One thing that Marvel Team-Up proved to me is how versatile a character Spider-Man is. Not only did the title show how well he works with almost any other character, the variety in guest stars meant that there was a wide variety of types of tales that could be told. Whether the tales had an action, horror, or humorous slant, be they street level or cosmic, he fit right in.
I agree, Ross, about Spiderman's versatility. One of my favorite types of comics was the team up (MTU, MTIO, DCCP, B&B). I especially liked a three part story that featured Spiderman with Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Shang Chi. In my kid mind of the day, I thought that this was an unusual set of heroes to put together, and it was cool. But beyond that story, others were told that were simply amazing. The characters that teamed with him were a wide variety of heroes that he would fit with easily. I note that the same could be said with his DC pairings of which there were at least three full issue adventures (2 with Superman 1 with Batman) and then the fight with Superboy in the DC vs. Marvel series. Just for curiosity, I would like to ask you and the other participants in this blog your opinions. How do you think Spiderman would fit in with the JLA?
ReplyDeleteRoss -- This is a cool team-up, and one that I could see actually happening should DC and Marvel ever decide to do another cross-company event. I posted about teaming up these two before, of course, but with a mind to exploring their mutual connection with the African spider-god Anansi. Hopefully some future STF cover will bring them together for that.
ReplyDeleteMickey -- I'll weigh in to say that Spider-Man would probably fit in better with the JLA than the Avengers, though of course that would depend on the roster at the time and the types of adventures being told.
One of my ultimate comic dream projects involves a team-up between Superman and Spider-Man in which at the end of the initial story, each found himself trapped in the other's universe and for "comic book physics" reasons had to remain so for one year. Then each company would have full access to the other company's character for that time. A big part of what would make this interesting (in my mind anyway) would be each character's reaction to the way superheroes are perceived by the public in the new universes they find themselves in. Superman, who is used to public adulation (this was pre-New 52), would face public suspicion and distrust, and Spider-Man would face something similar only in reverse. In my head, Spidey would be taken in by the Justice League whereas Superman would be offered refuge by Reed Richards in the Baxter Building....
ReplyDeleteThink of the possibilities--Superman versus Galactus (a story which officially happened later)... a romance between Spider-Man and Supergirl... etc, etc,
YAY! One of my previous requests finally came through!! Thanks, Ross.
ReplyDeleteYou're way better than the Genie from Disney's ALADDIN.
I also love the--ahem!--subtle cameo appearance on the cover. I won't mention any names. But, his initials are H.B. (and I don't mean "Hanna-Barbera").
OK, Ross, I found the original JLA tentacle porn cover, so now I've got to ask where the Hellboy headshot came from -- and it's not much of mystery with his distinctive profile, not to mention that you put him in the tags!
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ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the above commentators.
ReplyDeleteThe only time some real-world publisher came close to what you do is when CrossGen Comics published two mini-series about the Crossover family.
Intended as both half-serious spoof and homage, the latter consisted of an elementary school-age kid who was a brainwashed alien abductee with super-psionic powers; his slightly older sister, who became a full-grown warrior princess every time she accessed a D&D-like dimension via a wormhole in the basement; their mom, who was a cougarish version of BTVS; and their dad, who was a Silver Age Superman analog...called Archetype.
If ever you find a suitable photo-capture of them, maybe you could have Spidey team up with them on a subsequent cover?
Any official DC/Marvel team up should have Kraven the Hunter as villain; he had handled Spider-Man without powers and I am sure will have tricks against Vixen's animal tricks.
ReplyDeleteMan, I miss those Marvel & DC team-up books. Some of the best stories ever.
ReplyDeletemarvel doesn't deserve a hero like superman!!!!...to be honest....but that's just me!!!!....i'm a true dc fan!!!!!....dc could inprove spider-man i think....again that's just me...i have never been a marvel fan....and NEVER will be!!!!!....nuff said!!!!
ReplyDeleteI liked Vixen soooo much better after she lost the Wolverine hairstyle....
ReplyDeleteThere was a woman at work with such a hair style and I told her she was like Vixen and she took it wrong. I then showed her the comic which happened to be in my desk and she agreed. I told her it was a compliment for Vixen was a supermodel.
ReplyDeleteEmphasis on the "super!"
ReplyDelete:-)
@Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteAmen!
P.S.---The Wolverine coiffure was undeniably better than her later-on cornrow.
ReplyDelete@Glenn : Yeah, calling a woman a vixen, out of context, isn't such a compliment. :)
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