Truth, Justice, and Great Responsibility

Chad says:

Having Mark Waid pen the anchor story for this issue hits all the right beats from the first panel, setting the tone and standard for the rest of the issue. Per usual, Waid does agreat job of dropping readers into the story sans  exposition, making the conflict feel natural and that the characters from different publishing universes co-exist without resorting to the usual crossover event tropes.

The banter between Clark and Peter feels natural and avoids the beating around the bush about them hiding thirr alter egos from one another. Waid is not shy about adding inside jokes between the two and captures each heroes personality to the minutest detail. The 25-page story treats the two characters as equals and gives both classic moments rendered gorgeously by Jiménez and Tormey.

It was also a nice touch for Doctor Octopus and Brainiac to be the villains that the duo must contend with instead of opting for Lex Luthor and the Green Goblin ad the foils which would be the safest route to take.

Story: 9
Writing: 9
Art: 9
Color: 9
Overall Score: 9

The World’s Finest

Chad says

In the second story, Clark and Peter’s better halves take center stage as Superman and Spidey fight a Sentinel attacking a train. As the two make thier way to safety, the two share the many experiences they have encountered being the significant others of these heroes. King deftly makes referanxes aplenty such as Mary Jane trying to explain her ” Face it Tiger, you hit the Jackpot” to telling Lois that Spidey has a thing about bridges and old girlfriends. Gambit’s appearance is a slight dues ex machina, and feels out of place, but doesn’t take the spotlight away from Lois and Mary Jane.

Lee’s art is top-notch and adds an iconicness reminiscent of both his X-Men and Superman work years ago. Perhaps the best panel is the call-back panel where Supernan gets blasted by the Sentinel’s palm weapon.

Story: 9
Writing: 9
Art: 9
Color: 9
Overall Score: 9

—

Anthony says:

The second story featured in DC’s portion of this crossover centers on Lois Lane and Mary Jane, brought to life by one of DC Studios’ key architects and renowned DC Comics writer, Tom King, alongside legendary artist and DC Comics Chief Creative Officer, Jim Lee. In this tale, Lois and Mary Jane find themselves swept up in yet another instance of their significant others’ superhero exploits, this time, precariously dangling from a bus suspended off a bridge. What follows is a sincere and engaging conversation that highlights both their similarities and their differences, ultimately bringing out the best in each character. As they navigate their escape, King further examines what makes them such compelling foils to their heroic counterparts and why they have endured for so many years.

It goes without saying that Jim Lee’s pencils are stunning. Widely regarded as a groundbreaking artist for both Marvel and DC, Lee’s work on titles such as Batman: Hush and his influential run on the X-Men speaks volumes. Here, he draws upon that extensive experience to deliver striking visuals throughout. Although the narrative remains focused on Lois and Mary Jane, Lee still finds room to incorporate one of his most iconic X-Men creations, Gambit, culminating in a two-page spread that may rank among the finest illustrations of his career.

Story: 9
Writing: 9
Art: 10
Color: 9
Overall Score: 9.3

Pages

Chad says:

Superboy-Prime stories can be hit-or-miss, and this one is more hit than miss. The story features the current version of Superboy-Prime who is trying to live up to the Superman name, and not the whiny brat from Infinite Crisis and the Green Lantern stories. Writing Prime and having interact with the characters he knows to be from his extensive comic collection is always fun because who else besides Prime likes smashing the 4th-wall and dimension hopping because he can. The High Evolutionary as the antagonist gets lost and causes the overall story to slow down and lose some of the initial energy of the story, muddling the narrative.

While the story and writing get muddled at the end of the story, Sampere’s art and panel work keep things interesting as Prime and Spidey battle the High Evolutionary is the use of the various real comic book pages from Infinite Crisis and Amazing Spider-Man.

Story: 8
Writing: 8
Art: 8
Color: 9
Overall Score: 8.25

— —

Tyler says:

Returning to the era of Spider-Man he initially helped write/edit, Christopher Priest wears the symbiote suit once more for his portion of this crossover, and boy is it a doozy. Pairing Superboy-Prime’s modern characterization with one of the most iconic times in Spider-Man history might seem a bit strange—and it totally is—but Priest and artist Daniel Sampere lean into that with great care for the story they are trying to tell. It pulls no punches with its fourth-wall breaks, and committing to Peter’s stubborn sense of responsibility, even in the face of absolute surrealism, grounds the story quite well, as Prime begins to learn a new concept of heroism from Spider-Man directly instead of just through the pages of comic books. It’s endearing, visually creative, and a backup story that aims to say something more than your typical fluff piece. Plus, Sampere’s use of real comic book pages as background pieces in the place between places, that the characters can interact with as though they were debris, was a nice touch.

