DEADPOOL versus WOLVERINE

It's D-D-Deadpool, Folks! (Marvel)
Where: Wolverine #88 When: December 1994
Why: Larry Hama How: Adam Kubert & Fabio Laguna

The Story So Far...
Wolverine heads to San Francisco to look-in on one of the newest generations of Weapon X graduates. He promised old Alpha Flight acquaintance, James Hudson, he would, but if he thought there'd be tea and biscuits waiting at the home of Garrison Kane -- he was dead wrong!

The door has already been blown off its hinges -- and Wolverine is in for a fight as his house call brings him face to face with yet another Weapon X subject turned mercenary: Deadpool!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wolverine 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Wolverine 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Deadpool 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Deadpool 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Deadpool 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Draw 26 (Metahuman)

Their connections through Weapon X have made them natural rivals, but just how deep does the conflict between Deadpool and Wolverine run? They've teamed up on the big screen for the Deadpool & Wolverine movie, but let's see what happened the first time they crossed sword & claw in Marvel Comics!

The truth is: Wade Wilson doesn't exactly have any big problem with Wolverine. If there's any bad blood between them -- it's the genetic tampering of Weapon X, who managed to graft a version of Wolverine's healing factor to the future Deadpool.

Wilson was part of a later iteration of the joint US-Canadian experimental super-human research & development program. He didn't serve alongside Wolverine, so their interactions were minimal prior to today's meeting.

If Deadpool has beef - it's with scumbags like Ajax, who tortured him during his stay at The Hospice, after cancer relapse interfered with his healing factor, and he was left hideously disfigured, and discarded as an ineligible failure by Weapon X.

In a classic case of departmental government incompetence: Deadpool did just fine -- leading an escape from Dr. Killebrew's ethically dubious experiments at the Hospice facility. This allowed Wade to go out on his own, applying his skills as a marksman, hand-to-hand combatant, and manic street preacher, becoming the ultra-agile, quick-witted Merc' with a Mouth you know and love!

Taking Wolverine on is a pretty big assignment, but DP's never been afraid of a challenge! He stared down the Juggernaut without flinching, and even scored a surprise upset win over the Hulk! That's something even Wolverine struggled with!

Don't be fooled by his goofy demeanor. His incessant quipping speaks to a quickly adapting approach to fighting, and deliberate distraction tactic, formulating unconventional strategies that have bewildered highly-skilled opponents like Taskmaster, Batroc The Leaper, Daredevil, and Punisher.

Deadpool might not share the razor-sharp claws or adamantium-laced metal skeleton Wolverine has, but he does carry an array of convenient and lethal weaponry, such as twin katanas, sophisticated high-powered guns, and a personal teleportation device. Oh, and on the subject of bones, he's catching Wolverine with his adamantium down -- still suffering the aftermath of Magneto stripping it.

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Wolverine (#5)

What Went Down...

Finding the front door of Garrison Kane's apartment dangling from its hinges like splintered salvage wood -- Wolverine rips away his civilian clothes and prepares for trouble inside. He soon finds it. Kane isn't home!

Deadpool leaps down the stairs and opens fire with a high-powered gun!

Heckuva greeting.

Wolverine hunkers down deep on one knee, ducking the blast and setting himself for a rising uppercut. He comes up right beneath Deadpool -- ripping through his mid-section and right bicep with a slash of bone claws!

Deadpool wants to know where Kane has gone with his former favourite girl -- but Wolverine sure as hell isn't telling if he knows.

The mercenary trades clumsy barbs with rhyming names, yapping about his fully functioning healing factor as he leaps over Wolverine's claws -- swinging his out-stretched leg back around to kick the solo X-Man in the face!

Deadpool draws a sword in each hand and lets Wolverine know he's fully aware that the X-Man's healing factor isn't what it used to be since the adamantium was ripped from his bones. Wolverine talks tough.

"Aww! Did mean old Deadpool make liddle-biddy Wolvy-wiggums all upset? Wait'll I slice and dice your face -- that oughtta take the sunshine outta your day and twist your mad dial up to ten!"

They charge at each other. Deadpool twirling his swords overhead, Wolverine with his claws out stretched. Neither weapon is a direct factor when they connect.

Wolverine sails through the air -- his boot blasting Deadpool on the jaw.

It seems to silence the Merc' with a Mouth for a moment, but it's all just a cunning act. A gambit to position himself beneath Wolverine's descent -- so twin swords can swing overhead and stab through his torso and puncture his lungs!

A twinge of wide-eyed realization hits Wolverine as the blades exit and the wound proves severe enough to drop him like a sack of potatoes.

The Hammer...

We recently put the first fight between Sabretooth & Wolverine under the microscope, and while it wasn't the flesh-ripping main event showdown you might imagine for such a famous vendetta -- it at least has a palpable sense of heat - building towards a high-stakes rematch in fast turnaround.

It successfully lays the foundation for decades of future rematches to come.

Not so much for Deadpool and Wolverine...

If it wasn't for the boldly iconic, silhouetted graphic design of the Adam Kubert cover, and the accumulated mainstream cult interest of the Deadpool character -- I'm not sure this first fight would warrant anywhere near as much attention, or exaggerated value on the secondary market.

It all depends on how much stock you put into the Deadpool/Wolverine rivalry.

Disney and Marvel Studios are clearly investing big: the characters are hitting the big screen, with novelty popcorn bucket, in a highly anticipated headlining sequel, Deadpool and Wolverine -- but where did it all start?

It took four years for Deadpool to find his way to Wolverine. Four nineties years. Deadpool had already been through two of his own mini-series at this point [see; Sins of the Past], as well as a litany of X-Force appearances, and odd guest spots. He shared the page with Doctor Druid and Black Knight before he met Wolverine!

