Showing posts with label Spider-man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spider-man. Show all posts

Sunday, November 10, 2024

BLACKHEART versus DAREDEVIL & SPIDER-MAN
Blackheart! (Marvel)
Where:
Daredevil #270 When: September 1989
Why: Ann Nocenti How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
It began in 1658, with the brutal murder of a woman named Abigail Housman.

Her body lay undiscovered on a gentle, but lonely hillside, soaking the land with blood for hours, as crows circled knowingly over the site. This was to be the first vile crime committed to the place known as Christ's Crown. 

The hill would host centuries of unspeakable horrors, growing unnatural tangles of thorny rose plants, and a mythic foreboding, as further acts of murder and carnage came to drench it in anguish and agony. Reputation that would arouse the irreverent interest of romantic thrillseekers such as amorous Peter and reluctant Sarah. A final betrayal that prepares the land for harvest and the birth of a son to the devil Mephisto -- a thorny demon called Blackheart!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Blackheart 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Blackheart 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Blackheart 5 (Lasers)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Blackheart is the spiny hellspawn of notorious devil Mephisto, born to a crown of thorns atop a gentle hillside. A desolate place, soaked in centuries of blood and tragedy, first growing a wild thicket of roses and grim foreboding, before bearing the newborn demon from deep within its grassy heart.

A final act of evil - of unromantic violence - brought forth the Blackheart, whose immense power appeared to twist and torment him from the moment of his birth.

This is evil as only 1989 could envision it: A gothic horror, blindingly dark in its poetic beauty and sadness, stinking of burnt ink and the sweetest of roses, with weeping eyes like burning red flowers. Blackheart craves sacrifice and recognition, gratefully receiving the death of the good and wicked in equal measure, before lashing out at the father who encourages and callously dominates his existence.

If you only know Blackheart from his unlikely appearance in Capcom's Marvel Super Heroes video game, or its eventual sequel Marvel vs Capcom 2, then you've got as much to learn as the infant demon. Don't worry - it's not complicated.


Daredevil is the kind of tortured soul that a demon loves to play with.

Matt Murdock's heart is stained with tragedy as well, but his resilience makes him the perfect prize for demonic connoisseurs. He's a worthy adversary teetering close to the edge -- the perfect prey for Blackheart to learn a more sophisticated brand of evil than the lowly act of merely killing like man. DD must be corrupted!

We've seen him come close before, like when he tracked down Slade -- one of the men responsible for killing his father, Battlin' Jack Murdock. Or when Mysterio turned his life upside down, and when he decided to stop Bullseye and Kingpin to declare himself the Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen.

No matter how close he got, whether fighting a demonically possessed Jester or super-human foe like Tombstone, Daredevil always managed to stay on the side of angels. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he has friends to back him up in times of need too, like when he faced Klaw & Killmonger, tangled with Jigsaw, and fought the murderous Carnage during the breakout at The Raft.

Spider-Man knows what it's like to be tormented too. Like Daredevil, he's been the subject of Mephisto's infernal interest, sacrificing his marriage to Mary-Jane and enduring a twisted Christmas.

Spidey's demon days have pitted him against the self-righteous Demogoblin, a Dormammu enhanced Hood, and mystically compromised Luke Cage! So you can bet he'll swing to the aid of his buddy DD, just like Daredevil did when Spidey was up against the Sinister TwelveWill friendship win in the end? Let's find out!

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

What Went Down...
Reflecting on the turning of his fortunes and return to a lighter mood; Daredevil lands perched on a fairground rollercoaster track.

His senses have never been sharper, but as he detects the blend of foul burning and rose incense, he finds he cannot home in on the ghostly movement that triggers his radar sense. The more he tries to 'see', the more the figure becomes elusive, moving without a detectable heartbeat. Suddenly -- it strikes!


With the grace of a high jumper -- Daredevil leaps across the streaming darkness that blasts against the coaster bracing.

Daredevil asks what the being wants with him, but Blackheart stares in silence and responds with another wave of his shadowy black power. This time the interlaced wooden struts supporting the rollercoaster shatter as DD leaps clear!

He cannot discern what the creature is, whether its power is mutant or mystic, but he can tell that it means to kill him. So amidst the falling debris of splintered amusement park wood - he flings his billy club and 'plays the trickster'.

