BATMAN versus SOFIA GIGANTE FALCONE

Peace (DC)
Where: Batman: Dark Victory #13 When: December 2000 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

The Story So Far...
The mystery of a new killer grips Gotham City in the wake of The Holiday murders. The months melt away as The Hang Man stalks the ranks of law enforcement, pinning a crude scribbling of the children's word game to their victims, written on documents taken from the desk of Harvey Dent.

The scarred former District Attorney has gone underground as the walls of suspicion and his enemies begin to close in around him. Former ally, Batman, is on his trail, but the man now dubbed "Two-Face" is busy with his own investigation, and the pair will inevitably reach the same conclusion, leading to a showdown with Sofia Gigante Falcone!

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

The Batman has had no shortage of run-ins with organized crime figures, but finding a comparison for the heiress to the Falcone Crime Family is no mean feat.

Sofia Gigante Falcone is one of a kind. The daughter of notorious Gotham City crime boss Carmine Falcone, she was much closer to her father than her mother, Luisa. Sofia inherited The Roman's cunning and determination, navigating mob rank with the benefit of a physically imposing stature and demeanor.

It's difficult to do Sofia Falcone's domineering size and aura justice. She is a truly powerful woman in every sense of the word -- but by the time of Batman: Dark Victory, she is carrying the literal & figurative scars of The Long Halloween.

The Holiday Killer's campaign against organized crime pushed Sofia to extremes and ended with her shocking plunge from the balcony of the Falcone Penthouse.

Catwoman's bola inadvertently saved Sofia from falling to her death, but in doing so, swung her uncontrollably through plate glass windows that sheered the right side of her face off, and left her wheelchair bound -- or so it seemed.

Cosmetic surgery, wigs, and a steel frame rebuilt Sofia's appearance, but rumors of her crippling physical injuries were greatly exaggerated. In fact, the wheelchair is a mere cover for her campaign as The Hang Man Killer: a serial murderer whose hanging modus operandi speaks to the physical strength of Sofia Falcone.

She isn't enhanced to the degree of Bane - who combined stratagem, training, and Venom augmentation to famously break the bat - but certainly possesses the natural physical attributes to give Batman a run for his money.

We know he can handle himself against the likes of a Venom-enhanced Riddler, Killer Croc, Fatman & Little Boy, and even Marvel's peak physical specimen, the super-soldier Captain America. How will he handle Falcone? Let's find out!

The Tape: Batman Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...

Gotham City burns from the inside out as the gas lines ignite, and Harvey "Two-Face" Dent crawls desperately through the labyrinthine sewers beneath.

Dent pulls himself across the stone, emerging from a metal hatch without noticing the dark figure hidden in the flames. A noose drops around his throat and yanks him toward the pipes overhead. On the other end of the rope - a hulking shadow, emerging through the flames as it sheds the metal frame around its head.

His executioner steps into the light -- Sofia Gigante Falcone, The Hang Man Killer.

The seemingly crippled crime boss almost fooled them all. They never suspected the woman in the wheelchair. She towers, completely capable and unencumbered, strong enough to hold a grown man off the ground by a rope around his throat.

Dent spits in Sofia's face. She yanks the rope and buries her right fist in his gut.

A razor-sharp batarang cuts the air and slices the rope. Two-Face drops.

The Dark Knight descends into the burning sewer tunnel, gliding over Sofia Falcone. A short uppercut knocks her back as he works through all the clues in his mind, unravelling and revising the inevitability of her guilt.

The powerful crime boss is disgusted that Batman would protect the Two-Faced former District Attorney. Falcone is more than able to match his blows, scuffling with a leading left that becomes an upward strike.

The Batman delivers a straight kick to her chest to wind the giant.

He follows rapidly with a precision nerve strike delivered with straightened hand.

A stiff uppercut completes the combination to end the Falcone Crime Family.

The Batman appears triumphant, but then --

Suddenly -- a gunshot rings out in the tight sewer tunnel and Sofia Gigante Falcone's grimace goes limp. Her eyes widen, dumbstruck, as blood bursts from her forehead. The Hang Man has been hit.

A noose drops around her neck, pulling the corpse away from Batman and toward those pipes running along the top of the sewer tunnel.

Falcone's body provides counterweight as Two-Face leaps to a lower level of the tunnel system, dangling from the other end of the rope in escape.

"You wanted it to end, Bats. So did I."

The pipe bursts as chunks of the old sewer system begin to collapse and fall away. Fire engulfs the underground. The Hang Man has been stopped, but it's not over. Not yet. Two-Face is still on the loose and The Batman has a cave to defend.

The Hammer...

It's been a while since I've revisited Dark Victory, but I remember a lot of it quite well. Not just through the ripples of its influence in the adaptations of Christopher Nolan, or the recent HBO live-action Penguin series streaming to MAX, but from the impact of that very first read some twenty-plus years ago.

The Long Halloween had passed me by, but I read vicariously through the pages of Wizard Magazine, where the hottest Batman story of the mid-late nineties was the source of much speculation and excitement. It got me excited, too!

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale quickly became a must-read partnership as I reinvested myself in DC's Dark Knight -- a lapsed favourite from earlier childhood. Naturally, a collected edition of The Long Halloween became an instant favourite. I cherish it still. It's on top of a tall stack of comics on my desk right at this moment.

I still consider the two maxi-series to be among the very best Batman stories on offer. Individually, or together, they address the greatest aspects of the character, and his surrounding world. Masterworks ripe for study and enjoyment.

There is the thrilling tour through the iconic rogue's gallery that offers instant amusement and all the action you could want. Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent intersect with the conflict between organized crime and these new "freaks" in Gotham City. Dent's fateful transformation into Two-Face is retold, becoming an actualized transition between the two paradigms, nestled within an unfolding crime caper that fulfills the old fashioned pulp fiction of Detective Comics, while also addressing the oft-neglected mystery-solving of The Dark Knight Detective.

Loeb & Sale's work builds directly on a foundation of Year One, but surpasses it in a great many ways, better reflecting a definitive version of the superhero, while adapting the montage technique of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's four issue classic to create a monthly timeline that plays directly into the story.

