Switcheroo: Spider-Man and Karate Kid

[Shai-Hulud]

The Plot Gods exchange Peter Parker (616) and Val Amorr (Pre-Crisis) each into the opposite universe.

This happens at the very beginning of their careers, so instead of Val auditioning for the Legion, it's the recently empowered Pete, complete with his new uniform and web-shooters.

Meanwhile, Val, stranded on Marvel Earth, gets taken in by the recently widowed Aunt May, who has a room to let now that Peter has disappeared without a trace.

How do things level develop? Comment on any aspect of this that you find interesting.

[Shellhead]

Spider Boy just barely qualifies for the Legion, as a member must possess at least one natural superpower that no other Legion member has. For Spider Boy, it would be his wall-crawling ability, which is not especially useful to a team with flight rings. However, Peter is possibly consigned to the Substitute Legion of Heroes due to his chronic neurosis and his complete ignorance of modern technology and alien cultures. He eventually get up to speed on the 31st century and likely graduates to full Legion membership after extensive psychotherapy.

Karate Kid had a shortlived series in the '70s where he lived in the 20th Century for a while. I haven't read those issues, so I don't know how well he adapted. Val doesn't necessarily become a crimefighter. He is looking for combat, but it seems likely that he would initially end up fighting heroes, since each individual hero seems much more active than the average supervillain. Val probably ends up whupping on folks like Daredevil and Captain America, but in those days, villains often ended up fighting a wider range of heroes. He could certainly hold his own against Iron Man of that era, and probably wreck the O5 X-Men. To pay his rent, he probably starts a dojo and also takes classes at the local high school. If Val eventually becomes a crimefighter, he could readily handle most Spider-man rogues, and might be a good fit compared to other heroes of the day. Since the X-Men are only interested in mutants, and the FF are more family than team, the only team that might become interested in Val would be the Avengers. But maybe SHIELD moves to recruit him first.

[Shai-Hulud]

Spider Boy just barely qualifies for the Legion, as a member must possess at least one natural superpower that no other Legion member has. For Spider Boy, it would be his wall-crawling ability, which is not especially useful to a team with flight rings. However, Peter is possibly consigned to the Substitute Legion of Heroes due to his chronic neurosis and his complete ignorance of modern technology and alien cultures. He eventually get up to speed on the 31st century and likely graduates to full Legion membership after extensive psychotherapy.

I like the idea of Saturn Girl helping Pete sort out his emotional baggage.

One obvious spot for Spidey might be on the LSH "Espionage Team."

Another thought is that Querl would quickly realize Pete is not from the past history that the Legion is familiar with, but a different past, a different universe.

I therefore suspect Querl would want to keep Peter under watch, and would certainly insist Pete be given Substitute Legion membership so Querl could have further opportunity to study him.