The rope wraps around Blackheart's spiny shins and calves, pulling away the sure footing of idle feet still new to walking the Earth. Blackheart falls -- sending his next blast of dark energy errant.

The mere presence of Blackheart's energy begins to make Daredevil sick.

He knows this feeling, though rare, to signal the presence of pure evil. He maintains his focus, finding the precarious wreckage of the rollercoaster vulnerable to tipping. With a toss of his billy club -- he brings it down!

For a moment Blackheart is buried in the wreckage, but an ominous "ka-thoom" is harbinger for an explosion that sprays the debris across the park!

Sensing that Blackheart is stunned and moving slower now -- Daredevil takes his shot and rushes his silent opponent!


A high kick to the face. A right hook. A straight left. The demon is unfazed.

Blackheart regards the agony with curious amusement, but the novelty of these sensations can only last so long.

The demon's left hand becomes jagged and thorny, surrounded by the dark anti-glow of his black energy. Daredevil senses it, but knows he cannot get clear. It's over. The one shot that could finish him off. He can't avoid it. He doesn't have to...


Suddenly, out of nowhere, the spectacular Spider-Man swings across the amusement park and delivers a kick to the side of Blackheart's head!

The web-slinger had witnessed the smoldering smoke of the battle from a passing bus, and excused himself to take a closer look. It's a good thing he did!

As the pair exchange pleasantries, Spider-Man keeps himself in the line of fire, distracting Blackheart to give Daredevil a clearer leap, as he uses his own proportionate agility of a spider to jump over the streaming dark energy.


While leaping, Spider-Man sprays webbing into the featureless face of Blackheart -- covering his dark eyes to the mortal world around him.

As the demon desperately pulls at the webbing -- Spider-Man grabs hold of a nearby ticket booth and lifts it overhead. He doesn't know that 'bringing down the house' over Blackheart will have no effect. He tries his luck. It comes up short.

Once again the demon blasts the wreckage from his body and Daredevil scoops up a sheet of corrugated iron to shield the heroes from the blast!


The feat saves Spider-Man from a point-blank deluge of splintered wood and nails, but the impact of the blast has taken its toll on Daredevil.

Concerned for the reckless abandon shown by his friend, he tells DD to rest, and summons his superior spider-strength to take the fight to Blackheart head-on with an all mighty uppercut!


Spider-Man's fist 'kraks' against Blackheart's jaw, but Daredevil can sense that its having no effect. The only thing keeping them alive is Blackheart's animalistic, child-like confusion.

Ancient knowledge fills Blackheart's infantile mind as he gazes repeatedly out to the crowd forming at the edge of the amusement park.

He sees visions of a holy savior, a son like himself, making a supreme sacrifice for crowds just like those. The creature is compelled to make mockery of the noble sacrifice, but to what end?

The crowd speculates whether Blackheart gazes upon them with hatred or fear. Daredevil and Spider-Man aren't any more certain, but the pause allows Daredevil time to sense the crackling of a downed powerline, and the thatched network of metal extending beneath Blackheart's feet.

Daredevil calls the situation to his partner's attention, but Spider-Man is reluctant to resort to lethal force. His spider-senses warn him of danger and he wonders if Daredevil is acting like himself. Something seems off. Before DD can put electric wire to twisted steel -- Spidey dives on him!

Blackheart wants them to kill him. Wants them to choose the easy, wicked way out. To corrupt their spirit and souls. Just as his father suggested of the innocent woman he'd murdered upon his birth. Only - the heroes aren't falling for it!

They don't need to kill him. They just need to knock him out!


Daredevil and Spider-Man are united in seeing the sense of things and together they reel back and deliver and almighty double-team blow!

The punches rock Blackheart, but he doesn't fall. Instead, he reaches an epiphany.

Gazing back upon the amassed crowd, Blackheart remembers another thing told to him by his father: "Avoid the eyes of man".

He may have been right in believing Daredevil was a worthy foe to expose his true self too, but in bearing witness to his evil, the surrounding crowd may have taken his power. So instead of enduring further indignity, the demon chooses to leave -- an explosion taking him from the place of battle.

Daredevil grapples with the strange familiarity of the evil, and the lingering presence of one of the onlookers, as Spider-Man greets a grateful crowd, and DD finally realises the entity that must have been behind it all...

