THE SPOT versus SPIDER-MAN

Breakin'! (Marvel)
Where: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #100 When: March 1985 Why: Al Milgrom How: Al Milgrom

The Story So Far...
From a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan, Wilson Fisk employs a staff of scientists working to develop super-powers to bestow upon loyal agents, serving to maintain his grip on New York City's organized crime.

One such recipient was The Black Cat, whose new bad-luck powers come with strings attached, but as she and Spider-Man plot a confrontation to remove The Kingpin from their lives -- another super-powered agent emerges to run interference!

Dr. Johnathan Ohnn's experiments have covered his body with inter-dimensional portals - transforming him into The Spot! He works in secret, hidden from the cameras that monitor The Kingpin's empire, and with Spider-Man on his way, The Spot waits in ambush to settle the score before deciding his allegiance.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 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: Draw 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Dr. Jonathan Ohnn was assigned by The Kingpin to research and reproduce the dark energies of Cloak, but when a city-wide power outage interrupted his experiments, he stepped into a void of light & dark, transforming into The Spot!

The Spot's white figure is dotted with black voids that are functioning portals between the material world and a "Spotted Dimension". Similar to Cloak, he can use these portals for instantaneous teleportation of himself, or others, creating intricate redirections that can turn a person's punch back onto themselves!

We saw these classic Spot tactics employed in battle against Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #589, which also demonstrated his ability to project portals throughout surrounding space to set up handy ambushes.

Because The Spot's actions are intertwined with a dimension beyond the fabric of our reality, he's potentially able to attack without triggering Spider-Man's spider-senses -- one of his greatest advantages against the wallcrawler!

Ohnn's a scientist, not a fighter, but by deploying floating portals he can challenge Spidey's agility and maneuverability by throwing surprise punches from all directions. Keeping Spidey guessing is his best bet at levelling the playing field!

These guys have only met briefly before this match-up, but as we know, all Spidey really has to do is stay on his toes, keep his wits about him, and counter those attacks to have a shot at winning. Let's see how he did...

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

What Went Down...

Spider-Man swings his way pensively through the city towards a rendezvous at The Kingpin's high-rise headquarters. He knows he's probably heading straight into dense security, but right as he wonders about the whereabouts of a strange new wildcard in the Manhattan crime ranks -- a black portal pops into existence!

The air is suddenly a swarm of tiny black holes as The Spot emerges from the largest portal in answer to Spider-Man's musings!

The sudden appearance sends Spider-Man into an unprepared tumble, navigating the array of portals, while twisting his body to spray a blanket of webbing back from whence he came!

The web closes in too quickly for Spot to catch such a wide net in a single portal, so he rapidly improvises a gathered cluster of nearby spots into a single doorway that sends the snare into the vacant void of another dimension.

Spot follows it through, using his inter-dimensional vantage point to reach through multiple smaller portals to throw two punches and a kick from opposite directions, while his head peeks out from a spot from up above.

Spidey's danger warning senses help him navigate the throng of hostile limbs, sending him leaping from the rooftop to stay clear of the blows.

Safely out of view clinging to the side of the building, Spidey crawls around the facade, forcing The Spot to seek out his prey as it circles around behind him.

The wall-crawler silently vaults over a brick structure jutting from the rooftop, and nimbly flips out of a squat to land directly behind The Spot's head poking out of a portal. He winds up to deliver a sucker punch right to the side of the head!

Spider-Man's fist swings without contact as it sinks into the stretching abyss of one of the portals Spot had preemptively amassed across his vulnerable cranium!

As Spot's disembodied hands wave judgmental fingers from nearby floating portals -- Spider-Man is struck with a moment of inspiration from the eeriness of it all. He feigns defeat, vowing to keep clear of the portals - fleeing for the relative safety of higher ground!

The Spot responds to his cowardice with a frisbee toss of dozens of portals that follow the web-slinger to the vantage point of the looming brick box.

A stiff left fist flies straight at the wallcrawler's jaw as he struggles to block it, followed by a wild right foot that kicks right in his face!

A right hook swings out of another portal -- knocking Spidey off his perch!

Down on the rooftop and completely surrounded by portals -- Spidey endures further punishment as they close in around him and he's struck with two disembodied fists from either side!

