AVENGERS versus INFINITY WATCH

Warlock Must Die! (Marvel)
Where: Warlock and The Infinity Watch #27 When: April 1994 Why: Jim Starlin How: Tom Grindberg

The Story So Far...
While Adam Warlock attempts to use the combined Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, and Power to unlock the lost memories of teammate Maxam -- he has no idea forces are conspiring to destroy he and The Infinity Watch!

US Senator Kyle Munson has used his mind-altering powers of hate to turn The Avengers into a bloodthirsty hit squad headed to Monster Island with a mission to kill Warlock!

The hate-mongering Senator is in truth the malicious Man-Beast who is out for revenge against Adam and The Infinity Watch for thwarting his attempts to conquer Counter-Earth and wield the powers of The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Drax 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Giant-Man 6 (Genius)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Drax 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Drax 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Adam Warlock 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Adam Warlock 30 (Super)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Giant-Man, Thunderstrike, Black Widow, Hercules, and Vision.

Operating under brainwashing from the former Hate-Monger; The Avengers have already taken out Gamora in the previous issue, but apparently suffered the temporary loss of Vision as a consequence of the beach-side melee.

The Infinity Watch are: Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Maxam, and Pip The Troll.

The Watch are missing one of their best fighters, but they've still got a whole lot of cosmic might on their side! By nature of their assembly, they wield four of the Infinity Stones: Gems possessed of primordial energies of fundamental cosmic elements that once combined to make the Infinity Gauntlet.

Drax The Destroyer wields the Power Gem, adding it to his already impressive physical strength. In this incarnation we saw him team with Hulk to temporarily topple Thanos during The Infinity Gauntlet, and go toe-to-toe with Thor in the Infinity Crusade! He's a natural to neutralize Thunderstrike or Hercules.

Maxam lacks the boost of a gem, but his ability to increase his size & strength compliments Drax, taking care of either of the loose Avengers powerhouses, or maybe directly countering the super-sized might of Giant-Man!

With the Mind Gem enhancing her mental powers: Moondragon has the potential to neutralize any of their opponents, and maybe even finish the whole fight by breaking the brainwashing that's turned them against The Watch. Failing that, her hand-to-hand skills are good enough to test Black Widow or Captain America!

Warlock could similarly use his natural super-human gifts to fight The Avengers, or wield the Soul Gem to pull everyone into its pocket reality for a dose of soul-searching. if that fails and an exit strategy's needed: Pip the Troll might just be able to help the team escape with the Space Gem's teleporting potential.

We've seen The Avengers take on all kinds of challenges, but we've never seen them take this one. Let's find out what happened!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Captain America (#7)

What Went Down...

Through gritted teeth Captain America makes his mad declaration: "WARLOCK MUST DIE!"

The sentiment is echoed by Giant-Man as The Avengers square-up against The Infinity Watch. Adam Warlock asks for reason, while Drax mistakes Thunderstrike for Thor, and Pip The Troll leeringly confronts the Black Widow.

Pip disappears as quickly as The Widow's temper flares, while Warlock gives up on diplomacy and knocks Giant-Man to the ground with a flying right hook!

Moondragon takes the opportunity to launch a jumping martial arts kick, deflected by Captain America's shield. She takes on the hand-to-hand challenge, matching his bitter madness with her own critique of the "pompous" Avenger.

Maxam struggles to land a hit on Hercules, who remains bitter over their meeting during the Infinity Crusade. Herc aims to pay him back, using his own surprise attack to grab Drax by the cape and toss him into the ocean many miles away!

While Drax tries to figure out where he is -- Maxam finds himself caught between a rock lifted by Hercules, and the hard place of Thunderstrike's hammer!

Knowing when he's outmatched: Maxam calls for help, receiving a polite acknowledgment from Warlock, who evades a giant fist swung by Hank Pym -- and unleashes a direct karmic blast from the Soul Gem!

Warlock hops away from the kayoed Giant-Man, but before he can come to his teammate's aid is struck by the massive boulder hurled by Hercules!

A dark shadow watches from nearby island flora, and Pip The Troll materializes at Warlock's unconscious side, tossing his spiked mace "skull-cracker" in favour of brewing a "neat trick" he's been wanting to try out.

Meanwhile Maxam finds a forearm block wanting as Hercules follows it up immediately with a second, more devastating left that catches him across the chin!

Maxam's tired of being a punching bag for two demi-gods, and manages to narrowly avoid the raging descent of Thunderstrike's uru mace!

It crashes into the ground behind him, but Hercules continues his verbal and close-quarters assault, moving in to grab the "varlet" by the collar and punch him straight in the face!

Elsewhere Captain America blocks a kick with his shield, transitioning seamlessly into a shield swipe that Moondragon nimbly leaps over.

She resists Maxam's desperate plea to use a mind-blast: "Don't rush me! I'll be with you as soon as I attend to the good Captain in my own manner!"

A precision chop to the shoulder finds its mark, allowing Moondragon to kick Captain America's famous shield out of his hands! She follows with a stiff right palm strike to his jaw, dodging his right-hand counter punch with a twirl, to strike back with her own uppercut knock out!

Satisfied with her victory over Captain America -- Moondragon is happy to use the Mind Gem's powers to mind-blast Thunderstrike into submission!

The knock-out beam evens the odds for Maxam, but he fails to notice the massive ocean rock suddenly teleported overhead by Pip The Troll, which sends Hercules running clear of the impact zone!

The long thin rock crushes Maxam & Thunderstrike and kicks up a cloud of sand!

Moondragon doesn't even see Hercules coming as he runs right through her like a raging bull with a charging shoulder!

