LIZARD versus SPIDER-MAN

Face-to-Face With... The Lizard! (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-Man #6 When: August 1963
Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
When a walking, talking lizardman emerges from the Florida everglades to threaten the local citizenry -- news quickly spreads to New York City and the pages of the Daily Bugle, which run with a headline challenging none other than Spider-Man to bring an end to the creature's terror!

Even Editor-in-Chief J Jonah Jameson doesn't really believe there's a seven foot half-man, half-lizard stalking the swamp, but when Spider-Man swings into his office to personally accept the challenge, he finally agrees to send ace photographer Peter Parker on the paper's dime -- setting up a showdown between arachnid and reptile!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Lizard 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Lizard 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Lizard 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Spider-Man 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Dr. Curt Connors is a brilliant geneticist and biologist, but the price of the formula that regenerates his missing arm using lizard DNA is his genius -- gone when he's transformed into a stalking human-reptile hybrid!

The Lizard is known to occasionally access the remnants of Connors' scientific knowledge and acumen, but he's typically a wild and volatile creature, utilizing animalistic agility, strength, jaws, and tail to pursue base desires and instincts.

Through the fog of his lizard-brain is often a desire for companionship, leading him to value the lives of his wife Martha and son Billy, and occasionally seek out means to transform other humans into similar lizard-people.

The Lizard has even been known to collaborate with others, participating in a gathering of the Sinister Twelve until he was dispatched by Iron Man!

Spider-Man is obviously the hero who shares the most history with Connors, earning the ire of the cold-blooded alter-ego for thwarting his many grand schemes.

We saw the rivalry adapted to animation for the third episode of the MTV Spider-Man series, but our most noteworthy comics example is a retroactive tale pitting The Lizard against the X-Men in one of their early adventures.

The Lizard effortlessly man-handled Beast and Angel in the Florida everglades, but was pacified by intense cold introduced by Ice Man. Spider-Man is similarly out-muscled, but also has the intelligence to find a tactical solution -- even if he might find it difficult to find anything cold enough to pull the same stunt!

Today we're looking back at Spider-Man's first encounter with The Lizard, and as we've seen in early battles against The Vulture and Mysterio -- that often means tasting defeat before devising a better strategy. How will it go? Let's find out!

History: Spider-Man (1-0-0)

The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...

A police blockade bars the public from entering the suspected "Lizard Area", but Spider-Man effortlessly descends upon the everglades, avoiding the attentions of local law enforcement by swinging overhead -- where he's spotted by The Lizard!

Stalking through long grass - Spider-Man begins to sense a lurking danger, but he fails to see the ripples in the nearby water -- until a scaly hand grabs his ankle!

The Lizard drags his challenger into the murky waters of the swamp.

It becomes a desperate struggle as Spider-Man is suddenly submerged, but he can clearly see his opponent through the water. Something that can't be said for The Lizard when a fistful of mud and silt is slung straight into his face!

The web-spinner turned mud-slinger crawls out of the pool to take a desperate gasp for breath -- but The Lizard emerges on the bank in equal time!

Lizard stakes a claim to his territory, marking Spider-Man doomed for entering his domain in the swampland. The reptile strikes!

Spidey narrowly avoids The Lizard's whipping tail -- surprised by his speed, and apparently authentic scales, as he jumps clear of the swinging appendage.

Looking to "knock some of the fight out of him", Spider-Man grabs hold of the end of the tail, but he has dramatically under estimated The Lizard's strength!

A mighty swing of The Lizard's tail turns the tables on Spider-Man -- launching him over a tree and across the everglades!

The branches break his fall, leaving Spider-Man to regroup after a dead rubber.

The Hammer...

I thought we might be in for the customary first-round setback for Spider-Man's inaugural battle with The Lizard, but it turns out he gets off a little lighter than that, merely thrown from the battlefield while Lizard disappears into the growth.

Fight fans might argue that Lizard initiated the separation, but it's still ultimately a moot result. The combatants go their separate ways with no real conclusions or advantage.

The stalemate will continue with a couple more run-ins throughout the issue, until a more substantial issue-ending face-off at The Lizard's lair.

We might take a look at more of their conflict another time -- but for now, let's just take a moment to appreciate the classics. I know I am!

Opinions on the definitive Lizard may vary, but I think this is very close to it. I'm partial to a less round head, more in keeping with common lizard varieties and a hint of crocodile jaw, but most of the iconic trademarks are here from the outset.

The influence of Universal Monsters, particularly The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and other science fiction of the era, is very evident, but it's always wonderful the way classic Marvel Comics artists and Stan Lee create something self-sustaining and original, either in conception of the character, the details of their life, or through the mere relationship to the hero Spider-Man.

Steve Ditko's best panels efficiently tell the action-packed story, showing the Lizard's menace as he lurks in the periphery, the shadows, or the unassuming waters. I particularly enjoy the first panel featured in today's article, with the Lizard merely observing intruders in his environment, and the underwater sequence -- the crocodilian Lizard in his element, ala; the "Gill-Man".

If you can't get on board with a seven foot half-man/half-lizard wearing a lab coat -- I really don't know how to help you. I worry for your soul, your heart, your mind -- the very core of your being. What's not to like? It's a freaking lizardman in pants and pristine white lab coat! That you don't see that every day is its glory!

I write this knowing Spider-Man 2 has just hit PlayStation 5, bringing The Lizard into the world of the rather tedious video game series, with a variation inspired by the even larger, more exaggerated mutation of 2010's Shed storyline.

