#Spider-Man versus Batman

[mikeandikeschmidt]

My toxic trait is if you’re a favorite character of mine, I will argue on the internet that you can win any fight. Like a girlfriend trying to start beef when a guy looks at me funny. “Babe I’m only 5’5–“ AND?? You’ve heard of the power of friendship, now hear the power of I’m rooting for you! You’re the underdog, babe! Plot armor! You got this!

[browsethestacks]

Comic - DC Versus Marvel Omnibus Cover (2024)

Art by Jim Lee And Scott Williams

[chernobog13]

The late, great George Perez's cover to the upcoming DC Versus Marvel Omnibus.

This is companion piece to the omnibus collected edition of the DC Versus Marvel crossover event from the late 1990s that lead to the creation of the Amalgam Universe (which, sadly, has since been abandoned).

The volume above collects all the stand-alone crossovers between DC and Marvel in the years leading up to and, in some cases, after the crossover series. These include the team-ups depicted on the cover, as well as Batman and Punisher, Spider-Man and Batman, Darkseid and Galactus, Superman and the Fantastic Four, and Superman and the Hulk, among many others.

Sadly, none of the collected stories are drawn by George Perez, who excelled at those types of stories. He did make up for it, though, by drawing the JLA and Avengers crossover, which I feel is his magnum opus.

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

See, I was going to do another one of my 'here's the difference between these two characters summed up in one sentence' things, but this idea popped into my head instead:

Hey, do you all remember that time Spider-Man adapted a Batman comic and created one of the greatest comic book movies of all time?

[blondephil]

hello (one of the) resident phannie data analyst(s) here with some parasocial stats on dnp’s movie tastes! following: distribution of dan and phil's ratings overall, movies they each rated 5 stars, their lowest-rated movies, and the similarities + differences in their tastes

(lore moment: yes i am a data analyst in my real job. yes i surprised myself with wanting to do this in my spare time. but then i remembered when we read dracula in college (yes i was an english major) and i graphed like, how many times dracula was referred to as vampire versus monster or something. so i shouldn’t be surprised.

first up, their overall rating patterns and by ~special status~ (i.e., wall-e, kill bill, avatar, lmao, plus big hero 6 for the fun of it)

dan’s rated 304 movies and phil’s rated 305. both of them have mean and median ratings of 4 with min 1 and max 5.

both rated kill bill vols. 1 and 2 a 5. wall-e got a 4.5 from dan and a 4 from phil (phake phans). both gave avatar a 3.5. and big hero 6 3.5 (dan) and 4.5 (phil)

rating distribution:

i did analyses here by genre but i need to fix the output (i’m writing all of these based on the markdown document from my phone on the subway, but i need to fix the outputs and i don’t have my computer. so those are pending but there are other genre analyses that i could do & haven’t yet!)

while i was sorting through the data i got the impression that dan overall rated movies higher than phil. so, among movies that they've both rated, here's some information

number of movies dan rated higher than phil: 65

Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Return of the Jedi, My Neighbor Totoro, Back to the Future II, Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story, Phantom Mence, Donnie Darko, Attack of the Clones, Finding Nemo, Oldboy, The Notebook, Batman Begins, Brokeback Mountain, WALL-E, (500) Days of Summer, Up, The Hangover, Drive, The Cabin in the Woods, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Life of Pi, Skyfall, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Whiplash, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Room, The Hateful Eight, The Force Awakens, Manchester by the Sea, Deadpool, La La Land, Moonlight, Rogue One, Call Me By Your Name, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2., Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, I, Tonya, Thor: Ragnorak, Phantom Thread, Roma, The Favourite, The Lighthouse, Toy Story 4, Midsommar, Ad Astra, Knives Out, Soul, The Green Knight, No Time to Die, Don't Look Up, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Turning Red, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, Glass Onion, Beau is Afraid, Barbie, Oppenheimer, Poor Things

number of movies phil rated higher than dan: 55

Star Wars (New Hope), Blair Witch Project, Requiem for a Dream, Memento, Ocean's Eleven, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Moonrise Kingdom, Iron Man 3, Gravity, Prisoners, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Imitation Game, Nightcrawler, John Wick, Gone Girl, Big Hero 6, Jurassic World, The Martian, The Revenant, Nocturnal Animals, Split, Get Out, Baby Driver, The Disaster Artist, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, The Greatest Showman, The Last Jedi, Ready Player One, Crazy Rich Asians, A Star is Born, Rocketman, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Joker, The Rise of Skywalker, The Invisible Man, A Quiet Place Part II, Greenland, Tenet, Malignant, Eternals, The Matrix Resurrections, Scream (2022), Nope, Prey, Talk to Me, Avatar: The Way of the Water, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

number of movies they rated the same: 99!

