AVENGERS versus INFINITY WATCH

Warlock Must Die! (Marvel)
Where: Warlock and The Infinity Watch #27 When: April 1994 Why: Jim Starlin How: Tom Grindberg

The Story So Far...
While Adam Warlock attempts to use the combined Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, and Power to unlock the lost memories of teammate Maxam -- he has no idea forces are conspiring to destroy he and The Infinity Watch!

US Senator Kyle Munson has used his mind-altering powers of hate to turn The Avengers into a bloodthirsty hit squad headed to Monster Island with a mission to kill Warlock!

The hate-mongering Senator is in truth the malicious Man-Beast who is out for revenge against Adam and The Infinity Watch for thwarting his attempts to conquer Counter-Earth and wield the powers of The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Drax 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Giant-Man 6 (Genius)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Drax 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Drax 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Adam Warlock 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Adam Warlock 30 (Super)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Giant-Man, Thunderstrike, Black Widow, Hercules, and Vision.

Operating under brainwashing from the former Hate-Monger; The Avengers have already taken out Gamora in the previous issue, but apparently suffered the temporary loss of Vision as a consequence of the beach-side melee.

The Infinity Watch are: Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Maxam, and Pip The Troll.

The Watch are missing one of their best fighters, but they've still got a whole lot of cosmic might on their side! By nature of their assembly, they wield four of the Infinity Stones: Gems possessed of primordial energies of fundamental cosmic elements that once combined to make the Infinity Gauntlet.

Drax The Destroyer wields the Power Gem, adding it to his already impressive physical strength. In this incarnation we saw him team with Hulk to temporarily topple Thanos during The Infinity Gauntlet, and go toe-to-toe with Thor in the Infinity Crusade! He's a natural to neutralize Thunderstrike or Hercules.

Maxam lacks the boost of a gem, but his ability to increase his size & strength compliments Drax, taking care of either of the loose Avengers powerhouses, or maybe directly countering the super-sized might of Giant-Man!

With the Mind Gem enhancing her mental powers: Moondragon has the potential to neutralize any of their opponents, and maybe even finish the whole fight by breaking the brainwashing that's turned them against The Watch. Failing that, her hand-to-hand skills are good enough to test Black Widow or Captain America!

Warlock could similarly use his natural super-human gifts to fight The Avengers, or wield the Soul Gem to pull everyone into its pocket reality for a dose of soul-searching. if that fails and an exit strategy's needed: Pip the Troll might just be able to help the team escape with the Space Gem's teleporting potential.

We've seen The Avengers take on all kinds of challenges, but we've never seen them take this one. Let's find out what happened!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Captain America (#7)

What Went Down...

Through gritted teeth Captain America makes his mad declaration: "WARLOCK MUST DIE!"

The sentiment is echoed by Giant-Man as The Avengers square-up against The Infinity Watch. Adam Warlock asks for reason, while Drax mistakes Thunderstrike for Thor, and Pip The Troll leeringly confronts the Black Widow.

Pip disappears as quickly as The Widow's temper flares, while Warlock gives up on diplomacy and knocks Giant-Man to the ground with a flying right hook!

Moondragon takes the opportunity to launch a jumping martial arts kick, deflected by Captain America's shield. She takes on the hand-to-hand challenge, matching his bitter madness with her own critique of the "pompous" Avenger.

Maxam struggles to land a hit on Hercules, who remains bitter over their meeting during the Infinity Crusade. Herc aims to pay him back, using his own surprise attack to grab Drax by the cape and toss him into the ocean many miles away!

While Drax tries to figure out where he is -- Maxam finds himself caught between a rock lifted by Hercules, and the hard place of Thunderstrike's hammer!

Knowing when he's outmatched: Maxam calls for help, receiving a polite acknowledgment from Warlock, who evades a giant fist swung by Hank Pym -- and unleashes a direct karmic blast from the Soul Gem!

Warlock hops away from the kayoed Giant-Man, but before he can come to his teammate's aid is struck by the massive boulder hurled by Hercules!

A dark shadow watches from nearby island flora, and Pip The Troll materializes at Warlock's unconscious side, tossing his spiked mace "skull-cracker" in favour of brewing a "neat trick" he's been wanting to try out.

Meanwhile Maxam finds a forearm block wanting as Hercules follows it up immediately with a second, more devastating left that catches him across the chin!

