Last week, we pointed out that Wes Craig's variant cover for The Flash #44, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Green Lantern, featured one Galactus-sized cameo. Marvel has now returned the favor with an even subtler guest appearance on one of its own front splahses.
Alex Ross' cover for Secret Wars #8 is a gorgeous work of art, with Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom clashing in the middle as reality rips and explodes around them. You can see the origin of the Hulk; the death of Elektra; the birth of Franklin Richards; and even a ride with the Rawhide Kid, Kid Colt, and, oh, let's say the Dakota Kid. Down in the bottom left corner of the cover is, of course, Spider-Man. But this isn't a depiction of just any old "Spider-Man on a radio tower" scene, and he's actually not alone in that image.
If you look just below his right leg, there's the tiniest splash of red there. See?
Why, whatever could that be? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Superman! Well, it's Superman's boot, at the very least.
Yes, that particular pose that Ross has Spider-Man in is an homage to the 1976 crossover Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century, with a cover designed by Carmine Infantino and Ross Andru, with Dick Giordano on inks.
Secret Wars #8 should hit in November, and you can check out how Ross bringing Superman back to the Marvel Universe fits into his whole puzzle below:
