PUNISHER versus KINGPIN

Face Off (Marvel)
Where: Punisher #18 When: April 1989
Why: Mike Baron How: Whilce Portacio & Scott Williams

The Story So Far...
Investigating gun & drug running gangs at Malcolm Shabazz High School draws The Punisher into a web of crime that leads from the schoolyard all the way to the very top of the illegal empire overseen by The Kingpin of Crime - Wilson Fisk!

The Punisher's intervention begins a game of cat & mouse as his allies come under fire from The Kingpin's hired muscle and assassins. When one of his closest allies is killed -- The Punisher vows to follow through on her final wish to bring Wilson Fisk to justice. So begins the plot to disrupt The Kingpin's operations and infiltrate his skyscraper fortress for a final showdown!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Kingpin 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Punisher 2 (Average)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Punisher 2 (Average)
Fighting: Kingpin 5 (Martial Arts)
Energy: Punisher 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Draw 22 (Champion)

It's an interesting proposition. As The Punisher: Frank Castle is a one-man army against the sprawling criminal underbelly that took the lives of his wife and children. His methods are uncompromising and lethal, making use of a seemingly endless armory of munitions in his efforts to extinguish any & all crime.

Wilson Fisk lords over much of the criminal activity in New York as its Kingpin -- making him a natural target. His death won't end organized crime in New York City, but at least deals a hefty blow through a vast portfolio of illegal operations.

Of course, killing The Kingpin is no mean feat. Many men on both sides of justice have likely tried, but in addition to a vast network of henchmen and assassins, including Bullseye and Typhoid Mary, he is also himself a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, marshalling incredible skill and muscle, beneath a rotund facade that might lead some to mistakenly assume he's merely overweight, or out of shape.

Although defeated in both instances, we've seen The Kingpin handily hold his own against the super-powered Spider-Man, and the ninja horde of The Hand.

Off the page -- we know the biggest problem for this match-up is The Punisher's intent to kill an enduring icon of Marvel Comics.

War Journal diehards might feel otherwise, but eliminating The Kingpin just isn't a good outcome for the publishing giant, or fans of his villainy. So, the question becomes - does that prevent The Punisher earning a non-lethal victory?

I'm inclined to think there are any number of ways Punisher might execute the win without executing Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin can survive quite a lot, and one way this might play out is a spray of gunfire that appears lethal, but is ultimately survived through Fisk's iron will, and immediate access to top medical attention.

As much as the gloves are on - this is still a more grounded depiction of Punisher. He won't be wielding supernatural weapons like he did against Rhino, or stolen sci-fi tech as he did against The Hood's Syndicate. Which actually means Kingpin might be looking like a good prospect here.

Frank Castle's military training and personal dedication mean he's a very effective hand-to-hand combatant, but against Kingpin's arch-rival Daredevil, he was simply outclassed. DD had the advantage in Daredevil #257, and took care of him soundly in Daredevil (Vol.2) #65. Kingpin might just do the same.

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Punisher (#81)

What Went Down...

Awaiting a helicopter from Atlantic City to assist with his crisis-stricken money laundering operation; The Kingpin is alerted to the helo's arrival -- only to be met with the face of The Punisher on his rooftop security system. The last image he'll see, as the closed circuit monitoring is rendered inoperable.

The Kingpin is surprised by his opponent's moxie, but grateful for the convenience of The Punisher coming directly to him. He knows there is no other course but to dispatch of the militant vigilante personally.

Punisher and Microchip breach the 53rd floor of the building, shooting their way through a small group of opposition with machine gun fire. A successful tactical entry that allows them to plant a controlled explosive charge on the floor -- blasting an opening to The Kingpin's counting room & personal quarters below!

Microchip deploys gas into the suite, but Kingpin's inner sanctum has been fortified and outfitted with contingencies for any number of infiltration outcomes. 

A gas mask is conveniently stowed in a desk drawer at arm's length, protecting Kingpin from the fog that claims his unprotected collaborators.

Punisher & Microchip can't see through the cloud of gas, but have expertly timed each step of their incursion. They're expecting everyone to be knocked out cold, but Frank's a little keen. Microchip adds another five seconds for success, counting for an additional ten before the gas is inert. Their calculations are moot.

A massive hand smashes through the floor beneath them and grabs Microchip by the ankle -- swinging him down to the 52nd level and into a nearby wall!

