BLACK ADAM versus JUSTICE SOCIETY

Thunderstruck (DC)
Where: JSA #27 When: October 2001
Why: Geoff Johns How: Rags Morales

The Story So Far...
In ancient times Teth-Adam was considered a champion, but the Black Marvel has a long road to walk if he's to undo centuries of damage and restore his reputation as a hero.

Submitting himself to the Justice Society of America, Black Adam begins probationary tenure with the heroic ensemble -- but not everyone is convinced he should be there.

As Captain Marvel pays a visit to vouch for his predecessor, tensions are boiling over with Atom Smasher, who believes Black Adam will inevitably turn on the group like every other villain who attempts to reform.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Black Adam 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Mr. Terrific 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain Marvel 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Black Adam 6 (Generator)
Agility: Sand 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Black Adam 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Stargirl 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Black Adam 34 (Super)

Black Adam is the ancient champion of Shazam, who gains the stamina of Shu, the swiftness of Heru, the strength of Amon, the power of Aten, and the courage of Mehen, when he speaks the wizard's name and receives his magic lightning!

The Justice Society are: Sand, Mister Terrific, Wildcat, Hawkgirl, Doctor Mid-Nite, Star-Spangled Kid, and Atom Smasher, with Captain Marvel.

The JSA have Black Adam outnumbered, but they don't particularly have him out-gunned. The Black Marvel has gone toe-to-toe with Superman and only Atom Smasher gets close to matching his incredible strength!

The enlarging strongman is generally in a lower class than Black Adam, but we saw him handle himself relatively well when Atom Smasher led the Suicide Squad against the Black Marvel Family, many years later, in 52 #34.

Fortunately for the JSA: Captain Marvel has come calling! With his own godly gifts supplied by SHAZAM, he's every bit Black Adam's equal, enduring his own battles with Superman, and besting the likes of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, an all-star Monster Society of Evil, and Neron corrupted Justice League.

Black Adam had the help of Brainwave when he defeated Captain Marvel some years later in Hawkman #24. This time the dynamics are very different, and it's Captain Marvel who has the entire JSA to back him up! Will it be enough?

The Tape: Justice Society & Captain Marvel Ranking: Black Adam (#22)

What Went Down...

Black Adam has Atom Smasher by the throat as Captain Marvel makes his entrance into the JSA brownstone.

"I heard you were seeking salvation, Black Adam. That you were looking to prove to the world that you've changed your ways. I came to vouch for you[,] but a bit of advice -- Don't choke potential teammates."

The Black Marvel releases his grip, blaming his impulse on the temper of the mortal Theo Adam. He apologises to his teammate, who preemptively responds in kind -- delivering a giant-sized uppercut he'll be sorry for later!

Adam explodes through the glass ceiling as he's launched into the night sky!

Atom Smasher knows he's made a bigger mess of things as Captain Marvel takes flight to pursue his fellow. He meets an enraged Black Adam in mid-flight -- cutting off his furious path back to the JSA brownstone.

The powers of SHAZAM collide in spectacular fashion as the strength of Hercules meets the might of Amon-Ra!

The Captain maneuvers himself to wrap a mighty bicep around Black Adam's throat and hold him back. He compels his comrade to reject the influence of Theo, but the anger incited by Atom Smasher's insult is great!

The Justice Society arrive on the scene just in time to see Black Adam power through Captain Marvel's hold and torpedo dive Atom Smasher!

Team chairman, Sand, draws his sleep gun and orders Atom Smasher to subdue the probate, with Hawkgirl looming in support holding a spear.

Atom Smasher leans in to Black Adam and pins an arm over his shoulder, while shoving Captain Marvel out of the way.

In the ensuing chaos, Black Adam's out reaching hand grabs Sand's gun and crushes it -- unleashing a bursting cloud of sleep gas that stuns Atom Smasher and Hawkgirl!

Wildcat darts around the room, questioning Black Adam's loyalties, as Doctor Mid-Nite looms behind the peril. The query appears to snap Adam out of his rage and pause him in introspection, but the zipping of two of Terrific's T-Spheres around his face renew his aggravation.

Sand commends the tactical potential for beaming holograms directly into Adam's eyes, but Mister Terrific finds himself unable to command his T-Spheres to execute the strategem!

He can only speculate the lightning storm and rain raging overhead is disrupting communication channels. It leaves his T-Spheres autonomously whirring around Adam as he bats Wildcat and Mid-Nite away with each hand.

With imminent threats dealt with, Adam sets his scornful sights on Sand and Mister Terrific.

Slamming his hands together -- Black Adam unleashes a shockwave that launches Sand and Terrific flying through the air!

While Stargirl spurs Captain Marvel to rejoin the fray -- Adam looms over Sand, cast in shadow by the lightning cracking behind him.

Whatever the Black Marvel's intentions for the Chairman may've been, they go unfulfilled as a spiked mace smashes into the ground at his feet, and Hawkman descends from the storming skies to declare: "This fight is over."

The Hammer...

The authoritative word of Hawkman helps bring Black Adam out of his rampage, but the intervention of the former-chairman only creates further divisions as he appears to undermine the leadership of Sand.

Inter-personal dynamics are criss-crossed all over this battle, with Hawkman returning from a night's flight after witnessing Sand kissing Hawkgirl, and Black Adam's admission to the JSA creating tensions with Atom Smasher, and his well meaning old rival Captain Marvel.

Atom Smasher echoes the expectations of readers who'd doubt the long-term viability of Black Adam as a hero, but the twist in their relationship comes when Atom Smasher actually sees things Adam's way, joining him in his attack on Kobra, and subsequent conquest of Khandaq.

To the uninitiated: JSA might've seemed like an attempt to capitalize on the late-nineties magic of JLA, but the 1999 collaboration between David Goyer and Geoff Johns had so much more to offer, laying the groundwork for significant foundational storylines that continued under Johns throughout the next decade!

Black Adam arguably became a minor sensation with his nineties revamp in Power of Shazam, and lingering appearances in various nineties DC Comics events -- but it was his return in JSA that began the ascent to breakout superstar!

Stories running through JSA, 52, and a Black Adam mini-series, minted the once obscure Captain Marvel villain into a full-fledged icon destined for the big screen, but for a while there, JSA was also the best place to find Captain Marvel himself.

DC seemed to effectively lose confidence in Captain Marvel as a viable property throughout the 2000s, leaving JSA to carry the flag in the ensemble series after Power of SHAZAM was cancelled in early '99. It was then in issues like JSA #27, and the Black Reign crossover of Hawkman #24, that fans could again see the two Marvels renew their seemingly settled rivalry.

