Today is the final day. Thank you for reading along.
1. Dr. Doom and Magneto “A World for the Winning” from Super-Villain Team-Up #14 (Marvel, 1977)
by Bill Mantlo, Bob Hall, Don Perlin, and Duffy Vohland
[This isn’t quite a complete story; it concludes in the Champions, but the contest I’m playing along with was specifically not about teams, so we’re focusing on the first chapter. All that said…] this was a clear #1 for me.
These are my favorite super-villains. And Dr. Doom has conquered the world. Like, it’s over. He’s won. His only enemy left is boredom. And out of that boredom, he gives Magneto a chance, a small chance, to free the world.
This story would get reused and reworked for Marvel Graphic Novel #27, “Emperor Doom”, also by Bob Hall. And the bare premise of a super-villain in psychic control of an entire world has shown up here and there, since. Most recently in Tom King’s Batman.
But this is the one. Doom’s finest hour. The best story for Marvel’s best villain.
3. Usagi Yojimbo and Zato-Ino (inspired by Zatoichi) “Blind Swords-Pig!” from Critters #7 (Fantagraphics, 1987)
by Stan Sakai
While Spider-Man has dominated my list this year, I had to make some room for the best non-Spidey comic book series in history. What originally came to mind is Usagi/Ninja Turtles, as that fits neatly in the theme. But then I thought about [the contest moderator] using Captain Strong as a Popeye stand-in, and remembered Usagi Yojimbo is filled with such stand-in characters. Surely his meetings with Lone Wolf and Kid would qualify as well then.
And that thought process brings us here. Zatoichi is the famed blind swordsman of Japanese cinema. Did you know there have been around 30 Zatoichi films? I think I’ve seen one of them. There was even a film, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo. (With Usagi’s character drawing from a mix of Yojimbo with the Miyamoto Musashi of the Samurai trilogy).
But this isn’t Miyamoto Musashi. It’s Miyamoto Usagi. “Usagi” being the Japanese word for “rabbit”. So of course he doesn’t meet Zatoichi, the blind swordsman; he meets Zato-Ino, the blind swords-pig.
One of the series’ (many) great characters in one of the series’ (many) great tales.
Ino sees the flaws in everybody except himself. And is always ready to believe the worst of people and lash out at the world. Usagi is the first person to try to understand him and connect with him, but Ino is too hateful and spurns Usagi’s advances. It’s a tragic tale of a man (err, pig) who thinks he is seeking a peace the world denies him, when, in truth, it is he himself who stands in the way of his own peace.
See my initial post for the context. Suffice to say that I will be sharing my entries to the Classic Comics Forum tradition, “ Twelve Days of Classic Comics Christmas“. This is a cross-post of my ninth entry, representing #4 on my list of favorite comic book Crossovers.
4. Daredevil and Captain America “Armageddon” from Daredevil #233 (Marvel, 1986)
by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli
It also features the Avengers, but I decided to downplay that fact above, per the rules of this contest. Besides, most of the Avengers only show up for like a page. But oh what a page. “A soldier with a voice that could command a god… and does.”
Once the pill-popping psychopath with delusions of patriotism is subdued, then it’s up to Captain America and Daredevil to expose government connections to the Kingpin of crime, and trace the origins of Nuke all the way back to the experiment that once created Captain America.
Frank Miller had done a legendary run on Daredevil, which came to an end. He returned to the book a few years later for one more sprint, this time teamed with the legendary David Mazzucchelli. (The same team would later reunite for Batman Year One) Over the course of 7 issues, they tear Matt Murdock’s life apart, but leave him standing strong despite it all. This is their final issue. Kingpin has grown tired of his more subtle attacks on Daredevil and unleashed hell on New York.
For those keeping count, this is the 3rd Daredevil entry and second entry without Spider-Man.
5. Spider-Ma Swamp Thing and Batman “Garden of Earthly Delights” From Swamp Thing #53 (DC, 1986)
by Alan Moore and John Totleben
After seven straight days of Spider-man entries, let me try to recall if I’ve ever read any other comics. Well, Alan Moore is my favorite comic writer, so let’s see if he ever wrote a crossover. Looks like he has. I’m not the only one to think of his Swamp Thing series, I see. Not even the only one today.
Here’s where he fights Batman.
The story so far: Swamp Thing’s wife has been arrested in Gotham City for the crime of fornication with a swamp creature. Swamp Thing is angry and has turned Gotham into a garden paradise. Many Gothamites have embraced the new order and a cult of worship has grown around Swamp Thing. But Batman is not happy.