The Hammer...
Although not really defeated, Blackheart slinks back to the bristles of his cradle on the hillside of Christ's Crown, cursing his father's absence, and unwanted birth. He crawls and melts into the earth that first expelled him, wanting only to suffer and die, to wither from a dark and cruel world, hoping Mephisto will forget he even exists.

Break out the eyeliner and jangly guitars. I told you in The Tape that this was evil as only 1989 could envision it! The same year that unleashed Hot Topic and Jason Takes Manhattan upon an unsuspecting world.

Sure, How Soon Is Now? came out in 1984, and Blackheart literally 'goes home, cries, and wants to die', but I'd say the synthesis of flavours that make up his first appearance skews late eighties, if not '89 specifically. At the end of the day, this isn't about The Smiths. Maybe The Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim...?

There's no punctured bicycle on this desolate New York hillside, but the pages of Daredevil #270 feel sticky with the lifeblood of music-infused counterculture of the time. The vitality of goth and post-punk is the real spillage that birthed Blackheart onto the page -- a walking shadow of rose thorns and loathing, rising in angst like a personification of every goth teen's poem-filled notebook.

There are other flavours in there, too. The violent lore behind Blackheart's origin has a vaguely literary quality, with its centuries of American gothic murder and injustice. While the setting of a New York hillside reminds me of urban legends about kids finding dead bodies in the grass or forests of New Jersey. It feels of a piece with the eighties slasher flicks that dominated the decade and had reached a point of being slick, colourful, sugary blockbuster versions of themselves.

Like a lot of those movies, there's a tremendous spirit of fun in this issue, despite its dark matter, as there is in all of Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr's collaborative run. A favourite series we've touched upon in previous entries.

It's the kind of issue I would've delighted at picking up on a whim at the newsstand. It serves as a simple introduction of a new super-villain, while also furthering the on-going struggle between Mephisto & 
Daredevil, and giving us a good old fashioned team-up between DD and Spider-Man!

I wish comics were still reliably enjoyable like this. Nostalgically noting that spare change would've got me this satisfying chapter off the newsagent rack.

I think this still might be the definitive Blackheart comic, but I probably need to do a little more reading before I confidently make those kinds of proclamations. At the very least, DD #280 provides a convenient tonal key to understanding the core concept beyond its striking appearance -- providing you have some sense of the magical concoction of the times.

For reasons I'm still not clear on: Blackheart may be best remembered for his unlikely inclusion in the Capcom fighting game, Marvel Super Heroes, where he inexplicably replaced Mephisto in the loose adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet, and subsequent series sequel, Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.

The games do a good job of selling the visual, but the stylistic texture of the comic is missing, and gamers have almost certainly come away with a skewed perspective of the character. Not that comics of the time were much help, either.

If you left the arcade in 1995 in search of answers your only options were the original few appearances in Daredevil, a handful of uninspired cameos in '93 issues of Wonder Man, or a couple of splashy prestige specials starring the oh-so early nineties attention-seeking trio of Ghost Rider, Wolverine, and Punisher.

Those characters, especially in gratuitous appearances, always have a whiff of pubescence about them, but at least the stories followed up on some of the rich material left behind by Nocenti, leveraging the reference to cult activity at Christ's Crown for some devilish, nineties adventures.

Of course, if you ask me, I think Blackheart is better served by staying tethered to the angsty, soggy, rose-scented dark wave emocore of the late eighties. A slightly contemptible brand of darkness, as opposed to the samey edginess of 'bad boys' and hellspawn of the nineties.

Blackheart is more than just that beguiling visual. Beneath the design beats the heart of a mood, a vibe, a moment in time that was powerful and real. Every writer & artist tackling the character should be issued with a copy of DD #280 in its original pulpy printed format, and a playlist of period appropriate music, preferably curated by the great Ann Nocenti herself.

I think it would go a long way to making sure the character is more than just another bad guy covered in spikes and thorns and ordinary cliches.

I'm still looking forward to getting my disc copy of Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics on November 22nd, but it was nice to get ahead of the retro gaming fun by digging back into a favourite comic reference.

As ever, I enjoy coming back to 1989, and wonder what type of significance Marvel's output at that time had to Japan, and the Capcom game developers. A reference that made even less sense in Marvel Super Heroes than it did three years earlier for The Punisher.