Issues like these highlight the absurdity of emerging reports that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson blocked Captain Marvel from appearing with the Justice Society on the big screen, but there's a lot more to the JSA than was seen in the movies.

Once everyone has calmed down, the team decides to resolve their leadership issues with a vote, which installs Mister Terrific as the new Chairman.

An exciting new role for the genius successor to Terry Sloane's legacy of fairplay, which at least sidelines any issues brewing between Sand and the returned Hawkman, but comes at a time when his trademark T-Spheres have been infiltrated by a similar device controlled by Roulette!

The infiltration was the real reason Terrific's devices weren't responding during today's featured fight! The mistress of competition sent her drone to whisk the team away for more adventures in the next issue.

I very much intend to take a closer look at that adventure some time in the future. There are a few different sessions with Roulette that are surely right up our combat-loving alley, and I look back upon this period of DC Comics, and its revival of classics like JSA and Hawkman with great fondness. A time when Geoff Johns mastered intuitively fusing the old with the new alongside artists like Rags Morales.

As for today's contest: Although Hawkman brought proceedings to a relatively peaceful conclusion, you can clearly see that Black Adam had the best of the Justice Society. A majority of the team was subdued. A win's a win.

If you'd like to see more from the characters featured in today's entry you can follow links throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

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Winner: Black Adam
#19 (+3) Black Adam
#40 (--) Captain Marvel
#51 (-3) Hawkgirl
#369 (-186) Wildcat
#429 (-48) Atom Smasher
#430 (-23) Sand
#653 (-108) Mister Terrific (Michael Holt)
#654 (-110) Doctor Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross)
#27 (--) Hawkman [+1 assist]
#100 (+3) Stargirl [+1 assist]

AVENGERS & X-MEN versus RONAN

Whatever The Cost! (Marvel)
Where: Maximum Security #3 When: January 2001
Why: Kurt Busiek How: Jerry Ordway

The Story So Far...
A sudden global surge in extraterrestrial conflict reveals a master plan by the Intergalactic Council of empires to declare Earth a prison planet!

Encounters with the Kree, Skrull, Shi'ar, and more have earned humans a meddlesome reputation. To further delay them from reaching beyond the stars, the untamable scum of the universe are now interned to keep Earth busy. Energy lattice surrounds the solar system in an effort to contain humanity and the prisoners from further interference.

With the Kree seemingly conquered by the Shi'ar Empire, Ronan The Accuser was appointed overseer of the new prison planet, but in truth he has conspired to launch a new Kree uprising. With the mutated Ruul army at his command, and an infestation of the Earth by Ego feeding him unlimited power, Ronan stands poised to lead the Supreme Intelligence to ultimate victory!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Ronan 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Goliath 6 (Genius)
Speed: Nova 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Thor 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Ronan 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Ronan The Accuser 34 (Super)

Earth's heroes are: Thor, Warbird, Sub-Mariner, Wonder Man, She-Hulk, Goliath, Hercules, Thing, Beta Ray Bill, Rogue, Colossus, Sunfire, with USAgent, Quasar, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Namorita, Speedball, Triathlon, and Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, Silver Surfer.

Several other heroes can be seen teleporting into action with Quasar, but for the sake of clarity, we're only focusing on those identifiably involved in the battle. This includes support troops led by USAgent fighting on the ground.

Ronan The Accuser has been dramatically augmented by Ego, who has begun to infest the Earth. The flow of power Ego supplies adds to Ronan's already impressive Kree might, and results in a massive increase in his physical size.

Working on the Ego problem are Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, and Bruce Banner. They've built a machine to repel the infestation, and drain Ronan's power by funneling it into a captive host. Silver Surfer has volunteered for the potentially lethal absorption, but it means he's taken out of the battle.

Silver Surfer's absence from the fight will be felt. We saw him beat Ronan back in Silver Surfer #13, but there are still plenty of other heavy hitters on the field who have credentials beating some prominent cosmic opponents!

Thor can match his hammer against Ronan's Universal Weapon, having used it to best Super-Skrull in Thor #465. Warbird (Carol Danvers) gained her powers from the Kree and has a late win over Thanos [FCBD Civil War II #1]. She-Hulk performed the rare feat of defeating Champion of the Universe in She-Hulk #8. Sub-Mariner was one of the first heroes to valiantly face Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet #4, joining She-Hulk in a noteworthy grim stand. Even Colossus has memorable cosmic face-offs, including a win over Ord in Astonishing X-Men #5!

Thing has made a career of taking on the universe's deadliest fighters. His renown across galaxies was built on battles against Ronan himself, The Champion, and villains like Ego, The Living Planet [Fantastic Four #235], Gladiator [Fantastic Four #249], Paibok The Power Skrull [Fantastic Four #358], and even his own Magus created Doppelganger [Fantastic Four #367]!

The heroes can also count on the aide of Beta Ray Bill, who was interned on Earth as part of the intergalactic council's designation as a prison planet. Beta Ray Bill famously defeated Thor in Thor #337, proving worthy to wield Mjolnir before Odin granted him his own hammer: Stormbreaker. He once fought Silver Surfer to a standstill in Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #2, and fought valiantly by his side against the unstoppable Tyrant in Silver Surfer #82!

This all spells one phenomenal fighting force, but will it be enough to mitigate the incredible power boost received by Ronan The Accuser? They're literally fighting a man with the power of an entire planet -- and a Kree army!

The Tape: Earth's Allied Heroes Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...
A sudden flash of light signals the arrival of Ronan The Accuser. He hovers menacingly in the air, a towering titan gazing down at the aggravating heroes who have begun to threaten his power source.

With a gesture of his Universal Weapon, he summons an army of Kree imperial soldiers, and warns Earth's heroic brains trust that they will be destroyed if they reactivate their machine. Then -- another flash of light: the cavalry!

Quasar teleports a troop of heroes over thirty-strong and when Ronan  threatens to kill them all -- USAgent steps forward to order the heroes against him. They swarm the giant-sized Accuser!

Thor, Wonder Man, and Warbird come in high with blows to the head and face, while Sub-Mariner contends with the giant's right arm, and Beta Ray Bill and Goliath lock up the left! Working the body is Hercules and Colossus, while She-Hulk and Thing come in hot from below as the giant threatens to lose footing!

