Every once in awhile in the Marvel Universe, you'll find two super heroes so similar they'll become the best of friends, but more often than not, opposites attract; whether it's flash playboy
Iron Man bonding with old-fashioned gent Captain America or the teen idol
Human Torch enjoying the company of the perpetually down-on-his-luck
Spider-Man, heroes who have nothing in common tend to gravitate to one another.
To recognize the diversity of friendships across the Marvel pantheon celebrated in series like X-MEN/SPIDER-MAN and WOLVERINE AND POWER PACK—both on sale now—Marvel.com asked various editors and creators for their favorite odd couples.
It's Friday, so kick back, relax and enjoy.
MARK WAID (writer of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN): My
favorite Marvel odd couple from times past was Iron Man and
Man-Thing from the pages of the 1976 IRON MAN ANNUAL. One is one of the smartest, most articulate heroes in the Marvel pantheon, the paragon of technological advancement—and the other is Man-Thing. What a pair. Good Steve Gerber story, too!
BRIAN REED (writer of MS. MARVEL): I'd like to see the MAX
Nick Fury wander into the Marvel Adventures Spider-Man's world. I think you'd have something truly special there. Get Garth Ennis on the phone.
KEVIN GREVIOUX (writer of ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL): The most unlikely team-up in my opinion was Power Man and Iron Fist. If there were ever two characters that absolutely had nothing in common, it was those two. A super-tough black guy from the New York ghetto and a rich white kid martial artist from a
mythical city. The thing is, they actually made a great team. And the book was one of my all-time favorites.
WELLINTON ALVES (artist of NOVA): I would love to see another story with
Wolverine and Spider-Man. I've always enjoyed their team-ups from back when I was a kid, so I'd like to see them together again.
MICHAEL HORWITZ (Marvel assistant editor): Dazzler fought just about everyone in her series: the
Absorbing Man, the Enchantress, fake lashes stuck in her eyes.
But in
my dream team-up, Alison Blaire will face the two greatest threats she ever encountered in one bloody free for all of pulled hair. Yes, I'm talking about the day the Racine Ramjets, the all-female roller derby team from DAZZLER #35, and
the Grapplers, the all-female super powered pro wrestling hit-squad from DAZZLER #13, join forces to kick some disco-diva ass. Not even the Infinity Gauntlet could save the scrawny sonic light inducer from the combined might of Poundcakes, Screaming Mimi, Vavavoom, Sushi, Butterball, Beefee, Tex, Gazelle, Rosie, and Shades. There's gonna be a whole lot of skating, a mess ton of stereotypes, just a few Ramjet Whammies—and in my heart of hearts it'll all be drawn by the great Frank Springer with an oddly arty Bill Sienkiewicz cover.
CHRISTOS GAGE (co-writer of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE): Power Man and Iron Fist. A streetwise black guy with steel-hard skin and a white kung-fu master from a hidden city in the Himalayas. It makes no sense...but it works!
NICK LOWE (Marvel editor): I'd
like to have a team-up with Molly from RUNAWAYS and Wolverine.
STEVE WACKER (Marvel editor): My favorite Marvel odd couple is the Thing and
Alicia Masters. Believe me, I empathize with being so ugly that only a blind girl could love ya.
TOM BREVOORT (Marvel Executive Editor): There's really only one legitimate answer to this question. They were both products of the fads of the 70's. One was a street-smart steel-strong hustler who earned his daily bread being a hero for hire. The other, an affluent kung-fu kid who'd been raised in a mystical city and taught to be a living weapon. They had nothing in common, and there was no great reason to believe that combining their failing series would result in anything more than a temporary stay of execution. And yet, somehow, POWER MAN AND IRON FIST worked, and both characters became more interesting because of it.
TONY ISABELLA (former writer of THE CHAMPIONS): One of the great strengths of the Marvel Universe has been the interactions between characters of widely diverse backgrounds and styles. Spider-Man and
Doctor Strange leap to mind, as do Power Man and Iron Fist. But my favorite was the odd couple that never was...at least as I envisioned it.
My original pitch for THE CHAMPIONS was as a vehicle for
Iceman and the Angel. Two young heroes on the road, helping people, chasing women, and driving each other a little crazy. A mix of "Route 66" with Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple." I thought the combination of a really rich guy with a middle-class guy would have been a fun book to write. Alas, the editors saw it differently and, the next thing I knew, I had those two teaming with a former KGB agent, a Greek god, and a demon-possessed biker—which, thinking about it, was a pretty odd team-up in its own right.
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