OLD COMICS WEDNESDAY: ... VERSUS SUPERMAN!

The Batman v Superman rivalry has finally been brought to life in a feature film! Throughout March the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths were all about The Man of Steel: taking you beyond the grim world of the film into the epic battles of the DC Universe!

In Old Comics Wednesday we've looked forward by looking backwards: witnessing the Justice League in action first-hand [Dawn of Justice], and remembering some of the classic adversaries faced by Batman on a regular basis [Batman Versus...]! We couldn't leave the Dawn of Justice behind without a much needed reflection on some of the fights featuring Superman!

By hitting any of the covers below, you'll be transported back through some of the greatest hits of Superman's feature fights, against foes like: Doomsday, General Zod, Captain Marvel, Hawkman, The Flash, Massacre, Eclipso, Jimmy Olsen, and even Marvel's Incredible Hulk and Thor!

If those last two tickled your fancy, be here throughout the month of April to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of DC versus Marvel! The latest inter-company crossover collision started last week with an all access pass to Superman vs Venom! You never know who'll meet next!

HERO OF THE WEEK: BATMAN (DC)
Real Name: Bruce Wayne
First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939)
Fight Club Ranking: #1

Featured Fights:
- vs JOKER: The Dark Knight Returns #3 (May 1986)
- vs SUPERMAN: The Dark Knight Returns #4 (Jun 1986)
- vs TWO-FACE: Batman #442 (Dec 1989)
- vs BANE: Batman #497 (Jul 1993)
- vs BULLSEYE: DC versus Marvel #1 (Feb 1996)
- vs CAPTAIN AMERICA: Marvel versus DC #3 (Apr 1996)
- vs SUPERMAN: The Dark Knight Strikes Again #1 (Nov 2001)
- vs KILLER CROC: Batman #608 (Dec 2002)
- vs SUPERMAN: Batman #612 (Apr 2003)
- vs JOKER: Detective Comics #781 (Jun 2003)
- vs JOKER: Batman #614 (Jun 2003)
- vs SLAM BRADLEY: Catwoman #22 (Aug 2003)
- vs HUSH: Batman #619 (Nov 2003)
- vs KILLER CROC: Batman #621 (Jan 2004)
- vs CAPTAIN MARVEL & HAWKMAN: Superman/Batman #4 (Jan 2004)
- vs SCARECROW: Batman: Gotham Knights #49 (Mar 2004)
- vs HILL STREET CULT: DC: The New Frontier #2 (Apr 2004)
- vs FATMAN & LITTLE BOY: Batman #624 (Apr 2004)
- vs SCAREBEAST: Batman #628 (Jul 2004)
- vs ROBIN: Batman #629 (Aug 2004)
- vs MR. ZSAZS: Detective Comics #796 (Sep 2004)
- vs CATWOMAN: Solo #1 (Dec 2004)
- vs GREEN ARROW: Superman/Batman #14 (Jan 2005)
- vs WONDER WOMAN & FREEDOM FIGHTERS: Superman/Batman #15 (Feb 2005)
- vs ULTRAMARINE CORPS: JLA: Classified #3 (Mar 2005)
- vs AMAZO: Batman #637 (Apr 2005)
- vs ATOMIC SKULL: Superman/Batman #21 (Sep 2005)
- vs CATWOMAN: JLA #118 (Nov 2005)
- vs SUPERMAN: Superman/Batman #23 (Nov 2005)
- vs MONGUL: Infinite Crisis #1 (Dec 2005)
- vs THE SOCIETY: Batman #647 (Jan 2006)
- vs CATWOMAN: Batman: The Mad Monk #1 (Oct 2006)
- vs O.G.R.E.: Batman Confidential #2 (Mar 2007)
- vs JOKER: Batman #663 (Apr 2007)
- vs DARKSEID: Superman/Batman #42 (Jan 2008)
- vs DR. LIGHT: Superman/Batman #43 (Jan 2008)
- vs SUPERMAN: Justice League: The New Frontier Special #1 (May 2008)
- vs ALPHA LANTERN KRAKEN: Final Crisis #2 (Aug 2008)
- vs HUSH: Detective Comics #850 (Jan 2009)
- vs SUPERMAN: Superman/Batman #78 (Jan 2011)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has come and gone. The Twitter hashtags don't have the cool little promotional icons any more. There are no new trailers or photos to keep websites talking. The digital noise is quickly dissipating, leaving only committed theatre stragglers and critics to agree upon the weaknesses, and search for reason amidst the rubble.

