Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club: April 2018

Monday, April 30, 2018

It was a close race for this week's Hero of the Week! The globally trending CinemaCon first-look at the symbiote very nearly made Venom the easy pick! We'll probably be talking more about him later in the year, which meant there was really only one way to go. Thanos has conquered vast portions of the globe (and HOTW) with the international theatrical release of Avengers: Infinity War!

The clichés are all in tact as Disney trots out their long awaited franchise megamix. The Thanos of the big screen isn't your father's Death-loving maniac, but the close approximation is being called by some Marvel's best villain yet. Yes, an accolade previously awarded to the last few baddies. This is, of course, also being heralded as the best movie evar. About standard for the post-sugar rush hysteria.

Here on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths we've had our own four-colour rush of glorious Ron Lim and George Perez art, with a grand designs by The Maddest Titan of them all: Jim Starlin!

The tour of heroic sacrifice has occupied the last couple of weeks, delivering thrills you won't see on the big screen. Firelord, Cloak, Wolverine, Cyclops - just a few of the heroes the movies can't and won't deliver on! The Infinity Gauntlet was never the deepest event series, but what it lacks in deep and meaningful storytelling, it makes up for in sheer superhero excess.

The movie version may not be able to compete with comics, but it does offer up two particularly Marvel Universe morsels that genuinely scratch an informer fans' itch, at least for a minute or two. One picks up the tab on a long dangling thread from a previous Marvel film. The other weaves a strand that could lead to something very exciting further down the line! If there aren't any big topics, we might explore these genuinely exciting elements in the next couple of weeks.

I'm a little dubious about praise for the film's ending. It's been called 'surprising', 'shocking', and a 'daring risk' for Disney and the filmmakers. I tend to disagree. It strikes me as a very safe, very franchise oriented use of one of The Infinity Gauntlet's first-half premises. As was noted in our first featured fight; Thanos uses the gauntlet to eradicate half of all life in the universe in an instant. Heroes missing, presumed casualties of this purge, were: Archangel, Beast, Black Cat, Black Panther, Box, Dagger, Daredevil, Diamond Lil, Firestar, Guardian, Hawkeye, Hercules, Human Torch, Iceman, Invisible Woman, Makkari, Marvel Boy, Marvel Girl, Mister Fantastic, Night Thrasher, Northstar, Power Man, Puck, Quicksilver, Sasquatch, Sersi, Shaman, Thing, USAgent, Vindicator, Wasp, Windshear.

Even in '91, the danger of the mass execution took the teeth out of The Infinity Gauntlet. It was always a comic with an isolated sense of consequence. Which was somewhere the movies could improve, but they chose to finish Infinity War with deaths that very clearly tell the story not to worry. Of course, that just means their undone fates may come at the cost of the heroes actually on the dead pool. Not that I'm necessarily counting on death being the means to removing players from the board. Most of Marvel's trajectory seems to point to the stars, and that's as fine a reason as any to put the likes of Iron Man and Captain America to the side.

Of course, here on The Comic Book Fight Club, we've got our own system of consequence - namely the Fight Club Rankings! As we begin this week's final running of the gauntlet, the big question will be - can Thanos break into the Top 10?! At the time of this writing he's just outside at #15!

Check out the links at the top to see the Infinity Gauntlet battles we've covered so far. Keep your eyes peeled to Twitter, Facebook, and the Secret Archive Index to catch-up on subsequent updates. You should also find lots of links littered throughout each featured battle. Yay!

<< Hero of the Week 05/07: Red Skull [Home] Hero of the Week 04/23: Rogol Zaar >>

Sunday, April 29, 2018

TERRAXIA versus IRON MAN

Cosmic Battle on the Edge of The Universe! (Marvel)
Where: Infinity Gauntlet #4 When: October 1991
Why: Jim Starlin How: Ron Lim & George Perez

The Story So Far...
By the blessing of Death herself -- Thanos has returned to the realm of the living with a mission to eradicate half of all of existence! To achieve this, he has scoured the universe in search of the Infinity Gems!

By assembling these cosmic stones of governance over the Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space, he has attained ultimate god-like powers as the wielder of The Infinity Gauntlet! His every whim is now a cosmic reality, and with the instantaneous deletion of half of all sentient beings, he is free to determine fate as he designs it!

Driven to greater madness by Death's cold indifference, Thanos impetuously creates a new perfect woman in his own image! Terraxia The Terrible lives only to serve, and when Adam Warlock leads an army of Earth's mightiest heroes to oppose him, it isn't long before Thanos' love attacks!

Tale of the Tape...

Strength: Terraxia 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Iron Man 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Terraxia 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Iron Man 4 (Trained)
Energy: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)
Total: Iron Man 31 (Super)

We're taking a special detour in today's featured Infinity Gauntlet fight for a skirmish that actually began back during the sixth wave assault! There we saw the grim fates of Scarlet Witch, Cyclops, and Vision -- but what of Iron Man?

