GREEN LANTERN versus SUPERMAN

The Enemies Among Us (DC)
Where: Superman/Batman #30 When: November 2006 Why: Mark Verheiden How: Ethan Van Sciver

The Story So Far...
An unknown force has unleashed a torrent of troubles upon Superman & Batman as they find themselves attacked by forgotten threats from the past -- and even their own allies!

After a strange turn by Martian Manhunter, the World's Finest duo have endured an assault from the Green Lantern and The Creature That Cannot Die, but even as Hal Jordan returns to his senses, they are instantly set upon by yet another friend when Kilowog arrives wielding not only his power ring, but also John Stewart's!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Superman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach-Speed)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Superman 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Kilowog 4 (Trained)
Energy: Kilowog 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Superman 33 (Super)

We're back on the beat to find out how Green Lantern fares in a fight against Superman. A hero-on-hero match-up inspired by Howard Stern and his interview with DC Studios CEO & Co-Chairman, James Gunn, which captured the imagination of fans around the world -- and sparked rampant debates about who would win!

We've already seen that a Green Lantern can give Superman something to think about, but when Hal Jordan was turned against his teammate in the previous issue, he managed to shake the corrupting influence on his mind and ring before things went too far, ending the conflict peacefully.

Of course, there's more than one Green Lantern in the intergalactic GL Corps, and when that fight wrapped up -- Kilowog showed up to pick another one!

Kilowog is a designated Green Lantern of Sector 674, but you also might remember him from his time as a member of the Justice League. He settled on Earth after the destruction of his home world, Bolovax Vik - and the apparent murder of his entire race, when a new planet was destroyed by Sinestro.

In addition to his power ring, Kilowog is naturally incredibly strong and durable, with extensive combat training and practise in hand-to-hand fighting. He's a keen military strategist, with extensive knowledge in tactical strategies, genetics, and mechanical engineering. An all-rounder who helps train new Green Lanterns as Corps drill sergeant -- and should be an interesting test for Superman!

Although The Man of Steel is renowned for his Kryptonian might, he's no stranger to facing a physical adversary who can match him. He's tasted defeat at the hands of Orion, Lobo, and even Marvel's Venom, in addition to struggles with Blockbuster and Equus. Interesting studies, but an incomplete picture for today's match-up.

Our closest comparisons are Guy Gardner going a few rounds with Eradicator before they reached a mutual ceasefire, and more compellingly: the brutal defeat of Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner by General Zod and his family.

The planet Jekuul has two yellow suns, which may've boosted Zod's powers, but in today's fight -- it's Kilowog who's packing double the arsenal, having already stolen John Stewart's ring and added it to his own!

Will double the jewelry equal double the power for the physically imposing alien Green Lantern? Or could Superman do as he did with Hal Jordan and hold out long enough for the corrupting influence to leave Kilowog?

They fought on the same side when the Sinestro Corps brought Warworld and Anti-Monitor to Earth. Let's find out what happened when they fight each other!

The Tape: Superman Ranking: Superman (#3)

What Went Down...

Batman pushes himself off the dirt, still reeling from the sudden impact of a massive green energy blast that scattered he, Hal Jordan, and Superman across the desert.

The Bat tries to warn Superman of the threat coming from behind -- but it's already upon him! The alien Green Lantern, Kilowog, standing sneering with Superman's head firmly beneath his boot.

Possessed by the call of an unknown influence -- Kilowog unleashes the energy of two Green Lantern's rings upon a Superman who is apparently deaf to the message!

The blast of green energy - and mystery of the possessing call - keeps Superman rattled enough for Kilowog to punt him across the open desert!

Batman can only watch as Kilowog pursues the fight away from he and Hal Jordan -- a human Green Lantern who, until mere moments earlier, had also come under the spell of the mysterious mind-altering message, and turned against his friends.

Kilowog is swiftly upon The Man of Steel, who crash landed into a fringe area of a government alien-holding facility. The hulking Green Lantern looms over Superman, who sits stunned amongst twisted metal and a leaking pipe.