Indiewire notes the film's sharp drop from its initial record setting $166 million dollar opening, to a $52 million second weekend. Their rationale stops short of admitting to a search for humanity in the audiences who defiantly flocked to the critically hobbled mega-blockbuster. I dutifully mark the moment by finally making Batman our Hero of the Week. His importance to the day is too big to ignore, even if Wonder Woman pipped him on film's release [03/28/2016].

They say time heals all wounds. When Batman v Superman finally lumbered onto screens, it hung stale in the air. There was a grim sense of foreboding about it all. Batman and Superman were finally meeting on screen, and the actors were whole heartedly committed to spitting impassioned resentments through gritted teeth. They were acting as if it all mattered. As if there was a reason to believe in what was happening. This level of commitment should've been something to celebrate, but it wasn't. Under Zack Snyder, these pulp legends of the nineteen thirties finally seemed like two old men fighting for reasons they couldn't even remember. Time hasn't healed the wound. It's just given us permission to forget about it for a while. Snyder's Justice League is coming in 2017. We'll check the bleeding and redress the wound when it does.

"Bloated and collapsing" was the phrase I couldn't shake-off last week. Under the weight of their own legend, the implication. It was exciting to see Ben Affleck's Batman so physically large, but it was an ugly metaphor for a bittersweet carnival.

Affleck's Batsuit is an obvious acknowledgment of Frank Miller's Dark Knight [pictured above], itself inspired by the art of Dick Sprang. If I thought Netflix' Daredevil was being cowardly in its design choices [03/21/2016] - The Bat of Dawn of Justice is the larger-than-life kick in the teeth I was looking for.

For better and for worse, Zack Snyder is unafraid. When there's a story to tell it's a recipe for embarrassment, but when it comes time to designing an image -- Snyder clearly has some talent. He fought for Miller's Batman and got it on screen, more or less. He deserves credit for that.

Batman, maybe more than most characters, has had an uncanny knack for attracting some of the most fantastic talent of the modern day. I speak of comics, primarily, but even after a somewhat flawed third outing: the likes of Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and the rest of their technical and creative cast are to be commended for their works. Their contributions loom large within the canon of seventy-plus years of good Batman. Generations of good will, as it were. Generations of anticipation. Many hundreds of thousands of tickets sold to Batman v Superman on name alone, I suspect.

"Pre-judgment" was ironically one of the first excuses used to dismiss harsh critical response. A convenience of an era so utterly saturated with mediocre licensed franchising, you could actually be forgiven for forgetting that licensed adaptations are by their nature designed to foster and capitalize upon "pre-judgment". Another dismissal used by those close to the film was the separation of the intended audience: "the fans". You may notice a conflict of logic between the two.

It's all a bit familiar, to be honest. In 1997, Joel Schumacher was casting similar aspersions regarding criticism for his then-upcoming movie: Batman and Robin. He had particular disdain for internet pundits of the time. While speaking to Variety, Warner Brothers Marketing Chief Chris Pula questioned the credibility behind such barbs: "Now anybody with a computer is a newspaper." He was a little ahead of his time in his assessment, to be honest, but I digress...

Batman and Robin was a cultural phenomenon, and still took $238.2 million when all was said and done. There was the big second week drop-off after a strong-ish #3 open in a competitive '97 market. Warner Brothers pointed to strong overseas box office. Pretty much the same song and dance we've seen for Batman v Superman. Only there wasn't ten years of sequels already announced and a stubborn resolve to push ahead in spite of what went on the screen. The audience wasn't dependant enough to apologize for the project. Even those responsible now wave the white flag of failure for their film. Schumacher has thrown himself on his sword too many times to count. Batman & Robin was dubbed the killer of big screen Batman and we all moved on and hoped for better. Granted, Warner Brothers famously had several production attempts before 2005's Batman Begins, but I can't help but feel nostalgic for a time when the studio was naïve enough to think it could all fail. No longer. The inevitability of Hollywood mediocrity is the most souring pre-judgment of all.