He struggles to march forward -- paying for his determination with a thrust kick to the back!

Spider-Man perseveres, taking the back of another fist to the base of his skull -- while a rising heel kick catches him low and sends him falling to the ground.

He keeps crawling forward, even as a right hand rains down from above!

The Spot applauds his opponent for running the gauntlet of his wild and unpredictable blows, but prematurely presumes victory from their impact.

Crawling towards The Spot's feet, Spider-Man reveals his true gambit!

With so many portals distributed around the rooftop, The Spot's body has become a predominantly white mass of mortal muscle and flesh!

With his target in reach -- Spidey unleashes a devastating left to the jaw!

As The Spot reels from the blow, Spidey sinks his fist into the scientist's exposed body! It's enough to send The Spot into a panicked retreat!

The rookie super-villain finds refuge within one of his portals, but from the array intrudes Spider-Man with a stern warning that he'd best rethink his life of crime!

The Hammer...

There might be an argument that The Spot made a successful getaway, but the proportionate strength of a spider helps Spider-Man not only endure the pummeling of a one-man gauntlet, but also inflict swift pain sufficient enough to drive him into a panicked retreat.

Unlike their much later encounter in Amazing Spider-Man #589, The Spot doesn't get away scot-free. If he were walking away, he might've limped. We can't forget that Spidey packs a punch, and Jonathan Ohnn's a hapless scientist. This one hurt: "Whew! He could have killed me!"

This was the second battle between the pair after The Spot's active debut in the last issue, and origin story in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #98.

It's nice to see their knowledge of each other, and tactics, evolving accordingly, but as we already know, this is all just preamble to a main event showdown with The Kingpin. Well worth your time, if you haven't read.

It's all part of a double-stuffed 100th issue that also boasts compelling B story revolving around Black Cat's relationships with Spidey and The Kingpin, and a simmering on-going subplot of the black symbiote working its way back to Spider-Man. Material that, for a long time, made this one of my favourite acquisitions from diving into the comic book store $2 bins in the early/mid nineties.

I'm reluctant to call it my "Local Comic Shop". There probably wasn't any closer store, but it was a solid forty-five minute trip to get there. Well worth it, of course. Tony, the steadfast proprietor throughout that heady decade, always treated me very well. It wasn't unusual for him to give me an extra discount from within the fortress-like elevated square that served as a 360 degree counter. Even on the cheap ones.

I scored some more issues of Spectacular Spider-Man from rummaging through those $2 and $1 boxes on a subsequent visit. I was already a big Sal Buscema fan by that point, so an affordable stack of Spectacular issues might not have been the cutting edge of trends, but was the next best thing to sliced gold, as far as I was concerned. There were great issues in there that we'll probably talk about some day in the future, but #100 was always just a bit special.

The Kingpin fight might've been a classic piece of Spidey business, but I always thought fondly of this issue for the appearance of The Spot.

Back in those days, wisdom probably had it that Spider-Man didn't have any real business regularly tangling with a master of inter-dimensional portals. That's the kind of thing Doctor Strange deals with. Spidey's at his best with super-powered mobsters, and villains with their own proportionate powers of an animal or insect.

Not surprisingly, The Spot stuck to his word, and apparently gave up his life of crime after today's fight. He was out of action for more than a decade, and when he finally showed up again in Spectacular Spider-Man #245, it was as a precursor to the formation of The Legion of Losers -- a quartet of unloved oddball villains led by The Grizzly. Not exactly the bombshell return of a fan-favourite badguy.

Yet, I always liked The Spot. Al Milgrom juggles The Spot's movement and powers brilliantly, effectively using his head portals to create uncanny expression with what passes for a mouth and eyes, while his limbs pop out of two-dimensional discs that hover in an implied three-dimensional reality.

Coming from the pages of Spectacular gave him a certain pedigree, in my mind, and tangential ties to Cloak supplied him with an interesting place in the world, and strikingly graphic design related to his powers, even if it looked better here than when Herb Trimpe ran through his first fight in issue #99.

Like a lot of great arch-villains, The Spot also challenges the hero with a direct counter to one of his key powers: in this case - agility.

