Volume 28

This volume is the 28th in the series (volumes 28, 32, 36, and 37). Based on the volume number and table of contents clues, it corresponds to the classic DC–Marvel second inter-company crossover, Superman and Spider-Man, i.e., Marvel Treasury Edition issue 28, published in July 1981, which was also the final issue of that deluxe-format series. The story was written by Jim Shooter with plot assistance from Marv Wolfman, pencils by John Buscema, and cover by Bob Larkin based on John Romita Sr.'s layout design. The plot opens in Manhattan: after Spider-Man stops a bank robbery, his spider-sense detects something abnormal at a nearby construction site but cannot find the source—that site is the secret base of Latverian ruler Doctor Doom. Doctor Doom launches the "Omega Project" he has planned for years, using a miniature transmitter to draw the Hulk toward Metropolis, where Superman is. Peter Parker, assigned by the Daily Bugle to cover the story, happens to witness the first clash between Superman and the Hulk; Superman destroys the transmitter and calms the Hulk, but does not realize that the destruction from the battle has allowed the energy-absorbing Parasite to escape. Afterward Superman travels to New York to investigate, while Spider-Man enters Metropolis as a journalist; the two move from misunderstanding to alliance, with interludes including Spider-Man's mistaken battle with Wonder Woman and Superman's first duel with the Hulk. In the end the two join forces to foil Doctor Doom's plan to cause a global blackout. This volume is a non-canonical cross-universe story that assumes Metropolis and New York exist in the same world. As a super-sized deluxe edition of its time, it brings together inking by a large group of Marvel artists and is a landmark work in the history of American comics inter-company cooperation.