DARK CLAW versus HYENA

Through a Glass Darkly (DC/Marvel)
Where: Legends of The Dark Claw #1 When: April 1996 Why: Larry Hama How: Jim Balent

The Story So Far...
When twin primordial entities re-collected their dissipated conscious energies -- they became aware of each other once more and turned to pit the warriors of their respective universes against one another in battle to the death!

In an effort to contravene total annihilation, beings from both worlds -- The Living Tribunal and The Spectre -- clasp hands to forge a new universe made of elements of each.

Thus, for a fleeting instant, all of history unfolds to tell the tale of a new existence in The Amalgam Age! In this reality: Logan Wayne was orphaned until he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and submitted to the Weapon X Project. They gave him claws and metal bones, triggering his mutant healing factor, but also an arch-nemesis in the psychotic Hyena. Now he fights crime as Dark Claw!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Hyena 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Dark Claw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Dark Claw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Dark Claw 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Hyena 3 (Explosives)
Total: Dark Claw 27 (Metahuman)

What do you get when you combine the mutant ferocity of Marvel's Wolverine with the gothic detective vigilantism of DC's Batman? A team-up between the two publishers answered this question and more with Dark Claw & Amalgam Comics!

Logan Wayne witnessed the mugging murder of his parents at age 5 and was sent to live with his uncle in Alberta, Canada. When poachers left the mountie for dead - Wayne fell into the custody of nuns. When he came of age he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. From there he entered the Weapon X Project: a secret experimental program designed to create the ultimate killing machine.

Weapon X was erased from all records, but not before it endowed Logan Wayne with retractable blades over his fists, laced his skeleton with unbreakable adamantium, and triggered a mutant healing factor!

Despite all these gifts, and years of tactical combat training, Wayne's unshakeable conscience rendered him a failure as a living weapon. Something his arch-nemesis and fellow Project X subject excelled a little too well at!

Hyena was once Creed H. Quinn -- another RCAF volunteer submitted to the Weapon X project. He received similar enhancements, with talon-like claws for fingernails, enhanced durability & healing, but also green hair and a grinning insanity that won't be satiated until he kills the man he blames for it - Dark Claw!

Hyena combines the animalistic physicality of Sabretooth with the scheming madness of The Joker. There are aspects of both, but in terms of fighting style, he borrows more obviously from the Marvel side, complimenting size & strength with an arsenal of guns, laughing bombs, and deranged minions known as The Pack.

The arch-rivalry has the tooth & claw scrapping of classic Wolverine & Sabretooth battles, but the New Gotham setting and dogged pursuit gives it a Batman & Joker flourish. Of course -- this actually isn't the first time we've covered the pair!

Super-Soldier helped Access and Dark Claw defeat Hyena in DC versus Marvel #4 after the Amalgam Universe burst into existence in Marvel versus DC #3! We also saw the lengths Dark Claw will go to when he used a bazooka to apparently kill Ra's-A-Pocalypse during a flashback sequence in Dark Claw Adventures #1.

Those entries were nice, but this is our first full-fledged feature for Dark Claw, so let's wrap up the theory and get into seeing what they're are all about!

History: Dark Claw (1-0-0)
The Tape: Dark Claw Ranking: Dark Claw (#183)

What Went Down...

Extra! Extra! Tomorrow's headlines will be written with bullets as gunfire ricochets off the Gotham Gazette printing presses -- and Dark Claw charges over whirring reems of paper with adamantium talon-blades drawn!

The Clawed Crusader fearlessly dives over Hyena's still-blasting machine pistol to join the madman on a suspended walkway!

At close quarters, the Cackling Canine tries to distract with verbal mind games, but Dark Claw is unwavering in his assault -- dismissing cryptic allusions to grand schemes with disinterest and a slash of his claws.

The resulting blood spray is enough to fulfill the juvenile clue that brought the Darknight Defender to the printing plant: "Black and white and red all over."

Hyena staggers but hits a high kick to Dark Claw's face that brings the hero perilously close to the walkway's guardrail. Dark Claw launches himself in kind, into a jumping shoulder bump that sends them both crashing through the rail on the opposite side. They fall.

The pair bounce off a spinning roller and hit the ground hard!

Hyena recovers first -- throwing Dark Claw across the factory floor into the unforgiving steel and concrete that gives the printing plant its structure. Metal beams and newsprint spill across him, pinning Dark Claw as Hyena prances away with a smile and a pointless spray of uzi fire into the air.

As Dark Claw gingerly pushes himself off the ground and holds his head -- a voice checks-in over his mask radio: "Hey, old man! Your life-function readings are looking kinda skronky!" Nothing a mutant healing factor can't handle.

Dark Claw warns his sidekick to be prepared for Hyena as she hovers outside in the Claw-Copter: "Keep your eye on the horizon and check your six, Sparrow... The Hyena is heading for the roof, so be prepared to cover me!"

The Darknight Defender races through the printing plant, catching up with Hyena as he's scaling the stairs to the upper levels.

A volley of grenades greets the hero on the landing, but he manages to stay clear of the blasts and maintain chase.

Hyena has nowhere left to run with his back against a tall glass window and Dark Claw's adamantium talons approaching fast. He wants to play!

