APOCALYPSE versus LOKI

Meanwhile, On Earth... (Marvel)
Where: X-Factor #50 When: January 1990
Why: Louise Simonson How: Terry Shoemaker

The Story So Far...
Plotting the ultimate revenge against his brother Thor and the mighty Avengers -- Loki disguises himself to approach some of the world's most powerful villains and coerce them into joining his coordinated Acts of Vengeance!

The promise of defeating adversaries by deploying villains they've never faced appeals to some of the world's most powerful criminal masterminds, but not everyone is so easily convinced. The ancient mutant Apocalypse has watched their actions from afar, and when Loki arrives to recruit him -- he is less than reciprocal!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Apocalypse 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Apocalypse 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Apocalypse 6 (Rubber)
Fighting: Apocalypse 4 (Trained)
Energy: Loki 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Apocalypse 36 (Cosmic)

It's not often Apocalypse faces an opponent who's older than he is, but should the ancient mutant be humbled in the presence of Loki? Not necessarily...

The Asgardian god of mischief often favors pulling the strings of others to achieve his goals without getting his own hands dirty. That's exactly what brought about the Acts of Vengeance, and today's attempt to recruit Apocalypse into a cabal that includes Doctor Doom, Magneto, Red Skull, Mandarin, Kingpin, and The Wizard!

Apocalypse is something of a manipulator himself, but his penchant for recruiting Four Horsemen in no way reflects upon his own willingness to live by a philosophy of survival of the fittest.

The hardships of many centuries evolved En Sabah Nur from a pallid child in the sands of Ancient Egypt, to a techno-organic powerhouse modified by Celestial technology, and in total molecular control of his body! We saw him extend limbs, distort his figure, and unleash powerful energy blasts in Uncanny X-Men #295!

As much as Loki may appear to be a conniving coward at times, he also possess considerable power of his own. When pushed to fight he's capable of unleashing a variety of destructive energy-based attacks and enchantments.

We saw all of Loki's skills on display when he tricked the Thor of the Heroes Reborn pocket universe into joining him in a fight against the Avengers!

In theory Loki should lord over most mortals, but Apocalypse is one man who has convened with even greater cosmic powers than a god. Its difficult to imagine how even Loki's most malignant curses could suppress his will to survive.

The Tape: Apocalypse Ranking: Apocalypse (#378)

What Went Down...

Beneath the towering gaze of Apocalypse stands a mysterious man in a grey flannel suit. He has slick black hair, and brings an offer with no clear benefit...

This man invites the ancient mutant to join his so-called "Acts of Vengeance": a scheme Apocalypse has watched unfold from afar. He has seen through the self-styled servant, recognizing him as the true mastermind who manipulates a cabal of Earth's deadliest villains against a gallery of unsuspecting opponents.

Apocalypse shapes his hand into an extending mechanical vice and snatches the interloper off his feet! He wants to know who this man really is and what he hopes to gain from the "absurdity" of his mischievous game.

A "snap" of energy transforms the mystery man -- revealing the true guise of Loki!

The god of lies & mischief leaps from Apocalypse's grasp and chides him for questioning his right to "annoy the heroes of Earth". He fires a spiteful question of his own: "By what idiocy dost thou, a mutant mortal, hope to imprison a god?"

Loki accompanies his words with a potent blast of energy that knocks Apocalypse off his feet. A minor inconvenience for a mutant in complete control of his physical form. He taunts Loki with his own responsibility for creating his hated Avengers.

Loki glides overhead as Apocalypse falls and tempts the mutant with the promise that others such as X-Factor and the New Mutants will feel the wrath of his conspiracy, just as the Avengers have.

Apocalypse wraps his flattened arm around a metal strut, stopping his descent while transforming his other into an energy cannon.

The ancient mutant fires at the airborne god whilst advocating for humanity's defiant courage.

He deems the petty self-interest of Loki's "master villains" an inevitability of mortal will, which resists the death that begins with their very first breath. The "Acts of Vengeance" has already failed -- and it could be no other way.

