Marvel vs. DC #3
Background
The battle to end all battles is underway in Marvel vs. DC #3. At this point, Marvel leads DC 5 to 3. It'll only take six victories to clinch it, and the deciding title bout is between Spider-Man and Super-Boy, assigned to battle on a rooftop in Greenwich Village.
Story Details
Marvel vs. DC #3
| Editor: | Mark Gruenwald, Mike Carlin |
| Writer: | Ron Marz |
| Pencils: | Claudio Castellini, Dan Jurgens |
| Inker: | Josef Rubinstein, Paul Neary |
The battle begins with one of Spidey's oldest tricks, the old "web up his eyes" gimmick, which causes Super-Boy to ditch his shades. After trading cracks for a couple of panels, Super-Boy pops the water tower Spidey's sticking to with his "tactile telekinesis". I wonder if Super-Boy can even spell that. Anyway, Spidey nails him with a pretty rough kick to the chin, sending him flying. Two panels later, Spidey gets caught by surprise as Super-Boy flies up from underneath and decks him. Spider-Man lands next to an electrical box as Super-Boy flies in, expecting the win. Two impact webbing pellets and one last-second dodge later and we've got one deep-fried teenage clone. Spidey wins.
Well, this battle was pretty good, although limited by space constraints. (You just cannot squeeze an epic battle into four pages, I don't care who's writing the script.) Artists Claudio Castellini and Paul Neary did a decent job on the art. Super-Boy is drawn quite well, but Spider-Man comes off as a bit too angular in a couple of panels. He just doesn't look... right sometimes. Other than that, well done. As for the script, again okay. Ron Marz scripted a good battle. I just knew that there would be some mention of a clone, but that's not that big a deal. Overall, the only real complaint I had was with Spidey's choice of opponent. SUPER-BOY? Come on, these "brothers" couldn't have come up with a better challenge for Spider-Man than Super-Boy? The guy tackled Firelord, for pete's sake! (Okay, so it was the "other" Peter. Ben still could've taken him.)
General Comments
An enjoyable battle, especially because the best man won. The whole Marvel vs. DC idea was a blast, even more so since we fans got a chance to vote for our favorite characters. Well worth the money.
Overall Rating 
Well scripted and decently drawn. I wish Spidey could've tackled a better opponent, but at least that arrogant punk Super-Boy got his butt kicked. Four webs.