Avengers Classic # 11
“The Avengers Meets Spider-Man” (From Avengers # 11- December 1964)
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: Don Heck
Inker: Chic Stone
Letterer: Sam Rosen
“Along Came A Spider”
Writer: Tom Beland
Artist: Kano
Colorist: Javier Rodriguez
Letterer: VC’s Rus Wooton
Cover Date: June 2008
Rating: 
For this week’s installment, I’ll take a look at Avengers Classic # 11, which reprints Avengers # 11, the classic issue in which Kang The Conquerer sends a robotic version of Spider-Man to destroy Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, and this issue also features a special back-up story. I really like how this series is pretty much a successor to “Classic X-Men” where it will reprint classic issues but will present new material that’s important to the main story. Avengers # 11 is still not only a terrific story, but it’s a clever one in seeing Spidey meeting The Avengers via the use of a Spider-Man robot and when Spidey himself shows up. I can say with pride (And some modesty) that Stan Lee is by far one of the greatest writers from the Silver Age era and it’s always a joy to go back to re-read his stories, due to the ‘WOW” factor that comes with them.
“Along Came A Spider” by Tom Beland & Kano features Spider-Man having a heart-to-heart with Captain America after a scuffle with Electro leaves Spidey with a sprained ankle and then see these two larger-than-life characters having a deep conversation. This story has tons of heart and the most amazing thing is how Beland has so much love and respect for The Marvel Universe it translates very well in the stories that he’s written for Marvel and this one is no exception. From Cap telling Spidey that he fights like a “caffeinated idiot” to swapping stories about their early days and to how much potential Cap sees in Spidey (Still love Spidey ridiculing Iron Man’s roller skates- glad those didn’t make it into the MCU), this story alone will remind you that there are actual human beings in those costumes as well as seeing heroes showing respect to one another; Kano’s artwork brings that classic Silver Age vibe that fits this story to perfection, and if can end it with this opinion it would be that this Captain America/Spider-Man interaction is more realistic than the MCU version from “Captain America: Civil War”…….just saying.
If you’re a huge Spider-Man or Captain America fan, then I would definitely suggest you hunt down this issue just for the backup feature and the terrific job the creative team did in delivering it, but if you’re a Kang The Conquerer fan due to Jonathan Majors’ brilliant portrayal of the character in the season finale of “Loki” then this issue is for you.
I’ll be back next week to kick off my slew of reviews featuring some of my favorites “What If…?” issues due to the Disney+ series debuting next month, so thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
About Author