Alien, ET, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Aliens, Home Alone, Silence of the Lambs, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, Se7en, Scream, The Fifth Element, Titanic, The Truman Show, The Matrix, Magnolia, Spirited Away, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Spider-Man, Lost in Translation, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Mean Girls, Howl's Moving Castle, Children of Men, The Dark Knight, Pontypool, Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, Toy Story 3, Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Black Swan, The Social Network, 21 Jump Street, The Hunger Games, Silver Linings Playbook, The Conjuring, Snowpiercer, Her, Thor: The Dark World, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Boyhood, It Follows, Guardians of the Galaxy, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Interstellar, Ex Machina, The Witch, Avengers: The Age of Ultron, Mad Max: Fury Road, Inside Out, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Your Name., Arrival, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, mother!, It, Blade Runner 2049, Hereditary, Black Panther, Annihilation, A Quiet Place, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, Us, Avengers: Endgame, Parasite, It Chapter Two, Marriage Story, Uncut Gems, 1917, Black Widow, The Suicide Squad, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Dune, Last Night in Soho, The Batman (2022), Everything Everywhere All at Once, X, The Northman, Top Gun: Maverick, Bullet Train, Barbarian, Pearl, M3GAN, Dungeons and Dragongs: Honor Among Thieves, Evil Dead Rise, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3., No Hard Feelings, Saltburn, Priscilla, Society of the Snow, Saw X, Leave the World Behind

i didn't analyse this by genre or anything, but i could -- so if you're interested lmk!

the 5 movies with the most different ratings between dan and phil

- Iron Man 2 (dan: 2, phil 3.5)

- The Greatest Showman (d: 2.5, p: 4)

- Malignant (d: 3, p: 4.5)

- Scream (2022) (d: 2.5, p: 4)

- Beau is Afraid (d: 3, p: 1.5)

Interesting that even though dan has more higher rated movies, 4/5 of these ones phil rated higher.

next, their 5-star movies

dan's five stars: 80

Alien, Empire Strikes Back, ET, Blade Runner, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Aliens, Stand by Me, The Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbor Totoro, Back to the Future II, Home Alone, Silence of the Lambs, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Jurassic Park, Nightmare Before Christmas, Schindler's List, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, Toy Story, Fargo, Scream, The Fifth Element, Hercules, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Titanic, The Truman Show, The Matrix, Fight Club, Magnolia, The Emperor's New Groove, Donnie Darko, Moulin Rouge, Shrek, Spirited Away, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Finding Nemo, Kill Bill, Oldboy, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Shaun of the Dead, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Howl's Moving Castle, Revenge of the Sith, Brokeback Mountain, No Country for Old Men, The Dark Knight, Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Tree of Life, 21 Jump Street, The Avengers, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Under the Skin, Whiplash, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Interstellar, Mad Max: Fury Road, Sicario, The Hateful Eight, La La Land, Arrival, mother!, Blade Runner 2049, Avengers: Infinity War, First Man, The Favourite, The Lighthouse, Parasite, Midsommar, Uncut Gems, 1917, Dune, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick, Oppenheimer, Poor Things

phil's five stars:

Star Wars (New Hope), Alien, ET, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Aliens, Home Alone, Silence of the Lambs, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, Scream, The Fifth Element, Titanic, The Truman Show, The Matrix, Magnolia, Requiem for a Dream, Memento, Spirited Away, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Howl's Moving Castle, The Dark Knight, Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 21 Jump Street, Interstellar, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Arrival, Dunkirk, mother!, Blade Runner 2049, Avengers: Infinity War, Parasite, Uncut Gems, 1917, Dune, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Shawshank Redemption, Gladiator, Little Miss Sunshine

overlap: 39

Alien, ET, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Aliens, Home Alone, Silence of the Lambs, Jurassic Park, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, Scream, The Fifth Element, Titanic, The Truman Show, The Matrix, Magnolia, Spirited Away, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Howl's Moving Castle, The Dark Knight, Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, 21 Jump Street, Interstellar, Mad Max: Fury Road, Arrival, mother!, Blade Runner 2049, Avengers: Infinity War, Parasite, Uncut Gems, 1917, Dune, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick

& their lowest rated movies...

dan: matrix resurrections (1) , thor: the dark world (1.5), the rise of skywalker (1.5)

phil: crimes of the future (1), attack of the clones (1.5), thor: the dark world (1.5), don’t look up (1.5), the matrix resurrections (1.5), doctor strange in the multiverse of madness (1.5), beau is afraid (1.5), black bear (1.5)

not even chris hemsworth could save thor the dark world, i guess (kat dennings, though…)

movies they logged on the same date:

note that this is like, non-exhaustive, because this is only based on their diaries that list the date. i think in reality they've watched most of these movies together. frequently dan logged a couple days after phil which aren’t shown here. procrastination queen

