Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club

SPIDER-MAN versus OMEGA RED

(Marvel)
Where: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #7 When: April 2012 Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Chris Samnee

The Story So Far...
Miles Morales' life was changed forever when a secret visit puts him in the path of a genetically enhanced spider accidentally collected when his uncle robbed disgraced corporation Osborn Industries.

For a second time the Oz Formula transfers the physiology of a spider unto a young man! Miles gains incredible super-human abilities, but desires only normalcy, leaving the heroics to the web-slinging Spider-Man -- until his untimely demise!

Burdened by his decision to not help Peter Parker -- Miles adopts the dead boy's creed of great power bringing great responsibility. Thus, when an explosion abruptly ends a test of his skills, Miles boldly rushes to the source of danger!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Omega Red 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Omega Red 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Omega Red 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Omega Red 4 (Training)
Energy: Spider-Man 3 (Explosives)
Total: Draw 25 (Champion)

Miles Morales isn't your father's Spider-Man -- and that means more than just his taste in super-hero fashion!

Similar to Peter Parker; the Oz-enhanced spider bite grants Miles super-human strength, speed, stamina, agility, ability to cling to walls, and an uncanny danger-warning spider-sense -- but that's not all!

He also develops the power to discharge bio-electricity as "Venom Blasts" for a variety of offensive and defensive uses, and spider-camouflage that allows him to blend in with his surroundings -- appearing almost invisible!

These extra skills come in handy for a rookie Spider-Man who lacks Peter Parker's know-how for constructing web-shooters, which he eventually received as a gift from May Parker, but will use inconsistently, developing instead organic electro-static webs as an extension of his Venom Blasts.

Miles Morales started out as a creation of the Ultimate Marvel Universe, which means he's inherited the enemies of "Ultimate Spider-Man", including an original take on the villainous Omega Red.

The Ultimate universe version of Arkady Rossovich underwent experimentation while in a Russian prison, but lacking the Soviet ambitions of the original, took to using his mutant tendrils and toxin-emissions as a human-hating mercenary.

He developed an arch-rivalry with Spider-Man and J Jonah Jameson when bad press after an impromptu defeat cost him work. Not knowing that a change in colour scheme means a different wall-crawler, he transfers his hatred to a brand-new wise-cracking Spidey.

This Omega Red isn't nearly as terrifying as the classic who's fought Wolverine across multiple mediums, but will still pose a significant challenge for the rookie Spider-Man. How did it all go down? Let's take a look!

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Omega Red (#976)

What Went Down...

The new Spider-Man jumps from an apartment building balcony and bounds across the rooftops, nimbly leaping and springing his way towards the source of a plume of smoke rising from the heart of the city.

Descending to the wreckage of a crumbled building, he wonders if it might be the work of terrorists. A strange buzzing in his head alerts his senses to a car tossed in his general direction -- the work of the super-mercenary Omega Red!

The budding hero turns tail to stay clear as Omega Red springs into action against a Spider-Man he believes to be his old nemesis.

Mutant tendrils whip violently along the new Spidey's path, forcing the young wallcrawler to leap clear as they smash through chunks of bedrock.

Spider-Man's arc takes him gracefully over Omega Red's head -- landing to deliver a straight kick with a slightly less than satisfactory quip.

The blow sends Omega Red flying across the battlefield into a pile of rubble, but the real pain he's feeling is in his cheque book.

The delay of a grudge bout is threatening to cost the mercenary money, but when he surveys the area, he's surprised to find no sign of his would-be adversary.

He wonders for a moment if the Spider-Man has actually run away -- only to be caught completely by surprise by a sudden charging uppercut!

A joke about wearing the same outfit inadvertently convinces the madman that it is indeed the same Spider-Man who foiled his efforts before. An uncanny moment of synchronicity between the aspiring hero and his inspirational predecessor.

Omega Red wraps his tendrils around a stunned Spidey and flings him into the air!

The all-new Spider-Man comes crashing down hard onto a limousine!

Omega Red remains in hot pursuit of the airborne spider, charging ahead with his tendrils reaching with intent to rip the vehicle and Spider-Man into four equal pieces!

The Spider manages to roll clear and evade detection once more -- catching the searching Omega Red with an electrically charged venom blast!

The mercenary's arms go stiff as the bio-electric charge surges through his body.

Omega Red drops unconscious to the floor. Spider-Man victorious!

The Hammer...

Just like that we welcome Miles Morales to the fight club rankings!