Around Ronan's feet, Kree soldiers scurry as they contend with the heroes' support forces. USAgent bats at a small group, while Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Triathlon, Namorita, Speedball, and Captain America do the same!

Overhead: Ronan delivers his first decisive blow as he targets Thor with his own hammer-like weapon and unleashes the planetary force of Ego!

With a wild backhanded chop, The Accuser dispatches with Beta Ray Bill, Hercules, and Sub-Mariner! He then turns his attentions to the ionic Wonder Man and brings his massive Universal Weapon slamming down upon him!

USAgent bats a Kree soldier with his photonic shield and contemplates the fragility of humanity's hopes against the invaders, while across the battlefield Mister Fantastic rallies the Thing and Human Torch to defend their ace.

Bruce Banner and Iron Man finish loading the Silver Surfer into their device and in an agonizing instant Ego's incredible power begins flooding into his body! His back arches, while on the horizon the infested landscape that is Ego begins to contort violently -- and Ronan The Accuser begins to shrink!

Ronan is caught completely off guard as his unfathomable power weakens ever so slightly and his mass begins to reduce. The sudden change signals the opportunity for the heroes to strike!

Rogue calls out his sudden weakening, with Thor, Warbird, Wonder Man, Sub-Mariner, Beta Ray Bill and Colossus rushing in to capitalize!

The Silver Surfer betrays his struggle as he begins to moan and his chrome skin burns ever brighter with blistering energy. Iron Man can see the strain is too great, but before any of the genius heroes can act -- Silver Surfer is torn free!

His smoldering and cracked body falls limply to the ground even as he attempts to volunteer for another try. The words catch in his throat as he passes out. There will be no reprieve for The Surfer.

From the air above, Quasar spots the brains trust of Banner, Richards, and Iron Man gathering over the exhausted cosmic rider. He scans the horizon, taking in the vista of his home planet Earth, then leaves Nova battling the Kree warriors.

It seems Silver Surfer's power cosmic could not contain the energies absorbed from Ego, but Quasar assures Reed Richards that his quantum power is more adaptive. Knowing the risks, he volunteers to be strapped into the machine and the draining process begins anew!

Sensing the sudden pull of his energy once more -- Ronan lashes out wildly by swatting Thor, Rogue, and Sunfire out of the air! The Kree Accuser can tell that the drain is more smooth than before, hastening his desire to find the cause.

Still gigantic; Ronan stomps across a smoking battlefield littered with the beaten bodies of Thor, Hercules, and more. He sets his sights on the machine attacking Ego's infestation of Earth, and prepares to battle Earth's last line of defense!

The Hammer...

Ronan does a very convincing job of cleaning house before setting his sights on the next challenge. The battle is won, but the war is certainly not over!

War is very much the tone here. I think the more superhero universes became proliferated with identifiable characters - the greater the desire to see a war-like scenario. Several series tried it. There are obvious echoes of Operation: Galactic Storm and Infinity Gauntlet in this one. I can't help but think of Annihilation as well, which took the hell of cosmic warfare even deeper into the trenches.

1984's Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars may be the most recognized example of conflict between warring Marvel factions, but that was much more about isolating defined sides and smashing them together like (tie-in) toys. Speaking of which: Isn't it about damn time we featured the site's namesake? I digress...

In a continuum of those memorable Marvel events, Maximum Security makes a lot of sense. Through the prism of published releases in 2001, however, it reads almost anachronistic.

The event feels like the last gasp of a movement begun with the soft Heroes Return reset of 1998. There's a colourful, fluffy house style in the artwork, and a confluence of references to Marvel's favoured past, and the character designs of the misguided mid-90s and probing millennium. All would soon go away.

Indeed, the concluding issue of Maximum Security may be cover dated 2001, but it very much belongs to the final throes of 2000, when it actually hit racks.

The release of the first X-Men movie that same year is arguably what changed comics forever. It was a foundation stone for the next two decades of superhero domination in cinema, but it would also influence two of the defining releases of 2001: Ultimate X-Men, and Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely's New X-Men.

Both were incredibly intriguing in their own way, participating in a movement towards more sedate art direction, and denser character work. Everything was being deliberately rethought. Designs got blacker, and bombastic super-heroics were taking a slight step back as written concepts took greater focus.

I was vaguely aware of the Maximum Security crossover unfolding when it came out, but it didn't connect with me. It seems like every ardent comic book fan has a lull in their reading, and for me, it was very much 99-2000. They were generally exciting times, and other interests just started to eclipse a lifetime of reading comics.

In hindsight, Maximum Security was a little old fashioned, but I think if I'd taken the time to look closer, I would've enjoyed it. It was certainly an interesting piece of history to revisit when I picked up back issues many years later.

Three issues doesn't give the core mini-series a lot of room to expand upon a fast moving plot, but there are, of course, many tie-in issues that focus closer on relevant characters and spillover. There may be no better marker of time than Gambit #23: a series I frequently forget even existed.

Ronan The Accuser stands out as a main villain, which feels like a culmination of sorts. Growing up I'd always thought of Ronan as a big deal (and a classic Fantastic Four villain), but under scrutiny it becomes apparent his appearances were steady, but infrequent. He's really more of a Captain Marvel character, and for many years he hung his accuser's hat on the legendary Kree-Skrull War.

At the start of Maximum Security he poses as another banished alien forced to warden the Earth prison. A dirty tactic, but a nice set up for his coming out as a literal big bad. It's fun to see him swatting around some of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe, even if the interactions are a tad impersonal.

I'll look forward to returning to the next phase of the battle in the future, when the other, more surprising featured character comes back to the fore: USAgent!

In the mean time, Blogger restrictions means this entry will only appear tagged for the fighters featured tackling Ronan. For most of the others, we have an assist stat that acknowledges their support role. You can check out the updated character rankings and results at the bottom of this post.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 950 characters! You can find them all indexed in the Secret Archive by publisher, series, and issue number. Or simply discover more wonders by following links throughout this and other feature articles.