The overarching threat of "The Long Halloween" is a veiled antagonist, The Holiday Killer, who strikes but once a month -- just like comic books. In Dark Victory, it's the mysterious Hang Man who terrorizes Gotham by calendar.

The layers are many, and that doesn't even begin to address the immediate appeal of Tim Sale's artwork, complimented beautifully by the colours of Gregory Wright. The collaboration with Sale is impeccable, creating an unrivaled mood for Gotham City and its many haunts. You see it in every gloomy night, grand interior, and stone-walled sewer tunnel.

The penciler's layouts, designs, and expressive characters are on another level. Cinematic, beyond merest reality, yet believably grounded in it.

I recall listening to an interview with Fanboy Radio, where Sale waxed romantically about his real-world inspiration for Catwoman -- a character he and Loeb revisited with the sequel mini-series, Catwoman: When In Rome.

I wouldn't ordinarily skip straight to the conclusion of the second series, but I settled on today's featured fight for its reflection of all of Sale's skills. In particular, I wanted an entry that captured the grandeur of his vision for Sofia Gigante Falcone, who seems underserved by the recent live-action casting of diminutive, slight, and conventionally glamorous, 5'2" Cristin Milioti.

I've already expressed misgivings about the entirety of The Penguin spin-off and its origins in The Batman. Not having seen the show, I wouldn't want to be too outwardly venomous towards Milioti's portrayal, but I think the panels included in today's entry speak to the vast disparity between the originating comic book character, and Hollywood's all too typical choice for females in these projects.

Towering and scarred, wearing that heavy trench coat, there's obviously a lot of dramatic exaggeration going on in this final chapter of Dark Victory, but for anyone who has read both series throughout, you will recognise Sofia Falcone as an archetype that exists in life. A powerful, physically imposing Italian woman, with strong features. A distinct and appropriate choice for the character, whose domineering presence looms literally & figuratively over both stories.

With so much of contemporary cinema caught up in social concerns, it's a little dismaying to see female characters with unique characteristics, be they body-type or age, regularly supplanted in live-action with more standard types.

Marisa Tomei as Aunt May might be the most egregious example of this time, but I also think of DC's Amanda Waller, who is yet to have the robust physicality of "The Wall" seen in classic comics in any of her live-action portrayals.

Put simply: Sofia Gigante Falcone would crush her live-action counterpart in much the way she squeezed Riddler's head to the point of bleeding.

A fantastic character, who like other key figures in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, is irreversibly corrupted by Gotham City and her own obsessions, driven to becoming one of the very "freaks" her family so detests. Thus, The Hang Man Killer is hung by her own noose. A perfect, ironic end, punctuated with a gunshot to the head to seemingly rule out another miraculous return from the dead.

Of course, this isn't actually the end. There was The Long Halloween Special in 2021, and now Jeph Loeb has collaborated with another excellent Batman artist, Eduardo Risso, to begin Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween. A final chapter that pays homage to Tim Sale, who passed away in June, 2022.

It still hits me pretty hard to think about that.

I didn't know the man personally, but his work has been tremendously important to me. Having neglected talking about these favourite series all these years, I finally started working on an entry for Halloween 2021, but when I couldn't confidently describe a detail in the story, I wanted to seek clarification from the source. Just over half a year later, I understood how poor my timing must have been. That entry, or any others, just became a little too hard to think about.

We're blessed to have Sale's work adorn Last Halloween covers. His unmistakable hand still a part of the project. I think fondly not just of his work on The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, but also his covers for Detective Comics, which were as exciting at times as the interior issue itself.

One day I will return to that unfinished 2021 entry, and other memorable moments from The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, but for now I'm taking a break.

You can find relevant entries, past and future, by following links throughout this article, or by diving in to the Secret Archive. That's where every featured fight is filed in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Starting with DC, you'll be able to find plenty of Batman right near the top, but I also recommend following the Tim Sale label for some of his other fantastic works, at DC and elsewhere.

If you'd like to see me return to this subject sooner than later, or any other topic that strikes your fancy, you might like to become a supporter on Patreon. This is a fine way to get my ear, but also just help keep us all in the fight. With over 700 battles detailed, and many more subjects covered, Secret Wars on Infinite Earths is determined to be a free resource to anyone who might have use for it.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by following on X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber!

Winner: Two-Face & Batman
#152 (+297) Two-Face [+1 kill]
#1 (--) Batman
#1032 (new) Sofia Gigante Falcone

CHEETAH versus CATWOMAN
"Chapter Four: Thursday" (DC)
Where: Catwoman: When in Rome #4 When: March 2005 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

The story so far...
While a killer known only as The Hangman is causing a rift between the crime families and so-called 'freaks' of Gotham; in far off Italy, Catwoman travels to Italy where she hopes to learn more of what might be her history.

Catwoman soon finds herself embroiled in a new realm of organized crime, and a plot against her, as she finds herself beseiged by the powers of the Gotham freaks. Accompanied by the Riddler, Catwoman's only other friend is an Italian assassin known as The Blonde. Together the trio circumvent the wrath of a criminal underworld that believes them responsible for the death their boss, Don Verinni, by Joker poison.

Having taken a job to steal a ring from the fortress that is the Vatican, Catwoman faces her next obstacle when the Cheetah is hired to take her out. It's a colosseum catfight as the two feline foes come head-to-head in a bitter battle to the finish.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Cheetah 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Catwoman 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Cheetah 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Cheetah 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Catwoman 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Draw 1 (None)


- Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva was an anthropologist who travelled to Africa to seek out the secrets of a tribe whose guardian is said to possess the powers of a cheetah.

When this guardian is killed by marauders, Minerva steps up to the mantle, but details of the mystic process mean the recipient must be a virgin, which she is not. The irregularity means the mystic powers of the Cheetah become a curse, as Minerva finds herself wracked with pain, and bloodthirsty when in the form of a human-cat.

As Cheetah, Minerva possesses strength, speed, agility surpassing any ordinary human, approaching the levels of the creature from which she takes her name. Her senses are also heightened to comparable levels to the animal.

- Selina Kyle lives a life on the streets, coming to be known as a notorious thief. Her escapades garner much attention, and eventually force the burglar to lay low, where she continues her career in crime as a dominatrix extracting information from potential victims.