Kilowog grips Superman's head in his large fingertips and compels him to look within -- to the deeper subconscious of his inner psyche.

The mind games warp Superman's perception of himself -- so much so that when he gazes upon his own reflection in the pooling leak from the nearby pipe -- he doesn't see the usual chiseled features of himself. Instead, the strange piercing glare of a sinewy pink, fanged alien looks back -- a different version of himself!

Kilowog keeps pressing. Urging the Last Son of Krypton to "remember" his arrival on Earth. His "true" face when his rocket landed and the Kents discovered him a crying infant. The 'alien nature that's been inside him all along'.

As Batman catches up with the pair -- the damage is already done. Superman has been twisted by the same mysterious force warping friends into enemies. Believing himself to be an alien source of revulsion -- Superman turns on Batman!

"I'm tired of the way you look at me, like I don't belong. Sick of the fear in your eyes."

Superman's eyes glow a furious red -- charged with barely contained heat vision as he lifts Batman off the ground by his throat.

"Look at the way you attacked the Martian Manhunter. All the times he's risked his life for the people of this planet... but even now when you see him, you want to look away."

Kilowog stokes the fire of the Kryptonian's alienation, but the manipulation is balanced by Batman's choked reminder of a creed of 'strength tempered by truth and justice'.

The Man of Steel breaks his hold and tosses his friend aside with a hurried moment of renewed clarity: "Batman, get away. Now."

Kilowog expresses disappointment at Superman's supposed weakness -- his failure to accept superiority over humans. He charges the power of his two Green Lantern rings and prepares to do what the Kryptonian will not, but before he can kill The Batman -- Superman grabs him by the wrist and heads for the outer atmosphere!

While Superman grapples with Kilowog's ring arm amongst the stars -- Batman reconvenes with the human Lantern, Hal Jordan, to assess their situation from the planet below.

GL knows a tour through the Milky Way won't slow Kilowog down, but Batman looks to the sky with fear that the alien Green Lantern may not be the real threat.

Meanwhile, Superman continues to duke it out with Kilowog as they drift further away from the planet Earth.

The combatants tumble through space with rippling green energy dancing around them. The Man of Steel delivers a rising uppercut with his left fist! A stiff left cross keeps Kilowog reeling as they career towards the Earth's Moon!

Rocks and dust kick up in the low-gravity atmosphere as they smash into the Moon's crust. Green Lantern energy swirls around them while Kilowog rallies and throws his fists into a tangle of limbs.

Despite his mind being compelled by invisible hands -- Kilowog shows tremendous clarity about Superman's intention to keep their fighting fury from harming the innocent denizens of Earth. A dedication to protection that the Green Lantern's twisted mind now considers a terrible waste.

With his body encased in energy -- Kilowog delivers a left haymaker!

The blow sends Superman uncontrollably flying back across the Moonscape!

When the Green Lantern finally catches up with his opponent, he finds Superman on his knees in the dust of the lonely celestial satellite. He grants one final chance to heed the call of the "glorious" distant message that unites against humanity -- a message that drove Hal Jordan to kill Superman should he refuse.

Away from the "babble" of humanity - Superman does not refuse. Batman's fears are realised. Red heat vision streams from Superman's eyes as he turns with arched eyebrows and a tense jaw, rejecting his adopted humanity: "... from this moment forward, Earth belongs to anyone with the strength to TAKE IT."

The Hammer...

We're investigating the much-discussed match-up of Green Lantern versus Superman, but just like the battle in the previous chapter -- we come away without any concrete results.

Superman may have ended the fight on his knees, but neither Kilowog nor he did anything decisive enough to reach any convincing conclusions.

Instead, our featured fight played out as a battle of wills, with Superman succumbing to the same mind-altering alien influence that enthralls his opponent. This becomes another entry into the "Evil Superman" file -- even if a major component of our fight remains Superman's intent to protect others by taking the battle elsewhere. Always a welcome character-driven nuance.

As noted in The Tape section: These spotlights are inspired by discussions with DC Studios CEO & Co-Chairman, James Gunn, who ignited extensive debate and speculation across fandom after discussing the Green Lantern's powers relative to Superman's, during appearances on radio and podcasts.