Maxam's tired of being a punching bag for two demi-gods, and manages to narrowly avoid the raging descent of Thunderstrike's uru mace!

It crashes into the ground behind him, but Hercules continues his verbal and close-quarters assault, moving in to grab the "varlet" by the collar and punch him straight in the face!

Elsewhere Captain America blocks a kick with his shield, transitioning seamlessly into a shield swipe that Moondragon nimbly leaps over.

She resists Maxam's desperate plea to use a mind-blast: "Don't rush me! I'll be with you as soon as I attend to the good Captain in my own manner!"

A precision chop to the shoulder finds its mark, allowing Moondragon to kick Captain America's famous shield out of his hands! She follows with a stiff right palm strike to his jaw, dodging his right-hand counter punch with a twirl, to strike back with her own uppercut knock out!

Satisfied with her victory over Captain America -- Moondragon is happy to use the Mind Gem's powers to mind-blast Thunderstrike into submission!

The knock-out beam evens the odds for Maxam, but he fails to notice the massive ocean rock suddenly teleported overhead by Pip The Troll, which sends Hercules running clear of the impact zone!

The long thin rock crushes Maxam & Thunderstrike and kicks up a cloud of sand!

Moondragon doesn't even see Hercules coming as he runs right through her like a raging bull with a charging shoulder!

Pip tries to make the save, snapping the wooden handle of his spiked mace as he clobbers Hercules over the back of the head. The demigod shrugs it off, tossing Pip aside as he makes a path toward a recovered Adam Warlock!

Warlock ducks beneath a wild haymaker and returns fire with a jumping kick!

Hercules is unfazed, launching Warlock across the beach with an overhand punch!

He charges after Warlock, who unleashes the awesome mystic power of his Karmic staff, but the demigod "Prince of Power" resists its awesome energy, snatching it by the neck to push it away.

Warlock takes flight, unleashing a blast from the Soul Gem -- but it misses the target, allowing Hercules to grab him by the ankle and smash his face into the sand!

Warlock throws his free foot at Hercules' face, but the Prince of Power absorbs the kick and slams his left fist to the ground -- narrowly missing Warlock, who jumps clear and delivers another kick directly to the face.

Still Hercules shakes the physical assault off, rallying to deliver a devastatingly explosive backfist strike that knocks Warlock off his feet!

Warlock's body stays limp as Hercules walks the distance to pick him up by the collar, but the Avenger doesn't deliver his intended finishing blow.

Instead it's Hercules who is knocked unconscious when the eerie Vision emerges from the beach sand to deliver a surprise attack to his teammate's back!

The synthezoid's artificial brain appears unaffected by the telepathic brainwashing that enthralled his teammates. He reveals the plot to The Infinity Watch, recruiting Moondragon to use the Mind Gem to free them from their hypnosis.

The Hammer...

The last minute save from Vision helps The Infinity Watch secure their victory over The Avengers!

His timing might seem overly dramatic, but his actions are justified with cold synthezoid logic.

Knowing he couldn't possibly curb the hypnotized Avengers alone -- Vision used a skirmish with Gamora in the previous issue to feign damage, waiting for an opportunity to render assistance once The Infinity Watch had the upper hand! Or something along those lines... Something that conveniently gives us a "surprise" twist. Why not?

Vision shares the victory with Moondragon and Adam Warlock, who secured noteworthy individual triumphs over multiple members of the Avengers, including Captain America, Thunderstrike, and Giant-Man.

You already know who scored the double kayo because you just read the scintillating recap above, but it feels especially noteworthy that Moondragon managed to best Captain America in hand-to-hand martial combat!

Cap actually has one of the worst defeat tallies recorded on the site, [second only to Superman at the time of writing], but he balances significant losses with a high number of wins.

Both stats are attributable to Cap's never-say-die attitude and warrior-like vigor for combat. He boldly risks taking the L by standing ground against obvious mismatches, like Thanos, but to other heroes he remains a mythic benchmark for fighting prowess. He holds top fighters like Black Panther and Wolverine to account, while occasionally becoming the scalp himself to prove another hero's worth, like his epic crossover showdown with Batman.

Moondragon's script notes the interest of comparing their fighting skills, but this one lacks the weight of importance other big time showdowns might aspire to, especially in more recent times where that kind of thing is given a lot of pages.

I'm not sure if Moondragon had the cachet for a bigger marquee spotlight against Cap, and the entire battle comes pregnant with modifiers, noting a compromised Avengers in a guest role.