The Clawed Crusader lunges at his nemesis -- slashing his claws across Hyena's face while sending the pair smashing through the window!

They continue clawing at each other as momentum carries them across the divide between buildings. Glass fragments trickle and fall towards the bustling, car-filled street below as hero and villain remain locked in mortal combat!

They hit the Zest Cola sign on the opposing rooftop with a shower of sparks!

Dark Claw presses his advantage, holding Hyena over the void of the rooftop ledge with a fistful of shirt. The grim vigilante isn't playing around: "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just cut your throat and drop you into traffic!"

It looks like the end of the line for Hyena's madness -- but suddenly the precarious ledge is alive with gunfire!

From an overlooking verge on the opposite building stands The Pack: Hyena's loyal gang of punks and sickos -- covered in piercings & chains and armed to the teeth with a heavy duty arsenal of high-powered blasters.

They open up with all barrels -- forcing Dark Claw to evade as Hyena steps back and enjoys the show!

Dark Claw nimbly drops to a lower roof and flips clear of the two-stacked mega blaster shots, but as he goes on the run -- The Pack unleash the heavy artillery!

Rockets explode the roof from underneath Dark Claw and he desperately leaps!

Fortunately -- his faith finds the waiting tyre of a chopper!

Sparrow, Dark Claw's loyal sidekick, kept her eyes on the horizon true to their communication. She was ready & waiting to swoop in to make the save!

The fiery youth takes the Claw-Copter around for a strafing run, but Dark Claw abruptly grabs the controls and sends them flying skyward.

The Pack has heat seeking missiles. Better to live to fight another day than try to take them in the city.

The Hammer...
As Dark Claw takes Sparrow and the Claw-Copter on a strategic retreat -- they're forced to make another abrupt turn to avoid the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier speeding through New Gotham airspace to (or from) an unknown destination.

Could this be a subtle clue that SHIELD Director Bruce Wayne is responsible for covertly deploying The Huntress, Carol Danvers, to Logan Wayne's penthouse loft in the "artsy-trendy" part of town? Or is this simply a playful editorial nod to the two Amalgam characters inspired by Batman? Questions to answer another time!

Today we're going all-in on what was probably the DC/Marvel remix that excited me the most. I don't exactly remember how I found out about it. Maybe it was in-house ads in other books, the hot tip from Tony at the comic shop, cards, or just a chance sighting at the newsagent. Either way -- I literally ran through the supermarket complex to grab my copy before they sold out!

On top of a mostly still-vibrant time for series like X-Men, other then-recent efforts, like Green Lantern/Silver Surfer, did wonders to bolster confidence and fuel interest in more crossovers. This was despite the impending industry decline that apparently brought about this inter-company ceasefire in the first place.

By 1996 the two major publishers were going all the way with their partnership. The DC versus Marvel/Marvel versus DC crossover offered readers long awaited dream matches between favourite characters -- but Amalgam Comics opened things up to the excitement of something new and different!

In our last entry we talked about the internet era preoccupation with new readers afraid of approaching American comics, but enduring interest in Amalgam very quickly exposes how absurd the anxiety is, and how comics are best read in all directions.

Sure, these characters had no actual future or past to concern yourself with, but each Amalgam issue is created as if it was the latest in a monthly series. They're paradoxically completely stand-alone experiences, yet largely interesting because of all the baggage that comes with at least two long-running characters.

These days the "multiverse" has been abused and worn out with a litany of half-baked hack jobs -- but back then the novelty of DC and Marvel combining into a whole new universe was an irresistible curiosity! What would the world look like? Who's combined? How do their stories blend? What's the plot of each issue? "Good question." Just discovering & identifying characters was a big part of the fun!

Dark Claw stood at the front of the pack -- one of the few Amalgam characters who first appears on the final page of DC versus Marvel #3.

Unlike Amazon, comprised of Wonder Woman & Storm - or Spider-Boy, a blend of Superboy & Spider-Man; Dark Claw wasn't the product of characters matched up in the fighting crossover. Those bouts were Wolverine vs Lobo and Batman vs Captain America. Fine combat partners, but when it came time to merge the worlds, we got a collision of the two company's most popular icons of the time.

The visual design instantly sold the character as a surefire fan-favourite: Heavy on the Wolverine, with flared masked and metal claws, embellished by the romantic darkness of Batman and his flowing cape. This only gets more effective when Jim Balent goes all-out for the solo Dark Claw comic, creating blockbuster action and moody atmosphere with colourist Pat Garrahy.

They were colouring Batman pretty dark in those days, but Dark Claw's black bodysuit arguably skews more Hollywood than comic book -- not that any of these characters were beholden to a simplistic formula based on their inspirations. For an ostensibly cheap gimmick - there are a lot of solid, earnest creations here.

The great Larry Hama would go on to write some Batman stories a couple of years after Legends of the Dark Knight #1, but his hand seems to favor the Marvel side with Dark Claw, perhaps leveraging his many years writing and fleshing out Wolverine's backstory.

This was all under the watch of legendary editor Denny O'Neil, and we can only speculate if there were other hands involved in the creation of Dark Claw between the various crossovers. It is interesting to note that Hama was still on Wolverine in 1996 though, and revisits the hits as Weapon X provides much of the foundation for Dark Claw's history, beyond the simple riff on the murder of the Waynes.