Drawn by Chris Bachalo and written by Zeb Wells, it was actually a story I rather enjoyed at the time. Part of a back-to-basics run of Amazing Spider-Man that put a fresh twist on classic villains returning to the series as part of The Gauntlet.

In the case of The Lizard, Curt Connors is devoured by his alter-ego, who takes on a more spiny, animal quality as his humanity drifts into the background behind something else. I struggle to consider it a good introduction to the character, as the video game may ultimately be for some, but it's another story I'd like to revisit sometime on the site. The Gauntlet is really a very good time!

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#1072 (+3) Lizard

SPIDER-MAN & SILVER SURFER versus CARNAGE

Savage Rebirth! (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-Man #430 When: January 1998 Why: Tom DeFalco How: Joe Bennett

The Story So Far...
The suits at the Ravencroft Institute are looking for ways to cut back on spending, and newly appointed Mr. Pogue figures the first place to start is maximum security dedicated to a single inmate.

The administrator reasons Cletus Kasady will be none the wiser if they disarm the costly hi-tech network of concentrated microwave generators that keep Kasady's alien symbiote at bay -- but he's dead wrong! Now Carnage is on the loose, and the blood of Martha Robertson -- wife of Bugle EIC Robbie Robertson -- is his chosen medium for sending a message to his enemies: Carnage Rules!

Peter Parker promised his wife Mary-Jane he'd stay out of costume while Norman Osborn's Daily Bugle holds a million dollar bounty on his head, but with great power must come great responsibility! The web-slinger heads out to stop another citywide slaughter -- even though he's never been able to beat Carnage alone!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Silver Surfer 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Silver Surfer 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Silver Surfer 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Silver Surfer 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Silver Surfer 37 (Cosmic)

Spider-Man has more than his fair share of lethal foes, but they don't come much deadlier than Carnage!

The symbiote-bonded alter-ego of serial killer Cletus Kasady has always had the better of the web-slinger, necessitating team-ups with the likes of Venom just to try to keep the slaughter to a minimum.

Venom carried the load when they worked together to end the Maximum Carnage crossover in Spider-Man Unlimited #2, but not before their alliance came off second best in Spider-Man #35.

Earlier still, Spidey took a brutal shot to busted ribs in Web of Spider-Man #101, in a battle that also featured Carnage's demented adopted family, and seemingly claimed the life of the light-bringer, Dagger.

Despite a svelte appearance; Carnage has always possessed far greater strength than Spider-Man, wielding it with a variety of symbiote transformations, such as double-edged axe-hands, long bladed fingers, talons, tendrils, and extending limbs. A literal murderers row of effective killing implements!

He might not have much luck cutting through the chrome skin of Spider-Man's surprise partner, though. Silver Surfer is in a whole other league, possessing the power cosmic that's bested Ronan The Accuser, Nebula, Super-Skrull, and even DC's Green Lantern!

We've only seen symbiotes go cosmic a couple of times and the results have been mixed. Venom was a surprising match for an unfamiliar Superman during their initial crossover in DC/Marvel: All Access #1. The cosmically powered Nova was better prepared to blast Mac Gargan while fighting the Thunderbolts in Nova #3.

Our best reference may be the zombie Spider-Man of Earth 2419, who was able to use the Silver Surfer's power to blast a hole clean through Venom. The transfer of power raises a raft of other issues, but it broadly suggests it shouldn't be too hard for The Surfer to exploit Carnage's weakness for fire and sonic disturbance.

The Tape: Spider-Man & Silver Surfer Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...

A thin web line shoots from the heavens at the vital moment as Carnage tosses a car towards an illegally parked businessman. Spider-Man yanks the man clear of danger and leaves him webbed to a building out of the symbiote's reach.

Hero and villain might see eye to eye on parking violations and handicap spaces, but the prospects for a peaceful surrender are slim to none. Carnage is on the loose and seeking fresh thrills from his old sparring partner!

Spidey bounces off the roof of an empty parked car, narrowly avoiding a long and jagged limb -- it smashes the canopy flat!

No such luck on the second attempt. A quick, slashing uppercut catches Spider-Man in mid-air and sends him slamming into another vehicle!

Nearby spectators debate fleeing the scene to avoid becoming statistics in another Carnage killing spree, but a couple of the more opportunistic types decide to gamble their fate on claiming a Daily Bugle bounty from Spider-Man's corpse.

Carnage overhears the onlookers, and taunts Spidey with the public's plans to profit from his untimely demise.

The villain throws two symbiote-extended hands that smash through car windows directly behind Spider-Man. An accidental miss? Or a means to secure a grip of the mangled vehicle and toss it casually in the direction of the callous profiteers?

As the public runs for their lives from the airborne vehicle -- a chromium skinned figure happens to glide gracefully through the sky overhead.

Lamenting humanity's penchant for violence; Silver Surfer never-the-less vows to bring aid upon the beleaguered Spider-Man he spots down below!

Carnage moves menacingly upon the spider with a stop sign hoisted over his head, but a simple bolt of cosmic energy renders the makeshift weapon non-existent!

The snippy serial killer turns to tell the cosmic herald to butt out of his blood feud, but as the identity of the silver stranger dawns upon him -- the symbiote recognizes the descending figure as well!

Fear is the last thing Cletus Kasady feels as the living red costume suddenly explodes from his body!

A thick red stream of living ooze curls through the air, arching towards a nearby storm drain, leaving the naked quivering body of its human host in the street.

An unbreakable bond is seemingly severed, and with a key word from Spider-Man -- the Silver Surfer immediately knows what he has just witnessed!