Pip tries to make the save, snapping the wooden handle of his spiked mace as he clobbers Hercules over the back of the head. The demigod shrugs it off, tossing Pip aside as he makes a path toward a recovered Adam Warlock!

Warlock ducks beneath a wild haymaker and returns fire with a jumping kick!

Hercules is unfazed, launching Warlock across the beach with an overhand punch!

He charges after Warlock, who unleashes the awesome mystic power of his Karmic staff, but the demigod "Prince of Power" resists its awesome energy, snatching it by the neck to push it away.

Warlock takes flight, unleashing a blast from the Soul Gem -- but it misses the target, allowing Hercules to grab him by the ankle and smash his face into the sand!

Warlock throws his free foot at Hercules' face, but the Prince of Power absorbs the kick and slams his left fist to the ground -- narrowly missing Warlock, who jumps clear and delivers another kick directly to the face.

Still Hercules shakes the physical assault off, rallying to deliver a devastatingly explosive backfist strike that knocks Warlock off his feet!

Warlock's body stays limp as Hercules walks the distance to pick him up by the collar, but the Avenger doesn't deliver his intended finishing blow.

Instead it's Hercules who is knocked unconscious when the eerie Vision emerges from the beach sand to deliver a surprise attack to his teammate's back!

The synthezoid's artificial brain appears unaffected by the telepathic brainwashing that enthralled his teammates. He reveals the plot to The Infinity Watch, recruiting Moondragon to use the Mind Gem to free them from their hypnosis.

The Hammer...

The last minute save from Vision helps The Infinity Watch secure their victory over The Avengers!

His timing might seem overly dramatic, but his actions are justified with cold synthezoid logic.

Knowing he couldn't possibly curb the hypnotized Avengers alone -- Vision used a skirmish with Gamora in the previous issue to feign damage, waiting for an opportunity to render assistance once The Infinity Watch had the upper hand! Or something along those lines... Something that conveniently gives us a "surprise" twist. Why not?

Vision shares the victory with Moondragon and Adam Warlock, who secured noteworthy individual triumphs over multiple members of the Avengers, including Captain America, Thunderstrike, and Giant-Man.

You already know who scored the double kayo because you just read the scintillating recap above, but it feels especially noteworthy that Moondragon managed to best Captain America in hand-to-hand martial combat!

Cap actually has one of the worst defeat tallies recorded on the site, [second only to Superman at the time of writing], but he balances significant losses with a high number of wins.

Both stats are attributable to Cap's never-say-die attitude and warrior-like vigor for combat. He boldly risks taking the L by standing ground against obvious mismatches, like Thanos, but to other heroes he remains a mythic benchmark for fighting prowess. He holds top fighters like Black Panther and Wolverine to account, while occasionally becoming the scalp himself to prove another hero's worth, like his epic crossover showdown with Batman.

Moondragon's script notes the interest of comparing their fighting skills, but this one lacks the weight of importance other big time showdowns might aspire to, especially in more recent times where that kind of thing is given a lot of pages.

I'm not sure if Moondragon had the cachet for a bigger marquee spotlight against Cap, and the entire battle comes pregnant with modifiers, noting a compromised Avengers in a guest role.

It's all a little rough in composition, reflected somewhat in art that shows plenty of intent, but is a little sketchy compared to Tom Grindberg's usual work, which I have become a growing fan of in recent years.

Bob Almond is no stranger to inking Grindberg with a more characteristic finish, which leads me to wonder if there were deadline pressures, or late editorial interference that impacted the issue. Perhaps negotiations with the Avengers office?..

As much as The Avengers are here to be beaten by the title heroes in their fleeting guest role, it surprises me how impressive a showing Hercules has!

I like the callback to Herc's brief face-off with Maxam in the still-recent Infinity Crusade, but I'm not sure that justifies such a strong outing. He isn't just the last man standing, but also handily intimidates Maxam, and beats the heck out of Warlock! He's practically served a visual win, if not for the interference of Vision!

Perhaps this all speaks to Hercules' mythic inclination towards violent madness, or perhaps there was a particular vested interest in presenting the Avenger as a legitimate, uncompromised threat.

Although most of the presented group could be found in contemporary issues of Avengers, Hercules is the character I would most closely associate with this era of monthly issues, sharing a spotlight with the likes of Black Knight, Sersi, and Crystal -- all conspicuous by absence.

Thunderstrike won't even be back in the fold until next month's issue, May cover-dated Avengers #374, which means he technically showed up two months early as an active Avenger in Warlock and The Infinity Watch #26!

They were crazy times, and how ever this issue managed to come together, it's a nice artifact from both catalogues. A nice chance for us to dip into Adam Warlock and The Infinity Watch, as well!

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Winners: Vision, Moondragon & Warlock (w/ Infinity Watch)
#86 (+5) Vision
#200 (+402) Adam Warlock
#382 (+285) Moondragon
#645 (new) Maxam [+1 assist]
#646 (new) Pip The Troll [+1 assist]
#140 (-1) Drax The Destroyer [+1 assist]
#7 (--) Captain America
#48 (-3) Black Widow
#87 (-6) Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
#161 (-4) Hercules
#1040 (-39) Thunderstrike

FREEDOM FORCE versus AVENGERS

Has The World Gone Mad?!? (Marvel)
Where: Avengers #312 When: December 1989
Why: John Byrne How: Paul Ryan & Tom Palmer

The Story So Far...
Frustrated with routine defeat at the hands of their heroic enemies: Loki gathers a cabal of powerful masterminds to orchestrate an unexpected and new paradigm!