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Winner: Ronan The Accuser
#398 (+286) Ronan The Accuser
#613 (+279) Ego The Living Planet [+1 assist]
#31 (-1) Sub-Mariner
#32 (--) Thor
#35 (--) Silver Surfer
#49 (-2) Warbird (Carol Danvers)
#70 (-12) Rogue
#74 (-3) Wonder Man
#80 (-6) Goliath (Hank Pym)
#145 (-1) She-Hulk
#400 (-56) Beta Ray Bill
#419 (-7) Hercules
#423 (-3) Colossus
#591 (-137) Sunfire
#2 (--) Spider-Man [+1 assist]
#3 (--) Iron Man [+1 assist]
#4 (--) Wolverine [+1 assist]
#6 (--) Hulk (Bruce Banner) [+1 assist]
#10 (--) Mister Fantastic [+1 assist]
#12 (--) Thing [+1 assist]
#115 (+1) Nova (Richard Rider) [+1 assist]
#130 (+2) USAgent [+1 assist]
#428 (--) Speedball [+1 assist]
#614 (+282) Quasar [+1 assist]
#922 (new) Namorita [+1 assist]
#923 (new) Triathlon [+1 assist]

SOLOMON GRUNDY versus STAR-SPANGLED KID & JAKEEM THUNDER

Kids (DC)
Where: JSA #29 When: December 2001
Why: Geoff Johns How: Peter Snejbjerg

The Story So Far...
As junior members of the Justice Society of America: Courtney Whitmore and Jakeem Williams were supposed to have a quiet Halloween night in at JSA Headquarters. Instead, trouble finds them when more than the local trick or treating kids come knocking...

Solomon Grundy has been poisoned by The Joker and is more crazed than ever before! Running amok through New York City, he arrives at the JSA's doorstep -- but the depleted senior ranks are already on mission to contain the army of Slab inmates unleashed by The Joker!

It's up to the new Star-Spangled Kid and Jakeem Thunder to face one of the JSA's oldest enemies alone. Joker venom has made him scarier than ever, but that isn't the only thing worrying Courtney: He also killed her predecessor!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Solomon Grundy 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Stargirl 2 (Average)
Speed: Thunderbolt 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Thunderbolt 6 (Generator)
Agility: Thunderbolt 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Solomon Grundy 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Thunderbolt 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Thunderbolt 37 (Cosmic)

Solomon Grundy is one of the quintessential recurring DC villains. He can show up just about anywhere, at any time, with his demeanor ranging from a murderously rampaging beast -- to a deviously sinister super-villain.

During Infinity Inc #51, Grundy was a love-smitten simpleton who was coerced into murdering Sylvester Pemberton, then known as Skyman.

Pemberton's equipment was subsequently retired to the custody of former sidekick Pat Dugan, whose step-daughter, Courtney Whitmore, inadvertently stumbled upon the gear and chose to become the new Star-Spangled Kid!

Trained and assisted by her step-father; the eventually renamed Stargirl wields both the Cosmic Converter Belt of the Star-Spangled Kid, and the Cosmic Staff invented by Starman, and previously used by Jack Knight. The former grants her enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and energy projectiles that disrupt electrical impulses and the human nervous system. The Cosmic Staff allows her to fly, create force fields, and command devastating energy blasts!

Jakeem Thunder inherited his super-powered legacy when Jay Garrick gifted him a pen that secretly contained the magical being Yz. Better known as The Thunderbolt, the 5th dimensional genie previously served Johnny Thunder when he said the magic word "Cei-U", but now resides within Jakeem Williams' pen!

This is our first time seeing Jakeem Thunder in action, but Stargirl has had two outings with the Justice Society of America. In JSA #64 she ventured into the Dream World to help recover Sanderson Hawkins.

More notably, she had a later encounter with Solomon Grundy in JSA #65, where the undead behemoth was able to snatch her by the ankle and show signs of remembering previous encounters with the Star-Spangled Kids. In that fight it was Sanderson Hawkins who came to the rescue to put Grundy down!

At his most vicious we've seen Solomon Grundy tear the jaw of Killer Croc in Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy. He was able to withstand the combined efforts of Hawkman, Hawkgirl & Monolith in Hawkman #33, as well as the powerful blows of Bizarro in Solomon Grundy #2. He even punched a hole through The Demon before succumbing to hellfire in Solomon Grundy #2!

Stargirl should be able to give Solomon Grundy a run for his money, but her relative inexperience, and the psychological history of her legacy, may pose barriers. The magical powers of Thunderbolt should make quick work of the behemoth as long as Jakeem can direct them. Let's see what happened...

The Tape: Justice Society Ranking: Solomon Grundy (#142)

What Went Down...
A thunderous earthquake is followed by the sudden crash landing of the Statue of Liberty's head outside the JSA brownstone! Museum curator Alex Montez wonders who would've painted it white with a red smile -- until an equally pale fist reaches down to clobber him on top of the head!

Laughing atop the decapitated monument stands Solomon Grundy!

The hulking villain hoists a stunned Jakeem Thunder by the scruff of his shirt and snatches his magic pen out of its pocket. Grinning he says he'll write a letter to ma, but the only delivery is Star-Spangled Kid's boot to his jaw!

The flying kick launches Solomon Grundy across the street and down the steps of a nearby subway entrance!

The blow also freed Jakeem Thunder from the clutches of the maniacal zombie. He refuses The Kid's offer of help as he gets to his feet, but softens when she reveals Solomon Grundy's role in killing the original Star-Spangled Kid.

The younger hero is ready to charge the subway to take Solomon Grundy down, but a dull rumbling tips SSK off to the oncoming threat of a counter-attack. She dives to tackle Jakeem to the ground -- narrowly avoiding an airborne train!

Star-Spangled Kid knows they should wait for help from the JSA, but her eagerness to take a shot at payback is equaled only by Jakeem's desire to reclaim the pen that contains his friend - The Thunderbolt.

Tentatively, the two junior heroes descend into the darkened subway.

The power is out, but on the platform the bantering teammates can see juvenile graffiti scrawled across the walls. The words 'HA HA HA JSA SUCKS! GRUNDY RULES!' seem to lead down the pitch black train tunnel, but the pair quickly discovers its a simple act of misdirection to lure them into a trap!

Solomon Grundy appears from the shadows behind Jakeem laughing and clutching his magic pen! Star immediately leaps to his rescue!

The Stargirl launches at Grundy with a charging shoulder, following it up with a devastating uppercut that knocks out one of Grundy's teeth, and a volley of shooting stars that embed in his chest and drive him into the concrete wall!

Grundy wraps his massive palm around the Star-Spangled Kid's neck, laughing about the tickle of her attacks. She knows his dead flesh isn't affected by her nerve-numbing stars and compels Jakeem to run.

Instead Jakeem jumps on Solomon Grundy's back and weaponizes one of the villain's own spray cans! Paint blasts Grundy's eye! In his desperation to wipe blinded eyes, Grundy releases the magic pen -- but he also swats Jakeem aside!