With return appearances in feature film and video games fast approaching, it was getting pretty difficult to ignore the secondary Spider-Man. Is that to say the last decade has been a deliberate snub? Well, it's not quite so black & white...

When Marvel first revealed plans to reinvent their classic icons for the new millennium -- it seemed like an intriguing prospect. "Ultimate" was a provocative name for the imprint brand, but seemed justified by its potential to create a new universe with all the benefits of forty years of Marvel Age hindsight.

In theory it would be a deliberate and designed construction, featuring the very best of Marvel Comics, in lockstep with burgeoning cinematic adaptations that were having a major influence on the Ultimate Marvel approach. Little wonder then that they'd begin with Spider-Man and X-Men: multimedia jewels in the crown that were about to make the leap to live-action cinema.

Ultimate Spider-Man was a little bit bloated and familiar from the outset, but the advent of Ultimate X-Men in early 2001 confirmed a sharp new image, borrowing a la carte from classic and leather-bound theatrical reference points.

The Ultimate approach was an immediate sensation, hooking a generation of new readers with the proliferation of belief that it was somehow freed from the burden of continuity, and imbued with a contemporary sense of "reality". Lies inevitably unraveling as the success of series led to the accumulation of continuity, and the aging alternative struggled with relevancy and identity opposite classic mainline titles, and expanding cinematic incarnations.

Half a decade in and things were starting to get a little stale. The Ultimates made a mark with grim introspection, Bush-era politics, and rubber piping on costumes, but Ultimate Fantastic Four pushed core ideas a little too far from centre for most fans' liking. Ultimate Marvel wasn't living up to its fresh new take, or its cinematic trappings, awkwardly stuck between being something totally original, and the referential familiarity that had been part of its creation.

With events like Avengers Disassembled and Civil War kicking off a cycle of short-lived deaths in mainline titles; 2009's Ultimatum emerged with a similar game plan, and a promise of real causality from a blockbuster cleaning of the slate.

It was sloppy and weird, killing off a roster of characters as high-profile as Wolverine, but in doing so opened a door for Ultimate Marvel to be a universe of unique consequence and progress. In 2011, that axe was swung at the brand's record-breaking standard bearer, eliminating this world's Peter Parker with a view to installing a recently made contingency -- an all-new Spider-Man.

When Marvel revealed plans to reinvent their reinvention for a new decade -- it seemed like another intriguing prospect. A Marvel Universe where it would actually be beneficial to retire seasoned icons, creating a genuine future with new heroes and possibilities. In a strange way it kinda felt like Miles Morales was exactly what Ultimate Comics needed! A fresh, real point of difference!

Flash forward another ten years and I'm obviously less excited about a second Spider-Man running around the main Marvel Universe. I lived through the Spider-Clone years, and came out with a greater appreciation for Peter Parker as the one and only Spider-Man. Mainline Marvel doesn't need another Spider-Man. Or men. Or women. The "multiverse" is a fun aside, but as Ultimate Marvel kinda proved, it works best as a carefully managed pocket that doesn't impede on the "real" universe.

The "real" Marvel Universe was built by identifying what wasn't already there and creating new characters to fill those gaps. Miles Morales kinda does that, so it's hard to knock them, but it might be a more exciting sell if he wasn't positioned as a second-rate also-ran in a world of one of comics' most recognized icons.

I appreciate that Miles Morales has his points of difference. He wasn't created simply as a direct knock-off Spidey. The Oz-laced spider bite gave him new twists on spider-based powers. There are a lot of weird and wonderful spiders in the world, doing weird and wonderful things, and Miles' camouflage and bio-electric abilities expand upon some real-world reference points in fun ways.

Movie-inspired organic-webbing would've been an obvious way to go, but I kinda like these early issues of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man where he can't web-sling. It honors the web-shooters of Peter Parker, and just gives the new kid a gritty edge that's kinda neat. The wall-crawler's wall-crawler. At least until his bio-electric skills take off, and he learns to fly like ballooning spiders described in a 2018 article by The Atlantic. If only they had a cooler name he could take.

Ultimate Omega Red doesn't fare quite so well in the originality department. The Jim Lee design that launched thousands of action figure owning "fans" is severely downgraded for a streamlined version that lacks any real flavour or mystique. It doesn't suffer from the directionless redundancy of Ultimate Blade & Morbius, but squanders the potential just the same. If more thought were put into characters like this, maybe Ultimate Marvel would've had a shot at survival.

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Winner: Spider-Man
#353 (new) Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
#992 (-16) Omega Red