Spider-Man/Superman #1

 Spider-Man/Superman #1

Originally released in 2026

Written by Brad Meltzer et al.

Art by Pepe Larraz et al.

An extra long crossover one-shot (roughly 70 pages in total) seems particularly fitting for Spider-Man and Superman.  The first story starts in the middle of events, with Superman and Spider-Man buried underground in a prison of metal, with Superman weakened by magic or Kryptonite.  As a result, the bulk of the story is about them having a conversation, which makes for some nice character building.

It quickly turns out that they're in a really bad situation, to the point where the amount of overkill seems almost comedic. Not only has Lex Luthor teamed up with the Green Goblin to weaken Superman to the extent where the Venom symbiote can possess the Man of Steel, but when the Venom-possessed Superman breaks free, there are a dozen villains (including Brainiac, Doomsday, and Amazon, who are Justice League level threats on their own), Luthor and the Green Goblin among them, who are presumably waiting to beat up Spider-Man.

It's a well-written and heartfelt story, with the focus being less on the battle and more on the quiet moments during and after it. (Including Peter and Aunt May visiting the Kents afterwards)

The rest of the issue covers a variety of characters and time periods, like a story where Spider-Man Noir and the Golden Age Superman try to deal with Lex Luthor's machinations in their own ways.  

A story focusing on Lana Lang and Gwen Stacy is filled to the brim with dramatic irony. It's largely the two of them talking about the respective man in their lives (Clark Kent and Peter Parker) before dreamily saying that they're going to marry that man some day.  Gwen Stacy's fate is infamous, and while Lana and Lois had an extended love triangle with Superman, Lois is the one that Clark ultimately married. (I'm not sure how things turned out for Lana during or after that)

I think the biggest highlight of this issue, in my eyes, is a story by Geoff Johns (with art by Gary Frank) where Mysterio uses a Red Lantern, help from a Legion of Superheroes villain from the distant future, and the Hulk to fill the world's superheroes with rage. Only a few are unaffected, with the Thing (the story's narrator) among them.

Once the source is found, they determine that they need to knock the Hulk out or calm him down.  Either option is easier said than done, but Clark proves up to the task in a touching moment, highlighting that Superman's strength isn't just in his fists, but in his ability to see the good in anyone.

Superman's final conversation with Ben, about what to do with anger and a sense of mistrust, is a great one that turns Ben's catchphrase on its head, and the exchange is one of my favourites from any of these crossover events that have happened recently.

One story, written by Louise Simonson, briefly touches on a conflict between Steel (John Henry Irons, who wears a suit of power armour inspired by Superman) and the Hobgoblin. (A Spider-Man villain using tech that's based on the Green Goblin) With another Marvel hero making a brief appearance in the end, it has me wondering if Simonson wrote for either character before - it does seem like it would make it even more appealing for creators who worked for both companies at some point to bring together characters that they had worked on that were owned by Marvel and DC.

Some stories are shorter than others, like a crossover between Spider-Gwen and Supergirl. They don't get along throughout most of the story, but come to a sort of understanding by the end. The short length doesn't seem to do it many favours, as with only four pages, it just feels like they dislike each other for no particular reason.

A definite example of a writer coming back to a Marvel and DC character that they've previously written for is Brian Michael Bendis writing a story involving Spider-Man (Miles) and Superman. Reading this has me feeling like Miles has entered the category of characters whose lines I read in a specific voice (like Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, or J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson) because I can easily imagine Shameik Moore from the Spider-Verse movies saying these lines.

Like the first story, this is more about the downtime and Clark telling Miles about his worries from when he was starting out and something that he wished he knew back then.  There's also a team-up between Brainiac and Dormammu threatening all of reality, but Superman just needs a minute to catch his breath.

The second-to-last story veers a bit off the theme of the issue, but if Jason Aaron wants to write a story where the Mighty Thor (Jane Foster) teams up with Wonder Woman against Darkseid, then I'm all for it. (Also, Jane's thoughts upon meeting Wonder Woman seem completely relatable) Between this and the story with Captain America and Wonder Woman from one of the Batman/Deadpool crossover issues, I really hope that the next pair of crossover issues that DC and Marvel do involves Wonder Woman. (Not sure what would work best here - the X-Men? Thor? The Fantastic Four? The Hulk?)

The last story, written by Jeph Loeb, has Spider-Man returning to the bridge where Gwen Stacy died and being met by Superman. With it only being a two page story, there's not much meat to it, but it does seem like it has a message that would help people at certain points in their lives.

No matter how many of these crossovers I cover, it amazes me that these can even happen at all, and with a lack of physical comic stores near me, I'm so glad that these were released digitally.