Sure, names were thrown around, and a Weapon X connection was clearly established early, but when you get right down to it -- Wolverine and Deadpool themselves just didn't have that much to do with each other. A connection was there, but the depth was largely imagined, living in the minds of hopeful fanboys.

Wolverine #88 offers insight into how flimsy and inconsequential the relationship between Deadpool & Wolverine was. What compelling reason finally brought them together on the page? We might speculate it was a basic need for material for a monthly issue, and a chance to capitalize on a fan-favourite dream match, but the grand story presented in this issue was...

They're basically just two ships passing in the night. Incidental opponents. Just a day in the life of Wolverine: out doing a favour for a mutual acquaintance he famously doesn't get along with, by looking in on another character he has very little to do with, but is inevitably associated with in the minds of readers: Garrison Kane, aka; "Weapon X".

Deadpool's entire motivation here is jealousy over Kane shacking up with his ex-girlfriend Copycat. We remember her from Deadpool's first appearance in New Mutants #98, where she was disguised as Domino. This plot continues when the series is relaunched as X-Force, and develops mutual ties amongst the three players with Cable. A character with more reason to be here than Wolverine.

Which isn't to say any of this shouldn't be happening! I was on board with Deadpool back in those days, and the thought that he would fight Wolverine tickled me pink! In fact, my ties with this issue go back to its release on the racks, when I spotted it in pride of place below the counter of a local service station, but passed it by. Every reader has their 'one(s) that got away'. I guess this is one of mine. Although becoming more familiar with the material lessened the blow.

I enjoy when comic book plotlines and characters weave through unexpected places, and create unexpected new bonds and relationships. I like that we have a bombastic fight between Deadpool and Wolverine as a result. It's just that it serves as a reminder that these two characters just don't have any business being as closely associated as rivals, or "frenemies", as people think they are. That came so much later, and arguably only because people thought it was a thing.

I dunno. It kinda smacks of some of the shoddier writing that came out of Rob Liefeld's reign with these X-characters, putting desire ahead of delivery, cart before horse, tail before dog, but you gotta take the bad with the good. I don't think the impulse to get the characters together is a mistake. It's worth doing.

Adam Kubert's layouts, especially for the Deadpool fight sequences, are positively Liefeldian, losing a little bit of focus in the skinny paneled chaos, but just barely holding it together enough to make the wild, frenetic action enjoyable. It makes selecting panels for discreet scanning difficult, but [Kubert] does return to more conventional panel grids for some of the in-between stuff, so it's not a bad read.

Page 1 is an Adam Kubert special: with iconic Wolverine basically in-costume (complete with mask), but still in the process of shredding his shirt and undoing his pants. He's standing at what's left of Kane's front door - a twisted and split assemblage of wooden planks and metal accessories. Smoke swirls at Wolverine's feet, framed to look up at him for heroic impact. Yeah, it's silly, but kinda cool.

I don't know if this issue is really the most compelling case for it, but I miss those days of a quick, simple, action-packed monthly issue I can grab from the rack, cheap and dirty. Anticipation for next month, even when the results are mixed.

There is more fighting to be found in this issue, and since that's kind of our thing, I'm not entirely putting this issue to rest. I'd also really like to get to some of those stranger skirmishes Deadpool found himself back in those days, too.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1,000 characters! You can find them all by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of battles in order of publisher, series, and issue -- or by hitting links to your favourite characters, series, and topics found throughout each entry.

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Winner: Deadpool
#23 (+7) Deadpool
#5 (--) Wolverine

VENOM versus GHOST RIDER

Spirits of Venom Part 4 of 4: Last Rites (Marvel)
Where: Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #6 When: January 1993 Why: Howard Mackie How: Adam Kubert

The Story So Far...
Supernatural forces conspire in the night as New York City plays host to a bizarre gathering of occult entities! While Spider-man scrambles to protect Hobgoblin from the evil Demogoblin and Doppelganger -- the progeny of Deathwatch prepares for his resurrection below, drawing Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, and Venom!

The forces of darkness threaten to consume the heroes when they converge in the underground of Manhattan's sewers. Against overwhelming odds, the heroes prevail over endless hordes of Deathspawn, but when Venom's hatred for Spider-man gets the better of him, Ghost Rider steps into the line of fire!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Venom 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 2 (Average)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Ghost Rider 6 (Generator)
Agility: Venom 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Ghost Rider 5 (Lasers)
Total: Ghost Rider 25 (Champion)

You only need to look at the character mugshots above to see the elephant in the room! Venom has two well known weaknesses - and one of them is fire!

Ghost Rider may have a burning skull for a head, but that's no ordinary flame! When Danny Ketch touched a gas cap sigil on a mystic motorcycle, he was transformed into a demonic spirit of vengeance! Among his occult arsenal of infernal powers is hellfire, which scorches the soul, but not necessarily the flesh!

Hellfire has sometimes been described as being cold upon contact, which is a simple distinction from the burning that usually sends the Venom symbiote into pained frenzy! We saw Venom go relatively unbothered by hellfire when he went up against Demogoblin in Venom: The Enemy Within #3.

If fire isn't going to send Venom running, then we can at least expect this to be a pretty even fight! We're giving Venom a slight strength advantage, as Danny Ketch was often shown to be a little weaker in practice than Johnny Blaze was.

Blaze isn't irrelevant in this encounter! The previous spirit of vengeance, now stripped of his powers save for a hellfire shotgun, is in the midst of partnering with the new Ghost Rider. He's still in the vicinity, as the trio were, until this point, part of a team-up against the deathspawn cult of Deathwatch!

Symbiote tendrils and Ghost Rider's chain roughly cancel each other out, but in close quarters, could give Venom a slight edge. If he tries to pull the rider in, however, he runs the risk of gazing into the abyss of the penance stare!