Kyle gains extensive training in the martial arts, and inspired by the mysterious vigilante called Batman, adopts her own leather mask and catsuit ensemble to become Catwoman.
As Catwoman, she embarks on a career as an ambiguous entity in the Gotham City landscape. Though regularly acting as a professional burglar and occasional mercenary, Catwoman also comes to be known as a protector of Gotham's East End. She is also known to be romantically involved with Batman.

Catwoman is a highly skilled fighter at peak physical condition, with impressive physical strength, agility, and speed. Catwoman also utilizes weapons including a whip, cat o' nine tails variation, and claws contained within her gloves.

The Math: Cheetah Ranking: Catwoman (#29)

What Went Down...
Having been ambushed, Catwoman finds herself in bondage at the mercy of the super human-mutate, Cheetah. While Cheetah remains distracted by a trinket stolen from the Vatican, Catwoman uses the claws in her glove to work on the rope used to render her helpless. The distraction serves it's purpose.

With Cheetah sufficiently stunned, Catwoman leaps through the surrounding ruins, making a break with the stolen ring, whilst recapping her situation.
Her attack proves insufficient in incapacitating Cheetah, who catches Kyle's boot with her prehensile tail as she does her best to flee. Catwoman lands hard.

Cheetah leaps at the woman she's been hired to kill, only to land on an offensive boot strike from the grounded Catwoman. The two feline themed foes square off again, but Catwoman's offer of a new contract is refused.

Cheetah launches herself into an unrelenting feral attack, leading with taloned fingertips that wrap around Catwoman's throat, and slash at her chest. A break gives Catwoman room to move where she recalls training with Ted Grant, whose philosophy is to put them down, ugly or not.

Catwoman leads with a Wildcat-style boxing combination of proficient punches, but it's the mutated claws of Cheetah that score the killer blow. She buries her finger tips in Catwoman's gut, spreading crimson across the purple leather of her costume.
With her target on the ropes, Cheetah wraps her hand around Catwoman's throat and lifts her into the air with her enhanced strength. She taunts with the prospect of taking Catwoman's name when she's dead.

Despite her injuries, Selina manages to snag Cheetah's wagging tail!

With the tail in hand, she wraps it around the assassin's throat for a double dose of pain. The advantage gives Catwoman the opportunity to wrap herself to a mounted position on the villainness' back, adding extra leverage to the tail garotte.

With victory assured, a shot rings out from the distance -- The Blonde! The Italian assassin, with whom Catwoman has found herself the target of the Mafia, rushes to his ally's aid, revealing the use of a traquilizer, rather than lethal force. Cheetah sleeps. Catwoman wins.

The Hammer...
Oh my goodness. Well, this entry was supposed to be the final post last month, but it's been consecutively bumped back ever since, because I'm just so damned busy/tired. Ergo, we open the February account with a solid fight back from Catwoman, with The Blonde!

As we wrap up a rollercoaster first month for 2008, it's by no accident that we find ourselves here. I think it's safe to say that as much as any other online commentator, the Infinite Wars indulges in a healthy dose of muckraking. This entry, featuring the uncommon but welcome combination of Catwoman and Cheetah, makes no exception.

Infinite Wars mainstays will know I like to observe the so-called feminist movement, appreciating occasional mention on issue-based linksite, When Fangirls Attack. Like an idiot-grinning charicature of Larry David, I naively like to think of myself as friend to the feminist. I quite enjoy WFA's penchant for keeping readers abreast of all commentary, and sometimes find there to be very interesting and thought-provoking issues raised -- and then, other times, I see slow news days leaving pro-women blogs spinning their wheels. This is probably where the proverbial 'racist dog' ruins it for me.

Case-in-point: Catwoman #78; a Salvation Run tie-in.
If you follow the DCcomics.com link, your eyes will quickly be drawn to a graphically vivid thumbnail of cover art by fan-favourite artist, Adam Hughes.

Hughes' reputation, particularly for his pin-up covers for Catwoman, precedes him. I'm not about to argue that Adams isn't well favoured for his penchant for drawing sexy women in provocative poses.
That said, it's with some surprise I note the issue seventy-eight cover drawing allusions to a gratuitous lesbian pin-up. Surprise because, well, to be frank, I'm a heterosexual male!

The first thing I see is not only a bold graphic statement, but a teaser to the presumed fight within. Because, dare we admit it, when you fight someone, you're going to have to get close. Ewwwww cooties~!!!

After a month of Cover to Cover filler, I'm hardly going to begrudge anyone for spinning something out of nothing, but I don't doubt that there are some folk genuinely looking at this cover with distanced distaste. I don't know if this is the forum for it, but as an outsider looking in, that constantly recurring theme of America, and it's awkward relationship with sexuality and repression, rears it's head once more [albeit, as a tangent].

I suppose as capsules that represent the times and events of the United States, it's inevitable that that facet of culture is going to be absorbed. Despite the many artists who inhabit the creative landscape and cultivate a culture of exaggerated themes and reflective storytelling; precedence of outrage date back to the congressional hearings of the fifties, and the fear campaign of the seduction of the innocent. [Those interested in their comics history should do some research on Dr. Fredric Wertham!]

I guess I find fascination in a culture that willingly purveys violence the way most American products do, but has a teetering sensibility where sex is concerned.
I believe it's a popular American -ism to agree: sex sells. Lord knows that's been self-evident in recent months of Infinite Wars with an expected, (and jokingly predicted), spike in Amazon referrals for the Wonder Woman Playboy issue.

Yet, at the same time, I would make the naive assumption that the quantity of American film or comic including artistic or realistic nudity is drastically less than their European or Oriental equivalent. I mean sure, you've got your Jaime Lee Curtis, but then, that's sort of the intriguing contradiction, isn't it?

I don't want to make this an attack on the foibles of the feminist comics bloggers. Really, like most of our entries, this has an elaborate opportunity to feature this particular issue of When in Rome, these particular characters, and have some fat chewing chit-chat about topics floating in the bowl of the comics commentary circuit.

However [aka; but] -- I do tend to wonder, having browsed some of the topics bobbing up lately, if there isn't a misnomer to comics feminism.
I think the very broad context we've just talked about makes it irrefutable fact that there's an issue to be acknowledged; good or bad; of sexism, sexuality, and sexual objectification in comics. The question mark seems to be there when you start looking at specifics that differentiate the debate of quantity of superhero females versus males and similarly compared mortality rates, versus a character called Spider-Bitch.