Loki darts between the exploding bursts of energy, and dismisses En Sabah Nur's flattering observations of humanity -- indignantly insisting he could crush them!

He's unprepared when Apocalypse suddenly blocks his aerial path -- rising as a rocket-shaped monolith that challenges his godly power!

Loki falls to the floor, momentarily humbled.

Apocalypse reminds the mischief-maker that he too has lived as a god. His perspective is formed from centuries above, and among, humanity. He has felt the glow of worship and continues to receive the power of others' faith.

With that -- one of Apocalypse's true believers emerges from the shadows!

Caliban thrashes Loki from behind with his hand -- confirming the power he has gained from his worship of Apocalypse!

Loki braces his back and views the "servant" with scorn: "Who are you creature, to interrupt your betters?"

He summons a mystic bolt to engulf Caliban in a golden flame, but suddenly it's Loki finds himself surrounded by an inexplicable energy!

The distraction provided by Caliban allowed Apocalypse to activate a machine harnessing ancient Celestial technology. Its power is awesome enough to trap even a god within its field -- helpless like so much as an insect caught in a jar.

The energy field's draining effects are a metaphor for Apocalypse's outlook for the future threats facing mankind. He delivers a sermon, rejecting Loki's attempted manipulations, and declaring him an enemy of a humanity who will be tempered like steel until they can challenge even gods!

Loki declares himself unafraid of such threats. and uses his godly magicks to disappear from the confines of his energy-based bondage -- and appear on a towering monitor screen.

"I am simply ending a discussion that had become tedious... and pointless. Your humans will not survive long enough to challenge the gods, Apocalypse, and you, so proud of your wisdom, are a fool. Dare to oppose me... or my plans... and you will join your human race in death."

Loki shatters the screen, but doesn't damage Apocalypse's unwavering confidence in his plans to send Caliban to test humanity's worthy survivors.

The Hammer...

With Acts of Vengeance Marvel unleashed an early banner event with a simple but effective high concept premise: heroes are confronted by villains they wouldn't ordinarily face. The result was a range of memorable and interesting match-ups, such as Magneto vs Spider-Man, and Freedom Force vs The Avengers.

It was all initiated by Loki: who tricked some of Marvel's most powerful master criminals into pooling their resources into a conspiracy to create a major paradigm shift. A lofty revenge scheme that also successfully roped in Doctor Doom, Magneto, Red Skull, The Mandarin, Kingpin, and The Wizard!

There were a few holdouts and omissions from the line-wide event. Sebastian Shaw became an unwitting participant in an "Aftermath" issue when Loki fused his Sentinels into the towering, nuclear-powered destroyer called Tri-Sentinel. That was also one of the cosmic-powered Spidey issues that were instant favourites.

There was a lot going on in comics of the time, and Acts of Vengeance was a fairly loose crossover for the era. Some key issues dealt with core developments in the master villain's plot, but for the most part, it was a collection of unusual guest spots that added extra flavour and excitement to on-going storylines.

X-Factor #50 is a prime example: predominantly dedicated to the Judgement War sci-fi/fantasy epic that took the titular team to a distant, unnamed planet watched by Celestials. A space adventure that kept them out of Loki's reaches.

The series' late involvement was instead reserved for arch-nemesis Apocalypse, who's shown already watching the unusual shift in villainous alliances, in X-Factor #49 [pictured below].

It's one of those classic comic book scenes that captures the excitement of the event by showing the likes of Hobgoblin and Kingpin in an X-book. Highly unusual at a time when villains were still typically kept contained by their respective heroic nemeses', and editorial houses. It tickles the imagination and invites a reader to seek out characters they might not know a lot about. Good comics!

Apocalypse wonders if the unusual movements of Acts of Vengeance might be a sign of the coming "Armageddon" his Darwinian schemes aim to prepare for.

I particularly like that he first notes the contradictory combination of Holocaust survivor Magneto, and World Ward II Nazi scumbag Red Skull. Strange bedfellows  eventually addressed in Captain America -- a future feature fight, to be sure.