His rapid distributions of portals, and body-contorting array of applications, including turning an opponent's attack back against them, forces a character like Spider-Man out of his routine comfort zone, provoking inventive new applications of his abilities to find a solution to the problem.

Spidey evades some of the attacks in today's featured fight thanks to his danger-warning spidey senses, but later iterations of the character will also further exploit The Spot's otherworldly abilities, making his inter-dimensional maneuverings logically more difficult to track.

In the last decade or so The Spot seems to have become a more regular fixture, tangling with various Marvel heroes, with a new mainstream peak coming from his role in the animated feature film Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Something I never would've thought I'd be saying about the villain from the $2 box!

You can find more from the so-called "Spider-Verse" with Miles Morales, Spider-Man 2099, Ben Reilly, Spider-Boy, and more, by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights from the multiverse in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 iconic characters! By becoming a supporter on Patreon you'll help make it possible to continue to explore more of the sprawling comic book multiverse. As a thank you for making it possible you'll receive access to additional updates, a new Discord server, and customizable articles including the famous Rank & File Top 10!

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Winner: Spider-Man
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#652 (-177) The Spot

SPIDER-MAN versus KINGPIN

Breakin'! (Marvel)
Where: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #100 When: March 1985 Why: Al Milgrom How: Al Milgrom

The Story So Far...
An agreement to delay their joint attack on The Kingpin sends Black Cat and Spider-Man into the lion's den alone in simultaneous, uncoordinated attempts to infiltrate Wilson Fisk's Manhattan stronghold by night.

Spider-Man is delayed by The Spot in a rooftop battle that leaves him unaware Black Cat has already confronted The Kingpin, and learned the cruel twist of the super-powers that threatened to force her into his criminal employ.

Spider-Man can hardly believe his lover has already negotiated her release from The Kingpin's influence, but with her bad luck powers already spreading to those closest to her -- can Spidey survive his own run-in with the furious crime baron?!

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: Kingpin 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Spider-Man 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

As The Kingpin of crime in New York City: Wilson Fisk rarely needs to get his own hands dirty, but don't let his clean white suit and army of assassins fool you into thinking he can't or won't.

Behind Fisk's bulky façade is a powerful and skilled fighter who worked his way up from the streets, and became an adept hand-to-hand combatant. We saw that when he single-handedly fought a horde of Hand ninja in Daredevil #116!

The Kingpin stays fighting fit with frequent private sparring sessions, always ready to personally dominate criminal rivals, or arch-enemies who might visit upon his legitimate headquarters, such as Daredevil, Punisher, Echo, or Spider-Man.

Our Tape shows Spider-Man ahead in most combat categories, but Kingpin is close enough in strength & speed to exert physical dominance over the slight, but super-human Spider-Man. His intelligence, though not quite as academic, also has tremendous application in complex tactical strategies, and psychological warfare.

In this battle we'll see Kingpin wield his secretive manipulations of Spider-Man's lover of the time, Black Cat, as a means of pushing the web-slinger's buttons. His superior fighting skills are ready to take full advantage of a reckless foe.

Spidey may've outlasted an opponent as powerful as The Juggernaut, and will take down super-strong mobster Tombstone, but as we saw in Marvel Team-Up #63, he came completely unstuck against the martial fighting skill of Steel Serpent. He'll also be unceremoniously ejected from Mister Negative's private criminal headquarters in the much later Amazing Spider-Man #621.

Kingpin's exploration of the same darkforce energies linked to Negative have an indirect influence on the battle, given Spidey had to fight through The Spot on his way to Kingpin's office.

Fisk's investment in developing manufactured super-human abilities is also the root of his hold of Black Cat, who received the unnatural ability to inflict bad luck, which could be starting to effect Spider-Man. Will it cost him now? Let's find out!

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

What Went Down...

Standing alone in a darkened office: The Kingpin is still basking in a psychological victory over the Black Cat when his doorway is suddenly filled with the tumbling bodies of half a dozen hired guards.

Following close behind is the one responsible for their defeat -- Spider-Man!

The spider descends from the ceiling, hanging upside down at the room's entrance from a line of webbing. He exchanges small talk with the disingenuously accommodating host, discovering his hopes of negotiating a release of Black Cat's obligations to the crime baron has already been achieved.

