QUICKSILVER versus PROFESSOR X

Mortal Coils (Marvel)
Where: Uncanny X-Men #306 When: November 1993

Why: Scott Lobdell How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
The funeral of Illyana Rasputin is interrupted with the return to Earth and Xavier's School by Magneto! The former New Mutants teacher has again taken up arms against homo-sapiens, declaring his intent to lead an army of Acolytes against humanity, with a final invitation for any loyal mutant to join he and his cause!

The escalation inevitably triggers world powers to initiate their Magneto Protocols to bar the Master of Magnetism from Earth itself, but it can only delay the inevitable as Magneto reaches a new apex in power and fervor, arming his Avalon space satellite with Shi'ar weapons stolen during his time with the X-Men.

Knowing the stakes are too high to allow his old friend to pursue a deadly manifesto unchallenged; Charles Xavier steels himself for a final confrontation between his X-Men and the mad revolutionary, recruiting Magneto's son -- Pietro Maximoff, Quicksilver -- for a final sparring session in the Danger Room. Preparation for a war that will decide the fate of all of humanity!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Quicksilver 2 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Professor X 5 (Professor)
Speed: Quicksilver 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Quicksilver 6 (Generator)
Agility: Quicksilver 2 (Average)
Fighting: Quicksilver 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Professor X 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Quicksilver 22 (Champion)

Quicksilver's super-human speed means he dominates any physical struggle with Professor X, but does the master telepath's command of the mind mean he need never lay a finger on even one as stubborn as the son of Magneto?

On the subject of the speed of thought: BBC Science Focus Magazine reports that some well-insulated nerves in the brain are estimated to transfer information at 120 metres per second, with awareness of sensory stimuli gained in as little reaction time as 50 milliseconds -- or faster.

Quicksilver was never quite as fast as The Flash, but according to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10 (published in 1986), Pietro Maximoff's top speed is 175mph -- a number that's only been increased as he's gone through various different phases in the decades since.

For a mind as acutely trained as Charles Xavier's, it's conceivable that his speed of thought, and reaction time, would be equal to or higher than most human peaks, but the same could be said of Quicksilver, whose movements must be governed by drastically heightened perception and mental processing.

Speed is Quicksilver's greatest weapon, but his temperament is often swift to anger, and his impulsiveness has led him to rush into a string of defeats.

Black Bolt proved the speed of an awesome sound could catch up with him in Vision and Scarlet Witch #10, while simple anticipation allowed Apocalypse to put a fist in his path in Uncanny X-Men #295, and DC's Robin, a rope-towing batarang, in Unlimited Access #3.

Most damning of all was an early encounter with the X-Men, when Jean Grey used the power of her mind to pluck a young Quicksilver off his feet and give him a good shaking. Professor X isn't known for using telekinesis, but it makes a case for psychic interference mitigating the speedster.

The Professor also isn't typically considered a field combatant, but in today's sparring session he's in war-mode, preparing for an epic confrontation with Magneto! The only way to draw any real conclusions is to see what happened!

The Tape: Quicksilver Ranking: Professor X (#418)

What Went Down...

In an instant the metal floor of The Danger Room falls away and reality is remade around two waiting combatants. The Shi'ar technology casts the pair into a void of space, where Charles Xavier can float equal with his weightless opponent.

The Professor reaches out with his formidable mind to communicate with Pietro Maximoff telepathically, but finds the psychic blur of a man as swift as Quicksilver!

Pietro passes through sensations of awe at the experience, reluctance to fight, and respect for Xavier's self-test in rapid succession. He throws a devastating punch -- sending Professor X reeling through space!

Xavier reaches out to catch an asteroid and pulls his body to a stop.

Beast announces a one minute warning from the control room, and Professor X vows to reveal a few tricks that will turn the tide of battle. His enjoyment of the combat simulation leaves Beast and Bishop a little unsettled.

Quicksilver arrives to encourage Xavier to admit to his weaknesses, but is himself caught by surprise when The Professor seizes upon his arrogance to blind him with a handful of space rock!

Xavier throws himself at Quicksilver with a diving tackle and accuses Pietro of making the same mistakes as Magneto: seeing only an opponent's weaknesses instead of their strengths!