It's all a little rough in composition, reflected somewhat in art that shows plenty of intent, but is a little sketchy compared to Tom Grindberg's usual work, which I have become a growing fan of in recent years.

Bob Almond is no stranger to inking Grindberg with a more characteristic finish, which leads me to wonder if there were deadline pressures, or late editorial interference that impacted the issue. Perhaps negotiations with the Avengers office?..

As much as The Avengers are here to be beaten by the title heroes in their fleeting guest role, it surprises me how impressive a showing Hercules has!

I like the callback to Herc's brief face-off with Maxam in the still-recent Infinity Crusade, but I'm not sure that justifies such a strong outing. He isn't just the last man standing, but also handily intimidates Maxam, and beats the heck out of Warlock! He's practically served a visual win, if not for the interference of Vision!

Perhaps this all speaks to Hercules' mythic inclination towards violent madness, or perhaps there was a particular vested interest in presenting the Avenger as a legitimate, uncompromised threat.

Although most of the presented group could be found in contemporary issues of Avengers, Hercules is the character I would most closely associate with this era of monthly issues, sharing a spotlight with the likes of Black Knight, Sersi, and Crystal -- all conspicuous by absence.

Thunderstrike won't even be back in the fold until next month's issue, May cover-dated Avengers #374, which means he technically showed up two months early as an active Avenger in Warlock and The Infinity Watch #26!

They were crazy times, and how ever this issue managed to come together, it's a nice artifact from both catalogues. A nice chance for us to dip into Adam Warlock and The Infinity Watch, as well!

If you'd like to find more from the characters and topics covered, make sure you hit up links throughout this post, or 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: Vision, Moondragon & Warlock (w/ Infinity Watch)
#86 (+5) Vision
#200 (+402) Adam Warlock
#382 (+285) Moondragon
#645 (new) Maxam [+1 assist]
#646 (new) Pip The Troll [+1 assist]
#140 (-1) Drax The Destroyer [+1 assist]
#7 (--) Captain America
#48 (-3) Black Widow
#87 (-6) Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
#161 (-4) Hercules
#1040 (-39) Thunderstrike

MARVEL WOMAN & THE FALLEN versus GREEN GOBLIN & MAN-SPIDER

Goblins in the Night (Marvel)
Where: Mutant X #5 When: February 1999
Why: Howard Mackie How: Tom Raney

The Story So Far...
Panic fills the streets of Manhattan as an army of goblin creatures spread terror at the command of The Green Goblin! Just another nasty surprise from the alternate reality that has become Havok's new home!

In truth they are merely genetically-engineered frauds -- but Norman Osborn's gang war has brought the fear of dark magic back to a world that thought the nightmare hand ended long ago!

All things occult & mystical were locked away in response to this world's harrowing "Strange Debacle", but now a once complacent populous renews unwanted attention that threatens the dark secrets of The Goblin Queen! While Madelyne Pryor fights in the streets as The Six's Marvel Woman, she plots a far darker response to this incursion upon her demonic domain!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Green Goblin 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-Man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Angel 4 (Trained)
Energy: Madelyne Pryor 5 (Lasers)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Marvel Woman and The Fallen might not sound familiar by those names, but you should recognize them as Madelyne Pryor and Warren Worthington III!

In the mainline Marvel Universe they're an ill-fated clone of Jean Grey, and original X-Man, Angel, but in the alternate reality of Mutant X -- also known as Earth-1298 -- they're sinister members of Earth's premier super-team: The Six!

True to the original: Madelyne Pryor was created by Mister Sinister to give birth to the ultimate mutant by procreating with the Summers line. In the world of Mutant X there was no Cyclops (on Earth), so her affair with Alex "Havok" Summers led to marriage, a son, and the reformation of X-Factor as The Six.

Madelyne possesses latent psychic & telekinetic abilities similar to Jean Grey's, but her true power comes from a deal with a demon that granted her command of dark magics and all that lurks in the shadows as The Goblin Queen.

That influence includes holding sway over The Fallen, who is the irrevocably dark-spirited transformation of Angel: a bat-winged horseman of death more terrifying than the Archangel created by Apocalypse in the main Marvel Universe.

Having more than just a bad attitude and merciless vindictive streak, this pale-skinned incarnation of Warren Worthington III can also breathe fire, and has talon-like finger tips capable of ripping through flesh.