Venom is two entities in one: Eddie Brock and the alien symbiote. It's unclear how the penance stare would interact with their unique dual psyche, or if it would even matter. Venom has done terrible things, but he acts in accordance with the twisted morality of a self-proclaimed lethal protector. The symbiote found Brock praying in a church, and penance may not be something he fears!

Dan Ketch's stare proved powerful enough to overwhelm Johnny Blaze, when he served the angel Zadkiel many years after this, in Ghost Rider #29! Will it be a factor? Halloween's coming up quick! Let's see what went down!

The Tape: Ghost Rider Ranking: Venom (#67)

What Went Down...
Halted from pursuing his bitter vendetta with Spider-man; Venom turns his hatred toward the binding chains of Ghost Rider! For allowing Spider-man to escape, the spirit of vengeance who was briefly Venom's ally has earned death!

Venom leaps at Ghost Rider, extending a massive alien-enhanced arm as he does. His fist only narrowly misses its target, smashing through the sewer wall immediately behind Ghost Rider's flaming skull!

The Rider attempts to talk reason into Venom, reminding him of the true threat of Deathwatch's deathspawn, but the mutual hatred shared by Eddie Brock and his alien costume will allow nothing else! So intense is their hatred for Spider-man that they dare question the demon spirit's grasp of true vengeance!

Venom clamps his massive teeth around Ghost Rider's wrist and swings his head around to toss him across the sewer!

The throw separates Ghost Rider from his mystic chain. Venom picks it up and launches himself at the struggling spirit, flexing mighty muscle driven by a mad, misdirected lust for revenge against Spider-man!

Ghost Rider finds his back to the ground as Venom bares down over him, pulling the chain ever tighter around his neck! Venom makes a crazed vow to use his own weapon to rip his head off, if Ghost Rider insists on getting in his way.

With his head still in tact, Ghost Rider glares up at his opponent and invites him to meet the searing gaze of his penance stare!

Fire streams from Ghost Rider's eye sockets and licks at the alien costume's wide white eyes! The flame engulfs Venom as the demon challenges him to face the very pain and suffering he has inflicted upon others!

Venom is surprised to find the fire doesn't burn, but he is never the less wracked with pain! He snares and grunts, but his isn't the only discomfort! The fire begins to burn more intensely as Ghost Rider realizes Venom's alien costume is a living sentient entity! A factor that causes an unknown reaction!

An explosion of hellfire breaks the penance stare - throwing the two combatants in opposite directions!

Flames flicker across the battlefield, but only one combatant lies motionless: Ghost Rider! Venom rises to continue his misguided grudge against the demon of vengeance, but a shotgun barrel pressing against his head warrants a stay of execution. Johnny Blaze arrives just in time to stop the finishing blow!

The Hammer...
So, what have we learned today?..

Apparently if Ghost Rider tries to use the penance stare on Venom: it causes some kind of explosive feedback-loop that spares symbiote & host the full effect!

Why exactly is that? There doesn't seem to be any explanation offered here, but it might have had something to do with the alien's vast cosmic experience prior to being brought to Earth.

Two decades later, the symbiote was described as having "too much sin" in Thunderbolts (Vol.2) #23, when Johnny Blaze tried to use the penance stare on Agent Venom. The end result was similar, shorting out the Rider's powers.

Being too guilty for penance is a slightly ridiculous way of framing the unusual exception, but perhaps there's a more satisfying way of looking at it...

Spirits of Vengeance are derived from the realms of Heaven & Hell. Their penance stare weaponizes the esoteric power of an individual's sins.

High-ranking devils and demons are also frequently seen to draw their power from evil & sin. If Ghost Rider is an agent of these higher demons (or angels), unable to dominate them, it stands to reason within the internal logic of the mythology, that there is a threshold for sin being greater than Ghost Rider's ability to utilize it.

This all presumes the Venom symbiote has a staggering history of evil, which may be more difficult to accept, particularly with expansions and revisions to the symbiote backstory. Personally, I think some ambiguity is for best, so I'm happy not to go too deep into the world of "Klyntar". Not yet, at least.

It's fun to think about the chemistry of how unique characters interact, but I'm not sure this much handwringing is really necessary. Spirits of Venom is liquid 1993, crossing over two of Marvel's most visual characters, in the hands of one of their emerging popular artists. It's all about spectacle!

Adam Kubert shows moments of brilliance, leading with a full page POV from the back of Venom's throat on Page 1! You can see part of the image included above, sans credits. It's a great way to exploit Venom's ever-gaping mouth and makes for an awesome open!

Things get a little sketchy from there as the action, initiated by the end of Web of Spider-man #96, gets going, but it soon delivers another great moment. The fire pouring out of Ghost Rider and enveloping Venom [also pictured above] is an example of the really exciting, inventive layouts Kubert cranked out here!

Inker Bill Reinhold and colorist Greg Wright deserve a lot of credit for adding to the look of the issue! A lot of these early nineties Midnight Sons superhero-horror series had a similar look. It's a mistake to think of them as dark. Actually, they frequently had vivid colours and bright light reference! These were the supernatural glows that created the dark shadows people remember.

I really love the glowing purples and greens, and the way they pop against dark blues, greys, and blacks. The stories themselves could get pretty dodgy, but the finished artwork, particularly in the first couple of years, always seemed to have a high gloss that evoked a signature style and standard of quality.

All the interiors arguably pale compared to the Spirits of Venom Part 4 cover by Kubert and Ken Steacy! The image [page top] of an upside down Venom holding Ghost Rider's flaming skull in a chain was recreated in different mediums throughout the early nineties. I particularly recall a brighter version used in the first series of Marvel Flair trading cards - memorable for the thickness of their cardstock, and premium price. It sure helped mythologize the crossover!

