SABRETOOTH versus WOLVERINE

The Last Run (Marvel)
Where: Uncanny X-Men #212 When: December 1986
Why: Chris Claremont How: Rick Leonardi

The Story So Far...
Secret tunnels that twist & wind deep beneath the surface of Manhattan run with blood! The Morlocks who live there are hunted and slaughtered by an unforgiving mob of self-proclaimed Marauders! These vile killers are responsible for enacting a terrible event -- the Mutant Massacre!

The X-Men join a desperate bid to save the surviving Morlocks from their unprovoked extermination, but for Wolverine the search will uncover more than injustice. One who stalks these tunnels is familiar to him. An old enemy who may just be better at him at what he does -- Sabretooth!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Sabretooth 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Sabretooth 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Sabretooth 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Sabretooth 28 (Metahuman)

It's one of the best known, most vicious and violent rivalries in comic books -- and it's about damn time we gave it a closer look! Where better to dig deeper into the blood feud between Sabretooth and Wolverine than with their very first fight?

Backstory developed in the years following would establish a long and complicated history behind their bitter hatred, but in 1986 they came face to face, claw to claw for the first time right here in Uncanny X-Men #212: part of the Mutant Massacre crossover that unleashed Mister Sinister's Marauders on the Morlocks.

Sabretooth was already established as a bloodthirsty killer, and mercenary, during his brief tenure as an Iron Fist villain. It started with his first appearance and deadly face-off on the snow-covered mountains of Canada, and later expanded to a slasher-like bloodlust that compelled him to kill on the streets of New York City.

We'd see friction between Sabretooth and his employer shortly after the Massacre, but he was more than happy to go on a killing spree beneath the streets, as part of Sinister's grand plan for genetic cleansing of the subterranean mutant Morlocks.

This almost led to the first throwdown with Wolverine in Power Pack #27, but a collapsing roof in the Morlock tunnels blocked Sabretooth from the kid heroes right as they were discovered by Wolverine. That left him to stalk toward a historic face-off in the main X-Men series, which launched many memorable rematches!

Alas, we've been negligent when it comes to this most obvious of match-ups, only featuring the beginning of their purported final battle in Wolverine (Vol.3) #50. That was a lackluster opening round to a generally disappointing showdown, but it did demonstrate the violent and spiteful measures each was willing to take to get one over on the other. After a lot of dragging it out, the conflict ended in Wolverine #55 with Sabretooth's apparent decapitation with the legendary Muramasa Blade. (It was actually a clone).

By that point Wolverine and Sabretooth had both developed pretty rampant healing factors that allowed them to endure and quickly recover from wounds that would be fatal to any ordinary man. Loose stakes that weren't quite as evident in their earlier encounters, where every injury took a more serious toll.

So who has the edge in their Morlock Tunnel showdown?

Wolverine had already been established as "the best there is at what he does" with his evisceration of the Hellfire Club guardsmen, smackdown of The Black Rook, and most compellingly, back-to-back victories over Lady Deathstrike during this same year, in Alpha Flight #34 and the legendary Uncanny X-Men #205.

He'd also been humbled, though. Reduced to a mere plaything when Magneto controlled his metal skeleton, fought to a stalemate by Black Panther, and caught by surprise in a crossover with DC's Deathstroke. Does Sabretooth have the goods to join this elite class? Those last two might just make a case for it! Let's find out.

History: Wolverine (2-0-0)

The Tape: Sabretooth Ranking: Wolverine (#5)

What Went Down...

Stray scents bombard his highly-sensitive nostrils with multiple trails. Morlock survivors and their would-be killers. Familiar signatures of the original X-Men too -- except now they're government manhunters called X-Factor. For all he knows they have blood on their hands too, but there's a lot Wolverine still doesn't know.

Suddenly another scent clues him in -- a woman. Impossible. Jean Grey is dead! A shock to the system that consumes his thoughts so thoroughly he doesn't even notice the Marauder coming for his back!

