Marvel/DC crossovers are a rare occurrence these days, but one recent Spider-Man comic managed to sneak in a hidden cameo from Watchmen’s Rorschach. The violent vigilante made an appearance in Spider-Man: Life Story #3, appearing as an extra in a crowd scene.
There has long been a grand tradition in comics for characters to “unofficially” cross over into other publisher’s titles. Many who enter the comics field started out as fans, so once they are able to create their own stories about the characters they grew up loving, the temptation to include fun little cameos referencing other works is often strong. Whether it's the time an Aquaman story was finished in Marvel’s Namor or the frequent appearances of an unnamed Clark Kent and Lois Lane in Walt Simonson’s run on Thor, comics history is filled with such unofficial crossovers. And in the case of Spider-Man: Life Story, there may even be a deeper reason why the creators chose to include a Rorschach cameo.
Watchmen’s Rorschach “Watches” From the Sidelines in Spider-Man: Life Story
Spider-Man: Life Story is an out-of-continuity miniseries from Chip Zdarsky, Mark Bagley, John Dell, Frank D’Armata and Travis Lanham. With each issue taking place in a different decade, the story takes the novel approach of having Peter Parker age in real-time, starting from the moment he was bitten by a radioactive spider in 1962. Spider-Man: Life Story #3 takes place in the eighties, one of the most tumultuous, ground-breaking decades in comics history. The story sees Spider-Man whisked away with all the other Marvel heroes to a distant planet to take part in the “Secret Wars.” As a result of this disappearance, tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union escalate dramatically. As a display of the resulting social unrest, one panel depicts a rather familiar-looking man in a trench-coat carrying a sign that reads, “The End Is Nigh.” That would be Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach, the fearsome, street-level vigilante of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal 1986 series.
More than just a fun wink to the fans, the Rorschach cameo in Spider-Man: Life Story acts as a metaphor rife with multiple meanings. By placing Walter Kovacs and his “End Is Nigh” placard in one crowd scene, the creators recall the Cold War tensions of the day that proved to be so crucial to Watchmen. Moore and Gibbons’ series was one of several works to reckon with what would happen on a geopolitical scale if superheroes existed in the real world. Spider-Man: Life Story comments on this aspect directly by having the Russians actually launch a nuke at the U.S. while the heroes are away, which winds up wiping out a small town in Pennsylvania.
Most importantly, it’s appropriate that it would be Rorschach to appear in a Spider-Man comic, because the characters share a connection many casual fans may not realize. That would be Steve Ditko, the artist who co-created Spider-Man with Stan Lee. After leaving Marvel following disputes with Lee, Ditko went on to create superheroes for other companies, one of which was the Question for Charlton Comics. DC would eventually acquire the characters, and it was the Charlton heroes that inspired Moore and Gibbons' Watchmen, with Rorschach being their version of Ditko’s Question.
In that way, the Rorschach cameo in Spider-Man: Life Story is more than a mere Marvel/DC crossover, but rather a clever comment on Watchmen’s place in comics history.