Spirits of Venom plays up supernatural plotlines of Jason Macendale and the excised Demogoblin, creating a fairly natural crossover between the third string Spider-man series and secondary Ghost Rider title. It all feels a little gratuitous, but the concerns and motivations of the lead characters are actually pretty well represented. Even if its four issues of everyone raging incoherently through the sewers against each other, generic demons, and low rent villains.

The four-issue "event" really pales in comparison to Maximum Carnage from the same year, but it's an interesting artefact of its time, and I imagine we'll be back to pick apart some of the other conflicts that unfolded. As noted: Johnny Blaze stepped in to follow-up simmering tensions between he and Venom.

If you'd like to follow-up on more Spirits of Venom, or other stories, dive into the Secret Archive for a full index of featured fights organized by publisher, series, and issue number!

You can also find more battles by following links throughout this post, or following Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook! Sharing and liking your favourite fights is a great way to support the site! October is Halloween, so stay tuned for more horrors!

Winner: Venom
#16 (+1) Venom (Symbiote)
#42 (+25) Venom (Eddie Brock)
#362 (-44) Ghost Rider (Dan Ketch)

ONSLAUGHT versus X-MEN
Traitor to the Cause (Marvel)
Where: Onslaught: X-Men #1 When: August 1996
Why: Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid
How: Adam Kubert & Dan Green

The Story So Far...
When the Juggernaut falls from the heavens to crash land in Hoboken, it begins the mystery of a new villain who will attack the X-Men at their most personal core. The entity called Onslaught contacts Grey in an effort to recruit her into his mission to destroy the divide between humans and mutants, but before she can submit, the Juggernaut reveals to her the true identity of the armored monster.

Having overcome the mutant forebarer Post; the X-Men find themselves summoned to Charles Xavier's headquarters when the search for an attacking Juggernaut is called off. Little do they realise the Juggernaut is trapped within the crimson gem of Cytorrak sitting on a desk right under their nose, and the true enemy that endangers all of them is right before them -- Professor X!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Onslaught 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Dark Beast 6 (Genius)
Speed: Cannonball 5 (Superhuman)
Stamina: Onslaught 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Ice Man 7 (Malleable)
Fighting Ability: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy Power: Onslaught 6 (Mass Destruction)


- When Magneto, inspired by a near death experience, declared war on humanity, it prompted the initiation of the Magneto Protocols. From his orbital station, Avalon, the master of magnetism plunges the Earth into darkness with an EMP that destroys the protocol's electro-magnetic fence around the Earth, along with all electronic technology on the planet. In an effort to prevent further escalation, Professor Charles Xavier leads the X-Men on a suicide mission to Avalon.

In the final confrontation, Magneto mercilessly rips the adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton [X-Men #25] - forcing Professor X to resort to drastic measures. In a spontaneous assault, the Professor uses his telepathic powers to rip the malice and malcontent from Magneto's mind, reducing him to a catatonic state in the process.

Unbenknownst to the Professor, the guilt felt over his attack on his former friend festers in his subconscious, merging with Magneto's ill will to form a gestalt entity borne of his negativity. Onslaught - a creature of mass psionic ability - possesses much of the Professor's telepathic strengths, without any of the inhibition. Clad in powerful psionic armor modelled after Magneto's uniform; Onslaught is also highly resistant to physical attack.

- The X-Men are: Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, Bishop, Wolverine, Gambit, Ice Man, Cannonball, and Dark Beast.

The emergence of the mutant X-gene brings with it mixed blessings as humanity finds itself confronted by the next stage in human evolution. As individuals begin to manifest inherent superhuman abilities, two men; Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr; find themselves at a philosophical crossroads where education would be concerned. In contrast to his counterpart, Xavier uses his family fortune to found the Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, using his knowledge and powers to train and educate mutant pubescents struggling with their abilities.

Xavier's original class consisted of Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Bobby Drake, Hank McCoy, and Warren Worthington III, but would soon expand exponentially proportionate to team's activities as a covert paramilitary force protecting humanity from those who would misuse their power. Among the prominent new recruits; Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Rogue, Havok, Dazzler, Gambit, Emma Frost, and for a short time, even Magneto.

Math: X-Men (Ttl) Onslaught (Avg) Ranking: Wolverine (#6)

What Went Down...
Scouring the grounds of the X-Mansion, the team is gathered to Xavier's study by telepathic call from their mentor. Most of the X-Men are unaware that they are about to walk into a trap that will test everything they believe, but Jean Grey, having encountered a traumatized Juggernaut, knows the horrible truth.

Maintaining a telepathic shield around her mind, Jean Grey probes at the recesses of Professor Charles Xavier's mind, searching desperately for hope, as the jaded mentor delivers his epiphany to the gathered inner circle of X-Men.
While the Professor informs his students that he has lost the faith, Jean Grey notices an artifact easily mistaken for a paperweight on Xavier's desk, but in actual fact, the crimson gem of Cytorrak -- powersource of the Juggernaut!

Before she can even hope to free the trapped soul inside, a psychadelic array of psionic energies fills the space all around a startled Jean Grey. She emplores the Professor to overcome the darkness that has engulfed his heart, but is quickly muzzled by the brute force of Xavier's mental attack.

The X-Men gather to aid their suddenly convulsing teammate, blissfully unaware of the telepathic exchange going on, at least until Cannonball calls their attentions to the chair where the Professor once sat, but now crouches the hulking red and purple mass that is -- Onslaught!

The looming visage of this mighty psionic warrior reveals to the startled X-Men it's origins as a manifestation of Xavier. He compells them to follow him in his unabated march on humanity, to follow as they had once the dream of peaceful coexistence envisioned by the Professor.