A rapid flurry of slashes rips through his costume and skin!

"You ought'a be ashamed, bub! I've had more trouble takin' out rank amateurs! From a pro like you, Wolverine, I expect better."

Cutting through the pain is a voice Wolverine knows all too well. A voice whose stock and trade makes him an obvious attendee to a massacre.

Sabretooth looms over Wolverine -- pinning the unconscious body of the Morlock Healer to a tunnel wall with one hand. Healer's hurt, but not bad. Wolverine knows if he can bring him back alive it will be a boon to the mutants who've suffered.

He does his best to disguise the importance of the Morlock and plays along with Sabretooth's sick sense of humor. The cold-blooded killer claims he and Sinister's Marauders are "the very best" at what they do. That he could've killed Wolverine without a second thought. Talk is cheap. The X-Man invites a hands-on approach.

They collide! Wolverine leaping to come in over Sabretooth's head -- or is it the taller Sabretooth hoisting him upward with a hook of his muscular arm? In the tangle of limbs, it could go either way!

Sabretooth grabs Wolverine's wrists, keeping his razor-sharp adamantium claws away from their target. Sabretooth gloats that he's faster, stronger, and more of a killer than Wolverine. As they tumble to the ground -- he might even be right.

Sabretooth's talons rake across Wolverine's chest, ripping through his uniform.

Wolverine rolls through the landing -- putting distance between he and Sabretooth as he reaches his feet, hunched over with claws bared and ready to strike.

Sabretooth aims to make Wolverine's healing factor a non-issue by removing his still beating heart. The feral killer lunges to make good on the threat, but Wolverine effortlessly vaults over his shoulders!

The X-Man continues his path towards the tunnel wall, attacking stone and mortar with his unbreakable claws. They make light work of the crumbling structure!

For a moment Sabretooth is confused -- but it quickly becomes apparent Wolverine isn't fighting for the win.

His attack causes a collapse of the decrepit tunnel. If it doesn't bury Sabretooth alive, it at least creates an impenetrable wall of rubble and debris that blocks the killer off from Wolverine -- and the vulnerable Morlock Healer.

The Hammer...

Was their first battle everything you imagined it would be?

If you were following the entire event in sequence, including its Power Pack tie-in issue, you might've been a little disappointed to see them using the same gimmick to keep the bad guy at arms length. Not to worry, though. This may be deep into the Mutant Massacre crossover, but as it says on the cover -- this is just "Round 1" for Wolverine and Sabretooth!

The X-Man chooses the greater good in an outcome that fails to separate the two as combatants, but divides them as individuals, literally and figuratively, by clearly demonstrating that for all his violent and animalistic tendencies -- Wolverine is fighting for more than himself - and his willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done goes well beyond just casually taking lives.

Rescuing the Morlock Healer is a tactical boon for the heavily besieged mutants and X-Men, but the Mutant Massacre isn't over yet, and Wolverine & Sabretooth will have another chance to establish their bitter hatred before the crossover ends!

1982 and 1985 are often fondly looked back upon as two of the greatest and most important years in American comics, but I can't help but note how significant 1986 was for X-Men, and Wolverine in particular. Even though they factored in to some of the highlights of those aforementioned years!

The December cover date of today's featured issue is just a few months removed from the introduction of another of Wolverine's most famous and fearsome arch-foes: Lady Deathstrike, who ditched DD to begin a blood feud in Alpha Flight #34, followed by the legendary Uncanny X-Men #205.

For a character famed for his fighting rivalries -- these two adversarial acquisitions are a pretty big deal for ensuring his sustained relevance, and elevation to becoming one of the biggest icons in comics in the 80s and 90s!

With today's featured battle from Uncanny #212, Wolverine gains one of the most important pieces of his entire existence. To this point there was a fog of mystery surrounding Wolverine, but through his vendetta with Sabretooth, key connective tissue and backstory will be established, coming to define both characters through the ensuing decade, and to this very day.