It was Terraxia The Terrible who leapt into battle to challenge Iron Man in the midst of his attack on Thanos. She'd been present throughout the entire onslaught, but her was a presence unfelt in battle until now!

She was created in the prior issue to spite the cold reserve of Thanos' true love - Death. She was conjured into being with the awesome power of The Infinity Gauntlet, which can even create life! Thus, she was made to be Thanos' perfect woman. She is therefore everything Death is not: warm, and totally devoted!

Despite her name, Terraxia bares no relation to the space-villain Terrax. In truth, she more closely resembles a feminine counterpart to Thanos himself. She bears a similar dress, and the same purple skin that distinguished the Mad Titan from the rest of his kin. She also clearly shares some of his natural power!

We've seen Iron Man test his armor against physically dominating opponents with varying results. His long standing rivalry with Hulk was successfully revisited in Iron Man (Vol. 2) #2. He stood toe-to-toe with the Destroyer Armor in Thor (Vol. 2) #1, and bested a diminished Juggernaut in Thunderbolts #150.

It was right around the time of this battle that James Rhodes donned this Iron Man armor in Iron Man #271, taking on the awesome Fin Fang Foom in an impressive display of strength and durability! A compelling enough result to say Iron Man should at least be able to hold his own against Terraxia.

As we saw in the sixth wave, however, she does have the element of surprise, both as a complete unknown, and by tackling him when he didn't expect it. We could sit around speculating, but it's probably best we just get to it!

The Tape: Iron Man Ranking: Iron Man (#3)

What Went Down...
Iron Man is busy pouring on the power when Terraxia's rage reaches boiling point. The armored Avenger capitalizes on the efforts of Cyclops, launching his assault as Thanos finds himself caught off balance!

Having watched the battle frustrated from the sidelines until now - Terraxia takes the opportunity to surprise Iron Man, as well! She launches herself into the air, catching Iron Man with a side-on tackle!

While Thanos escapes from the confines of Cloak and prepares for the attack of more heroes -- Terraxia grapples with the grounded Iron Man!

Her hulking frame pins Iron Man face-down to the space platform, while she wrenches at the electronically sealed armor with super-human strength!

Terraxia's determination will not go unrewarded. Her powerful twisting and wrenching at the armored Avenger's helmet eventually yields grim results. The helmet clatters innocuously across the battlefield, while Thanos faces ambush.

As Thanos rids himself of the unwanted influence of Drax and Firelord; Terraxia returns baring a macabre trophy as gift to her creator and lover: the helmet of Iron Man!

Thanos praises his creation for her assistance, as the blood of Tony Stark drips from the helmet's neck. Grim confirmation of his untimely decapitation!

The Hammer...

As noted from the outset: The titular Infinity Gauntlet not only denotes the powerful glove warn by Thanos -- but also the gauntlet of heroes he must run throughout the pages of Infinity Gauntlet #4!

Most of the waves of attack making up the gauntlet are easily distinguished, but today's fight is a tangent that takes place in the background of other battles.

You may notice some repeated images from earlier entries [above]. This fight began with the sixth wave led by Cyclops and Scarlet Witch, unfolding behind the destruction of Cloak in Round 7, and culminating with the gifting of Iron Man's head, after Firelord and Drax were sent through time, in Wave 8!

Terraxia first appeared in Infinity Gauntlet #3, but was slow to intervene in the fight between her beloved Thanos, and the attacking heroes. I think part of this speaks to the speed with which everything is unfolding. By dissecting each wave of attack, we've diminished the frenetic pace of each overlapping wave.

The naming of Terraxia is intriguing. I'm not aware of a deeper meaning, or applicable portmanteau. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly 'of the land' about her, which makes the similarity to Terrax interesting.

I have to imagine Jim Starlin, or editor Craig Anderson, would've been well aware of the similarity. Should we presume that Thanos harbors hidden, or subconscious romantic feelings for the one-time herald of Galactus? He didn't reveal any such affections when Terrax was his manipulated pawn of choice, targeting Green Lantern in the cosmic crossover: Green Lantern/Silver Surfer.

If Thanos derives his name from the Greek god of death, Thanatos, then I might've expected his conjured "perfect woman" to draw from a similar source. Baring obvious similarity to her creator, I might've expected the Roman counterpart Letum, or Mors, to provide inspiration. Something involving Mortis might've been a little on the nose, but it's not like she's sticking around.

Without giving too much away, Terraxia won't make any further appearances beyond the Infinity Gauntlet series. Not at the time of this writing, at least. I am somewhat surprised she never found her way into later use, even if a revamp to differentiate her further from She-Thanos would be warranted.

According to Thanos, Terraxia is everything Death herself is not: warm, loyal, devoted. Her creation comes from spite and self-absorption. It's an impetuous, narcissistic act by a would-be god behaving like a jilted teen. She clearly isn't a direct opposite to Death. Her existence is to indulge and flatter Thanos.

Terraxia serves her purpose to reveal more about the psyche of The Mad Titan she reflects. She isn't really a character that needed to be brought back. I do wonder what traits her personality could've revealed, had she existed beyond the mini-series, though. Cast aside, it would be easy to envision Terraxia as every bit as spiteful and jealous as Thanos was when he created her. A powerful "frenemy" in reserve. Something like Mal in Inception, perhaps.

You can read the entire Terraxia story by checking out the collected edition of The Infinity Gauntlet! By shopping via the Amazon link provided, you'll get a good deal and support the site at no extra cost!

Follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with daily Infinity Gauntlet updates, or dive into the Secret Archive to find every featured fight indexed by publisher, series, and issue number! Sharing and liking links is another great way to keep the wars infinite!

Next: The ninth wave of attack!

Winner: Terraxia
#146 (+384) Terraxia [+1 kill]
#3 (--) Iron Man

Infinity Gauntlet #4
Thanos runs the gauntlet of heroes in a special series spotlighting the classic cosmic showdown!
Versus Wave 1, Hulk & Drax, Wave 3, Thor & Dr. Doom, Wolverine, Wave 6, Cloak, Firelord & Drax, Iron Man, Spider-man & Thor, Nova, Quasar, Captain America

Saturday, April 28, 2018

FIRELORD & DRAX versus THANOS

Cosmic Battle on the Edge of The Universe! (Marvel)
Where: Infinity Gauntlet #4 When: October 1991
Why: Jim Starlin How: Ron Lim & George Perez

The Story So Far...
When the Silver Surfer crash lands to Earth through the roof of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum -- he brings ominous warning of the greatest threat the universe has ever known! Thanos lives and has taken possession of the Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space to form the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet!

The Mad Titan's mission is to eradicate half of all sentient life in existence! A feat he achieves in an instant with but a mere thought! His quest to court the mistress Death does not end there, though. His dominion is now all that exists in the known universe -- a reality, his to dominate and reshape!

Ripples of Thanos' power echo throughout the universe, causing mayhem and destruction on Earth, where the mightiest heroes assemble in conference to discuss the unknown threat. The unexpected arrival of Adam Warlock provides limited answers as he takes command, selecting a special task force to confront Thanos in a desperate ploy to save the universe from The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...

Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thanos 5 (Professor)
Speed: Firelord 5 (Super-Speed)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Firelord 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Drax 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Thanos 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

The failed ambush attempt by Cloak has Thanos all riled up, but the eighth wave of attack sees two repeat customers rushing bravely into the line of fire!

Firelord was part of the opening salvo that had no real effect, but got back into the action during the fourth wave as Thor was flung into space. He got put down pretty hard with a backhand from Thanos, but the ill fated intervention of Wolverine likely kept him from a finishing blow. It's tough to say for sure.

The flaming former herald to Galactus is imbued with the Power Cosmic, which makes a guy pretty tough to put down! Cosmic flames probably won't cause Thanos too much concern, but Firelord is fighting with tremendous will, and can provide support to a tag team partner with a real shot at ending this!

Drax The Destroyer was essentially created for the purpose of destroying Thanos! He teamed with Hulk as a second wave able to capitalize on Thanos' adjusting to his altered powers. They were able to knock the Mad Titan on his back and do some real damage, before he sent Drax flying with energy blasts, and Hulk running with a bizarre shrinking offense!

Round 2 for Drax is a chance at redemption! We know from future encounters [Annihilation #4] that Drax can put Thanos down, even if death has a way of being a temporary predicament [see; Guardians of the Galaxy #25].

It shouldn't be forgotten that this era of Drax is hugely bulked up, but incredibly dim witted. We saw the power of this version on display in Warlock and The Infinity Watch #21 when he went the distance with a mad Thor. We also saw his susceptibility to distraction.

Drax should be nice and focused after his earlier skirmish with Thanos. Teamed with Firelord, they should be another formidable duo! Let's see how it went...

The Tape: Firelord & Drax Ranking: Thanos (#18)

What Went Down...
No sooner than Thanos returns from Cloak's dark dimension -- Firelord and Drax are upon him! Declarations of divinity are quickly forgotten as the fiery former herald pulls his burning staff to Thanos' throat, exposing him to The Destroyer!

Drax takes full advantage of the vulnerable positioning - blasting pure energy at the heart of the Mad Titan! It crackles spectacularly against his powerful chest!

As he has many times before - Thanos laughs gleefully in the face of opposition!

Perhaps The Destroyer would live up to his mantle in a physical confrontation, but Thanos feels no need to indulge such a chance. With a mere thought, he opens a portal through time that irresistibly pulls his foes through!

Space-faring Firelord never has a chance to resist as the portal hurls he and Drax back through time! In an instant they're dumped somewhere in Earth's prehistoric past! Out of mind, out of sight -- out of time!

The Hammer...
Their lives may have been spared, but the indomitable cosmic wills of Drax and Firelord are now lost to the heroes! Some may debate the particulars, but the unconventional method still constitutes another victory for the all-powerful Thanos, whose control of time and space knows no bounds!