Ben Affleck has reportedly written a script for a solo Batman film, which he may or may not direct. He's contracted for two Justice League films. Prophetic sequences in Dawn of Justice forecast a battle with Darkseid and a potentially crazed Superman. Crazed, villainous, old. Bloated and collapsing under the weight of his own legend. If only that legend could ever be adequately told on screen. At least Batman got a few good films. I hope he gets a few more, but I'm beginning to wonder if the rebel spirit the corporate owned Batman once represented died with the rest of the DC Universe [in 2011]. Superman never stood a chance.

<< Hero of the Week 04/11: Robotman     [Home]      Hero of the Week 03/28: Wonder Woman >> 

SUPERMAN versus VENOM

The Crossing! (DC/Marvel)
Where: DC/Marvel: All Access #1 When: December 1996 Why: Ron Marz How: Jackson Guice & Josef Rubinstein

The Story So Far...
Dashing from one back alley shortcut to the next - that's the life of Axel Asher. One minute he's on the city street, the next he's rushing to meet his girlfriend Ming Kuo-Fan. There's just one problem: The uncontrollable visions of two worlds once locked in cosmic battle!

 

See, one time when Axel was running through an alley he got stopped by this bum, who showed him a glowing cardboard box. It was an avatar for the fragile reality he maintained between two universe. When these universes became aware of each other through awakening cosmic twins - Axel learned his true fate as a man between worlds: the inter-dimensional guardian Access!

 

Now, just as things are starting to get to normal, it seems the universes are starting to bleed together again -- threatening the whole of existence! A dude called Venom has found himself in the wrong universe and he's getting freaked. If Access can't put Venom back where he belongs before he and Superman tear down Metropolis it could spell The End for reality and his relationship!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Superman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Superman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Venom 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Superman 5 (Lasers)


Don't be fooled! It may be April 1st, but this is no joke! Throughout the month of April we'll be celebrating the 20th anniversary of DC versus Marvel, and we're diving in on this slightly peculiar match-up, which very much occurred!

I say peculiar... It's not that it's inconceivable these two characters might meet in a crossover scenario. Quite the contrary! Any collision between DC and Marvel owes at least a small debt to the 1976 meeting of Superman and Spider-man!

In that first crossover story, the pop culture icons combined to take down arch-villains: Lex Luthor and Dr. Doom. Twenty years later, it only made sense the heroes would meet again. What better way to put a fresh spin on their seminal encounter than with a face-off between Superman and Spidey's hugely popular dark shadow of the day?

In '96, the alien costume introduced in Secret Wars was permanently bonded to ex-reporter Eddie Brock. Together they made Venom: villain turned "lethal protector" and all around anti-hero hater of Spider-man!

Thanks to the symbiotic relationship the costume once shared with Peter Parker; Venom possessed enhanced spider-like abilities of speed, agility, organically produced webbing, and even  greater super-strength. Not that you'd know any of this from his brief appearance in DC versus Marvel #4, where the oozing costume could be seen menacing speedsters The Flash and Quicksilver like a living tar pit.

The sticky encumberance faced by fast runners is a natural enough threat, and while it wasn't followed up in any meaningful way, it presents a scenario where the heroes have something to overcome. The peculiarity of Venom v Superman is in the symbiote's natural weaknesses: high sonic frequency and intense heat.

Heat vision being one of Superman's most famous powers, you can just about wrap the fight up on that note alone. He doesn't know Venom very well, though, so assuming heat doesn't come up in the natural course of fighting, there's the issue of raw strength. Venom may be a cut above Spidey in the brawn department, but we rate Superman a full class above Venom's standard.

Granted, we've seen Venom stand up to Iron Man [Iron Man #302], and the story itself will call out Venom's battles with Juggernaut in future feature and dubious '93 mini-series - Venom: The Madness. Superman replies, rightfully, with his own Juggernaut victory in DC versus Marvel #1. Which really ends the speculation phase and brings us to the point of finding out what actually happened...