Interesting that Sabretooth was already a tenured villain at this point, much more so than Lady Deathstrike. He was entering his tenth year when he finally met Wolverine on the page, transitioning to the X-books under writer Chris Claremont, who had introduced Sabretooth as an Iron Fist villain with artist John Byrne, and set him on a trajectory as a recurring foe for the martial arts hero.

As with Wolverine; Sabretooth's savagery & bloodlust reflected back upon the discipline & honor of Iron Fist, continuing through subsequent encounters, but eventually drifting from the mercenary origins of the character, towards an almost horror movie, slasher villain level of murderousness. Traits that set him adrift through the Marvel Universe until settling nicely in the Mutant Massacre.

It's interesting how well these established tendencies intuitively fed into a collision with Wolverine, and as eager as I am to finally document more of this legendary comic book rivalry, I'm equally as interested in tracking the movements of Sabretooth through his earliest appearances. Something Marvel Comics actually did in 1994 with their Sabretooth Classic reprint series.

I happen to be fortunate enough to have a lot of Sabretooth's early appearances in original issues, but with Deadpool & Wolverine on the fast track to cinemas this month, I'm also hoping to look more closely at some of the other famous fights involving Wolverine and the X-Men. It's really been the year for it!

As we return to Sabretooth, it will be interesting to see if his results challenge his present status as the lowest ranked character on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. It's fair to say that his win/loss ratio will always skew towards defeat, but it just doesn't feel right that he's ranked quite so low. The price of villainy? We'll see.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1,000 characters! You can find them all by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of battles in order of publisher, series, and issue -- or by hitting up links to your favourite things found throughout each entry.

Get free daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter! 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 & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber.

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#5 (--) Wolverine
#1087 (--) Sabretooth

X-FACTOR versus FRENZY

"Trials and Errors" (Marvel)
Where: X-Factor #4 When: May 1986
Why: Bob Layton How: Keith Pollard & Joe Rubinstein

The Story So Far...
The revelation that Jean Grey had survived the death of The Phoenix -- and returned from suspended animation -- brings about a reunion of the original class of X-Men, with a purpose to continue Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants.

Operating under the public facade of the mutant hunting X-Factor: the group uses Angel's fortune to investigate public tips into mutant activity, secretly parlaying their knowledge to offer assistance to young mutants in need of training and guidance.

X-Factor aren't the only clandestine organization interested in the fates of their young students. From the shadows, a new threat observes first recruit, Rusty Collins, with intense interest. After the failure of mercenary Tower, this mysterious group sends another powerhouse to capture the boy. A woman named Frenzy!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Frenzy 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Beast 6 (Genius)
Speed: Beast 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Frenzy 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Iceman 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Cyclops 4 (Trained)
Energy: Jean Grey 5 (Lasers)
Total: Beast 26 (Metahuman)

X-Factor are: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman, with Rusty Collins.

You might recognize X-Factor as the original X-Men, who fought Sub-Mariner and the Brotherhood in X-Men #6, and have a wealth of experience behind them -- if you ignore Marvel Girl's lost years after being cocooned by The Phoenix force.

Frenzy makes her first appearance in this issue, debuting as a mysterious power house with a "steel hard" body and super-human strength. Her true name is Joanna Cargill and at this early stage she's working as field-leader for the Alliance of Evil, answering in secret to Apocalypse!

Against X-Factor she's clearly out-numbered, but Frenzy's tough exterior means she can probably withstand a standard optic blast from Cyclops, and attacks from Iceman.

Her strength is also more than a match for all but Beast -- who's just re-joined the team after experiments reverted him to his earlier furless form, putting considerable strain on his heart, in the process. He's hit the Danger Room, but it remains to be seen if there are any lingering side effects.

Angel is inexplicably our best ranked of the classic X-Men, despite a reputation for not being especially suited to combat. He challenges this notion with aerial stunts against The Executioner, The Lizard, and in a daring solo contest against Peregrine.