The Kingpin gloats of the private rendezvous, which in truth occurred mere moments before Spider-Man's arrival -- unbeknownst to her wall-crawling lover.

With his spider-senses warning him of potential danger; Spidey shifts from disbelief to anger, swinging overhead to surprise Kingpin with a rear assault. He pays dearly for resorting to such an impulse act!

Trained in the martial arts and deceptively fast for a man of his size -- The Kingpin immediately throws his arms back to secure a firm grip of Spider-Man's arms, then vaults him overhead to spike him violently into the ground!

Spidey endures the impact, using educated limbs to lock his ankles around Kingpin's head and turn the tables by launching his mighty adversary off his feet!

The momentum sends Fisk vaulting overhead and crashing into the wall, but he too proves capable of absorbing the punishment.

Rising to one knee, The Kingpin compliments his nemesis for his strength and agility -- then he charges!

Spider-Man meets his towering adversary with a rising uppercut, but The Kingpin simply takes it on the chin and then uses his height advantage to bring two massive fists slamming down on him like wild sledge hammers!

A straight kick launches Spider-Man's limp body across the room!

The wall-crawler twists his agile body in mid-air, landing first with a handstand press to The Kingpin's desk, before springing immediately onto the adjacent wall!

Spider-Man gloats that strength means little when he can cling to any surface, but The Kingpin challenges the claim by grabbing his desk and ramming it into the wall-crawler!

A spiral staircase provides refuge for Spidey as he's flung through the air and grabs hold of the center pole. This too proves a temporary reprieve, however, as The Kingpin grabs hold of the metal railing and rips the staircase out of the wall!

The incredible feat of strength backfires as the weight of the staircase keeps Fisk's hands busy, while Spider-Man directs himself to plummet feet-first directly into his head!

More painful than the hit itself is the indignity Wilson Fisk feels. Furious, he vows to kill his enemy in the name of his ailing wife.

The enraged crime boss charges once more at the wall-crawling hero, but Spider-Man meets him with another well timed uppercut!

He follows with a wild swinging kick to the face, then uses his web to swing from the wall into a high velocity double-foot kick that launches Kingpin off his feet!

Fisk lurches off the floor, wiping at his mouth while his other fist is clenched. He furiously vows to crush Spider-Man, leaving the hero no choice but to act on his warning: "Don't try it, Kingpin. I'm warning you..."

Clasped fists, swung with a polish hammer punch, knock The Kingpin back off his feet and send him flying into hi-tech security computers.

Sitting amongst the broken technology, Kingpin gathers himself and returns to a cold and deliberate tone. "I-I lost my head there for a moment, Spider-Man! Forgot the true direction I wanted my vengeance to take! To kill you would be too quick. Too merciful!"

He reaches for a glowing red button that will summon the police to the building: private New York City property that Spider-Man is trespassing upon -- even if they both know the supposedly "clean" businessman is the true crook.

Though physically defeated, Kingpin finds some small way to hold it over Spider-Man, opening a window and inviting him to leave. A leap Spider-Man is happy to take as Kingpin reaffirms his commitment to releasing Black Cat from his roster.

The Hammer...

A fight-filled milestone issue concludes with an exciting face-off between arch-enemies! Spider-Man may've bested Kingpin in the physical arena, but the battle of wills continues, with Spidey slinking into the night to the sound of police sirens.

You and I may know Wilson Fisk as the figurehead of organized crime in New York City, but to the rest of the world his record remains clean. A fact he takes great pleasure in gloating about as he shows Spider-Man to his office window.

It's a fight that feels worthy of the one hundredth issue of Spectacular Spider-Man -- especially given the shadow Kingpin had cast over the crime-ridden series.

There were crooks and gang wars throughout the Spider-Man titles in the 1980s and 90s, but I will always associate Spectacular, in particular, with its street-level crime. That's thanks largely to the grand plans of Kingpin, his entanglement with Black Cat, and the later Tombstone issues. All a very good time!

It's nice to be reminded that Kingpin remained a thorn in Spider-Man's side, even after the epoch making work of Frank Miller permanently associated the villain with Daredevil just a few years earlier. That rivalry wouldn't quite go semi-exclusive until much later, although it feels as if Al Milgrom dances stylistically between a classic Romita Kingpin, and the shadowy figure of DD.

