Superman and Spider-Man are arguably the two most important and influential characters for their respective companies, DC and Marvel. While there have been but a few crossovers between the two companies over the years, one of the most memorable featured these two characters meeting for the first time.

Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century was published in a joint venture between DC and Marvel in 1976. The oversized issue featured the two heroes partnering in order to defeat Doctor Octopus and Lex Luthor, who themselves had teamed up. Doc Ock and Luthor capture Lois Lane and Mary Jane and are chased down by Supes and Spidey; however, the two villains eventually turn on each other once they realize their goals don’t match up so well. Superman and Spider-Man prevail in the end, and all’s well that ends well as Clark and Peter have a double-date with their respective ladies.

The special issue actually came about as the result of a discussion originally regarding a potential feature film crossover between the characters. But as Warner Bros. was already working on the Superman film, plus Marvel already having a Spider-Man television series, the decision was made to do a comic book instead. Gerry Conway wrote the issue, with Ross Andru on pencils – appropriate, given that both men had previously worked on both Superman and Spider-Man.

Hake’s Americana actually has an example of this book in their current auction, which ends on July 13, 2017. The book in the auction stands out, as it has been autographed by Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, as well as DC editor Julius Schwartz and Spider-Man creator Stan Lee. The book shows some slight handling wear but still shows very fine.