Is Angel likely to be a difference-maker, or could this all actually add up to giving Frenzy a fighting chance? Let's get into it to find out what happened!

The Tape: X-Factor Ranking: Angel (#49)

What Went Down...

A presenting savior turns hostile as Frenzy reveals her intentions to take Rusty Collins from the street whether he wants it or not. Her powerful hands suddenly grab at his ribs and begin to squeeze the air from his body. It's all he can do to remain conscious long enough to summon a burst of flame!

The blast startles Frenzy into loosening her grip, but has little effect on her steel-hard exterior. Even her leather clothes are completely unsinged!

Intent on completing her mission she moves upon the startled boy and smacks him through the air with a powerful backhanded slap!

The young mutant manages to roll with the blow and runs for his life!

Alas, it seems no obstacle will stand in Frenzy's way. She smashes through a concrete wall -- cutting off Rusty's frantic path through the lonely streets.

With his back to the wall it seems as if there's no hope of escape, but Frenzy's mysterious benefactor isn't the only one interested in Rusty Collins.

To the rescue comes Beast with a high impact dive kick to Frenzy's back!

X-Factor was alerted to their trainee's peril by the insightful psionic pictograms of Artie Maddicks, but their element of surprise is quickly lost.

Frenzy stands her ground and delivers a haymaker to Beast that launches him into the air!

Marvel Girl catches her teammate in the air with a telekinetic cushion that brings him down safely.

Not about to abandon her objective without a fight -- Frenzy grabs hold of a chunk of the partially demolished dilapidated tenement and brandishes it overhead with malicious intent!

The quick thinking of Cyclops reduces the would-be concrete projectile to a shower of rocks with an optic blast shattering it in Frenzy's hands!

The X-Factor leader calls for a pre-made play, inciting Angel and Marvel Girl to action for "maneuver three". A combination assault that sees Jean Grey telekinetically holding Frenzy in place, while Cyclops blasts her -- and Angel delivers a two-fisted uppercut with the momentum of a dive-bomber!

Iceman takes the opportunity to lock the super-strong villain down -- encasing her in ice and telling Rusty to make a run for it.

The deep freeze doesn't last long. A simple flex of her super-humanly powerful muscles shatters the ice around her and frees Frenzy!

Seeing X-Factor are too powerful for her to face alone, she makes a run for it, pulling down a nearby burnt-out building to cover her escape with dust and debris!

The Hammer...

A pretty good effort from Frenzy, all things considered. She held her own, and escapes to fight another day thanks to a messy, but effective exit strategy.

Next time she'll be able to even the odds with X-Factor by bringing The Alliance of Evil to back her up!

If you don't remember the Alliance of Evil - that's probably fair enough. They all skew a little generic, and are overshadowed soon enough by more enduring Horsemen of Apocalypse, who hadn't even stepped into the light at the time he was relying on the Alliance's services.

So why the sudden interest in Frenzy? Like Tempo a couple of years ago; Frenzy has emerged as one of the more intriguing candidates eligible for Marvel's 2023 X-Men Vote!

Just like Tempo she faces some pretty stiff competition, up against high-profile and seasoned former members already familiar with the team. There's Cannonball, Dazzler, Jubilee, Juggernaut, and Prodigy.

The fan-decided election will select the final member of a refreshed upcoming X-Men team: democratically elected to the Protectors of Krakoa. Former winners were Polaris and Firestar -- proving there's a chance for the second tier.

Jubilee might have the most compelling momentum right now, with a recent nuclear-explosion of her powers in X-Terminators, and an imminent nostalgia-sodden return to animation in Disney+'s X-Men 97.

The bubblegum princess of the X-Men makes sense, but there's just something interesting about a more punk rock option. Not that Frenzy is quite the same character she was when she debuted in X-Factor #4.