Things get pretty tangled as Logan Wayne's childhood custody is bounced around between tragedies, and North American national borders, eventually arriving at a fog of espionage and deep cover, and a bitter rivalry very much in the mold of Wolverine and Sabretooth. Much of this is uncovered by Huntress in this issue, but she too exists under a veil of contrived uncertainty.

These characters are so deep under cover - even they can't reveal the truth with absolute clarity. A convenient way to avoid any gaps or inconsistencies, I imagine, but also a page taken right out of the playbook of early nineties Weapon X, and Wolverine's decades of lost memories, and false implants.

Dark Claw's present-day is where the Batman influence is more present. His status as New Gotham's premiere "techno-wizard, painter, sportsman, and walking enigma" borrows some of the best bits from the urban gothic playboy of Bruce Wayne and Batman. His dogged pursuit of Hyena owes more to Batman, even if his temperament takes crime-fighting a little further. The best there is, etc.

A case can be made that Dark Claw closely resembles Tim Vigil's Faust: a hyper-violent, hyper-erotic independent anti-hero from the late eighties. Cartoonist Kayfabe did a good job covering that, and the similarities are certainly there - deliberate, or not. Jim Balent's independent work on Tarot feels like it could have a table at the tamer independent erotica end of artist's alley, but I don't know if the two had any connection.

At the time, Dark Claw's design always reminded me of a curious 1990 story in Detective Comics about an in-fiction unauthorized comic about Batman. It had a very exaggerated approach to the Bat-mythos as interpreted by a Gotham City comic book artist. In this version, Simon Petrach was the benefactor of Lucifer in a war on crime, and come to think of it, it may have been a riff on Faust as well!

Of course, Faust doesn't have a sidekick -- but Dark Claw makes full use of the odd couple dynamic of Wolverine & Jubilee, and the iconography of DC's Dynanic Duo. Batman & Robin were back in favour at that time thanks to Tim Drake, The Animated Series, and Batman Forever. There's even a little bit of The Dark Knight Returns and Carrie Kelley in Dark Claw & Sparrow, but that might be baked into the mix with Jubilee.

When you boil it all down - it's a fantastic arrangement and blending of existing pieces to create a greater sum than the parts. You don't have to know the ins & outs to appreciate the adventure, and chances are you know the broad strokes, but it is all the sweeter if you see the artistry in every decision and exploitation. It's in these details, as well as the unique and surprising flourishes, that we see the joy of human creation, and how it often differs from the plagiaristic practises of so-called "generative artificial intelligence".

Put it all together and it's just cool. It's that simple. Back in the day, I wanted to see more from Dark Claw and the Amalgam characters. Fortunately, in 1997, there was a second wave that included a cartoon-inspired Dark Claw Adventures, and here in 2025, we've just seen the surprise return of Dark Claw in Batman/Deadpool! So who knows what the future might hold!

If you'd like to see more Dark Claw here on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths be sure to drop a comment and consider getting involved on Patreon.

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#170 (+13) Dark Claw
#670 (new) Sparrow [+1 assist]
#683 (+41) Hyena

WOLVERINE versus ELEKTRA

Top of The World, Ma! (Marvel)
Where: Wolverine #103 When: July 1996
Why: Larry Hama How: Val Semeiks

The Story So Far...
The trauma of being forcibly stripped of the metal that once coated his entire skeleton has thrown Wolverine into an increasing series of unforeseen challenges.

Although he regained the full use of his mutant ability to rapidly repair once trivial wounds -- his mind & body have reverted to a feral state in the wake of a vicious showdown with his arch-nemesis Sabretooth.

A failed attempt by Genesis to re-bond his skeleton with adamantium has revealed the metal was responsible for retarding an animal mutation. A feral state that is not befitting a righteous warrior. If his path is to be restored, then intervention must be staged. The Chaste master Stick has taken an interest in Wolverine's fate and directed skilled assassin, Elektra, to find and redeem his lost soul. It is a path she herself once walked. Now it is Wolverine's turn.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wolverine 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Elektra 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Elektra 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Elektra 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Wolverine 26 (Metahuman)

Our stats say Wolverine has the edge against super-assassin Elektra, but just how far will advantages like a mutant healing factor and berserker fighting impulse take him? Today's fight will give us a partial answer - but first let's explore beyond that.

Elektra Natchios began her martial training in childhood. Showing natural acumen for the fighting arts; her discipline continued through adulthood, but not before she was rejected by The Chaste, and tempted by their evil rivals The Hand.

Tragedy tainted Elektra's life - beginning with the murder of her mother, and much later her father. A wild & reckless temperament grew within her, earning skeptical scorn from the master known as Stick. His rejection helped place her on a path close to the edge -- the life of a bounty hunter and mercenary.

You probably know Elektra by reputation, and although her most famous battle ended in mortal defeat at the hands of Bullseye -- she was resurrected to continue as one of the deadliest fighters in the world. You could even say multiverse: one of our earliest entries showed Elektra dominating DC anti-heroine - Catwoman!