The Kingpin hits a button to activate a ventilation fan -- clearing the literal fog of war to invite The Punisher to a man-on-man confrontation. He keeps his right foot planted on Microchip's back, threatening to end the hacker's life. He could do it too.

Punisher drops through the hole and lands in The Kingpin's private quarters.

The hulking Kingpin clutches Microchip's skull in his massive, meaty hands, manipulating the hostage onto one knee. He orders Punisher to drop his gun, and presumes rumors of the vigilante losing his edge must be true when he complies.

Punisher rightly presumes Fisk will need to keep Microchip alive to undo the virus wrecking havoc with his financing systems. Kingpin tosses the hacker aside and readies to meet his opponent's advance, toying with his affection for allies lost.

Punisher draws a knife from the back of his belt, but the massive Kingpin is more agile than he seems! He narrowly avoids the swing of the blade, grabbing hold of Punisher's left wrist within his massive hand -- taking control of the weapon!

He chides the vigilante for his reliance upon hardware -- tightening his grip and shaking the knife loose from The Punisher's hand!

Punisher desperately throws his head back -- headbutting Kingpin in face!

He slips his wrist loose and stomps on Kingpin's left foot, using the leeway to draw another knife from his holster!

He throws his left elbow back into The Kingpin's face, twisting his body around to swing the knife towards its massive fleshy target -- but again The Kingpin moves faster than the attack! He grabs the wrist and delivers a brutal right hand!

The Punisher sails through the air -- launched by the incredible punch!

Kingpin follows his grounded prey -- delivering a swift kick to his mid-section!

"You're like a terrier chasing a lion. But what will you do when you catch the lion? I will tell you. You will die."

The Kingpin manhandles his winded foe, grabbing him by the leg and throat with the promise of death.

The Punisher is as good as finished, but a sudden burst of gunfire fills the room and distracts the Kingpin from his foul business.

Vernon Brooks -- a school teacher and collaborator in the break-in -- has gone against orders to linger in case of a situation like this. He knew The Punisher wouldn't negotiate. He knows killing The Kingpin will only lead the streets to run red with blood as new powers vie for the vacuum of power.

Kingpin warns that if he's shot he'll snap The Punisher's neck. Frank tells his compadre to do it anyway, but Vernon Brooks has seen enough bloodshed. He wants to prevent any more. They agree to a 24 hour truce. It's over.

The Hammer...

School teacher with a gun, Vernon Brooks, successfully extracts The Punisher and Microchip, but it's a non-lethal end to a foregone conclusion: Kingpin had the vigilante dead to rights. We'll call Brooks an assist and be on our way.

There's probably an unfortunate observation to be made here about the state of gun control in the United States, and enthusiast's deranged fantasy for addressing the prolific phenomenon of school shootings. Ugly stuff I'd just as soon move away from. I'd rather reminisce about my own relatively carefree childhood.

I don't remember if I was looking up at this issue when I went wide-eyed at the wall of weekly comics cascading down racks at the local newsagency. 1989 was one of the first years I was regularly engaging with comics, and while I think I might've absorbed Kingpin's existence through 60s Spider-Man and pop culture osmosis -- I'm not so sure the combination with Punisher would've been appealing at that young age. The skull logo was cool, but he was still just a guy with guns.

Sure, I liked The Phantom, but a guy with an ammo box just didn't seem exciting to a pup getting to grips with a world of amazing super-powers, and colourful costumes. It took Erik Larsen and palling around with Spidey to get me at all intrigued by the sense of danger that surrounded the character.

Here in 2024 things are a little different. The Punisher is actually one of the titles I'm most anticipating for the exciting release of the Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection!

It's out now on digital platforms for PlayStation and Nintendo Switch, but I'm holding out for a disc copy in November. Then I'll be gratefully diving in to all those wonderful fighting games I haven't played in about twenty or so years! A collection I've been hoping would happen for a long time now, given the secondary market is a little pricier than I'm willing to invest in, and I never had the pleasure of actually owning those games. Just arcades and rentals.

Of course, in the case of the 1993 Punisher scrolling beat 'em up -- it's a chance to get my hands on a game I never got the opportunity to play!