Quicksilver breaks the hold and trades punches with Xavier, slamming the training gauntlet into The Professor's back, while absorbing a body blow.

The speedster reminds an increasingly motivated Xavier that he need not adopt Magneto's callous tactics, or abandon his moral core, to defeat the Master of Magnetism.

Professor X reflects on Magneto's past with the X-Men and his School for Gifted Youngsters. He supposes its time he tries his friend-turned-enemy's way.

Beast announces time is up on the training exercise as gravity returns to normal and the hi-tech metal walls of the Danger Room return to view.

The Hammer...

As you may have surmised from the cover: Uncanny X-Men #306 is essentially a spotlight issue for Archangel. It was released the month after the fateful final battle of X-Men #25, which means we already knew the outcome of the Fatal Attractions main event, which today's sparring session was preparing for.

Magneto and the Fatal Attractions crossover struck suddenly, which didn't leave a lot of time for exploring the depth of each characters' reactions.

Doubling back to Xavier's pre-fight preparations gives us further insight into the underlying philosophical push & pull of Magneto having tried things Xavier's way in the past [see also; New Mutants vs Hellfire Club] -- now urging him to walk (or wheel) a mile in his shoes.

Knowing exactly how far Professor X will have gone to defeat Magneto gives his training with Quicksilver an extra sense of foreboding.

Lobdell punctuates the Professor's script with uncharacteristic terseness, while the deep set eyes of John Romita Jr's pencils made Xavier's every grim and spiteful stare from beneath his brow stay with me all these years. Everything is a little bit off. From Xavier kitted up in the Danger Room, to his bitter resolve and dirty tactics. This is not the Professor who dreams of peaceful coexistence between fellow men. By hook or by crook, he readies for war.

This combative addendum is particularly interesting when viewed through the prism of Onslaught: the 1996 follow-up that adapted Xavier's decision -- to psychically obliterate Magneto -- into a malicious new persona that threatened the entire Marvel Universe.

As much as the act of sterilizing Magneto itself; this sparring session feels as if it reveals the philosophical feathering that allowed the deadly hybrid entity of Onslaught to grow within Xavier's psyche. The malice he buried, later personified and expelled, bearing a likeness of the man whose lingering mind he stole.

It's also a nice moment for Quicksilver.

He cannot wholeheartedly represent Xavier's dream, but he provides a proxy for the Professor's own integrity. Their sparring is as much combat of the body as it is the mind -- and who better to provide a sounding board than Magneto's son?

I always thought Pietro was brushed aside a little too easily in X-Men #25. He could've been a central figure in the dramatic peak of Magneto's antagonism, but I also sometimes forget how adequately their relationship was addressed. How many times does a son really need to be skewered by his father? We get it.

Of course, they did have subsequent meetings, when Quicksilver returned to his father's gravitational pull under circumstances I would describe as 'conventional', at least to other mediums.

Their regrouping was underscored by the unspoken hint of resignation that comes from returning a character to the simplicity of their circumstances some forty years prior. Ultimately, Quicksilver's separation from his roots was integral to his development. A character who ran a strange slalom through Avengers, Fantastic Four, Inhumans, and X-Factor, becoming a more interesting hero for it.

A tad arrogant, but at his most heroic, Quicksilver is perhaps at a definitive peak at this moment, sternly preparing Xavier for the ultimate battle with his father, in a series that began with the mutant speedster on the other side of the fight.

Plus: that blue & yellow X uniform with the zero-gravity training gauntlets looks pretty freaking cool. I know he ditched similar accessories in a funny costuming gag in X-Factor, but this one hits.

I don't mean to over inflate the significance of today's battle. It's ultimately a five page post-script to a far better known, and more consequential battle, but it has been on my mind all these many years, and I'm pleased to be talking about it with you, and making it part of our record.

Good comics aren't just about the big, staged set pieces everybody already knows about. It's these interesting little character pieces and asides that are the real glue that bind these books together, and make them interesting to read.

This result won't help Quicksilver get off the bottom of our rankings, but it's another interesting piece of his journey. I'm sure we'll find our way to talking more about that, and the Archangel conflict that's the real thrust of this issue.

If you'd like to help make that possible I'd be thrilled if you'd consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Along with the heartiest of thanks for helping me exist, patrons will receive additional updates, tangents, and options for customizable sponsored content, including featured fights, Top 10 Spotlights, and more.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked more than 1,000 characters! Find 'em all by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Or, just follow links throughout each post to discover more from your favourite topics!

