8 Times The Marvel Vs. DC Rivalry Turned Ugly
7. Stan Lee Slams DC From His Soapbox
Marvel legend Stan Lee honed the publisher's voice via the Bullpen Bulletins section of its comics during his tenure as editor, and his Stan's Soapbox column soon became the most popular part of this information page.
The Spider-Man co-creator used his Soapbox to keep fans in the loop about Marvel's upcoming plans and muse about happenings in the comics industry. It wasn't long before it became a place where he could take a few cheeky swipes at DC, too.
Lee's jibes were often playful and veiled, but there are times when he overstepped the mark, including one occasion when he insinuated that Marvel comics are for intelligent people while their competitors cater for quite the opposite. He also accused rival publishers of trying to emulate his firm on more than one occasion.
"We don't resent competition - indeed, we welcome it. But we do resent shabby, carelessly produced, badly-written and drawn, conscienceless IMITATIONS of our Marvel mags, imitations which are callously lacking in quality, and which are produced for the sole purpose of making a fast profit."
DC's response was to poke fun at Lee's "copying" claims by introducing a shape-shifting character called Chameleon Boy in Adventure Comics #350, who cheekily transformed himself into a man-spider hybrid before winking wryly at the reader.
This kicked off a chain reaction of back-and-forth satire, and soon afterwards, the two publishers were mercilessly lampooning each other. Marvel parodied Batman and Robin, among other DC characters (and its own heroes) in Not Brand Echh, while DC returned fire in tongue-in-cheek titles such as Fantastic Four skit Inferior Five.
Most of the time, it was lighthearted and all in good fun, but there were times when both parties - and Lee, in particular - may have crossed a line.