Story: 8
Writing: 7.5
Art: 10
Color: 10
Overall Score: 8.8

– – – – – –

Beyond the Cobwebs of Tomorrow

Chad says:

This five page story is perhaps the toughest sale of this anthology since it depends on the reader having a some what knowledgeable account of the 2099 universe and the Spider-Man of this era. There is a lot going on in this short installment and may have benefited from.a bit longer of a story to better flesh out the story rather than resorting to Spider-Man 2099 and Superboy falling into the usual crossover trope of not trusting and fighting each other because of it. The story gets a bit more chaotic when the future Batman joins in the fun. Overall the story feels a bit incomplete and lacking a true overall dirextion

Story: 7
Writing: 7
Art: 8
Color: 8
Overall Score: 7.5

Jamison says:

In “Beyond the Cobwebs of Tomorrow,” time travel shenanigans thrust Superboy and Spider-Man 2099 into Gotham in 2039, the home turf of Batman Beyond.

Sean Murphy’s depiction of Neo-Gotham has a unique aesthetic that gives the story its own ambience while still paying homage to the 90s Batman Beyond cartoon. Honestly, this bonus story reads like the opening to a great episode from a 90s Sunday morning cartoon.

And seeing Spider-Man 2099 web-slinging through Neo-Gotham is something I didn’t know I needed until now. It would’ve been cool to see Static in this, but with only 5 pages, this bonus story can only do so much at once.

Story: 8.5
Writing: 8
Art: 8
Color: 8
Overall Score: 8

– – – – – –

Jimmy Con Carnage

Chad says:

In a anthology of stories for the crossover, this story by Fraction and Lieber is pure fun and the least serious of the group…and it works. In the few pages that they have the creative team deliver a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously and just has fun with these supporting characters of Superman and Spider-Man.

Story: 8
Writing: 8
Art: 8
Color: 8
Overall Score: 8

— —

Tyler says:
It seems as though some creatives simply hit the “F*** It” button with their pitches for this book, and I couldn’t be happier with that. This story is a great example, which sees Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber take Jimmy Olsen to the mean streets of New York City, where his hopeful naivety puts him in the twisted sights of Cletus Kasady. Does it make sense that Carnage is present during a story that seems to be set during Peter’s college days in the hip and swinging ’70s? Nope—but it doesn’t matter either way, as the goal of this dark comedy is to get you laughing in a way that leaves you feeling simultaneously uncomfortable. Kudos to the team for managing to do that within the confines of a very limited page count, their sharp script and concise panel work leaving no air for jokes to fall flat. Especially the tourist bit—as a mad tyrant of Spidey’s hyphen myself, it was satisfying to see such importance be given to such a small phonetics detail.

Story: 7
Writing: 7
Art: 8
Color: 8
Overall Score: 7.5

– – – – – –

The Bridge

Chad says:

The Bridge showcases what Lemire is good at, telling heartfelt stories about ordinary people, who in this case just happen to be the make role models for Clark and Peter. The meeting doesn’t feel forced and shows the values that these two installed in the future heroes even though they are just normal human beings. Overall, the story doesn’t try to be aby more than it should be and is a nice interlude between the ther stories.

Story: 8
Writing: 8
Art: 8
Color: 8
Overall Score: 8

– – – – – –

Bias

Chad says:

Two opponents, both known for not taking crap from anyone, enter the debate arena as J. Jonah Jamison and Lois Lane debate the question of his disgust for Spider-Man in the public forum of Jack Ryder’s (The Creeper)show. While no new ground or agreements are made Rucka does a good job of Lois putting Jonah on the spot and making him defend his hatred of Spider-Man. While there is not any real action going Rucka and Scott do a good job of keeping the story and engagement up throughout the story.

Story: 9
Writing: 9
Art: 9
Color: 9
Overall Score: 9

– – – – – –

Blind Date 

Chad Says:

For those who are not regular readers of Spider-Man, there is a slight information gap when it comes to the story setup using Paul Rabin, Power Girl’s date is which could cause some confusion for some, but it doesn’t take away from the larger story Simone is telling.

Simone captures the personalities of Power Girl and Punisher nicely and has fun playing the two off each other for comedic effects. It is also a nice touch that Frank’s inner monolog is his “War Journal” and Power Girl’s referred to as her daily diary.. contrasting the two different personalities. There are some nice villuan cameos from both universes and Ortega and Bellaire’ art and color work combine nicely to give the story a pleasing overall effect.

Story: 8
Writing: 8
Art: 9
Color: 9
Overall Score: 8.5

—

Jamison says:

In “Blind Date,” villains from both the Marvel and DC universes try to claim the bounty on Paul (yes, that Paul), whom they’ve mistaken for Vandal Savage while he’s on a blind date with Power Girl.

Punisher is uh… pretty horny in this, which mostly fits considering how over-sexualized Power Girl has been in her entire comics history. It’s not a Power Girl story at this point, unless someone comments on her looks.

As for the villains, it’s a pretty random lineup. Who knew Gentleman Ghost was a Peter and MJ shipper?

Paul being written as unlikable as always is just a chef’s kiss on Gail Simone’s part, even Power Girl comments on it.

I mean, it makes sense; he did punch Spider-Man (Amazing SM Vol. 6 #7). The art is the best thing about this bonus story. Belen Ortega’s inks are chaotic, while Jordie Bellaire’s colors are vibrant with a slight noir touch that fits both characters well.

• Story: 7
• Writing: 8
• Art: 8
• Colors: 8.5
• Overall score:  7.8