Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club

ABSORBING MAN & TITANIA versus ANT-MAN & WASP

"Even a God Can Die!" (Marvel)
Where: Avengers #275 When: January 1987
Why: Roger Stern How: John Buscema & Tom Palmer

The Story So Far...
Avengers Mansion has fallen into the grip of Baron Zemo and The Masters of Evil! Their siege has claimed not just the heroes' headquarters -- but also one of their mightiest ranks!

For daring to charge the building alone, Hercules received a devastating beatdown that left the demigod barely clinging to life! Rushed to hospital, he was declared dead, but The Prince of Power's bold heart refused to stop beating for long!

Captain America was captured providing backup, but Wasp escaped to accompany Hercules to the hospital. Joined by Ant-Man, she stands as the last line of defense for Herc and The Avengers -- and a walking target as The Masters of Evil deploy Absorbing Man & Titania to finish her off!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Titania 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Ant-Man 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Wasp 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Titania 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Wasp 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Absorbing Man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Wasp 3 (Explosives)
Total: Absorbing Man 22 (Champion)

Don't look now! It's a tag team showdown of Marvel Comics power couples with a debuting partner on both sides, but these pairs aren't created equal!

Carl "Crusher" Creel was a small time crook & boxer who was dosed with an enchanted potion by Loki while in prison. The concoction of Asgardian herbs granted Creel the power to absorb physical properties of anything he comes in contact with, transferring it to himself, his clothes, and a prison ball & chain.

The Absorbing Man typically chooses metals and stone, enhancing his strength and durability to go up against the likes of Thor and Hulk, but he's also capable of more inventive transformations, such as gases, liquids, energy sources, and supernatural materials. He can even rearrange his composition, enduring dismemberment, and forming irregular shapes such as hammers for fists.

Creel first met Titania during the original Secret Wars when she was unveiled by Doctor Doom and deployed against the Fantastic Four. An antagonistic relationship soon turned romantic as the pair became partners in crime and wedlock. They continued to battle each other's rivals, facing She-Hulk, Thunderstrike, Spider-Man, and The Avengers after joining up as enforcers for The Masters of Evil.

Scott Lang may be the second Avenger to assume the mantle of Ant-Man, but he's no stranger to prison himself. Unable to support his young family as a repair man; he used his skills as an electrical engineer to become a burglar, eventually breaking into the residence of Dr. Hank Pym -- the original Ant-Man!

Formally granted Ant-Man's suit after proving himself altruistic, he gained all the skills of Pym particle technology, favouring shrinking over enlargement, command of ants including winged varieties, a concussive "disruptor" blast, and eventually wrist-mounted gauntlets similar to the Wasp's bio-electric stingers.

We've seen the high-flying Janet Van Dyne cut down opponents many times before, blasting the likes of Moonstone, Pyro, Dragon Man, and Kingsize!

This seems like a fairly one-sided affair, with Absorbing Man and Titania typically mixing it up with a different weight class. The Tape gives us our best insight into how the diminutive heroes level the playing field, relying on intelligence, speed, agility, and firepower to mitigate the mighty strength of their opponents.

The Tape: Absorbing Man & Titania Ranking: Wasp (#39)

What Went Down...

Walls crumble as Absorbing Man and Titania stomp their way past helpless security and hospital staff -- on the warpath to The Avengers inside!

Nurses do their best to usher vulnerable patients out of the building as Wasp and Ant-Man shrink down to unnoticed size and race against the herd. Lost amongst the rushing feet, they aim to make a stand to defend a gravely injured Hercules.

Wasp makes the first move -- answering Absorbing Man's search by flying directly into his gaze with her bio-electric stringers blasting!

The sudden assault is enough to shock Absorbing Man out of his steel-skin!

Momentarily blinded by the flash, he clutches at his eyes in human form -- vulnerable as Wasp encourages Ant-Man to strike!

The diminutive hero rapidly returns to normal size, taking advantage of his blinded foe with a dazzling uppercut!

Titania launches herself at the Ant-Man in a furious rage, but with Wasp watching his back, he knows it's coming -- and shrinks beneath the reach of the rampaging villainess to leave her colliding face-first with a nearby wall!

Not taking too kindly to being outwitted -- Absorbing Man reaches into a power junction and makes contact with the electricity. He receives enough raw power to add another "smart guy" to the list he's stomped.