The Tape: Superman Ranking: Superman (#4)

What Went Down...

Materializing in the wrong universe isn't sitting well with the dual being known as Venom. Lashing out at his unfamiliar surroundings, he destroys a Superman statue and starts asking the terrified locals for directions. Never one to ignore the cries of a woman ensnared in alien tendrils - Superman races to the scene!

Faster than a speeding bullet - Superman swoops in to separate Venom from harassed Caitlin Fitzgerald and introduce him to Metropolis bricks and mortar!

While Venom recovers from being smashed through a wall at high speed, Superman gets a good look at his opponent. The spider insignia reminds him of a hero he once met from another universe: Spider-man!

The invocation is enough to send Venom into a blind rage! He shares his pain by suddenly blasting Superman's face with a spray of symbiote generated organic webbing! The unprepared Man of Steel is momentarily stunned!

Venom is upon Superman in seconds! His fury is channelled into a punch that manages to knock the stunned superhero onto the back foot! It sets him up for a combo finish with extreme environmental impact: Venom catches Superman's cape and uses it to launch him like an Olympic hammer!

The assault sends Superman hurtling out of control - crash landing into a stationary bus parked outside a church! "Superman, huh? Not much of a protector if you ask us." Don't worry: the bus was empty!

By the time The Man of Steel collects himself, Venom has already re-collected unwilling "tour guide" Caitlin and left the scene.

Superman removes the remaining webbing from his face with a burst of heat vision when he's confronted by the cross-dimensional hero Access. Unfamiliar with the friend, Superman brushes him off and prepares for Round 2...

The Hammer...

After careful deliberation, we're filing this one under the Round 1 rule. Superman takes chase for more fighting right after this, but there's a clear break in the action before he hunts his opponent down elsewhere in Metropolis.

With that information in mind, we unexpectedly declare Venom the winner by majority decision!

Superman may live to fight another day, but he clearly got overwhelmed in this initial encounter.

If you've read the recap above, you know the concessions we're giving the action to presume the fight works. I think this characterization adequately represents the material, but there's definitely an eyebrow raising element.

It's somewhat surprising that Venom would physically best Superman as well as he does. The conceit of rage fuelling Venom's strength isn't an unreasonable ask, and it should be noted he doesn't knock Superman off his feet. He does throw him, though. Quite far. The issue of Venom's strength will become a bigger problem in the rematch. For now, it's slightly questionable.

If you've got a problem with this fight, I suspect the nebulous role of webbing will be another nagging issue. Was Superman blinded and disoriented, therefore unable to control his flight path? Was he caught by surprise and breathing the web in, denied valuable oxygen? X-ray vision and super breath have a way of challenging both notions, but acceptance really comes down to interpretation.

If you assume the webbing is easily seen through, and no impediment for a Superman who fights in airless space [eg; Superman/Batman #4], it arguably reads better. If you really like your Superman fallible, you might decide he was blinded, choking, and careening out of control simply because he didn't have time to compose himself. Fair enough. The benefit of this strange period of peace between the big two publishers is that they had time to spend on their stories. For better or worse, this is just Act 1 of Issue #1. There's time to recover.

 

My impulse is to think Superman may've been under written here, but I'm soft on the idea of leaving the door open to "5" strength characters to rough him up a little. I don't want my Man of Tomorrow to be an idiot who forgets his powers, or an impotent punching bag, but leaving the door open for the Killer Crocs of the world to try their luck has always tickled my fancy.

You'll have to make up your own mind about which moment was more hilarious: Venom driving a truck in the nineties cartoon, or trying on a scared bystander's glasses in DC/Marvel: All Access #1 [pictured above]. Those odds are even.

Either way, we have our first DC/Marvel crossover battle of April in the books! Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an April Fool! If you missed last week's crossover feature from Unlimited Access #1, be sure to check it out! You'll find even more like those in the Issue Index Archive under "Crossovers", and a fresh crop in the coming weeks! So don't miss it!

 

Winner: Venom

(--) #4 Superman

(+3) #16 Venom Symbiote

(+223) #101 Venom (Eddie Brock)

OLD COMICS WEDNESDAY: DAWN OF JUSTICE!