You can get daily links to superhero smackdown inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to like, fave, and share posts, and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday!

Winner: Inconclusive (Time Limit Draw)
#415 (+3) Professor X
#1024 (--) Quicksilver

BATMAN versus RIDDLER

Who Riddled The Riddler? (DC)
Where: Batman #490 When: March 1993
Why: Doug Moench How: Jim Aparo

The Story So Far...
A note written in cut-out letters signals the return of The Riddler and his latest deadly puzzle: "What crowns just one but beats a dozen? Bim bam boom. Some percussion."

Commissioner Gordon summons a weak and weary Batman to crack the code, but the grim detective will be beaten to the solution by a man who has vowed to study his every move -- and break him!

With the midnight deadline fast approaching; Batman races to the belfry atop Gotham City Hall where The Riddler awaits -- but a brief encounter with another shadowy figure has changed The Riddler's game. Will Batman be ready?

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Batman 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Batman 29 (Metahuman)

Batman rarely has much to fear from a physical confrontation with Riddler. The puzzle-fiend's obsession with brain teasers lives in the mind -- but we're opening the Edward Nygma file with a very unusual case: Who Riddled The Riddler?

The answer is important: Bane was one step ahead of solving The Riddler's latest clue, and used his advantage over The Dark Knight to forcibly dart Riddler with a forty-eight hour dose of the powerful super-steroid called Venom!

Suddenly the slight, and sometimes meek, Riddler is developing some serious muscle, and even without years of combat training - it's enough to tear the stitching of his jacket and level the playing field with an unsuspecting Batman!

Preparation is a key component of Batman's uncanny ability to overcome superior opponents, but even he can be surprised. We saw The Joker make a getaway when cosmic unlikelihood caused distraction in Crisis on Infinite Earths #2, and outright defeat came when Alpha Lantern Kraken conspired during Final Crisis #2.

Not all surprises have to be cosmic in nature, but these dramatic unlikelihoods are comparable to the sudden muscle developed by Riddler. Made all the worse by Batman's recent bout with unexplained extreme fatigue and lingering anxiety!

Challenging Batman on the battlefield of the mind is one way to secure a victory, and although we give the intelligence edge to a broadly studied Batman in The Tape -- Riddler also earns a 5 for his expertise with complex strategy and concept analysis. With superior physical strength he becomes a formidable threat!

We all know the Venom super-steroid will eventually help Bane break Batman's back sometime after he mangled Killer Croc, but will the sudden boost delivered to Riddler result in victory? Let's solve the riddle by finding out!

The Tape: Batman Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...

A hulking shadow retreats to the darkness of a Gotham City belfry as the bell tolls midnight and Riddler is shaken from his bewilderment.

His bomb has begun its countdown -- much shorter than the deadline imposed by the chemical agent now coursing through his veins. He knows he must flee the coming explosion, but The Batman arrives to strike as suddenly as the dart that pumped Riddler full of venom!

Batman swings into the bell tower with 9 seconds on the clock, driving his feet into Riddler's waiting ribs.

It's a blow that would ordinarily put Riddler down for the count, but as his muscles begin to bulge through a question-marked green jacket, The Riddler feels no pain!

A straight punch to the face catches Batman completely unprepared!

His shock that Riddler is still standing is quickly replaced by bewildered analysis of incredible newfound speed and strength.

The Batman knows something is amiss, but with the seconds ticking away he must focus his efforts on dodging another lunging punch from The Riddler, whose confidence has suddenly skyrocketed.

Sidestepping the attempted blow, Batman counter-strikes with a well placed chop to the back of Riddler's neck. It does nothing!

Observing Riddler's "manic" aggression and enhanced skills, Batman detects the obvious presence of a drug. He can only suspect the involvement of his most recent arch-adversary - Bane.

The Bat ducks another stiff right-hand, leaving Riddler's fist to slam into the cold, hard stone of the bell tower.

The puzzler compels Batman to succumb to his blows, citing the deadly explosion that will come in just 5 seconds! The Dark Knight responds silently with another chop to the side of the head.