Absorbing Man is a real bright spark as his body absorbs the charge and he swings his electrified wrecking ball over head!

Wasp and Ant-Man have no choice but to flee the walking bug-zapper, while Titania continues smashing through walls to enter the operating theatre housing the mortally wounded Hercules!

Titania has no regard for the demigods' critical condition, but stops short of making good on her threats to worsen his situation when Ant-Man directs a small army to swarm all over her body!

The maddening predicament shocks Absorbing Man out of his electrified state, sending him in search of a bottle of alcohol so he can assume its properties and become a living wash over his partners' ant-covered body!

The alcohol shower does the trick, but pulling himself back into humanoid form leaves Absorbing Man feeling disoriented -- and open to a tandem direct assault from Wasp's stinger and helmet Ant-Man's disruptor!

The blow stuns Absorbing Man, but once again Titania comes to the aid of her man -- immediately snatching Wasp out of the air!

Ant-Man is there to assist his fellow Avenger as well, riding his flying ant into range to toss a small canister at Titania.

It erupts into a gas that shrinks Titania down to the same diminutive size as the insect-like heroes. An equalizer that leaves her vulnerable to Wasp's stinger!

Absorbing Man groggily stumbles through the operating room in desperate search of a source of absorbable power. He finds only the unconscious Hercules, but before he can absorb the strength of a demigod -- Wasp is on him!

The full-size heroine flies overhead and hooks her legs under Absorbing Man's arms, briefly taking him off his feet before unleashing her full bio-electric stinger directly at his head!

The Absorbing Man drops like a mighty oak, slamming face down on the surgery floor -- knocked out! Ant-Man strolls in with a similarly unconscious Titania over his shoulder, noting Wasp's toughness as they relax in victory.

The Hammer...

Occasionally over the years I've been asked to weigh-in on "who would win a fight" between various characters. It can make for a fun conversation, but the more I do all of this, the more I'm reluctant to give any real answer, drifting away from that type of thing.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths exists to some extent to provide solid reference material for exactly these kinds of debates, but despite our sports-inspired format, comic book superhero fights aren't determined purely by skill or abilities. It's an exercise in plot and narrative. Discussing abilities is a good jumping off point, but it's kinda putting the cart before the horse.

Stan Lee -- after decades of receiving these kinds of questions -- put it with affable simplicity in his Stan's Rants YouTube series: "There's one answer to all of that; it's so simple. Anyone should know this! The person who'd win in a fight is the person that the scriptwriter wants to win!"

Which means Absorbing Man and Titania may be obvious favourites in a fight against Wasp and Ant-Man, but that's exactly why they will more than likely lose. It just wouldn't be interesting if these things were foregone conclusions. The heroes can't simply be smeared across the pavement, and when a super-villain holds such an overwhelming advantage over a hero -- that just better defines the heroism of finding a way to overcome and defeat them.

That's why we still talk about Spider-Man beating Juggernaut, Batman matching Superman, and why Wasp is now nestled comfortably in our Top 40 ranks! [And as a matter of record: Spielberg won two Best Director Oscars for Schindler's List (1994) and Saving Private Ryan (1999), so Ant-Man should have more faith].

Of course, in the interest of avoiding foregone conclusions, sometimes the heroes have to lose, and The Avengers are facing one of their most stunning defeats, this issue taking place during the Siege of Avengers Mansion.

Wasp & Ant-Man's victory at the hospital defended a mortally wounded Hercules, whose vital signs are strengthening after an earlier flatline, but Baron Zemo and The Masters of Evil still have control of the Avengers' HQ. A violation Wasp vows to avenge after doctors have delivered the good news, and issue closes.

Wasp has been in a leadership role around this time, and it's kinda cool to see her playing pointman as the team attempts to regroup. She and Ant-Man could be easily overlooked heroes, but they're both well suited to rallying the troops, and making a surprise attack against The Masters of Evil.

You can rest assured we'll be looking at more from the "Avengers Under Siege" storyline, and Hercules' brutal defeat, at some point in the future.

If you want to find those entries, or any of the topics covered today, you should follow links throughout this post. Or just dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

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Winners: Wasp & Ant-Man
#33 (+6) Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
#354 (new) Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
#379 (-27) Titania
#984 (new) Absorbing Man