Familiar with the all-consuming threat the symbiote poses to the planet: Silver Surfer uses his cosmic power to evaporate the street beneath him and take up pursuit of the fleeing alien through the sewers.

On the surface; Spider-Man attempts to learn more from Kasady. The killer is racked with panic by the overwhelming sense of suddenly being alone -- and the residual terror & loathing felt by the symbiote.

The creature's shared race-memory is all too aware of the Silver Surfer from his years spent as herald to the devourer of worlds. For the destruction of one of its home planets, the symbiote desires revenge, and there's only one way it can defeat the Silver Surfer -- by becoming him!

The red symbiote springs its trap - catching the Silver Surfer by stretching suddenly to cover the entire space of the sewer before him.

What emerges from beneath the street is something truly terrible. A cosmic horror driven to its basest instincts by madness and bloodlust. The Surfer has fallen prey to the symbiote -- now there is only The Carnage Cosmic!

The Hammer...

So we witness the chilling birth of The Carnage Cosmic: a concept that tickles the fancy of every fanboy who's ever wondered what would happen if a symbiote bonded with a more powerful host.

In the last decade Marvel has made an unfortunate habit of these kinds of character mash-ups, but back in 1998 this kind of fusion was unheard of! It struck like a bolt from the blue, and the legend of its two issue impact has managed to continue to capture the imagination -- or what's left of it -- of readers to this very day!

So what exactly happened? Let's break it down as simply as possible to suit the needs of our humble Comic Book Fight Club:

Silver Surfer showed up and put the fear of god(s) in Carnage, which sent the symbiote scrambling, and left Cletus Kasady quivering in the street in his birthday suit. The method is unorthodox, but that constitutes a win -- over Cletus.

The Carnage symbiote latched onto The Surfer, essentially switching sides to join the winning team. That's gonna require an update to the rankings.

We always had the wherewithal to rank & record the Venom Symbiote as a separate entity from Eddie Brock. After all, it famously started with Spider-Man, and has found a few other noteworthy hosts along the way. The same should've been true of Carnage, but because of the strong bond between the red symbiote and Cletus Kasady, we've never had to make that distinction -- until now.

Enthusiasts will know this wasn't the first time the Carnage symbiote latched on to somebody else. Ben Reilly had a similarly brief turn as "Spider-Carnage" a couple of years prior, during his time as Spider-Man.

The chance encounter between Carnage and Silver Surfer was, however, one of the first times we were encouraged to think of he and Venom in a cosmic context.

It was inevitable that we would one day discover more about the alien origins of the symbiotes, but after the black costume's formal introduction in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8, we were rarely asked to ponder its life beyond Earth.

As the living suit worn by Peter Parker and Eddie Brock; the black symbiote was a means to a super-powered ends. Its passage from one host to the next created a novel origin story for a super-villain, who in turn became a popular anti-hero, but remained predominantly preoccupied with earthbound concerns.

Even the introduction of Venom's alien offspring didn't venture too far beyond the simple thrill of a new, more extreme menace for both Spider-Man and Brock to deal with. Maximum Carnage brought the villain into the purview of some unusual opponents, but its strangest alliances never breached the cosmic.

Venom's ambiguous backstory begged many questions, but I appreciate the clean simplicity of life before the all-answering and consuming creation of Knull.

Connecting the symbiotes' past with Silver Surfer and Galactus was a nice bit of world building that didn't go too far. It has an amusingly ironic symmetry, similar to the Marvel Zombies meeting Galactus, with a bit more respect for Marvel's established food chain. Building backwards, without disrupting the balance and control of one or two characters, was a palatable way to explore.

It makes sense that we should think of infestation as a planetary concern, but the existential parasitic threat was mitigated by limiting asexual reproduction to "once per generation". Even the threat to the individual seemed to melt away as Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady became standard bearers for a successful bonding.

We eventually got more symbiotes, but their lack of traction in the larger public consciousness highlighted the pitfalls of opening the floodgates. It's a bit like the Alien film franchise, where returning to Earth was a looming hypothetical threat, but once that page was turned in the Versus Predator films, it was apparent just how dissatisfying anything less than total commitment to global peril really is.

Brian Bendis took a stab at having it both ways with his "symbiote bomb" in Avengers, but the entire episode seemed frivolous and inconsequential. There was still a cap on how far the outbreak could go, and even on this smaller scale the macro began to lose any sense of character or genuine intrigue.

The wisdom of the Alien films seems to have settled on keeping things personal. A less is more philosophy, consistent with the atmospheric horror of the 1979 original that many agree remains the best. As Josef Stalin put it, "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." The threat of Carnage is personal, but an Earth consumed with symbiotes has lost clear meaning.

If you'd like to get personal with Carnage you can find today's featured fight Amazing Spider-Man #430 and many more collected in Carnage Classic! Use the Amazon purchase link provided to do your shopping and you'll not only find a good deal -- you'll also help support the site at no extra cost!

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can discover more from your favourites by following links throughout this post, or by becoming one with the Secret Archive. That's where you'll find every featured fight indexed by publisher, series, and issue.

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Winner: Silver Surfer (w/ Spider-Man)
#31 (+5) Silver Surfer
#2 (--) Spider-Man [+1 assist]
#121 (new) Carnage (Symbiote) [+1 assist]
#135 (-12) Carnage (Cletus Kasady)

SPIDER-MAN versus DEMOGOBLIN

Demons on Broadway: Maximum Carnage Chapter 3 (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-Man #378 When: June 1993
Why: David Michelinie How: Mark Bagley

The Story So Far...
Symbiote-wearing serial killer Cletus Kasady escaped from maximum security at the Ravencroft Institute, carving a bloody path as his alter-ego Carnage!