If you enjoyed it as well, consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. That's where you can get in my ear and influence future topics, such as speeding up a return to some of the subjects raised here, or just generally help make it possible to keep on keeping on and maybe make some other cool stuff as well.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1,000 of your favourite characters! You can find 'em all by diving in to the Secret Archive for a complete index in order of publisher, series, and issue number -- or by following links throughout each post to discover more from your favourite characters, creators, series, and categories!

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#514 (new) Blackheart
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#8 (--) Daredevil

Friday, January 12, 2024

KRAVEN THE HUNTER versus SPIDER-MAN
The Coffin (Marvel)
Where:
Web of Spider-Man #31 When: October 1987
Why: JM DeMatteis How: Mike Zeck

The Story So Far...
Sergei Kravinoff is an old man. A man sustained by herbs & roots and an iron will. A man whose family left behind a Russia with no room for his aristocratic dynasty. Whose only purpose now is to pursue the wild hunt.

Kraven the Hunter has suffered many indignities in his long life. A life he is quite certain must end soon -- but not before another hunt. Not before he consumes the many poisons of the arachnid and uses them to fuel domination of his ultimate foe.

While Spider-Man pays one last visit to a two-bit crook in a dive bar open casket -- he has no way of knowing his preoccupation with death is shared by a predator who has him in his sights. For he is the target of Kraven's Last Hunt!

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

Sergei Kravinoff is an expert big game hunter who refined his body and senses to the peak of human ability. Further enhancements from an herbal formula created by Calypso allow him to wrestle the deadliest game into submission with his bare hands --
graduating Kraven the Hunter to super-human prey!

Kraven most famously stalks Spider-Man, but he's also had memorable run-ins with the likes of Tigra, Man-Wolf, Vermin, Daredevil, and Ka-Zar.

Many of these opponents are a little out of his weight class, but the thrill of the hunt lies in the challenge, and Kraven's skill & tactical acumen more than makes up for any natural advantages his target might possess.

Kraven's exploits have been adapted across multiple mediums, most recently appearing in PlayStation's Spider-Man 2 video game, and soon to feature on the big screen in a live-action Kraven the Hunter movie.

We previously took a look at an incarnation of Kraven from the MTV Spider-Man animated series, which ended, as it so often does, with Spider-Man victorious, but today's battle is a little different. This time Kraven is driven by every past indignity and humiliation he's ever suffered. This time Kraven is playing for keeps.

Will ritual preparation -- and a driven belief that this holdover from a forgotten age must soon die -- finally deliver Kraven to the ultimate victory? This isn't Kraven's final hunt, but it is leading him towards it. Let's see what happened!

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

What Went Down...
Caught in the night's rain and deep thought: Spider-Man is alerted to a coming danger by his preternatural spider-senses.

He leaps clear of an incoming dart, leaving it to poke harmlessly into a nearby billboard -- while also jumping into the path of a second shot! It hits its target!


The projectile sticks into Spider-Man's neck, administering a poison that rushes through his body. For a moment he has a vision of Joe Face: a two-bit crook who used to feed him information, but is lying flat in a wooden box in a local dive.

Death is on his mind, but Spider-Man refuses to yield when he's confronted with Kraven the Hunter on an adjacent rooftop enclosure.

He shoots a web to pull himself across the divide with a mighty leap.

Again the toxin causes Spider-Man's mind to drift to visions of the recently deceased. A dangerous distraction Kraven is all too ready to seize upon!


The Hunter strikes with a wooden staff -- smacking Spider-Man off the enclosure to a lower rooftop level!

The Spider lands hard on his back & shoulders, precariously balanced on the edge of the roof. His muscles begin to stiffen and he can hardly move himself -- effects of the drug now coursing through his veins.

Kraven aims to further immobilize his prey -- ensnaring him in a weighted net!


Whatever the mesh is made of, it's tough enough to resist the weakened Spider.

Kraven drops from the enclosure, brandishing a rifle as he calmly approaches.

Spider-Man's addled mind races wildly between reassuring thoughts of Kraven's usual non-lethal modus operandi -- and the danger of a hunting rifle.

Spidey continues to try to free himself from the net. He can see there's something different about the look in Kravinoff's eyes. This isn't the Kraven he's usually faced. No matter how many times he reminds The Hunter of his usual desire to win with his bare hands -- this time something is different!