Their work was always to a very high standard and that made these some of the best Marvel games ever released. I'd only ever read about The Punisher, and although a tad drier than their X-Men and Marvel Super Heroes titles -- Capcom were fantastic for drawing their inspirations directly from comic books -- and it was clear they were sourcing directly from this period that I'm so fond of.

The licensing habits of Japan in the late eighties and early nineties are really quite intriguing, and perhaps as an outsider to the United States myself, I share in their enthusiasm for that era's urban decay, and grimy action movie aesthetic.

1989 felt like another age by the time 1993 rolled around, so it's intriguing they sourced most of their inspirations for the brawler from that era's issues. I wonder if Marvel had any hand in guiding them towards the more fantastical characters who crossed Frank Castle's path during the period, or if somebody was just a fan. Perhaps the existence of the 1990 NES game elevated the period in their minds.

The '93 game delivers Bushwacker, Bonebreaker, Jigsaw, and even a non-descript robot that was actually Doctor Doom's handiwork when it appeared during the Acts of Vengeance crossover. Good stuff for a video game. A bit more interesting than your run of the mill gun-toting guy in jeans.

If you've been around the site over the years, you know my affection for that villain-swapping storyline, and I rather like the idea of finally getting a chance to [re]visit some of those interesting issues. Of course, I couldn't help but skip right to the game's final boss -- the big bad behind the brawling action!

Punisher and his allies are on the hunt for The Kingpin for a handful of scattered issues before they get to the showdown in Punisher #18. As noted in The Tape: it presents the difficult scenario of a villain Frank Castle can't blow to bits by the end. So how do you handle it? The outcome isn't illogical, but a little unsatisfying.

It's cool that Kingpin got the better of Frank in the fight. I enjoy The Kingpin as a proficient martial arts enthusiast, and I also like to think of Punisher as a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, but a step behind the masters.

What bothers me is his belated arrival at the mutual conclusion that Kingpin is the lesser of evils. A criminal overlord whose demise would open up a vacuum of even greater evil that would impact the kinds of ordinary citizens that perished after joining his crusade, to say nothing of his wife and children.

It's not that it's a bad argument. It's just that my mind always goes straight to that very thought when it comes to a Kingpin endgame, and Punisher has already been presented with the notion throughout the issue, including the earliest planning stages of the assault on Kingpin's tower. That he comes to agree with it only after losing the fight just doesn't ring true. Especially given his motivation to follow through on the wishes of one of his fallen comrades from the prior issue - Conchita Ortiz. A name wielded by Kingpin in spite.

I suppose it speaks to a softening of the character, who had failed to fully consider the consequences of his vigilantism during Frank Miller's Daredevil, and the brilliant Ann Nocenti/John Romita Jr follow-up, which this series crossed over with. Punisher was now a star of his own successful series. A lead character in a mainline Marvel Comics title long before he was segregated into imprints like MAX and allowed to indulge in the most single-mindedly deranged interpretations.

I ultimately prefer this version of the character. The restraints of occasionally going up against iconic villains may risk leaving him feeling a tad toothless, but it's worth propping him up with big names every so often, indulging in the superhero excess of it all. There are certainly worse things for the character than adhering to a moral code - or finding he can't solve all his problems with a gun.

It sure doesn't hurt anything that Whilce Portacio is on pencils with frequent-Jim Lee inker Scott Williams. Like the characterization of Castle, this is a softer style for Portacio, not quite as deep in its shadows and quirks. I like that more abrasive Portacio of his later nineties work, but he's still a great hand throughout these early Punisher issues. It makes me reevaluate my childhood disinterest!

Should we come back to check out more of this now-classic Punisher? If you think so, perhaps you would like to consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. Your patronage will go a long way to helping me out and keeping these updates a little bit more regular than they have been lately. I'd sure appreciate it!

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

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to 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 Twitter & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber.

Winner: The Kingpin
#455 (+617) Kingpin
#88 (-7) Punisher
#1043 (-124) Microchip
#666 (new) Vernon Brooks [+1 assist]

BATMAN versus O.G.R.E
Rules of Engagement: Part Two (DC comics)
Where: Batman Confidential #2 When: March 2007
Why: Andy Diggle How: Whilce Portacio

The story so far...
The dichotomy of vision between Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne is extrapolated when the businesses vie for a contract to develop technology to benefit Gotham City.