Kingpin battles Spider-Man having already exacted revenge upon Black Cat for her prior indiscretion of stealing a nuclear detonator from him. An act that allowed the weapon to fall into the hands of Doctor Octopus, and inspired an unlikely plot to grant Black Cat the unnatural power to inflict misfortune upon others: useful in a fight, but inevitably isolating as it slowly effects those she holds closest.

It's a bit of a convoluted way for Black Cat to gain super-powers of her own, but I'm charmed by the character-driven motivation for Wilson Fisk to avenge, not the theft, but the consequence of it, which left him totally helpless to defend his city when Doc Ock threatened nuclear annihilation.

It isn't much good being a Kingpin of Crime if your turf is blown sky high, but beyond the simple business of organized crime, I also appreciate the tinge of Napoleonic civic pride a character like Wilson Fisk might feel towards his city. The same sense of place that drives Spidey and DD to defend their chosen zones.

In the "Tape" section we list Spider-Man as the stronger of the two combatants, but that reflects both a peak of power available but only occasionally accessed by Spider-Man, and the necessary dual role that Strength serves in the absence of a Durability stat. A measure of offensive and defensive potential.

The number certainly shouldn't undercut the narrative feat of besting Kingpin, who is a powerful and imposing figure, whose baseline strength borders on the super-human, and could easily overwhelm even Spidey.

The office-dismantling details of todays featured fight should serve as a good example of Kingpin's strength, but I hope to explore his abilities further. Though best known as a general overseeing an army of assassins and thugs, Kingpin has always been characterised as a very capable combatant.

I'd also like to expand our reference portfolio for more of Spider-Man's classic foes, and perhaps return to Spectacular Spider-Man #100 for some of its other conflicts, such as the emergence of Kingpin's unwitting creation: The Spot!

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You can also help the site while getting your hands on your own copy of today's featured issue collected in Essential Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man Volume 5 or Spider-Man: The Complete Alien Costume Saga - Book Two! Do any of your shopping via the Amazon purchase links below and you'll not only get yourself a good deal -- you'll ensure the kingpin of online supports the site!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 650 featured fights and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Catch up on the 2021 Rankings Recap and Top 20 Fights of Season 2021 -- or discover more from your favourites by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the complete Secret Archive!

Get more daily links to superhero smackdown inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing on Twitter and Facebook. Don't forget to like, fave, and share posts, and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday!

Winner: Spider-Man
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#1005 (-6) Kingpin

VENOM versus SPIDER-MAN

Maximum Carnage, Part Five: Over The Line! (Marvel)
Where: Spectacular Spider-Man #201 When: June 1993 Why: JM DeMatteis How: Sal Buscema

The Story So Far...
Cletus Kasady has re-bonded with the Carnage symbiote and escaped the Ravencroft maximum security facility in a violent slaughter that spills into New York City! There he finds an adopted family of killers to take the massacre city-wide: Shriek, Doppelganger, and the Demogoblin!

After failing to stop them alone: Venom sought to rekindle a desperate alliance with his old enemy, Spider-Man -- but not even a team-up with Black Cat and the vengeful Cloak could stop the destruction! Now the heroes are fighting just to survive as a Manhattan Warehouse burns around them!

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)

The fallout from Chapter Four has left our heroes worse for wear, and at each other's throats, as Maximum Carnage continues!

Carnage and his adopted family of demented killers have been left to continue unabated after triggering a dramatic warehouse explosion -- and that's enough to strain the unlikely alliance between Venom and Spider-Man!

Die hard fight fans might want to skip ahead to coverage of Chapter Six, because this isn't really a battle on the same level as their classic clash in Amazing Spider-Man #347, or even the more obscure Spider-Man Family #2.

Venom has been drastically weakened by the symbiote's vulnerability to fire, and Spidey's mind is on rescuing Black Cat from the burning warehouse wreckage.

For a self-professed "Lethal Protector" like Eddie Brock it's difficult to accept that Spider-Man would choose rescuing an ally over stopping the murder spree that could continue at the hands of Carnage and his crew.

Venom's skewed sense of justice has pitted him against various heroes and would-be allies over the years, such as Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and even DC's Superman. With an old enemy like Peter Parker an alliance is extra dicey, and his sense of responsibility for the creation of Carnage makes it all the more personal!