Things are clearly looking dire for Warlock and his heroes, but there's a grand plan waiting to be enacted, and several high-powered players waiting to play their part! Before we get to them; we're going to take a brief detour in tomorrow's featured fight to take a closer look at the fate of Iron Man!

We last saw Iron Man participating in the sixth round of offense, where he was caught by surprise by a tackling from Terraxia. We'll talk more about who she is, and what her ties to Thanos are, in tomorrow's feature fight.

Today was the third time we've seen Firelord in action during Infinity Gauntlet. The first was the opening salvo - his first entry into the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths record, as well.

He's one of those second-tier favourites I've been hoping to get around to for quite a while, but never found the time. That's one of the great things about a big superhero event like this one. It's a chance to revisit old favourites, and meet new characters if you're new to the corner.

Much like Cloak; Firelord'll be one of those Infinity Gauntlet characters I'll miss in whatever live-action approximation is assembled for the big screen.

It's clear Avengers: Infinity War won't be a direct adaptation of The Infinity Gauntlet, but its apocalyptic ensemble owes enough inspiration to regret the Hollywood tendency to simplify, and play it safe.

The simple things have been enough to make Marvel's Avengers films beloved by the masses, and massively successful at the global box office. Some still consider the first Avengers film one of Marvel's best -- possibly because it was the first time they saw the marquee heroes fighting side by side. Under scrutiny, it's a middling effort with weak villains, and not much more than the team-up going for it. Fifty years of seeing the characters together in print probably took the novelty out of it for me, and other seasoned comics readers.

Most multimedia adaptations of comics will strip out the nuances and the excesses. What you're inevitably left with is a straight forward, conventional piece of storytelling. Nothing too complicated, but not so simplistic that there isn't at least something new and shiny to attract the masses.

Firelord strikes me as a character who could've scratched the nagging itch of obscurity, whilst fitting in to a bigger puzzle. After all, he's a native of Xandar, which was under assault from Ronan The Accuser -- a minion of Thanos in the movies, for no expressed reason -- in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film.

He also has ties with the Nova Corps, who were also present in the Guardians movie(s), albeit in a less than iconic incarnation. Recent rumblings from Marvel allude to plans for a Richard Rider movie, which Firelord could play a neat role in, either as a fellow trainee or mentor, with or without an arc that turns him into a herald to Galactus. If Novas are inevitably compared to Green Lanterns, then it's easy to see Firelord playing a role similar to Sinestro.

Space certainly seems to be becoming the hot new ticket. There's also a Captain Marvel movie already in the works, building up towards the threat of hostilities between the Kree and the Skrulls. That could build to the next big threat to the Marvel cinematic universe, but I have to think a sub-plot involving the coming of Galactus could function similarly - if not better - to the arrival of Thanos.

All of this is to say -- Firelord probably won't be in Avengers: Infinity War, but it'd be a tremendous joy if the films found it within themselves to venture wider, for broader gains. Formulaic safety has meant Marvel movies can tend to feel a lot like the same thing repeated with different paint. Building up a third stringer like Firelord, off the back of inexplicably arriving to help humanity fight the threat of Thanos, would finally be approaching the joys of cosmic comic books!

I've clearly gotten completely distracted by fantasy booking third tier characters into Marvel films, though. We've got an Infinity Gauntlet to run!

Be here for our tangent into the combat of Terraxia! Or, get familiar with Firelord and the other heroes involved in The Infinity Gauntlet by picking up the collected edition via Amazon! Using the link provided helps support the site!

You can find all the Infinity Gauntlet updates, as well as past featured fights with entire universes of characters, but diving into the Secret Index! Every battle is indexed via publisher, series, and issue number!

Winner: Thanos
#15 (+3) Thanos
#118 (-17) Drax
#849 (-316) Firelord

Friday, April 27, 2018

CLOAK versus THANOS

Cosmic Battle on the Edge of The Universe! (Marvel)
Where: Infinity Gauntlet #4 When: October 1991
Why: Jim Starlin How: Ron Lim & George Perez

The Story So Far...
When the Silver Surfer crash lands to Earth through the roof of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum -- he brings ominous warning of the greatest threat the universe has ever known! Thanos lives and has taken possession of the Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space to form the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet!

The Mad Titan's mission is to eradicate half of all sentient life in existence! A feat he achieves in an instant with but a mere thought! His quest to court the mistress Death does not end there, though. His dominion is now all that exists in the known universe -- a reality, his to dominate and reshape!

Ripples of Thanos' power echo throughout the universe, causing mayhem and destruction on Earth, where the mightiest heroes assemble in conference to discuss the unknown threat. The unexpected arrival of Adam Warlock provides limited answers as he takes command, selecting a special task force to confront Thanos in a desperate ploy to save the universe from The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...

Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thanos 5 (Professor)
Speed: Cloak 2 (Average)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Cloak 7 (Intangible)
Fighting: Thanos 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Thanos 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

Most of the heroes attacks have depended on the physical plane, attacking Thanos with enchanted weapons, energy blasts, and brute strength. The hex magic of Scarlet Witch was cut short during the sixth wave, but has allowed for another esoteric hero to attempt a subversion of their cosmic foe!

