Why do superhero fans want to see their favorite superheroes fight each other? Probably because it goes back to the fundamental argument we all have during childhood “who could take who?”
“Do you think Superman could take Underdog?”
“Don’t be stupid, Underdog is a cartoon character!”
But that flawed logic never stops the argument, and characters whose primary purpose is to beat the stuffing out of bad guys are always going to face fanboy (and fangirl) challenges, and the publishers have certainly recognized this formula and have produced some stories to cash in on the subject.
SUPERMAN VS THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1976)
Published in a joint venture between DC and Marvel Comics this oversized edition is the great grand daddy of the mega fights even though we’ve seen other battles before. This one, drawn in epic grandeur by Ross Andru and inked by Dick Giordano deserved the special treatment. It matters little that the fight is completely mis-matched and it’s only when Spider-Man is given temporary kryptonite strength by Lex Luthor that it becomes even close to a fight, plus as we see with almost all of these they mostly end up in a draw. Analyzing the fight, Superman certainly out powers the teen Spider-Man but his midwestern niceness would have probably seen him lose the fight before he’d actually hurt a kid. Spidey is a pretty nice guy under it all too, so this one likely would have ended as it did in a draw.
BATMAN VS THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1980)
Another joint DC/Marvel Publication– most fans laughed at the very idea of Batman taking on the all powerful green goliath but as the fight shows Batman is not against the idea of cheating to win a fight, which is why he would actually win just about any fight he ever got into. Batman uses his brains to fight as well as his extensive Kravmaga training to defeat his opponent.
SUPERMAN VS CAPTAIN MARVEL – Superman #276 June 1974
DC had licensed the character of Shazam from the defunct Fawcett Comics and had started to publish his own comic, but they didn’t want to mix Shazam (actually named Captain Marvel) into the Mainstream DC Universe so they did this faux match up between two characters who actually battled in court during the Golden Age of Comics (like in this story, Superman ended up victorious) but renamed Marvel as Captain Thunder.
THE HULK VS THE THING – Fantastic Four #12 March 1963 plus many others
Marvel Comics was the grand leader in pitting their heroes against each other, but none fought more than The Incredible Hulk and the Fantastic Four’s The Thing. In the early 60s both characters were more normal man-sized but as the years went on they began to grow, first with the Hulk who often towered over Ben Grimm in their matchups. The rivalry continues even into today with no end (or decisive winner) in sight.
WOLVERINE VS THE HULK – Incredible Hulk #181
Acclaimed as the first appearance of Wolverine (it’s not– he appears in the previous issue which in any sense of the word would mean that #180 is the first appearance, but that’s another battle. Wolverine as he was introduced was a very small figure taking on the green giant. They fought to what should have been the death but essentially came out a draw. The two would have dozens of rematches over the years.
DAREDEVIL VS THE HULK – Daredevil #163
Frank Miller’s seminal run on Daredevil featured an amazing battle between outmatched Daredevil and the mighty Hulk– the fight lasts about three minutes and the remainder of the story features DD recovering in the hospital displaying beautifully why Miller’s run is so well regarded.
SUPERMAN VS BATMAN – The Dark Knight Falls 1986
Another Frank Miller classic, this time leading to a showdown between DC Comics two biggest characters, using his wit and technology Batman not only holds his own, he nearly beats Superman before a last minute bit of fate changes the course of the battle.