After untold months of anticipation: the Batman v Superman rivalry has crash landed in theatres across the globe! The movie is the Dawn of Justice, beginning the first steps toward the path of a full Justice League on film starting with the gathering of Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman!

This Old Comics Wednesday, we're receiving future echoes of heroes to come with some of the classic Justice League battles featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths! By clicking the covers below, you'll find feature showdowns involving charter League members: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom, Booster Gold, Firestorm, Vixen, Guy Gardner and many more!

The heroes battle some of DC Comics' most dangerous enemies of justice: Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Doomsday, Joker, Sinestro, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd, Mongul, Cheetah, Poison Ivy and more!

HERO OF THE WEEK: WONDER WOMAN (DC)
Real Name: Diana of Themyscira
First Appearance: All-Star Comics #8 (Dec, 1941)
Fight Club Ranking: #12

Featured Fights:
- vs ETRIGAN: The Demon #17 (Nov 1991)
- vs STORM: Marvel versus DC #3 (Apr 1996)
- vs MANTIS & JUGGERNAUT: Unlimited Access #1 (Dec 1997)
- vs MORGAUTH: JSA Strange Adventures #1 (Oct 2004)
- vs SUPERMAN & BATMAN: Superman/Batman #15 (Feb 2005)
- vs ULTRAMARINE CORPS: JLA: Classified #3 (Mar 2005)
- vs MONGUL: Infinite Crisis #1 (Dec 2005)
- vs INJUSTICE LEAGUE: Justice League of America #15 (Jan 2008)
- vs SINESTRO CORPS: Green Lantern #25 (Jan 2008)
- vs MINOTAUR: DC Universe 0 (Jun 2008)
- vs MARY MARVEL: Final Crisis #3 (Sep 2008)
- vs CHEETAH: Wonder Woman #29 (Apr 2009)
- vs GENOCIDE: Wonder Woman #32 (Jul 2009)

I had some trouble narrowing down this week's HOTW. The source of inspiration wasn't hard to find: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice officially hit wide release Friday - instantly becoming the biggest talking point in comics and pop culture of the moment! We already featured Superman earlier in the year [02/01/2016], leaving a choice between the intangible "winner" of the week, or the one I have the most thoughts about. I threw a quick poll up on Twitter and returned the answer I already felt was most true.

Wonder Woman may not be the name on the marquee, but she's the spiritual victor coming out of this week's Batman v Superman cinematic showdown. While the air around the title heroes is grim with disappointment, Wonder Woman gleams with a sense of joy, and the promise of something new.

To be fair, some of this fancy free enthusiasm comes from being the third wheel in a big budget car crash. The trajectory of Batman and Superman in each other's direction became so poorly motivated and basically unattractive, they were always going to be the two to blaze bright, or crash and burn. Right now, it feels like the latter. For the first time in recent memory, they truly feel like century old characters: bloated and collapsing broken under the weight of the grandiose pointlessness they permit. Too big to fail. A license to get it spectacularly wrong. Victims of a poor reading of old texts.

With her first solo feature film coming in 2017, perhaps it was by design that Batman v Superman tried to leave DC's two biggest icons worse for wear, so everyone would be even more inclined to embrace the bright spark of Wonder Woman.

By choice, this Wonder Woman is rooted in 100 years of alternate modern history, and Greek mythology. As an exercise in building cinema's second superhero universe, it most closely resembles two of Marvel's least impressive outings: Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor.

Like the former, Wonder Woman's film will flashback to the Second World War. Like the latter, Wonder Woman's origins isolate her from the other superheroes of science and humanity. The challenge will be adequately bridging these gaps, while also remembering to tell a satisfying tale.

Teaser clips shown during a special on The CW (three months ago) failed to really give any indication of the film's depth. Its visual palette appears dark and dour, not dissimilar from Batman v Superman. Warner Brothers recently assured audiences the Justice League movie will be lighter than Dawn of Justice, which receives an R on [uncut] home release. Here's hoping it won't be too late for Wonder Woman to shine bright on her own - or with friends.