Pontypool, Eternals, The Northman, Nope, Barbarian, The Banshees of Inisherin, Glass Onion, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Beau is Afraid, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3., Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Saltburn, Poor Things, Priscilla, Saw X, Leave the World Behind

movies that one logged and not the other:

dan but not phil: 85

The Exorcist, Stand by Me, The Grave of the Fireflies, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Home Alone 2, Schindler's List, Fargo, Romeo & Juliet, Hercules, Men in Black, Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Mummy, The 13th Warrior, Fight Club, The Emperor's New Groove, Moulin Rouge, Shrek, Legally Blonde, Monsters, Inc, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Scooby-Doo, 28 Days Later, Matrix Reloaded, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, School of Rock, Matrix Revolutions, Saw, Shaun of the Dead, Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Revenge of the Sith, The Devil Wears Prada, Borat, Casino Royale, No Country for Old Men, Death Proof, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, There Will Be Blood, Tropic Thunder, Slumdog Millionaire, Moon, District 9, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The King's Speech, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Tree of Life, X-Men: First Class, Prometheus, Argo, Les Miserables, Django Unchained, World War Z, Pacific Rim, Under the Skin, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, The Babadook, The Lego Movie, x-Men: Days of Future Past, 22 Jump Street, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Theory of Everything, Green Room, Sicario, Spotlight, The Big Short, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Conjuring 2, Train to Busan, Hacksaw Ridge, Doctor Strange, Hidden Figures, Logan, You Were Never Really Here, Game Night, Isle of Dogs, First Man, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Suspiria, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Glass, Hustlers, Pig, Violent Night

phil but not dan: 86

Jaws, The Terminator, Beetlejuice, Die Hard, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Groundhog Day, The Shawshank Redemption, Leon: The Professional, The Usual Suspects, The Frighteners, The Sixth Sense, Being John Malkovich, American Beauty, The Green Mile, Gladiator, Catch Me if You Can, Elf, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth, The Prestige, Zodiac, Spider-Man 3, Iron Man, Juno, Lake Mungo, Twilight, Zombieland, Kick-Ass, Brave, Evil Dead, The Great Gatsby, Now You See Me, Monsters University, Man of Steel, About Time, Dallas Buyers Club, Edge of Tomorrow, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, The Boy, Raw, Finding Dory, Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, John Wick: Chapter 2, Lady Bird, The Ritual, Happy Death Day, Deadpool 2, Ocean's 8, Ant-Man and The Wasp, Bird Box, Booksmart, Crawl, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Platform, Black Bear, Palm Springs, The Empty Man, The Innocents, Titane, Old, Free Guy, The Black Phone, Fresh, Watcher, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Ambulance, Aftersun, Crimes of the Future, Fall, Bones and All, The Menu, Sanctuary, Do Revenge, Smile, Hellraiser (2022), Mr. Harrigan's Phone, Plane, Missing, Infinity Pool, Past Lives, Knock at the Cabin, Scream VI

i’m interested to see how this varies by genre!

miscellaneous non-statistical things that made me parasocially emotional and/or laugh during this process:

they watched nope together on christmas eve 2022 <3

dan rated moulin rouge a 5 <3 nature boy <3

he also rated shrek a 5. of course. (valid).

4.5 from dan and 4 from phil from the notebook

5 from danny for brokeback mountain <3 and a 4.5 from philly

cmbyn, yes, has its issues, but dan rated 4.5 and phil 4

the shape of water got a 4.5 from monsterfucker phil lester (dan gave it a 4)

surprisingly phil rated rocketman higher than dan! surprising because dan liked so many musicals

dan gave hustlers a 3.5. i don't know why i think this is funny, but i do. phil doesn't have it logged or rated, lmao.

a 4 (d) and a 3.5 (p) for barbie!

phil gave twilight a 3. lol.

phil also gave do revenge only a 3.5. tragique.

phil watched a LOT of horror alone in october 2022 (aka while dan was on tour). anyway he's just like me <3

[dirtyriver]

This summer, DC and Marvel reprint their crossovers in two massive $150 hardcovers. The standard crossovers are hit and miss, but most of the Amalgam are really great, some of them pure genius.

The covers shown here are the bookstore version, reusing art from previous collections.

Contents below the cut.

DC Versus Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus– August 6, 2024, 1024 pages

DC Versus Marvel #1-4

DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4

Unlimited Access #1-4

Bat-Thing #1

Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

Bullets and Bracelets #1

Challengers of the Fantastic #1

Doctor Strangefate #1

Iron Lantern #1

Legends of the Dark Claw #1

Lobo the Duck #1

Speed Demon #1

Spider-Boy #1

Super Soldier #1

Thorion of the New Asgods #1

X-Patrol #1.

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus Hardcover – August 6, 2024, 960 pages

Batman/Captain America #1

Batman/Daredevil #1

Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1

Batman/Spider-Man #1

Daredevil/Batman #1

DC Special Series #27 – Batman Vs Hulk

Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1

Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1

Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1

Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1

Marvel Treasury Edition #28 – Superman And Spider-Man

Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1

Silver Surfer/Superman #1

Spider-Man and Batman #1

Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1

Superman/Fantastic Four #1.

[spidermannotes]

Two Massive DC/Marvel Omnibuses Coming this Summer

Covering around 25 years of DC/Marvel crossovers, the two comic book giants are giving fans young and old the chance to appreciate classic characters together in memorable tales.

Press release:

The vast and varied history of DC versus Marvel returns to print for the first time in decades with two massive volumes collecting the universe-bending comic book crossovers between the greatest characters in pop culture! These fantastic stories, originally co-presented by the two powerhouse comic book publishers, have been highly sought after and hard to find for most readers—but they’re making their return in DC Versus Marvel Omnibus and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus,both publishing on August 6, 2024.

Who would win: Superman versus Spider-Man? Batman versus Captain America? The X-Men meeting the Teen Titans? DC Versus Marvel Omnibus collects crossovers between the core DC and Marvel characters, from 1976’s Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man to 2000’s Batman/Daredevil. Included are stories from some of comics’ most revered talents, namely Dennis O’Neil, George Pérez, Dan Jurgens, Chris Claremont, Walter Simonson, J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, Gerry Conway, John Romita Jr., and more. DC and Marvel fans alike can’t miss these thrilling pieces of unearthed comic book history!

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus features stories, first told in 1996, of the two superhero universes fused together into a new Amalgam Universe, combining DC’s and Marvel’s heroes, villains, and mythologies. The result was a series of unforgettable one-shot comic books starring the likes of Dark Claw (Batman and Wolverine), Super Soldier (Superman and Captain America), Iron Lantern (Iron Man and Green Lantern), and many more! These stories, from creators such as Peter David, Dan Jurgens, Mark Waid, Dave Gibbons, Ron Marz, José Luis García-López, Gary Frank, Bill Sienkiewicz, Claudio Castellini, and more, represent one of the most fun and unlikely periods in comic book history, and now are available in one omnibus. Included in this volume are the historic DC Versus Marvel miniseries and its sequels, perfect for fans of both DC and Marvel!

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus collects Batman/Captain America #1, Batman/Daredevil #1, Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1, Batman/Spider-Man #1, Daredevil/Batman #1, DC Special Series #27, Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1, Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1, Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1, Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #28, Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1, Silver Surfer/Superman #1, Spider-Man and Batman #1, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1, and Superman/Fantastic Four #1.

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus collects DC Versus Marvel #1-4, DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4, Unlimited Access #1-4, Bat-Thing #1, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Bullets and Bracelets #1, Challengers of the Fantastic #1, Doctor Strangefate #1, Iron Lantern #1, Legends of the Dark Claw #1, Lobo the Duck #1, Speed Demon #1, Spider-Boy #1, Super Soldier #1, Thorion of the New Asgods #1, X-Patrol #1, and more, plus a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes material.

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus (9781779523259) and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus (9781779523266) will both be published on August 6. The two volumes will each have a direct-market-exclusive cover available only in local comic book shops, while supplies last.

[omniversecomicsguide]

Well, it looks like our recent prediction was correct! We’ll be getting a DC VERSUS MARVEL OMNIBUS and a DC/MARVEL: THE AMALGAM AGE OMNIBUS! I’ll include the contents in the comments, but some issues seem to be missing:

• JLA/Avengers

• Amazon 1

• Dark Claw Adventures 1

• Exciting X-Patrol 1

• Generation Hex 1

• JLX 1

• JLX Unleashed 1

• Magnetic Men featuring Magneto 1

• Magneto and the Metal Men 1

• Spider-Boy Team-Up 1

• Super Soldier: Man of War 1

Not sure if this is an error in the listings or if another omnibus will follow! We shall see!

The listings for the two Omnis are as follows:

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus

Batman/Captain America #1

Batman/Daredevil #1

Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1

Batman/Spider-Man #1

Daredevil/Batman #1

DC Special Series #27

Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1

Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1

Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1

Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1

Marvel Treasury Edition #28

Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1

Silver Surfer/Superman #1

Spider-Man and Batman #1

Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1

Superman/Fantastic Four #1

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus

DC Versus Marvel #1-4

DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4

Unlimited Access #1-4

Bat-Thing #1

Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

Bullets and Bracelets #1

Challengers of the Fantastic #1

Doctor Strangefate #1

Iron Lantern #1

Legends of the Dark Claw #1

Lobo the Duck #1

Speed Demon #1

Spider-Boy #1

Super Soldier #1

Thorion of the New Asgods #1

X-Patrol #1

Behind-the-scenes material

Featured commission art:

JUDGEMENT LEAGUE AVENGERS (2023) by Mike Bowden

[omniversalobservations]

