The Greatest! [Comic]

I love this comic. Denny O'Neil, Neal Adams, Muhammad Ali, boxing and space aliens. I had a copy when I was a kid, and then during the "I'm more grown up and won't need such things" phase I think I sold it off... and then of course picked up another copy a few years ago off ebay. It now patiently waits for me in NC, on occasion quietly calling my name in the middle of the night... GREAT comic! Everything that was good about comics in the '70s. The cover alone was brilliant.

Superman’s Greatest Opponent: Muhammad Ali | TheSweetScience.com Boxing:

"...the only other person to best the Man of Steel was the Greatest himself in D.C. Comics’ Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, released in 1978.

...In an interview with Comic Book Artist in 1999, [Neal] Adams said, “Certainly, when I heard it, I thought it was a great idea. I mean, just the concept... yet, at the same time, the logical question is, ‘How do you have a human being fight an alien – Superman – and how do you justify such a battle?’”

Writer Denny O’Neil was the first person tasked with finding an answer. He wrote the original script for the 72-page comic book. Artist Joe Kubert was responsible for the drawings, but both D.C. Comics and Ali’s handlers were not pleased with the Greatest’s artistic depiction. Adams was then brought in.

...The comic begins with the alien Scrubb from the planet Bodace threatening to destroy Earth unless it sends its greatest fighter to face Bodace’s champion, Hun’Ya. Since Ali and Superman are the planet’s finest warriors, they both agree to a boxing match to determine who gets the honor. In fairness, Superman will fight near a red sun, diminishing his powers, and Ali will teach Superman to box.

When the two face-off, Superman gets through the first round with ease. In round two, things go downhill as Ali’s superior boxing skills overtake the Man of Steel. The fight ends with a bloodied Superman on the canvas, and he returns to Earth in an oxygen tent."