WayneTech's designs are ones of peace, utilizing state of the art technology to create search and rescue robots with the use of neural-link transmission pilotting.
Conversely, LexCorp concerns itself with the potential threat of an ever changing world full of the fantastic and bizarre. Luthor's proposal is built on advanced weaponry and proactive peace creating agents, as opposed to Wayne's more passive tools.

With a verdict to be decided, things take a nasty turn for WayneTech when their rescue OGRE droid attacks Lex Luthor outside the very building the proposal was made in. Will the Batman be able to solve the mystery of the rogue robot?

Previous Form:
Batman (#1): Batman defeated another giant killer robot, in the form of Amazo.
WayneTech OGRE: The OGRE robot has not yet been featured.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: WayneTech OGRE 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Batman 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: WayneTech OGRE 6 (Generator)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: WayneTech OGRE 5 (Lasers)

Situations like these are always pretty awkward because there really isn't any previous data to draw upon for the OGRE droid, and it's not likely there will be any more after this. Thems the breaks, I suppose.

Batman is Batman. He finished 2006 as the top rated fighting superhero in comics here on Secret Earths, and he did it with only one defeat to his name. [Batman and the Mad Monk #1]

OGRE is a robot built to be able to sustain the most uninhabitable conditions, which inadvertently means he's highly durable and incredibly powerful, with much of the technology being geared toward rescue and retrieval in disasterous situations. This gives it a huge advantage of strength against the human Batman.

The equaliser, as we well known by now, is in Batman's endless arsenal of technology, which under other circumstances could logically include this very piece of hardware. This array of technology is especially efficient when combatting other technologies, with the Batman able to access minds capable of strategising even where he can't.

Although not necessarily a disadvantage, OGRE is pilotted by a human, which also scales down the fantastical extent to which he can analytically combat Batman. This is man versus man controlling machine, and Batman's had much worse.

The Math: Batman (Meta Class)
The Pick: Batman

What went down...
So, the OGRE generally menaces around as it stalks Luthor, ripping effortlessly through the high-grade armor plating of Luthor's limo. Luthor attempts to bargain with the machine, but the implications of his fortune are lost on the bot.

Batman shows on the scene, tossing a clunky Batarang into the field, but OGRE is able to catch the projectile before it strikes -- unwittingly catching a flash-grenade variety batarang! It stuns the robot's sensors momentarily, giving Batman opportunity to place a frequency jamming device on it's back.

The device proves unsuccessful in stopping the machine, allowing it to continue freely on it's rampage. OGRE wrenches the street lamp Batman perches atop from the ground, whipping the hero into the air.
Thermite acid proves to barely be a distraction as he analyses his options.

Luthor's entourage fire on the machine, while Luthor exercises his greatest muscle [His brain... sickos... - Miscreant Mike], recognising the sewers as a viable escape route that would prevent the bulky machine from following.

While Luthor makes his escape crawling through waste on his hands and knees, the OGRE droid pounds at the ground attempting to gain wider access than the narrow manhole.

Batman attempts to contain the distracted machine, but knows full well that his multi-walled nanofilament grappling cable will have little effect on the man-made beast. It snaps it like it were little more than ribbon, and just like that, gives up the fight. With it's in-built rocket thrusters, the OGRE makes a clean getaway.

Meanwhile, back at WayneTech the machine's pilot is found dead in the saline filled deprivation tank form which the machine is controlled. Thus posing the question -- was the controller killed before or after the attack?

One illegal autopsy later, Batman discovers a synthetic medical implant that was no doubt responsible for the pilot's death, but undetectable to conventional investigation methods. The technology fits directly with the boasts of Lexcorp, proposing a connection between the victim and the OGRE attack.

Batman's deductions prove valid when he finds the OGRE at a Lexcorp compound seeking out radioactive materials to power the machine reactor.
Batman connects the events, realising the pilot was presumably working for Luthor from within WayneTech, but was killed while in the tank, leaving his mind to somehow embue the machine with a pseudo-sentience.

Batman tries to talk the "ghost in the machine" out of it's quest for revenge, but is met with a violent response.

Unfortunately for OGRE this time Batman came prepared. Rather than engage the machine once more, he uses his technology to shut the machine down and eject it's memory cortex.