Having forged a twisted bond with Shriek and the razor-fanged Doppelganger; Carnage is set on painting the town red with Spider-man's blood -- and the innards of anyone else unfortunate enough to come across his killer family's path!

When Spider-Man was kicked from a high-rise rooftop during a skirmish with Shriek and Doppelganger, he inadvertently found his first allies in Cloak and Dagger. Alas, their intervention quickly came at the ultimate price when Dagger was seemingly destroyed in battle with the villains!

Nursing broken ribs and a crushing sense of responsibility, Spider-Man must return to the New York City skyline alone in order to hunt his out-of-control lethal foes. He'll stop at nothing to defeat them, but he didn't count on running in to another of his most dangerous enemies: Demogoblin!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Demogoblin 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Spider-Man has faced more than his fair share of goblins over the years, but most of those were just guys in creepy costumes. Demogoblin is the genuine article: unleashed from Hell by N'Astirh, and the ambitions of Jason Macendale!

Macendale is best known for appropriating the identity of Hobgoblin, but when he attempted to add supernatural powers to his skills as a mercenary, he was possessed with a demonic spirit that eventually began to consume him. We saw the Demogoblin taking control in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #32, where his crusade against sinners led to an assault on Moon Knight's mansion.

Separated from Macendale the demon later attempted to team with a mystically corrupted Blade in Ghost Rider #40 - only to wind up dead on the end of a demogorge shish kebab! That was soon remedied and he was back causing mayhem in Venom: The Enemy Within #3, where Venom and Morbius teamed to stop Demogoblin in a loose sequel to their affiliation in Maximum Carnage.

That finally brings us to today's battle where Demogoblin hasn't yet made the acquaintance of Carnage and his twisted family of killers. He's just a formidable opponent at last facing his one true arch-nemesis - Spider-Man!

Demogoblin approximates his arsenal from his human host, and Hobgoblin's gear was already stolen from Green Goblin. That means Spidey's experience fighting other goblin-types is invaluable.

Determination and personal ties were vital to vexing Harry Osborn in Amazing Spider-Man #176. We saw how proper motivation could motivate Spidey to lay the smackdown in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1! The super-powered Menace flipped that script, using super-strength to secure a win in Amazing #585!

With her advanced super-human strength Menace is a near equivalent to Demogoblin, but we've seen Spider-Man overcome plenty of odds! Let's see...

The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...
Swinging through the Bowery skyline by night, an injured Spider-Man begins the solemn search for Carnage and his adopted family of crazed killers.

The last thing the web-slinger wanted was to run into another nemesis, but when he spots Demogoblin gliding above the city streets, he finds his best lead for tracking down the sinister Doppelganger -- Demogoblin's former pet!

Hoping to track the demon, Spider-Man hangs back to avoid detection, but his reflection in high-rise windows betrays him!

Demogoblin spots the web-swinging hero and accelerates around a corner, riding his flaming glider in an upward arc over the building to double-back and launch an ambush!

His danger-warning spider-senses sound the alarm at the last second, allowing Spider-Man to twist clear of a stream of hellfire shot from Demogoblin's finger!

The demon's arsenal is far from exhausted. While Spidey uses webs to keep the battle airborne and clear of civilians, Demogoblin produces a sinister black pumpkin bomb! He tosses it, forcing Spider-Man to use a street light to hand press himself clear of the blast -- but the bomb doesn't explode!

Instead, the grinning weapon suddenly erupts into a wave of darkness that engulfs the unsuspecting hero!

Spider-Man has no time to dodge the living black, which wraps around his body and sends him hurtling to the street below!

Nearby onlookers offer cheers of support, but Spider-Man cannot comply with their calls to victory. His body is overcome with a feeling of cold and despair. He curls into the foetal position, struggling to leave the pavement even as Demogoblin arrives at his feet!

Demogoblin grabs Spider-Man by the throat and hoists him up against a nearby building. The demon explains his new weapon's purpose to make all sinners taste the bleak and unending hopelessness of torment.

A passing priest hears Demogoblin's doctrine and attempts to intervene. The padre dubs the demon a blasphemous trickster and demands he release the hero by all that's holy. His zeal is met with another choke hold and the promise that he will be the next to burn. It's enough to rouse Spider-Man from the dark!

Inspired by a will to protect others from harm -- Spider-Man strikes!

The mighty blow sends Demogoblin flying through the air, his grip on the priest loosened as they're both launched! Despite the rough landing, the priest is grateful for Spider-Man's efforts. The web-head's rescue job isn't finished yet.

Recovering quickly, Demogoblin launches another pumpkin bomb at Spider-Man's back. Once again, his spider-senses save the day, allowing him to leap clear of the conventional bomb's blast with the priest in his arms!

The act of derring-do aggravates Spidey's injured ribs, but he's spared the need to hide his injury. The Demogoblin uses the moment to make his escape, leaving only a trail of flame as he glides away into the night!

The Hammer...

Spider-Man thinks about pursuing Demogoblin, but with pain radiating from his injured ribs, he's barely able to stand -- let alone commit to a second round!

The web-head will have his chance at a rematch in the next chapter of Maximum Carnage, but not before Demogoblin runs afoul of Cletus Kasady and his merry band of killers! A most interesting predicament given Demogoblin's quest to punish all sinners, but also his relationship with Doppelganger, who he nurtured and maintained after manifestation during the Infinity War.