Cloak was stuttering teen Tyrone Johnson until he turned runaway after witnessing a robbery-homicide, and the mistaken police shooting of his best friend. Leaving Boston for New York City; Johnson found a friend in Tandy Bowen, who was with him when they were taken in by Maggia drug scientists.

Experiments radically altered Johnson and Bowen, connecting them to realms of Darkforce and Lightforce. As a conduit for the Darkfroce, Johnson can create a dark expanse within the body of his cloak, where forces compel him to entrap victims whose lifeforce will be drained. These dark forces can be sated by the opposite light wielded by Bowen, aka; Dagger.

Dagger's influence is a calming one for the tortured Cloak, but she was among the heroes erased from existence by Thanos' purge of half of all sentient life in the universe! That means Cloak is prone to his darkest urges and plenty motivated to direct them at The Mad Titan!

Cloak is largely rendered intangible by the dimension of Darkforce, which also allows him to teleport over vast distances. His greatest offensive ability will be entrapping Thanos within the dark dimension of his cloak's folds. A fate deemed to torture the soul, and drain a life!

As we saw at the end of the last round in the gauntlet: Thanos is sufficiently distracted to fail to notice Cloak looming behind him. He's still fighting without his vast cosmic awareness, as well. Which makes Cloak's unique abilities an intriguing alternative to the other methods tried so far!

Will it be enough to defeat Thanos? Holding one who controls the Infinity Stones of Time, Reality, and Space could be difficult!

Our only record for Cloak is a moment of vulnerability under fire from the pro-registration Avengers and SHIELD during Civil War #3. They took him down before he could fight. Let's see if he can turn the tide for the heroes this time!

The Tape: Thanos Ranking: Thanos (#20)

What Went Down...
Thanos mocks the impassioned rage of a Captain America who calls him murderer, whilst kneeling over the body of Cyclops! The X-Man is but one of the inevitable many to lay broken and battered across the battlefield!

In his gloating, Thanos fails to notice the eerie folds of cloth belonging to the dark hero Cloak! He glides silently behind The Mad Titan -- engulfing him!

Thanos falls desperately into the void within the cloak! Its black nothingness: a portal to the Darkforce Dimension that punishes the wicked and consumes their life force! As the hero draws his eerie shawl closed, it seems as if Thanos' stay within the darkness is assured.

Captain America celebrates Cloak's efforts, but beads of sweat show the hero's uncertainty. For a moment, he has the luxury of not knowing if Thanos will hold.

With wide eyes and a cry of "NO!" Cloak soon realizes his power is too great!

There's nothing to be done. Thanos returns to his platform with a devastating explosion that obliterates the man Tyrone Johnson and his mystical cape!

Cap's shield protects him from the blast that throws him to the floor! This time it's Thanos who bellows furiously over the hero, declaring his supremacy! Cap defiantly rejects his claims of divinity, calling him a false god as a renewed effort descends to continue their assault!

The Hammer...
Another hero pays the ultimate price in the fight to stop Thanos. Whatever evil may lurk in the darkness of Cloak's otherworldly folds, it clearly cannot compare to the omnipotence supplied by The Infinity Gauntlet!

Thanos' acquisition of the Infinity Gems has the universe's astral deities on notice. These are beings who represent, or challenge, the very make-up of all existence! It was probably a fool's game to wager a sub-dimension of darkness against that influence, but Thanos did pledge to give the heroes a chance.

We're a week into running the gauntlet with Thanos and an assembly of the greatest heroes in the universe. It'ss kinda fun that we get to pause on Cloak, who's a character we haven't seen a whole lot of on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, but did touch upon in Hero of the Week, this time last year.

He probably isn't one of the heroes storming the big screen in Avengers: Infinity War because you'll find live-action Cloak & Dagger starring on TV's Freeform.

Which is probably one of the charms that will be most lacking from the long awaited big screen arrival of Thanos. Don't get me wrong. They've done a fine job amassing a couple dozen heroes to splash across the big screen -- but their IP management and planning just can't rival the excesses of classic comics!

Cloak is one of those fringe characters I always got a kick out of seeing in a big crossover event. He was a little more at home a few years after Infinity Gauntlet, loosely affiliated with Captain America again, in Maximum Carnage.

Most of the characters involved had a link to Spider-man, but the collective that teamed to fight Carnage were a pretty irregular bunch! Interesting that Maximum Carnage was another crossover event predicated on the (apparent) loss of Dagger as motivation for Cloak. A little Women in Refrigerators, but her light has a way of shining brightest in the end.

We shouldn't dwell too long on tangents. Cloak's death brings Adam Warlock's heroes another step towards oblivion! Their stand is roaring towards its carefully plotted climax! The eighth round of attack is coming up tomorrow!