When the mutants prove unconvinced by his claims, with the merest of thoughts he attacks their hidden fears, reducing Wolverine to a confused animal, Ice Man to an uncontrollable mass, and Storm a frightened child buried by rubble.

Acting on instinct, Cyclops catches Onslaught offguard with a high powered optic blast! He speaks for the entire team when he warns that Xavier would know all too well that, inspite of their reluctance, they would stand united against him.

Enraged by their opposition, Onslaught unleashes his psionic powers, blasting the gathered X-Men with a wave of raw telekinetic energy, whilst very nearly divulging the hidden portion of his gestalt psyche -- the mind of Magneto!

With the team toppled; Onslaught uses his powers to force the X-Men into a frozen state, while he levitates and phases free of the mansion, intent on recruiting a powerful young mutant to fund his machinations: Franklin Richards!

While Onslaught disappears to Four Freedoms plaza to tempt the son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman in the guise of a child -- Gambit uses his ability to generate bio-kinetic energy to charge the mansion floor, freeing the team of their mental hold with the resulting explosion! The team regroups to swap notes and prepare to face the biggest challenge in their history...

The Hammer...
Awww! Admittedly, in what was probably fodder for a quick fix, I give you your crossover prompting winner, Onslaught! Why stretch it out to a fully fledged entry, you ask? Well, aside from the sheer quantity of information attached to the battle, I suppose after declaring X-Men 2: Clone Wars the greatest comic book game of all time, I just wanted to jump on the X-horse while I was in the mood!

The mood to talk X-Men is a pretty rare occurance around the Infinite Wars, and in an ironic twist, you can probably trace that prejudice back to Onslaught.
In a decade where the crux of the X-Men story was the fortune of their survival - baggage accumulated through annual crossover events culminated with the Onslaught saga. So convoluted was the story that it managed to pressure cook not only the X-books, but also the entire Marvel Universe, giving way to Heroes Reborn, a reboot that segregated the core heroes in a parallel universe that left them under the creative direction of former Image founders; Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld.

I have to confess a fondness for some of the early/mid nineties crossovers!
In their unabashed popcorn, stories like; Maximum Carnage, Fatal Attractions, and even Heroes Reborn, fullfil the joyous mixed bag of action introduced by eighties crossover events, with the sense of lasting consequence that has become a stalwart of their modern counterparts (ie; Civil War).

I'm not sure I necessarily regard Onslaught as particularly awful.
It's dominance of the Marvel Universe was certainly frustrating at the time, and it's penchant for taking itself far too seriously retroactively feels sophmoric, given the clunky quality of writing, but -- informed readers will probably have been able to digest portions fitting to their own interests -- a method that makes the story much easier to appreciate for it's positives.

As a historical checkpoint Onslaught deserves credit for it's big crunch solve for a handful of unfortunate lingering plotlines. Teenaged Tony Stark is one of the key errors of judgment that was able to be phased out as a direct result of Onslaught and the subsequent Heroes Reborn reboot. Acting as a soft comparison to DC's linewide Crisis wipe, the aftermath of Onslaught also gave way to a return of traditional design sense that had also been betrayed by the illconceived, gimmick-driven shifts of the nineties.

These Marvel improvements didn't come without a cost, and one might be inclined to say the years of devolution that followed for the X-Universe was probably the price paid for a better Marvel.

Mired in a recurring string of reboots that continues today, the X-Men seem to be unable to escape the albatross of nostalgia beats from periods of previous success. A bright spark of improvement during an experimental post-movie period saw visionary writer, Grant Morrison, lead the reinvention of X-Men for the modern era.

Unfortunately, as with the short sighted design of Onslaught and other nineties X-overs; governing wisdom seems to believe hope for the franchise lies in constant redux and structural shake-ups.

The evolution of mutant society established under Morrison was completely deconstructed with works immediately preceeding, peaking with Decimation, a story which reduced the mutant population to an estimated one hundred and ninety-eight.

Erratic betrayals of consistency like this that have quite probably left the X-Men years away from retribution. No matter how unpopular, I cannot entertain the notion that Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men submitted anything more than repetitive backtracking and excessively familiar cues, (from the seventies, up to the nineties), that have contributed to the stagnancy of the brand.

The Infinite Wars continues to watch on with jaded bemusement as Marvel rolls out a series of silhouetted promotional art for yet another 2009 push for the brand. Cheap tricks and gimmicks feel like another misstep in the opposite direction, but then, on the surface, Morrison and Quitely's leather jacketted trendy X-Men probably appeared the same. We shall see...

The Fight: 2.5 The Issue: 3.5

Missed out on Onslaught the first time around? Found yourself wondering what the deal with that big guy in Marvel vs Capcom was? You can find the "epic" editions of Onslaught wrapped up in two volumes on Amazon! Better yet, by using online purchase links provided on the site, you not only get the convenience of online shopping, but also help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars! Looking for more X-Men and other reads? The Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe contains a range of collections containing issues previous reviewed in the Secret Archives, and other recommended reads! Booyah!

GHOST RIDER versus BLADE
Dead Man's Tale (Marvel)
Where: Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance #13 When: August 1993 Why: Howard Mackie How: Adam Kubert

The Story So Far...
When Blade receives a mysterious black envelope containing a page from the Darkhold book of magic, he unleashes a spell, once read, that embues him with the powers of a demogorge. So begins Blade's rampage on all things supernatural and occult.

Attracted like a moth to flame, Blade's powers to perceive and gravitate toward the supernatural only becomes greater as he absorbs the powers of all he kills. Hannibal King, John Blaze, Demogoblin, Werewolf by Night, Modred, Victoria Montesi, and Michael Morbius all contribute to Blade's amassing powers in their death.