The prospect of a team-up sounds like bad news for the good guys, who just lost Dagger last issue, but Demogoblin wasn't the only player to join the board during Chapter 3. As you may've noticed from the slightly misleading cover art, this is also the issue that officially brings Venom into the game!

The issue starts with a speciously dynamic three-page sequence of "Edward Brock" arriving at New York's LaGuardia Airport. He's incognito in jacket and jeans, but when he spots the day's headline with a front page picture of Carnage, rage boils over and the symbiote comes alive in full Venom mode!

He'll catch up with Carnage right at the end of the issue, ignoring the sounds of Spidey and Demogoblin's battle to follow a radio report of massacre in Central Park. It won't quite be the showdown the cover makes it seem. In fact, we really only get a panel of Venom's arrival, a leaping sneak attack by Shriek and Doppelganger, and then Eddie Brock showing up on Peter Parker and Mary-Jane's doorstep with his symbiote in tatters.

Not exactly feature fight material, but it's only Chapter 3, so what do you really want? We're still in the assembly period of this 14-part maxi-series event, and to be honest, I always really enjoyed that aspect of this issue.

To some extent, you can attribute the respect the Carnage character commands with fans to this issue. It's very effective at illustrating the supreme threat of Carnage and his crew, who are only building momentum, indiscriminately killing their way through New York City with nobody present to stop them.

Spider-Man's used to fighting from underneath, but he's already lost an ally, busted some ribs, and copped an earful from Mary-Jane. She's going out of her mind with worry having just consoled Liz Allen through the death of her costumed husband. Throw in an unannounced drop-in by the dirtbag who terrorized both their lives (Venom) and you've got serious pressure building!

Viewed in isolation as part of the Maximum Carnage story it's all great set-up, but as Amazing Spider-Man #378, it also reminds you that Spider-Man is always at risk of running in to another unexpected threat, or opponent. Demogoblin will have a role to play in this event, but the way he gets involved is just like any other issue, a chance encounter of happenstance.

Another reason to love this issue is the art. There have been many phenomenal artists to draw Spider-Man over the years, but it's moments like the opening that made Mark Bagley the definitive Spidey artist of 1993! Deliberately high praise when you remember guys like Sal Buscema and Tom Lyle were hitting it out of the park on Maximum Carnage as well!

There was just something about the way Bagley could draw and layout characters like Spider-Man and Venom that was second to none!

His lines were slick and clean, his poses dynamic, and his anatomy spot-on. There are elements of the contortions and style Todd McFarlane and Erik Larsen brought to Spider-Man, but they're channeled through a more refined pen, akin to a modern day John Romita. An exceptional talent I love revisiting!

Credit to inker Randy Emberlin and colorist Bob Sharen, too. They compliment his stuff so well. I recommend anyone seek out the original issues to get a better impression of the colours. I really need to lift my scan game.

If you'd rather read Maximum Carnage in one sitting you can find it in various collected editions. Use Amazon purchase links provided to find a good deal and help support Secret Wars on Infinite Earths at no extra cost!

Today's battle was a bonus bit of demonic Halloween horror. You can find this month's offerings and more by checking out a recap in Cover to Cover: Halloween Frights 'n' Fights!

You can also find battles from Maximum Carnage Parts 1, 2, and 14! Find more from the featured characters by checking out links throughout these posts, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of battles by publisher and series. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for daily links to battles inspired by the topics of the day. Make sure to SMASH those like and share options!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#892 (+6) Demogoblin

SPIDER-MAN versus MYSTERIO

The Menace of... Mysterio! (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-Man #13 When: June 1964
Why: Stan Lee How: Steve Ditko

The Story So Far...
When Spider-Man suddenly turns to a life of midnight robbery: J. Jonah Jameson touts his scathing editorials as vindicated. With the public turning against him, and no way to safely consult a psychologist without risking his secret identity -- even Peter Parker is beginning to doubt his own wall-crawling alter-ego's innocence!

Enter - Mysterio: A strange, bubble-domed individual who arrives unannounced at the Daily Bugle!

Mysterio claims to be a hero who's disguised himself to prevent threats to his family from the criminal underworld. He aims to use his incredible powers to stop Spider-Man's crime wave -- asking only that the newspaper print an invitation to the Brooklyn Bridge before he disappears in a puff of smoke!

Spider-Man answers the rendezvous in the hopes of learning the truth about his sudden crisis of identity. Mysterio has no interest in talking, though. This eerie new "hero" is only interested in using his "powers" to destroy Spider-Man!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-Man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Spider-Man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Mysterio 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Based on the stat readout you're probably expecting a cakewalk for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man -- but the numbers only tell part of the story!

Mysterio is Quentin Beck: A Hollywood master of special effects and stunt work who turned his trade into an elaborate career creating crime!

His knowledge of electronics, chemicals, and practical effects means he's a villain who attacks the mind as vociferously as the body! Deception in his greatest tool, but make no mistake -- his illusions are often a deadly reality!

In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4 we saw Mysterio team with The Wizard to create: a deadly gas chamber, lifelike holographic doubles, and a giant-sized animatronic gorilla! Alone, Spidey might've been defeated, but he tag teamed with the Human Torch to narrowly escape the various perils.

Mysterio's illusions range from the disorientation of a living funhouse mirror, to elaborate death traps. In theory, Spider-Man can rely on his unique "spider-senses" to navigate visual decoys. However, Mysterio's deceptions have been known to be quite convincing!