Marvel's WWII Captain America omitted almost all reference to their other Golden Age heroes. Licensing scenarios of the time meant characters like the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch were unlikely to be available for feature. [Yes - I know about the unnamed cameo]. Other live-action DC properties have been toying with the multiverse, and multiple generations. It'll be interesting to see if Wonder Woman's history makes any reference to the Justice Society of America.

Gentle nods to the likes of Jay Garrick and Alan Scott would be nice. It could lay some potentially useful track for the future Flash film, and explanations of the Speed Force, while also filling out Wonder Woman's world. If you're going to create a history -- why not go all out using it?

Wonder Woman will be fighting the tide when DC Comics goes all-in on their Rebirth event, as well. The heroine, and return of writer Greg Rucka, were big parts of Wondercon announcements, which failed to instil a great sense of belief or enthusiasm for DC's "new" direction.

Like their movies; DC Comics have had the stink of shallow, brooding mediocrity since 2011's New 52 line-wide reboot. The sense of a poorly defined, but carefully contrived universe -- designed specifically for the movie age, but not necessarily existing readers -- turned once dynamic heroes and villains into plodding contradictions. Stripped of their history and iconic definition; many of the characters became pale shadows of their former selves, at odds even with some multimedia. Other properties didn't even make it that far.

While there were undoubtedly questionable decisions along the way: Wonder Woman managed to be one of the less offensively damaged characters. This could be because her print existence has long been subject to severe inconsistency, and existential dilemma. Finding the definitive Wonder Woman has often been difficult. I thought Darwyn Cooke was approaching the character in an interesting way during The New Frontier. His Wonder Woman literally stood tall as a classic superhero in the mould of the mid-2000s Amazon warrior princess. Bold, decisive, and sometimes lethal in her approach to justice.

Unfortunately, Rucka's return means another Year One story -- probably still with a mind for the film division that now lords over comics, and Rucka's own boisterous interests. The promotionally lauded return of old contributors implies some stepping on toes, but DC are openly rejecting any idea of another "reboot" -- five years too late, sadly. For all the hullabaloo, it sounds as if the chain will remain broken by the New 52, even if revisions try to patch up some of the holes. We shall see.

What ever the path, be it film or comic, Wonder Woman is clearly one of the more exciting characters to watch in the DC pantheon. Watching, I'm sure we will be! WW was in action just last Friday for a transition from Dawn of Justice, to the anniversary of DC versus Marvel! You can find more from all these topics by following links and staying tuned!

<< Hero of the Week 04/04: Batman       [Home]       Hero of the Week 03/21: Daredevil >> 

SPIDER-MAN & WONDER WOMAN versus MANTIS & JUGGERNAUT

No Time Like The Present! (Marvel/DC)
Where: Unlimited Access #1 When: December 1997
Why: Karl Kesel How: Pat Olliffe

The Story So Far...
New York City native Axel Asher had enough trouble holding his own life together before he was confronted with a destiny to protect two parallel universes! Drawn into an inter-dimensional conflict between warring cosmic brothers and the denizens of their respective universes, Axel became the hero of two worlds: Access!

 

Having undone a merging of universes, and averted cosmic annihilation, Axel learns to adjust to the challenges of keeping both worlds separate, while also living a normal life. Crossovers continue to draw him deeper into the DC and Marvel Universes, but his powers help maintain the balance of reality.

 

What happens when it isn't just space that's starting to bleed from one universe into the other? When Mantis shows up in the Marvel Universe with a plan to kill Axel's girlfriend, he's forced to use his powers to recruit heroic allies from each universe once more. Only this time he's crossing over through time, as well!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Juggernaut 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Wonder Woman 5 (Superhuman)
Stamina: Juggernaut 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Mantis 5 (Lasers)

Not a hoax! Not a dream! Heroes of two worlds uniting against the threat of an unexpected, villainous alliance!

Spider-man is Peter Parker of the Marvel Universe, joined by Wonder Woman of the DC Universe. They had a brief encounter during a previous crossover in 1981's Marvel Treasury Edition #28, and are aware of each other during this inter-dimensional team-up -- which has to be a good thing!