Blood dribbles from his mouth as he realizes his pen has slipped through a grate. While he tries to reclaim the magic artifact, Solomon Grundy contemplates killing his second Star-Spangled hero. He holds the Stargirl's head like a basketball and presses it into a wall, reveling in his past murder.

Grundy places a second hand over The Kid's head as she feebly threatens to kill him. The zombie laughs about making her like himself -- dead -- unaware of the lightning spark that arcs between Jakeem's outstretched finger and his magic pen! They're reunited and with a simple click The Thunderbolt is released!

Jakeem commands his faithful genie to burn Solomon Grundy from the inside out. A wish the crackling Thunderbolt is all too glad to grant!

The pink dynamo streaks into a stunned Grundy's mouth. Within moments light begins to blast from inside the ashen zombie's eyes and ears as he clutches helplessly at his throat and burns from the core!

Jakeem checks on Star while the Thunderbolt emerges from the still grinning, smoldering corpse of Solomon Grundy. It collapses into a pile of ash, "Back to the swamp with you, beast!"

The Hammer...
A good team effort gives Thunderbolt the chance to deliver a finishing blow with extreme prejudice! It wouldn't have happened without the diligent efforts of Star-Spangled Kid and his master Jakeem Thunder!

Solomon Grundy may've been burned to a crisp, but as we've seen time and again -- the deathless zombie will rise once more from Slaughter Swamp to spread his unending curse of terror! Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!

JSA #29 is all around a fantastic issue. I would highly recommend seeking it out to anyone remotely interested. I would also strongly suggest reading it in print, if you can.

Peter Snejbjerg does an incredible job on art duties, but I would also heap massive amounts of praise upon colorist John Kalisz, who does an outstanding job building mood and atmosphere with palette and tone. Sometimes those colours just don't translate to digital.

This is also the Geoff Johns who made reading DC Comics in the 2000s such a pleasurable experience. It's a script that scratches a lot of different itches from different angles, intuitively drawing together disparate references to create a wonderful whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

On a basic level the issue functions as an enjoyable rite of passage story in the tradition of Uncanny X-Men #143. Courtney and Jakeem are stuck home alone and forced to face a terrifying, overwhelming threat. In doing so, they mature as heroes, learn more about each other, and strengthen their bond.

The issue is satisfying on that level, but as with many Johns projects of the time, digging a little deeper will enhance everything with grander context and meaning. Inherent in this series is the simple fact that everything, including both junior JSA members, has direct legacy ties to heroes of the early 1940s.

Stargirl (as she was later renamed) and Jakeem Thunder are strong examples of developing intuitive new legacy characters. They draw from the original Star-Spangled Kid and Johnny Thunder, respectively, but growing into their roles, rather than simply supplanting them, is a big part of the story.

The reader is given ample opportunity to meet these new heroes as they're introduced in different series. Through a natural development process, each also becomes more distinctively realized through lived experience -- like this fight with Solomon Grundy -- and their natural involvement with other characters, such as the enduring JSA members who have become mentor figures.

It's debatable whether attempts to revamp the original Star-Spangled Kid for a modern 1980s audience were successful. "Skyman" had some nostalgic charm, but mythologizing his death in a 1988 issue of Infinity Inc, rather than undoing it, was arguably the strongest way to galvanize his legacy, and build something new from it. As part of Stargirl's backstory, it immediately creates a natural link with Solomon Grundy, enhancing both characters, and the fabric of the DCU.

We haven't even addressed the fact that this is also a banner event tie-in for Joker: Last Laugh! The contextual links go backwards and forwards, people!

To some degree Last Laugh is an unnecessary imposition, but the story uses the high concept of Joker infecting villains to simply add colour to the issue. It gives Solomon Grundy an excuse to be a little bit creepier and weird than usual. His full page entrance, laughing on top of the Statue of Liberty's decapitated head, is almost worth the tie-in all on its own!

The event and its flair also place the issue in time, which can be nice. It breaks up the monotony, and infuses the sudden appearance of the antagonist with a bit more meaning. The imposition of the event really helps sell the story, which comes at a time when much of the Justice Society has been take captive by Roulette, and forced to compete in an underground fight club.

Again I would stress that all of this extra information merely serves to enhance the issue. You should be able to quite happily read JSA #29 without being particularly concerned with any of it. You'll pick up the sense that there's more to the story than what's happening presently, but it isn't overly important, or distracting. This is a wonderful Halloween issue unto itself.

If you'd like to get a good look at the entire issue yourself, but aren't able to find the single issue, you can find it collected in JSA Vol. 3: The Power of Legacy or JSA Omnibus Vol. 2.

Use the Amazon links provided for any of your shopping and the online retailer will support the legacy of the site at no extra cost to you! You can also take a more direct route with Patreon, where patrons can get involved with additional updates, special article requests, and voting polls.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles with more on the way! You can discover more by following links throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured smackdown in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Get extra updates and daily links to featured fights inspired by the topics of the day by following on Twitter and Facebook. Make sure to hit like & share!

Winners: Thunderbolt, Jakeem Thunder & Stargirl
#97 (+101) Thunderbolt [+1 kill]
#95 (+47) Stargirl
#339 (new) Jakeem Thunder
#146 (-4) Solomon Grundy

QUICKFIX: LEI WULONG vs BRYAN FURY
What's This Life For? (Image/Namco)
Where: Tekken Forever #1 When: December 2001
Why: Dave Chi How: Paco Diaz

The Tape...
Strength: Bryan Fury 5 (Superhuman)
Intelligence: Lei Wulong 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Lei Wulong 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Bryan Fury 6 (Generator)
Agility: Lei Wulong 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Lei Wulong 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Bryan Fury 2 (Projectile)

Math: Lei Wulong Ranking: Draw (NR)

The Fix...
In the couple of years we've had with the Infinite Wars, we've learnt there's an inevitable sentimental throughline that creeps into each year. Previously it was the underlying ranking support given to Daredevil (2006) and Black Adam (2007) that defined our years, but with the release of four 'now generation' sequels from major fighting game brands; 2008 has been the year of the beat 'em up.

Namco's share of the market has been two-fold, boasting new additions to both the Soul series, and more importantly for us, the sixth core sequel to Tekken!
Yet to make it's way home to the Playstation 3; Tekken 6 has been part of what might be described as a mini arcade revival, expanding this week [September 18] to include a brand new iteration dubbed, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion.