Our file is shamefully shallow, but the inter-company crossover is a fine example of how respected the skilled technique of Elektra is. As for that loss to Bullseye -- we recorded a much later team-up with Daredevil that scored payback for that.

Wolverine has had comparable struggles with his own inner nature, not to mention encounters with The Hand, but the mutant gift that allows him to survive strikes from Elektra's trademark sai weapons - and fight with a ferocity we deem beyond martial skill - has also been known to make him a little sloppy.

Your mileage for how quickly and effectively Wolverine can heal will probably influence your expectations here, but we must remember that history is littered with examples of bladed weapons, and skilled fighters, getting the better of him.

Razorfist slashed an exhausted Wolverine to breaking point, Deadpool skewered his lungs with twin swords, the Winter Soldier kept him at bay with a dagger, and The Gorgon found a killing strike with a katana that allowed The Hand to render him their personal killer. Black Panther didn't even need claws to match him in hand-to-hand combat, and Daredevil scored a controversial win with a harsh enough blunt force bonk on the head! Just because a fella can heal any wound -- doesn't mean he isn't first going to suffer the effects of sustaining them!

Of course, there are those who haven't fared quite so well: Lady Deathstrike's cybernetic claws couldn't stop Wolverine cutting her down, Silver Samurai's katana missed vital organs - costing him dearly, and Blade wasn't even able to slow Wolverine down with his skillful sword.

So which side will Elektra fall on? It's about time we got into this thing to find out, but one more important note: This is a strange time for Wolverine. It's a few years since the adamantium was ripped from his skeleton by Magneto, and he's succumbed to his feral side -- physically devolving in the process. It's what's brought Elektra to him, but what effect did it have? Let's see!

The Tape: Wolverine Ranking: Wolverine (#5)

What Went Down...

High atop the second tower of the World Trade Center awaits Elektra. The wind blows in her flowing hair as a hairy, squat figure grunts his way onto the rooftop to join her. She asks "its" name. "It" responds with the name of a lowly beast.

She challenges him: "A wolverine is a beast. Was it the man or the beast who climbed the "mountain"?" She strikes -- proving her point.

The backhanded strike with the butt of Elektra's sai handle provokes feral fury in Wolverine and he bears his bone claws. She walks away, toward a doorway into the building, unimpressed by his unrefined response.

The upper level of the Trade Tower once fed tourists, but now will feed the mind and soul of a student. It is the dojo in which Wolverine's body & spirit will be tested as Elektra returns him to the path of a righteous warrior. A path of "obligation, duty and honor" that "puts him above the beasts and the savages."

She pins a scroll to the wall and its symbols stir old memories to the front of the man-beast's mind. He can sense something is missing, but that is a test for another time. First he must answer the challenge of tempering.

Elektra isn't concerned with titles. She responds to defiance of the process with swift action -- another smack to the head with the base grip of her sai weapon.

The feral Wolverine attempts to strike back -- lunging with his left hand claws extended. Easily avoided by the agile teacher, who vaults over his squat form to land behind him -- weapons at the ready.

She quotes another who once tempered the feral mutant - Lord Shingen Harada. A reference that stokes the flame of fury within Wolverine. The fight is on!

Again the beast leads with his claws - swinging savagely with his right hand!

Elektra's left is knee is raised as she easily dances beyond the bone tips and returns fire with a launching kick to the face!

Wolverine is momentarily staggered by the blow that sent him falling backwards, but he isn't stayed for long.

Animal aggression compels Wolverine to charge at his opponent with a staff weapon, but the primitive lunge simply leaves him open to a low attack from the expert wielding of Elektra.

Has it been hours? Days? Months? Or Wolverine's entire life? The fight is for more than one simple victory. The combat is an existential crisis of the soul. If the animal fury within him is not hammered out, he will never be the man he once was. All that he could be.

The Wolverine leaps through the air behind Elektra, with staff weapon raised above his head in both hands.

Again it is child's play for Elektra to simply raise her sai weapons and block the staff with the defensive catch holds innate to the weapon's design.

His claws are equally meaningless. She simply leaps over his squat frame as he brutally and feebly lunges with the boney protrusions extending from his hands. The lessons of his time in Japan and fighting Shingen must be re-learned.

The Hammer...

It could be presumed that this was a continuous conflict in the makeshift dojo Elektra created on a floor of the Twin Towers, but the single page we've broken into thirds [above] also might suggest a montage of multiple sparring sessions.

How quickly do you undo a literal and metaphorical de-evolution of a man? Usually it wouldn't matter, but for our purposes we'll assume this was all one session. Either way - the work isn't done. Wolverine #103 plays out as a series of philosophical and physical challenges to Wolverine, with one final fight awaiting.

As usual, I fully intend to return to the issue eventually to see what happened in their second encounter. These might not be bitter showdowns for all the marbles, but these characters also aren't pulling all their punches. This is valid data.

This wasn't a period of Wolverine I've ever regarded very highly. For the most part I managed to avoid the short-lived 'noseless runt' stretch, which felt like a bridge too far during the bone claws years -- but I wasn't especially thrilled about the character and his solo series in the short run just before that, either.

I was buying off the newsstand back then, and I know I dipped in to Wolverine somewhere around this time, give or take eight issues. I mostly encountered the strangely deformed version of the character in the main X-books, where the details eluded me. He still had the bandana-mask and excess hair when Onslaught kicked off, but there were plenty of other things to wonder about there!

