age Superman works well, and includes this absolutely fun homage to Amazing Fantasy #15:
I feel like this idea might have been executed, before. Yet, to me, it’s kinda’ like a cool reversal of Amazing Spider-Man #306 from 1988!
Potentially, these all may have been inspired by a big game of Heroclix. They were all light, fluffy and fun for the most part, I feel like the only one that missed the mark was Superman/Thing. It seemed to be going a little too hard into the emotions and pathos of the characters. Which, sorry, seemed forced, melodramatic and out-of-place. At least when considering the other 70-some pages.
At first, I thought it might’ve been to jump headfirst into the “50 years” thing and do back-up stories featuring Spider-Man and Superman by decades. 80s black symbiote Spider-Man meeting “Man of Steel” Byrne Superman. Or…heh… 90s Scarlet Spider meeting “back from the dead” Superman With a Mullet. But after those pairings, the rest would be rather redundant, so overall I appreciate the story mix that was presented.
I’d be okay with making this an annual event. Heck, is it possible to dust off the character “Access”? Sure, fans like to categorize everything and would eventually want Character Development in this special “DC/Marvel Team-Up World” (which apparently has an all-important index number in both Marvel and DC’s Universes). However, I think that would kneecap the sense of fun that is present in an inter-company crossover special.
But for now, this makes me feel like reading MORE Marvel and DC comics. An enjoyable one-shot celebratory comic.
Errr…wait…two shots.
Summary: Superman (and pals) meet Spider-Man (and pals).
Cover Price: $7.99