Most fan talk has been focused on human GLs like Hal Jordan -- but we all know there's a lot more to The Corps than Sector 2814! I couldn't resist following up our previous entry with this widely overlooked battle featuring alien GL - Kilowog!

The burly Bolovaxian has been one of the neglected heroes here on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, despite being remembered fondly for his significance in the post-Crisis period of late eighties/early nineties DC Comics.

It was during that time that Kilowog crossed paths with Despero, helping the Justice League stop his violent rampage with an improvised device that switched the tyrant's mind with L-Ron -- trapping Despero in the robot's body.

If that episode wasn't galling enough for the villain -- he later found himself imprisoned on Oa by the Green Lanterns, having failed in another attempt at revenge against the League. Which ultimately brings him back to Earth in The Enemies Among Us, attempting to enact a new scheme against the Justice League, Green Lanterns, and Earth as a whole!

This time Despero is assisted by self-righteous, planet-conquering aliens he deceived into believing humans are morally unworthy of existence. They attempt to eradicate the species by turning Earth's powerful extra-terrestrial populus against humanity, allowing Despero to remain hidden throughout the earlier chapters, as the likes of Kilowog and Zook do the fighting against Superman, Batman, and another GL - John Stewart.

I've been enjoying revisiting issues of Superman/Batman with fresh eyes, but this story speaks to the series' inconsistency, particularly into the second year.

Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness launched the tandem title in 2003 with bombastic appeal and significance to mainline publishing, but after a Michael Turner-drawn origin story for a new post-Crisis Supergirl, the second year establishes a looser Silver Age approach that becomes even more potent in The Enemies Among Us.

The Mark Verheiden arc, splitting pencil duties between multiple artists, rests heavily on forgotten period references for the first few issues, and aside from some residual paranoia from the post-Identity Crisis years, it all feels a little too vague for its own good. A needless mystery that probably would've played out a lot better if it cut to the chase in about half as many issues.

Lost in this soup of mystery, action, and guest characters is the fleeting concept of a Superman whose origin is twisted into a very different alien story.

It's the kind of kooky boilerplate concept that feels right out of a classic issue of World's Finest, and while that might not seem like the most exciting plot, it has a good visual hook with the alien Superman (seen in his reflection), and might've been a useful way to sharpen the focus of the issue.

The horror of the 'alien Superman' was apparently strong enough to make the cover, where we can see Pa & Ma Kent horrified by the child they've discovered in its space pod, but the whole thing really only plays out over two pages. Granted, it's at least fun seeing Superman battle Green Lanterns in the guest parade, rather than a simpler issue built on a confused Man of Steel up against Batman.

The two title characters turning on each other, or their friends, is a consistently recurring trope throughout the Superman/Batman series. We saw the rivalry play out when Kryptonite Man possessed Batman, in the very appropriate meta Who Would Win? issue, and it will indeed happen again during the climax of The Enemies Among Us. A conflict for another day.

If you'd like to see more entries from Superman/Batman on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths be sure to drop a comment and consider getting involved on Patreon.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has been serving superhero smackdown for well over 750 fights and ranked more than 1000 of your favourite characters! If that sounds like a good thing to you -- I'd really appreciate it if you considered supporting the project. It's free to follow on Patreon, and a Tier 1 sub is a great, cheap way to support 100% man-made, farm fresh, fightin' niche content.

Explore more of your favourite characters and topics by following links throughout each article. You can also find a complete index in order of publisher, series, and issue number in the Secret Archive. A great way to increase your Intelligence stat!

You can also get daily recommendations inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share to help boost the signal -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber. In brightest day, in blackest night, no Patreon subscriber shall escape my sight!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#3 (--) Superman [+1 draw]
#179 (+7) Green Lantern (Kilowog) [+1 draw]
#1 (--) Batman [+1 assist]

GREEN LANTERN versus SUPERMAN & BATMAN

The Enemies Among Us (DC)
Where: Superman/Batman #29 When: October 2006
Why: Mark Verheiden How: Ethan Van Sciver

The Story So Far...
The past is coming back to haunt Batman and Superman! An unprovoked attack from Martian Manhunter precedes deadly affronts from Titano, Parasite, and Doctor Phosphorus -- all old adversaries who are dead or long since dealt with!