The violence is stopped and Lex Luthor's life, and the lives of untold Lexcorp workers are no doubt saved, but the Batman can't help but feel he has blood on his hands, as this adventure comes to a close.

The hammer...
Well, before anyone else says it, I'm just going to cop to it and acknowledge how full of crud I am. Batman emerges victorious in this second month of 2007.

I was honest in my predictions of a quieter year for the Dark Knight, but I guess when push came to shove, I just couldn't resist getting him on the site again to represent for the D, the C, and the worthy top fivers. 'Cause as much as I love Moon Knight, c'mon...

I digress, I definitely selected this issue for the story more than the fight.
This new title, Batman: Confidential, replaces the cancelled Legends of the Dark Knight, which essentially served a very similar purpose, serving up stories that more comfortably slot into previous decades or eras of the character.
In that respect, the launch of this new title feels underwhelming. As interesting as Diggle and Portacio are under their own individual merits, you can see where it may have previously been less obvious, how this book differs from the All-Star line.

I actually like Whilce Portacio's work, and as the sometimes forgotten Image Comics found, I do tend to wonder where he is, and why he isn't compelled to pick up a pencil and do something high profile. We know the work's out there, having reviewed his work previously. [Iron Man #2]

Portacio's pencils are understandably poorly received by some. His layouts and scenes feature many characteristics of the nineties, with over the top action in most panels, and overlapping page layouts that appear unruly and hyperactive compared to the pseudo-realistic subdued approach of most contemporary reads.

Portacio's stylized approach could be described as moody Jim Lee.
His peculiar trademark of thick black shadow around eyes, even when lit otherwise, is actually something I kinda enjoy. It's not what I'd want to see in every book, but as something unique to Portacio, it's interestingly effective.
Likewise in Iron Man, Portacio's darkness reflects surprisingly well on duplicitous corporately driven characters, with Lex Luthor and even Bruce Wayne appearing appropriately sinister at times. Something we saw on the Civil War/Ultimates-esque Tony Stark during Heroes Reborn.

As for the story itself, it's very similar to an episode of the anime TV seres, Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, in which a deep sea miner is crushed by his collapsing facility, and the droid he operates becomes corrupted with the pseudo-sentience of his controller.

As a stand alone episode Bubblegum Crisis was able to tell the more rivetting of the two stories, with an emotional line of a neglected wife (ultimately widowed) being the driving component of the story -- rather than this book, which presumably uses this revenge plot to point to corporate espionage, which will no doubt further the book beyond this issue.

It isn't bad, but it would be very easy to tear the book apart, perhaps unfairly-so. Actually, I think it's interesting to note that it deserves at least a second read. Twenty-twenty hindsight adds depth to the action earlier in the piece, explaining with new meaning events such as the failed signal jammer (assuming the controller has already died), and why Luthor offers the machine the prospect of a deal.

For this, Diggle has to get full credit, but as the launch of a brand new feature Batman title, the delivery is somewhat underwhelming.
Editorially, the story itself is actually quite baffling. It reads like a very good Legends story, but to launch a book like this it's surprising more high profile guest characters weren't used. Not that I condone that sort of thing, it just would've made more sense.
Mind you, I guess I'm discounting the value of Lex Luthor as a villain in a Batman book. Likewise, maybe I'm not recognising how deliciously subtle this hero/villain story has come to be set up.

I can't guarantee my sustained interest, but I have to admit, the more I look at the book, the more I can at least pick out the positives. Overall it's a pretty average read, but if you somehow arrived at this paragraph before the previous, you might enjoy the secondary layer one attains from the conclusion.

This isn't typically the kind of book I'd review here, but hey, I'm being contemporary while I can. It's not like I piss money, and buy comics every week. Yes, I'm looking at all of you other over indulged comics bloggers and laughing. Bitterly.

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 5

IRON MAN versus HULK
Hulk Smash! (Marvel comics)
Where: Iron Man #2 When: December, 1996
Why: Scott Lobdell & Jim Lee How: Whilce Portacio

The story so far...
When the evils of Professor Charles Xavier's psyche manifested themselves in physical form, the villain that resulted threatened to be the greatest threat to face the Marvel superheroes.

In what the world believed was a final act of heroism, Earth's greatest heroes confronted Onslaught and seemingly sacrificed themselves to thwart the entity's tyrranical plans.