Boomstick: So, that's it then! Clark has too many counters, so he takes the edge in powers and it's over. Wiz: Well, I think there's something else. Goku versus Superman breaches a broader zeitgeist. It's more than just two characters fighting. For a whole generation, especially in '90s America, superheroes represented an unyielding status quo. Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America rarely change who they are or what they believe in. For a lot of people, that's tiring, and Superman is an icon of that. Then along came anime! There was a whole other world of ideas and stories for us sheltered Westerners to experience, and Goku's an icon of that. So while many see this as a debate between characters, others see it as a debate of ideologies and culture. And if that's what's at stake… who wants Goku to lose? Boomstick: Uh… you sure you're not overthinking this? Wiz: It's not our intent, but it does call into question what we're doing. How can people agree with what we take as fact when fiction relies on interpretation? The music begins to die down as Wiz continues his train of thought. Wiz: Are we stripping characters of their importance by simplifying them to contestants in a vacuum of violence? A-a-and if so, then what's the POINT?! We cut to Wiz and Boomstick, with the latter smacking the former in the face. Boomstick: Because it's fun, Wiz! Damn it, man! There' more than one way to appreciate something. We're havin' a great time talkin' about awesome characters and slammin' action figures together… and that's okay! Source: Death Battle! Wiki

(images via YouTube)

[batmannotes]

Two Massive DC/Marvel Omnibuses Coming this Summer

Covering around 25 years of DC/Marvel crossovers, the two comic book giants are giving fans young and old the chance to appreciate classic characters together in memorable tales.

Here is the official press release:

The vast and varied history of DC versus Marvel returns to print for the first time in decades with two massive volumes collecting the universe-bending comic book crossovers between the greatest characters in pop culture! These fantastic stories, originally co-presented by the two powerhouse comic book publishers, have been highly sought after and hard to find for most readers—but they’re making their return in DC Versus Marvel Omnibus and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus,both publishing on August 6, 2024.

Who would win: Superman versus Spider-Man? Batman versus Captain America? The X-Men meeting the Teen Titans? DC Versus Marvel Omnibus collects crossovers between the core DC and Marvel characters, from 1976’s Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man to 2000’s Batman/Daredevil. Included are stories from some of comics’ most revered talents, namely Dennis O’Neil, George Pérez, Dan Jurgens, Chris Claremont, Walter Simonson, J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, Gerry Conway, John Romita Jr., and more. DC and Marvel fans alike can’t miss these thrilling pieces of unearthed comic book history!

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus features stories, first told in 1996, of the two superhero universes fused together into a new Amalgam Universe, combining DC’s and Marvel’s heroes, villains, and mythologies. The result was a series of unforgettable one-shot comic books starring the likes of Dark Claw (Batman and Wolverine), Super Soldier (Superman and Captain America), Iron Lantern (Iron Man and Green Lantern), and many more! These stories, from creators such as Peter David, Dan Jurgens, Mark Waid, Dave Gibbons, Ron Marz, José Luis García-López, Gary Frank, Bill Sienkiewicz, Claudio Castellini, and more, represent one of the most fun and unlikely periods in comic book history, and now are available in one omnibus. Included in this volume are the historic DC Versus Marvel miniseries and its sequels, perfect for fans of both DC and Marvel!

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus collects Batman/Captain America #1, Batman/Daredevil #1, Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1, Batman/Spider-Man #1, Daredevil/Batman #1, DC Special Series #27, Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1, Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1, Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1, Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #28, Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1, Silver Surfer/Superman #1, Spider-Man and Batman #1, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1, and Superman/Fantastic Four #1.

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus collects DC Versus Marvel #1-4, DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4, Unlimited Access #1-4, Bat-Thing #1, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Bullets and Bracelets #1, Challengers of the Fantastic #1, Doctor Strangefate #1, Iron Lantern #1, Legends of the Dark Claw #1, Lobo the Duck #1, Speed Demon #1, Spider-Boy #1, Super Soldier #1, Thorion of the New Asgods #1, X-Patrol #1, and more, plus a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes material.

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus (9781779523259) and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus (9781779523266) will both be published on August 6. The two volumes will each have a direct-market-exclusive cover available only in local comic book shops, while supplies last.

[geekcavepodcast]

DC Comics Drops More Info on Amalgam and DC Versus Marvel Reprints

The DC Comics and Marvel Comic crossovers and the Amalgam stories, in which characters from each publisher were smashed together to create new characters, are being reprinted into two omnibuses.

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus will both go on sale on August 6, 2024.

DC Versus Marvel Omnibus will collect Batman/Captain America #1, Batman/Daredevil #1, Batman/Punisher: Lake of Fire #1, Batman/Spider-Man #1, Daredevil/Batman #1, DC Special Series #27, Darkseid vs. Galactus: The Hunger #1, Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1, Incredible Hulk vs. Superman #1, Marvel and DC Present Featuring the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #28, Punisher/Batman: Deadly Knights #1, Silver Surfer/Superman #1, Spider-Man and Batman #1, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man #1, and Superman/Fantastic Four #1.

DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age Omnibus will collect DC Versus Marvel #1-4, DC/Marvel: All Access #1-4, Unlimited Access #1-4, Bat-Thing #1, Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, Bullets and Bracelets #1, Challengers of the Fantastic #1, Doctor Strangefate #1, Iron Lantern #1, Legends of the Dark Claw #1, Lobo the Duck #1, Speed Demon #1, Spider-Boy #1, Super Soldier #1, Thorion of the New Asgods #1, X-Patrol #1, and more. The omnibus also boasts behind-the-scenes material.

(Image via DC Comics)

[illegiblewords]

I’ve been seeing people argue for a while that the public has superhero fatigue and is tired of seeing the same characters time and again. Tbh I think that answer suggests fundamental misunderstanding of storytelling and the genre itself--and especially the dangers of crossovers. HUGE discussion under the cut.

Superhero films are a category with a ton of potential for tonal variation, same as science fiction and fantasy. Alien is not the same as Dune which is not the same as Star Trek. Christopher Nolan’s Batman is not the same as Joel Schumacher’s which is not the same as Tim Burton’s. I'd argue that when telling the story of a superhero, there are certain fundamental elements you need to establish.

- What is the hero’s motive for being a hero rather than doing something else?

- Who is the hero’s civilian supporting cast? How do they shape the hero’s development arc and relationship with the world around them?

- What villains have sprouted up around the hero? How do they act as thematic foils to the hero? How do they challenge the hero internally, externally?

- What is the overall tone of the title, and how do the abilities of cast members reflect that tone? Ex. Superman has space and technology, Wonder Woman has mythology, Batman has largely psychology and technology. Every character and the methods at their disposal should play into a cohesive picture of what the world looks like. - What underlying themes/arcs exist across the title and how are these explored? Ex. Coming of age, where responsibility begins and ends, what being a hero means, and fatherhood I’d argue are really big themes for Spider-Man. Batman has a lot of questions about being a person versus being a symbol and coming to terms with humanity in all its forms.

Now, I want to take a moment to invite some reflection on what happens in crossovers.

- The individual life experiences and motives of heroes are often underutilized or outright skipped during crossovers due to larger casts and time constraints. This results in less personal relationships established between the audience and characters, risking the reduction of characters to gimmicks with less relevance. Avoiding this issue requires careful attention to either pacing and detailed characterization or weaving in arcs established in individual films. Both can be difficult to execute and often aren’t in the name of blockbuster spectacle.

- Civilian supporting casts are underdeveloped or omitted due to time and complexity constraints during crossovers. Heroes become the supporting casts to one another instead, sacrificing individual tones, backstories, relationships, and day-to-day experiences. Non-applicable in cases like Teen Titans where day-to-day life is spent on a team and tone is established accordingly, or in Spider-verse films where there is careful cohesion through theme while depth of focus is limited to certain cast members/supporting cast members. Also note loss, parent/child relationships, sense of belonging vs imposter syndrome, and responsibility are consistent across both films throughout the cast for Spider-verse.

- In both solo and crossover films, villains are rendered less personal and more generic/flat as characters. Villains become less compelling in consequence and more reliant on abstract ideas of bad. After all, in solo films they won’t likely be used in crossover events so it’s more an excuse plot. In a crossover, the villain isn’t personal for multiple members of the heroic cast--if any.

- Tone becomes muddy and homogenous as time isn’t spent on establishing distinct atmospheres for individual heroic titles. Can be mitigated if maintaining individual heroic tones/stories to play off of one another is a priority but current priority tends to be setting up future crossover events instead.

- Themes and arcs cannot be tailored on an individual level as much without risking incoherence due to cast size/complexity.

None of this is to say crossovers can’t be used and used well... but I’d argue they need to be done carefully and sparingly--particularly where film is concerned. And if individual films are leading into the crossover, the individual films need to be able to stand alone as strong movies with all essential genre elements addressed. That isn’t what’s been happening. Part of what breathes life and success into the superhero genre is being able to get different experiences from Batman compared to Superman or Wonder Woman, or different experiences with Iron Man compared to Spider-Man or Thor or the X-Men. If you homogenize in any direction, there is less incentive to check out different titles. You aren’t getting anything significantly different. Worth noting, it’s possible to do a more realistic spin on superheroes while still exploring variation within that style. A realistically dark Batman should stand apart from a realistically light Superman and a more realistic classic hero/mythology inspired Wonder Woman. You can have campy Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman at the same time too with Batman leaning into detective stuff, Superman leaning into reporting and alien bits, and Wonder Woman an almost magical girl/Power Puff girl vibe maybe? Play into the invisible plane type of deal.

