THREE'S COMPANY (2006)

One of Spider-Man's routine clashes with Doctor Octopus is interrupted by the arrival of a hero from another reality...

Mark Grayson's trip to Africa with his girlfriend to visit fellow hero Atom Eve is interrupted by a call from Angstrom Levy, a villainous scientist who Mark thought he'd defeated in his heroic identity as Invincible. Levy survived his last confrontation, learned Invincible's true identity. In full costume, Invincible arrives at his mother's home to find Levy has clearly roughed her up in front of his young brother, Oliver. Levy's very much alive - though with a mutated head - and looking for revenge...

Invincible will be starring in his own animated series on Amazon Prime from March this year. I'd recommend picking up the comics by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker beforehand. It's a fantastic series!

Minor Crossover: You can quite hapily read both issues separately and never know they're connected, but they make more sense when read together.

• Invincible #33
• Marvel Team-Up #14

Invincible #33

Angstrom Levy reveals how he used his reality-hopping powers to jump to another universe where his head could be rebuilt, only for it to look like an exposed brain. When Levy threatens the Grayson family, Invincible attacks and Levy teleports him to the Marvel Universe (Earth-616 - see the next chapter). When he brings Invincible back, Angstrom Levy teleports him to a series of other dimensions (including one where zombies walk the Earth) to wear him down. When Levy brings him back, Invincible brutally assaults him. They both jump through dimensions together until Invincible's relentless pummelling kills Levy and leaves Mark Grayson stranded in a post-apocalyptic alternate future...

Marvel Team-Up #14

Invincible flies through a portal into the Marvel Universe, interrupting Spider-Man's fight with Doctor Octopus and almost seriously injuring the villain. When Ock goes into hiding, Invincible finds himself opening up to Spidey about his origins, father issues and the threat of Angstrom Levy. Spider-Man takes Invincible back to Avengers Tower where he meets the Avengers, share identities and pick up on Doctor Octopus' whereabouts. The pair team up, but Invincible makes short work of Ock by ripping off his mechanical arms before heading back through a portal to his home reality. Spidey fires a web at Invincible to follow him through and offer help but the portal closes on it, so he heads on home...

MCG Note: I'm not going to go in-depth with the fallout of Invincible's fight with Angstrom Levy. For that, check out Invincible's own series from Skybound/Image Comics (it's awesome!)

Invincible #34 (2006)

Atom Eve takes Mark Grayson's girlfriend, Amber Bennett, back to America; a future version of the Guardians of the Globe locate Invincible and bring him back to his home reality, but he learns something surprising from the future Atom Eve before he returns.

Spider-Man Unlimited #14 (2005)

The news of Spider-Man's clash with Doctor Octopus is reported.

Sensational Spider-Man #28 (2006)

The next Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus clash comes after Peter Parker publicly reveals his secret identity during SPIDER-MAN UNMASKED.

See how this story fits into the wider Marvel Universe continuity with these reading orders:

• AVENGERS: New Avengers (2004-2006)

Complete Invincible Library vol.2

Invincible vol.7: Three's Company

Invincible Compendium vol.1
Invincible Ultimate Collection vol.3

All include... 

Invincible #33

Marvel team-Up vol.3: League of Losers

Includes... 

Marvel Team-Up #14