Batman gives it his all, but can’t beat Swamp Thing, and begins to question whether he is even on the right side of this conflict, and whether Swamp Thing should just be reunited with his wife. Obviously the law is wrong. But can you just start giving into demands to change the law made by force?
Where Batman fails, Lex Luthor succeeds. He scoffs at the notion that Swamp Thing is invulnerable, saying, “You don’t know from invulnerable. I know from invulnerable…”
The issue ends with Swamp Thing dead. Second time Moore killed him this run. Yet somehow the series isn’t over this time either…
See my initial post for the context. Suffice to say that I will be sharing my entries to the Classic Comics Forum tradition, “ Twelve Days of Classic Comics Christmas“. This is a cross-post of my seventh entry, representing #6 on my list of favorite comic book Crossovers.
6. Spider-Man and Punisher and Daredevil from Ultimate Spider-Man #6-8
by Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Sienkiewicz
I could have made 12 choices just out of this series. Bendis brings great artists to draw Spider-Man teaming up with various heroes. Wagner for Wolverine. Allred for Iron Man. Mahfood for Fantastic Four. Totleben for Man-Thing (seems like a no-brainer).
I decided I would pick just one. This seemed to work. After all, it’s the great Bill Sienkiewicz. Sienkiewicz of course famously worked on Daredevil before, teaming with Frank Miller for the Love & War graphic novel. It’s good to see his return to the character.
Now, it stretches the rules of its own series. The Spider-Man part. The first issue bills itself as a Spider-Man/Punisher crossover, but it’s really a Punisher story. Spider-Man shows up on the last page, just kind of swinging around. The next part bills itself as Spider-Man/Punisher/Daredevil. But it’s really only got Daredevil in it. Spider-Man’s not even there, and Punisher finally meets Daredevil right at the end. They do all come together at the end, but Spider-Man provides only a twist by swinging blindly into a situation he doesn’t understand and messing things up. Spider-Man’s just a kid. He’s trying to do the right thing, but doesn’t know how. Daredevil has to be the adult in the room.
Mostly this is a Punisher story, introducing us to the Ultimate version of Punisher, which looks a lot like regular Punisher. This is his origin. He was a cop, the only incorruptible one on the force. So some corrupt cops murdered his family trying to kill him. Now he’s out for revenge.
Daredevil shows up to try to convince him that the best path for justice is through the legal system. And Spider-Man shows up to make a mess out of things.
Seventh entry. Seventh Spider-Man story. But they don’t HAVE to be Spider-Man crossovers…
7. Spider-Man and Red Sonja “Sword of the She-Devil” from Marvel Team-Up #79 (Marvel, 1979)
by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Terry Austin
The team is most famous for their work on Uncanny X-Men, but they delivered a perhaps even more impressive run on Marvel Team-Up. I could have picked a lot of stories from this era, but we only get 12 entries. So let’s focus on the best one. Prior to Claremont and Byrne taking over, Marvel Team-Up was a generally good book, but not necessarily of the highest quality storytelling. Claremont and Byrne brought a better sensibility to the series and told some great little tales.
Somehow, Spider-Man teams up with Conan’s sometimes ally to battle Conan’s arch-nemesis. Various mystic stuff brought Kulan Gath to the present, but had Red Sonja take over Mary Jane’s body to do battle with him. A whirlwind of a story that moves too fast for you to stop to wonder whether any of this makes sense. You just have to hang on.
Similar to Karl Kesel’s World’s Finest miniseries (which you bet would have been an entry if Superman/Batman team-ups weren’t ruled ineligible because of their ongoing team-up series), this is a through-the-years look at the friendship between Human Torch and Spider-Man. It tells 5 new team-up stories at different stages of their history, from their earliest days to the present, with each issue reflecting on their friendship to that point.
It ends in the modern day, when Human Torch finally learns Spider-Man’s secret identity, and Johnny has Peter’s family over for dinner to meet his family.
It’s darn touching, and occasionally insightful. Like, why is their regular meeting place the Statue of Liberty? How does Spider-Man get there?
(SIDE NOTE: The flashback below refers to Strange Tales Annual 2. We’ll be getting there soon in our regular reading of the Marvel Universe.
9. Daredevil and Spider-Man “Devil’s Deliverance” from Daredevil #8 (Marvel, 1998)
by Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti
This was how I got into Daredevil. I hadn’t liked the first couple Daredevil issues I’d picked up as a young child and thus never really collected them. But in 1998, I was interested in Marvel’s “Marvel Knights” line, and brought all 4 new titles. Inhumans remains one of the best comics I’ve ever read. Black Panther was great. And the Punisher series is infamous for turning him into an angel, but I enjoyed it well enough at the time. Probably haven’t gone back to it in 20 years, though.
