Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man
Encyclopedia
Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century is a comic book
jointly published by DC Comics
and Marvel Comics
in 1976. It was the first cross-over between characters of both companies.
and DC editorial director Carmine Infantino
that there should be a movie crossover
featuring Marvel Comics
' Spider-Man
and DC Comics
' Superman
characters. However, there was already a Superman movie planned by Warner Bros.
(the first Superman movie in that franchise), and a series of Spider-Man TV Movies, so instead the two companies settled for an oversize comic book entitled Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century. The comic was published in 1976 and featured the two title characters, Mary Jane Watson
and Lois Lane
, J. Jonah Jameson
and Morgan Edge
and the villainous Doctor Octopus
and Lex Luthor
. It was the second time the two U.S. comic book giants published a joint venture, the first being 1975's MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz.
The writing was done by Gerry Conway
and the penciling by Ross Andru
. Both of these creators had worked on Superman
and Spider-Man
before in their own titles. The editing was done by a variety of individuals, including Sol Harrison, Stan Lee, Carmine Infantino, Marv Wolfman
, Len Wein
, Roy Thomas
and others. According to a piece written by Daniel Best on this comic (based on his interviews with Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Carmine Infantino, Mark Evanier, Neal Adams and John Romita) Neal Adams redrew the major Superman figures. It was also confirmed by inker Dick Giordano
, who said:
John Romita, Sr.
also did some finished art on Spider-Man (in his Peter Parker guise).
Though it is not considered canon, bits of the story have been shown in some of Marvel other titles:
as it is being attacked by his old foe Lex Luthor in a gigantic robot
of his own creation. After a fight, Superman eventually defeats Luthor, but not before Lex manages to send some sort of stolen device to one of his strongholds for safe keeping.
The next scene involves Spider-Man battling Doctor Octopus
and his henchmen. Octopus has created a large flying robotic ship he has dubbed the Flying Octopus. Octopus has also encased it in a fake blimp
facade (it flies by electromagnetic
means) so as to enable him to steal fortunes under its cover, providing him with a potentially inexhaustible supply of money
with which to fuel his world-conquering schemes.
In prison, Lex and Dr. Octopus make a sinister pact to combine forces to take over the world and kill both of the men who put them behind bars. In a matter of minutes, combining their abilities, the two super-villains escape.
The next major scene takes place during a news conference in New York City
which features some sort of new satellite
which apparently is capable of disrupting global weather
patterns, called ComSat. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are there, as are Clark Kent and Lois Lane. After saving Lois Lane's life, Peter Parker introduces her to Mary Jane. In seconds, Lex Luthor, in the guise of Superman, swoops in and shoots a teleportation
ray out of his Superman mask which teleports Lois Lane and Mary Jane to an unknown destination. Lex flies quickly away, and both Peter and Clark soon follow him and change into their respective uniforms.
Superman mistakenly blames Spider-Man for the kidnapping of Lois and Mary Jane, which angers Spider-Man. Superman and Spider-Man both throw a punch at each other in mid-air over the skies of New York City, but both easily dodge the other's attack. Then Superman flies away at super-speed, evading Spider-Man's next attack while he tries to simultaneously figure out what is going on.
Lex Luthor fires a gun at Spider-Man which irradiates his costume with sunlight similar to that emitted by a red sun, countering some of Supermans powers.
When Superman has flown into arm's length of Spider-Man, the red sun radiation erases most of his powers, unbeknownst to him or Spidey. Thus when Spider-Man punches Superman he hurts him.
During the fight, however, the remainder of the red sun radiation dissipates off of his costume and Superman's powers return in full. Spidey simply bounces off Superman's invulnerable body and ricochets into the ground, landing flat on his back. Realizing his opponent's strength, Spider-Man surrenders.
After having calmed down finally, Spidey listens to Superman's side of the story and realizes they have both been deceived by some enemy. They shake hands and agree amicably to join forces to take down whoever is responsible for the kidnappings and the fight.
The bulk of the remainder of the comic deals with the battle between Spider-Man and Superman and Doctor Octopus, Lex Luthor, and someone who was apparently enslaved by Luthor and forced to battle both Superman and Spider-Man. He was endowed by Luthor with super-human strength and endurance and a red sun irradiated sword.