I remember [Wolverine #103] coming out, and probably even considering buying it, but the combination of Wolverine and Elektra -- while eye catching -- seemed a little cheesy and haphazard. They weren't characters that had anything to do with each other at that point, and it seemed like an egregious, inorganic aside at a time when nothing about the character seemed sufficiently iconic, or coherent.

Coming back to it now - I really enjoyed it. This issue in particular stands alone as a very satisfying, classic martial arts night of the soul. An existential crisis dressed up with fist fighting, flowery metaphor, and examination of the nature of man.

Back in '96 I was resistant to the 'Marvel Comics' of the meeting, but I see now that the DNA of Larry Hama's work on GI Joe is also present. It's a presumption of Elektra as a figure in this world, and a thematically convenient excuse to bring two cool characters together. Elektra's redemption arc was a bit weightier than a furball growing back his nose, but hey. Whatever gets it done, man.

This is still pretty early in Marvel's attempts to reincorporate Elektra as a regular figure in the Marvel Universe. Frank Miller had kept her spiritually alive in series positioned away from the regular grind [eg; Daredevil: Man Without Fear], and for almost a decade Marvel had remained hands-off, with some uncertainty of whether or not the character was truly living. They were all-in after a 1993 return.

Elektra isn't the only thing layering this issue with Miller grandiosity. Invoking Lord Shingen and the lessons of the sword from the first Wolverine mini-series is a more direct and appropriate bit of depth, but that comes through in the rematch.

If you'd like to see the follow-up sooner than later, or help prioritize some other future featured fight, it would be wonderful if you considered becoming a supporter of the site on Patreon. I'm managing to crank out a few more updates than usual, but am also dealing with some uniquely challenging circumstances, so your patronage will go even further than usual to help making things possible.

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

Get 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)
#95 (+2) Elektra
#5 (--) Wolverine

CAPTAIN MARVEL & SQUADRON OF JUSTICE versus SEVEN DEADLY ENEMIES OF MAN

The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man (DC)
Where: Power of Shazam #11 When: January 1996
Why: Jerry Ordway How: Pete Krause

The Story So Far...
The Wizard Shazam has been taken captive and held in the depths of the Netherworld by his evil demon daughter Lady Blaze. Only a powerful magic can restore him to The Rock of Eternity -- but Blaze has other plans!

Her agent, Black Adam, failed to prevent the resurrection spell that summons Ibis the Invincible and his amazing Ibis-stick to the modern age, but her allies of darkness continue to plague Fawcett City, and threaten to consume the heroic spirit of Captain Marvel!

The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man are on the loose! It's up to Mary Marvel and Ibis to put a stop to their terror and return them to the statues Shazam created to hold them!

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: Bulletman 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Captain Marvel 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Ibis 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Captain Marvel 30 (Super)

It's good to have friends. People you can trust to pull you into line when the shadow of pride, or hatred, obscures your view. Captain Marvel can usually rely on the Marvel Family to have his back, but he's also got some other great friends in reserve, ready to lend a hand when the going gets tough!

The Squadron of Justice are: Ibis, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, Uncle Dudley, Tawky Tawny, and Bulletman.

Though not officially acting as The Squadron, these seven heroes are summoned for the expressed purpose of going man to man against adversaries that have plagued mankind throughout its history!

The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man are: Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness, and Injustice.

More forthright incarnations include Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, and Lust, but today we feature the above list. By any name or configuration, The Seven Sins are some of the most ancient evils to vex humanity -- bad news for our heroes!

Ibis the Invincible is the one calling in reinforcements, which speaks volumes about the insidious threat! We saw his magic Ibis-Stick effortlessly remove Black Adam from play earlier in Power of Shazam #11, but this time his magic seems unable to simply sweep the problem aside.

To join Mary Marvel and he in the fight he'll imbue Uncle Dudley with the powers of Shazam, Tawky Tawny with unlimited life, summon Captain Marvel Jr from hospital, and even pluck Bulletman from the distant past! One opponent for even enemy -- assuming the spirits don't turn them against one another!

We saw Psycho-Pirate's influence befuddled the Marvel Family during the chaos of Crisis on Infinite Earths #6, and the evil New Gods corrupt Mary Marvel against Wonder Woman and Supergirl during Final Crisis, but it was only a month before today's battle that Underworld Unleashed #3 showed us that Captain Marvel's spirit is good & true -- resilient against the corrupting darkness of Hell itself!

Cap defeated the corrupt Justice League and an Eclipsed Superman before that, and who could forget the Marvel Family's fan-favourite triumph over the Monster Society of Evil from Convergence Shazam? With their friends beside them, how could they possibly lose? Let's find out how it went!

The Tape: Squadron of Justice Ranking: Captain Marvel Jr (#50)

What Went Down...

Dudley, Mary Marvel, and Ibis race from the subway underground to the streets above where they find a stampeding mob.

The frightened masses flee from the darkened figure of Captain Marvel who shouts "SHAZAM! SHAZAM!" in vain! A vile voice from within taunts Captain Marvel with the absence of the wizard's lightning, but the hero refuses to yield!