Given how tired I am at the end of the day, I can't really commit the kind of time necessary to working through the philosophy behind villification versus due course, but it's an interesting subject to have approached.

Like our own operations, I don't doubt for a minute that so-called feminism in comics has become a theme to a blog, much like our theme of fisticuffs. Sometimes that means you're going to be clutching at straws to produce some sort of content, and I suppose that might even mean exaggerating the trivial. I just wonder if it wouldn't hurt the blogosphere to get a healthy dose of context.

On a lighter side of things, being a bit of a superhero ham, I'll probably be looking to try to grab the latest issue of Catwoman. I actually really enjoy the notion of these two characters as rivals, and would enjoy the opportunity to present a fairly interesting rematch here on the Infinite Wars!

Likewise, though uncertain, I eagerly anticipate elaboration on Mark Millar's upcoming return to Wolverine, with Steven McNiven on art chores. The series, which features the mentioned Spider-Bitch, places Wolverine in an Eastwood post-apocalyptic America where the heroes exist only as ghosts, and distorted descendents of the dreams they once represented.

I expect the series to be little more than harmless fun - something Millar is quite capable of, even if there's usually a hint of a bigger picture. I'm expecting a Kingdom Come/DKSA style take on the successor to the Spider-mantle, who exhibits the geek chic all the popular girls love, happily referring to herself as a Bitch in a playful sense, rather than any kind of woman-hating oppresive mantra.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 5

As is all too often the case, my scanner seems completely incapable of sharing with you the glory of Dave Stewart's colours, which go lengths to compliment Tim Sale's inimitable style! If you like what you see, but want to see more, (and clearer), you can head over to Amazon! By using the links provide, you help the Infinite Wars garner favour from Amazon, which results in kick-backs and hired goon protection!
Amazon have not only When in Rome, but also the collected Dark Victory, from which the Catwoman tale spun out of! Sounds like a double-header, to me! Or for a triple, check out the original story: The Long Halloween!

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Silent Knight!
BATMAN versus SCARECROW
Toys (DC)
Where: Batman: Dark Victory #3 When: February 2000 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

Quick Fix...
Dark Victory was the welcomed gritty sequel to the mid-nineties thriller maxi-series, Batman: The Long Halloween. Long Halloween was an instant classic, bringing together the oft overlooked mystery writing techniques that compliment the Dark Knight Detective; combining them with the world of Gotham City in an unofficial sequel to Miller's Year One.

Dark Victory is an equally revered piece of Batman fiction, but why should the Infinite Wars happen upon these issues now? As is often the case, there's a simple, if veiled explanation!

On the one hand, the Loeb/Sale maxi-series' have both been incredibly influencial to the Christopher Nolan directed feature film(s); with Nolan, [co-writer; David] Goyer, and cast members regularly quoting both stories as invaluable references. Empire magazine, (along with various websites), have featured the first official promotional shots of The Dark Knight's Heath Ledger in full Joker regalia, making now as good a time as any to delve into DK countdown mode!

That, and also, we're featuring an single issue spotlight on reviews from the past twenty-five years in weekly Cover to Cover features. If you're inclined to scour the back issues based on printed year, then you'll already realise that 2000 was a slow year for me. So, just to make sure there aren't any gaps, I'm ramming a couple of 2000 reviews in for four week's time. Haw!

Of course, just to lift the curtain to spoil the magic, in the time it took to start this post, to reach this point, we've also seen the release of a fantastic Dark Knight poster [alluding to the Joker with a dripping red bat isnignia] -- and I've also bumped this entry back several days, making room for another.

So, while a shred of the original intention remains, we should get this show on the road to make way for other entries of immediate interest.

A killer is following in the footsteps of the Holiday killer who terrorized the Gotham crime families with a murder for every month. Now the game is Hangman, and the new killer is eliminating corrupt cops, following a similar seasonal modus operandi as the supposed original Holiday.

The Batman, unclear as to who is responsible, interrogates all available sources, arriving at Boss Zucco, who failed to fullfil his usual routine of receipt collecting from one of the fine establishments owned by the Maroni family. The Cheetah Room gentleman's club was manned by Arnold John Flass - former marine and disgraced police Detective - with all the motive in the world to go after Commissioner Jim Gordon, and Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, for bringing him down under affiliation with criminal activity. Too bad he's not the guy.

Zucco gives up the Scarecrow as the catalyst for variation in his operations: and a potential suspect, or witness, for the Hangman murders. Batman tracks Scarecrow to the abandoned Gotham Toy Factory, where Scarecrow is hatching a plan to release his fear toxin through children's dolls.

Scarecrow proves less than cooperative, attacking Batman with a cloud of his sickly green gas that masks his gangling escape from the Dark Knight's clutches. The weight of a pulley proves vital, swinging like a pendulum through the muck to strike the Batman in the head.

Far more physical a foe than the gawky Jonathan Crane; Batman finds his way outside to the snow, where he lands atop the Scarecrow's getaway truck.

Reciting lines from nursery rhymes to the very end; the Scarecrow opts to plunge his vehicle into the icey depths of a Gotham River. He cuts loose from the noose that binds him to the man crouching atop his caboose; leaving him on the pier to suffer the effects of terror and fear.

See what I did there? Yeah, well, before we spiral down into the abyss of my apparent fixation with alliteration and/or rhyming, let us steer this train back to the rails of a valued entry. Actually, it's probably worth noting that we very nearly discussed this earlier as part of our Halloween spillover!

While the Scarecrow has roughly fifty years of history, it's his depiction in this series (and Long Halloween) that comes right to mind when I think of the character. It's almost contradictory to go from talking so much about pseudo-realism [New Avengers #35], to talking about preferring this fairly outlandish visual take on the Scarecrow character, but that's a surface observation.

These are really points coming at the same rules from different ends of the spectrum, and therefore opposite references. For me, it's the fusion of fiction with inspiration taken from reality that makes these sorts of urban characters so wonderful and enduring.