Like the PSP/Arcade expansion for the last game, ("Dark Resurrection"), Bloodline Rebellion boasts a host of updates, including; two new playable characters, expansions to the customization system, and new fighting arenas. As would be expected, it also contains everything Tekken 6 does, including newly introduced projectile attacks - a first for the Tekken series!

As with Tekken 6; Tekken Forever centres it's twenty-two pages on the struggle of wills between Kazuya Mishima and his estranged son, Jin Kazama. In that respect, it might seem unusual that we would first shine our quick fix spotlight on the dangling subplot of Bryan Fury's superhuman rampage, but stay with me!

For those who came in late: Tekken Forever was the product of ill-fated licensing by now defunct publishing studio, Dark Design Works.

Despite grand plans revealed on their website - DDW's attempts to reveal the truth behind mysteriouso Tag Tournament boss, Unknown, along with expansions to other game plots, failed to reach beyond the introductory content of the first abrupt issue of Forever. This failure to release subsequent issues and spin-off mini series, (King of Iron Fist and Tekken Infinity), was the subject of curiosity in our last entry on the issue [February 05].

I chose this particular fight because it allowed us to stick to our conventional format, while also highlighting several relevant points. The scene, built around Interpol maneuvers against Kazuya Mishima's forces in Egypt, contains examples of the typical best and worst of what DDW had planned for the Tekken franchise.
It also features Lei Wulong in combat with stalwart cyborg, Bryan Fury, whose nigh indestructable form gives him the edge to overcome Interpol's armed forces, including an M-16 packing Wulong himself.

In follow-up to Knightstone Comics' dismal Tekken 2-inspired efforts; DDW undoubtedly lined up a far more impressive visual take on the gaming icons, putting forward solid, contemporary comic artwork with an attention to the designs of then-looming Tekken 4. Alas; visual competence could not accomodate a mediocre script that, by admission of the creators, struggled to connect the dots of available information in the games. Making cheesy dialogue the more difficult to read, lettering that defies industry standards, let alone any moderately experienced Photoshop user.

On the subject of the newest game, the comic prophetically makes a comment on the decision to include projectile attacks into the standard fighting platform of the game. Wulong's gun-toting advances, proving insufficient, are quickly replaced on the advice of his antagonist with martial arts prowess -- something that's always been a unique backbone to the series, in contrast to previous icons of the genre, like; Street Fighter, King of Fighters, and Mortal Kombat.

Like most of the major franchises hitting shelves in 2008; it seems Tekken has failed distill it's sequel with the necessary balance of progress and consistency, continuing a stylistic vein introduced in Tekken 5, that has now removed the series from much of it's asthetic and core focus.

Projectile attacks, some of which quite pleasantly play to established character beats, are but an incidental accompaniment to larger concepts. In painting an apocalyptic vision of the blood war between inheritors of the Devil-gene - Kazuya Mishima and his son, Jin Kazama - the series has opened up to an asthetic reminiscent of the Mortal Kombat series. T5, in truth, bore many subtlties common to their American counterpart in music, stage design, and some characters - like the newly introduced Chinese kung fu antagonist, Feng Wei; whose design and concept echoed the inspirations of vintage MK.

I wanted to talk about details like these in more detail, but, in researching the fate of DDW, I found myself compelled only to touch on the necessary details that would entail in an honest, respectable review and discussion.

This issue and series is dedicated in loving memory to Linda B and all those whose flame of life was extinguished by acts of terrorism.

The issue bares a publishing date of December 2001.
Linda B, as far as I know, was Linda Baker, a moderator on the message boards excitedly patrolled by DDW staff. In pursuing what became of these comics, the epigraph took on unfortunately obvious post-9/11 meaning.

Sadly, and maybe disturbingly, information on Dark Design Works is exceptionally scarce. Usually a Google search will touch on something vaguely related, but if it's there, it isn't turning up for my searches. Perhaps, despite the group's online presence at the time, it's a symptom of the revolutions of short attention spans that have dictated the modern face of the internet. 2001 was quite a while before Wikipedia, after all. Maybe someone with the facts will create a page later, because finding people who were there to know is like pulling teeth.

Comics, with their spirit in New York City, was irrevocably touched by the impact of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre. I don't doubt that there were many in the industry greatly affected, but for me, this is the first time I've come close to encountering any direct link to this horrific event.

As a fan and critic I probably have more things negative, than positive, to say about this comic. I imagine direct market sales were unimpressive, as would be the general reception of the issue by the few even aware of it. That really doesn't seem to matter, however, in the context of this particular review.

Lei battles valiantly, but is overpowered by Bryan Fury's cyber-organic strength.
Yoshimitsu, another popular cyborg character from both the Tekken and Soul Calibur series, comes to the Hong Kong hero's aid, with no conclusion.

I'm sure I would have liked to have known how the story ends.
If, as I'm led to believe by word-of-mouth, that DDW, or at least one or more of it's representatives, were located in the Twin Towers, I'm pretty sure it shouldn't have ended like this. This is the footnote that makes this issue more than a licensing oddity in a collection of martial arts video game tie-ins. This is what makes Tekken Forever #1 a very important milestone, I'm sure, to the people who made it, and a piece of comic book history.

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 4
Winner: Draw

Tekken Forever boasts a considerable amount of martial arts action, moreso than many of it's genre licensed counterparts. We will almost certainly take another less dramatic look at the content of the issue at a later date! If you have more information about DDW, why not contribute it to a Wikipedia page, and inform us in the comments. Cheers!

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Enter The Tekken!
JIN KAZAMA versus GANRYU/BRUCE IRVIN
What's This Life For? (Image/Namco)
Where: Tekken Forever #1 When: December 2001
Why: Dave Chi How: Paco Diaz

Quick Fix...
Y'know, you've probably seen me whinging about a lack of energy, and I have to say that maintaining the action you've come to expect from the Infinite Wars has been rough. The passion that comics is known to inspire can't always work, but lucky for me, there's a feisty mistress waiting in the wings to soothe the mental ache.

Though tragically out of touch with today's market, it's no secret that I've got ties to the gaming crowd. I'm as stuck in the early nineties as anyone else, regularly featuring some of my favourite characters from both the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat franchises right here on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. Some of you probably find that a little frustrating, but you know what, the gaming crowd is doing a pretty good job of bringing the hits and links, so... You'll have to work harder for my attentions!

As a distant outsider, I observe today's home console market as a wasteland of uncertainty. The certainty of Sony's dominance is a thing of the past as the Playstation 3 lurches out of the gates with an uninspiring catalogue, and heavily promoted features like Sony's Blu-Ray DVD format, which to me, is little more than an inconsequential inconvenience allotted to product pricing.