When the disguised Loki appears before Apocalypse via observation monitors, it seems like he's going to recruit another powerful ally. As we've already seen: it actually erupts into another exciting battle between villains, filling the final six pages of X-Factor's milestone fiftieth issue with an unusual clash of titans.

Apocalypse became a more overtly evil figure in later years, most notably when he achieved global domination in the grim alternate-timeline of the Age of Apocalypse. It could be forgotten that there was a glimmer of altruism in his original grand design for empowering humanity through survival of the fittest. An aspect of his goals that got a little lost along the way.

It's nice to revisit a story where he very clearly outlines his broad philosophy, and declares a god like Loki an enemy of humanity whose defeat is the end goal of his success. A good bit of character work, and a nice way to set the fight up while also keeping Acts of Vengeance more central to non-mutant characters. There had been multiple X-Men-centric crossovers before this one.

If you'd like to get acquainted with Apocalypse and today's featured fight in its entirety you can find it collected in Acts of Vengeance: Spider-Man & X-Men or as part of Essential X-Factor Volume 3. Use the Amazon purchase links provided below to do any of your online shopping and you'll not only get a good deal delivered to your door -- you'll help support the site at no extra cost!

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Winner: Apocalypse (w/ Caliban)
#130 (+248) Apocalypse
#613 (new) Caliban [+1 assist]
#968 (-244) Loki

CAPTAINS AMERICA versus TASKMASTER

The Hammer Falls Part 2 of 3 (Marvel)
Where: Avengers: The Initiative #34 When: May 2010 Why: Christos Gage How: Jorge Molina

The Story So Far...
When Tony Stark fought to bring about a new Superhero Registration Act -- he failed to fully consider what would happen if it all fell into the wrong hands!

A secret invasion by Skrulls allowed Norman Osborn to oust Iron Man and replace him as the "Iron Patriot" at the head of a reformed intelligence agency and Commission of Superhuman Activities.

In his hubris, Osborn conspires to bring about a siege on the City of Asgard that finally signals his dark reign has gone too far. Captain America returns to lead an assembly of Avengers against their dark counterparts, arriving just in time to join his temporary replacement against The Shadow Initiative's leader: Taskmaster!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Steve Rogers 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Steve Rogers 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Steve Rogers 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Taskmaster 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Bucky Barnes 3 (Explosives)
Total: Steve Rogers 28 (Metahuman)

That isn't a misprint! We're getting two Captains America for the price of one!

Steve Rogers is fresh off an apparent assassination, and excursion through time, dropping-in on his temporary replacement, Bucky Barnes, for the ultimate All-American team-up!

We got a brief glimpse of the stand-in when the Secret Avengers took on The Hood in New Avengers #54, but Bucky is best known as Cap's World War II fighting buddy who was thought dead until he reemerged as Winter Soldier.

The duo are taking on a classic Steve Rogers rival who's studied all his moves and learned to imitate them exactly!

Taskmaster possesses "photographic reflexes" that allow him to utilize the fighting techniques of anyone he observes. Cap is one of Taskmaster's stock favourites, leading him to frequently travel with a similar disc-shaped shield. He also favours the swordplay of Black Knight and the marksmanship of Hawkeye.

This intimate understanding of fighting styles means Taskmaster can anticipate and counter familiar studies, but therein lies a potential weakness.

Deadpool #2 showed that an unfamiliar and unpredictable opponent can get the drop on Taskmaster, negating some of his expertise. Deadpool's penchant for absurdity helped him win that fight, and again in Cable & Deadpool #36.

Bucky's programming as a Russian assassin means he's a very different fighter to Cap, and although we learned of a secret history involving well known characters, it's entirely possible he never encountered Taskmaster as The Winter Soldier!

Even if their activities did lead to a meeting, we can't forget that Taskmaster is a supreme fighter -- but he isn't infallible. Moon Knight once used the shock & awe of crashing a plane and staring down death to bamboozle him. It's entirely possible the teamwork of Captain America and Bucky could lead to defeat!

The Tape: Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes Ranking: Steve Rogers (#7)

What Went Down...