Little did the world at large realise, the heroes had been rescued by the untamed intervention of Franklin Richards, the powerful mutant son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.
Thus, while the world mourns, the heroes relive their origins trapped in a pocket universe the size of a little boy's ball.

Recommended reading:
Onslaught: Marvel Universe: The final events that led to the Heroes Reborn crossover.
Iron Man #1-#3: Iron Man is reborn in the new universe, and the Hulk's rampage begins.
Iron Man #3: The most recent volume of Iron Man, beginning with his battle with Extremis.
Incredible Hulk #449: While Banner is trapped in the Heroes Reborn universe, the Hulk persona remains to face new threats, like the Thunderbolts.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Hulk 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Iron Man 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Hulk 6 (Generator)
Agility: Iron Man 2 (Average Human)
Fighting Ability: Hulk 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)

It's only fair to recognise here that the Hulk is the strongest one there is.
However, since Iron Man's first appearance on Secret Earths, standards of strength have been reconsidered. Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed two weeks ago that IM's strength had been ammended to six, from the five he was granted during the review of Iron Man #159.

Iron Man's a character of gimmicks, and in the past his strength has fluctuated accordingly to facilitate upgrades and variants such as the very specific, and quite impractically bulky, Hulkbuster armor.
That said, standards for the character are perhaps better represented by having the character live up to his tagline, thus, he knows carries a six for strength, does the Invincible Iron Man.

Is this enough to topple the fury of the Hulk?
Well, Hulk's pretty used to tossing around tanks and military robots, so you'd have to think there's certainly no intimidation factor.

Iron Man's a little more advanced than the tincans he probably helped build.
It didn't take Civil War to show us he's the kind of guy who keeps the best stuff for himself. He's been palming Rhodey his broken down hand-me-downs for years [Argh! The headache is back!!! - Mike].
We've already seen Hulk swat a similar armored pest in Mach-1, aka the Beetle, when he took on the Thunderbolts.

To the point -- Iron Man has an arsenal of weapons and enhancements in his suit of armor. There are certainly enough tricks up his sleeve these days to give the Hulk a run for his money, but on the night Hulk's capacity for strength should really give him the advantage.

Strong as he may be, Hulk can out muscle and out last IM two-to-one.
Every other fight, Iron Man probably comes out of it with his pants intact, but on the whole my money's got to be on Hulk.

What went down...
What a twist! Stark's own gamma project was responsible for Hulk's transformation in this counter-Earth! Two of Marvel's greatest characters born of science, inexplicably tied together by fate!

Angry and not wearing pants, Hulk rampages through the Stark International compound searching for Liz Ross, his only friend, and one fine piece of ace, when Iron Man turns up in a cloud of smoke. Somebody call Springer!

Iron Man makes a half arsed attempt to reason with the creature, and finds himself on the receiving end of a "NO!" so big it throws him through three concrete walls. Good thing they were mysteriously empty rooms!

IM finds his way back to the fight, and offers Hulk another warning.
Hulk is less than intimidated, mocking Stark's armored confidence as he stands tall with gauntlet extended. Apparently he isn't familiar with a little thing we like to call repulsor rays.

Hulk takes one to the chin, and drops like a sack of potatoes, giving Iron Man time to ensure the safety of Liz Ross, damsel in distress.
Some heavy exposition reveals Bruce Banner died trying to disarm the gamma bomb that was activated by HYDRA terrorists. Unfortunately the fact that the Hulk appeared at this time, and is oozing with radiation, apparently doesn't offer any clues to the concerned mourners.

Meanwhile, the Hulk recovers and globbers Iron Man with a whopping great bit of concrete slab, but fancy pants is okay.
With the aid of his rocket boots, IM maneuvers around to test the suit's functions further, employing a low level force-field to stall the Hulk before he can connect with a punch.

Using the force-field, Stark props the gamma-green giant into the air, and blows him with high intencity repulsor blasts.
Three miles later, before the Hulk has even hit the ground, IM catches his opponent and flies him directly over the nearby Niagra falls.

With the previous incarnation having failed spectacularly (with a fatality), Stark begins to panick as Hulk pounds the untested armor as they float above the gaping chasm of the falls.
He manages to land on a jutting area of rock as a news helecopter hovers overhead, distracting the Hulk's attention and attack.
Hulk tears a chunk of Earth from the ground beneath him, and hurls it at the reporting 'copter.