It’s not that you have to do one realistic, one campy, one surreal, etc. You can still have a unified overall direction while still forming distinct experiences one story to the next. I think any concept of that has been lost with the advent of crossovers. If you have dark Batman and dark Superman, Batman will do it better while Superman will feel inauthentic. People don’t go to Superman movies because they want Batman-lite. There is a distinct experience Superman should be providing and when that isn’t achieved, it’s a lost opportunity. On top of the genre-specific stuff I mentioned, I think a lot of superhero storytelling has become very superficial and lazy. Not all of it, but a lot. Hollywood is churning out films that check superficial boxes in formulas without understanding why they’re there or how elements fit together--using the least amount of thought, effort, and money they can get away with. They’re risk averse which means experimentation averse. They’ll churn out the same thing over and over again doing lower and lower quality jobs until people are sick of it, then blame the genre instead of their own lack of innovation, competence, and respect for the stories being told. They don’t understand that risk-avoidance becomes certain death when you overdo it. In addition to this, Hollywood has largely forgotten fundamental craftsmanship techniques in storytelling regardless of genre in how they handle superhero films. Heroes, villains, supporting cast members, etc. should all be characters first and foremost--their role within the story is secondary. The shape of each character’s arc, their motivation, the challenges they face, how they shape one another through interaction... these are essential for stories overall, but are often skipped. There’s a preview floating around where the villain literally says “your love for your family makes you weak,” and it is the most cartoonishly evil thing that could have been said. Whole thing advertises a death of humanity, self-awareness, nuance, and complexity. There is no room to imagine that villain getting groceries, brushing his teeth in the morning, dealing with traffic, waiting in line at the bank. He sees regular people with families going about their business and sneers to himself--how weak. How pathetic. Did he even have a family of his own? Has he ever wanted one? Does he even have a social life? Has he ever had a social life? Why is he like this? Is he actually, realistically, making a good point about anything that would cause a reasonable person to stop and think? I seriously, seriously doubt that movie is going to give a satisfactory answer. Everything in the preview screamed lazy and formulaic. Why even bother watching a film with as much humanity as a sock-puppet performance? It’s not the genre’s fault. It’s not even the characters’ fault. Any genre, any cast, would suffer the same way if you gave lazy, incompetent, allergic-to-experimentation people the reins. Have studios step away from crossovers for a while and treat every superhero film like its own self-contained story with opportunities to do something different. That alone would probably boost attendance at this point.

[jthume]

Episode 128 is about that great beast called "screenwriting" and how it is a different, yet similar craft to writing a book. There's the external visual representation versus the internal written word, but there's also the complex collaboration, visuals, and the outside influences (re: the studios) that change the original product into what you see on the big and small screen. It's a fascinating process.

We spoil: Angels and Demons (pictured) Star Wars Spider-Man Batman

We update our EPA Superfund Site codenamed "our basement," talk about our WIPs, and discuss our deer for what is probably the last time.

Have a listen and check us out at www.carsonhume.com TIA LYL!

[denimbex1986]

'THURSDAY UPDATE: Barbenheimer is the gift that keeps on giving. The Kenergy is so high on Warner Bros’ Barbie that it spiked by 3% at the international box office on Wednesday versus Tuesday and added $32.7M in 69 markets. That brings the global running cume on the Greta Gerwig pic to a fantastic $528.6M, including $291.4M from overseas. This is all after only one week of release.

Meanwhile, also continuing incredible holds, Universal’s Oppenheimer added another $16M from 78 international box office markets, again a less than 1% dip from the previous day. The offshore cume is $147.2M through Wednesday. Combined with domestic, the global total is $265.1M with the $300M benchmark expected to be achieved with Friday grosses.

Notably, Barbie is now tracking ahead of the Top 5 WB regional comps in Latin America, including Joker (+84%), Batman V Superman (+51%), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (+56%), Aquaman (+133%) and Justice League (+65%).

In the UK, where the cume through Wednesday is $40.2M, Barbie’s first week is currently the 2nd biggest for a WB film ever, just behind Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Mexico grossed $2.3M on Wednesday, just a 19% drop from Tuesday, for a $31.4M running cume. Brazil is at $25.2M through Wednesday after adding $2.1M yesterday, just a 4% dip from the previous day. Australia has grossed $18.9M to date, and China is now at $15.9M, defying expectations with a 10% drop from Tuesday.

Other notable markets include France with $15.1M so far, and Spain with $13.3M to date and on par with Spider-Man: No Way Home, as well as 10% ahead of Avatar: The Way of Water and 19% above The Super Mario Bros Movie at same point in time. Italy had the best Wednesday for a WB film ever with $2M for a running cume of $14.4M.