Avengers fall out of the sky like raindrops across the battlefield and Taskmaster begins weighing up his options. A besieged Norman "Iron Patriot" Osborn spells a back-up plan that could keep him in favour with powerful friends -- win or lose.

With shield raised, Taskmaster rushes to Osborn's aid, charging towards an attacking Captain America who doesn't see it coming.

Fortunately for the recently returned hero his erstwhile replacement has his back covered and opens fire!

Taskmaster blocks the bullets with his shield and raises his sword to challenge the original Captain America.

The mercenary has been looking forward to a rematch with his old nemesis, as well as the professional opportunity to outdo Crossbones by killing the legendary hero with more permanence than his previous assassination.

Cap responds dismissively, so Taskmaster aims to make a lasting impression, continuing to deflect Bucky's gunfire as he slashes his sword across Captain America's defending shield.

A break in the shooting gives Taskmaster the opportunity to turn the tide of battle. With a single pivot he smacks Cap in the face with with his shield, and hurls his sword at Bucky with enough accuracy to knock the pistol from his hand!

Cap recovers quickly and takes advantage of the turn by sinking his knee into Taskmaster's exposed mid-section!

He remembers Taskmaster and his "photographic reflexes" all too well, and reasons that Bucky's lost decades could present a completely unknown opponent for the mimicking fighter.

Bucky tags in and introduces the mercenary to a very different kind of Captain America, brandishing Taskmaster's own sword against him!

For a moment the attack catches Taskmaster by surprise, but as the newest Captain America takes up the offensive, he begins to recognize the man fighting beneath the red, white, and blue. He's studied many World War II newsreels, and as impossible as it may seem, he knows this is Cap's long dead sidekick: Bucky!

Armed with this knowledge, Taskmaster swings his shield just so to knock the sword out of Bucky's hand, and clip him across the chin!

Bucky rallies with an assurance that Taskmaster and his allies will pay for what they've done to America during the dark reign of their administration.

"The flag. This country. The public trust. And for what you and your kind have done to them... I'M TAKING YOU DOWN!"

Taskmaster invites him to try, and the stand-in Captain America responds with seemingly reckless abandon -- charging directly into the line of Taskmaster's downward swinging sword!

The soldier blocks the sword strike with his right forearm -- hiding beneath his uniform the cyborg legacy of his days as The Winter Soldier!

Taskmaster seems unfazed by this revelation, but isn't so nonchalant when a flash in the sky signals the arrival of The Hood and his Cabal.

Bucky presumes the villain is receiving reinforcements, but Taskmaster notes the fighter jets already shooting down the HAMMER Helicarrier. Distractions enough to bring their skirmish to an end as the chaos brings the City of Asgard towards total destruction.

The Hammer...

There's direct overlap between the action seen in Avengers: The Initiative #34 and the concurrent events of Siege #3, but to the best of my knowledge todays featured fight ends as described. You could presume The Sentry's razing of Asgard is the capper.

With only one issue remaining: The Initiative creative team had to juggle contemporary concerns of the Dark Reign era, while also trying to give adequate send-off to some of the B and C list characters who were specific to the series, some since its beginning as a spin-off coming out of Civil War. The result is a slightly disjointed issue of a slightly disjointed series.

Taskmaster was first installed by Henry Peter Gyrich in Avengers: The Initiative #8 as a drill instructor at Camp Hammond. He was to train new recruits brought into the Fifty State Initiative by the government's Superhero Registration Act, kept in line by the threat of exploding nanobots supposedly implanted in his brain.

TM became a bigger focus for the series once he was made field leader of the black-ops Shadow Initiative unit in issue #20. This positioned him perfectly to serve the interests of Norman Osborn, who assumed command of the Fifty State Initiative after he leveraged the events of Secret Invasion to replace an indicted Tony Stark as the head of America's military and intelligence agencies.

That all might sound dreadfully complicated, but like most of these things, it's really a pick 'n' mix situation.

You only need to understand the story you're reading, and you can read as little or as much as you like. These other events add background and larger context to the lay of the land, but they're really not essential to understanding the series, or the story as told from the perspective of Taskmaster.