Scarecrow is famously one of the characters they struggled to totally come to terms with in the much beloved animated series. In my opinion, while the final visual of a bulky man who may or may not be something supernatural is quite neat, it actually gets too far away from the heart of the character.

If I could envision my ultimate interpretation of the Scarecrow it would be very specifically referenced in this contemporary tales. It would be the eerie but stylized appearance of Tim Sale's character; with shades of Loeb's distanced insanity, and Geoff Johns' deranged motivation and desensitization [as seen in Batman: Gotham Knights #49].

Scarecrow is already confirmed for an appearance in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, and while sources close to the film downplay the cameo as being comparable to Willem Dafoe's returning role in Spider-man 3, one still can't help but imagine how a reference point like Dark Victory might come to play. Will the fractured remains of Jonathan Crane, last seen screaming into the night in Begins, be a silent observer of crimes in the new chapter, or could the Scarecrow and his toxins even be tied to the emergence of a new version of the Joker?

Mmm, me thinks that might just be discussion for another time... Now!

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 6.5
Winner: Draw

It seems a great many comics reader missed out on the experience of the Long Halloween, only to catch up by immediately diving into the 2000 sequel. If you haven't had the opportunity to read either of these modern masterpieces, I strongly recommend them as great Christmas gifts. That said, I would suggest you stay tuned for links to the original, if you're only going to seek out one, because it's there that the intrigue begins, that is inadvertently spoiled if reading Dark Victory first. Note efforts to avoid giving any clues to the final identity of either Holiday, or The Hangman!

---

THE JOKER versus HARVEY DENT
Christmas (DC)
Where: Batman: The Long Halloween #3 When: February 1997 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

So, this is the kind of thing that happens when you bounce your entries around. I did scan and upload the next issue of Dark Victory, which is a Solomon Grundy story I've been trying to shoe-horn onto the site since it's very inception!
However, with measured enthusiasm I must declare that I am but a humble servant of a higher power, and that is creative logics. It was just too tempting an offer to do an all Christmas Bat-entry, given the date, and all.

So, here we are, doing it in reverse order!
I stress again for the uninitiated or for anyone who skims over the names and dates at the beginning of entries -- Batman: The Long Halloween is the story to which Batman: Dark Victory is a sequel!

So, here we are, three years before the last entry.
This is a very different time. Movie goers will have recognised the Dark Victory mention of ex-Detective Flass. The man you know as an overweight vision of corruption actually began life in the pages of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, as a tall and deadly peroxide blonde with special forces combat training. The visions you're having of Bridgette Nielsen are actually reasonably accurate, substituting silicon implants for Miller's standard olive trenchcoat.

Batman: The Long Halloween, like various stories that have followed, serves as a sort of unofficial sequel to Year One. While it provides inspiration for the big screen Batman Begins, it's worth noting that Year One serves more as a vignette of concepts, than a vivid depiction of the early rise of the Dark Knight Detective.
It's this fact that leads Loeb and Sale to quite successfully begin a tradition of telling tales early in hero's careers, elaborating on the Gotham criminal underworld, the corruption that facilitates the existance of a Batman, and the rise of the community of "freaks" and their costumed gimmickery.

While the period of transition (from conventional crook, to freaks) is more specifically explored in Dark Victory, the underpinnings are certainly quite well conceived in Long Halloween. In fact, one of the most vivid analogies of this transition of crime in Gotham is the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face, which was apparently a wise tip from Miller himself, who recognised Two-Face as one of the under utilized gems of the Bat rogues gallery.

Actually, the story does well to further enhance Two-Face's motivations and character, differentiating him from the cooky insanity of his predecessors by drawing on his driven life as a District Attorney. It is no doubt this characterization that will steer Aaron Eckhart's depiction of the character in The Dark Knight; and it's here, in the Long Halloween, that we get a glimpse of the speculated relationship between Two-Face and Joker.

The popular bet is that it will be the clown prince of crime who scars Harvey Dent in this new big screen canon; but in the Long Halloween that is an honor reserved for a vastly different character (who is also rumored to appear) -- I won't spoil it for those of you making eagerly making Christmas purchases.

Having had his home previously destroyed by gang violence; Harvey Dent surprises his chair-bound wife, Gilda, with a bow wrapped cottage on Christmas Eve. Having carried his excited bride across the threshold, the DA encourages his wife to explore the upstairs, having observed unsolicited footprints in his home.

Lurking around the Christmas tree stirs a grinning Joker.

Dent charges the Joker, exploding in a furious delivery of fists that smack the jester's twisted grin left and right of his face. Though the blows might have shaken an average man, the Joker will forever be remembered as anything but average.

Investigating the Holiday murders in his own bizarre way, Joker swiftly puts chief-suspect Harvey Dent down with a swift kick to the crotch.
The uncermonious maneuver sufficiently floors the Distict Attorney, and gives the Joker the opportunity to examine him beneath his magnifying glass.

The Joker notes that Harvey is not Batman; as suspected by some citizens of Gotham; but remains uncertain of his potential as the killer called Holiday. Discontent with the presence of another themed maniac, Joker leaves Dent with a stern warning that should he indeed turn out to be the killer, he will return with intentions far less "forgiving" than this visit.

Joker disappears into the night, leaving Dent to be discovered beside the toppled Christmas tree in a quivering heap. A humiliation the District Attorney will not soon forget.

Boy! Wasn't that a cheery Christmas tale?
Alright, so it might not leave you warm and fuzzy before the jolly fatman slides down the chimney, but it's none the less a piece of a fantastic puzzle! A puzzle in both the story itself, and as a piece of The Dark Knight to come.

As both a fan of play-along mysteries, and Batman and his cast of supporting characters, I fall in that massive category of fans who regard these tales with reverence and awe. Say what you will about Loeb's lesser outings, but undeniable is the stoic execution of this gritty, urban mystery.

Often on the Infinite Wars we've discussed the typical divide of what a fanboy regards as their penultimate Batman. If such a thing is seen in print, for me, it may just be in the pages of The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.
Tim Sale's visuals deserve all the credit in the world for enhancing what is a relatively well constructed story. It is mind boggling that Sale, colour blind, can be so deft at laying down the perfect greys, blues and greens.
I think ultimately the visuals and written execution deserves more kudos than the mystery itself, which I find gets a little muddy, and maybe hides behind the safety net of being coy, just a little too much.