Her journey took her through various allegiances, from Superia's Femizons, to Magneto's Acolytes, and perhaps inevitably The Marauders. Along the way she lost a little bit of the flavour that made her original leather design a more interesting style simpatico with the ragtag mutant-killers working for Mister Sinister. She really did always look like a Marauder who strayed from the herd!

Eventually circumstances conspired to bring Frenzy into the fold with the X-Men in the late 2000s, and it feels to me like the character, although gaining greater complexity, has lost some of that tough-as-nails persona that I like about this first appearance. She might throw down with Paibok as SWORD Ambassador, but she's been softened in ways that don't quite feel right to me.

If Frenzy returns to the X-Men with the next Hellfire Gala announcement, I'd kinda like to see a makeover taking her back to this classic look. C'mon. The eighties are so hot right now, and leather and buckles feels perfect for a new Hellfire Gala look -- and maybe a new Frenzy.

Of course, maybe I just need to dig deeper into her appearances to gain greater appreciation for the nuance of her evolution. You can find future entries about Frenzy, or any of the other topics covered in today's feature, by following links throughout this post, or by checking the Secret Index.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 700 battles and ranked more than 1,000 iconic characters! You can make sure there are many more to come by becoming a supporter on Patreon. As a thank you for your patronage you'll find additional updates and multiple tiers to sponsor your own special selections!

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!

Winner(s): Inconclusive (Draw)
#49 (--) Angel
#55 (--) Beast
#89 (+1) Cyclops
#149 (+4) Iceman
#155 (+1) Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)
#488 (new) Frenzy
#489 (new) Firefist (Rusty Collins)

AVENGERS versus KANG

Time -- And Time Again! (Marvel)
Where: Avengers #267 When: May 1986
Why: Roger Stern How: John Buscema

The Story So Far...
Beneath the bedrock of Manhattan Island -- Wasp joins Hercules and the Black Knight as they bore an underground tunnel network towards Avengers Hydrobase. A simple enough task for the Prince of Power -- until an eerie glow consumes the trio and whisks them away!

Caught in a swirl of endless fog, the Avengers encounter the unconscious presence of Hulk, Giant-Man, and Iron Man. A surefire clue to Wasp that they've been displaced from time and space -- sent to the Limbo dimension during the teams' first encounter with the Space Phantom!

Such a bizarre feat could only be possible for Kang The Conqueror! The master of time emerges to declare dominion over Limbo from Immortus -- but how do the three Avengers factor into his mad scheme?

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Hercules 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Kang 6 (Genius)
Speed: Wasp 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Hercules 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Wasp 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Hercules 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Kang 5 (Lasers)
Total: Kang The Conqueror 29 (Metahuman)

The Avengers are: Wasp, Black Knight, and Hercules.

Not the most formidable line-up for a threat as potent as Kang The Conqueror, but also not to be under estimated as a coordinated force.

Wasp has been known to fight above her weight class, taking on the unexpected challenge of Kingsize, and snuffing the flames of Pyro when Freedom Force attacked the base in Avengers #312. Her veteran wiles, Pym particle shrinking, flight, and bio-electric stingers make her a deft field leader -- and tricky to track!

Black Knight represents a more straight-forward challenge, wielding the dark magic of The Ebony Blade with expert mastery. A sharpened sword that once gave Moon Knight a run for his money, and compliments the blunt force of Hercules.

We've seen The Prince of Power take a win teaming with She-Hulk against Bran the Blessed, but results were mixed when the Secret Avengers met a magically empowered Baron Zemo, and Olympus Group fought the Dark Avengers.

Kang's greatest weapons are his advanced technology and foreknowledge of future events. This can make him very difficult to pin down, or lay a hit on with conventional means, but his presence inevitably coincides with plans that leave him vulnerable to those he seeks to dominate in the short-lived present.

If The Avengers can assemble themselves as a fighting unit they might just stand a chance. Let's see how it all unfolded!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Wasp (#39)

What Went Down...