Siege ostensibly brings an end to the cascading circumstances that were roughly started with Avengers Disassembled, and really got going in Civil War.

The event was essentially designed to put all the pieces back together, bringing Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man back onto the same page after a half decade of sidelining and opposition. Thor had been back amongst the living for a while, but kept to himself, while Cap returned from his apparent assassination at the end of Civil War, having actually rattled around in time rather than death.

The curious irony of Siege is that, although it was arguably the most tightly arranged of Marvel's events -- tying related issues directly to the main battle in the Siege mini-series -- it results in one of the most insubstantial of the era.

Background characters suggest some of the action occurring in other Siege series, but Jorge Molina's pencils are swamped in a necessary palette that ties everything together with a monotonous wash of explosions occurring in the main title.

I like the detail of Taskmaster's deep understanding of fighting styles allowing him to identify Bucky Barnes beneath the shiny new Captain America costume. I'm a little less clear why, if this is their first meeting, he doesn't note any surprise that Bucky blocked a sword strike with his forearm. It seems like there's time, but a lot of other things are happening.

The goal of telling micro-stories inextricably linked to a single conflict and place was an intriguing one. It plays to the fantasy of telling a superhero war epic that goes back to Secret Wars, and maybe earlier. Siege may even achieve the genuine sensation of being on the frontlines, but its narrow focus makes everything feel small and just a little inconsequential.

I tend to think Final Crisis achieved a similar result without losing its sense of scope and grandeur. Siege benefits from having clearer long term goals, but even they manage to feel small and perfunctory. Its more of an end than a beginning, and we already knew what to expect long before it arrived.

What followed for Marvel Comics was less a return to good old character-driven comics, and more of a meandering freefall. Siege feels like the first chapter in the next ten years of scattershot comics. They chose to return to the event format shortly after, and each installment seemed more like Siege - "important" by design, but insubstantial and easily skipped by impression.

At some point I imagine I'll return to the main Siege series to take a closer look at its most significant battles. In the mean time, if you'd like to draw your own conclusions about the 2010 event you can check out collected editions of Siege: Avengers - The Initiative and Siege via Amazon links embedded below.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 600 battles and ranked over 1000 characters! You can find them all by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number -- or discover more by following topical links found in each article!

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#7 (--) Captain America (Steve Rogers)
#58 (--) Captain America (Bucky Barnes)
#991 (+2) Taskmaster

BLACK WIDOW & DIAMONDBACK versus CAPTAIN AMERICA

Cross Purposes (Marvel)
Where: Captain America #376 When: Early September 1990 Why: Mark Gruenwald How: Ron Lim

The Story So Far...
When the designer-drug ICE starts flooding the streets of New York City it ignites a wave of violence and addiction. No one is safe from the insidious product -- just ask Boomslang!

The Serpent Society villain was gunned down by a drug-fuelled gang while on the run from Captain America. Even the Avengers' trusted aide Fabian Stankiewicz is hooked -- sending the Sentinel of Liberty on a new mission to bust the drug-runners responsible!

Little does Captain America realise its all the latest criminal enterprise of his arch-nemesis, The Red Skull, and when one of the manufacturing plants he was investigating was blown up by its own user -- HE was exposed to the drug!

Now Cap is on the high from Hell and that spells trouble for anybody who gets in his way. Even his closest friends may not be able to bring him back down before he goes too far!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain America 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Black Widow 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Captain America 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Diamondback 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Black Widow 2 (Projectile)
Total: Captain America 28 (Metahuman)

Black Widow and Diamondback may appear to be statistically outmatched by Captain America in head-to-head comparisons, but to really break this fight down we need to look more closely at our measure of fighting ability.

We rate Captain America at a high level of 6: "Warrior" status, reflecting not just his hand-to-hand combat training, but the intangible quality with which he's able to stare down entire armies and barrel through them by sheer force of will.

We saw a glimpse of that famous fighting spirit when Cap single-handedly bested SHIELD agents in Civil War #1, and Nazi soldiers in Captain America (Vol.5) #5.

