Comic Series Review #5: DC vs Marvel (1996)
To this day, kids and adults alike get into debates about who would win between Batman and Spider-Man, Superman and Hulk, Wonder Woman and Thor etc. This collaborative mini-series between DC and Marvel turned those conversations into pages, and created a must-read classic filled with mid-90’s galore!
The idea of DC’s best taking on Marvel’s finest is the ultimate wet-dream of a comic book nerd — depending on who you ask (please don’t quote me on that). We’ve seen it already on the pages, but now we want to see it on the big screen — or atleast in a video game. However, we all know that ownership rights and real-world laws don’t make it that easy. For now, this series is the closest thing we have to that reality (as well as 2003–04’s limited JLA/Avengers series). But don’t let that statement take away from the merit of this one-of-a-kind crossover event! Fair warning, plot spoilers below!
The series revolves around two “brothers” that are cosmic entities, with both being physical representations of the Marvel and DC universes. After eons of regaining their memories from the last great cosmic battle between the two, they become aware of one another once again. This leads to a challenge between the two, where characters from each universe are forced to fight one from the other — in which the losing universe will be destroyed for eternity. We see everything from Ben Reilly (who is going by ‘Peter Parker’ for storyline purposes) flirting with Lois Lane, to Jubilee catching feelings for Robin, to Wonder Woman being able to lift Mjolnir! All the while, characters within each universe can feel that something isn’t right — but are still oblivious as to what.
Major battles within the series include Namor vs Aquaman, Darkseid vs Thanos, Wolverine vs Lobo, Storm vs Wonder Woman — and many more! The series also introduces us to Access, who serves as an earthly host for the two brothers and plays a role in maintaining the balance that separates both universes. It was during the crossover of both universes that the Amalgam Universe came into existence for a brief time, before both were separated again thanks to the efforts of the Spectre and the Living Tribunal. Some of these battles were decided by fans, while others were pre-determined from the beginning. There is a peaceful resolution to it all, but it’s worth noting that the physical battle between the two brothers takes place in a different realm — one which only Access has access to. See what I did there?
The artwork of this series is nothing short of phenomenal, with Claudio Castellini and Dan Jurgens at the helm of it for issues #1–3 while Jurgens goes solo for #4. The series represents stereotypical comic art of the 90’s, with exaggerated muscles, limbs and figures. This was back when Superman’s mullet was just as iconic as Sam Elliot’s mustache, and this nostalgic style is what I grew up with. Believe me when I say it carried over well into the 2000’s. Jurgens is perhaps best known for being a familiar face at DC, having worked as both an artist and writer on numerous titles between the late-80’s to now — such as 1991’s Armageddon 2001 (#1–2) as well various issues of Action Comics. Similarly, Castellini has worked on a variety of Marvel titles — such as cover art for 1993–95’s Fantastic Four: Unlimited and main artist for 2004’s Wolverine: The End limited series. Gregory Wright handled the coloring for all four issues, which is to also be appreciated as each page is vibrant with color (just look at the image above)! Not only is the reader actually reading the dialogue, but they are left scanning over each page individually in awe of the level of detail — which is often left out. Perhaps this was done on purpose as the series was highly publicized, but it nonethless sets the golden standard for 90’s comic book art.
The only real complaint I have of this series is just me being petty. The fights could be longer — and I mean a lot longer. Each issue is well over 40 pages long, but we only get snippets from each fight between heroes. Yes, there is dialogue in these fights, but it feels like there was a missed opportunity to create some sort of chemistry between characters and give the reader more insight as to who they are. How are they relatable to one another? Why were they chosen to fight one another? The answers to these questions are obvious for some battles, such as Namor vs Aquaman — they’re both Atlanteans and studs of the ocean. For others, they’re not so obvious — such as Wonder Woman vs Storm. A demigoddess of Themyscira (whose power rivals Superman’s), against an Omega-Level mutant who can control weather. Granted, Storm has been worshipped as a goddess and is one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel — so perhaps this is the connection. If this series had been printed in modern times, Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel might have been the fitting adversary. There’s even a case to be made that Jane Foster/Lady Thor could work as well (due to her and Wonder Woman sharing their mythological roots). However, these are modern counterparts that did not yet exist in the 90’s — a decade where X-Men titles were still riding strong on the popularity that they had garnered in the 1980’s, which makes Storm the obvious choice. Not many casual readers or first-time readers would make this connection offhand, and I’ll admit that I didn’t either.
Overall, this series was a remarkable crossover event that I will never get tired of reading over and over again. It makes a good reading for both casual and die-hard comic book fans, no matter if they’re neutral or loyal to one of the two companies. My heart wishes for there to be a follow-up story where we can see even more characters than before. However, my mind knows that the possibility of this is slim-to-none, with Disney (who owns Marvel) and WarnerMedia (formerly known as Time Warner, who owns DC) being fierce competitors — especially on the big screen. We can only dream of such a thing, but this series is here to stay and leaves our imaginations wandering.
To read the previous comic review in this series, please click here! To read the next, click here!