That said, as uncertain as gaming prospects may be, PS3 is finally on the verge of touting one of the old favourites that helped make the PSX and PS2 household names around the planet. There'll always be SF and MK, but when they each found themselves swallowed by a new generation of gaming - Tekken was there!

I was a little late to the Tekken parade. Truth be told, while the first two releases for the PSX regularly featured near perfect magazine reviews and list topping status as a beat 'em up, I was something of the curmudgeon. Blocky polygons and slow paced gaming left me a little cold in a time where so-called "3D" gaming couldn't quite rival the refined and speedy gaming of the classics.
That said, by Tekken 3, which opened the franchise out to a whole new range of vibrant colours and improved designs, I was hooked!

With Street Fighter III squandering Capcom's goodwill with a hard reboot to it's cast, which replaced the classic martial artists formula with a collection of garrish freaks, and uninspiring character designs; Tekken became it's successor. Ironic, given that Tekken 3 also made harsh changes to it's established roster, introducing a generation of characters now iconic to the series.

Tekken Forever, the ill-fated US franchising, looked to capitalize on hype surrounding the release of Tekken 4: the first canonical release on the PS2!
With specifics scarce, the comic looked to build directly off the conclusion of T3, while utilizing improved character designs revealed in promotion for T4, which had already hit arcades by the comic's release.

I distinctly remember an entire line of Tekken comics planned by the now defunct Dark Design Works/TidalWave Studios. Much like UDON today, they launched a website dedicated to their line, and in hindsight I kinda wish I'd kept up with their message board a little better, because by the time I knew there was not going to be a second issue, they were long gone.

As already mentioned, the story appears to place itself at the conclusion of Tekken 3, layering additions made in the Tekken Tag Tournament game such as the mysterious goop covered boss, Unknown, widely speculated to be a relation of Jin Kazama. Even though it was only six years ago, I think you actually have to give the DDW guys some credit.
At this point there had been little to nothing resembling a promising beat 'em up comic adaptation [from the US], and this at least had the visual cues to raise comparable excitement to UDON's work on SF. Though the inclusion of Unknown may be tenuous in hindsight, the fate of the character was not yet known, with folks behind the book boasting their efforts to canonize the character's fate.

Things obviously didn't work out so well.

The issue boldly opens after the action has already happened. Standing triumphant over the majority of the cast is Kazuya Mishima, the anti-hero from the first two games, and estranged father of Tekken 3's protagonist, Jin Kazama.

Jin cradles the lifeless body of Unknown, with internal dialogue providing ham-fisted acknowledgment of her mystery, and Jin's desire to uncover her veiled past. Not that any of that is important in this, the first issue of what was intended to be a four issue mini-series.

Rather than fight his son himself, Kazuya sets his thugs on him instead. Those blessed with feature roles in the only American Tekken comic to date are Ganryu and Bruce Irvin; Sumo and suited Thai kickboxer-lite, respectively.

Kazama makes quick work on Ganryu, delivering a swift kick to the jaw, whilst dodging a diving knee from Irvin, which sets him up for a clean backhander that knocks the kickboxer down! When Irvin expresses jive-talking dismay, Kazuya casually gives him permission to kill his son, showing about as much interest in the fight as a good many readers.

A less than impressive knee puts an end to Ganryu, leaving Bruce Irvin to once again charge head-long into an attack that's easily ducked in a move reminiscent of the game. Jin turns the tables, denouncing any similarities between he and his father, as he mercilessly introduces Irvin's skull to the Aztec temple where they fight [a callback to the final stage of Tekken 3!].

It might shock you to know: this is not a good comic.
I openly admit that I'm pretty fair game for any half decent story starring my favourite fighting characters. This issue was actually given to me as an incredibly thoughtful gift, and it's for that, and just the fact that it's a Tekken comic, that I'm really glad to own it!... It just isn't good...

In reviewing UDON's output of Street Fighter comics, we've noted issues with writing that fails to hold up against the industry's best. Tekken Forever, not surprisingly, suffers in the same department, taking it to far more intrusive places than Ken Siu-Chong's vague, meandering story that services an otherwise fair representation of the licensed properties.

A poorly constructed first issue isn't helped by the fact that nothing followed.
An introduction that starts anywhere but the beginning probably would've had some sort of resonance given due course, but instead, it's the front side of an island girt by cliff faces. As much as Chi and Diaz respect the characters, Chi's characterization reads sophmoric, harmed further by some of the worst lettering I've ever seen. I don't want to turn this into a witch hunt, but I can't help but wonder if letterer, Roberto Miranda, wasn't just helping out a friend.
Font-sizes vary as letters are contorted in a variety of ways to accomodate sloppy word balloons placed unnecessarily cramped on the page.

I think it would've been nice to have seen where this went, even if only for the four issues of Tekken Forever. I don't doubt that this would've been a distraction from what could potentially make Tekken a great comic book franchise, and I can't help but wonder how less than qualified companies continue to obtain licensing to major video game properties. I can't help but think of the recent ill-fated Mortal Kombat series, which didn't even make it this far, from Atomeka.

The Atomeka project at least had the good sense to involve itself with current MK story director, John Vogel, who has had mixed successes with a new era of Mortal Kombat. In some curious synergy, the MK book was set to feature pencils by Walter McDaniel, who worked on issues of Deadpool, much the same as Tekken Forever penciller, Paco Diaz!

How ill-equipped folks continue to get involved in projects such as these is a two-pronged question.

One wonder how untried talent acquire such major licenses, but likewise, one also wonders what corporations like Namco are doing signing off on this stuff!
It's an enigma wrapped in a mystery, friends, but for a fan and writer such as myself, it always leaves that window of hope open, because, yes. I think I can balance the roll of fan and writer better than these folks, but then, maybe that's how all this starts, and lord knows I can't nail down reliable pencillers...

As Tekken rolls onto the newest generation of consoles, and into it's sixth central iteration, yet another question must be pondered upon. Who next shall tackle the task of the Tekken comic book, and will they be worthy?...

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 4
Winner: Jin Kazama

Tekken 6 is already in arcades in Asia, and no doubt as that excitement carries over to the West and onto home consoles, we'll be talking more about Tekken! As disappointing as "Tekken Forever" manages to be, it packs plenty of action, which means stats!