Ibis attempts to return the dark spirits to their place in The Rock of Eternity, while Mary Marvel rushes to support her brother. The Ibis-stick's magic somehow fails and Mary is met with a backward swing from her brother's possessed fist!

Mary endures to warn that the wizard Shazam is unable to answer their cries.

With that, Captain Marvel abandons his gambit and focuses on resisting -- aided by Ibis the Invincible, who uses his Ibis-stick to purge the corrupting spirits from Marvel's body and give them physical form!

The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man float through the air -- revealed!

Captain Marvel posits their solid presence may now allow for physical ushering back to The Rock of Eternity. A plan Ibis agrees could work -- if they even the odds a little!

With a simple command the Ibis-stick inducts Uncle Dudley, and the stuffed Tawky Tawny toy he's carrying, into the burgeoning Marvel Family!

A misunderstood remark from Mary soon adds Freddy Freeman to the team -- teleported instantly from the hospital in a body cast. A predicament soon remedied when Freddy says the name "Captain Marvel" and bursts free from the cast as an uninjured Captain Marvel Jr!

Bulletman makes seven as Ibis reaches into the past to bring forth an old ally for a new fight. It's not a minute too soon as terrified citizens cry for help from the stalking Enemies of Man!

The heroes fly valiantly into battle! Captain Marvel puts Uncle Dudley's nerves at ease with some calm assurance, whilst targeting the personification of Hatred with a snappy uppercut from his good arm!

Mary beats back Envy, with everyone doing their part to repel the wicked creatures! Bulletman with a flying fist! Tawky Tawny a pouncing paw! Captain Marvel Jr riding the bucking back of evil! Even Uncle Dudley has a stiff left for the vile spirits that remind him so much of bugs infesting Miss Wormwood's school!

Mary Marvel locks one of the stunned wraiths around the throat and drags it through the air towards a magical doorway!

The other heroes follow her advice, finding the stairwell within that leads to a hidden interdimensional cave. They brave the forces of eternity within to emerge in a hall of shattered statues.

Mary notices the absence of their ace player, but Ibis the Invincible has already made his way to the Rock of Eternity through other means. He steps forward with the squirming dark figure of Sloth in the grip of his left hand.

In his right, Ibis wields the awesome Ibis-stick, with magic enough to return the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man to the bondage of the seven corresponding statues created by the wizard Shazam himself!

The dark shadows are pulled back into figures that once held them -- trapped again as they previously were by the missing wizard and his old allies!

The Hammer...
The powerful magic of Ibis the Invincible saves the day, resealing the Seven Deadly spirits back in their statue prisons.

Perhaps he could've done it all on his own, but it's nice that he didn't have to -- sharing the victory in even measure with Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and their four courageous comrades!

You might remember I mythologized this issue, and Ibis' involvement, a few years back, following up with a closer look at his rousing return against Black Adam.

I thusly set out to revisit the action-packed second half in conjunction with the impending theatrical release of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, but it seems this much-loved comic was again destined to find me in a time of need, as I struggle with the somewhat sudden loss of a loved one, now exactly two weeks ago.

The Power of Shazam! #11 hits with the right balance of action, adventure, and nostalgia, filtered through the then-new lens of a series that would define Captain Marvel and his crew for the nineteen-nineties, even as it occupied its own insular world -- a retro reality where magic encases Fawcett City in anachronisms.

This battle sees the return of a lot of "old fashioned" ideas that are received with enthusiasm. Tawky Tawny is restored to the side of angels after serving as a pawn for Lady Blaze, and being ripped in half by Black Adam when he was turned back into a helpless stuffed toy. Even better: Bulletman is plucked from the past!

I've gotta admit: If Ibis had me jazzed for the earlier parts of this issue, it was Bulletman that I was most excited to see in this back half. He doesn't particularly stand out when the group battles the Seven Deadly Enemies, but the silver-helmeted hero is nevertheless a thrillingly unique visual throughout. I quite enjoy it when he light heartedly hastens Ibis to the conclusion: "Uh-- Can we cut the chatter... I'm an old man, and I can't do this all day!"

It's interesting that the Seven Deadly Enemies go very much in a different direction. These incarnations take forms reminiscent of HR Giger's Xenomorph from the Alien film series. It feels like a decidedly modern intrusion upon the old fashioned heroes and their retro-tinged world -- even as the fanged shadow forms are seen terrorizing decidedly nineties Fawcett City citizenry.

You could mistake this for the present intruding upon the past, but I don't see the nostalgia of Power of Shazam as regressive. I see it as still moving forward, but without a broad discarding of things. Retaining a character like Bulletman to give the present something it doesn't otherwise have, but still moving it forward in a modern context. Even if that context is in part an interesting culture clash.

The fight begins when Mary and Ibis convene with a semi-possessed Captain Marvel. His struggle, and attempts to call upon the wizard's lightning, directly reference his trip to Hell in Underworld Unleashed, which proposed the thesis that the good-natured Captain would be incorruptible -- or something close to it.

Released a month later: The Power of Shazam #11 honors this idea, even as it flirts with undermining it. Though the Seven Deadly Enemies briefly inhabit his body, they never quite gain control, and ultimately fall to a combination of Captain Marvel's will to resist, and the magic of the Ibis-stick.

