ABOMINATION versus SUB-MARINER

When Titans Splash (Marvel)
Where: Namor The Sub-Mariner #59 When: February 1995 Why: Glenn Herdling How: Geof Isherwood

The Story So Far...
The Abomination is an unexpected intruder in the Sub-Mariner's domain, but the gamma-irradiated powerhouse is merely a pawn in a grand scheme to construct underwater nuclear reactors for artificial island bases!

Controlling The Abomination from the safety of a cloaked deep sea vessel is a remnant of his days as a KGB agent -- and while the Sub-Mariner defends himself from the beast's attack, Stingray investigates the unseen enemy that dwells in the water.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Sub-Mariner 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Abomination 6 (Generator)
Agility: Sub-Mariner 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Sub-Mariner 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Sub-Mariner 29 (Meta-Human)

The Abomination is supposedly stronger than the Hulk, but even if that were true -- it won't give him any guarantees against one of the jade giant's oldest and most vexing sparring partners -- especially fighting in his domain!

Namor, the Sub-Mariner is among the strongest heroes in the Marvel Universe, reaching peak power when submerged in the sea. The life-giving waters can restore him from devastated weakness to full strength -- as we saw during his battle with Tiger Shark and The Aquanoids in Marvel Team-Up #14!

Namor has such esteem as a physical combatant that he joined Thor, Firelord, and Iron Man in the first wave assault on Thanos during Infinity Gauntlet #4, and took on a super-enhanced Ronan the Accuser in Maximum Security #3! He even bested the Mind Gem itself while on mission in New Avengers: Illuminati #2!

A contentious attitude, and obligations to the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, have made Prince Namor an opponent of heroes and villains alike.

Along with run-ins with the likes Hulk and the Fantastic Four, we've seen him almost single-handedly fight the X-Men to a standstill in X-Men #6, withstand a brainwashed Wolverine in New Invaders #6, and overwhelm Iron Man during Invincible Iron Man #12. He can stand toe-to-toe with Abomination - but will he?

The Tape: Sub-Mariner Ranking: Sub-Mariner (#33)

What Went Down...

A massive green-fisted uppercut sends Namor hurtling backwards, but the Prince of the Deep quickly corrects his course to wrap a vengeful hand around Abomination's throat!

Triton, Andromeda, and Stingray watch in horror as Abomination launches another powerful attack, socking the Sub-Mariner across the jaw with a devastating left that once again sends him streaking through the water!

Triton & Andromeda jump in to lock-up Abomination's arms, but the powerhouse simply drags them into a head-long collision by rapidly raising his fists!

Recognizing he's clearly out-matched -- Stingray leaves Abomination to his business, taking the opportunity to investigate a mysterious wave distortion spotted earlier.

Sub-Mariner returns to the fray, rising from beneath Abomination to grab hold of his jaw and thrust the behemoth's head violently upward!

A light overhead diverts Namor's attention to a materializing underwater vessel that extends a mechanical claw to grab hold of Stingray.

The distraction allows Abomination to deliver a powerful body blow that smashes Namor through underwater rocks!

The deep sea monarch recalls his acquaintance with the Hulk as Abomination smashes his fist through more rock, narrowly missing Namor's head.

A sense of urgency consumes the Sub-Mariner as he works quickly to end the fight so he can save Stingray. With the entire ocean at his command, he begins to swim rapid circles around the Abomination -- generating a crushing vortex!

Feeling the pressure of the sea bearing down on him, Abomination does the only thing he can -- smashing his palms together to send a powerful shockwave through the water that interrupts the Sub-Mariner's flow.

Namor is never the less the first to recover and resume his affront -- dive bombing both fists into Abomination's gut like an undersea torpedo!

Bravado becomes his undoing as boasting that even the Hulk never beat him beneath the sea inspires a tactical shift from Abomination.

The gamma-irradiated powerhouse manages to grab the swimming Sub-Mariner by the ankle and launch him uncontrollably toward the surface with a mighty throw!

Namor's wings aren't powerful enough to slow his ascent, but breaching the surface reveals a man-made island to the Prince of the Sea. He only has a moment to survey the military installation before Abomination joins him in the air!

Abomination launches from the water with a diving tackle, but Namor's aerial superiority gives him the foundation to punch the villain in the face -- and send them both plunging back into his domain!