With the combined resources of Doctor Doom, Red Skull, Magneto, The Mandarin, Wingless Wizard, and The Kingpin -- Loki redistributes villainous forces in successive acts of vengeance to disorient and defeat their adversaries!

The Avengers are still divided and reeling from the destruction of their Hydrobase when Avengers Park receives an unexpected visit from Freedom Force! The crooks turned feds have come to evict The Avengers from their subbasement HQ by any means necessary!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Blob 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Hank Pym 6 (Genius)
Speed: Wasp 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Blob 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Wasp 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Falcon 4 (Trained)
Energy: Scarlet Witch 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Vision 26 (Metahuman)

Freedom Force are: The Blob, Pyro, and Avalanche.

All three were members of Mystique's Brotherhood of Mutants before receiving pardons for their crimes in exchange for enlisting as government agents.

Both incarnations of the trio are best known for their run-ins with the X-Men and X-Factor -- which hasn't left them with a particularly spectacular reputation.

In fight card terms you might think of them as the upper mid-card. Reliable opponents with enough cache to match-up against some of the big names, but unlikely to advance. Or are they...? We're about to put that theory to the test!

The Avengers are: Henry Pym, Wasp, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon.

So far the immovable Blob is the only member of Freedom Force we have on record. He was with The Brotherhood when they clashed with DC's Teen Titans in Unlimited Access #3. Blob was more than a match for Robin's martial arts.

Fred Dukes is an unfeeling mass of human flesh who is incredibly strong, durable, and able to manipulate his density. Unlike Vision, Blob doesn't exhibit powers of intangibility, but he can similarly increase his mass to become almost impossible to move, and physically powerful.

His teammates are St. John Allerdyce aka; Pyro and Dominikos Petrakis, aka; Avalanche. The frequent pairing are expert range fighters, utilizing Pyro's ability to manipulate fire with animated results, and Avalanche's seismic waves.

Scarlet Witch wields hex magic with relative impunity, but the results aren't always predictable. Early in her career, in X-Men #4, she caused the earth to move under Cyclops' feet. Energy-based hex bolts stalled Magneto in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4, but couldn't topple Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet #4.

Pyro cannot generate fire himself, but is immune to burns, so relies on wrist-fed flame throwers to supply him with ammunition. Avalanche can generate powerful vibrational impulses, but is incapable of directing them through organic matter.

Falcon and Wasp can fly over any earthquakes to deliver smackdown and stinger blasts. Hank Pym isn't changing size so much in these days, but should be able to shrink down any problems that arise -- or find a miniaturized tool to handle the job. Let's see how they handle it...

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Wasp (#53)

What Went Down...

Touching down in Central Park -- Freedom Force depart their government issued helicopter and start pushing their way through the public. Their search for The Avengers takes them to the team's statue and trips their security monitors.

Vision flies on ahead, passing intangibly through the levels of The Avengers' underground sub-basement headquarters, gliding towards the park above.

He greets Freedom Force with a cordial offer of assistance, but is left perplexed by Blob's colourful and bullish request to evict The Avengers from their base. The synthezoid's confusion leads Blob to an inevitable act of violence!

The powerful punch sends an unprepared Vision hurtling into the stone of Captain America's statue. It shatters at the legs, but Vision quickly recovers and torpedoes towards The Blob -- only to bounce off his ample torso!

The Vision lands at the base of the Avengers statue momentarily stunned.

Blob closes in to grab the front of Vision's cape, but before he can deliver a knock-out blow -- the statue shifts to reveal The Avengers assembling in the park!

Falcon leads the charge to rescue Vision with the miniaturized Wasp flying right behind him, but even the airborne Avengers aren't safe from a counter-strike from Avalanche!

The focused vibrations rip through the ground and kick up a wave of concrete that knocks Falcon out of the air and topples the rest of the Avengers!

The knockdown leaves the team vulnerable to a follow-up assault by Pyro, who sends dancing flame circling around them in the air.

Hank Pym orders the team to spread out, and Wasp takes advantage of the chaos to sneak up on Pyro unnoticed and strike with her stinger blasts!

Pyro quickly whips around, spraying fire from his wrist-mounted flame throwers in an effort to exterminate The Wasp. The diminutive Avenger proves too agile and tiny a target for the hotheaded mutant!

Falcon flies in for the assist -- smacking Pyro across the face with his winged fist!

Falcon is over confident when Pyro calls upon the assistance of Avalanche. He assumes the mutant's shockwaves won't harm him, but Avalanche is more than capable of generating devastating tremors in the inorganic matter of his wings!

Another statue is toppled by the blast as Hank Pym sneaks up behind Avalanche and fires a gas pellet from a previously shrunken gun.

Gas wafts into Avalanche's helmet and he starts choking, but things get even worse for the Freedom Force fighter when Scarlet Witch turns the ground against him -- collapsing it beneath his feet with a hex!

Vision congratulates his wife on neutralizing the threat while grappling with the powerful arms of The Blob! He attempts to break the stalemate by plunging his intangible arm into Blob's chest -- but Blob's shifting mutant density neutralizes the limb and forces it to become trapped!

Another Avengers statue bites the dust as Blob pivots his body -- violently swinging Vision's body like a rag doll through the stone tribute!

Scarlet Witch is overwhelmed by the carnage, unable to direct her hex magic to defend against the toppling of the main Avengers statue. Fortunately, Falcon sees the danger coming -- and flies in to make the save by flying her clear!

Another winged Avenger comes to their teammate's rescue when Hank Pym finds himself struggling to keep ahead of Pyro's flame. Wasp refocuses her attack on Pyro's flame throwers -- severing the fuel line to cut-off half his ammunition!