A tense meeting with Martian Manhunter confirms Batman's suspicions that he may be dealing with a shape-shifter, but when Green Lantern lends Superman a hand to deal with a returning Caveman from Krypton -- it quickly becomes apparent that Hal Jordan himself has turned against them!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Superman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach-Speed)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Superman 33 (Super)

When DC Studios CEO & Co-Chairman, James Gunn, was a guest of The Howard Stern Show a few months ago -- he inadvertently ignited a debate amongst fans over who would win in a fight between Green Lantern and Superman.

Traditionally the pair of DC heroes are charter members of the Justice League, but there have been a handful of notable battles between them. All of this despite the fact that Superman himself was once considered a potential candidate to receive the ring and join the Green Lantern Corps as guardian of Sector 2814!

This one generally boils down to whether or not the super-human strength and physical feats of The Man of Steel can match the indomitable willpower of energy constructs made by a Green Lantern.

A Green Lantern has to be able to respond to dangerous inter-galactic phenomena while policing a vast array of powerful alien species. That means light constructs need to be pretty tough. Case in point: Hal Jordan was able to smack the Hulk around when the Marvel hero was accidentally displaced in time & reality.

We haven't studied today's particular featured match-up, but we do have some good cases of similar conflicts.

Guy Gardner went to war with Eradicator during the period when Superman was thought dead, and replaced by an engineered doppelganger. Guy wielded a yellow Qwardian ring at this time, similar to GL's, using all the basic tactics of a Lantern to match the Superman facsimile until a mutually agreed upon ceasefire.

Conversely, things went awry when Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner were deployed to the planet Jekuul, discovering Eradicator, General Zod, and his family living with all the benefits of Kryptonian physiology under a yellow sun. This powered Zod and his family up to Superman levels -- allowing them to shatter light constructs, and strategically disarm the Lanterns with extreme prejudice.

I say a Green Lantern should be able to handle himself and lock down a super-powered threat, but we've seen that it can go both ways. With Batman in tow, Superman has a sharp tactical mind at his disposal, but they're up against a seasoned pro in Hal Jordan, and as we'll find out -- he isn't acting alone!

The Tape: Superman & Batman Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...

Batman scolds Superman for arriving to his own rendezvous late as The Man of Steel touches down behind the hangar of a quiet alien containment facility.

The reaction draws confusion from Superman, who didn't ask Green Lantern to arrange any meeting with The Dark Knight. In fact, they didn't discuss Batman at all when the Lantern helped detain the notorious Caveman from Krypton -- one of several alien threats from the past coming back to haunt them.

Batman's suspicion is immediately aroused, but he can barely finish the thought as the ground begins to rumble and bulge a path from the hangar towards them!

A massive ball of green energy explodes from the ground beneath their feet!

Batman manages to jump clear of the blast moments before it happens -- while Superman stands firm to absorb the brunt of the attack!

Suddenly Superman finds himself under fire as green lasers begin piercing the air and shooting at him!

Batman darts behind the quizzical and besieged Man of Steel -- heading for the shadows of another nearby building. Green lasers dance around The Dark Knight, cutting through the hangar as he appeals to his old ally to talk to him.

Instead, Batman is thrown back as the ceiling caves in under the awesome size and weight of Green Lantern's old one-time foe -- The Creature That Could Not Die!

Meanwhile, Superman finds himself in the turncoat Lantern's sights as he notes the pugilistic heft of Jordan's weapon from a position on one knee!

"Power rings always did... pack a heck of a punch."

The Green Lantern blasts through the hangar doors of his hiding place and flies a beeline towards his target!

Surrounded by a protective shield of energy and five giant glowing arms -- he takes the fight straight to Superman!