You can get a complete perspective on the hero's gauntlet, and the entire cosmic happening, by checking out the collected edition of The Infinity Gauntlet! By shopping via the Amazon link provided you help support the Comic Book Fight Club at no extra cost to you! Good deal!

If you're looking to get a glimpse of more of the fourth issue running of the gauntlet, you can keep an eye out for links throughout these posts, or via social media links on Twitter and Facebook. A like a share is a great way to join the fight with more friends!

You can also find all of the Infinity Gauntlet links in the Secret Issue Archive in the Marvel section. The archive includes over ten years of featured fights indexed via publisher, series, and issue number!

Winner: Thanos
#18 (+2) Thanos [+1 kill]
#859 (-277) Cloak

Thursday, April 26, 2018

SCARLET WITCH, CYCLOPS, IRON MAN & VISION versus THANOS

Cosmic Battle on the Edge of The Universe! (Marvel)
Where: Infinity Gauntlet #4 When: October 1991
Why: Jim Starlin How: Ron Lim & George Perez

The Story So Far...
When the Silver Surfer crash lands to Earth through the roof of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum -- he brings ominous warning of the greatest threat the universe has ever known! Thanos lives and has taken possession of the Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space to form the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet!

The Mad Titan's mission is to eradicate half of all sentient life in existence! A feat he achieves in an instant with but a mere thought! His quest to court the mistress Death does not end there, though. His dominion is now all that exists in the known universe -- a reality, his to dominate and reshape!

Ripples of Thanos' power echo throughout the universe, causing mayhem and destruction on Earth, where the mightiest heroes assemble in conference to discuss the unknown threat. The unexpected arrival of Adam Warlock provides limited answers as he takes command, selecting a special task force to confront Thanos in a desperate ploy to save the universe from The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...

Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thanos 5 (Professor)
Speed: Cyclops 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Scarlet Witch 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Thanos 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Scarlet Witch 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

Wolverine went it alone for the fifth wave of attack against Thanos, paying a dear price for his berserker hubris. The sixth wave response consists of a super-powered quartet: Scarlet Witch, Cyclops, Iron Man, and Vision!

Iron Man participated in the opening shots that were easily avoided by the Infinity Gauntlet's influence over time, space, and reality. It was that moment that led Thanos to fight without cosmic omnipotence, which means the greatly enhanced strength and firepower of the Iron Man armor could make an impact. That was presumably why Drax recruited him way back in Thanos' first appearance, in Iron Man #55.

We've seen shellhead throw his weight around against plenty of esoteric and super-heavyweight foes: The Mandarin [Iron Man #312], Diablo [Iron Man #159], Doctor Doom [Mighty Avengers #10], The Destroyer [Thor #1], Juggernaut [Thunderbolts #150], and Hulk [Iron Man #2] all on the record!

Iron Man's android teammate Vision showed his ability to cause problems for Thanos in the third wave. The ability to manipulate his density allowed for an effective in-and-out strategy that caught the Mad Titan by surprise. If he could phase into Thanos' body and become solid, the potential for physical damage seems high. His laser attack also worked well. Potential good news for Cyclops.

Most of these attacks address the physical plane, but Scarlet Witch and her mutant hex powers bleed into the realm of esoteric mysticism. Before Mephisto convinced Thanos to give humanity a chance, he showed an interest in Scarlet Witch, casting Thanos' attention to Silver Surfer and Adam Warlock as if in misdirection for a potentially potent player.

Thanos has played fast and loose with just how much rope he's willing to give the heroes, but Scarlet Witch could be the one most able to dramatically alter the playing field herself. Over a decade after this, all it would take is a single utterance for her to completely re-write reality [in House of M]!

The only thing worse than fighting Thanos is talking about House of M, so it's time to end the recap and speculation. Let's get on with the fight!

The Tape: Scarlet Witch, Cyclops, Iron Man & Vision Ranking: Iron Man (#3)

What Went Down...
Cyclops and Scarlet Witch launch a two-pronged energy attack that strikes at Thanos from both sides. He endures the incredible forces, turning to presumably address the greater threat posed by Scarlet Witch. From the sidelines, Starfox laments the hopeless disparity of their respective powers.

Thanos returns fire with beams of energy projected from his forehead. Cyclops piles on the power, pressing closer to the Mad Titan, while Thanos gradually pushes Scarlet Witch's hex powers back upon their source!

His powers seemingly infinite as they are - Thanos inevitably overwhelms the Scarlet Witch. She is helpless as the raw energies destroy her!

With the nature of his attack dependent on his gaze - Cyclops has no choice but to bare witness the horrifying death. He yells his fellow mutant's name, unleashing the awesome force of his ruby optic blasts as Thanos faces him!

In an incredible act of restraint - Cyclops suddenly cuts off his attack!

The unexpected halt in energy leaves Thanos leaning towards empty space. He almost loses his balance as the absence of pressure leaves him off-kilter and vulnerable to the incoming golden Avenger that is Iron Man! He blasts!