Batman considers the possibility that he may also be suffering weakness, but will have no time to further test the theory.

With 4 seconds on the clock -- Riddler desperately charges head-long towards the Dark Knight Detective in a desperate bid to clear the way!

Riddler leaps the belfry railing for the safety of the night, while Batman scrambles to use the information he learned during the fight to stall the swinging bell -- and halt the connected timer that will trigger the bomb!

With 1 second to spare, he fires his grappling hook around the striking mechanism and pulls it back from the bell. With his strength quickly fading, he tosses a batarang that shatters the detonator and ends the desperate struggle - for now.

The Hammer...

It can be surprising, after all this time, that we're still finding major characters to add to the fight club rankings. At the time of this writing we recently logged Black Knight, Blue Beetle, and Omega Red -- colourful characters you might've expected to factor in ahead of some of our more obscure entries.

The Riddler is certainly among the upper echelon of Batman rogues and recognizable DC Comics villains, but I'm not so sure he elicits the same degree of expectation as some of those more combative characters.

History shows that there are many Riddler confrontations for us to consider, but when I think of Batman's perpetually puzzling sparring partner - I don't think of a contest of fists, but rather a challenge of minds. Not exactly our usual domain.

My favourite incarnation of The Riddler is really quite meek. The quivering wreck of The Long Halloween comes to mind: with green blazer, bowler hat, and a constantly buzzing brain that seeks stimulation from challenging The Batman, or solving mysteries, as in that story, and the popular early 2010s incarnation.

Despite the concept lending itself to this physically unimpressive interpretation, earlier versions of the tights-wearing comic book villain could often be drawn quite muscular. In subverting his modern modus operandi with a dose of the Venom super-steroid, today's featured issue brings back the bulk, and puts him back in the classic question-marked tights for a titanic rematch.

Of course, despite the subversion, Batman #490 broadly serves as something of a return to form for what I'd call the definitive Riddler. It begins by resetting the villain from an even stranger early nineties tangent, which involved occult human sacrifice, costume zombies, and worshipping the demon Barbathos.

Though somewhat memorable, each of these excursions into experimentation were understood as temporary story-driven deviations, always returning to a more intuitive, iconic version of the character. I say this as writer/director Matt Reeves ignites enthusiasm for a very different interpretation in The Batman.

This new big screen vision eschews comic book reference to draw inspiration from elsewhere, notably the real-world "Zodiac" serial killer, and David Fincher's film based on related events, as well as some of his other works.

At a glance, this take has unfortunate ties with clichéd mid-2000s fan-fiction that took the blunt cues of Christopher Nolan, and imagined a Saw-inspired Johnny Depp portrayal, because this brand of grimy sadism has somehow become the poor man's version of "realism", preferable to a more forthcoming work of fiction.

As you can probably tell - I don't have a great deal of enthusiasm for this.

I'm bored with misery-sodden superhero adaptations, and an over abundance of pop culture bleakly glorifying the murderers and scumbags. A reset, or at least abundant available alternatives, feel overdue by more than a decade, but that's opening the door to a gauntlet of problems suffered by cinema, and pop culture as a whole. I should keep my grumbling a bit more focused.

The raincoated serial killer with a Harrods bag on his head has backstory that reminds me of the Hush storyline, but its wielded in all too typical fashion to make the world smaller, and a little less interesting. Antithetical to the comic book approach that birthed the shared universes movies are constantly chasing.

With many thousands of significant characters swirling around comics -- and room for many more -- my desire for film adaptation is always to see an iconic aggregate of what's on the page, maintaining all that makes a character distinct from any other that might soon join them in cinematic canon. On-model consistency that, admittedly, has become less reliable in comics, as well.

The majority of my irritation lies in the details, presentation, and weakly wielded references that appear preoccupied with other things, and much less interested in what's being adapted. Great creators make balancing broader awareness look easy, marrying external reference and inspiration with innate understanding and care for what its applied to. Yes, Riddler could kill, but he isn't a copycat killer.

He also isn't finished when our featured fight concludes! Which means we'll be able to come back for a rematch to discuss more about a Riddler enhanced with physical strength, and the unique place in time the issue takes place, between Death of Superman and Knightfall.