Freddy Freeman's transformation into Captain Marvel Jr may momentarily seem like a lapse in attention as well, but his lightning presumably comes directly from Captain Marvel, and with a little help from the Ibis-stick. Remembering that his magic words are "Captain Marvel", unlike Billy & Mary's "SHAZAM".

The whole adventure is a happy time of good triumphing over evil. I figure we could all use a few more happy times like this. I know I sure could.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number -- or by following links throughout each entry to discover more from your favourite topics or tangents.

Keep the good times coming by showing your support for the site on Patreon. As a thank you for becoming a patron you'll find additional updates and subscription tiers to sponsor featured content, including Top 10 Rank & File lists, and more.

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: The Squadron of Justice
#39 (+11) Captain Marvel Jr
#40 (+14) Captain Marvel
#77 (+63) Mary Marvel
#120 (+200) Ibis the Invincible
#121 (+213) Tawky Tawny
#138 (+252) Uncle Dudley
#357 (new) Bulletman
#991 (new) Pride
#992 (new) Envy
#993 (new) Greed
#994 (new) Hatred
#995 (new) Selfishness
#996 (new) Laziness
#997 (new) Injustice

AVENGERS versus KANG THE CONQUEROR

First Blood (Marvel)
Where: Avengers #2 When: December 1996 Why: Rob Liefeld, Jim Valentino & Jeph Loeb How: Chap Yaep

The Story So Far...
Facing apparent death in their battle against the psionic entity called Onslaught -- The Avengers and Fantastic Four were whisked to the safety of a pocket dimension created subconsciously by naive mutant Franklin Richards.

Beginning their lives anew with no knowledge of their true history: The Avengers are founded under the direction of Nick Fury and SHIELD, to act as a global peace-keeping force against super-powered threats also newly manifesting on this Counter Earth.

Bolstered by the addition of Captain America and Thor; The Avengers are a powerful assembly whose legend will inevitably continue into the distant future. A future ruled by Kang The Conqueror, who has travelled through time to defeat history's mightiest heroes!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Thor 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Kang 6 (Genius)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Thor 6 (Generator)
Agility: Hellcat 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Kang 5 (Lasers)
Total: Kang The Conqueror 29 (Metahuman)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Vision, Swordsman, Scarlet Witch, and Hellcat.

Starting from scratch in the pocket universe -- these Avengers are still relatively new to working with each other. They just recruited Thor in the previous issue, when he saw through his brother's manipulations, and helped to defeat him.

Scarlet Witch was key to their victory, using hex powers to turn Loki's spell back against him, but it remains to be seen how her awesome magicks will affect the futuristic technology of Kang The Conqueror.

This time Kang hails from the even farther flung future of the 31st century: a variant conjured to this universe by Franklin Richards based upon his distant descendent -- the time travelling Nathaniel Richards, who is typically cited as having conquered the 30th century.

It was that Kang who deployed the Avengers to Limbo to destroy a facsimile of himself in a quest to consolidate power by eliminating all Kang variants diverging from his prime timeline. A feat achieved with advanced technology that allows him to effortlessly traverse time and space.

Kang is also outfitted in advanced armor, which grants him super-human strength and durability, gravity-defiance, defensive force-fields, and an arsenal of weaponry capable of deploying concussive blasts and other attacks.

Captain America's tactical savvy should help the team coordinate, but it's Thor who offers the most obvious counter-attack to Kang's incredibly powers.

We've seen The God of Thunder face similar versatile threats from The Mandarin, Nebula, Super-Skrull, Thanos, Juggernaut, Doctor Doom, and even DC's Superman and Captain Marvel! Will he be the difference maker? Let's find out!

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

What Went Down...

The appearance of a massive spaceship floating over New York City prompts Director of SHIELD, Nick Fury, to activate his Avengers for a full investigation, and if necessary, neutralization of any emerging threat.

Captain America doesn't much like the cut of Fury's jib, but with Scarlet Witch and Hellcat already in the field, the team is quick to mobilize against a mysterious individual already in the process of engaging the women.

A simple gesture directs a blast of energy that engulfs Scarlet Witch and Hellcat!

The remaining Avengers arrive just in time to witness the assault. Cap discreetly makes sure Hawkeye has a clean shot, but Thor is too incensed to give the archer opportunity to strike first. Kang invites it with no clearer motive: "Your move."

The God of Thunder obliges -- tossing his mighty hammer Mjolnir!

Remarkably the weapon stalls beyond Kang's outstretched hand, igniting with sparks of electricity as it collides with a force-field surrounding him!

Captain America recognizes the danger and orders Hawkeye to try to rally Scarlet Witch to make use of her awesome magicks that stopped Loki.

Swordsman sees the need for a distraction to give Hawkeye a clear run, but his attempt to take the initiative is immediately squashed, much to Captain America's chagrin. Swords are simply no match for Kang's advanced technology!

Cap tries to restore order so the team can regroup, but Thor refuses to yield.

"Do what thou must, Captain. But, no being, mortal or god, may take the fabled Mjolnir from my side -- and not rue the day!"

