ANNUAL PUNCH-UP: 2023 RANKINGS RECAP

Weaving through every entry on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths is the constant thread of the Fight Club Rankings! Nestled at the bottom of every new battle are live updates to characters' positions -- but only here can we see the true consequence of another year of wins & losses!

Season 2023 faced the usual challenges, but we had some strong and interesting entries across the year. There were inspirations from the usual sources of multimedia adaptations, and a few old favourites providing the usual eclectic mix of obvious -- and not-so obvious -- movers & shakers.

Black Knight made the biggest gains this year, leaping +545 slots to take Most Improved. Respectable runners-up included movie-relevant B-listers Blue Beetle, The Flash, and Hercules, with ranks improving by over 270.  Also leaping over two hundred ranks were Moondragon, Uncle Marvel, Galactus, and Tawky Tawny. Otherer noteable rising stars included: Ibis the Invincible, Adam Warlock, Ultron, General Zod, Justice, Mary Marvel, and Vision.

The Top 10 remained consistent from last year's result, but the hotly contested #20 position was claimed by Black Adam, whose past successes in comics were a little more impressive than his entry into films. The Black Marvel edged out Iron Fist, but couldn't steal the lightning of a slipping Thor, or rising Flash. It will be interesting to see if new names enter into the gatekeeper's position, with a wider margain starting to open at this portion of the ranks.

The complete list of Season 2023 competitors is available below with adjusted movements based on our year-end record of last year's rankings. You can also flashback to recaps of the ranking movements in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016. Don't forget to revisit all the action in the 2022 Featured Fights Recap, and stay tuned for the Top 20 Battles as chosen by you! You can also help shape Season 2024 by becoming a Patreon supporter for more updates, sponsored content, and good will!

#1 (--) Batman (Bruce Wayne)
#2 (--) Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
#3 (--) Superman (Kal-El)
#4 (--) Iron Man (Tony Stark)
#5 (--) Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlet)
#6 (--) Hulk (Bruce Banner)
#7 (--) Captain America (Steve Rogers)
#8 (--) Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
#9 (--) Luke Cage
#10 (--) Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira)
#16 (+2) Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
#17 (+2) The Flash (Barry Allen)
#19 (-2) Thor (Thor Odinson)
#20 (+2) Black Adam (Teth-Adam)
#24 (+12) The Flash (Wally West)
#28 (-4) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
#34 (+5) Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)
#38 (+2) Black Canary (Dinah Lance)
#40 (+9) Archangel (Warren Worthington III)
#41 (+9) Captain Marvel Jr (Freddy Freeman)
#42 (+12) Captain Marvel (Billy Batson)
#48 (-6) Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)
#51 (-5) Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders)
#55 (--) Beast (Henry McCoy)
#56 (+32) She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)
#57 (-1) Juggernaut (Cain Marko)
#74 (+49) Chun-Li
#76 (-9) Chasm (Ben Reilly)
#78 (+62) Mary Marvel (Mary Batson)
#86 (+62) Vision
#87 (-8) Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
#88 (-9) Giant-Man (Henry Pym)
#91 (-4) Doctor Doom (Victor von Doom)
#92 (-2) Cyclops (Scott Summers)
#93 (-4) Hawkeye (Clint Barton)
#100 (-3) Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne)
#102 (--) Stargirl (Courtney Whitmore)
#122 (+197) Ibis the Invincible (Amentep)
#123 (+210) Tawky Tawny
#124 (+103) General Zod (Dru-Zod)
#125 (-3) Nova (Richard Rider)
#127 (-6) Shadowkat (Katherine Pryde)
#130 (-3) Apocalypse (En Sabah Nur)
#131 (-26) Hellcat (Patricia Walker)
#134 (+238) Galactus
#140 (+243) Uncle Marvel (Dudley
#141 (-6) Drax (Arthur Douglas)
#146 (+276) The Flash (Jay Garrick)
#151 (-17) MODOK (George Tarleton)
#154 (-1) Iceman (Robert Drake)
#159 (-17) Cannonball (Sam Guthrie)
#160 (-5) Marvel Girl (Jean Grey-Summers)
#162 (+274) Hercules (Hercules Panhellenios)
#163 (-9) Green Lantern (Guy Gardner)
#174 (+277) Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
#200 (-7) Sentinel A7
#203 (+177) Warlock (Adam Warlock)
#208 (new) Goblin Queen (Madelyne Pryor)
#300 (-7) Firehawk (Lorraine Reilly)
#357 (new) Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
#358 (new) Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
#359 (new) Spiral (Rita Wayword)
#360 (new) Bulletman (James Barr)
#361 (new) Spider-Man (Miguel O'Hara)
#362 (new) Spider-Boy (Peter Ross)
#363 (new) Spider-Boy (Mig-El Gand)
#364 (new) Ursa
#365 (new) Skrull Thunderbird (Unknown)

#366 (new) Skrull Adam Warlock (Unknown)

#367 (new) Skrull Captain Marvel (Unknown)
#380 (-202) Wildcat (Ted Grant)
#388 (+3) Wrecker (Dirk Garthwaite)
#389 (+5) Piledriver (Brian Calusky)
#390 (new) Kang The Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards)
#391 (+264) Moondragon (Heather Douglas)
#395 (+161) Ultron
#396 (-45) Titania (Mary MacPherran)
#400 (-20) Warlock
#432 (+545) Black Knight (Dane Whitman)
#440 (-66) Atom Smasher (Albert Rothstein)
#441 (-40) Sandy the Golden Boy (Sanderson Hawkins)