This all spells bad news for Norman Osborn, whose persona as the Green Goblin has gone so far as to create a legion of genetically-engineered goblin-like creatures who do his bidding in his efforts to seize control of New York City's criminal underground. The creatures specifically prey upon this world's fear of all things magic -- outlawed and eradicated after "The Strange Debacle".

He remains a nemesis of the six-armed Man-Spider, who is this world's clone-saddled Peter Parker, possessing all the usual skills you would expect of Spider-Man, albeit with the six arms he shed shortly after growing them.

Man-Spider enters the battle presuming the heroic Six are in lockstep, but you and I know that's not the case. His history with Norman Osborn won't make them bosom buddies any time soon, but can they turn the tables on Goblin Queen and The Fallen? We know the players. I guess we should find out what happened!

The Tape: Green Goblin & Man-Spider Ranking: Angel (#50)

What Went Down...

Entering the darkened Bugle, The Goblin Queen can sense that the charlatan Green Goblin is somewhere in the building. She orders her minion The Fallen to find "the false one" -- but a volley of pumpkin bombs finds him instead!

The Green Goblin rides his glider around the cavernous ceiling, mocking Madlyne Pryor for her apparent whole-hearted belief in the supernatural hocus pocus he merely appropriated for the creation of his criminal persona.

Osborn rides his glider toward The Goblin Queen with a razor bat in his hand, undeterred by her accusation that his genetically engineered facsimiles have brought undue attention to the real underworld denizens she controls.

Before the dueling Goblin leaders can meet -- two strands of web snag the bat!

Man-Spider descends between them, ensnaring Green Goblin with three more strands of webbing slung from his many extra limbs!

A web-swinging kick takes Norman Osborn clean off his board -- with a two-fisted double-punch delivered on landing to keep the Green Goblin down.

Man-Spider webs the crafty villain's hands together and vows to out him to J Jonah Jameson and The Daily Bugle press, but this only seems to incite a glowing fury in Madelyne Pryor.

The web-slinger is completely baffled as she lets out a shrieking cry and begins to glow with green energy. He assures her everything is under control, but the Man-Spider has no idea how wrong he is.

Quick consultation with The Green Goblin does little to dissuade the Man-Spider's confidence in his ability to handle the situation -- even as Osborn pleads for his life: "Fool! Can't you see it? She is insane. There is murder in her eyes. Now unbind me, so I might have a fighting chance."

The Goblin Queen orders the spider to stand aside so she can execute the "false goblin". When Man-Spider tries to talk her down, reminding her that they're the good guys, she renders her resignation with a blast of supernatural energy!

A stunned Man-Spider is staggered physically and mentally by the attack.

Osborn continues to plead for his release, while The Goblin Queen recounts the world's severe rejection of all things arcane and mystic since "The Strange Debacle", and the complacency that had built up in her favour -- until the Green Goblin's theatrics renewed the populace's fear.

She sneers at Man-Spider's assertion that nobody will die this night as Green Goblin continues to plead for his life.

Man-Spider attempts to use his webs to hold The Goblin Queen to account, but The Fallen seers them with his spewing flame -- and slashes his talons across the hero's chest!

The room fills with eerie green supernatural light as The Goblin Queen's magic whisks the injure Man-Spider and Green Goblin from the ground and levitates them in the middle of the room.

She peels away The Green Goblin's mask, to expose the true face of Norman Osborn for execution. Then she conjures two glowing green pincer claws.

The Brute arrives upon the horrifying scene just in time to witness The Green Goblin and Man-Spider beheaded by his teammate.

He lets out a horrified objection as the bodies fall to the ground -- and Madlyne Pryor's descent into demonic darkness is completed.

The Hammer...

A grim turn of events as the heroes of the Mutant X universe show their true colours away from prying eyes. The rest of the world will continue to believe Madelyne Pryor and The Fallen are heroes, parlaying their guilt to the child-like Brute, who takes the rap for the double-murder after a brief skirmish & chase.

Not quite the introduction to Mutant X I expected for the site, but a tantalizing one as Marvel announce Madelyne Pryor & Archangel's entry into the Dark X-Men, and we gear up for more multiversal web-slinging in Across The Spider-Verse.

If I'm honest: I'm actually incredibly soured by cinema's cheap and simplistic ringing out of the "multiverse" concept, seemingly facilitated by the last decade of comics using the concept for haphazard, flimsy thrills.