The brunt of Iron Man's blast catches Thanos unprepared, but the element of surprise flows both ways! With the powers of the gauntlet Thanos created a perfect bride, who leaps across the battlefield to tackle Iron Man in mid-air!

While Terraxia grapples with the armored Avenger; Thanos returns his focus to the mutant menace. Cyclops opens fire with a laser-focused optic beam. It finds its target, but does little to dissuade Thanos from his renewed aggression.

Perhaps drawing inspiration from Cyclops' own tactic, Thanos conjures a cube around the X-Man's head -- cutting off his optic beams at mere inches!

Cyclops drops to his knees, clutching at the energy cube that denies him a means of attack -- and the intake of oxygen!

Captain America rushes toward the suffocating mutant, while the eerie android Vision attempts to capitalize upon the distraction. The ghostly figure emerges from the nearby solid steps in situ behind Thanos. He won't be fooled twice!

Having fallen for the same attack before, this time Thanos is prepared. He swings violently to turn the tables on Vision -- plunging a massive fist into the synthezoid's chest! He pulls at bio-organic innards, ensuring Vision's death!

Another hero falls as Captain America solemnly confirms the suffocating death of Cyclops. His shield, unable to crack the energy cube formed around the dead man's head. Though tragic, it allows another hero to attempt a new ambush...

The Hammer...
The consequences of failure are clearly becoming more dire! With victory over this sixth wave, Thanos has struck three major heroes from the battlefield: Scarlet Witch, Cyclops, and Vision -- all lying dead!

The synthetic nature of Vision leaves hope that he may be somehow recovered, but the cruel way Cyclops was killed must strike at the very psyche of the assembled heroes! The abrupt end to Scarlet Witch also strikes a chilling blow, given her potential to have a major influence on the outcome of events!

After Mephisto singled Scarlet Witch out earlier, it seemed like she might be a much bigger player. Her time in the conflict amounts to a single page! Even after this many waves of offense, Starlin and co continue to twist the knife, and toy with the expectations of readers who must presume the heroes win.

To this point we haven't had reason to acknowledge the presence of other entities on Thanos' platform. His brother Starfox has been tortured witness to the fray, while the living-corpse of would-be daughter Nebula shambles seemingly aimless around the periphery.

Terraxia The Terrible is new life created by Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet #3. She is his vision of a perfect woman, created out of spite for the reserve of an unimpressed Lady Death. He claims Terraxia's warmth and devotion render his love of Death irrelevant, but these are the impetuous claims of a scorned lover.

Terraxia took Iron Man out of the fight, but their skirmish continues separate from subsequent waves of attack against Thanos. Within this context, both hero and villain will be acknowledged here with an assist stat, pending separate examination in a future featured fight.

If I haven't remembered to edit in a link to their battle, you should be able to find it by following the Terraxia character tag, or by referencing sequential links listed by Infinity Gauntlet in the Secret Index. It should be the ninth link listed. [Or advance to the next fight right here!]

You can see the battle in its entirety by picking yourself up a collected edition of The Infinity Gauntlet. Using the Amazon link provided won't just give you the entire classic story in one volume! It'll also help support the site at no extra cost to you!

Follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day. That means the rest of the Infinity Gauntlet and beyond! A like, share, and retweet is a great way to join the fight!

Winner: Thanos (w/ Terraxia)
#20 (+12) Thanos [+3 kills]
#73 (--) Cyclops
#368 (-9) Vision
#375 (-6) Scarlet Witch
#3 (--) Iron Man [+1 assist]
#530 (new) Terraxia [+1 assist]

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

WOLVERINE versus THANOS

Cosmic Battle on the Edge of The Universe! (Marvel)
Where: Infinity Gauntlet #4 When: October 1991
Why: Jim Starlin How: Ron Lim & George Perez

The Story So Far...
When the Silver Surfer crash lands to Earth through the roof of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum -- he brings ominous warning of the greatest threat the universe has ever known! Thanos lives and has taken possession of the Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space to form the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet!

The Mad Titan's mission is to eradicate half of all sentient life in existence! A feat he achieves in an instant with but a mere thought! His quest to court the mistress Death does not end there, though. His dominion is now all that exists in the known universe -- a reality, his to dominate and reshape!

Ripples of Thanos' power echo throughout the universe, causing mayhem and destruction on Earth, where the mightiest heroes assemble in conference to discuss the unknown threat. The unexpected arrival of Adam Warlock provides limited answers as he takes command, selecting a special task force to confront Thanos in a desperate ploy to save the universe from The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...

Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thanos 5 (Professor)
Speed: Wolverine 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Wolverine 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Thanos 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

After a fourth wave assault consisting of Thor, Doctor Doom, and Firelord failed; Wolverine might not seem like the most obvious candidate to step up against Thanos. He's certainly much better known for fighting earthbound arch-enemies like: Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, Silver Samurai, or The Hellfire Club.

That said, Adam Warlock singled out Wolverine (and Hulk) for their willingness to do what other heroes usually won't: kill!