Pym digs into his miniaturized arsenal to produce a shrunken flame thrower and takes the opportunity to clog Pyro's remaining flame thrower with fire retardant foam! A volley of stinger bolts sends him running!

Vision resorts to energy projectiles as well -- firing laser-like eyebeams -- but still finds himself too evenly matched with the immovable might of The Blob.

Hank Pym calls an audible, ordering Vision clear while he rushes in to try to solve the problem with a liberal dosage of Pym Particles.

They suddenly start to reduce the bulging Blob to a fraction of his ample size -- but such incredible density focused on a small area has the unforeseen consequence of sending him plummeting through the ground to the subway!

Things get more out of hand when Avalanche successfully directs a quaking blast at Falcon -- shattering his wings!

Falcon careens into a nearby vehicle, while Scarlet Witch tumbles onto the road!

Vision glides towards the trouble, summoning Avalanche's attention with a blast of eyebeams over his shoulder. The Freedom Force fighter acts on his curiosity, unleashing a devastating vibrational wave at the synthezoid in an effort to find out how much of his body is resonantly inorganic.

The force rips through Vision's body -- shunting and distorting the mechanical parts at sickening odds with his biological matter!

Vision drops from the ground suffering self-diagonized massive internal damage. For a horrifying instant Scarlet Witch believes her synthezoid husband has once again been destroyed. She brushes Avalanche off and rushes to Vision's side!

It seems as if Scarlet Witch is about to unleash the unshackled power of her hex magic, but before she can -- Falcon rushes in to shove Avalanche and sock him with a hard right hand.

Hank Pym keeps up the pressure by charging Pyro with a large shield -- while Wasp continues zapping him. The double team sends Pyro seeking the unlikely assistance of New York City Police!

Pyro cites his status as a United States Government enlisted agent to order the Avengers' arrest -- but at that moment Captain America drops out of the sky from a helicopter to call Freedom Force's credentials into question!

The revelation sparks a brawl amongst angry New York bystanders who debate the merits of The Avengers and their recent relocation to Central Park!

The ruckus provides enough distraction for Avalanche to unleash another quake that knocks everyone over and covers he and Pyro's escape to their helicopter.

The Hammer...

Did that seem like an abrupt and chaotic finish to anyone else?

Just when it seemed like Scarlet Witch was about to go hogwild with hex magic -- the situation turns into a donnybrook, and Captain America literally falls out of the sky just in time to strip Freedom Force of their government-issued bona fides!

It's hard to tell if this is just the chaos of Acts of Vengeance and the frenetic storytelling of the time -- or if it hints at the chaos magic of Scarlet Witch subtly manipulating events around her.

Vision certainly seems to recover awfully quick, stepping in to discourage Scarlet Witch from bringing Freedom Force's escaping helicopter down in proximity to the populated city. Good quality synthezoid self-repair systems, or something else?

Avengers #312 is loosely sandwiched between Avengers West Coast issues that have been telling the story of Wanda Maximoff's gradual unravelling. In fact, she was virtually comatose in the concurrently released Avengers West Coast #53, but rallied to action when Hank Pym told her Vision was in danger (again).

The synthezoid had to be reconstructed after government agents dismantled him in Avengers West Coast #43, introducing the cold, white Vision seen in today's featured fight after he was rebuilt. This was just one in a series of orchestrated life-altering events straining the Scarlet Witch's mental state.

When Master Pandemonium returned to kidnap the couple's children in Avengers West Coast #51: Scarlet Witch was soon confronted with the revelation that the twin boys were never actually real -- and their essence was returned to Mephisto by the swift magical intervention of Agatha Harkness.

The move curtailed the forces of demonic evil, but pushed Scarlet Witch into the waiting arms of Magneto, who was plotting a reunion with his daughter from the nearby shadows. Magneto himself was a pawn in Loki's grand scheme, which brought the Master of Magnetism into a a cabal of masterminds as part of Acts of Vengeance, and ushered Wanda towards a period of dangerous darkness. This too played into over-arching manipulations by the time monitoring Immortus.

It all plays out a bit like a version of John Byrne's Avengers branded Dark Phoenix Saga with the complication of external crossovers. At its core: it is another case of a fiery redhead driven mad by her absolute power. It might sound rote described that way, but it is actually a period I very much enjoy. There's a lot to like.

I get a kick out of the not-quite-ragtag lineup of Avengers who're on call in this issue. It's a West Coast vibe and some of them will be flying back between issues. The logistics are sloppy, but it's too good not to go with it.

As much as I like Giant-Man or Ant-Man, there's a strange appeal to Hank Pym when he's in pulp adventurer mode,  his utility belt filled with shrunken gadgets. Falcon is good value, too. It's slightly amusing that he's the only one uncoupled until Captain America shows up. Paul Ryan makes everyone look good.

Acts of Vengeance was always one of my favourite Marvel events and we'll have to make a point of coming back to it. It was an exciting time for villains crossing branded lines at a time when that really meant something. We'll take a closer look at the felonious Freedom Force, too. Maybe in their traditional context.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can discover them all by diving into the Secret Archive for an index of battles by publisher, series, and issue number -- or discover the joy of following links throughout this post to other stories.

If you'd like to check out today's featured fight in its full context you can find it collected as part of Avengers: Acts of Vengeance or Avengers by John Byrne. Use Amazon purchase links provided to do any of your online shopping and you'll not only get a great deal -- you'll also help support the site!