The thunder god brings down the very heavens, dive bombing Kang in blaze of lightning that explodes around the force-field bubble, and rips through the surrounding earth!

The Avengers feel the fallout as Scarlet Witch does her best to shield she and Hellcat from the erupting energies. As she struggles, The Witch compels Hawkeye to help the rest of the team, even as he finds himself lacking any clear shot.

Captain America rallies Vision and Hawkeye to his side for a final stand.

Hawkeye sends the first salvo, much to Kang's amusement.

The arrow sails straight and true, inevitably striking Kang's force-field -- but this "toy" contains a thermite incendiary tip that burns through bubble and deactivates the defensive barrier!

Captain America throws his mighty shield -- knocking Kang off his feet, while Vision takes the order to glide toward the threat and neutralize it by phasing through his body to cause him discomfort -- and submission.

Alas, Kang's futuristic defenses are vast and many. Before the android can shift his density, The Conqueror orders his ship to open fire -- blasting Vision with a massive explosion!

Thor gravely returns to the battlefield, mournfully coming face to face with Kang under the belief that his new comrades have perished. He vows to avenge his fallen allies by spilling Kang's blood.

The ferocity and power of Thor's attack is enough to cause even Kang alarm.

He desperately calls for assistance from his ship as Thor rains down bareknuckle blows against his restored force-field!

A beam of energy blasts Thor from behind and surrounds him in another bubble that is dragged towards the ship. A futuristic assault that allows Kang The Conqueror to claim the thunder god as trophy in victory.

The Hammer...

Remembering that Kang featured prominently in this issue, I figured it might be fun to go back to Heroes Reborn to take a fresh look. After all, he's given pride of place as the first real threat to the pocket universe's fully formed Avengers, after they were deployed to Norway, and recruited Thor from the side of Loki.

Some of Heroes Reborn reads like a prototype version of Ultimate Marvel, and I guess that includes the highs and lows, as Kang The Conqueror is reduced to a far less interesting villain, coming from the distant future of the 31st century for the expressed purpose of impressing Mantis by beating up history's famed Avengers and nothing much more.

It's kind of a weirdly underwhelming take on what could've been a very unique and interesting villain. One whose status outside the present-day Marvel Universe could've allowed Kang full knowledge of the battle with Onslaught, and the false new reality that was created to contain the heroes.

There doesn't appear to be any acknowledgement of the fact that Loki was accidentally sent to Limbo in the prior issue. A domain notably claimed by Kang The Conqueror in past issues of Avengers, and a natural means for alerting him to the existence of the Heroes Reborn universe.

Kang might've used his unique awareness to attempt to conquer this world and use it for his own ends -- or perhaps escape it, having been accidentally caught by Franklin Richards while travelling from the future, rather than simply being a facsimile created within the world to occupy the heroes before their return.

In that situation Kang could've been key to unravelling the mystery of this new reality, investigating the lost history of The Avengers and Fantastic Four. He could've been a pivotal figure in the whole affair! Granted, that was a role reserved for Doctor Doom, and Kang probably didn't quite have the cachet to demand that level of attention at the time. That wouldn't come until a few years later when Kurt Busiek devises the epic Kang Dynasty -- a year-long story that put Kang back on top with his conquest of the present day.

Exactly how much clarity or planning was going into the pages of Heroes Reborn's Avengers Volume 2 is not evident, and difficult to gauge.

Three hands in writing might not have helped artist Chap Yaep, whose pencils are frustratingly unfocused throughout the battle of Avengers #2. His staging too often centers around unimportant aspects of subject matter, passing up opportunities for dynamic narrative shots of characters in action, in favour of messy layouts filled with dead space, awkward zooming, literal voids, and splashes of relative inaction.

Layouts are unmistakably Liefeldian, but storytelling particularly dips here, held together by script and/or dialogue credited to Jim Valentino (script), and Jeph Loeb (dialogue), respectively. Without their words scenes become less clear.

As I recall, things settle down in the next issue, and continue to improve when Ian Churchill joins the team in Avengers #4. Even so, it isn't wildly surprising that Marvel chose to sever ties mid-series with the Rob Liefeld portion of their Image-produced Heroes Reborn titles. There is an unmistakable air of chaos and waste. A sense of carelessness, and things just barely being held together by a ballooning creative team.

The editorial shakeup reportedly happened at issue #6, and will become evident in credits for Avengers #8, when Walt Simonson formally takes over writing duties, introducing a second contrary Thor to the equation, and generally restoring more normalcy to the Avengers and their portrayals ahead of their imminent repatriation to the main universe in Heroes Reborn: The Return.

The second Thor highlights the potential complication the Heroes Reborn universe adds to our rankings, but per the rules of alternate realities, we consider these to be off-shoots connected to the main character, unless otherwise stated.

No doubt we'll return to explore more from Heroes Reborn some time in the future, as well as more from Kang The Conqueror. If you'd like to see those things and more you should follow links to topics throughout this post -- or check out the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

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 more feature content.

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: Kang The Conqueror
#420 (+564) Kang The Conqueror
#7 (--) Captain America
#17 (--) Thor
#90 (--) Hawkeye
#125 (-20) Hellcat
#155 (-7) Vision
#441 (-1) Scarlet Witch
#991 (-336) Swordsman