Cap has also made a career out of going toe-to-toe with vastly more powerful opponents, such as: Nebula [Avengers #315], John Walker [Captain America #350], Master Man [Reborn #2], Iron Man [Captain America Annual #9], Hulk [Avengers #4], The Destroyer [Thor #1], and Thanos [Infinity Gauntlet #4].

We rate Black Widow at 5 in fighting, but it could be argued she's actually a far more skilled and nuanced fighter than Captain America. She doesn't have his enhanced strength or endurance to rely on, utilizing a more precise style of martial arts. Discipline that could kayo Jigsaw with a single kick [Daredevil #62].

Black Widow is obviously also a cunning tactician, who executes her plans with the speed and agility of a well trained gymnast. Combine that with her wrist-worn gauntlets -- capable of discharging high-powered electrical blasts -- and she can fight beside Iron Man against an adversary as powerful as Titanium Man!

Black Widow's penchant for collaboration is itself another valuable skill, and although she and Diamondback fought in a previous issue, they're on the same page as they chase down a drug-fuelled Captain America. For DB it's personal!

Diamondback, aka; Rachel Leighton, is a former member of the Serpent Society who turned tail when Viper staged a hostile takeover. She teamed with Cap and became a short-lived romantic interest after reapplying her arsenal of trick throwing diamonds and gymnastics as a hero.

Will the addition of Diamondback's emotional connection help Black Widow bring a drug-hazed Captain America in? Let's find out!

The Tape: Black Widow & Diamondback Ranking: Captain America (#7)

What Went Down...

Cap slams a couple of kids up against a wall on West 113th Street with a mind to getting tough on drugs. They were out looking for kicks and he's all too happy to oblige. The only problem is -- Captain America's coming down from a high himself!

Diamondback and Black Widow show up to bring him in for treatment, but the Captain isn't buying it. He's gone a week without sleep and still doesn't even realise he inhaled the designer drug ICE during a warehouse explosion.

The concerned costumed heroines rush their cornered comrade. He informs Black Widow that her Avengers membership will be revoked, but she keeps her mind on the job -- launching into a flying kick while Diamondback tosses knock-out gas!

Even in his addled state Captain America remains the consummate super-soldier and dodges Black Widow's kick at the last possible moment!

Sensing the struggle ahead The Widow brandishes her wrist gauntlets and lets off a full frontal widow's sting!

Cap manages to get his shield up to absorb the brunt of the point blank blast!

He arrogantly counters with a hard right hand that knocks Black Widow off balance!

It's all too clear the knock-out gas isn't having any effect, but Diamondback seizes an opportunity to dive on Cap's back for a standing rear naked choke that chicken wings his shield arm behind his back. She calls for Widow to take the shot!

It's a good plan, but the drugs in Captain America's system haven't sapped any of his strength. He yanks his shield arm free -- knocking Diamondback to the ground -- and once again dodges Black Widow's sting!

He charges toward the threat -- grabbing Black Widow's firing arm to control the weapon and direct it away from him. It allows him to deliver a hard standing sidekick that launches her off her feet!

Cap's kick rebuffs Black Widow's attacks and her claim he's consumed drugs. The chemical effect and lack of sleep combine to keep him from thinking clearly. He doesn't even consider the possibility he's fighting under the influence!

Diamondback again attempts to get the jump on Cap -- reluctantly firing a couple of her diamonds into the wall over his shoulder.

She knows in her heart she's missed on purpose. A grace a slightly paranoid Captain America doesn't intend to extend when he whips his shield right at her!

Diamondback ducks to narrowly dodge the incoming shield, but can't avoid Cap's crazed tirade.

He perceives his enemy-turned-ally's new uniform as a failed deception, and her presence as an inevitable betrayal. He regrets letting her get emotionally close to him -- not even noticing Black Widow's proximity until she taps his shoulder.

He swings around with a violent left hook that cracks the nearby wall, but Black Widow manages to perch above it and launch herself from the wall's face!

She unleashes a direct blast inches from Captain America's head!