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Winners: Inconclusive (Draw)
#53 (--) Wasp
#76 (+4) Hank Pym
#141 (--) Vision
#425 (+1) Scarlet Witch
#464 (new) Avalanche
#465 (new) Pyro
#618 (+270) Blob
#984 (-1) Falcon
#7 (--) Captain America [+1 assist]

AVENGERS & X-MEN versus RONAN

Whatever The Cost! (Marvel)
Where: Maximum Security #3 When: January 2001
Why: Kurt Busiek How: Jerry Ordway

The Story So Far...
A sudden global surge in extraterrestrial conflict reveals a master plan by the Intergalactic Council of empires to declare Earth a prison planet!

Encounters with the Kree, Skrull, Shi'ar, and more have earned humans a meddlesome reputation. To further delay them from reaching beyond the stars, the untamable scum of the universe are now interned to keep Earth busy. Energy lattice surrounds the solar system in an effort to contain humanity and the prisoners from further interference.

With the Kree seemingly conquered by the Shi'ar Empire, Ronan The Accuser was appointed overseer of the new prison planet, but in truth he has conspired to launch a new Kree uprising. With the mutated Ruul army at his command, and an infestation of the Earth by Ego feeding him unlimited power, Ronan stands poised to lead the Supreme Intelligence to ultimate victory!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Ronan 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Goliath 6 (Genius)
Speed: Nova 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Thor 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Ronan 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Ronan The Accuser 34 (Super)

Earth's heroes are: Thor, Warbird, Sub-Mariner, Wonder Man, She-Hulk, Goliath, Hercules, Thing, Beta Ray Bill, Rogue, Colossus, Sunfire, with USAgent, Quasar, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Namorita, Speedball, Triathlon, and Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, Silver Surfer.

Several other heroes can be seen teleporting into action with Quasar, but for the sake of clarity, we're only focusing on those identifiably involved in the battle. This includes support troops led by USAgent fighting on the ground.

Ronan The Accuser has been dramatically augmented by Ego, who has begun to infest the Earth. The flow of power Ego supplies adds to Ronan's already impressive Kree might, and results in a massive increase in his physical size.

Working on the Ego problem are Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, and Bruce Banner. They've built a machine to repel the infestation, and drain Ronan's power by funneling it into a captive host. Silver Surfer has volunteered for the potentially lethal absorption, but it means he's taken out of the battle.

Silver Surfer's absence from the fight will be felt. We saw him beat Ronan back in Silver Surfer #13, but there are still plenty of other heavy hitters on the field who have credentials beating some prominent cosmic opponents!

Thor can match his hammer against Ronan's Universal Weapon, having used it to best Super-Skrull in Thor #465. Warbird (Carol Danvers) gained her powers from the Kree and has a late win over Thanos [FCBD Civil War II #1]. She-Hulk performed the rare feat of defeating Champion of the Universe in She-Hulk #8. Sub-Mariner was one of the first heroes to valiantly face Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet #4, joining She-Hulk in a noteworthy grim stand. Even Colossus has memorable cosmic face-offs, including a win over Ord in Astonishing X-Men #5!

Thing has made a career of taking on the universe's deadliest fighters. His renown across galaxies was built on battles against Ronan himself, The Champion, and villains like Ego, The Living Planet [Fantastic Four #235], Gladiator [Fantastic Four #249], Paibok The Power Skrull [Fantastic Four #358], and even his own Magus created Doppelganger [Fantastic Four #367]!

The heroes can also count on the aide of Beta Ray Bill, who was interned on Earth as part of the intergalactic council's designation as a prison planet. Beta Ray Bill famously defeated Thor in Thor #337, proving worthy to wield Mjolnir before Odin granted him his own hammer: Stormbreaker. He once fought Silver Surfer to a standstill in Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #2, and fought valiantly by his side against the unstoppable Tyrant in Silver Surfer #82!

This all spells one phenomenal fighting force, but will it be enough to mitigate the incredible power boost received by Ronan The Accuser? They're literally fighting a man with the power of an entire planet -- and a Kree army!

The Tape: Earth's Allied Heroes Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...
A sudden flash of light signals the arrival of Ronan The Accuser. He hovers menacingly in the air, a towering titan gazing down at the aggravating heroes who have begun to threaten his power source.

With a gesture of his Universal Weapon, he summons an army of Kree imperial soldiers, and warns Earth's heroic brains trust that they will be destroyed if they reactivate their machine. Then -- another flash of light: the cavalry!

Quasar teleports a troop of heroes over thirty-strong and when Ronan  threatens to kill them all -- USAgent steps forward to order the heroes against him. They swarm the giant-sized Accuser!

Thor, Wonder Man, and Warbird come in high with blows to the head and face, while Sub-Mariner contends with the giant's right arm, and Beta Ray Bill and Goliath lock up the left! Working the body is Hercules and Colossus, while She-Hulk and Thing come in hot from below as the giant threatens to lose footing!

Around Ronan's feet, Kree soldiers scurry as they contend with the heroes' support forces. USAgent bats at a small group, while Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Triathlon, Namorita, Speedball, and Captain America do the same!

Overhead: Ronan delivers his first decisive blow as he targets Thor with his own hammer-like weapon and unleashes the planetary force of Ego!

With a wild backhanded chop, The Accuser dispatches with Beta Ray Bill, Hercules, and Sub-Mariner! He then turns his attentions to the ionic Wonder Man and brings his massive Universal Weapon slamming down upon him!

USAgent bats a Kree soldier with his photonic shield and contemplates the fragility of humanity's hopes against the invaders, while across the battlefield Mister Fantastic rallies the Thing and Human Torch to defend their ace.

