Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club

STORM versus WONDER WOMAN
"The Showdown of the Century!"
Where: Marvel versus DC #3 When: April 1996
Writer: Ron Marz Artist: Dan Jurgens

The story so far...
Life in the DC and Marvel universes has always been tough, but when cosmic events conspire to endanger both, the heroes of both Earths face a secret crisis that could destroy them all.

Before time two cosmic entities existed, sexless brothers representing the two sides of all that is, was, and will ever be.

Turmoil between the two brought about an end to things as they once were, but in the aftermath their energies were dissipated into space, becoming part of the multi-verse. As a result of the actions of various beings of different realities, instabilities emerged. After eons of recollecting their fragmented thoughts, the two brothers turned, and remembered their existence.

Now they pit their warriors against one and other.

Tale of the tape...
By rights I think you have an immediate mismatch on two levels.

In stature; Wonder Woman stands at the pinnacle of the superhero ladder. As part of DC comics' trinity, Wonder Woman has reigned for sixty years as perhaps the most identifiable female characters in comic books.
On a canonical level, Wonder Woman's strength matches that of even the mighty Superman. Her Amazonian warrior instinct has also been played up in recent years, showing her to have a far greater destructive potential.

Strength: 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: 4 (Tactician)
Speed: 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: 1 (None)

Storm, though not as long lasting a character, hit her height in the nineties in an era of Jim Lee and the X-Men cartoon. As a leader she established herself as a strong female lead, whose powers to control the weather made her both useful in a tactical capacity, as well as offensive.

Unlike Wonder Woman, who was born an Amazonian, Storm's mutant gifts led her African fellows to believe her a Goddess under false pretences. Pretty clever premise for a fight, huh?

Strength: 2 (Normal Human)
Intelligence: 4 (Tactician)
Speed: 2 (Normal Human)
Stamina: 3 (Strong Willed)
Agility: 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: 5 (Lasers)

With Storm marrying Black Panther, one could imagine a scenario here where the two heroes could resolve a confrontation through diplomatic means. What is it they always say? If the world were run by women...
Let's be honest, if the world were run by women, there would only be peace because everyone was too confused about what the problem was supposed to be.

Alright, seriously... this is an interesting match up.
Both characters have high potential for destructive force, with Wonder Woman probably being the more obvious of the two. Her style involves direct (neck breaking) action, employing her incredible Amazon strength to disarm and harm.

Storm, generally more proficient when working with a team, is still quite a capable solo competitor. Her most notable offensive would be her ability to control lightning bolts in seemingly impossible situations.
This would without a doubt be her only chance against the Justice League beauty, and it's a very real one.

Coming down to the wire, I think the nature of the characters leans the outcome toward Wonder Woman. Her aggressive tact polarizes the more typically cerebral Storm, who could very easily be subdued before willingly attacking.

What went down...
As a result of the previous fight between Captain Marvel and Thor; Wonder Woman becomes the first DC character to possess the mighty hammer, Mjolnir.

Confronting her weather-riding foe, Wonder Woman deems it inappropriate to wield the weapon of Thor, considering it gave her such a substantial advantage. In the interest of fairness, she tosses the weapon aside, facing Storm as intended, with her own strengths rather than those of the Norse God.

The airborne combat begins, as Storm flaunts her powers. Wonder Woman declares her strength to more than a match for mere bad weather.
WW grapples with Storm's ankle, no doubt jarring her, but Storm is able to gather her barings as the two approach a rollercoaster.

Wonder Woman refuses to give up, but as Storm mercilessly attacks her with lightning bolt after lightning bolt, Wonder Woman has little choice but to submit to the awesome power of the heavens.

Storm asks forgiveness, and cradles the body of her fallen sister.

The hammer...
Well, if you had any doubts in the impartial nature of 'the tape' here's another cross next to my name. Storm, of course, picking up a decisive victory.

I think one would honestly have to attribute the victory to the time period. Today Storm has slipped into relative obscurity in titles like X-Treme X-Men, and her upcoming marriage to be followed up in the pages of Black Panther.

Conversely; with a feature film on the way to be directed by fan-favourite, Joss Whedon; things are certainly looking promising for Wonder Woman.
The character also features in the well received Justice League Unlimited cartoon, which likely surpasses the forgotten X-Men romp that likely served Storm so many votes.

Like other battles previously discussed, this is an insightful time capsule in the world of comics of the time. The nineties were dominated by many things, and it was here that the indomitable X-machine really got rolling. It is frankly surprising that the mini-series did not feature more X-Men characters; using only Wolverine and Storm in fight match-ups.

If you're just joining us, you'll no doubt be aware of technical problems that have the site on delay. I apologise for that, as your continued viewership is gratifying and greatly appreciated. I hope to have the blog back up and running soon.

The Fight: 2 The Issue: 4

NEXT FIGHT: The next stage of evolution faces off against the future itself.