---

RYU versus ROSE
Round. 5 (UDON/Capcom/Shinseisha)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha Vol.1 When: 2007
Why: Masahiko Nakahira How: Masahiko Nakahira

Quick Fix...
You might have noticed a qualifier in the above portion of this article, that singled out the US market as failing to produce a beat 'em up adaptation of respectable worth.
Well, it's a book like this that engenders such a qualifier, because across the big pond there's a place not only inventing these characters, but also putting creative powers to work on servicing them in print form.

It was actually in February 1996 that the now bankrupt Shinseisha published Masahiko Nakahira's work on Street Fighter Zero [as it is known in Japan]. Even though I generally don't like featuring reprints on the site, I feel it would be misleading to report on the long forgotten original, when it's quite clearly UDON's translations that make this review possible [credits to: Mai Kusuyama, Jim Zubkavich & Terri Delgado for their work on translating the story to English].

This actually marks a milestone for the Infinite Wars as the first black and white comic featured, but contrary to what you might be thinking, it's not the first manga. Street Fighter fans will remember another series recently translated by UDON, but also released in full colour in the US, aptly called, Street Fighter II!

Masaomi Kanzaki's work [printed by Tokuma Shoten] differs from Nakahira's in that it differs more substantially from the source material. Nakahira, though clearly walking his own path, weaves well recognised plot points, characters, and characteristics taken from the game, including the winding impact of Street Fighter protaginst, Ryu's, encounter with the Muay Thai legend, Sagat.

1UP.com blogger, Noe Valladolid, recently featured the conclusion of that legendary feud, as detailed in Street Fighter III: Ryu Final. That series, chronologically falling after Alpha, though not necessarily directly related, is currently being released by UDON in English.

While Ryu Final details the as-yet conclusion of Ryu's career as a world warrior, Alpha is positioned closer to the beginning. Granted, flashbacks reveal the true beginning, as Ryu trains under the Master Gouken, along with a young Ken Masters; but the saga of Ryu arguably begins the moment he scars Sagat with the Shoryuken, a never seen, but iconic and unforgettable moment that defines the transition from the first Street Fighter game, to the better known SFII.

Distanced from what we imagine of the games, but built around a conceit of telling a story that blends the cast of the Alpha games with the SF universe; Street Fighter Alpha Volume. 1 opens on a barge ferrying drugs. Manned by Ryu and Birdie; it is an unlikely eventuality for the heroic series protagonist, but easily explained by the despondence that has gripped Ryu in the wake of his battle with Sagat, where he unleashed the power of the Shoryuken.

Nakahira places unlikely weight on the common in-game attack; revealing the dragon punch's origins as a manifestation of the killing intent associated with the mysterious martial art practiced by the series' stars. It's this regret that launches the story into the tale of Ryu's battle with the seduction of the Dark Hadou; a story Infinite Wars readers will remember as the central premise of the animated feature of the same name [Street Fighter Alpha].

We join Ryu having already experienced the maddening power of the dark hadou, as he travels with Chun-Li through the sewers to an underground fighting tournament. Ryu has agreed to join Interpol as bait in their investigation into the international crime-syndicate, Shadaloo, who have begun scouting fighters.

Ryu's own problems seem likely to interfere as his destined confrontation with the dark hadou arouses the interests of the mysterious fortune teller, Rose.
Having already sent a message through a mysterious tarot card, Rose appears to Ryu in the sewers when he falls from the path into the torrent of muck.

Rose tells Ryu of his future, and challenges him to rise to it. She is equally unimpressed by Ryu's brutish reception, as he is by her unexpected visit.
Uncertain about his surroundings, Ryu reacts with violence, firing off a hadouken directed at the fortune teller, rather than any of her astral decoys.

Much to Ryu's shock, the beautiful Rose not only defends against his ki attack, but deflects it back at him with devestating results! The fireball sends Ryu hurtling into the flowing gulf of the sewer water. It is an act of power that speaks clearly to the wandering warrior, and frees him of his prejudices enough to hear the fortune Rose has to tell.

She foretells a meeting of two men in red, who are like fire. Though Ryu does not yet know it, she speaks of the two men who will define him during his struggle with identity, and the presence of the killing intent in the dark hadou.

One of these men is Ryu's greatest ally, Ken Masters, while the other is the darkness that Rose opposes, and is destined to be one of Ryu's greatest challenges: M. Bison, master of Shadaloo!

Needless to say, I'm a big fan of this series, and along with a whole lot of other business, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of Masahiko Nakahira's influence in Infinite Wars to come.

While I could never bring myself to fully acknowledge this work as the perfect canon for the Street Fighter universe, it is undeniably a fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable account of the SFA period. In pondering how that measures up against UDON's efforts, I find myself with mixed feelings on the matter.

UDON's successes have come visually, providing a dynamic presence not often seen in the quantity-driven market of manga. With substantially fewer pages (per issue), Ken Siu-Chong and Alvin Lee service the franchise with visual precision, and character beats that are familiar and expected. That said, they do so without any definitive spine to their story, something SFA has in spades.
In a perfect world, I'd probably attempt to combine the two, because while it ventures in and out of established canon, UDON's series never quite deviates as specifically as Nakahira.

Then again, in isolation, looking at Nakahira's story through to Ryu Final, we really get a strong sense of what the Street Fighter series could have been.
Taking the series protagonist as the central throughline, Nakahira's work shows Ryu's formative years, adolescent struggles with his growing power, and eventually concludes with the graduation of Ryu to ultimate power.

It's suggested, during battle with Akuma, that Ryu even manages to supercede death in a conclusion that only draws further parallels between the practitioners of the hadou-ki, and Star Wars' Jedi Knights. While I can't necessarily subscribe to the specifics of that story, I tend to agree with notions proposed by Noe Valladolid, of a Ryu that becomes the new Street Fighter final boss.

It's a concept that works both in and outside of the canon, allowing the weight of a twenty-year legacy to justify with greater meaning the ascension to boss-hood. To the story of Street Fighter, it means a rare look at the rise of a boss character, something rarely seen in a beat 'em up franchise to that degree. A ground breaking honor that seems worth of Street Fighter, which arguably started it all.

The Fight: 3 The Issue: 6.5
Winner: Rose

UDON have translated the complete Street Fighter Alpha over two massive 200 page volumes of black and white English art! Artwork remains preserved in the Japanese format, which means to be really authentic, you should try re-reading this review from finish-to-start.
You can expect more Street Fighter Alpha in the future, but in the mean time, I'll probably try to get back to some of those American superheroes, eh? TRY...