Bruce Banner and Iron Man finish loading the Silver Surfer into their device and in an agonizing instant Ego's incredible power begins flooding into his body! His back arches, while on the horizon the infested landscape that is Ego begins to contort violently -- and Ronan The Accuser begins to shrink!

Ronan is caught completely off guard as his unfathomable power weakens ever so slightly and his mass begins to reduce. The sudden change signals the opportunity for the heroes to strike!

Rogue calls out his sudden weakening, with Thor, Warbird, Wonder Man, Sub-Mariner, Beta Ray Bill and Colossus rushing in to capitalize!

The Silver Surfer betrays his struggle as he begins to moan and his chrome skin burns ever brighter with blistering energy. Iron Man can see the strain is too great, but before any of the genius heroes can act -- Silver Surfer is torn free!

His smoldering and cracked body falls limply to the ground even as he attempts to volunteer for another try. The words catch in his throat as he passes out. There will be no reprieve for The Surfer.

From the air above, Quasar spots the brains trust of Banner, Richards, and Iron Man gathering over the exhausted cosmic rider. He scans the horizon, taking in the vista of his home planet Earth, then leaves Nova battling the Kree warriors.

It seems Silver Surfer's power cosmic could not contain the energies absorbed from Ego, but Quasar assures Reed Richards that his quantum power is more adaptive. Knowing the risks, he volunteers to be strapped into the machine and the draining process begins anew!

Sensing the sudden pull of his energy once more -- Ronan lashes out wildly by swatting Thor, Rogue, and Sunfire out of the air! The Kree Accuser can tell that the drain is more smooth than before, hastening his desire to find the cause.

Still gigantic; Ronan stomps across a smoking battlefield littered with the beaten bodies of Thor, Hercules, and more. He sets his sights on the machine attacking Ego's infestation of Earth, and prepares to battle Earth's last line of defense!

The Hammer...

Ronan does a very convincing job of cleaning house before setting his sights on the next challenge. The battle is won, but the war is certainly not over!

War is very much the tone here. I think the more superhero universes became proliferated with identifiable characters - the greater the desire to see a war-like scenario. Several series tried it. There are obvious echoes of Operation: Galactic Storm and Infinity Gauntlet in this one. I can't help but think of Annihilation as well, which took the hell of cosmic warfare even deeper into the trenches.

1984's Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars may be the most recognized example of conflict between warring Marvel factions, but that was much more about isolating defined sides and smashing them together like (tie-in) toys. Speaking of which: Isn't it about damn time we featured the site's namesake? I digress...

In a continuum of those memorable Marvel events, Maximum Security makes a lot of sense. Through the prism of published releases in 2001, however, it reads almost anachronistic.

The event feels like the last gasp of a movement begun with the soft Heroes Return reset of 1998. There's a colourful, fluffy house style in the artwork, and a confluence of references to Marvel's favoured past, and the character designs of the misguided mid-90s and probing millennium. All would soon go away.

Indeed, the concluding issue of Maximum Security may be cover dated 2001, but it very much belongs to the final throes of 2000, when it actually hit racks.

The release of the first X-Men movie that same year is arguably what changed comics forever. It was a foundation stone for the next two decades of superhero domination in cinema, but it would also influence two of the defining releases of 2001: Ultimate X-Men, and Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely's New X-Men.

Both were incredibly intriguing in their own way, participating in a movement towards more sedate art direction, and denser character work. Everything was being deliberately rethought. Designs got blacker, and bombastic super-heroics were taking a slight step back as written concepts took greater focus.

I was vaguely aware of the Maximum Security crossover unfolding when it came out, but it didn't connect with me. It seems like every ardent comic book fan has a lull in their reading, and for me, it was very much 99-2000. They were generally exciting times, and other interests just started to eclipse a lifetime of reading comics.

In hindsight, Maximum Security was a little old fashioned, but I think if I'd taken the time to look closer, I would've enjoyed it. It was certainly an interesting piece of history to revisit when I picked up back issues many years later.

Three issues doesn't give the core mini-series a lot of room to expand upon a fast moving plot, but there are, of course, many tie-in issues that focus closer on relevant characters and spillover. There may be no better marker of time than Gambit #23: a series I frequently forget even existed.

Ronan The Accuser stands out as a main villain, which feels like a culmination of sorts. Growing up I'd always thought of Ronan as a big deal (and a classic Fantastic Four villain), but under scrutiny it becomes apparent his appearances were steady, but infrequent. He's really more of a Captain Marvel character, and for many years he hung his accuser's hat on the legendary Kree-Skrull War.

At the start of Maximum Security he poses as another banished alien forced to warden the Earth prison. A dirty tactic, but a nice set up for his coming out as a literal big bad. It's fun to see him swatting around some of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe, even if the interactions are a tad impersonal.

I'll look forward to returning to the next phase of the battle in the future, when the other, more surprising featured character comes back to the fore: USAgent!

In the mean time, Blogger restrictions means this entry will only appear tagged for the fighters featured tackling Ronan. For most of the others, we have an assist stat that acknowledges their support role. You can check out the updated character rankings and results at the bottom of this post.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 950 characters! You can find them all indexed in the Secret Archive by publisher, series, and issue number. Or simply discover more wonders by following links throughout this and other feature articles.

