Critic
Marvel vs. DC Is the Epic Superhero Conflict of Our Time
Slugfest traces the vitriol, and occasional villainy, behind the competition for spandex supremacy.
Illustration: Matija Medved
I can still remember what it felt like to pick up my first Marvel comic book, The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #2, in 1965 at a store near my home in the Philadelphia suburbs. I was already a comic fan, devouring issues of Superman and Batman.
This was something different. Inside, writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko wove a tale that put the arachnidan hero in the surrealistic realm of Doctor Strange, a master of the mystic arts. It was thrilling, even a little scary—an intoxicating mix. I have friends who identify as DC kids. They have a weakness for Superman, Batman, and the other less morally complicated American heroes. But on that day, I became a Marvel lifer.