In the alternate reality of Old Man Logan it was Mysterio who helped beat Wolverine's keen senses, tricking him into eviscerating the X-Men while under the belief they were his deadliest enemies. Mysterio has also been able to fool his way past the highly enhanced senses of Daredevil!

What ultimately lets Mysterio down is a combination of ego and lack of fighting skills. His personal suit provides some physical armoring, levitation, as well as an arsenal of special effects gimmicks, smoke projection, mind-altering gasses, holograms, and controls for various electronic aids. Once these are bypassed he's typically ripe for defeat, though.

This is pretty early in Spider-Man's career, so he's at least vulnerable to the pretense of Mysterio's claims of strange powers. He's also still getting to grips with his own powers. We saw the Vulture use simple diversionary tactics to get the drop on Spideya few months earlier, in Amazing Spider-Man #7.

The proportionate strength, speed, and agility of a spider should typically be enough to best Mysterio, but it's about time we find out what happened!

History: Spider-Man (1-0-0)
The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...
Walking a tightrope along the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, Spider-Man seeks answers from the man who summoned him. As if appearing from nowhere in sudden burst of smoke -- Mysterio arrives to carry out his challenge!

Spidey immediately dives at his hostile host -- but Mysterio effortlessly avoids the attack! As if by magic, his smoking feet carry him over his adversary in a graceful backwards arc -- and into a returning dive kick to the back!

The blow staggers Spider-Man for a moment, but the proportionate strength and agility of a spider helps him recover quickly. He takes a return swing at his newest nemesis, but swipes open air as Mysterio steps onto the sheer face of the bridge brickwork -- and stands on it in defiance of the laws of gravity!

Designs to pull Mysterio back up top go by the wayside when his smoking feet again glide him out of the wall-crawler's reach!

Issues of reach are quickly remedied with some quick fire web-slinging, but Mysterio appears to have an uncanny answer for that, too! With a simple gesture of his hand the webs appear to freeze in mid-air and vaporize!

With another wave of his hands Mysterio disappears into a blooming cloud of smoke. Undeterred, Spidey jumps into the fog with his keen spider-sense at the ready -- but for the first time in his amazing career it fails him!

With his preternatural danger sense jammed, Spider-Man resorts to swinging wildly through the cloud, but it does him no good. Mysterio stays hidden, avoiding his attacks while unleashing a barrage of his own!

Pummeled by invisible strikes, Spider-Man's disoriented situation grows desperate! With options dwindling, and Mysterio's blows testing his enhanced resolve, he opts for a drastic measure -- jumping from the Brooklyn Bridge!

Spidey hits the water relatively unharmed, weaving a web ball of air to evade police helicopters. He swims away submerged beneath the waves, while Mysterio basks atop the bridge in victory!

The Hammer...
The first career outing for Mysterio goes into the books as a success!

His mighty "powers" lived up to their claim, earning a tactical victory against a young and unprepared Spider-Man. The reader, of course, knows all is not as it seems, but in this first outing, Spidey only has fleeting suspicions about the true nature of Mysterio, and his talent for simulating super-powers.

It's a fairly standard introduction for a classic Spider-Man villain. Even in his second appearance, we saw Vulture get a similar win in 1963's Amazing Spider-Man #7. It's the dramatic set-up for a tense rematch later in the issue.

I'd like to think readers of the time may not have had absolute certainty Spidey would come out on top in the end, but they probably did, and had fun seeing how he did it, any way. I sure did!

It's been much tougher for Quentin Beck to get respect in the intervening decades. His defeats have had a way of overwhelming his fleeting successes.

Fans of a certain age seem to have either loved the fantastical fish-bowled felon - or hated him. Like a lot of dyed in the wool fans, I've always come down on the side of affection. I love the classic Steve Ditko design, and the core concept.

Mysterio may be best associated with smoke and mirrors, but his penchant for deception and false realties only seems to lend itself to growing relevance.

The way we consume media should easily be reflected on the way Mysterio distributes it. Smart phones and virtual reality headsets are the kinds of ever present vehicles that invite Mysterio into all of our lives.

False narratives of so-called "fake news" and the growing concern of gullibility and confusion among average consumers plays directly into the schemes and means of Mysterio as a super-villain. These concepts don't even need to be pushed into the realm of science-fiction to exploit the concept of Mysterio as a very real, very dangerous character, perfectly suited to our times.

Of course, smoke and mirrors are still pretty fun, too.

Jake Gyllenhaal brings plenty of smoke to the big screen with his version of Mysterio appearing in Spider-Man: Far From Home. It looks like the movie appears to be paying some homage to the original story seen in Amazing Spider-Man #13, which is nice to see. Especially with the dome on!

Mysterio's deceptive skill has been extended to marketing for the movie, which presents Gyllenhaal as a powerful inter-dimensional hero accidentally brought to the MCU by Thanos, and the events of Avengers: Infinity War. We can all assume much of what Mysterio claims will be a lie, but I'm sure moviegoers will enjoy seeing how Spidey comes out on top in the end.

If you'd like to see how they did it in the classics, and reconnect with the original (and best) Mysterio, you can do so by checking out the collected Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 2! Using the Amazon purchase link provided will get you a top deal on paperback and help support Secret Wars on Infinite Earths at no extra charge! That's no illusion!

Find more Spider-Man smackdown by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive! There you'll find every featured fight indexed by publisher, series, and issue! You can also get daily links to featured fights by following on Twitter and Facebook! Be sure to throw a like or share this way!