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Winner: Ronan The Accuser
#398 (+286) Ronan The Accuser
#613 (+279) Ego The Living Planet [+1 assist]
#31 (-1) Sub-Mariner
#32 (--) Thor
#35 (--) Silver Surfer
#49 (-2) Warbird (Carol Danvers)
#70 (-12) Rogue
#74 (-3) Wonder Man
#80 (-6) Goliath (Hank Pym)
#145 (-1) She-Hulk
#400 (-56) Beta Ray Bill
#419 (-7) Hercules
#423 (-3) Colossus
#591 (-137) Sunfire
#2 (--) Spider-Man [+1 assist]
#3 (--) Iron Man [+1 assist]
#4 (--) Wolverine [+1 assist]
#6 (--) Hulk (Bruce Banner) [+1 assist]
#10 (--) Mister Fantastic [+1 assist]
#12 (--) Thing [+1 assist]
#115 (+1) Nova (Richard Rider) [+1 assist]
#130 (+2) USAgent [+1 assist]
#428 (--) Speedball [+1 assist]
#614 (+282) Quasar [+1 assist]
#922 (new) Namorita [+1 assist]
#923 (new) Triathlon [+1 assist]

ZOMBIES versus ZOMBIES
Marvel Zombies Conclusion (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Zombies #5 When: June 2006
Why: Robert Kirkman How: Sean Phillips

The Story So Far...
Earth 2419: A frightening twisted version of the Marvel Universe, infected by the decay of an alien virus that turns all infected into decomposing, viracious zombies.

With the Earth's population decimated by the super powered zombies, food supplies begin to run low.
Failing to follow their zombified Fantastic Four into a parallel universe (Earth-1610), the zombies finish the last active snack, Magneto, before the heavens present a miracle.

The timing of his arrival affected by unknown elements of this universe; the Silver Surfer descends in present-day to assess the viability of the Earth for consumption by his master - Galactus: Devourer of Worlds. Irony smiles upon the fortunes of Earth, however, and the Surfer is quickly devoured by the once heroic collective of Avengers, granting them the alien energies of the power cosmic!

With their newly aquired powers the zombies seek to feast on Galactus himself, but first they must face the zombie horde of those who opposed them in life. Freed of the moral constraints that spurred their infinite war, the rabid heroes march against their enemies in a battle to the undead-death.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Hulk 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Dr. Doom 6 (Genius)
Speed: Colonel America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Juggernaut 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Super-Skrull 6 (Rubber)
Fighting Ability: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy Power: Super-Skrull 6 (UWMD)


- The zombie-heroes are: Colonel America, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-man, and Giant-Man.

The Avengers were the first to fall before the zombie infestation of Earth-2419.
Carried by an alternate universe Sentry who had escaped from the gates of the afterlife; the plague spread to even the most powerful members, benefitting from the powers of the likes of Thor to spread the undead plague throughout the superhero community.

Despite retaining cognitive function, the heroes quickly abandon their morals, driven mad by the bloodlust of hunger, to lay waste to the Earth's population.
The few who remain uninfected whittle the zombies number, among them; Magneto, the Acolytes, Black Panther, and Reed Richards of Earth-1610.

Eventually the zombies themselves decimate their own in desperation, leaving only Hulk, Spider-man, Wolverine, Iron Man, Power Man, and Giant-Man, to devour and absorb the powers of Galactus, becoming the interdimensional menace called The Galacti.

As the Galacti they possess the immense energies of the power cosmic, while the many zombies previous retained their abilities from life, with a deminished physical integrity and penchant for bouts of mindless violence caused by the hunger.

- The zombie-villains are: Red Skull, Mole Man, Green Goblin, Super-Skrull, Rhino, Juggernaut, Venom, Dr. Octopus, Stilt-Man, Lizard, and Dr. Doom.

Like their heroic counterparts, the villains of Earth-2419 succumbed to the spread of the zombie plague. Their already questionable morals were altered far less than their counterparts, but in a world where the ravenous hordes quickly became the mainstream, their struggles are on an even kilter.

As with the hero zombies; the villains possess all the abilities they had prior to infection, albeit with a dramatically reduced physical integrity due to decay. Likewise, they are also susceptible to the intellectual haze caused by hunger.

Math: Villains (Ttl) Heroes (Avg) Ranking: Iron Man (#3)

What Went Down...
With Galactus toppled by the cosmic powers of the heroic zombies, the villains who played an integral part in the assault find themselves at odds with their traditional foes. The two factions face off to fight for their food, with the first shot fired by a cosmically endowed Colonel America, who blasts the head clean off of Mole Man's shoulders!

The two sides clash, but the villains quickly find themselves outmatched by the heroes who gained control over the power cosmic by devouring Silver Surfer [Marvel Zombies #3].

Spider-man endures a slash from the taloned fingertips of Venom, only to return fire with a blast of cosmic energy. The costume recoils from Eddie Brock's body, revealing the zombie corpse to be an insufficient host for the symbiotic creature.

Meanwhile, the armored Juggernaut scoffs Wolverine's one-armed stand.
With his healing factor decimated by decomposition, Wolverine's own adamantium laced claws tore through his now missing limb. The already dimwitted Juggernaut suffers for his boast as Wolverine plunges his clawed hand into the exposed mouth of his magically endowed foe, only to blast his decrepid flesh with a swelling mass of cosmic energy!

The raging X-Man turns his attentions to his undead nemesis, Sabretooth, while Giant-Man does away with Rhino with a decapitating blast of the power cosmic.

Colonel America has his own personal showdown, facing off in a physical mismatch with the Nazi, Red Skull. Already his physical superior, the zombified Skull provides little challenge for the zombie icon.

At close quarters, Red Skull loses an arm for his troubles, but delights in the Colonel's absent mindedness. Having had the top of his head sliced open by Magneto [Marvel Zombies #1], the Colonel's wounds provide Red Skull the ultimate equaliser. Tearing at the rotting remnants of Colonel America's brain, Red Skull puts an end to the undead life of the zombie super-soldier.