The Sub-Mariner grabs hold of his opponent and steers him towards deeper waters still, challenging the Abomination's presumption to enjoy fighting underwater.

The Avenging Son threatens to test Abomination's resilience with the nitrogen blood absorption of a trip 15,000 feet below to The Hellencian Trench, but before he can make good on the excursion -- a cloaked craft orders a halt!

The mercenary Major Bogatin issues an ultimatum: the Sub-Mariner will help them pilfer a sunken submarine to construct a nuclear reactor for the Advanced Idea Mechanics' artificial island -- or they will execute Stingray!

Thus, Prince Namor joins the Abomination in reluctant servitude -- for now.

The Hammer...

An exciting fight ends with an unlikely alliance as Sub-Mariner joins Abomination in the same predicament of indentured servitude.

Neither wishes to serve the whims of AIM -- or rather, the ex-KGB mercenary now working for them -- but both must cooperate to preserve the lives of Stingray and Abomination's ex-wife, Nadia Dornova. At least... long enough for Namor's ally Andromeda to find the cloaked sub holding them and stage a rescue.

It's another strange twist in the life and times of Emil Blonsky, who seemed to thrive after his Hulk-like transformation, but keeps finding himself in vaguely sympathetic situations, forced to serve masters who desire his power, and suffering emotional torture and hardship as a result.

This time it's the former Major Bogatin seeking to exploit Abomination's power.

He knew Blonsky from their days as KGB spies, imbedded together in the US Air Force base where Bruce Banner was developing the gamma bomb that turned him into the Hulk. Bogatin was therefore well positioned to doubt that Emil had perished when he disappeared, having been transformed into Abomination.

Apparently the erstwhile Major put it all together, and leverages his unique insight into Blonsky's earlier life to coerce him into an elaborate scheme of salvaging sunk submarines, and constructing underwater nuclear power plants without succumbing to radiation, or intense subaquatic pressure.

The story draws heavily from those seminal issues of Incredible Hulk, padding the nefarious figures lurking in the shadows to further flesh out Abomination's backstory some thirty years later. Something that had already been done with the introduction of his ex-wife in Incredible Hulk a few years earlier, in 1991.

By keeping it light and focused on telling a new story -- rather than meddling with old ones -- it succeeds rather well. They even float the idea that Abomination might be particularly well suited to fighting underwater. A simple, intuitive idea drawn from his slightly amphibious look. Gotta love those fin-like Jack Kirby ears.

The issue ends with Abomination catching up with his blackmailer and doing something very nasty off-panel with a sickening "KRAK". A grim end for Bogatin, who might've worked as an on-going menace in the Marvel Universe, but just exists to give an inconsequential super-villain guest spot a bit more heft.

You might've thought mutual grievance would've kept the morally ambiguous Sub-Mariner on the same page with Abomination, but once Andromeda helps Stingray escape with Nadia, the villain snatches a warhead detonator and clobbers Namor, eager to destroy Bogatin's work, seemingly with Triton in the blast zone.

It might've been an interesting premise to parlay Abomination into Sub-Mariner's limited rogues gallery, but it of course turns out the Inhuman fish-man is just fine, washed ashore by the submarine explosion. No harm, no foul, I suppose.

I'm a bit of a sucker for a good villain crossover and this issue satisfies on that level. It's an interesting match-up and we at least get a pretty good taste of what it's like for Sub-Mariner and Abomination do battle. A palatable alternative to the many run-ins between Namor and Hulk over the years.

Your mileage will vary vis-a-vis the very mid-nineties artwork. Some scenes and figures have a very rough finish with unrefined detail, such as faces, while others look dynamic and well staged. That roughness seemed to become a curious signature of the Namor series, getting very spiny and vague when Jae Lee arrives.

Geof Isherwood inks himself here, with colours by Glynis Oliver that come together brilliantly to create a real sense of vast space in the panel showing Namor over Abomination and a cloaked sub. That one's a favourite.

If you'd like to see more from these characters and creators you can follow links throughout this post -- or deep dive into the Secret Archive for an index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked  well over 1,000 characters! If you like what we're all about and want to see more you can help make that happen by becoming a Patreon supporter!

Patrons help keep projects like this up and running, and as a gesture of gratitude you'll unlock additional updates, weekly recaps, and options to sponsor custom article content including Top 10 lists based on the Fight Club Rankings.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook, or by becoming a freebie follower on Patreon. 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 & Patreon!