Superman is swept off his feet as the Lantern's extended fist guides him like a human missile -- and a barrage of green fists pummel and batter the Kryptonian!

The struggle sends them skipping out into the empty desert -- bouncing off the dirt as Superman exerts himself against his erstwhile teammate, and attempts to bring their flight to a halt. He wants to know why he's attacking them.

Hal points his ring to the night sky as its energy begins to ripple and extend.

Back at the base: Batman does his best to stay clear of massive pink limbs whipping towards him. They shatter the floor as he jumps clear!

Superman and Green Lantern blast back to the base -- concerned that Batman might be in trouble. They crash through the building, finding Batman standing safely beside the unconscious behemoth of The Creature.

It seems the cloud of influence over Hal Jordan has passed, but The Batman rushes him -- grabbing GL's ring hand with his left, and the front of the Lantern's uniform with his right.

Jordan remains passive in Batman's grip, mounting no defense as he removes his power ring and reveals the belief that the entire episode wasn't just a corruption of the man -- but also the Green Lantern power ring!

The Hammer...

We came here to find out who wins when Green Lantern fights Superman, but it looks like we've gotten ourselves tangled up in a far more complicated situation! Before we get into all of that, let's take a moment to outline what brought us to this scenario in the first place:

DC Studios CEO & Co-Chairman James Gunn made headlines weighing-in on Green Lantern vs Superman, but it was actually radio shock-jock and noted comic book fan, Howard Stern, who initiated it, while the pair discussed the upcoming live-action Lanterns series during the September 10th edition of Stern's show. Stern mused: "You know, no one's ever done a great job with Green Lantern. I was a Green Lantern fan, and I don't think-- Y'know, he's got pretty cool super-powers. He could pretty-- I think he could beat up Superman, in a weird way. Don't you think?"

Gunn responded, "Absolutely, absolutely. I think he's pretty-- he's pretty powerful. I think that a good strong match between Superman and uh, Lantern, uh -- any of the Lanterns -- would be great." A sentiment he repeated the next day while answering fan questions during the Peacemaker Official Podcast, "I definitely don't think Superman would beat against, beat Green Lantern."

Social media and fan communities lit up with their own speculation and takes on the match-up, but as you know, in these parts we prefer not to ask who would win a fight - but who did win a fight. The kind of thing that helps settle some of these arguments and put it all into a kind of perspective. Even if we all know the needs of a story will ultimately override any presumed "correct" answers.

I frequently saw a page from today's featured issue doing the rounds during fan discussions, so I figured it would be as good a place as any to start. A chance to provide some missing context to the jpeg, which showed Green Lantern using his power ring to pummel Superman, but offered no actual conclusions or details.

Here we can illuminate the attack: Superman was caught off guard, holding back during the skirmish, and ultimately wasn't even actually defeated by Green Lantern, who was acting under the influence of mental corruption.

The source of that corruption is the mystery at the heart of the entire Enemies Among Us six issue story arc. A pretty bloated and vague tour through Silver Age references like Zook: a cutesy, shape-shifting alien who hung around Martian Manhunter in the 1960s, but according to this story, left Earth after Batman snapped at the Manhunter to keep him quiet during a Justice League meeting.

It was Zook who was assuming the form of obscure old enemies like the Caveman of Krypton and Creature Who Couldn't Die, having been drawn back to Earth by the mysterious psychic "call" radicalizing aliens on Earth into an armada against humanity. His dated references speak to time spent away (and out of publication). We'll take a closer look at Zook's involvement in all of this another time.

The corrupting call is perpetrated by a species of alien conquerors who have been convinced by Despero that humans are morally unworthy of existing.

Despero met the aliens while imprisoned by the Green Lantern Corps on Oa after his last attack on the Justice League during Crisis of Conscience. Which might explain why Hal Jordan and his ring were early targets for manipulation in today's story, and why Superman/Batman #29 also ends with the bombastic arrival of another hostile Lantern & alien -- Kilowog!

Which brings us back to James Gunn's remark about "any of the Lanterns" being a match for Superman! It's not just Hal Jordan crossing swords with his fellow Justice Leaguer, and in the next issue of Superman/Batman, it's Kilowog's turn.