Kraven lines up his shot as Spider-Man desperately continues to struggle against the net and more visions of Joe Face. The thought that tomorrow it might be somebody else who dies eats at him. Somebody he loves. Aunt May, Mary-Jane, or...

With a wild-eyed gaze and deranged, toothy grin -- Kraven takes the shot.

It's over.

The Hammer...
I can only imagine if & how shocking the conclusion to Web of Spider-Man #31 might have seemed to a regular reader back in 1987.

It's a smidge before my time. When I finally got around to reading for myself -- there was little surprise to be had. It was already canonized as one of the legendary Spider-Man stories, and I was well prepared for the shocking turn of events that would follow Kraven the Hunter's victory. I had it on a trading card.

I was never left guessing what would happen after Kraven & his cronies end the issue lowering Spider-Man's coffin into a freshly dug grave.

I didn't endure any agonizing wait when Spidey remained six feet under in the next chapter, published in Amazing Spider-Man #293.

You can probably tell from the images included in this article - I had the benefit of a collected trade paperback. The entire story in my hot little hands, ready to consume. A format for convenience, but lacking the majesty of what I imagine the first run on newsstands would've been like. It was actually a little under whelming after all those years of hearing about it, but I've come around over the decades. Still I wonder about the wait in real-time...


Mike Zeck's pencils, with Bob McLeod on inks, and a trio of colorists -- Janet Jackson (not that one), Bob Sharen, and Zeck himself -- are pretty marvelous and moody, but the heavy tone that hangs over the issue doesn't feel particularly unusual to me, in keeping with other Spider-Man comics of the era.

It's a visually dark New York City, with the black suited Spider-Man prowling across its muddy blue and purple hues. It has the urban grit of a late eighties B-movie. I wonder if a regular reader might've overlooked the stakes, conditioned to always assume Spidey will come out on top, no matter the mire. And of course - he does. The rifle was loaded with some exotic tranquilizer or knock-out potion.

The enduring image from Kraven's Last Hunt becomes Spider-Man pulling himself out of his own grave on the cover of Web of Spider-Man #32, but there is still the lasting legacy of Kraven not only burying Spider-Man alive, but also supplanting him -- to the psychological horror of Peter Parker, and his then-wife, Mary-Jane.

Back in those days, it wasn't often that villains would secure such decisive and mind-bending victories. It reminds me of more recent affairs, like Otto Octavius assuming control of Peter Parker's body, or the countless comic book deaths that last a few years of suspended disbelief, before inevitably restoring the icon.

Kraven's Last Hunt only spans six issues, lasting a couple of months of print, which might not leave the reader a long time to stew, but sets about planting similar seeds without needing to burn a few years of publication. It seems to me far more impactful and efficient in its delivery of a memorable moment.

Update: Over on Twitter (aka; X), Sammy Younan was nice enough to respond to this entry, noting: "The danger in Kraven's Last Hunt felt real. Sometimes with these stories it's phony. I read these comics "live;" you instantly grasped this was BIG." Given the fast reputation of the story - I don't doubt it.

I'm interested to explore the story further and see how it sits within Kraven's legacy. As of Chapter 1, it reads like an opportunistic win for a heel villain, but once Kraven becomes Spider-Man, it takes on a very different context. That, more than today's victory, is probably what makes this one of the enduring milestones.

If you'd like to see that sooner than later, consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Your contribution will help support further scholarly activities and the general cost of living. As a thank you you'll unlock access to the Discord, extra updates, and sponsored content options, such as Rank & File Top 10s.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has documented & discussed over 700 featured fights and more than 1,000 characters. You can find them all by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index in order of publisher, series, and issue.

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter & Discord!

Winner: Kraven the Hunter
#433 (+297) Kraven the Hunter
#2 (--) Spider-Man

Saturday, October 28, 2023

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!

If you'd like to see that and more future updates - consider supporting the site on Patreon. Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has served superhero smackdown and comic book enthusiasm to millions of viewers, with more than 700 featured fights and well over 1,000 iconic comic book characters ranked!

Dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of every battle recorded, in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Or follow links throughout this and every other post to discover more from your favourite characters & topics!

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter, Patreon & Discord!

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

Sunday, June 04, 2023

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!

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on Twitter & Patreon!

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