Spider-Man and Superman both fight the enslaved warrior (who is also one of the very first African characters in comics), holding their own against him individually but being unable to defeat him. Only when the two combine their powers do they overcome this powerful new character. Spider-Man dodges and distracts him while firing his webbing at him while Superman fires his heat vision
at the newly-spun webbing, hardening it instantly.
Spider-Man then steals an Injustice Gang
spaceship from Luthor's base in Africa and heads into outer space with Superman for the final showdown with Octavius and Luthor.
Luthor and Octavius have by now used the Injustice Gang's Satellite Headquarters' computers in conjunction with the computer control device stolen by Lex Luthor at the beginning of the comic, to severely agitate the Earth's atmosphere
with a combination of sonic waves and lasers, causing huge tornadoes and hurricanes worldwide. Superman tries to stop the beam, but is felled by its high-pitched sonics.
Spider-Man attempts to rescue Superman by using his spacecraft's extensor arm to haul him to safety, but is accidentally struck by the beam as well. The beam somehow knocks out Peter's oxygen
systems onboard, causing him to black out as well.
Peter and Clark awaken some time later aboard the Injustice Gang Satellite. Lex Luthor shows them their captive girlfriends, imprisoned in a strange-looking spherical prison. After a few moments of gloating by Luthor, Spider-Man and Superman attack, despite their weariness. Spider-Man holds his own against Lex Luthor and Superman holds his own against Doctor Octopus, despite the gravity having been shut off by Lex Luthor. After some time, Superman finally manages to gain the upper hand against Octopus by tearing off two of his robotic arms and shattering his eyeglasses, while Spider-Man is making headway at subtly turning Lex Luthor against Doctor Octopus through psychological means. Spider-Man battles Doctor Octopus and Lex Luthor simultaneously. Luthor arrogantly tells Spider-Man of his true plan which is to destroy most of the Earth to gain revenge on people for not telling him how great he is. However, while Luthor's attention is focused on Spider-Man (due to their battle), Octavius, horrified by Luthor's true intentions, uses one of his robotic arms to destroy the control console which is controlling the machine which is disrupting the Earth's weather patterns, stopping the potential disaster. Luthor attacks Octavius in retaliation for destroying his plans, which along with attacks from Spider-Man overwhelm him.
Superman then flies back to Earth to try to stop a gigantic tidal wave
from destroying most of the East Coast of the United States. He does so by flying very fast in front of the tidal wave, which creates a gigantic sonic boom which disperses the wave.
Having already beaten Doctor Octopus, and having bought enough time for his healing factor to heal his battle-wounds, Spider-Man defeats Lex Luthor with ease, knocking him unconscious with a single blow to the head.
Superman returns to the Injustice Gang Satellite. Spider-Man webs up his two super-villain captives. Superman flies Mary Jane and Lois back to Earth in their protective sphere, while Spider-Man presumably flies his two captives back in his Space Shuttle
. Superman and Spider-Man congratulate each other on a job well done and take Octopus and Luthor back to their respective jails. Mary Jane and Lois wave goodbye to their respective boyfriends.
Soon thereafter, Clark and Lois go on a double-date with Peter and Mary Jane. As the two couples leave, Mary Jane and Peter kiss as all walk arm-in-arm together into the sunset.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
jointly published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
in 1976. It was the first cross-over between characters of both companies.
Publication history
In the early 1970s author and literary agent David Obst suggested to Marvel publisher Stan LeeStan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and DC editorial director Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
that there should be a movie crossover
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
featuring Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
characters. However, there was already a Superman movie planned by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
(the first Superman movie in that franchise), and a series of Spider-Man TV Movies, so instead the two companies settled for an oversize comic book entitled Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century. The comic was published in 1976 and featured the two title characters, Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
and Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
, J. Jonah Jameson
J. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
and Morgan Edge
Morgan Edge
Morgan Edge is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain, leader of the mob known as Intergang and one of Superman's enemies. He was created by Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 .-Pre-Crisis:...
and the villainous Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes...
and Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
. It was the second time the two U.S. comic book giants published a joint venture, the first being 1975's MGM's Marvelous Wizard of Oz.