Winner: Mysterio
#377 (+264) Mysterio
#2 (--) Spider-Man

VENOM versus SPIDER-MAN

The Boneyard Hop! (Marvel)
Where: Amazing Spider-man #347 When: May 1991
Why: David Michelinie How: Erik Larsen

The Story So Far...
When Spider-man's costume was damaged fighting the Secret Wars of Battleworld, he mistakenly chose the wrong repair machine, unleashing an alien symbiote that masqueraded as his new black costume!

Freeing himself from the parasite using its weakness to sound, Spider-man inadvertently created his greatest nemesis when the symbiote bonded with a Peter Parker-hating journalist: Eddie Brock! Sharing the symbiote's knowledge of Parker's secret identity, host and parasite combined to create a deadly Venom!

Using the symbiote's ability to alter his appearance and negate Spider-man's danger sense -- Venom succeeds in luring the web-slinger to the Moleed Labs cryogenic facility. With his mortal nemesis frozen and helpless, Venom transports him to a deserted island so the pair can have their final showdown!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Venom 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Venom 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-man 29 (Metahuman)

It's finally time to return to one the great comic book rivalries of the modern age! Venom is the distorted reflection of Spider-man, possessing equivalent powers thanks to the alien symbiote originally bonded to Peter Parker!

With a range of additional skills, Venom is arguably Spider-man's superior in physical combat, but that didn't stop the web-slinger winning their only previously featured encounter: an obscure battle from Spider-man Family #2!

The living black costume enhances Eddie Brock's speed and agility, generates webbing and extending tendrils, imitates materials and surfaces, mimics wall-crawling, and increases Brock's natural size and strength to surpass the brute force and endurance of Spider-man!

Venom's superior strength is one of his most obvious offensive advantages. He's used it to overpower Spider-man on countless occasions, and even gone head-to-head with powerhouses like Iron Man [Iron Man #302], Demogoblin [Venom: The Enemy Within #3], and even Superman, in the controversial crossover battles of DC/Marvel: All Access #1!

Fortunately, Spider-man is no stranger to a physical mismatch! With proper motivation he's out thought, and out fought, the likes of: Juggernaut [Amazing Spider-man #230], Rhino [Spider-man: Blue #2], Tombstone [Spectacular Spider-man #142], Scorpion [Spectacular Spider-man #215], Grey Gargoyle [Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1], and even DC's New God Mantis (and Juggernaut), with a little help from Wonder Woman [Unlimited Access #1]!

So what makes Venom more dangerous than all the other heavyweights?

Because of the symbiote's time attached to Peter Parker, it knows all that he knew - and shares it freely with Eddie Brock! There's an obvious tactical edge to knowing how Spider-man fights, but the psychological toll is just as great!

Brock has used his knowledge to prey upon Spidey's vulnerabilities, and torment those closest to him, like his former wife Mary-Jane Watson! At the time of this fight, Venom's personal warfare had arguably put him on the level of the presumed-deceased Green Goblin! A physical and mental double threat!

The symbiote's already managed to trick Spider-man into being cryogenically frozen! The thaw could prove an added problem, along with the unfamiliar arena. This has all the makings of a Venom win, but can you ever rule-out a spectacular Spidey comeback? Let's check it out!

History: Spider-man (1-0-0)
The Tape: Spider-man Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...
Chilled to the bone by cryogenic freezing: Spider-man opens his eyes to find himself sweating in the sun on a deserted island! Venom looms above in a tangle of webbing and palm leaves, waiting for his prey to thaw for the hunt!

Spidey cuts a lesson in the island's history short, webbing Venom's face to buy himself precious seconds to escape! He uses them to flee the open beach for the cover of dense jungle growth, while the symbiote briefly explodes off Eddie Brock's head, clearing the obstruction to its human host's vision!

With no fear of exposing his identity, Peter Parker sips at a cool stream sans mask. He tries to clear his head and prepare for combat when the water stirs!

Two massive, camouflaged arms reach from the water and grab Peter Parker by the throat! The alien symbiote both mimicks its visual surroundings, whilst negating any warning by Spider-man's preternatural spidey sense!

Dragged beneath the water, Spidey struggles to find his footing as a massive fist collides with his face! Spying a sunken tree branch, he desperately shoves the makeshift weapon into Venom's face, then swings for the fences!

The web-slinger makes a break for the surface and escapes the deep pool for the open sprawl of the canopy. Venom is in hot pursuit -- a fact that plagues Peter's mind as he web-swings his way toward an abandoned mining village.

At the settlement edge, Parker uses his fleeting time to improvise a trap and plan to lure Venom to it. Then he remembers: Venom always finds him!

Once again the landscape appears to come alive as the camouflaged symbiote extends from the jungle! It's almost as if the trees themselves are reaching out to attack when that massive fists sends Spider-man staggering!

With no way of knowing when his opponent is coming, Spidey briefly considers his plight is hopeless. He rallies as the tongue-wagging killer rapidly descends upon him, running back in the direction of his trap.

With the sound of a snap - Venom triggers the trap and is snared by the ankle like a rabbit on a rope! Dangling upside down from the trees, he's like a living piñata. Parker rips a door off one of the nearby buildings and hits him!

The wooden door shatters into a cloud of splinters as it collides with Venom's super-humanly strong body! It sends his body swinging, but that's nothing he isn't used to thanks to the symbiote's imitation of Spider-man's abilities. He uses another of the skills to turn the tables, blasting Parker's eyes with web!

