The day the ant farm went crazy!
Marvel Versus DC #2
Marvel Comics/DC (1996)
WRITER: Peter David with Ron Marz (I’m assuming David is handling the Marvel issues and Marz the DC) PENCILERS: Claudio Castellini & Dan Jurgens INKERS: Paul Nearly & Josef Rubinstein COLORIST: Gregory Wright SEPARATIONS: Digital Chameleon LETTERER: Bill Oakley ASSISTANT EDITORS: Joe Andreani & Chris Duffy EDITORS: Mark Gruenwald & Mike Carlin
The brothers, created from the Big Bang, don’t like the fact that they aren’t unique, but the last time they fought universes died. So they propose a compromise. Each brother is tied to either the DC or Marvel universe, so they have chosen heroes (and villains in some cases) to fight. Whichever side immobilizes the majority of the other side (death is not required) first wins. The prize? That universe won’t be destroyed, and if the heroes refuse the brothers will simply fight each other again and they’ll both be wiped out in the process. Meanwhile, the wanderer returns to the alley, not completely by choice, and learns that shards of the brothers exist in people, with a few becoming aware like the bum, and Axel (our wanderer). And the fate of two universes may be in their hands. We also meet the Planet’s new owner…Wilson Fisk!
What they got right: Brief but fitting backstory for Axel. I’ll review the individual battles after the usual right/wrong section but they were interesting fights. Also, Darkseid gets to call Thanos an imitation of him, and if you know the history of the two character in the real world, he’s not wrong. Finally there’s the “brothers”. The history does allow for these kinds of crossovers to be canon and it’s an interesting bit of mythology. I’m sorry it didn’t factor into JLA/Avengers, but it does get reference in both DC and Marvel titles for a while after that. Finally, I like that they don’t have to kill each other. This isn’t Mortal Kombat. And while the heroes are forced to fight, they still talk about getting it over with so they can try to come up with a better solution during the other battles, but both wants the victory so that if there is no option at least their universe is safe. I can’t fault that.
What they got wrong: Minor aspects of 90s art makes their way in here. Not as bad as some other 90s comics I’ve reviewed, but we do get some strange proportions now and then, and Captain Marvel’s collar looks like it’s trying to emulate Doctor Strange’s. Sadly, while we’re teased a Darkseid/Thanos fight it’s not on the scoreboard so we might not get to see it. It would be fascinating, though. My money would be on Darkseid, though.
The Battles:
- Captain America versus Bane: Not one of the official fights but if Batman had a mighty shield at the time he wouldn’t have had his back broken. Although Bane appears to be a one-trick pony when he tries to do the same thing the same way to Cap. And now the official battles!
- Thor versus Captain Marvel: Thor has a lot of early respect for Captain Marvel, possibly because both get their powers from gods (although in Thor’s case he IS a god). He beats Billy by blocking the lighting so he can’t change back, when Captain Marvel has to change to Billy to keep from being immobilized. It’s a good battle.
- Sub-Mariner versus Aquaman: If you’ve read the Friday Night Fights (and not just mine) long enough you’ve seen this fight more than once. Arthur takes out Namor with a whale. You can’t help but love that.
- Flash versus Quicksilver: Much like the later meeting in JLA/Avengers, Quicksilver is really no match for the Flash, even when Quicksilver gets the drop on Wally after the Scarlet Speedster rescues two people accidentally in the path of the fight. (In Quicksilver’s defense his thoughts showed he wasn’t pleased with himself for doing that.)
Recommendation: Some decent battle and a fun read. I recommend the whole series, mind you.
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