The writing was done by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
and the penciling by Ross Andru
Ross Andru
Ross Andru was an American comic book artist and editor. He is best known for his work on Amazing Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Flash and Metal Men....
. Both of these creators had worked on Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
before in their own titles. The editing was done by a variety of individuals, including Sol Harrison, Stan Lee, Carmine Infantino, Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
, Len Wein
Len Wein
Len Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...
, Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
and others. According to a piece written by Daniel Best on this comic (based on his interviews with Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Carmine Infantino, Mark Evanier, Neal Adams and John Romita) Neal Adams redrew the major Superman figures. It was also confirmed by inker Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
, who said:
John Romita, Sr.
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita, Sr. is an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man...
also did some finished art on Spider-Man (in his Peter Parker guise).
Though it is not considered canon, bits of the story have been shown in some of Marvel other titles:
- What If?What If (comics)What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
#1 Volume 1: Uatu The WatcherUatuUatu, often simply known as The Watcher, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artist Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Fantastic Four #13 ....
shows glimpses of the various universes. Among them show's Spider-Man about to receive a punch from Superman (showing his sleeve and fist only). Uatu even poses the question as to whether the event happened in the mainstream continuum or an alternate reality.
- Avengers ForeverAvengers ForeverAvengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.-Publication history:...
#8: The scene with Doctor Octopus carrying Lex Luthor out of prison.
Plot summary
The story opened with Superman flying to rescue MetropolisMetropolis (comics)
Metropolis is a fictional city that appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and is the home of Superman. Metropolis first appeared by name in Action Comics #16 ....
as it is being attacked by his old foe Lex Luthor in a gigantic robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
of his own creation. After a fight, Superman eventually defeats Luthor, but not before Lex manages to send some sort of stolen device to one of his strongholds for safe keeping.
The next scene involves Spider-Man battling Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes...
and his henchmen. Octopus has created a large flying robotic ship he has dubbed the Flying Octopus. Octopus has also encased it in a fake blimp
Blimp
A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is a floating airship without an internal supporting framework or keel. A non-rigid airship differs from a semi-rigid airship and a rigid airship in that it does not have any rigid structure, neither a complete framework nor a partial keel, to help the airbag...
facade (it flies by electromagnetic
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
means) so as to enable him to steal fortunes under its cover, providing him with a potentially inexhaustible supply of money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
with which to fuel his world-conquering schemes.
In prison, Lex and Dr. Octopus make a sinister pact to combine forces to take over the world and kill both of the men who put them behind bars. In a matter of minutes, combining their abilities, the two super-villains escape.
The next major scene takes place during a news conference in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
which features some sort of new satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
which apparently is capable of disrupting global weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
patterns, called ComSat. Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are there, as are Clark Kent and Lois Lane. After saving Lois Lane's life, Peter Parker introduces her to Mary Jane. In seconds, Lex Luthor, in the guise of Superman, swoops in and shoots a teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
ray out of his Superman mask which teleports Lois Lane and Mary Jane to an unknown destination. Lex flies quickly away, and both Peter and Clark soon follow him and change into their respective uniforms.
Superman mistakenly blames Spider-Man for the kidnapping of Lois and Mary Jane, which angers Spider-Man. Superman and Spider-Man both throw a punch at each other in mid-air over the skies of New York City, but both easily dodge the other's attack. Then Superman flies away at super-speed, evading Spider-Man's next attack while he tries to simultaneously figure out what is going on.
Lex Luthor fires a gun at Spider-Man which irradiates his costume with sunlight similar to that emitted by a red sun, countering some of Supermans powers.
When Superman has flown into arm's length of Spider-Man, the red sun radiation erases most of his powers, unbeknownst to him or Spidey. Thus when Spider-Man punches Superman he hurts him.
During the fight, however, the remainder of the red sun radiation dissipates off of his costume and Superman's powers return in full. Spidey simply bounces off Superman's invulnerable body and ricochets into the ground, landing flat on his back. Realizing his opponent's strength, Spider-Man surrenders.