From the swirling fog steps the dreaded visage of the one responsible for bringing The Avengers to Limbo...

Kang The Conqueror welcomes the trio of Avengers to his domain, rejecting Hercules' second-hand knowledge of the realm's rule by Immortus.

The Conqueror claims to have brought them to the past for his own amusement, challenging his enemies to defeat him in exchange for escaping eternity in Limbo.

Wasp is the first to indulge Kang's mad request -- firing a direct blast!

The bioelectric energy of Wasp's stinger is no match for Kang's hi-tech shields, but it does draw the time traveler's immediate attention.

The distraction grants The Black Knight the opening he needs to move in close for an attack with his Ebony Blade! The sword disrupts the invisible barrier with spectacular results -- destroying Kang's protective field!

With nothing preventing a close-quarters strike -- Hercules advances!

A mighty punch from the prince of power quite literally knocks Kang's head off!

The decapitation shatters the illusion of Kang's deception -- revealing the dangling wires of a sophisticated robot at the severed neck!

With the true Kang watching his android doppelganger's fate from the safety of monitors in his distant central robotics plant -- Hercules ends the charade by slamming his hands together around the floating head!

The Hammer...

A team effort swiftly gets the better of Kang's proxy, but can it ever really be that simple with The Master of Time?

Hercules may have easily crushed the robot's head once Black Knight disabled its defenses, but the trio of Avengers remains trapped in Limbo: pawns in a grand scheme to see them ultimately face another of Kang's many time-generated doppelgangers.

Kang is on a warpath to destroy the many "divergents" his existence throughout time has generated. A literal war with himself, against opponents who exist at different points of his life, some choosing paths not taken. His ultimate target: a Kang who's lived far too long to succumb to any simple trap, or frontal assault.

It may sound a tad complicated, but it's a mere sample of the twisted timelines and grand temporal game played by Kang The Conqueror: He who has lived the ages as both Rama-Tut and Immortus, and intends to control a legion of Kangs by replacing his vanquished selves with robotic copies.

This deliberate intention goes some length to explaining how we treat results like this in the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths rankings. This result will be deemed a defeat of Kang, perceiving his robotic clone as a direct extension of his intent, and an instrument used to battle The Avengers, which failed. At least for now!

The three Avengers remain trapped in Limbo circa Avengers #2, when they first battled the Space Phantom, and Kang will attempt to capitalize upon the group's depleted ranks to complete his conquest in the present-day.

Fun times with an eclectic mid-eighties line-up of Avengers that we'll no doubt see in future entries. If you'd like more from these characters you can follow links throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featurd fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1000 characters! Catch-up on more of the standings with the 2022 Rankings Recap and consider becoming a supporter on Patreon to receive additional updates, sponsored content options, and help keep us in the fight!

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!

Winners: Hercules & Black Knight (w/ Wasp)
#154 (+283) Hercules
#418 (+559) Black Knight
#39 (--) Wasp [+1 assist]
#981 (new) Kang The Conqueror

INHUMANS & VISION versus QUICKSILVER

Spring Fever (Marvel)
Where: Vision and Scarlet Witch #10 When: July 1986 Why: Steve Englehart How: Richard Howell

The Story So Far...
Maximoff family drama returns to the legendary moon city of Attilan when a barely conscious and mortally ill Crystal reveals the terrible truth to her husband -- she has been unfaithful!

A quick temper and super-human speed get the better of Quicksilver as he rapidly attempts to murder the man, his sister's human realtor Norman Webster, and stage a military coup against the Inhuman royal family who chooses to defend his life.

Furious at the perceived betrayals of his wife, the insular Inhuman kingdom, and even his sister and teammates, Scarlet Witch & Vision -- he races for the barren surface of the moon. The Inhumans refuse to leave him with his thoughts of shame and revenge, though. Black Bolt leads a party to bring him back -- but the hot-headed Quicksilver won't be rescued quite so easily.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Vision 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Vision 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Quicksilver 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Vision 6 (Generator)
Agility: Gorgon 2 (Average)
Fighting: Gorgon 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Black Bolt 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Vision 26 (Metahuman)

The Inhumans are: Black Bolt, Medusa, and Gorgon, with Vision.