The vicious blow brings an instant end to the conflict! Cap drops unconscious like a bad habit. Hard and heavy -- straight onto his back!

Diamondback worries the sting could've caused permanent brain damage, but The Widow is cool and confident: "I know my opponent. I know my weapon." A successful takedown.

The Hammer...

Lately I've really been enjoying digging back into Mark Gruenwald's run on Captain America. I experienced it around the time mostly as infrequent, disparate issues picked up here and there. A fun, but not always flattering way to read.

In the years since I've had the pleasure of filling in a few more gaps, and coming to appreciate the overall sequential context of more of Gruenwald's work.

It breaks up into fairly easy-to-digest portions, but viewing the many years in totum makes it easier to recognize the ebbing flow of ideas and character-driven plotlines. There's a bigger picture informing everything, and that's good comics.

Captain America #376 functions reasonably well on its own as an action packed chapter in the Streets of Poison storyline. It's Part 5 of a story I was predisposed to enjoy as a raucous crossover between Captain America and Daredevil!

Ostensibly its Gruenwald's high concept take on drug crime on America's streets, but this is also the issue where it escalates into a turf war between The Kingpin, who already rules New York City's criminal underworld, and Red Skull, who is manufacturing and distributing the methamphetamines into his market.

The conflict invariably poises the crime barons' respective bankrolled killers, namely Bullseye and Crossbones, to go against one another in what coalesces into a thrilling pseudo-sequel to Acts of Vengeance.

Everyone will take turns switching partners for some interesting irregular match-ups, but there's even more fun than the opposing foursome. Who better to get in the middle of this collision of Captain America and DD's worlds than Black Widow?

She becomes involved once word of his increasingly uncharacteristic behaviour reaches Avengers HQ. She won't get a chance to link-up with her former flame, Daredevil, or throwdown with one-time adversary Bullseye, but the optics of her entanglement certainly tickle all of those associations.

Black Widow's status as a Soviet-era adversary turned hero also compliments the unfolding redemption of Diamondback, which has been a saga played out over three years of Captain America plotlines.

The heroines met three issues prior for an abrupt case of mistaken intentions -- each unaware of the others' apparent face turn as they battled their way out of the sky and into the Hudson River. Their subsequent team-up subtly infuses Diamondback with some of the same hope for heroics associated with The Widow.

Diamondback's new "undercover" design is a simple, but pleasing alternative to the eye-catching hot pink costume she usually wears. It's essentially an inversion of the costume worn by Nightshade in DC's contemporaneous Suicide Squad -- a series that shares a similarly pleasing episodic nature. I wonder if it was just the style of the time, or if the respective designers knew.

Truth be told, I think artist Ron Lim and inker Danny Bulanadi could've made just about anything work! I particularly love the heft Lim gives to Captain America and Crossbones. Contrasted brilliantly by the lithe acrobatics of Black Widow.

This is such a good looking comic! It's not quite as inky as others I've romanced about from 1990, but there was still clearly something magic in the presses that year, because it's got that look! I only wish my scans did the pages true justice!

This isn't a dark comic by any measure, but when the action goes to the street, there's a wonderful sense of gloom brought about by colorist Steve Buccellato. Lim does great facial expressions, and I love the inked detail of Cap's stubble. It's really a case of everyone doing incredible work!

If you'd like to experience it for yourself you can find this issue in Captain America Epic Collection: Streets of Poison or the now out-of-print Streets of Poison trade paperback. Use Amazon links provided to do any of your shopping and you'll not only get yourself a good deal delivered to you -- but also support the site!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! If you'd like to help the project continue and see more reviews like this you can get involved by becoming a Patreon subscriber. As a thank you you'll gain access to additional updates, polls, and custom articles.

Discover more by exploring the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fight articles in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Or follow links found throughout each post to follow characters and subjects you're interested in!

You can also subscribe on Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! Be sure to wave the flag by hitting that like and share!

Winner: Black Widow (w/ Diamondback)
#42 (+15) Black Widow
#612 (new) Diamondback [+1 assist]
#7 (--) Captain America