Winner: Inconclusive
#33 (--) Sub-Mariner
#635 (-4) Abomination
#630 (new) Major Bogatin [+1 assist]
#631 (new) Andromeda [+1 assist]
#632 (new) Triton [+1 assist]
#633 (new) Stingray [+1 assist]

DOCTOR FATE versus THE SPECTRE

A Spectre is Haunting the Multiverse! (DC)
Where: All-Star Squadron #27 When: November 1983 Why: Roy Thomas How: Richard Howell

The Story So Far...
While The Atom lies in a hospital bed suffering unknown side effects from absorbing the radiation of Cyclotron, his comrade at arms, Doctor Fate, continues their search for missing teammate - The Spectre!

Using Wonder Woman's electro-magic sphere, the Justice Society is able to witness Doctor Fate's journey beneath the great lakes of Cliffland, where he found The Spectre's mortal host Jim Corrigan suspended in animation.

The magic of Nabu's Helmet and The Amulet of Anubis flow through the lifeless police detective, who rises to point the way through an inter-dimensional portal to a place beyond the sea of worlds where The Spectre stands vigil at the door of a mysterious crypt!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Doctor Fate 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spectre 7 (Omnipotent)
Speed: Spectre 7 (Lightspeed)
Stamina: Spectre 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Spectre 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Draw 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Spectre 41 (Omnipotent)

Doctor Fate is Kent Nelson: wearer of the Helmet of Fate and an agent of Nabu & The Lords of Order.

His mystical domain concerns the very balance of reality, and grants him access to ancient magical wisdoms, perception, and spells. This includes the powers of The Amulet of Anubis and Cloak of Destiny, which grants him levitation and physical invulnerability even without his helmet!

Nelson's physical prowess was on display when he withstood battle with Hawkman while wearing a replacement half-helmet in All-Star Squadron #4, and when he absorbed the super-human blows of Ultraman in All-Star Squadron #15.

The Spectre is a divine spirit of vengeance usually bound to a mortal host, Detective Jim Corrigan, but now moves untethered to access the fullest of his powers and fury with total discretion.

Typically The Spectre is a grim force for good, turning bitter ironies against evil doers deserving of vengeance. That which can be imagined is within The Spectre's means, as when he disintegrated Black Hand's offending fist while bound to the spirit of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern: Rebirth #1.

The Spectre is also a defender against dark magics, fighting alongside Doctor Fate and the Justice Society of America against the eldritch horror of Morgauth in JSA Strange Adventures #1, and removing the influence of Eclipso from Superman during Superman #216.

These are two of the most awesome and esoteric magical forces in the DC Universe -- how can we possibly hope to quantify their unfathomable powers? The only way to find out is to see what happened!

The Tape: The Spectre Ranking: The Spectre (#100)

What Went Down...

With a simple gesture The Spectre succeeds where words have failed -- suspending Doctor Fate in the gaping void that overlooks the threshold of a mysterious stone structure. He orders his teammate to leave.

Stunned by the ease of Spectre's magic, Doctor Fate relishes the opportunity to learn who is the greater mage between the two.

He breaks the hold, splitting his energy into four fearsome Fates!

This time it's The Spectre's turn to be impressed by the magical display, unable to divide himself and "still retain ectoplasm enough to oppose the real one!"

While The Spectre stands at the door grappling with copies, the real Doctor Fate glides through the stone walled structure to discover the sleeping form of Kulak - High Priest of Brztal!

Fate scans the malevolent mystic's mind, witnessing the horrifying collapse of untold worlds and civilizations -- all ripped apart by Kulak's spells of hatred until The Spectre intervened with the Ring of Life!

The Doctor sees the glowing scarlet ring now on Kulak's hand, but before he can reclaim it -- a gigantic green fist bursts through the wall to seize him!

A giant-sized Spectre pulls his erstwhile friend through the wall and warns him to cease his trespass and return to the mortal world.

"In the world of mere men you are feared -- but here you are only one more worm to be trampled underfoot -- or squashed by a far mightier hand! Swear to depart and never return -- and I shall release you!"

Doctor Fate defiantly refuses to leave, bursting free of The Spectre's grip and mystically matching -- and exceeding -- his titanic size!

The lord of order now grips his opponent in his hand and demands to know if it is truly the will of The Spectre to defy him -- or if Kulak indeed sways his fate.