This is historic Batman, and if not for it's connected relevance, it would be a must-have perhaps only surpassed by The Dark Knight Returns; another Frank Miller inspiration for the big screen (re; The Dark Knight).

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 6.5
Winner: Joker

If you can't wait six months for The Dark Knight, or have a loved one who loves Batman and doesn't already own this, then it's the ultimate Christmas gift! If they're really special, you can't go past the oversized Absolute Edition with hardcover, slip case, and tonnes of extras. For everyone else, the complete collected trade isn't a bad way to go, at all! Actually, I kinda think the matte paper stock has a special charm!

BATMAN versus CATWOMAN
Date Knight (DC comics)
Where: Solo #1 When: December 2004
Why: Darwyn Cooke How: Tim Sale

The story so far...
A string of clues lead the Dark Knight Detective to a Gotham City museum exibit, where someone has broken in; neutralized the nightguard; disabled security systems; and breached the defenses of an expensive cat artifact.
So why is the statue still in it's case?

It seems Catwoman wants to play, and the perfect way to get the attentions of her Bat-themed lover is a midnight burglary, complete with scented clues to lead him to their rendezvous.

The sassy Selina Kyle leads the Batman on a pursuit across the Gotham skyline, in a date night only she could provide. Will the Dark Knight pursue criminal justice, or when the cheque arrives, will he do the gentlemanly thing? Mmmreow, stay tuned to find out!

Previous Form:
Batman (#2): Suffered his first recorded defeat at the hands of Catwoman.
Catwoman (#41): Has tussled with the likes of Batman, Elektra and Triple Threat.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Catwoman 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Catwoman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Batman 4 (Arsenal)


- Batman is highly skilled in multiple forms of hand-to-hand combat, complimented by his peak physical conditioning. This allows him maximum mobility and strength for a human being without super powers.

- Batman, aka; Bruce Wayne, sponsors his war on crime with the inhereted fortune of his deceased parents. This allows him great freedom both as a sociallite, and a man who occasionally reigns destruction upon Gotham.

- Catwoman has no known powers, but is at the height of physical fitness. Like Batman, she can be regularly seen on the Gotham rooftops, traversing them with ease via means acrobatic, and of cable.

- Over the years a sexual tension between the characters has been evident, perhaps allowing Catwoman an offensive x-factor not usually affronted to the Dark Knight Detective. The unlikely equaliser has been illustrated in other confrontations between the characters [Batman: The Mad Monk #1].

- Additional to the previous; as of the Hush storyline, Batman has revealed his secrety identity to Catwoman whilst fulfilling a romantic relationship with her. This affords Catwoman more intimate knowledge of her foe, and allows her the opportunity to get closer than ever before [JLA #118].

What went down...
Having lured Batman to the museum, it doesn't take Selina Kyle long to emerge from the shadows. Looking for fun she charges the Dark Knight, knocking him through a large window, out into the picturesque vista of the Gotham City evening skyline.

Batman manages to throw a batline to snag a gargoyle, but Catwoman takes control of the situation, snipping the cable with her glove's talon-esque claws.
The two plummet Earthbound, coming to land in a street merchant's rose cart.

Catwoman springs from the wreckage of the wooden cart, playfully acknowledging the vaguely romantic connotations of the situation.

She leaps atop a truck moving through traffic, with the Batman following in hot pursuit.

The Dark Knight takes on Catwoman like a raging bull, yanking her from atop the moving vehicle, back into the Gotham evening air. His reckless abandon sends the pair hurtling uncontrollably toward a restaurant, much to Catwoman's commentating delight.

The duelling lovers smash through the large windows of the Gotham eatery, spilling champagne and shrimp alike.
The Catwoman doesn't pass up the opportunity for a quick bite, "How risque!"

Making for the exit, the pair pass through the alley, resuming their sprint upward to the rooftops once more. Catwoman makes the first leap, but the Batman catches up with her once more.

"I'll dance with you big stuff -- but I lead, n'est-ce pas?"
Catwoman expertly rolls through the Batman's tackle, turning the tide of the tumble to put her back on top -- just the way she likes it!

With Catwoman leaping ahead, Batman pursues, only to be ambushed from behind. A diving kick sees the Dark Knight sent flying from the roof, caught embarassingly by the ankle with his own bat-line.

Catwoman comes to a perch, playfully mocking the stoic Batman;
"I don't care what the other girls say. You're fun."

Batman receives a kiss or four for his troubles, and an invitation to do it all again the following Saturday. Left to find his own way out of being hung upside down, the Batman seems less than enthused.

The hammer...
A cheeky conclusion to a delightfully playful outing for the Bat and the Cat, with Catwoman coming out the better. Then again, doesn't she always? Mwah-mwah.

It took a disturbing amount of fiddling around with contrasts and hues to even come close to matching the masterful colours of Dave Stewart. So awesome are Mr. Stewart's colours that my scanner literally can't handle them. I had similar, if slightly less prominent problems on things like New Frontier. I have not ruled out the possibility that Dave Stewart has the powers of Mr. Terrific.

That isn't really a commentary on the work as much as it is an alert to how redundant the technology I'm using is. It's... It's a super-power in itself, I think, that I was able to act as publisher/editor of my own comic book, The Kirby Martin Inquest. Yeah, it's been a while since I've mentioned it, and I thought it would be a nice iopportunity to just gently remind everyone it's still out there after I braved illness to do yesterday's post.

Actually, I'll be honest, I was probably more insightful in a haze of hayfever than I am usually. Like creative experimentation with illicit recreational drugs, maybe I should just consider surrounding myself with animals, rugs and newspapers in an effort to trigger further allergy inspired genius. On the other hand, I might not want to wish that self-induced nightmare on myself, and will quickly backtrack in, in writing no-less.

Anyway -- we are gathered here to discuss Catwoman, who remains the most prominent female influence in the macho-primo world of the Batman.

We started to talk a little bit about my feelings concerning Gotham, and the way it affects the people who are born and bred there. It's a quality that permeates through the architecture, to law enforcement, to criminal element.

There's a mysterious something that ties Gotham together with a stale sense of corruption, which is where I think Catwoman has a place in Batman's life.