Hellbent on the eradication of all things supernatural, Blade finally marches on the greatest source of mystic power in New York - Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum; home to the Darkhold! With time and opportunity fast running out, Ghost Rider must join the Nighstalkers and bring an end to the demogorge.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Ghost Rider 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Blade 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Ghost Rider 6 (Generator)
Agility: Blade 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Blade 5 (Martial Arts)
Energy Power: Ghost Rider 5 (Lasers)


- When a man and his girlfriend are attacked by gangsters, they unknowingly seek refuge in a scraplot containing a rare artifact. Upon touching the mystic symbol on a motorcycle's tank cap, Dan Ketch is transformed into the flaming spirit of vengeance, inheriting the curse of the hellborne Ghost Rider!

Like Johnny Blaze before him; Ketch's demon grants him fantastic powers that may be used in the pursuit of righteous vengeance. Powers that include; super strength, durability, speed, control over the hellcycle, hellfire, mystic chains, and the penance stare; capable of rendering a dark soul inert by forcing them to relive the wrongs they have commited on others.

- In a whorehouse in London, a child was born into the world, destined for greatness. When the vampire Deacon Frost was to feast on the woman in labour, he inadvertently passed along certain enzymes that would eventually grant Eric Roberts the strengths of a vampire, with none of their weaknesses. Thus the young boy grows into legend; the Daywalker -- Blade!

Blade lives up to his name, highly skilled with various forms of weaponry and munitions. A dedicated vampire hunter, Blade is skilled in the martial arts, and a thorough tactician with an arsenal of weapons that compliment his acquired enhanced strength, speed, senses, durability and reflexes.

Additional: Having taken a page of the Darkhold, Blade has become possessed by the power of the Demogorge. His ability to sense the supernatural is enhanced, and he now absorbs the powers of the mystics he kills. It was while possessed by the Demogorge that Blade had a runin with Ghost Rider and Frank Drake in a previous entry in the Infinite Wars [Ghost Rider #40].
Aided by Demogoblin, Blade was able to fend off the heroes, to later overcome Ghost Rider alone. The intervention of Frank Drake saved Ghost Rider.

History: Draw (0-0-1)
The Math: Blade Ranking: Blade (#177)

What Went Down...
Having effortlessly penetrated the powerful spells cast by Earth's Sorceror Supreme, Dr. Strange; Blade enters the Sanctum Sanctorum, only to find the good doctor absent. His growing awareness of the supernatural draws Blade deeper into the Sanctum where he discovers the only weapon capable of reversing his devolution into darkness - the Darkhold!

The second Blade removes the book from it's pedestal, powerful spells launch it through the building toward the night sky and an interdimensional portal designed to protect the book in Strange's absence. With the luxury of time working against them, Ghost Rider aids Blade in ahcoring the book to the Earth with the use of his mystic chains. The protection of the book allows Blade to finally turn his attentions to the elusive spirit of vengeance.

Ghost Rider's vengeful charge is abruptly ended, as Blade draws the shotgun weapon once held by John Blaze. The mystic gun spews hellfire through Ghost Rider's body, inflicting maximum damage as Blade lordes his powers.

Blade summons a mighty wind with the elemental powers of Modred, using them to hold the Nightstalkers back from the Darkhold, while he draws his own close-quarters weapons to finish Ghost Rider off.

Engulfed in flame, Blade impales the Ghost Rider with his namesake, feeling no resistance from the powerful demon. He pulls his foe in twain, before driving a blade through the sprit of vengeance's flaming skull! So begins the transfer...

Unfortunately for Blade, he fails to anticipate the nature of the Ghost Rider's power. Absorbing the hellacious abilities of the spirit of vengeance comes at a startling cost as the penance stare is turned inward, forcing Blade to relive the many murders committed in his recent past as a demogorge.

The searing pain of his penance distracts Blade enough to stem the winds he'd summoned to prevent access to the Darkhold. Louise Hastings, of the Redeemers, springs quickly into action, reading from the book so as to resurrect those killed, and return their powers to them from Blade. So ends the Midnight Massacre...

The Hammer...
Despite having his ungodly powers stripped, I think it's safe to say a bitter victory goes to Blade! Despite being killed by the powered-up slayer, Ghost Rider is among those resurrected by the Darkhold spell.

In a month supposedly dedicated to Iron Man, you might be wondering what brought on this unlikely Midnight Sons feature.
It was recent discussion on the Marvel.com message boards that posed the question of whether or not Blade could, or already had, defeated Ghost Rider as his Wikipedia entry claimed. Since contextually absent or poorly described events from Wikipedia style entries are exactly what the Infinite Wars intends to elaborate upon, it seemed like a great opportunity to contribute!

Top 25 Devils/Mystics#1 Dhalsim (Capcom)
#2 Dr. Doom (Marvel)
#3 Zatanna (DC)
#4 The Demon (DC)
#5 Ghost Rider (Marvel)
#6 Morbius (Marvel)
#7 Hellcat (Marvel)
#8 The Spectre (DC)
#9 Dr. Strange (Marvel)
#10 Blazing Skull (Marvel)
#11 Mephisto (Marvel)
#12 Phantom Stranger (DC)
#13 Dr. Fate (DC)
#14 Deadman (DC)
#15 Dr. Occult (DC)
#16 The Hood (Marvel)
#17 Hellboy (Dark Horse)
#18 Jin Kazama (Namco)
#19 Dr. Fate (DC)
#20 Lyta (DC)
#21 Blade (Marvel)
#22 Captain Marvel (DC)
#23 Scarlet Witch (Marvel)
#24 Scorpion (Midway)
#25 Ghost Rider (Marvel)The gang was able to find their way to the Infinite Wars for the previous throwdown between these characters [Ghost Rider #40], where only the intervention of Frank Drake prevented a recorded loss. For the purposes of that discussion [BBS: Blade nearly won a fight against Ghost Rider?] you might argue that Blade did indeed defeat Ghost Rider in that issue, but it's here that the lethal victory described on Wikipedia occurs.