The key to beating Quicksilver is shutting down his speed & mobility and we've seen that done a variety of ways.

Run-ins with the DC Universe have showed there's a limit to Quicksilver's speed and reaction time. The Flash was too fast in his victory in Marvel versus DC #2, and even Impulse kept one step ahead in Unlimited Access #3!

Quicksilver ran rings around Cyclops' optic blasts in an early battle, but Jean Grey used her telekinesis to lift him off the ground -- and literally shake him into severe disorientation. A similar result could theoretically be achieved by Medusa, who's used her tendril-like hair to ground The Wizard, and grapple with Thanos!

Reach and strength played equal roles when Apocalypse used his malleable body to rapidly extend a giant fist into Quicksilver's path and knock him out!

Vision arguably has the best combination of abilities to recreate this method. Increased density gave his punch enough power to rattle Thor, and total intangibility allowed him to impress Thanos with an unexpected ambush.

Quicksilver's own father, Magneto, has proven to be one of his most ruthless opponents over the years. The Master of Magnetism used an improvised spear to pin him down in Vision and he Scarlet Witch (Vol. 1) #4, and the invisible will of pure magnetic force in X-Men (Vol. 2) #25!

Inhuman ruler Black Bolt possesses the nearest equivalent to an invisible, irresistible force that can stop Quicksilver in his tracks. With the slightest utterance his voice can demolish mountains. We saw that demonstrated when he levelled Mt Rushmore and a symbiote-possessed Thor in What If...? #4!

For Quicksilver dealing with these threats is as a simple as keeping ahead of them. If he can use the terrain and get the drop on his attackers he can beat them before they even know what hit them -- but will he? Let's find out...

The Tape: Inhumans & Vision Ranking: Black Bolt (#169)

What Went Down...

Black Bolt leads his royal family across the surface of the moon, guided by heat residue interrupting the electro-magnetic energy field. Through Medusa, he alerts the flying heroes to their approach -- but Quicksilver moves fast to ambush them!

By running rapidly in circles -- Quicksilver creates a spiraling updraft that disrupts the artificial atmosphere and gently jostles the heroes floating through it. A cushioned courtesy he won't extend further if they continue to follow him. Follow they do!

Vision and Medusa try to reason with him, but Quicksilver is hotheaded and too freshly spurned to think of anything but shame and revenge for his wife's infidelity.

He feels alone. Indeed, Gorgon confronts his outsider status amongst the fiercely guarded clan of Inhumans -- and the unique approval he gained within it.

Quicksilver rejects the gesture of acceptance and kinship -- counter-shunting a diving Gorgon with a charging shoulder!

The speedster blasts past his would-be restrainer, racing into the line of the Vision and his "solar beam" laser beam.

Quicksilver's mutant gift of speed proves too fast for even the android's artificial eyes to keep up with! However, the attention the attack draws proves useful for keeping Quicksilver distracted enough to overlook Gorgon raising his knee!

The Inhuman slams his foot -- sending a violent shockwave through the surface of The Moon that  unsteadies the runner's path.

He stumbles and rolls, but returns to his feet in record time and runs a path straight toward the source of his trouble. A speeding punch launches Gorgon hurtling uncontrollably across The Moon!

Quicksilver is too busy admiring his handiwork to notice Medusa creeping up behind him in the cloud of dust.

Long tendrils of red hair suddenly clasp around him, locking his body in the powerful embrace of the Queen's prehensile locks!

For a moment there appears to be no recourse as Quicksilver is completely engulfed by the living strands of hair. He cannot hope to resist the strength of its grasp, but he can spin at such incredible speed he twirls Medusa away!