Batman is a character who is obsessively driven to combat all he perceives as wrong in the world, by any means necessary. Batman is at his best when he's threatening and terrifying criminals with his own brutal form of non-lethal justice. In this respect he is almost the corrupted form of justice, representing vigilantism in it's angriest, most dangerous form.

Out of that you have the humanising elements in Batman/Bruce Wayne's life, which is where you find an indulgance and desire for someone like Catwoman.
It's written all over the pages of this very entry. I'm not going to suggest that Darwyn Cooke's script is specifically written for the period when Batman and Catwoman were sharing a bed, but there's a quality of acceptance in Batman who no longer sees Catwoman as an evil worthy of his unrelenting pursuit.

It's the corruption that lies within even the good of Gotham that allows him to recognise the internal purity of Selina Kyle, while be seduced with the confident, challenging sass that personifies her character. She's a little bit dangerous, and a little bit of a challenge, and I like to think that excites a mind like Batman.

There's a popular theory that if you fight something, you become it, and it's from that perspective that I think all of this originates. For Catwoman, her ties with the criminal underworld are perhaps justified under a similar pretense to Batman's intelligence methods. For Kyle, the rich are presumably the deserving of her crimes that keep her in the loop, which allows her the luxury of keeping a close watch on all things villainous. We saw this during the gathering of the Society, which ultimately led Hugo Strange to pit his pawns against her.

The Catwoman character is almost the kind of cliche female activists should hate. She's the kind of character who, when discussed, almost demands the use of the word "sassy", which in itself is potentially insulting in it's referencial connotation. It's the over-sexed pin-up who could be argued to think she's using sex as a weapon, but is really debasing herself to a level controlled by her peers.

Maybe there's a validity to that argument, and maybe it further plays into the theory that working so close to corruption makes you slightly blind to it's affections. Then again, maybe Selina Kyle really does represent the ultimate street-level female hero, liberated and confident in her own abilities.

Which begs the question of how her character may be changing.
Under the direction of Will Pfeifer, Seilna Kyle has not only continued to maintain relationships with a new supporting cast, but has also now given birth!

If Catwoman's greatest strength was self-deriving confidence, how then does this new weakness potentially affect her? Does this strengthen her distanced relationship with Batman, seeing him as a now required ally, or does she withdraw from a life that puts everyone near her in danger? More to the point, does this lead us down an inevitable path of a dead infant? We can only imagine some hesitance every time Catwoman goes for the fridge...

So, I mentioned Bahlactus yesterday...
Bahlactus, bloody Bahlactus. Oh, it seems our unique brand of fight-league statistics and ham-fisted critiques aren't hot enough for Mr. Purple Mini-Skirt's Friday Night dress code! Well, pardon me for not getting our required seventeen thousand words out of a single picture of Captain America kicking a mono on an army of Hydra goons atop a jet-powered Steranko-cycle!
Forgive me for thinking two years might have earnt me a little good will!

No, it's all in good fun! Although, if anyone wants to ring the bell, I'll gladly sew leather patches on the elbows of my leather catsuit so school can be back in.
Mmm, hammer-time! Speaking of which, the sucka punching begins soon.
Not quite as early as the Infinite Wars, but y'know... *wink*

EDIT (29th): My mistake! The good word is the Infinite Wars will spill over to the Night of Fights once again, starting next week. What's that sound? The bell ringing, my friend. Take a seat! "Bahlactus has spoken."

It would be remiss of me to not throw out a mention for the most fantastic Friday contribution from Bully [Time waits for no man...]. Super-cool, and ominously relevant as we brace ourselves for a month of DOOM!

Anyway, I'm shagged and still suffering the effects of allergies. I already have no recollection of what went on here today, and I don't know if I'll see you tomorrow, but there'll probably be some Street Fighting on the weekend.

The Fight: 6.5 The Issue: 7
[Solo was a breath of inspiration, leading incredibly well with the Tim Sale issue. This remains a sorely missed title from DC's line-up, with so many talents never having contributed. The return of MCP might fill the void to some extent, but I can't imagine anything topping such an exciting read.]

SPIDER-MAN versus RHINO
Let's Fall In Love (Marvel comics)
Where: Spider-man: Blue #2 When: August 2002
Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

The story so far...
Bitten by a radio active spider; gawky high school nerd, Peter Parker, finds himself with the unlikely proportionate strength, speed and agility of a spider. With this new-found power, and his own inventive brilliance, Parker sets out to take on the ultimate responsibility of a vigilante!

As Spider-man, Peter comes into conflict with many others with rare and unique gifts. Men who would do great good, and great evil in this world. Men who would use their abilities to pursue him in personal grudges. Men who would hunt him like a rare and unique animal.

Men like the Rhino who, while being held under gas induced sedation, finds himself free to seek revenge on Spider-man after a mysterious enemy sets him free. Rampaging through the city, Rhino looks for payback, and the web-slinger is all too happy to oblige, but does he have it in him to defeat the Rhino again? Or will the mystery man step out of the shadows to capitalize? Stay tuned!

Previous Form:
Spider-man (#1): Overcome odds against Man-Ape, Tombstone, Scorpion, Carnage & Grey Gargoyle.
Rhino (#232): Comprehensively beaten by a well equiped Punisher.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Rhino 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Rhino 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Spider-man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Spider-man 2 (Projectiles)


Geez, there have been so many Spider-man entries, I'm really starting to wonder what the point of this section is! The guy is sitting tight on only two losses from twenty-four battles, and really, like the song says, he's a Spider-man.
I don't know what the historical figures are, but for Spider-man to not come out the ultimate victor in any confrontation seems highly unlikely. Sure, he's a good hero.

Spider-man takes his lumps like any dramatic hero. He has defeats from which he can come back from to triumph over adversity. But the point I'm making is, even after taking a whipping from Sandman, or Green Goblin, or Rhino, when do you ever see Spider-man not wind up victorious?

One of the early conceits of the website - among the many motivations - was to test the theory that Batman is unstoppable. After 2007 it seemed very likely he was, but as we roll on through this year, maybe we start to see there's another ever present character who's beating everybody across multiple titles.