#453 (-20) Gorilla Grodd
#462 (-7) Speedball (Robert Baldwin)
#500 (new) Frenzy (Joanna Cargill)
#501 (new) Firefist (Rusty Collins)
#502 (new) High Evolutionary (Herbert Wyndham)
#503 (new) Firestar (Angelica Jones)
#504 (new) Namorita (Namorita Prentiss)
#505 (new) Night Thrasher (Dwayne Taylor)
#518 (+68) Justice (Vance Astrovik)
#571 (-34) Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)
#600 (-20) Cyttorak
#652 (new) Molecule Man (Owen Reece)
#653 (new) Enchantress (Amora)
#654 (new) Son of Vulcan (Jonathan Mann)
#655 (new) Maxam (Unknown)
#656 (new) Pip the Troll (Pip Gofern)
#657 (new) Lor-Zod
#660 (-23) Eradicator
#661 (-304) The Spot (Jonathan Ohnn)
#671 (-135) Doctor Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross)
#688 (new) Absorbing Man (Carl Creel)
#700 (-26) Captain Nazi (Albrecht Krieger)
#800 (-25) Warden Nuchitt
#900 (-25) Megayakuza (Unknown)
#1000 (-25) Death-Dealer (Li Ching-Lin)
#1004 (new) Blizzard (Donald Gill)
#1005 (new) Karma (Xuan Cao Manh)
#1006 (new) Pride
#1007 (new) Envy
#1008 (new) Greed
#1009 (new) Hatred
#1010 (new) Selfishness
#1011 (new) Laziness
#1012 (new) Injustice
#1013 (new) Flipside
#1014 (new) Kang The Time Conqueror (Chronos-Tut)
#1015 (new) Blanka (Unknown)
#1016 (new) Jroyy
#1017 (new) Skrull Captain Britain (Unknown)
#1018 (new) Skrull Havok (Unknown)

#1019 (new) Skrull Green Goblin (Unknown)

#1020 (new) Skrull Abomination (Unknown)

#1021 (new) Skrull Medusa (Unknown)

#1022 (new) OMACs
#1023 (-42) Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius)
#1027 (-377) Swordsman (Unknown)
#1034 (-58) Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich)
#1061 (-79) Thunderstrike (Eric Masterson)
#1072 (-43) Captain America (Sam Wilson)
#1073 (-56) Gold Goblin (Norman Osborn)
#1074 (-44) Killer Croc (Waylon Jones)
#1075 (-41) Lizard (Curt Connors)
#1076 (-45) Cloak (Tyrone Johnson)
#1077 (-45) Lady Deathstrike (Yuriko Oyama)
#1078 (-45) Dan Hibiki
#1079 (-44) Zangief
#1080 (-44) Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff)
#1081 (-44) Sabretooth (Victor Creed)

ANNUAL PUNCH-UP: 2023 FEATURE FIGHT RECAP
November ends the Secrets Wars on Infinite Earths year, and although we had a quiet end to Season 2023, there were still plenty of memorable entries throughout the run, including some personal favourites!

What were the best battles of the most recent bouts? Now's the time to help lock-in our Greatest Hits of 2023 by revisiting your favourites from the list below. Every time you view a featured fight it casts a vote towards our final rankings -- so vote now and vote often before the end of December!

#1 Spider-Man versus Omega Red (Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #7)
#2 Avengers versus Kang The Conqueror (Avengers #267)
#3 Avengers versus MODOK & AIM (She-Hulk #1)
#4 Absorbing Man & Titania versus Ant-Man & Wasp (Avengers #275)
#5 X-Factor versus Frenzy (X-Factor #4)
#6 Avengers versus Kang The Conqueror (Avengers #2)
#7 Ultron versus The Villains (Marvel Super Hero Secret Wars #1)
#8 Beast, Cannonball & Karma versus Spiral (Beast #1)
#9 Marvel Family versus Seven Deadly Enemies of Man (Power of Shazam #11)
#10 Black Adam versus Justice Society (JSA #27)
#11 Captain Marvel versus Wonder Woman (War of the Gods #1)
#12 Marvel Woman & The Fallen versus Green Goblin & Man-Spider (Mutant X #5)
#13 Avengers versus Infinity Watch (Warlock and The Infinity Watch #27)
#14 Apocalypse versus High Evolutionary (X-Factor Annual #3)
#15 Flipside versus Spider-Man (Spider-Man 2099 #30)
#16 Kang The Time Conqueror versus Spider-Boy (Spider-Boy Team-Up #1)
#17 The Spot versus Spider-Man (Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #100)
#18 Chun-Li versus Blanka (Street Fighter II #2)
#19 Green Lanterns versus House of Zod (Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps #37)
#20 Gorilla Grodd versus Flash Trio (DC Special Series #11)
#21 Skrulls versus Wolverine (X-Men #90)
#22 Project OMAC versus Blue Beetle (Blue Beetle #7)
#23 Green Lantern versus Batman (Justice League #5)
#24 Lizard versus Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man #6)
#25 New Warriors & Thor versus Juggernaut (Thor #412)

You can find even more superhero smackdown by checking out the Secret Archive for a full index of every battle ever featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths! You can also flashback to the 2022 Feature Fight Recap, check out the Top 20 Fights of 2022, and revisit last year's Rankings Recap. Stay tuned to the main page for more year-end updates, and if you enjoy having superheroes in your feed all year round -- consider becoming a supporter on Patreon this holiday season. It would really help in 2024!