If you'd like to find more from the comic origins of your favourite characters you can follow links throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked in excess of 1,000 characters! If you'd like to help me continue creating more entries consider becoming a patron on Patreon. As a thank you you'll unlock extra updates, content, and options to sponsor your favourite topics in future articles.

Get more daily links to superhero smackdown inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing on Twitter and Facebook. Don't forget to like, fave, and share posts, and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday!

Winner: Inconclusive
#1 (--) Batman
#481 (new) The Riddler

VENOM versus SPIDER-MAN

Maximum Carnage, Part Five: Over The Line! (Marvel)
Where: Spectacular Spider-Man #201 When: June 1993 Why: JM DeMatteis How: Sal Buscema

The Story So Far...
Cletus Kasady has re-bonded with the Carnage symbiote and escaped the Ravencroft maximum security facility in a violent slaughter that spills into New York City! There he finds an adopted family of killers to take the massacre city-wide: Shriek, Doppelganger, and the Demogoblin!

After failing to stop them alone: Venom sought to rekindle a desperate alliance with his old enemy, Spider-Man -- but not even a team-up with Black Cat and the vengeful Cloak could stop the destruction! Now the heroes are fighting just to survive as a Manhattan Warehouse burns around them!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Venom 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Spider-Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Venom 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

The fallout from Chapter Four has left our heroes worse for wear, and at each other's throats, as Maximum Carnage continues!

Carnage and his adopted family of demented killers have been left to continue unabated after triggering a dramatic warehouse explosion -- and that's enough to strain the unlikely alliance between Venom and Spider-Man!

Die hard fight fans might want to skip ahead to coverage of Chapter Six, because this isn't really a battle on the same level as their classic clash in Amazing Spider-Man #347, or even the more obscure Spider-Man Family #2.

Venom has been drastically weakened by the symbiote's vulnerability to fire, and Spidey's mind is on rescuing Black Cat from the burning warehouse wreckage.

For a self-professed "Lethal Protector" like Eddie Brock it's difficult to accept that Spider-Man would choose rescuing an ally over stopping the murder spree that could continue at the hands of Carnage and his crew.

Venom's skewed sense of justice has pitted him against various heroes and would-be allies over the years, such as Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and even DC's Superman. With an old enemy like Peter Parker an alliance is extra dicey, and his sense of responsibility for the creation of Carnage makes it all the more personal!

History: Spider-Man (1-0-1)

The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...

The alien symbiote drips from Eddie Brock's body like a thick ooze as he struggles to crawl through the broken beams & boarding of an unknown rock band's burning storage warehouse.

The massive fire drastically weakens the living costume that supplies Venom with his powers, but still he furiously compels Spider-Man to leave the inferno and resume pursuit of Carnage and his cadre of killers.

Spidey feels confident enough to leave Venom to fend for himself, while he goes deeper into the wreckage to rescue Black Cat from certain immolation!

Brock crawls his way out of the burning building, desperately attempting not to save his own life but those of countless others who might be killed by Carnage.

The crawl becomes a stumble as Brock rises to his feet - only to collapse back down into near unconsciousness as the building behind him explodes!

With Black Cat safely under his arm, Spider-Man soon arrives upon Eddie Brock: face down and motionless with tar-like strips strewn across his body.

They slowly begin to thicken as the symbiote revivifies and Venom regains his strength.

Spidey gently helps a rattled Black Cat to the ground, while Venom rises to his feet, suddenly enveloped in his customary black costume. He asks about Spider-Man's success stopping Carnage -- and doesn't like the answer he gets.

Incensed by Spider-Man's refusal to leave Black Cat to "roast" -- Venom lunges at his temporary ally with talon-like claws narrowly missing his injured ribs!

They question each other's sanity and ethics, with Spider-Man deeming a decision to leave either of his allies to die tantamount to murder. It's a prospect that inspires violent ideas for reprisal in the dual minds of Venom.

Black Cat enters the fray to cool things down: "You're really a piece of work, Brock! You get mad at the spider for saving me -- then waste time trying to bash his head in, while those maniacs get farther and farther away!"

The wake-up call steers Venom's rage towards the Cat, but what bruises his ego most is that she's absolutely right. The real enemy is Carnage.

The Hammer...

The tension is ratcheting up, but I think it's fair to say this wasn't much of a fight. Venom threw the only actual punch, and the rest is verbal sparring and philosophical differences. A non-starter ended by everyone getting back on the same page -- kinda...