At the same time, the midweeks on Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer have been bigger than key comps. Certain markets are now in week 2, including France which always opens movies on a Wednesday, and are very strong. France’s second Wednesday was down just 24% in admissions versus last week’s debut, now with a cume of $10.3M which is 58% above Dunkirk and 30% above Interstellar at the same point. Yesterday’s hold was the best for a Nolan movie in the market on a sophomore Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the UK/Ireland added $2.9M on Wednesday with 28% share at No. 2 in the market for a cume to date of $22.2M, which is 3% above Dunkirk and over 2x Interstellar at the same point.

Germany added $1.4M at No. 2 on Wednesday (27% market share) for a running total of $10.3M, performing well ahead of Interstellar and more than double M:I7 at the same point, having already overtaken the lifetime of Dunkirk.

India on Wednesday added $760K for a running cume of $9.8M. This is Nolan’s biggest film ever in the market.

Australia added $700K on Wednesday at No. 2 (29% share) for a running total of $8.6M, which is 49% above Dunkirk and over 2x Interstellar at the same point.

Mexico put up another $600K at No. 2 on Wednesday (18% market share) for a running total of $6.8M having already overtaken the lifetimes of Tenet and Dunkirk. Performance to date is 16% above M:I7 and more than double Interstellar at the same point in release.

Spain added $1.1M at No. 2 on Wednesday (20% market share) for a running total of $6.3M, performing above The Dark Knight Rises (18%), double Interstellar and more than double Dunkirk and M:I7 at the same point.

Netherlands added $500K on Wednesday at No. 2 (27% share) for a cume to date of $4.1M, which is 97% above Dunkirk and 90% above The Dark Knight Rises at the same point.

Brazil took in a further $400K on Wednesday at No.2 in the market for a cume to date of $4.1M, having surpassed the lifetimes of Dunkirk, Interstellar, Tenet, Inception and Batman Begins.

Rounding out the Top 10, Saudi Arabia added $500K on Wednesday at No.1 with 44% market share for a cume to date of $6M...'

[gear-project]

Aside from Guilty Gear, do you partake any interest in the lore and world-building of other fighting games?

I most certainly do, but it would probably take an entirely separate blog to cover such topics!

If I had to list all the biggest names I enjoy lore for:

Soul Calibur Series/Project Soul BlazBlue Series Final Fantasy Series (Particularly Dissidia and Final Fantasy 1, but also FF Origin) Valkyrie Profile/Elysium/Anatomia Series Code Vein/God Eater Series Vampire Hunter D Series Zeiram/Hunter Iria Series Berserk Series Lodoss/Crystania/Rune Soldier/Grancrest War New Mobile Report Gundam Wing Batman/Azrael Comics Spawn Comics Aliens versus Predator Venom/Spider-Man/Wolverine Comics Witchblade/Darkness Comics Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Franchise Sonic the Hedgehog Series Metal Gear Series Zone of the Enders Cavalier of the Abyss/Immortal Regis Disgaea Series God of War Battle Chasers Darksiders Series

If I think of any more, I'd mention them I suppose.

[buggernaut-kal]

Saw this trending on Twitter and thought I’d give it a shot here. The OC versus the Inspiration!

Jerry’s gone through many iterations over the years, but on a base level a lot of his outfit is inspired by The Big O’s Schwarzwald

Namely the vest and tie. Given the noir setting of my comic and Big O’s noir elements it fit like a glove.

Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop inspired Jerry’s lanky frame and pinpoint scruffiness (wrinkled sleeves, loose tie, etc.) Adds a kind of humble charm, methinks. Elements of Spike’s laidback demeanor also found their way onto Jerry.

Now for his alter ego, the titular Thermal Shock, I think I wear my influences on my sleeve with him.

(I know we’re not at a full design reveal in the comic yet but hush) Let’s work from the top down.

The mask and eyes were inspired by Street Fighter’s Q and JJBA’s Gold Experience, respectively. Both their stoic statures and expressions also made it in. In addition, the mask previously had an antenna which was snapped off on page 12. There’s two inspirations for that antenna, Eva Unit 1 and Char’s Zaku II.

The poncho was something that fits into the rainy city of Stratoston, but it was also an excuse to have a flair for the dramatic a la Batman. It’s nowhere near as flowy or graceful but it helps to bulk out his aforementioned skinny frame.

And I’d be lying if I said Piccolo didn’t at least somewhat inspire the shoulder pad/cape combo

One influence that I personally think was super easy to spot is Spider-Man. The Ice Clipper (debuted on page 7) is adjacent to a freeze ray, but it’s function is very much inspired by Spidey’s web shots, meant to immobilize or encumber a target. (Could not find a good gif and the app is yelling at me I can only have 10 images so meh) (formatting this on mobile because I don’t wanna get out of bed)

So yeah. Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk on Jerry Vispa and Thermal Shock.