This is also how I got into Kevin Smith. Not long after reading this I’d see Chasing Amy and Mallrats and finally Clerks, which remains one of my favorite comedy films ever. I’ve since taken every opportunity to see Kevin Smith talk live, probably a couple dozen times by now.
This story is a loving homage to Frank Miller’s work on Daredevil, specifically the “Born Again” series, which I had not read at the time, so did not appreciate. I’ve come to love that series (hint hint) and it’s complicated the question of how to appreciate this homage series in my mind. In “Born Again”, Kingpin tore at Daredevil’s life, trying to take away hope. In this, a MYSTERIOus villain tears at Daredevil’s faith.
The story is mostly wrapped up in 7 issues. The villain stands revealed and dead. But Daredevil is left to deal with the insanity of just how many people, including Karen Page, died for seemingly no reason.
In need of a friend, Spider-Man is there. As Daredevil struggles to make sense of it all, blaming himself and all superheroes for their failings and these mad vendettas they end up entangled with, Spider-Man provides him the needed perspective to restore balance: “You saved that baby girl’s life.”
10. Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man “The Battle of the Century!” (DC/Marvel, 1976)
by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and Dick Giordano
When the word “crossover” was said, crossovers between DC and Marvel immediately sprung to mind. I do love so many of them. And I know exactly what my favorite is, which was set to be #1 on my list, until I read the fine print of this year’s rules and realized I couldn’t have a meeting of their two flagship teams.
So I settled with the classic. The first time Superman meets Spider-Man.
You could tell it was an event. A gigantic comic. So big, that it’s hard to hold. I feel like I need to lay it across my desk to sit on it. But if I do that, the cats try to sit on it. I could shut the door, but then they get angry. Maybe I can sit on the couch with my knee bent to rest it on my leg… look, you try to read this massive comic with two cats who want to sit on your lap and swat at it.
Andru recognizes it’s time for iconic characters to look iconic and draws them as such.
And it’s time for iconic villains. Superman’s archnemesis is pretty universally recognized as Lex Luthor. There is a little more confusion about who Spider-Man’s most iconic villain is. But this comic gets it right: it’s Dr. Octopus.
One less-than-iconic detail that sticks out is the line that Superman fights for “truth, justice, and the Terran way”. It’s an odd phrase. Born out of controversy. The old Superman cartoons had it that Superman fought for “truth and justice”. A good phrase they should have stuck with. But then came the 1950s and McCarthy’s attempts at fascism that led to an epidemic of public displays of patriotism, and the phrase was altered to “truth, justice and the American way”. Out of place for a superhero who should defend all humanity. They seem to be attempting some course-correction here, but they should have just gone back to the original. “Truth and justice” was a good phrase.
It’s also a bit unfortunate that Morgan Edge was Clark’s boss at the time. It would have stood the test of time better if it were Perry White at the bar complaining about his reporters to J. Jonah Jameson. I also wish Peter had met Jimmy, since they’re both photographers. Ah well, can’t win ’em all.
11. Spider-Man and The Man-Thing from Giant-Size Spider-Man #5 (1975)
by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito
Second Spidey entry. I really could have filled my list with Spider-Man. And a decent chunk of it with this stellar series. But I decided one from this series would have to do. Apologies to the excellent earlier issues where Spider-Man meets Shang-Chi, Doc Savage and Punisher. All contenders.
What do we have here. A lot of focus on character work. Conway uses his page count to shine a spotlight on everybody. It’s during the Clone Saga, so Gwen has mysteriously returned, and everybody is dealing with that. Gwen, Peter, Betty, MJ… we get the first hint of a characterization they will later go all in on for Mary Jane, for better or for worse. We see her on the edge of tears, but then quickly correcting when her Aunt comes in, and putting on a smile and talking about wanting to party. Defalco will later reveal that that’s all she was ever doing, and it will ring untrue.
Conway was more subtle in his treatment of MJ. Maturing her and bringing her and Peter together, while preserving her character.
We also get Curt Connors again turned into the Lizard and see this struggle through the eyes of his wife better than we have before.
We even get solid character work on one random character, a bankrupt chemist on the verge of suicide, whose fate is changed by an encounter with Man-Thing, and who emerges as the hero in the battle against the Lizard.
Not sure if we get good character work on the Man-Thing. You’d have to look closely into his eyes to see what he thinks of these events. All we know is he hears the Lizard’s call with other swamp creatures, and that he seems to respond to intense emotion.