History: Spider-Man (1-0-1)

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

What Went Down...

The alien symbiote drips from Eddie Brock's body like a thick ooze as he struggles to crawl through the broken beams & boarding of an unknown rock band's burning storage warehouse.

The massive fire drastically weakens the living costume that supplies Venom with his powers, but still he furiously compels Spider-Man to leave the inferno and resume pursuit of Carnage and his cadre of killers.

Spidey feels confident enough to leave Venom to fend for himself, while he goes deeper into the wreckage to rescue Black Cat from certain immolation!

Brock crawls his way out of the burning building, desperately attempting not to save his own life but those of countless others who might be killed by Carnage.

The crawl becomes a stumble as Brock rises to his feet - only to collapse back down into near unconsciousness as the building behind him explodes!

With Black Cat safely under his arm, Spider-Man soon arrives upon Eddie Brock: face down and motionless with tar-like strips strewn across his body.

They slowly begin to thicken as the symbiote revivifies and Venom regains his strength.

Spidey gently helps a rattled Black Cat to the ground, while Venom rises to his feet, suddenly enveloped in his customary black costume. He asks about Spider-Man's success stopping Carnage -- and doesn't like the answer he gets.

Incensed by Spider-Man's refusal to leave Black Cat to "roast" -- Venom lunges at his temporary ally with talon-like claws narrowly missing his injured ribs!

They question each other's sanity and ethics, with Spider-Man deeming a decision to leave either of his allies to die tantamount to murder. It's a prospect that inspires violent ideas for reprisal in the dual minds of Venom.

Black Cat enters the fray to cool things down: "You're really a piece of work, Brock! You get mad at the spider for saving me -- then waste time trying to bash his head in, while those maniacs get farther and farther away!"

The wake-up call steers Venom's rage towards the Cat, but what bruises his ego most is that she's absolutely right. The real enemy is Carnage.

The Hammer...

The tension is ratcheting up, but I think it's fair to say this wasn't much of a fight. Venom threw the only actual punch, and the rest is verbal sparring and philosophical differences. A non-starter ended by everyone getting back on the same page -- kinda...

You might've expected Black Cat to be the hero who calls it quits after a building collapsed on her, but it's actually Spider-Man who decides the alliance isn't working out for him. He simply cannot reconcile with the cutthroat tactics Venom demands -- and Black Cat is agreeing with.

After berating her former squeeze for treating her like a lowly damsel needing rescue; Cat further chides him for choosing her life over the countless lives Carnage could already be taking elsewhere in the city.

It's a moral split that actually sees an irate Black Cat following Venom back into battle, despite a violent history together, and his total willingness to throw her life away.

The duo will reconvene with Cloak on Fifth Avenue, where arriving mere minutes after reports of Carnage's rampage will mean more lives lost to the senseless slaughter.

So far every chapter of Maximum Carnage has featured one or more big battles, but Part Five sadly scales back the serious superhero smackdown right as master of action Sal Buscema joins the party! What we're left with is a couple of short skirmishes and near misses, but there was no way I was going to skip this issue!

Spectacular Spider-Man #201 ignites the fire of the crossover by following up the explosive previous chapter with a heavy sense of consequence and drama.

The issue might see heroes and villains returning to their respective corners, but there's no shortage of action and excitement. In fact, this always struck me as one of the most impactful issues of the Maximum Carnage crossover.

It seemed like Venom and Black Cat were going to tip the scales back in favour of the good guys, but all they really did was accumulate more injuries.

The issue announces its drama with the very first page: A surprisingly cinematic opening, despite its use of a traditional 9 panel grid.

On either side of Page 1 is a column of three panels, each showing an intense close-up of a roaring inferno. They're interspersed with discrete narration boxes for creator credits. Buscema's inks generate a sense of violent animation, given blistering heat by colorist Bob Sharen's use of vivid yellows, orange, and white.

Down the centre of the page are three claustrophobic mugshots: our heroes -- each showing distinct signs of distress!

If the cliffhanger of Black Cat's torn glove poking out of warehouse wreckage got your mind racing at the end of the previous issue -- her wide-eyed grimace, face pouring with sweat, makes the danger all the more personal, and kicks the drama up a whole extra level right on Buscema's first page!