A year prior, an alliance would've been much trickier. During Marvel versus DC [#3], a cosmic contest of champions pitted Wonder Woman against Storm, while briefly in possession of Thor's hammer Mjolnir. The true-blue amazing Spider-man missed out on the showdown of that particular century, but has contended with the likes of Superman, Lex Luthor, Joker, and others, in other universe shattering encounters.

The villains of today's crossover are Mantis of the DC Universe's New Genesis, and the unstoppable Juggernaut. Mantis is a newcomer to The Comic Book Fight Club, but Juggernaut we know well. He too has infamously faced the might of Superman [DC versus Marvel #1], and has the only history recorded on site between our tag team tusslers, mostly unphased in his clash with Spidey [Amazing Spider-man #230].

There's a nice thematic symmetry to the two sides. Spidey & Mantis are super-powered bug-men, Wonder Woman & Juggernaut are magical powerhouses. How does this shake down in combat? Not exactly evenly.

We've seen Wonder Woman take on her share of magical bruisers: A mythic Minotaur [DC Universe 0], the monstrous Genocide [Wonder Woman #32], a corrupt Mary Marvel [Final Crisis #3]. Two outta three ain't bad! She had Mongul dead to rights in Infinite Crisis #1, and gave Superman some grief that same issue. Given Juggernaut's sketchy win/loss record, we can at least call that a stalemate.

Mantis, on the other hand, possesses a range of standard New God super-human abilities: Strength, speed, agility, flight. The real catch is his ability to siphon power from attacks and even individuals, which could render Spidey and WW both at a serious disadvantage! How will they handle it? Let's find out...

The Tape: Spider-man & Wonder Woman Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...

Inner city calm turns to panic when Empire State University comes under fire from the New God Mantis! How he came to be in a universe not his own is a mystery of meagre importance, paling in significance to his intent: To destroy the girlfriend of man of two worlds - Axel Asher!

As Access, Asher uses his ability to create inter-dimensional doorways to pull his girlfriend Ming out of harm's way -- right before explosive beams of energy blast from Mantis' hands to her location! Mantis glowers at the narrow escape, failing to notice the friendly neighbourhood Spider-man coming at him from behind with a flykick to the back!

The advantage is momentarily lost when Mantis uses his physical might to pin Spider-man to the ground and begins drinking in his life-force!

A spray from mechanical web-shooters covers Mantis' face in a blinding weave - prompting him to relinquish the hold and start blasting energy! Fortunately, the proportionate leap and agility of a spider makes light work of dodging the blind shots -- which find the invincible chest of the Juggernaut!

The mystically endowed menace isn't taking a swing at Mantis, though. He's unharmed and in cahoots! Instead rampaging against Spider-man - who leaps out of the path of Juggernaut and into a blast of energy!

Juggernaut clutches the hero's head in his giant hand and invites his accomplice to grab the other end to finish the job properly. It doesn't look good for the human-spider wishbone - until a streaking Amazon delivers a torpedo-like right across the face of Juggernaut!

Spider-man delivers an uppercut to Mantis, who's swiftly caught by the golden lasso of Wonder Woman! Spidey offers to take the load, but finds he's fresh out of web-fluid. The distraction gives Juggernaut the time he needs to sneak up behind and viciously smash Wonder Woman's face into the Earth!

The Amazon warrior recovers and instantly fires back with a left cross that staggers the hulking villain - but doesn't topple him! Juggernaut dares to be amused by the powerful attack, which "almost hurt". The world shakes from the impact of two titans colliding at full charge!

Meanwhile, Mantis is flying wild -- driven mad by the rapidfire banter of his webless opponent! Spidey dodges those deadly hands and snags the gleaming lasso still wrapped around Mantis' neck! It makes a fine substitute for web, as Spidey swings the magic rope around Mantis' wrists and mounts his back!

Access returns to the scene - informing Spidey he's having trouble figuring out exactly where in the DC Universe Mantis came from. That makes a return delivery tricky, but it hardly matters when Mantis goes aerial - dragging Spider-man helplessly behind him!