After having calmed down finally, Spidey listens to Superman's side of the story and realizes they have both been deceived by some enemy. They shake hands and agree amicably to join forces to take down whoever is responsible for the kidnappings and the fight.
The bulk of the remainder of the comic deals with the battle between Spider-Man and Superman and Doctor Octopus, Lex Luthor, and someone who was apparently enslaved by Luthor and forced to battle both Superman and Spider-Man. He was endowed by Luthor with super-human strength and endurance and a red sun irradiated sword.
Spider-Man and Superman both fight the enslaved warrior (who is also one of the very first African characters in comics), holding their own against him individually but being unable to defeat him. Only when the two combine their powers do they overcome this powerful new character. Spider-Man dodges and distracts him while firing his webbing at him while Superman fires his heat vision
Heat vision
Heat vision may refer to:*Thermography, image production using infrared radiation*Infrared vision, a capability of detecting infrared radiation*Heat vision, a fictional superpower...
at the newly-spun webbing, hardening it instantly.
Spider-Man then steals an Injustice Gang
Injustice Gang
The Injustice Gang is a group of fictional supervillains in the DC Comics universe. They are antagonists of the Justice League.-First Formation:The original Injustice Gang's membership consisted of:...
spaceship from Luthor's base in Africa and heads into outer space with Superman for the final showdown with Octavius and Luthor.
Luthor and Octavius have by now used the Injustice Gang's Satellite Headquarters' computers in conjunction with the computer control device stolen by Lex Luthor at the beginning of the comic, to severely agitate the Earth's atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
with a combination of sonic waves and lasers, causing huge tornadoes and hurricanes worldwide. Superman tries to stop the beam, but is felled by its high-pitched sonics.
Spider-Man attempts to rescue Superman by using his spacecraft's extensor arm to haul him to safety, but is accidentally struck by the beam as well. The beam somehow knocks out Peter's oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
systems onboard, causing him to black out as well.
Peter and Clark awaken some time later aboard the Injustice Gang Satellite. Lex Luthor shows them their captive girlfriends, imprisoned in a strange-looking spherical prison. After a few moments of gloating by Luthor, Spider-Man and Superman attack, despite their weariness. Spider-Man holds his own against Lex Luthor and Superman holds his own against Doctor Octopus, despite the gravity having been shut off by Lex Luthor. After some time, Superman finally manages to gain the upper hand against Octopus by tearing off two of his robotic arms and shattering his eyeglasses, while Spider-Man is making headway at subtly turning Lex Luthor against Doctor Octopus through psychological means. Spider-Man battles Doctor Octopus and Lex Luthor simultaneously. Luthor arrogantly tells Spider-Man of his true plan which is to destroy most of the Earth to gain revenge on people for not telling him how great he is. However, while Luthor's attention is focused on Spider-Man (due to their battle), Octavius, horrified by Luthor's true intentions, uses one of his robotic arms to destroy the control console which is controlling the machine which is disrupting the Earth's weather patterns, stopping the potential disaster. Luthor attacks Octavius in retaliation for destroying his plans, which along with attacks from Spider-Man overwhelm him.
Superman then flies back to Earth to try to stop a gigantic tidal wave
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
from destroying most of the East Coast of the United States. He does so by flying very fast in front of the tidal wave, which creates a gigantic sonic boom which disperses the wave.
Having already beaten Doctor Octopus, and having bought enough time for his healing factor to heal his battle-wounds, Spider-Man defeats Lex Luthor with ease, knocking him unconscious with a single blow to the head.
Superman returns to the Injustice Gang Satellite. Spider-Man webs up his two super-villain captives. Superman flies Mary Jane and Lois back to Earth in their protective sphere, while Spider-Man presumably flies his two captives back in his Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
. Superman and Spider-Man congratulate each other on a job well done and take Octopus and Luthor back to their respective jails. Mary Jane and Lois wave goodbye to their respective boyfriends.
Soon thereafter, Clark and Lois go on a double-date with Peter and Mary Jane. As the two couples leave, Mary Jane and Peter kiss as all walk arm-in-arm together into the sunset.