In an instant The Spectre is free and again facing his old teammate eye to eye, but not as an equal -- or so he claims!

"Equals? Hardly! You are a lord of order, incarnated in the human form of Kent Nelson -- and that is your weakness. I am man's spirit -- freed of all corporeal restraints when I am not in Jim Corrigan's body -- and that is my strength! Do not force me, wizard -- to kill you!"

A mystic bolt deflects from Spectre's chest as the powerful pair each grab for the other's wrist. Doctor Fate knows Kulak has turn his friend into a killer.

Despite his cold resolve, Spectre confesses a warmth in his unbeating heart for Fate -- even as his awesome magic drives the Doctor to his backside.

Unwilling to concede, Doctor Fate invokes the immortal might of Nabu the Wise: "-- but Doctor Fate is more than a man!"

In desperation he conjures a portal to The Netherworlds, calling forth a hideous green squid-like behemoth to attack The Spectre in his stead!

Spectre bats away the eldritch horror's squirming limbs, but its spiked tail becomes his true concern as it swings dangerously against the tomb of Kulak.

Like a deft hand-to-hand combatant, Spectre swings around the beast and squeezes his arm beneath the creature's head. The tightening chokehold delivers it back to the hellscape it was spawned from.

It leaves only Doctor Fate to stand alone against the death gaze of The Spectre!

The unfettered wrath of The Spectre engulfs Doctor Fate as his stone cold stare unleashes occult forces that would kill an ordinary man. Instead, Kent Nelson is sent tumbling through realities untold -- lost amidst an "infinity of dimensions".

The Hammer...

The magician is condemned to fall uncontrollably through a multiverse of realities to the "end of unrecorded time", likely to return to the world he knows once its reduced to "a dead husk, barren of life and meaning for a billion billion years!"

The Spectre's mildly petulant victory is short-lived, however, as the tomb he's guarding begins to bulge and glow with energy -- exploding behind him to reveal the awakened might of Kulak!

The High Priest of Brztal quickly dominates the vengeful spirit, but that's a fight for another day. For now let us simply take in the stunning defeat of Doctor Fate and the awesome display of supernatural sorcery from the DC Universe.

I tend to think of these characters as more complex and esoteric than they are, but this battle is a nice reminder that for all their awesome powers, they are combatants in the same arena of good versus evil as any other character. They just go about it in a slightly different, more imaginative way.

It won't surprise you to know this has been one of the battles on my desk for quite some time. I've been eager to get to it. Checking off a few other All-Star Squadron issues along the way, but never forgetting this engaging dream match!

As I've waxed in the past: there's an innate "cool factor" with these characters, levied off the back of strong visual designs by original Golden Age artists, and a sense of awe and wonder about the incredible scope of their potential.

The Helmet of Fate is one of DC's most striking images and it's been little surprise that the character has been embraced by moviegoing audiences enticed by the simple visual of Pierce Brosnan's portrayal in Black Adam. I'm not sure why the live-action version lost his eye holes, but at least they got the basics right.

There may be inevitable confusion and comparisons with Marvel's theatrical forebear, Doctor Strange, but as we all know, Doctor Fate predates Marvel's magician by a good twenty-three years, and commands an aura of mystique all his own, with far greater connections to Nabu, and the all-seeing Lords of Order.

The characters do work well as general counterparts. A fact played up with the creation of Doctor Strangefate during DC and Marvel's joint venture of Amalgam Comics: hybrid creations based on an iconic character from each company. 

Otherwise, they're quite different, even if we might see the cinematic Strange borrow a page from Fate, as in the spell to split himself into multiple incarnations, as we saw early in today's featured fight!

If you'd like to find more battles with magic or Golden Age icons you can find them all by diving into the arcane Secret Archive! That's where you'll find a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked  well over 1,000 characters! If you like what we're all about and want to see more you can help make that happen by becoming a Patreon supporter!

Patrons help keep projects like this up and running, and as a gesture of gratitude you'll unlock additional updates, options to sponsor article content, including featured fights and Top 10 lists based on the Fight Club Rankings. Keep reading to the bottom of this page to check out today's major rankings update!

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing via Twitter and Facebook, or become a follower on Patreon to get free public updates. 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 & Patreon!

Winner: The Spectre
#60 (+40) The Spectre
#353 (-193) Doctor Fate