You might've expected Black Cat to be the hero who calls it quits after a building collapsed on her, but it's actually Spider-Man who decides the alliance isn't working out for him. He simply cannot reconcile with the cutthroat tactics Venom demands -- and Black Cat is agreeing with.

After berating her former squeeze for treating her like a lowly damsel needing rescue; Cat further chides him for choosing her life over the countless lives Carnage could already be taking elsewhere in the city.

It's a moral split that actually sees an irate Black Cat following Venom back into battle, despite a violent history together, and his total willingness to throw her life away.

The duo will reconvene with Cloak on Fifth Avenue, where arriving mere minutes after reports of Carnage's rampage will mean more lives lost to the senseless slaughter.

So far every chapter of Maximum Carnage has featured one or more big battles, but Part Five sadly scales back the serious superhero smackdown right as master of action Sal Buscema joins the party! What we're left with is a couple of short skirmishes and near misses, but there was no way I was going to skip this issue!

Spectacular Spider-Man #201 ignites the fire of the crossover by following up the explosive previous chapter with a heavy sense of consequence and drama.

The issue might see heroes and villains returning to their respective corners, but there's no shortage of action and excitement. In fact, this always struck me as one of the most impactful issues of the Maximum Carnage crossover.

It seemed like Venom and Black Cat were going to tip the scales back in favour of the good guys, but all they really did was accumulate more injuries.

The issue announces its drama with the very first page: A surprisingly cinematic opening, despite its use of a traditional 9 panel grid.

On either side of Page 1 is a column of three panels, each showing an intense close-up of a roaring inferno. They're interspersed with discrete narration boxes for creator credits. Buscema's inks generate a sense of violent animation, given blistering heat by colorist Bob Sharen's use of vivid yellows, orange, and white.

Down the centre of the page are three claustrophobic mugshots: our heroes -- each showing distinct signs of distress!

If the cliffhanger of Black Cat's torn glove poking out of warehouse wreckage got your mind racing at the end of the previous issue -- her wide-eyed grimace, face pouring with sweat, makes the danger all the more personal, and kicks the drama up a whole extra level right on Buscema's first page!

Below the cat is Venom: mouth agape, with symbiote bleeding away to reveal Eddie Brock's barely open right eye. The salivating, bulging monster responsible for so much terror in previous Spider-Man stories is gone -- reduced to a pathetic mortal barely able to act. The situation is real bad for the good guys.

Something about the destruction of that warehouse, and seeing our heroes in such a vulnerable and battered state was arresting. Spidey is already nursing busted ribs from Chapter One, which were aggravated in Chapter Two. That was also the battle that appeared to claim the life of Dagger, which we learn has left Cloak experiencing bouts of dizziness and weakness.

There's an obvious physical toll mounting throughout each issue, but the mental strain is showing, too. That will continue to permeate the story as the heroes endure further punishment, and New York City itself becomes engulfed in violent madness as Carnage's killing spree inspires a wave of likeminded acts.

When I was doing my best to cobble the event together from newsstands back in 1993 -- this was the issue that convinced me it was a story unlike most from Marvel. I didn't have the frame of reference back then, but it strikes me that the format is similar to the saga structures more common in Shonen Jump manga. There's a late era Dragon Ball Z vibe to the weight of temporary defeat, inter-personal drama, and city-wide destruction the heroes will later discover.

We love blockbuster superhero fights on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, but to put it all into perspective, it helps to take stock of the little battles, as well. Today's skirmish provides context for future installments, while also reminding us that the classic Venom/Spidey rivalry doesn't always erupt into a fight to the death.

If you crave a more substantial struggle -- we've got you covered! You can find well over 600 featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number by diving in to the Secret Archive! Or follow links throughout this post to uncover key issues and specific topics relevant to your interests.

You can get ahead of the reading and see the whole thing for yourself by picking up a collected edition of the Maximum Carnage storyline. By using Amazon links provided to do any of your online shopping you'll not only get a convenient deal, but also be supporting the site at no extra cost!

If you're a real true believer you can support the project directly by becoming a Patreon subscriber for as little as $1 a month!Your contribution will help the site (and me) continue to thrive. As a thank you you'll gain access to extra updates, polls, and the chance to sponsor future articles!

