A spoof comic series from Stan Lee in the 1960s allowed Marvel Comics to create its own version of Batman - one who makes Spider-Man look good.
There has always been a rivalry between Marvel Comics and DC Comics, but in one comic penned by Stan Lee, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man truly was better than Batman. Not Brand Echh #2 was a spoof comic featuring variants of both iconic heroes. Batman has never been more of a coward - or more of an annoyance - than in this issue.
Beginning in 1967, Not Brand Echh was a comic series published by Marvel that poked fun of the company's characters, along with those of others - including DC's Batman and Wonder Woman. These spoof issues had various creative teams, some of which included Stan Lee. While not an official crossover, this series certainly had quite a bit to say about the characteristics and adventures of iconic comic heroes.
Not Brand Echh #2 has the creative team of Stan Lee, Marie Severin, F. Giacoia, and Al Kurzrok. This issue features Spider-Man's spoof variant Spidey-Man and Batman's spoof variant Gnatman. Gnatman also has a Robin-like sidekick named Rotten. Like Batman, Gnatman has a Gnat Signal used by Commissioner Good-Guy. However, this wannabe Batman is nothing like the actual Dark Knight. He's a coward and he's hired by Spidey-Man hater, J. Jawbone Junkton (J. Jonah Jameson's spoof counterpart), to take out the arachnid-themed hero.
However, Gnatman is absolutely terrified of Spidey-Man, because he "fights for keeps." Nonetheless, he is legally required to try and carry out the job. Surprisingly he does succeed, though not through his own capabilities of trickery or combat. While Spidey-Man is swinging away from the bizarre confrontation, Gnatman calls out a strange peculiarity - the web-slinger's web isn't actually attached to anything. In standard cartoon fashion, pointing out a strange occurrence and bringing attention to it causes normal physics to crash over. Spidey breaks his leg and is officially put out of commission - all because this Spider-Man’s enemy, J. Jawbone Junkton, hates spiders thanks to one eating his stamp collection when he was a kid.
If that wasn't enough, with Spidey-Man out of the picture, Gnatman takes over the role of city protector. He isn't actually focused on crime, however. He just wants the sponsorship deals and merchandising spotlight. The caped coward even has his own fan club. His image is everywhere, making J. Jawbone regret his decisions while Spidey-Man takes a break and hangs out with the beautiful variants of Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy.
Unlike Gnatman, this variant of Spider-Man is still a legitimate hero. Batman is known for using fear against his enemies. His alternate persona is largely built around the idea of striking fear into others. However, his Marvel variant has no such capability or methodology. He is the one who is afraid of Spidey-Man, who is one of the least scary heroes in terms of appearance. Additionally, Bruce Wayne is wealthy and he doesn't do heroic deeds in order to garner fans or popularity. He prefers to stay hidden in the shadows. One of DC's greatest heroes has been brought incredibly low by Stan Lee himself within this issue, making Spider-Man look better - even by J. Jawbone Junkton's standards. Batman may be a great hero in the DC Comics universe, but in Marvel Comics' alternate universe created by Stan Lee, he has nothing on Spider-Man and his counterparts.