Rhino is a fairly one-trick pony: He's a muscle guy.
What works for Rhino is that, generally speaking, he's a pretty good muscle guy. Not the sharpest henchman in the drawer, and that's usually his downfall, but certainly worth throwing up against a Hulk or a Juggernaut or whoever you have lying around.

Spidey is a versatile character bringing speed, agility, smarts, strength and all of those fun powers to the table -- which means by the Haseloff system tape, he's a much better better bet than Rhino. But a simple truth remains. Rhino is a big deal. Spider-man should never have an easy time with him, and maybe should suffer more defeats than he perhaps has over the years.

I think we all know to expect Spider-man to win this one, but don't let the sun go down on the Rhino without giving him his props. Because he is worthy!

The Math: Spider-man (Meta Class)
The Pick: Spider-man (Sigh...)

What went down...
As the mysterious-manipulator plotting against Spider-man watches from the shadows, the Rhino stands amongst the rubble of buildings destroy with a bellowing demand, "I WANT SPIDER-MAN!"

Spider-man, like any good hero, is happy to oblige where lives would be threatened, swinging in with a devestating kick to the Rhino's neck!

He puts his agility to work as the Rhino charges within the confined space of the rubbled building alley, keeping it tight enough to allow Spidey to get another lick in. It isn't long, however, before Rhino gets a stiff shot in, nailing Spider-man with a big right hand!

Spidey lands on his ass and spews out a huge spray of webbing directly at Rhino's face, blinding him in mid-charge to allow Spidey to turn the tables. Vaulting over the blinded Rhino, Spider-man leaves Rhino to a fate his own:

Rhino charges into an already damaged brick wall, bringing the house down atop his horned head! The bricks tumble down with a rumble, leaving Spidey on a web to receive the compliments of the watching police.

With a tiny piece from Rhino's super-durable hide, Spider-man warns the police to hold tight while he disappears, fully aware that Rhino is down - but not out!

A quick stop to Dr. Curt Conners' lab later, and Spider-man becomes intimately aware of the inner workings of Rhino's leathery hide - composed of self-replicating genetics similar to actual rhino DNA composed with something similar to kevlar or adamantium [just in case you were wondering!].
With that, Spidey and Conners devise a means to disrupt the polymer!

Spidey returns to the scene with Rhino again roaring for revenge, while the police do their best to put him down with ineffective gunfire. Fortunately for all, Spidey has something a little more permanent up his sleeves - literally!

Rhino gets a face full of gooey webbing again, this time a special new orange blend from the fine people at Conners and Parker!

Unphased by the goop, Rhino charges at Spidey, who gives it both barrels, spraying away with the goopy orange liquid whilst using his proportionate spider-agility to leap over the rampaging Rhino!

Giving it both barrels, Spidey well and truly webs his adversary in the special webbing fluid, granting the luxury to slip down for a hilarious quip.

The webbing isn't strong enough to hold the Rhino, though, and he throws his arms up, tossing Spider-man over his head!

Though blinded by the webbing, Rhino's wild haymakers connect, first with a right, and then a left that sends Spider-man flying into a fire hydrant!
The busted hydrant leaves Spidey with a bump to remember, but it provides a convenient twist of fate. The catalytic webbing hadn't done the trick, but by introducing water to the compound it begins to take effect on the Rhino's hide!

The webbed areas of the Rhino's invulnerable costume begin to fall off in massive chunks, leaving him vulnerable - and naked - in the middle of the street! Not that that stops Spidey putting the finishing touches on the job in what he feels is a case of an overgrown bully getting his due!

A good one-two uppercut to finish, and the Rhino is out like a light, and freed of the costume that makes him so difficult to contain.

The hammer...
The hammer comes down once again in favour of Spider-man, with the victory by knock-out! Hard luck for the Rhino!

We get a lot of traffic from the uninitiated, and that's a good thing.
Secret Wars on Infinite Earths by no means represents an encyclopedia, but I like to think we can provide some interesting points of reference and informative tidbits.

New readers are drawn to the site for a number of reasons, and some of those are the major forces penetrating the mainstream consciousness. Things like the major motion picture adaptations [like Spider-man], or in other cases less direct connectors, like TV's Heroes.

Heroes seems to have quickly surpassed Lost as TV's number one action-based drama, featuring all the things we as comic fans know and love. Interesting characters, exciting scenarios, fantastic powers, and developing plotlines.

Interestingly enough both Heroes and Lost have had something in common - Jeph Loeb. Jeph Loeb is a writer who whose work has ranged from Arnold Schwarzenegger's militia vehicle Commando, to TV's Smallville, to comic works like Batman: The Long Halloween, which influenced director Christopher Nolan's work, along with writer David Goyer, on the feature film Batman Begins.

One of the characters on Heroes possesses the ability to paint the future, and this is where we reviewing Spider-man: Blue come full circle, because the artwork for that particular character [Isaac Mendez; played by Santiago Cabrera] was provided by none other than Tim Sale - artist extraordinaire on Spider-man: Blue (and The Long Halloween, for that matter).

Spider-man: Blue is one of three mini-series with the writer/artist team of Loeb and Sale, the others being Daredevil: Yellow and Hulk: Gray, each referring to colours featured in the characters unique looks, as well as emotions and events within the books.

Each story recounts events from the character's early careers in the sixties, with Spider-man: Blue retelling events that fall somewhere in the 40's of issues of Amazing Spider-man, written originally by Stan Lee.
The series puts it's own unique stamp on the events, including a new spin that supposes Kraven the Hunter is actually the master manipulator behind a string of reapparances of classic Spidey villains, before his triumphant appearance in Amazing Spiderman #47.

If you have the first Spider-man movie DVD with the extras disc, and spin-on you can actually see Loeb and Sale at Sale's drawing board, where if you look closely, you'll note that he is pencilling one of the pages from this very issue!
Particularly visible is the scene where Spider-man leaps over the Rhino, while spraying the (once coloured) orange webbing all over him from above.

So, there you have it! A little bit more of an informative Hammer to end this entry! As always I'm churning ahead to try to catch up, particularly if we're to do some of the exciting things I'd like to in July! Until then, cheers!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 5.5
NEXT WEEK: Marvel Ultimate Alliance Asgard sub-bosses: The Wrecking Crew!