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#16 (--) Venom (Symbiote)
#50 (--) Venom (Eddie Brock)
#136 (+2) Black Cat [+1 assist]

HARDAWAY versus MUTANT LIBERATION FRONT

Liberation Through Subjugation (Marvel)
Where: X-Force #27 When: October 1993
Why: Fabian Nicieza How: Matt Broome

The Story So Far...
Sprung from the Roanoke Maximum Security Federal Penitentiary -- The Mutant Liberation Front has returned to serve the whims of a mysterious new revolutionary called Reignfire!

The first mission under their new leader is a demonstration of power and intent! The United States government has begun development of a new anti-mutant elimination program dubbed Project: Wideawake. The MLF will strike at its heart by kidnapping and assassinating program director Henry Peter Gyrich -- they just need to get to him first!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Forearm 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 2 (Average)
Speed: Tempo 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Forearm 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Hardaway 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Moonstar 4 (Trained)
Energy: Locus 5 (Lasers)
Total: Moonstar 20 (Champion)

Basketball fans of the era might remember Golden State's Tim Hardaway for his killer crossover -- but this Hardaway is a golden killer of a very different kind!

He's basically the answer to what if the T-1000 came from the early nineties instead of the future? A prototype cyborg working for Henry Peter Gyrich; he was intended to be the first in a series of mutant-slaying "biosentries" that never eventuated.

Hardaway is fast and agile, despite a bulky torso encumbered by metal housing, and tubes that supply various cybernetic enhancements. He can evade sensory attacks with automated scanners, while shape-shifting liquid metal limbs offer him diverse offensive options including various blades and bludgeoning configurations.

The Mutant Liberation Front are: Wildside, Tempo, Reaper, Forearm, Moonstar, and Locus.

Although he is still human, Hardaway's cybernetics should negate the psychic weapons used primarily by Wildside and Moonstar. Their telepathically induced visions are easily seen through by circuits and electronic sensors.

Forearm might be able to outmuscle Hardaway's enhanced strength, while a well placed swing of Reaper's scythe could potentially cut through very prominent tubing extending from Hardaway's helmet and arms. That could presumably interrupt some of his cybernetic functions.

The real aces in this deck seem to be Tempo and Locus.

Flight and energy blasts give them equal maneuverability and ranged potential, but its their unique mutant powers that are the most compelling.

Tempo's ability to manipulate time in a focused area was usually used for speed and could severely slow Hardaway's processors. If that doesn't work: Locus could simply teleport him somewhere perilous -- or parts of him!

The Tape: Mutant Liberation Front Ranking: Moonstar (#609)

What Went Down...

Wildside mocks the lifeless flesh & bone of the freshly killed security guard he's holding in his hands. Even his own teammates Tempo and Forearm react with scorn, but Reaper would rather his bloodlust be sated by someone other than him.

Forearm is settled by the relief of only finding human security guards standing in their path. He doesn't notice the shadowy figure watching from the treetop above.

Observing from his own vantage point in a surveillance room: Henry Peter Gyrich orders the activation of his prototype killer -- a cyborg called Hardaway!

Hardaway bares his long talon-like claws and leaps into action -- slicing through Forearm's exposed back just as the so-called liberator is remarking on expecting better security.

Reaper is the first to react, but he doesn't even see who hit him!

Hardaway announces himself as the first of an army of biosentries who will end mutant life. His metallic cyborg limbs shift and twist, reshaping themselves into a giant fist and long scythe! Reaper drops, narrowly avoiding the blade's swing!

Tempo activates her temporal flux in an effort to slow the cyborg down, and orders Wildside to attack his senses. Psionic assaults Hardaway can adapt to by switching to machine-controlled cybernetic systems!

His bearings restored: Hardaway extends a liquid-metal arm high into the sky and snares the airborne Tempo with a massive hand! It proves a temporary measure.

The cyborg's metallic skull erupts with energy as a neural arrow suddenly pierces his mind! An attack that signals the arrival of Moonstar and Locus!

The perfect timing saves Tempo from being crushed by the cyborg's discomforting grip.

Hardaway drops face-down on the ground, wracked with the horrifying agony of reliving his wife and son's deaths. The torturous living nightmare of Moonstar's neural weapons!