Below the cat is Venom: mouth agape, with symbiote bleeding away to reveal Eddie Brock's barely open right eye. The salivating, bulging monster responsible for so much terror in previous Spider-Man stories is gone -- reduced to a pathetic mortal barely able to act. The situation is real bad for the good guys.

Something about the destruction of that warehouse, and seeing our heroes in such a vulnerable and battered state was arresting. Spidey is already nursing busted ribs from Chapter One, which were aggravated in Chapter Two. That was also the battle that appeared to claim the life of Dagger, which we learn has left Cloak experiencing bouts of dizziness and weakness.

There's an obvious physical toll mounting throughout each issue, but the mental strain is showing, too. That will continue to permeate the story as the heroes endure further punishment, and New York City itself becomes engulfed in violent madness as Carnage's killing spree inspires a wave of likeminded acts.

When I was doing my best to cobble the event together from newsstands back in 1993 -- this was the issue that convinced me it was a story unlike most from Marvel. I didn't have the frame of reference back then, but it strikes me that the format is similar to the saga structures more common in Shonen Jump manga. There's a late era Dragon Ball Z vibe to the weight of temporary defeat, inter-personal drama, and city-wide destruction the heroes will later discover.

We love blockbuster superhero fights on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, but to put it all into perspective, it helps to take stock of the little battles, as well. Today's skirmish provides context for future installments, while also reminding us that the classic Venom/Spidey rivalry doesn't always erupt into a fight to the death.

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#16 (--) Venom (Symbiote)
#50 (--) Venom (Eddie Brock)
#136 (+2) Black Cat [+1 assist]

SCORPION versus SPIDER-MAN
The Predator and the Prey Part One: The Monster Within (Marvel comics)
Where: Spectacular Spider-man #215 When: August 1994
Why: Tom DeFalco & Mike Lackey How: Sal Buscema

The story so far...
A millionaire China magnate and a genetically altered supervillain may not seem like obvious kindred spirits, but when Phillip Cussler Sr. emerges in the sewers to a raging Mac Gargan (aka; the Scorpion), the two strike up an unlikely relationship.

Cussler employs Scorpion's strength and criminal guile, with the promise that he can give the Scorpion the necessary guidance and cool-headed strategy to find purpose and strategy in combatting his problems, and the Spider-man.

With the Daily Bugle acting on behalf of Cussler Jr in the search for his father, Spider-man hopes to foil Scorpion's apparent hostage situation, unaware that Cussler is masterminding financial attacks on his own heirs. Also unaware that the Scorpion has a new power... strategy!

Previous Form:
Spider-man (#2): Spider-man has previous victories over Kraven the Hunter, Tombstone and Man-Ape.
Scorpion (#34): Gargan previously fatally defeated a disguised Space Phantom with the Venom symbiote.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Scorpion 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympic Sprinter)
Stamina: Scorpion 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Scorpion 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Scorpion 3 (Explosives)

Spidey's on-going rivalry with Scorpion is a pretty traditional off-setting of characters that are similar, yet so very different.

I guess you could equate these two to being something along the lines of Sabretooth and Wolverine. Scorpion, whose powers are arachnoid in theme also, is generally the larger and more powerful of the two, but Spidey's grit, determination, speed, and agility are generally the defining advantage in combat.

Likewise, Mac Gargan, as well spelled out in the intro, has never been a great thinker. Spidey, as is the case with many-a villain, is able to out strategize the Scorpion, to attain victory even in the most dire of circumstances.

Scorpion's key to victory is always his strength and raw aggression, which stems from a deep, personal hatred for the wall-crawler. He's mellowed with age, but Scorpion has always been a character of pathos who willingly thrusts his failings on Spider-man [and occasionally the man who funded his creation - J. Jonah Jameson -- Masterminding Mike].

Though possessing of amazing physical ability, Spidey is almost always portrayed as the far more agile and speedy of the two, lacking the cumbersome accessory of a prehensile tail. This, couple with strength capable of matching the Scorpion, makes Spidey the favourite every time, even on those occasions when the Scorpion comes equipped with an acid or plasma blast stinger.