Iron Man is able to push himself to intercept the rubble, and drag it away with a tractor beam, but this leaves him vulnerable to the Hulk.
As the lumbering monster grinds him into the dirt, he spies a row of cables nearby, but it might be too late. Warnings indicate depleted energy will result in a system shutdown in only ten seconds.

When Iron Man rises from the ground living, Hulk is pissed, so one can only imagine how he felt when this happened:

Of course, this wanton attack leaves Iron Man up the river without a power supply. Or more accurately, Niagra Falls.

The hammer...
It was a close one, but in the end I think I have to give it to Iron Man. Th cable move may have expended the last of his armor's energy, but gosh darn it, it was a decisive blow in an otherwise pretty close fight.

That concludes Hulk month, and indeed, all Monday entries for Secret Earths, in an attempt to help me catch up on the months of entries I've missed.
It's perhaps a little unfortunate that my choices for Hulk month couldn't have been a little more varied. I'm not entirely sure what my thought process was at the time, but revolving around Heroes Reborn seemed like a good idea.

Not to say the story was completely without merit.
Having the Image guys come in and do their thing again with Marvel properties was a reasonable enough premise, but I have to admit, at the time, the most intriguing aspect was simply the fact that these characters were starting afresh in a new world.

In many ways, I think it's Heroes Reborn that has soured me on the Ultimate titles.
There are various concepts and moments similar to those in the Ultimate revamps. One such interesting parallel is the nature of Thor, and the question as to whether or not he is the genuine article. The HR Thor takes on some of Cap's story, being discovered frozen in ice, but his early throughline is much the same as that lingering doubt that surrounds the Ultimate Thor.

I don't know if one necessarily outshines the other, but the fact that Heroes Reborn was a finite story probably sways me. It did what it did, and accomplished what it could in the year of it's publication, where the Ultimate titles, which are on-going, have had time to disappoint, and defer from earlier intentions.

Marvel is currently preparing with controversial Captain America writer/artist, Rob Liefeld, and Superman/Batman writer, Jeph Loeb, to revist the story that initiated Heroes Reborn.

Liefeld and Loeb are fuel enough to start a controversy fire among the right fans, but throw into the mix a story from the heart of the nineties, and you actually have cause for a legitimate argument.
Recently comics have been inundated with 90's style crossovers. House of M, Infinite Crisis, Civil War, 1 Year Later, The Other, War Games, and other smaller stories have not only tied various titles together, but also funded a solid return in other trends from the past, like variant covers.

Sales have continued to creep upward, and the benefit of box office exposure has finally begun to pay off with various moments, like Peter Parker's unmasking in Civil War #2, garnering attention from the mainstream presses, and subsequently new readers.
Unfortunately, hot books like this have also seemingly reintroduced an element that was key to the shocking decline in sales from the mid to late nineties. These are the 'prospectors,' who invest not for creative interest, but rather potential financial interest in resale value.

Of course, sales have not returned to the staggering heights they were at in booms previous, so are crossovers and variant covers potentially setting us all up for a very big fall?
Commentators of varying qualification certainly think so.

This site takes it's name from two popular crossover events from the eighties, which have since been revisited many times over; Secret Wars and Secret Wars on Infinite Earths.
Creatively, these series probably didn't have the manpower and planning processes that current comics have. These guys all had their strengths, and brought a great deal to the world of comics, but they weren't prolific like Grant Morrison, or grand orchestrators like Geoff Johns and Mark Waid.

Even in the last ten years, looking back on Heroes Reborn, we can see a notable leap forward in creativity, and it had to be an absence of solid creative reason that betrayed these books of the past. The motivations of the visual medium, rather than a hybrid of the visual and intellectual arts, were surely major contributors to the downard slide.

So, am I worried about the state of comics and the staggering amount of connections between title and title? Not really, the guys at DC and Marvel have both proven various degrees of competence, but overall it looks promising.

Am I worried about a return to Heroes Reborn and Onslaught?
Well... It can't be worse than House of M.

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 3.5

NEXT: We close out the month with the rematch you were promised: In the red corner, representing himself, the current champion of the universe - Tryco Slatterus. The challenger, in the purple corner, representing the Magistrati - She-Hulk! Don't miss it!