Spider-man spots the showdown too late to intervene, but scores a vengeful blow for his fallen leader, decapitating the cackling Red Skull with an energy blast, leaving the head to burst like a tomato beneath the heel of Giant-Man.

Green Goblin falls to the cosmic power of Spider-man, while Super-Skrull is stretched to breaking by Giant-Man, who also decimates Dr. Doom with the power cosmic. Finally, Wolverine finishes Dr. Octopus, severing the two remaining mechanical arms, before ending the villain.

The heroes stand triumphant as Galactus rises, crackling with energy. Little does the great devourer know, he faces an enemy like none he has ever seen... [Marvel Zombies #5]

The Hammer...
The Marvel Zombies win! Fatali... Er, you get the idea.

Alright, let's work out how this went down.
Colonel America killed Mole Man; Spider-man took out Venom & Green Goblin; Wolverine killed Juggernaut, Sabretooth, (& Dr. Octopus); Giant-Man killed Rhino, Red Skull, Super-Skrull, and Dr. Doom; and Red Skull killed Colonel America (downgrading his contribution to an assist).

For the trainspotters: Lizard and Stilt-Man go almost unnoticed, but if you look carefully enough, you'll know they're there. The action is really focused on key skirmishes, but Philips works in enough background detail to imply vital input from heroes like Luke Cage and Iron Man, and the presence of these mostly obscured villains.

I don't want to get too wrapped up in the 'game' aspect of the Infinite Wars, but it's probably worth elaborating on the ranking aspects for those who came in late.
Our interpretation is that these alternate universe versions of characters fairly contribute to the win/loss tally by representing elements of unlocked potential. For versions deemed definitively removed (ie; Superboy-Prime) we accept a seperate ranking, but in the case of Earth-2149, only zombie infection differentiates the basic make-up of the characters.

It's a fine line that might be subject to change, and if you have an opinion on this aspect of the blog, you should feel encouraged to drop a comment. It's a discussion we usually prefer to avoid, but it doesn't hurt to hear your thoughts.

As you might have gathered Marvel Zombies is just another perfect contribution to our October spookfest here on the Infinite Wars. As is becoming characteristic of the site, our schedule is running a week behind, suitably enough this time because I had an infection of my own. We're not here to hear about that, though.

Whilst sick I fell in love with zombies all over again whilst watching plague films like Doomsday, Resident Evil, and the Dawn of the Dead remake (which turned out to be much better than I had imagined). Of course, while this immersion in the genre made it easy to come back to Marvel's version of the undead, it did shine further light on the gaping weaknesses of the series.

For a high-concept spin-off from the Ultimate books [ie; UFF #23]; Zombies probably deserves some accolade for grafting something very similar to a plot to the mini. However, after seemingly attempting to take back the derogatory 'Marvel Zombie' descriptor, the series has come to encompass the type of oveworked brand serviced by those very same mindlessly dedicated fans.

I feel a little inside-out talking about the series in negative terms.
To be fair, the most recent incarnation [Marvel Zombies 3] manages to lend gravitas to the brand by admirably introducing it to the Marvel Universe proper. This kind of investment in the concept is what I believe will win Geoff Johns' inevitably compared Black Lanterns kudos, benefitting from the more immediate sense of meaning. It's a point that encompasses Marvel's situation.

I think it's retroactive perspective that has me looking far more negatively upon the first series, which was at the time, fun enough, if already clichéd.

As if presenting a fasttrack guide to Marvel's historic development processes; the Zombies series have arguably found their narrative strength the farther they've gone. Millar's original required only a vague antagonising concept akin to the anonymous threat best associated with zombies, while Kirkman elaborates on the very same characters immediately after Millar's work, indulging moreso in retro superheroes, whilst perhaps saving the good ideas for his own series (Image's; Walking Dead).

The concept of superhero zombies is a very interesting one.
Kirkman, whilst doing little to use the strong conventions of the sub-genre, offers some justification with the simple exploration of the superhero zombie. By keeping elements of the characters intact he really does tell more of a macabre superhero story than a zombie thriller, but even this has it's own merits. I have to at least acknowledge this version's conceits of cognitive function -- which deteriorates with the rise of hunger, but is diminished (in Zombies 2) with a clarity provided by longterm starvation. It provides a chance, albeit a shallow one, to look at zombies with some sense of existential self-awareness.

This only goes so far, however, leaving questions of sustainability and other reflections provided by the genre to his creator-owned work. Not that I say that with any contempt. I haven't read the stuff, but arguably because I anticipate a competence I would not want influencing me in my own aspirations to explore the genre in comics. [Is now a bad time to plug my $1.99 comic?]

On that self-indulgence; there's the matter of the origins of the zombie plague. Later series awkwardly bound the Marvel Zombies to licensed contributions from Sam Raimi's Evil Dead franchise, a fact sure to bite them in the arse in decades to come (so buy now if you want it), but still answered some questions about the spread. The origins, of course, like so many zombie tales, remain obscured, provided by an interdimensional introduction similar to our first meeting with the concept (in Millar's Crossover arc of Ultimate Fantastic Four).


As a bit of a fan for procedural detail, I think the most fascinating concept not yet hammered in to the ground by zombie comics and film is the origin story. Not so much the cause of the plague, which was given a competent sci-fi origin in Resident Evil, but how traditional zombies can achieve their terrifying hordes. While I have to admit, the concept lends a slow burn potentially fatal to audiences, but it's a concept I'd very much like to explore.

With any luck we'll talk speculatively a bit more about what history might lie behind the history of the Marvel Zombies. Probably a refreshing change from the repetitive brow furrowing these entries tend to devolve into.

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4.5

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