In honor of the 50th anniversary of the legendary first meeting of the Man of Steel and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, the big two publishers created not one but two oversized specials! If you're wondering if I bought both books, you're darn tootin' that I did!
This is DC's version. The main story has our two heroes battling Doctor Octopus who has allowed his cybernetic appendages to merge with the CPU of Brainiac!!! It's a fun adventure written by Mark Waid that dives really deep into the impacts two great men made on Peter Parker and Clark Kent. Plus the banter is fantastic and for once I actually thought Otto was funny!
There are also 7 short stories. As with just about any anthology type special, the quality varies. But for the most part, these were pretty good. The meeting of Lois Lane and Mary Jane Watson was an interesting look at the women behind 2 of my all-time favorite superheroes. Uncle Ben continues to influence things from beyond the grave when Superboy-Prime attempts to steal Spider-Man's symbiote suit. The Spider-Man 2099 and Batman Beyond story was a disappointment as it has an ending that while epic, leaves you wanting more.
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen's first day at the Daily Bugle may be his last when JJJ assigns him to cover the menace of Spider-Man and runs a foul of Carnage instead. Ben Parker is brought up a third time in a prequel tale that takes him to Smallville. Making her second appearance, Lois Lane debates Jonah Jameson on the Jack Ryder show and the topic is superheroes. Finally, Power-Girl shows up in her secret identity at a restaurant for a blind date. The eatery happens to be a front for a crime family and on the night of her big date, it's been targeted for punishment by Frank Castle!
I really enjoyed the main story. It felt like a continuation of the 1976 'Battle of the Century' and the eventual sequel that starred Doctor Doom and the Parasite. Some of the backups were perfect pairings; especially the Lois Lane/Mary Jane Watson teaming and the closing romp between Power Girl and the Punisher. That is something that I would love to see a sequel to! The Jimmy Olsen meet up with Carnage was brilliant but way too short! Having Uncle Ben and Jonathan Kent cross paths was bittersweet and heartfelt.
I wasn't such a fan of the encounter of the Batman and Spider-Man of the future. It just feel flat and this was the tale that I was looking forward to the most. I also felt that if Superboy-Prime was going to meet a member of the Spider-Verse, it should have been Spider-Ham or Miles Morales or even Ghost Spider. Regular old Peter Parker didn't seem to fit in a multiverse story so complex, I was completely surprised that it was penned by Christopher Priest and not Grant Morrison!
As for the great debate between reporters Lois Lane and JJJ, it should have been a home run. Unfortunately, it was one of those stories that hit upon philosophies and social theory to the point that I tried to dust off my degree in sociology until I realized that I didn't have one. The punchline delivered jointly by Spider-Man and Clark Kent at least kept it from being a complete bust.
A decent read. It just wasn't perfect for such a tribute to one of the most important comic book crossovers of all-time.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