The relative instability of a mainline reality has dramatically diminished the appeal of alternate universes. It seems like just getting one version right has become challenge enough, let alone polluting the waters with disproportionately sincere entries into stories like Secret Empire, or the brand-tainting 2015 Secret Wars.

All of that said: there was a time when exploring the multiverse held great appeal, and it's a lot more fun talking about the ones worth remembering than the ones that turn my stomach!

Of course, a lot of comic book fans have some story about reading their way through illness or injury, and a fat stack of Mutant X issues was exactly what got me through a pretty grim stomach-turning health scare in 2001. That, and a live performance by Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros on Letterman. Good stuff!

I already had a handful of issues from the first couple of years of Mutant X. Its fabled place in my personal history came at a time of otherwise downturn in comic book reading. Other interests were taking hold, and maybe the comics of the turn of the millennium weren't so great. Then again, maybe they were.

You might relate the intrigue of Mutant X to the earlier Age of Apocalypse, but that's only seeing it for the X-Men focused alternate reality it presented.

I might try to compare Mutant X to the universe-hopping of Exiles with its team of central characters and broader scope, but that's wrong as well.

Mutant X was an on-going series starring Havok. Ostensibly the continuation and relaunch of X-Factor, which had already undergone three distinct eras, and ended in 1998 with X-Factor #149 and Havok's apparent death. A cliffhanger resolved one Twlight Zone twist later when he finds himself inside the body of an Alex Summers living his best life as father of li'l Scotty, and leader of the universally beloved super-team The Six in a world that doesn't fear or hate mutants.

Like the world of a classic issue of What If...?, Mutant X is filled with dark and morose twists, none more evident than the members of The Six themselves:

There's seemingly no Jean Grey in this reality, instead finding Madelyne Pryor continuing her tenure as an ill fitted replacement. Angel was transformed into a more vile and evil creature by Apocalypse; Henry McCoy continued experimenting on himself until he devolved into a green, hoofed Brute; Storm never recovered from Dracula's bite, becoming the vampiric Bloodstorm; and Ice Man never regained control of his powers after tampering by Loki.

A big part of the appeal of the series then becomes discovering how this altered version of the Marvel Universe has affected other characters, doubling the fun with interesting guest villains and heroes both.

A lot of examples trade on iconic stories and moments from Marvel history, and in the case of the murdered Man-Spider -- he not only retains the six-armed mutation famous from Amazing Spider-Man #101, but also turns out to be the spider-clone when the real Man-Spider testifies at the trial for his murder!

The whole episode, "goblin clones" included, appears to trade on the still recent Clone Saga, death of Ben Reilly, and return of Norman Osborn, who'd been presumed dead since famously being impaled on his own glider in 1973's Amazing Spider-Man #122. An ailment he recovered from to return to print in 1996.

With rare exception we file character "divergents" (alternate reality versions) under the main character, so for that reason we'll infer the deceased Man-Spider is tantamount to original Spider-Clone, Ben Reilly. Despite his significant differences we'll also put The Fallen under the Angel tag, even though this Warren Worthington III makes for one of the most compelling variants of the series.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find the entire multiverse, and future entries, by following topics linked throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for an index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Get free 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!

Winners: Goblin Queen & The Fallen
#204 (new) Madelyne Pryor [+2 kills]
#39 (+11) Angel (The Fallen)
#75 (-7) Scarlet Spider (Man-Spider)
#1050 (-12) Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)

CAPTAIN MARVEL versus WONDER WOMAN

Hellfire's Web (DC)
Where: War of the Gods #1 When: September 1991
Why: George Pérez How: George Pérez & Cynthia Martin

The Story So Far...
The gods must be mad! Turmoil grips the returned deities of New Olympus as they travel to Themyscira to recruit a champion most favoured to fight a coming war on their behalf: Princess Diana -- Wonder Woman!

From beyond their purview the sorceress Circe has enacted a spell to incite a holy war amongst the many pantheons overseeing the Earth! Preying upon their arrogance, she spurs them to seek dominion in their own image, demanding conflict of the mythologies that would inevitably reach contradiction!

Summoning the hellfire of Hecate, Circe unleashes chaos upon the Earth as its heroes scrambled to thwart the various deities wreaking its destruction. While in New Olympus, the Roman gods bring a champion of their own to face Wonder Woman and their Grecian counterparts!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain Marvel 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Captain Marvel 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain Marvel 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Captain Marvel 6 (Generator)
Agility: Wonder Woman 2 (Average)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Captain Marvel 3 (Explosives)
Total: Captain Marvel 30 (Super)

What's the deal with Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman? Although they don't really have a lot to do with each other, they compare relatively well, with similar high level super-human abilities, and ties to the gods & legends of ancient times.