The Math: Spider-man (Meta Class)
The Pick: Spider-man (Could you not?)

What went down...
Having levelled an assembly of some fifty-odd hired goons, Spidey trapses his way through the filthy muck of the sewers, cautiously aware of the apparent planning put into this plan. A plan that began with Scorpion's retreat into the sewers.

Scorpion charges into the fray, colliding with Spider-man at high speed!
Despite the brilliance of his coaching, Scorpion falls into the villainous folly of revealing his plans, remarking over confidently on the advantage he takes in the confined space of the sewers. Space that narrows the field of Spidey's maneuverability!

The two clash fist against fist, as Scorpion quizzes the web-slinger on the lack of quipping and witty banter. He gets an answer with a wild roundhouse that sends him flying. "Lettin' your fists do the talkin', ain't you?"

Scorpion retorts, using his tail to flick a chunk of solid concrete wall in Spider-man's direction. The silent Spider-man gladly meets it with a fist, sending shattered shards outward around him.

Distracted by the cries of Scorpion's henchman, attack elsewhere, Spider-man narrowly leaps an attack from the Scorpion's deadly tail.

With Spider-man pinned down and playing into the Scorpion's plan, he declares an end to the shenanigans. Unfortunately, it isn't he who puts the punctuation on the fight.

Spider-man channels all the stress and hate he's experienced over recent life events, which include Aunt May having a life-threatening stroke, and Scorpion suffers for it.

A thunderous left reigns down, following by a jaw breaking right uppercut, and another, and another, and yet another still, until Scorpion goes down like a bag o' bricks.

Thus, Scorpion stands exhausted, but victorious, despite the wile training of one Phillip Cussler Sr.

The hammer...
The winner by knock-out, and still champeen-- Spider-man!

Actually, I've got to say, despite my willing indulgance in Spider-man stories from the nineties, this result is unintentionally hilarious.
I guess it could be counted as a positive that it avoids the conventions of story telling, completely disregarding the build-up of Scorpion's renewed perspective and strategy.

This is a two-parter, but it really has very little to do with the Scorpion in the second chapter. So while you may have been expecting a triumphant Scorpion in part-one, what you actually get is yet another humilation for the Scorpion.
Which is kinda hilarious, if a little unfair to a character of such great potential.

These days you'll find Mac Gargan still in the super villain game, despite rediscovering his humanity in this issue (again thanks to Phillip Cussler), mooching around inside the slimey, symbiote-y togs of the Venom costume.

Some fans scoffed the turn of events that saw Scorpion discard his classic evil green, in favour of the contemporary glitz of oily black and crazy teeth -- but I actually kinda like it. Even if it's only superficial, it somehow feels like progress!

That said, I have to acknowledge a feeling of nostalgia whilst reading this issue. I actually hadn't read it in a while, and just grabbed it off the pile knowing it would fill the Scorpion quota for the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance theme we're running on Mondays.

I kinda miss even this version of the character, which is maybe not quite the original type for the character, but is still kinda close. These days Mac Gargan has lost himself to the Venom character, I think.
During the story that established the switch, Millar maybe wrote him a little less specific than he might otherwise have, servicing the story more than the character [Mark "Civil War" Millar service story over character?! Surely not! -- Muckraking Mike], which probably lent following characterizations to do the same, selling the Venom concept.

Of course, there's a canonical precedent for a change there, too, I suppose.
A character does give of themselves when bonding with the symbiote, but it's perhaps not usually this jarring. Because, yes. There is a Scorpion shaped green hole in comics now, and it won't be filled by anyone but Mac Gargan, but you know what? I wouldn't want it any other way.

Onward ho might Mac, as you become a new man and member of the Thunderbolts! Hoooooo!

If you're one who takes note of the tags, you'll notice the Clone Saga getting a mention. This is one of several issues that sort of ran as precursor to the story proper, featuring a C-story with a familiar looking chappy with the proportionate size, strength and agility of a spider, who manages to keep his face obscured until a couple of issues later. [The chap, of course, being Ben Reilly -- the original Spider-Clone, and brief replacement as Spider-man.]

And that, my friends, is about the sum of it!
Been a pleasure talking comics with you, and I'll see you Wednesday!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 5