Across the battlefield, Wonder Woman fares a bit better. Perceiving Juggernaut's armor to indicate an innate weakness, she hones in on his helmet. A two-fisted uppercut rocks Juggernaut and sends his metallic dome flying!

Alas; Juggernaut's helmet is designed to protect against a weakness to mental attack -- something neither Spider-man nor Wonder Woman can render. With confidence he snatches Wonder Woman and runs her through a nearby faculty building at devastating speed!

Still flying above, a frustrated Mantis prepares an anti-matter charge to try to free himself from the cuff of Wonder Woman's enchanted lariat. He isn't paying attention when Spidey tosses the loose end around a lamp post -- sending Mantis into a high-speed downward spiral!

Spotting Wonder Woman and Juggernaut again brawling in the open, Spider-man calls his ally's attention to the "irresistible force" swinging wildly above. She sends an "unmoveable object" heading its way with an uppercut!

Add insect-men from New Genesis to things that can stop the Juggernaut. KO!

The Hammer...

The winners of this titanic tag team encounter are quite definitively Wonder Woman & Spider-man! As a matter of formality we also need to acknowledge the assist from Access, since he did recruit Wonder Woman to even the odds in the Marvel Universe.

Those in the know will remember there was a lot going on in the world of Wonder Woman around this time. She teetered on the brink of death in '97, resurrected for a spell as the Goddess of Truth. These strange twists were obliquely referenced in Unlimited Access, which, as it turns out, is actually a crossover between space and time -- making this a Wonder Woman plucked from some time in her past!

When you consider the inconsistency major superheroes faced throughout the nineteen nineties, playing in time doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Topical reference had meant the Spider-Clone participated in Marvel versus DC #3 the year prior, instead of the genuine article. Wonder Woman got to dodge that bullet thanks to time travel shenanigans, much the same as Hal Jordan, who appears a solid seven years before DC fashionably recommitted to its mistakenly discarded Silver Age icons [see; Green Lantern: Rebirth].

The disappointing fact of Marvel's four issue Unlimited Access mini-series is that it quickly breaks from the benefits of selecting characters at their iconic best, opting to get lost in mash-ups of alternate futures, and significantly dated pasts.

Even with a prior dozen or so DC/Marvel crossovers in the nineties, the desire to see comics' biggest contemporary icons together was still strong. Much more so than meetings with the sixties Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, or the Days of Future Past X-Men. Too many major players were still unused, and intriguing competitive match-ups unexplored. Wonderful as those stories are unto their own publication, nobody wants to feel the fight is just a meaningless What If...?

That may sound particularly absurd for an inter-company crossover, but one of the remarkable things about DC & Marvel's collaborations of the nineties was their willingness to play fair. Nothing illustrates the eerie détente as well as an editor's note advertising a recent issue of Green Lantern in the pages of Marvel published Unlimited Access. Concocting mutually owned Amalgams seemed like a nice way to keep things even, but now we're casually incorporating business as usual. Spooky!

The companies would become spiteful nemeses anew just a few years later, but in the late nineties, everybody seemed fine playing relatively nice! Impactful stories were an available option. The battles, with some notable compromises, could be presented with more than a dismissive denial. Fans might debate their outcomes, but whether you like it or not, Storm beat Wonder Woman, and Wonder Woman got the better of Juggernaut. For real.

Depending on your perspective, you may say Wonder Woman has also got the better of Batman & Superman. Throughout March, we've been taking inspiration from the unprecedented cinematic experience of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In mass theatrical release today - the movie includes the first feature film appearances of: The Batman v Superman rivalry, the DC Trinity, aspects of a cinematic Justice League, and Wonder Woman herself!

 

Starting now, and continuing into the month of April, we'll be featuring the 20th Anniversary of another unprecedented pop cultural showdown event: DC versus Marvel/Marvel versus DC!

 

It's been ten years since we first ran through the classic crossover contest. In April we'll continue to explore the two follow-up series and some of the inter-company crossover battles that you may have forgotten! So don't miss it!

 

Winners: Wonder Woman & Spider-man

(--) #2 Spider-man

(+3) #12 Wonder Woman

(+29) #138 Access [+1 Assist]

(-18) #341 Juggernaut

(new) #772 Mantis