The cries of his Queen are enough to stir Black Bolt to drastic measure.

Having observed with dismay from the vantage of the craterous battlefield's edge, the silent monarch resolves to bring an end to the conflict with but a word. Such is the staggering power of the Inhuman King's rarely heard voice!

A thunderous sonic blast rips across The Moon causing all within the targeted crater to fall! It is but by the grace of The Moon's otherwise lack of oxygen that Black Bolt's voice did not unleash far greater damage.

The flooring cry does not alone achieve the goal of stopping Quicksilver, but it does allow Vision to grab the speedster's arm in a vice-like grip and increase his density to 70 tons. Enough to resist any force that might resist.

The Hammer...

Heavy themes and heavy metal as Black Bolt uses the epic power of his voice to bring Quicksilver to a crashing halt -- and Vision uses synthezoid super-density to make sure the speedster can't escape his android grip!

Bad times for Pietro Maximoff just a year after Vision and Scarlet Witch (Vol. 1) #4 seemingly rounded out his perfect family with the long awaited identity of his true birth father. A hard fall, but not necessarily a completely unexpected one.

Pietro & Crystal were married in 1974's Fantastic Four #150 after a whirlwind romance first revealed in Fantastic Four #131.

The pair had met when the Inhumans rescued Quicksilver from mortal injuries sustained at the hands of Sentinels in Avengers #104. They fell in love while Crystal nursed him back to health -- a fact that didn't sit well with her then-boyfriend, Johnny Storm, when he made an unannounced return to Attilan!

Today's featured issue conveniently recaps these events, albeit glossing over Pietro's status as the proverbial "Other Man" when their relationship began.

Despite his apparent devotion to his wife, and their daughter Luna, Quicksilver's arrogant neglect ultimately plays a significant role in pushing Crystal to seek casual affections in the arms of another man. In this case, the human realtor she met at a party hosted by the title heroes of Vision and Scarlet Witch (Vol. 2) #6.

Does this mean Crystal will always have a wandering eye? Is Quicksilver too much of a raging jerk to settle down? Questions the issue leaves the reader with once Scarlet Witch helps Crystal recover from an overdose of anti-pollution serum, and Quicksilver returns post-battle only to reject his unfaithful wife again, and run.

The pair did reunite a couple of years later in Fantastic Four Annual #21, but the decades that followed would be a rocky road of attempted reconciliations and periodic estrangement.

Fellow Avenger Black Knight was briefly a rival for Crystal's affections. but the final unravelling of her relationship with Quicksilver came when he stole the Inhumans' Terrigen Mist after losing his powers to the Mutant Decimation event.

It's kind of sad that what once seemed like a budding Marvel relationship became such a prolonged exercise in doomed romance, but it's interesting the way it sustained and developed appearances by the characters involved.

It's particularly interesting to track Quicksilver as an early X-Men villain who, along with Scarlet Witch, became an entrenched fixture of the Avengers, only to have a brief blip in the world of the Fantastic Four, and carry on recurring in each.

If you'd like to see more from this episode in Quicksilver's life, and the smoother marriage of Vision & Scarlet Witch, you can find a couple of collected editions that will give you the full issue and more! Avengers: Vision & Scarlet Witch - A Year In The Life focuses on their second mini-series, while Vision & Scarlet Witch: The Saga of Wanda and Vision packs in both mini-series, with a couple of extras.

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The Comic Book Fight Club has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can discover them all by exploring links throughout each entry, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a full index in order of publisher, series, and issue number!

Subscribe and follow on Twitter and Facebook to get free daily links to superhero smackdown based on the topics of the day! Today's battle choice was inspired by the live-action Disney+ series WandaVision, featuring Evan Peters as Quicksilver!

Winners: Black Bolt & Vision
#99 (+70) Black Bolt
#141 (+277) Vision
#351 (+6) Medusa [+1 assist]
#606 (new) Gorgon [+1 assist]
#1000 (-1) Quicksilver