Unfortunately I can't elaborate much further than this encounter, but it's nice to be able to accomodate Infinite Wars readers even that far. If you're a member of the Marvel.com boards, be sure to let the lads know new information has emerged!

Last time we featured these characters, the recurring subject of Marvel's struggle to find a lasting treatment in comics for the characters was a hot topic. Speculation that the recently relaunched Blade and Ghost Rider titles were destined for cancellation proves, at this point, to be half true.

The Guggenheim/Chaykin Blade series fizzled to an end with issue twelve. Working against the title were painfully obvious factors like Chaykin's decidedly unattractive pencil work, inconsequential guest appearances, and uninvolving storylines. Like so many post-movie comics, this quite deliberately butted against the slick, modern urbana of the Stephen Norrington success, opting instead for an experience apparently unintentionally eighties-style in it's presentation and palette.

Despite steering gleefully toward it's seventies origins, Ghost Rider has fared much better. Stale story telling kept me away from early issues of the title, but while not terribly interested, I have to at least applaud the precedent for recent stories pandering to a grindhouse quality of horror.
The detached nature of buzz-writer Jason Aaron's take on the character is about to collide with more familiar topics. Fans can look forward to recognisable features such as, the hellfire shotgun, and former-Ghost Rider, Dan Ketch!

I couldn't possibly deny the affection I have for these nineties stories.
Though not typically looked upon with admiration, they represent a type of storytelling that allowed these characters to fill a very specific niche, while representing the Marvel Universe mentality of characters operating and clashing within a certain space. Though fond of the strong visual of this character, I can't say I've ever had a particular affection for the western/horror vibe of a desert wandering Ghost Rider.

I hope this coming return of Ketch (and the gun feature in our review) will offer more than just a familiar skull-face. I hope very much this can be the beginning of stories not necessarily designed to establish a universe, but to at least build on some of the recent traditions of these characters. Though not of a terribly high standard, I did get a thrill seeing Morbius in the illfated Blade series.

It's those characters, often identified for their supporting roles, that I enjoy seeing in this larger context. The versimilitude of Doppelganger, Demogoblin, Blade, Ghost Rider, Morbius, Dr. Strange, and various other occult heroes, all mingling in the same section, fills me with a comic book sensical joy.

Keep an eye on weekly shipping list updates for more on upcoming Ghost Rider, but in the mean time, I leave you with the promise of updates to come! Be sure also to stay tuned for the Monthly Punch-Up on the first of the month!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 5

Alas, to the best of my knowledge, Midnight Massacre is not available in collected format. You can find plenty of other exciting reads, starring Ghost Rider and other, in the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe! Amazon has a wide range of Marvel titles, and every time you use purchase links from the Infinite Wars, you help sponsor future entries! While you're splashing around the cash, also be sure to take full advantage of the recent $1.99 price reduction on Mike Haseloff's The Kirby Martin Inquest! Available online; the series introduces the White Ghost, a vigilante seeking justice in an urban environment!

GENERAL ZOD versus SUPERMAN
Last Son: Part Three (DC comics)
Where: Action Comics #846 When: February 2007
Why: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner How: Adam Kubert

The story so far...
A long time ago on the planet Krypton, a brilliant scientist named Non served as mentor to a man named Jor-El. Together they made the grim discovery of the impending destruction of their own planet. A discovery that saw them chastized by their own leaders, and the two were commanded to cease further investigation.

Jor-El chose to use the knowledge to save his only son, Kal-El, by building a rocket ship that could travel to a planet far away and sustain him so that Krypton may continue through his blood.
Non, on the other hand, took his message of doom and attempted to inspire enlightened dissent in the Kryptonians.

Non was captured and his mind was irrevocably damaged as punishment for his disobedience. It was this act that finally inspired the militant Zod into action, and together with the brutish Non and another named Ursa, they rebelled.
Though Zod attempted to recruit Jor-El to their cause, it would ultimately be the scientist who would defeat him, imprisoning him in the Phantom Zone, recognising his motivations as greed, rather than nobility.

Decades later, Zod has been set free, and he is most displeased...

Previous Form:
Superman (#7): Superman has struggled against competitive competition.
General Zod: Zod has not yet been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Zod 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 6 (Sound Speed)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Superman 3 (Athlete)
Fighting Ability: Zod 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Draw 5 (Lasers)


I wonder how many people actually read this area. Some of it has to come down to the match-ups I've been going with lately, but is this not the most boring part of the blog? Hmmm... I suppose there are a lot of boring parts...

There isn't a great deal of an analysis that goes into a fight like Superman/Zod. These guys both experience similar benefits to being Kryptonian in our corner of the galaxy. They both have the super speed, the flight, the strength, the laser eyes, and all the other subtle variations on the powers we all know and love.

Not sure if Zod has any of those lesser known one-off Superman powers.
There's every possibility Zod could lay a French kiss on Superman, and make him forget who he is, and all that he can do. There's just no way of knowing that until it happens, right? Maybe keep your eyes on All-Star Superman for that one...

The broad physical strokes are obviously highly comparable, but as characters the basic points of their psychology tend to diverge. The temperament of the two characters are where we can expose the differences in their fighting potentials.

There's a simple truth to each character and the way they approach the world. Even in his many incarnations, Zod is a militant self-serving zealot of great arrogance. His concerns for others are minimal, painting a steady contrast to Superman.

