The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man VS Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut

[Mister Mets]

This is a companion to my which Lee/ Ditko tale is better thread, as Roger Stern is also known for two of the best Spider-Man stories: The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man, and Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut.

Which do you guys prefer?

[Cody H]

Kid who Collects... for sure. The Juggernaut story was great, but overcoming insurmountable and beating unbeatable foes has been Spidey's M.O. since day one, pratically. The Kid who Collects Spider-Man was one of the mostunique story and emotion evoking stories in Spider-Man's history.

[Sparda]

Kid who collected spider-man, was that a storyline during the 80's who was it one where some kid looked up to spidey and tried to web swing and died and his dad vowed vengience?

[Cody H]

Kid who collected spider-man, was that a storyline during the 80's who was it one where some kid looked up to spidey and tried to web swing and died and his dad vowed vengience?Kid who collected Spider-Man was a storyline during the 80s, yeah. The other one you're thinking about refers to a storyline in Paul Jenkins Peter Parker: Spider-Man involving a villain named Fusion. It was his son who tried to web swing from a piece of string and died, hence Fusion's hatred of Spidey. One Small Break is the storyline, I believe.

[Babylon23]

Man, this is a difficult call for me, since I love both stories. Juggernaut was the first non-lee/ditko/romita, non-reprint Spidey story I ever read, so it's holds a special place for me. However, The Kid has a greater emotional resonance, so I'd probably give it the edge.

[Spider-Sense]

Very difficult choice...The kid who collected spider-man holds a very special place in my mind and heart,so it gets my vote.

[Sam T.]

Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut!

[will_butler]

Kid Who Collected Spider-Man. Roger Stern is awesome. Also see Dr. Strange/Dr. Doom: Triumph and Torment for further proof.

Will

[The Lucky One]

Kid who collected spider-man, was that a storyline during the 80's who was it one where some kid looked up to spidey and tried to web swing and died and his dad vowed vengience?

No. "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man" is about a story Jacob Conover does for the Daily Bugle about a young boy named Timothy Harrison who idolizes Spidey... collects newspaper articles, magazine clippings, even some flattened bullets some crooks fired at Spidey. When he reads the story, Spider-Man takes it upon himself to go visit Tim and have a chat with him... and what a chat it ends up being. Anyone who can read this story and remain emotionally unaffected traded in their humanity a long time ago.

It gets my vote too. Incidentally, there was also a nice footnote to it in the Spidey story from Marvel Holiday Special '91.

-D

[Babylon23]

Kid Who Collected Spider-Man. Roger Stern is awesome. Also see Dr. Strange/Dr. Doom: Triumph and Torment for further proof.

Will

Agreed. I'd also recommend Avenger: Under Siege and Captain America 253-254, the Baron Blood story.

[Young Avenger]

No. "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" is about a story Ben Urich does for the Daily Bugle about a young boy named Timothy Harrison who idolizes Spidey... collects newspaper articles, magazine clippings, even some flattened bullets some crooks fired at Spidey. When he reads the story, Spider-Man takes it upon himself to go visit Timmy and have a chat with him... and what a chat it ends up being. Anyone who can read this story and remain emotionally unaffected traded in their humanity a long time ago.

It gets my vote too. Incidentally, there was also a nice footnote to it in the Spidey story from Marvel Holiday Special '91.

-D

I never read the "Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" story but their was an episode of the 90s Spider-Man animated series that had a similar story.

[Venom]

Again I'm gonna go with "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man" because I never read "Nothing Stops The Juggernaut". Though even after I get a chance to read it I think I'll still probably prefer the Kid/Spidey story.

[Roger Stern]

This is all very flattering, even though comparing those two stories is sort of like comparing apples to oranges.

The only thing they really have in common is Spider-Man.

But don't let me stop you...go ahead and have fun with the poll.

(Oh, and by the way, it's "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man"...though I quite understand why people lapse into the past tense.)

That ol' nit-picker,
-- Uncle Rog

[Spidey-kid1]

I never read any of them, but I pick nothing can stop the juggernaut because it has the juggernaut in it. I like the juggernaut and he faught spiderman. Man, I wish I say that.

[Chris Johnson]

The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man.

[Venom]

Cool! Roger Stern just gave us a grammatical correction.

[rick]

Cool! Roger Stern was just gave us a grammatical correction.


Well Roger is cool that way.

I personally think that The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man is one of the best modern Spider-Man stories ever.

Truly a beautiful piece of writing.

[Roger Stern]

Well Roger is cool that way.

I personally think that The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man is one of the best modern Spider-Man stories ever.

Truly a beautiful piece of writing.

Thanks, Rick!

-- Uncle Rog

[Reptisaurus!]

Kid was a thing of beauty. I can't think of any better use of the "short story" in Marvel comics.

The Juggernaut one was adequate. But not much of a Spider-man story.

Spider-man wins by pure luck.

Again. SPIDER-MAN wins by PURE LUCK!

There are certain rules for how all fictional characters "work." Batman should not defeat his opponents by blowing them away with the power cosmic. The Hulk should not start crying when he stubs his toe.

Spider-man should not win because completely random factors come together to give him the victory. "Parker luck" should always be against him, making it all the more impressive when he does win through power, or better yet skill, or MUCH better yet out-thinking his opponents.

If your gonna do a story that's completely character innapropriate, you might as well have Peter whip out his mystical sword Dragonfang and slice Juggs in half. (Which would've been cooler.)

[Mister Mets]

This is all very flattering, even though comparing those two stories is sort of like comparing apples to oranges.

The only thing they really have in common is Spider-Man.

But don't let me stop you...go ahead and have fun with the poll.

(Oh, and by the way, it's "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man"...though I quite understand why people lapse into the past tense.)

That ol' nit-picker,
-- Uncle Rog
Sorry for getting the title on one of my favorite comic books wrong.

Incidentally, I love both apples & oranges, but I prefer oranges.

Kid was a thing of beauty. I can't think of any better use of the "short story" in Marvel comics.

The Juggernaut one was adequate. But not much of a Spider-man story.

Spider-man wins by pure luck.

Again. SPIDER-MAN wins by PURE LUCK!

There are certain rules for how all fictional characters "work." Batman should not defeat his opponents by blowing them away with the power cosmic. The Hulk should not start crying when he stubs his toe.

Spider-man should not win because completely random factors come together to give him the victory. "Parker luck" should always be against him, making it all the more impressive when he does win through power, or better yet skill, or MUCH better yet out-thinking his opponents.

If your gonna do a story that's completely character innapropriate, you might as well have Peter whip out his mystical sword Dragonfang and slice Juggs in half. (Which would've been cooler.)
I'm inclined to think Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut would have been a slightly better comic book if Spider-Man won somehow with his wits, but it's still one of my all-time favorites, and it has so much going for it.

Regarding the luck issue....
Peter Parker shouldn't be unlucky all the time (nor should he be the opposite.) By the time the Juggernaut story came along he was more than "due" for some good luck (hell- in the previous Amazing Spider-Man storyline, he believed that the Black Cat had died just before he found out that he got her a pardon.) And it's unfair to suggest that he won only through luck, given the beating the Juggernaut had given him for the last two issues. The story was about Spider-Man's persistence, and refusal to retreat from a far far stronger foe, even in the face of almost certain death (which would probably have happened within the next few minutes had Juggernaut not stepped in some wet cement). Perhaps Spider-Man winning with his wits would have been too conventional an ending.

One random thing I realized....
"What If Juggernaut Killed Spider-Man?" could be really good.