Spidey desperately rips at the webbing as Venom frees himself, clearing it just in time to flee once more! The Spider swings from the trees on his web, while the lumbering Venom opts to hoist a nearby jeep and toss it down the path!

The airborne projectile is narrowly avoided by its target, but the momentum of his swinging sends Spidey's twisting body tumbling earthbound! Rather than smash to the ground, the soaring truck falls through the grass -- revealing an abandoned mine! Spider-man crawls by the entrance, detecting a pocket of gas presumably responsible for the disaster that destroyed it.

Venom quickly finds the mineshaft as well, blocking the entrance as he descends upon Parker. The web-slinger has to think fast, pulling the support struts with his web to collapse the entrance under Venom's feet!

Parker keeps one step ahead of his nemesis, leaping out of the mine to swing his way back to the beach. He becomes concerned for web fluid reserves as he notices a shipping boat on the horizon. Before he can chance the waters with spider-strength -- black tendrils explode out of the sand beneath his feet!

The strands of symbiote drag Peter Parker across the beach toward an exposed Eddie Brock. Rather than resist -- Parker shoots webs past Brock and launches himself at speed towards his predator! The diving tackle sends Brock hurtling through the trees back in the direction of the center of the island!

The gambit gives Spidey the chance to go on the run again. He conserves his final web cartridge, hoofing it on foot across a makeshift graveyard, while Eddie Brock takes a break, lighting a campfire to keep warm as night falls.

The Hammer...
I thought we'd be following this battle to its famous conclusion, but it turns out an hour elapses before the final showdown even begins! Comic Book Fight Club rules clearly determine this brings an end to Round 1!

A largely exposed Eddie Brock took a pretty heavy hit before the break, but there's very little to suggest he couldn't continue fighting. He merely chooses to light a campfire and take a breather! That's enough for me to call this one an inconclusive draw!

It reminds me a little of the unexpected pause in Spider-man vs Juggernaut [see also; Round 2], but in this case, Spidey is specifically using the time to prepare for the next encounter.

Who wins an island fight if Spidey has prep time? To be answered when we return to Amazing Spider-man #347 at a later date!

Rather than dwell on what didn't happen in this epic showdown - let's just marvel at the pleasures of the collaborative teaming of David Michelinie and Erik Larsen! A couple of modern greats!

My deepest nostalgia for the pairing goes a little earlier, prior and during the time Spidey got cosmic and took on the likes of Graviton, Magneto [Amazing Spider-man #327], and the magically melded Tri-Sentinel [Amazing #329]!

I particularly appreciate the slightly grittier finish to Erik Larsen's pencils in that period. I think of his '89 work being tighter, with darker blacks, and sharper lines. Some of that might come down to the change from Al Gordon to Randy Emberlin on inks, but it might be artistic choice. That grittiness and weight seemed to return in the early years of Image [Savage Dragon #7].

The eyes and jaw of Venom warp more than I'd probably like. It's a strong, unique visual that compliments these early years when Venom was more readily characterized as a villain, but the sketchy eyes, and ever-extending mandible look too out of control here. I ultimately prefer the aesthetic of the smooth, more rigid Venom that became the model in the years following.more readily characterized as a twisted villain.

Michelinie and Larsen went down some wild roads, but they never strayed too far from a classical core. A big part of the fun of today's featured fight is seeing them take Spider-man out of his classic environment and playing with that.

It's a little silly that the murderous Venom would go this far to catch and release his nemesis, but for the sake of the high-concept of having them duel on a desert island, you've kinda gotta give them the means to deliver the conceit. At a time when third-stringers like Styx and Stone were getting tangled up with the fan favourite rivalry -- I don't think too many would've minded!

The slick black appearance, and toothy drooling maw of Venom sometimes draws comparison to HR Giger's Alien, but there's a little Predator in this story, what with its isolated location, dense vegetation, guerilla warfare, and the exploitation of the symbiote's ability to blend in with its surroundings.

There've been long stretches where the alien symbiote's ability to mimic other materials goes overlooked. Imitating clothing was inherent to the creature's first appearance in Secret Wars! It's a day one play, yet there is something slightly against the grain when Venom turns into things like water, concrete, or even the trunk of a palm tree. It makes sense, copying colour and texture, but it's not something I want to think about too often with this character.

Venom's psychological warfare with Spider-man has always been one of his best qualities as an arch-villain. Spidey can can't trust his sight or his spider-senses and never knows where Venom's coming from! That's enhanced further by the unfamiliar terrain of the island, where there are no tall buildings to swing from!

Taking Spider-man out of Manhattan can be a bad call for some stories, but you know Michelinie and Larsen deliver, getting the most out of the excursion by milking it for its tension. When Parker's inner-monologue starts to doubt his ability to stay ahead of Venom - you're almost believing it! Great stuff!

It all boils down to the chemistry and history between Eddie Brock and Peter Parker. That's going to be one of the biggest challenges facing Sony as they attempt to launch a Spider-Verse of films with Venom - now in theatres! Just one of the inspirations behind today's featured fight!

After you see the movie, get a pure injection of Venom by using the purchase link provided to read this story and others in collected edition! Market symbiosis means you'll be helping Secret Wars on Infinite Earths live at no cost to you!

You can find even more Venom by following relevant links throughout this post, or by diving into the Spider-Verse of the Secret Archive! Every featured fight is indexed by publisher, series, and issue number. Be sure to share your favourite links, and follow on Twitter or Facebook to help find more hosts!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#2 (--) Spider-man
#17 (--) Venom (Symbiote)
#67 (+1) Venom (Eddie Brock)