By Ben Morse & Tim Stevens
The Marvel Universe has a long history of practicing the buddy system.
From Luke Cage and Iron Fist to Wonder Man and Beast to Captain America and the Falcon and beyond, strong partnerships between great heroes have always been a Marvel staple. But perhaps no duo has endured as long or through as much adversity as the unlikely pairing of Spider-Man and Daredevil, who renew their camaraderie this July in the pages of both AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY - EXTRA!
Since their first encounter back in 1964's AMAZING SPIDER-MAN v1 #16, the two have aided, abetted, comforted, confronted, helped out, and gotten in each others' way any number of times. In many ways, they have become the defacto siblings of the Marvel Universe—similar and yet vastly different; having each others' backs one moment and at each others' throats the next. They bring out the best and worst in one another,
joking around while taking down the Ringmaster one minute, grumbling and arguing with barely controlled fury about attempting to leave behind their non-costumed alter egos the next. The two have gone up against crime lords like the Kingpin and demons like Blackheart and always found a way to come out on top.
"They have similar M.O.'s swinging around the city and you can't say that for a lot of the other Marvel heroes Spidey might team-up with," notes Marc Guggenheim, who will write the three-part Spidey/DD team-up running from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #565 through #567. "Usually, Spidey's pairing with someone who's much different than him in terms of tone and demeanor and it often reduces him to just spinning webs and making quips. DD's powers and abilities, while not in Spidey's weight class, help make for a good partnership."
In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Guggenheim says that fans can expect a "fairly classic team up for the Scarlet Swashbuckler and the Webslinger. I wanted to re-establish their working relationship, so to speak. It's just another day at the office—[a] super villain running rampant in New York City."
As the adventure continues, Guggenheim promises the dynamic between the two heroes will swing in unexpected directions.
"The relationship takes an odd turn when Spidey comes to Daredevil in [AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #566] asking for a big favor," reveals the writer. "DD has something that Spidey needs, something he lost at the end of [the previous issue].
"[It is] very, very unconventional. Daredevil helps Spidey in a way that we've never seen before."
The Spider-Man/Daredevil team-up begins in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #565, on sale July 16, and runs through issue #567, with a detour into SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY – EXTRA! on July 30. To read Spidey and DD's first ever team-up, visit Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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