Not to discount Superman's commitment to good, but the grungey determination a Zod shows is easily compounded by his total disregard for collateral casualties. Superman's soft-touch approach is generally more reactionary and distracted by other interests and commitments. While this might not be his final undoing, it certainly paints a picture of victory in battle for Zod, if not war.

The Math: Draw (Super Class)
The Pick: Zod

What went down...
Harboring a young, mysterious Kryptonian boy, (allegedly Zod and Ursa's son), Clark Kent and Lois Lane's tour through the Daily Planet is interrupted by chaos pretty standard for Metropolis. Even so, Jimmy Olson hits the alarm on his S-shaped watch as lasers blast through the impressive windows of the building.

As the high pitched beeping sounds out in a frequency inaudible to human ears; Clark Kent is already pulling his shirt apart and looking for a suitable exit from the quaking building. He is blissfully unaware of the coming ambush!

At super speed Non flies through the air with ease, using his boot to steer the disguised Superman through the skyscraper wall, out into the air. Their exit reveals a hole in the floor above -- Non's sneaky path!

The descent of the two Kryptonian's is barely interrupted by the multiple metropolitan skyscrapers that stand in their way. After shattering through at least four major buildings, they finally come to a craterous landing in the park.

Remarking on the destruction of his suit [which his mother bought for him], Superman unloads with a thunderous right. The dimwitted Non seems bemused, shifting around in his mouth before spitting a tooth out. With that he grabs Superman by the shoulders, lifts him up, and in one fluid motion drives him into the pavement walkway!

At this point Zod descends, making himself known, smugly divulging all he has discovered about the Earth-people's "Superman." He is surprised that Krypton's "last son" recognises him, but apparently Superman has studied long enough to know Kryptonian prison garb when he sees it, and connects the dots.
[Fortunately Superman is not as easily distracted or concerned with past continuity as some readers. Like me. Bad, bad, definitely bad... - Rain Mike]

Zod does not take kindly to the ease of the assessment.

While Ursa menaces Lois Lane for the Kryptonian child, Zod engages Superman in physical and verbal combat. Like so many villains before, he attempts to plead his case, making a valid claim to his role as a persecuted would-be savior of their home planet of Krypton. He leaves out the unpleasant bits.

With his true colours shining, Zod declares his dedication to the mission, and promises to do as Kal-El should have, and Jor-El would not. He promises to take possession of the Earth, and remake it in Krypton's image.

Grappling evenly with his counterpart, Superman humorously asks, "You and what army, General?", as though General Zod were just another silly super villain name.

As Lois is whisked into the air by Ursa, Superman gets his unfortunate answer.

An armada of peculiar shell-like pods hail down from the sky with streaking tails of blistering heat, presumably from the entry into Earth's atmosphere. They thunder down atop Metropolis, seemingly following a beacon eminating from the Daily Bugle. Superman breaks from Zod and does his best to protect the innocent citizens below, colliding with one of the pods at speed.

The coiled pod breaks apart, freeing the inhabitant -- someone also dressed in Kryptonian prison garb. Someone responsible for one of the greatest tragedies in Kryptonian history: the man who lost Kandor -- Jax-Ur.

Jax-Ur furiously propels himself into the intervening Superman.
They plow into the streets below, leaving a massive hole in the roads Superman was trying to protect.

As he pulls himself from the hole, he finds Zod hovering above with an army of Krypton prisoners flying around the destruction behind him.

Holding something glowing intensely, Zod declares, "I am here to do what your father could not. I am here to save our world. Farewell, Kal-El."
And with that, the world is obscured by light, and then... it shatters...

The hammer...
Despite a somewhat vague conclusion, I'm forced to kneel and give this to General Zod and his fellow Kryptonians.

There's an ironic comedy in referring to the character as General, given just how many distinctly different versions of the character there have been. Even the mugshot I've gone with, from the 2005 Brian Azzarello/Jim Lee story, differs dramatically from this particular take on the more youthful and fashion-chic Zod we have depicted here.

Presumably the lure of film and television writers has gotten so great that, like lengthy time delays enjoyed on projects like Wonder Woman, the requirements of cohesion are being tossed aside in favour of a name.

I should be forth coming, I'm not a big fan of the Donner films, so much so that I haven't even been enticed yet to see Superman Returns, which smelt like a Donner love-letter from day one. Even so, I can't deny that there isn't a quality to this story as a passing Superman adventure tale. Donner's concepts from the film are honed and tweaked here, presumably benefitting from the input of veteran Adam Kubert, and the scripting of Geoff Johns.

My real objection here is just inconsistency. There's an unfortunate tendency for a lot of new readers to readily jump on the illogical bandwagon that DC's universe is somehow impenetrable because their rebooting techniques have been better publicized. Which is silly, and dismissable, but when that attitude becomes justifiable fact, it can really grind on a fan.

I'm the kind of guy who likes the idea of moving forward. I prefer an approach of when mistakes are made, we live with them and move on. I don't like to have a seventh take on a character emerging two years after what was a pretty decent interpretation in an equally promoted storyline.
Particularly given than forty years after the fact, we're getting a story where Zod is apparently only just now making himself known and encountering Superman for the very first time.

It's just too much for on-going story. The best part of a century into the medium, we should also be much better than this. We should be able to live by the convictions of our characters and the reality in which they are defined, and live, and die by. This isn't an answer, Richard Donner, or not.

Superman is a character described by many as lost, broken, or unsalvagable.
I love to disagree with that. I love to believe in the power of this character, and his value to the medium, but even I can't argue against instability.

Intelligent change will take this character into the future, but unnecessary retreading is what has led most characters into their darkest hours, and tightest corners. And Geoff Johns surely has only so-much Hawkman in him.

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 3.5