They teamed up on the big screen in Shazam: Fury of the Gods and have both been on the same Justice League roster, but back in 1991's War of the Gods they came to blows -- and it isn't the only time!

Wonder Woman and the heroes of Earth-One fought a befuddled Marvel Family during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, where Captain Marvel Jr got the drop on Wonder Woman, attacking to free Mary Marvel from the Lasso of Truth.

Mary picked up her own win in Final Crisis #3 when the powers of SHAZAM were usurped by the evil New Gods, and she managed to turn Wonder Woman's close quarters advantage against her, using under-handed chemical warfare!

Years later it was Captain Marvel who found himself outnumbered by Wonder Woman and the corrupted Justice League. He managed to steal the Lasso of Truth for his own use, surviving Wonder Woman and the League's attacks through Hell, to restore them to their senses with his magic lightning!

Marvel's Storm defeated the Amazon icon with repeated lightning strikes during the Marvel versus DC crossover, and Captain Marvel's lightning ambush is a compelling tactic for defeating Wonder Woman!

The lightning ambush worked well against Superman, but their famous Kingdom Come struggle also hints at how Wonder Woman could turn the tables on the mighty Marvel: his magic word!

Forcing his transformation back to young Billy Batson was how Black Adam stole victory in Hawkman #23, and the Lasso of Truth might just compel The Captain to speak his word if asked. Failing that, the Lasso also showed it could undo brainwashing when Wonder Woman used it on a Grodd-controlled Tasmanian Devil in JLA: Classified #3. Food for thought! Let's see how it went.

History: Draw (1-1-0)
The Tape: Captain Marvel Ranking: Wonder Woman (#10)

What Went Down...

Confronted with the arrival of Wonder Woman at the side of the Greek gods, their Roman counterparts produce their own human champion -- a non-descript, small boy, who at their behest speaks a greeting in his own words: "... Shazam."

The raging tempest over New Olympus begins to swirl and funnel at the simple utterance, delivering a spectacular focused bolt of lightning to the boy, who is replaced with the mighty figure of Captain Marvel, surrounded by brilliant energy!

The magic lightning is enough to stir Zeus from his slumber. He confronts Jupiter and the Roman pantheon in full armor with promise of war, and Wonder Woman desperately attempts to intervene -- only to be attacked by The Captain!

A powerful left knocks Wonder Woman off her feet, sending pain radiating through her body as the roar of Zeus and Jupiter's colliding lightning thunders overhead.

The many gods wage war across New Olympus, their turmoil echoed across the Earth as nature is thrown into chaos, and Circe's efforts to unleash the Armageddon of Hecate's fire go completely unchallenged!

Instead of taking his place fighting to save the world, the entranced Captain Marvel continues to pursue Wonder Woman with callous indifference.

Seeing that a youthful spark has left his eyes, Wonder Woman does her best to keep one step ahead of the mighty marvel's devastating blows.

The Captain buries his fist into New Olympus with a powerful and speedy strike, but the Amazon knows she must fight back if the day is to be saved.

Wonder Woman seizes her opportunity to spring nimbly into a backflip that throws her feet into Captain Marvel -- launching him across the battlefield!

A Doric column snaps like a stick of chalk as Captain Marvel smashes through it!

He remains undeterred, quickly recovering and stalking his opponent.

Under the watchful gaze of Zeus Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman launch themselves -- only for their collision to be interrupted by another lightning strike!

Zeus accuses Jupiter, but it was none other than Halciber Filius, Son of Vulcan, whose bolt tore through the wall of reality surrounding Olympus so as to free Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman from further exploitation.

The pair tumble through the dark void of Chaos itself, drifting between time and space where further lightning and conflict finds them still!

Blown in separate directions by a wayward blast of energy -- the heroes find the glowing scepter of Mercury locked in combat with his Greek counterpart, Hermes!

As one of the pantheon that empowers Shazam's champion, Mercury orders Captain Marvel to destroy Hermes. An instruction Marvel can barely process as the bewitching influence of the gods begins to fade: "Destroy...Me?... Destroy?"