Locus steps in to end the suffering in the most violent way imaginable.

Hardaway screams a bloodcurdling duet only possible of a being who is both part man and machine, his body and cybernetics sliced in twain as Locus teleports part of him to another location!

The Hammer...
If it seemed like Hardaway might be an exciting new find you'd never heard of -- I'm afraid I have some bad news...

By teleporting the lower half of his body someplace else: Locus ended the "biosentry" program before it ever really started. A textbook one hit wonder who made his first & last appearance in X-Force #27.

I didn't really expect to find myself talking about the Mutant Liberation Front, but Marvel's recently announced X-Men Vote got me enthusiastically rummaging through back issues for something a little bit different.

The fan survey will decide the final member of a new Krakoan Age X-Men team based on the most popular choice from: Banshee, Forge, Polaris, Cannonball, Sunspot, Boom Boom, Marrow, Strong Guy, Armor, and Tempo.

There are a few characters there we haven't featured at the time of this writing, but of all the options on the poll: Tempo ranks as the most unusual.

The image they used is what I presume to be a more recent design. It kinda looks like one of Moonstone's old castoffs - a tight gold helmet with fin. A pale shadow of the joyously absurd buckethead from her original appearances!

My clearest memories of Tempo have always revolved around that helmet. I didn't even fully realise the nature of her powers. It almost seemed to be she could fly and move fast. Like a human bullet. I didn't realise she was manipulating time.

The bullet-like helmet reminds me slightly of the ridiculousness of Juggernaut, but its flat base gives it even more clunky charm.

For a while it seemed like it existed purely to be crumpled. As if every artist was keen to render a human head inside geometrically dented metal. That kind of thing seemed to reoccur in X-Force a lot, but maybe I'm exaggerating.

I wasn't a faithful reader, so it might be coincidence that every time I found an issue accidentally in my possession, it involved one of the MLF -- usually Reaper -- losing a body part. A Liefeldian trope presumably held over from the boyhood trauma of seeing Luke Skywalker's hand severed in The Empire Strikes Back.

By 1993 Rob Liefeld had long since departed for the co-founding of Image Comics, but the first page credits of X-Force #27 promise "AN X-F 911 IYF JAM" that feels very indebted to him.

Even a new creation, like Hardaway, seems like it would be right at home in any Extreme Studios Rob Liefeld series. It kinda smacks of something you might see in Silvestri's CyberForce too, though.

Locus is one of the only other characters in X-Force #27 that hasn't been directly touched by Liefeld. She's another new creation, making her first appearance not only in this issue, but in the fight featured in today's article.

She isn't given any special introductory consideration. She just shows up with Moonstar as if an already established character. That might imply a frivolity to the action and a general indifference to storytelling, but it also speaks to the wild and fast-moving times of the early nineties. It's kind of a nice way to do it. Pair the newbie up with established characters and sort out the detail later.

Locus might not feel particularly Liefeldian as a design or concept, but her abrupt introduction does. The original MLF kinda showed up out of nowhere, too. A late afterthought to an out-of-place Vulture appearance in New Mutants #86.

I kinda like Locus. She's an upgrade from the MLF's previous teleporting transport character - the blank-faced Zero. She also provides a distinguishing flourish for a new era of the MLF: re-formed under the directive of new mastermind Reignfire.

I like the general idea of a "Mutant Liberation Front", but in any of their incarnations they seem to largely function as a stock-standard troupe of sadistic super-villains. The idealism seems lost beneath the carnage and eviscerating, even when their target is a notorious mutant-hater like Gyrich.

At some point in the future we'll return to look more closely at the MLF and their extreme brand of mutant mayhem. With introductions out of the way, we can see how they perform against X-Force themselves!

This unlikely spotlight has brought us racing to the major milestone of ranking our 1000th character! You can see where all of today's players finished a little further down. You can also see more from last year's Countdown to 1000 by becoming a supporter on Patreon!

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Winners: Locus & Moonstar
#207 (new) Locus [+1 kill]
#358 (+251) Moonstar
#602 (new) Wildside [+1 assist]
#603 (new) Reaper [+1 assist]
#604 (new) Tempo [+1 assist]
#605 (new) Forearm [+1 assist]
#947 (new) Hardaway