An earlier assault showed us that Thanos has allowed himself to remain vulnerable to physical harm. Even if Wolverine's unbreakable adamantium claws can't find a killing blow -- he might be able to lop off a limb, or even deprive Thanos of the hand that wears the all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet!

It shouldn't be forgotten that Wolverine's membership with the X-Men has also taken him to space on several occasions, and led him to close encounters with many alien species. If nothing else, that means the ominous circumstances of the fight and their opponent shouldn't bother him in the slightest!

Wolverine's most famous space battles may be X-Men confrontations with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. Adamantium claws cut alien flesh as easily as human, but when it comes to the indomitable strength of Gladiator, our records only contain an unflattering conclusion from New X-Men #124.

In contrast, we've also seen Wolverine claim one of his most controversial alien victories! Who could forget the time he defeated DC's unstoppable Czarnian killing machine, Lobo, in the now infamous Marvel versus DC #3?

Like Lobo; Thanos is innately more physically impressive than the average human, but Wolverine made his debut fighting the Hulk and Wendigo! We've seen him go toe-to-toe with Nimrod [Uncanny X-Men #194], Sub-Mariner [New Invaders #6], Thing & The Fantastic Four [Wolverine #22], and a Dormammu juiced Hood [New Avengers #54]! He always remains in the fight!

Ultimately, that lethal instinct recognized by Warlock could be the visceral edge that other heroes have lacked. When properly motivated Wolverine can be callous [Uncanny X-Men #205], downright malicious [Marvel Comics Presents #83], and a calculated killer [New X-Men #150].

What's his motivation - you ask? As noted in an earlier installment: Jean Grey and Heather Hudson were both presumed casualties of Thanos eradicating half of all life in the universe! For a guy like Wolverine, that's real personal!

The Tape: Thanos Ranking: Wolverine (#4)

What Went Down...
From an elevated level of the white stone platform: The X-Man Wolverine rushes in for an attack! He launches himself over the unconscious body of Firelord at Thanos' feet -- extending claw-tipped arms for maximum impact!

The unbreakable adamantium of his claws plunges into Thanos' chest! A killing blow that brings the fearless mutant face-to-face with the Mad Titan!

For a moment, they exchange snarls -- equals in aggression! Then his angry sneer turns to a gleeful smile as a twinkle radiates from Thanos' eyes - and reality rearranges at his simplest whim!

The Wolverine recoils suddenly -- arching his back as he lets out a guttural yell! At first the cause of his pain seems unclear, but soon the grim reality of all that Thanos can conjure becomes cruelly apparent!

Where once his body was bolstered with unbreakable adamantium-laced bones, Wolverine now crumples, reduced to a twisted bag of muscle and sinew! His bones and claws little more than spongy rubber!

Doctor Doom takes the opportunity to fire upon Thanos, but it's a challenge soon forgotten. A hollow threat, overshadowed by an onslaught from more motivated opponents!

The Hammer...
One begins to wonder exactly how fair Thanos is fighting. His solutions are becoming increasingly deadly, and dependent on the cosmic will of The Infinity Gauntlet! Transmuting adamantium laced bones to spongy rubber, not exactly in the spirit of taking Earth's heroes on at their own game!

The contorted vision of Wolverine recalls the X-Men's classic confrontation with reality-warping mutant Proteus. I wonder if that was a deliberate choice on the part of Jim Starlin and co. It certainly presses the buttons of readers who would remember his troubled reaction to losing a stern grip on reality.

This was a time when Wolverine was approaching the pinnacle of his popularity, but was still somewhat vulnerable to extreme attacks. This was a few years before the revelation of bone claws, which might inform some of the severity of the attack. Repairing adamantium would still be beyond his healing factor, but if it were ten or so years later, his bones might've at least returned to rigidity.

Either way, the crumpled body of Wolverine is a pretty vivid demonstration that the heroes are really out of their depth. The pendulum of hope is beginning to swing in favour of total and utter failure. Warlock is down a killer, with only the Hulk still stalking the battlefield.

It's at this time Silver Surfer chastises Adam Warlock for approaching the battle of life and death as a game. He assures The Surfer it's the only way to confront the enormity of what they're attempting to do. The cosmic rider still doesn't know exactly what the grand plan is. Neither do we, but it clearly doesn't depend on everyone making it out unscathed.

The sixth wave of attack will swing the pendulum back with a powerful new set of heroes, but the stakes are only getting higher!

You can follow Thanos as he runs the Infinity Gauntlet by following Secret Wars on Infinite Earths via Twitter and Facebook. If you're arriving late, look for links throughout these posts to other waves of attack. Or just dive into the Secret Archive Index to find all available battles linked in the Marvel section!

You can get the skinny on Warlock's grand plan and read the entire Infinity Gauntlet by picking up a collected edition via Amazon! Shopping through the link provided means you'll get a good deal and help support the site at no extra cost!

Winner: Thanos
#32 (+8) Thanos
#4 (--) Wolverine

Monday, April 30, 2018

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Friday, April 27, 2018

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

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