Wonder Woman senses the change in demeanor and tosses her lasso of truth around the befuddled hero to continue his restoration.

The well-meaning Amazon appears to trigger some unknown chain of events that rips through the fabric of the Chaos realm and grips the trembling Captain Marvel in a convulsing stasis of energy.

Around the Captain swirls a maelstrom of visions showing anguished faces. For a moment, Wonder Woman believes she recognises one of them, but the verge of realization is elusive as Hermes commends her efforts.

Mercury responds with his glowing caduceus unleashing a massive field of energy that Hermes is unable to contain!

Mercury and Hermes remain locked in battle as they disappear into the void, while Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are thrown in separate directions through holes in the dark puffs of Chaos!

The Hammer...

The more time passes and we're removed from the classic Captain Marvel -- or at least some recognizable version of it -- the more I come to appreciate the thesis of Underworld Unleashed #3: The idea that Captain Marvel is an incorruptible hero, defined by an unwavering good nature and pure heart.

I don't know that Mark Waid intended it to be a defining and enduring landmark for the character, but it's a pleasing and functional iteration on the general sense of "innocence" that's led to less satisfying characterizations, particularly the New 52 revamp that Waid has now been enlisted to walk back, at least a little.

Sure, it's a simplistic, allegedly anachronistic idea, but it's also inherent to the aspirational nature of comic book heroes.

Writers, artists, and fans might not live up to these altruistic ideals every waking hour of their lives -- but we can dream that such a thing were possible through the pages of a comic book. Super-Heroes, stalwart and true.

The Power of Shazam! #11 flirted with the possibility of Captain Marvel being corrupted by The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, but also directly acknowledged the contemporaneous work of Underworld Unleashed #3, and ultimately held true to it.

Today, we featured a fight from several years before both issues, with a similar dilemma to Power of Shazam! #11, and arguably a similar conclusion.

Fans have always delighted at the dream match of Captain Marvel versus Superman, and the fight with Wonder Woman continues in that tradition, as well as the similar circumstances of an Anti-Monitor enhanced Psycho-Pirate twisting the fundamental emotional spectrums of entire worlds, including The Marvel Family's "Earth-S", in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6.

I suppose I'm more forgiving of a momentary lapse caused by some intuitive or grand subversion of cosmic forces, rather than a prolonged twisting or redefinition of the man himself. A short subversion to get us a marquee title bout. Like I said: fans might not always live up to purely altruistic ideals.

Objectively you might call it a "corruption" of Captain Marvel, but I really enjoy the way the entire War of the Gods story intuitively derives interesting conflicts from mythical influences already existent in the DC Universe.

War of the Gods is ultimately a rare DC Comics event drawn from Wonder Woman, but in an interview with Fantazia magazine, George Perez explained that he was also inspired by Captain Marvel, and a long-held curiosity about why disparate figures such as Roman god Mercury, Greek demigod Hercules, and Judaic leader Solomon would "get together to create a superhero".

The sextet of gods & legends who grant Captain Marvel his powers of wisdom, strength, stamina, power, courage, and speed, make for a natural submission into the empyrean conflict, and his manipulation to fight on their behalf. A gentler direction of his actions than the more malignant corruption of Mary Marvel that occurred during Final Crisis, when the evil New Gods replaced her pantheon.

To that end, Perez massages the concept slightly, anchoring Captain Marvel to the Roman gods in this story, allowing Zeus counterpart Jupiter license to produce Billy Batson alongside his mirrored pantheon of deities, which includes a Hercules as counterpart to the Greek gods' Herakles.

All this ancient mythology can read a little bit dry, but the slog is worth it for the bold & colourful superhero highlights that are sprinkled throughout. A meeting of ancient and modern mythology, sewn together with a respect for the canon of both pantheons, informing intuitive, logical connections.

I rather like that Perez went out of his way to utilize Son of Vulcan: an acquisition from Charlton Comics that had dwelled in relative obscurity since coming under the DC banner. In War of the Gods, he was invited to be the Roman gods' champion, but refused, returning from banishment to the River Styx to strike back during today's featured fight.

It might seem like a lot to unpack, but with any luck that's something we'll be able to do together, revisiting some of the lighter moments and interesting curious little conflicts occurring throughout the series, some time in the future.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all, and future entries, by following topics linked throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for an index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#10 (--) Wonder Woman
#40 (--) Captain Marvel
#642 (new) Son of Vulcan [+1 assist]