Just like our recent series spotlighting Daredevil and The Wrecker -- I rather like the idea of exploring the Superman v Green Lantern dynamic further!

There are plenty of examples of Green Lanterns testing their might against The Man of Steel -- and I just happen to have several of 'em. So this could be a project we revisit heading into the 20th Anniversary of Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!

Season 2025 technically ends with November, so this is probably our last entry of "this year". It's been a tough one. Only you can make sure there are many more years to come and more features in 2026! Support the project on Patreon this holiday season to spread a little cheer and ensure next year is a big one! It's free to follow, and a Tier 1 sub is a great, cheap way to support 100% man-made, farm fresh niche content.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has been serving superhero smackdown for well over 750 fights and ranked more than 1000 of your favourite characters! You can find em all by exploring the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number!

Explore more of your favourite characters and topics by following links throughout each article. Flex that mind muscle and go on a journey of discovery with every link you hit!

You can also get daily recommendations inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share to help boost the signal -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber. In brightest day, in blackest night, no Patreon subscriber shall escape my sight!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#3 (--) Superman
#30 (+1) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
#1 (--) Batman [+1 assist]

OMAC PROJECT versus BLUE BEETLE

Brother's Keeper (DC)
Where: Blue Beetle #7 When: November 2006
Why: John Rogers How: Cully Hamner

The Story So Far...
Before the Second World War; a man named Dan Garrett retrieved a mysterious blue scarab from the tomb of Pharaoh Kha-Ef-Re -- transforming him into the daring mystery man known as Blue Beetle!

Upon his death, the scarab passed to the hands of his successor, Ted Kord, but the brilliant industrialist was never able to unlock the secret of its powers. That would be the fate of Jaime Reyes -- a hapless high school student who discovered the lost scarab in the desert and became the third Blue Beetle!

Transformed in the midst of a multi-faceted crisis threatening reality itself -- Jaime is hastily recruited to use the scarab's mysterious alien technology to find and bring an end to the threat of AI satellite Brother Eye, and its endless hordes of citizens-turned-killing machines known as OMACs!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: OMAC 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: OMAC 4 (Tactician)
Speed: OMAC 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: OMAC 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: OMAC 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: OMAC 5 (Lasers)
Total: OMAC 28 (Metahuman)

The OMAC Project is a collective of common American citizens unwittingly injected with a nanotechnology virus derived from Brainiac-13.

Upon activation, the sleeper agents are transformed into Observational Metahuman Activity Constructs connected via a digital hivemind.

"OMACs" are capable of manipulating the nano-cybernetic coating over their limbs to form a variety of weapons, including blades and energy cannons, which can also deploy specialist counter-measures for dealing with key metahuman targets, and adapt machine-learned strategies for new threats.

If that doesn't sound Terminator 2 enough for you -- the OMACs are controlled by an AI satellite called Brother I, which was originally created in secret by Batman, usurped by Maxwell Lord & Checkmate, and ultimately achieved independent sentience while becoming hellbent on killing all organic lifeforms on Earth!

Unfortunately for rookie hero Blue Beetle -- that includes him!

Jaime Reyes discovered the blue scarab when it inadvertently landed in the desert of El Paso, Texas after a battle between Shazam and The Spectre.

Grafting itself to Jaime's spine; the scarab transformed him into another kind of hi-tech blue soldier, capable of generating powerful energy weapons and blades with his alien suit. He can also detect spectrums of electricity and magic -- making him the perfect tech weapon against the undetectable Brother Eye and OMACs!

Young Jaime has been thrown into the deep end of superhero conflict, but what he lacks in experience, his onboard alien AI can make up for. We saw it help defend against the Green Lantern when their respective weapons turned against one another. So how did it cope with an army of OMACs? Let's find out!

The Tape: OMACs Ranking: Blue Beetle (#467)

What Went Down...

On board Brother Eye, Jaime is left by the rest of the Justice League to guard Ted Kord's Blue Beetle Bug that they flew in on, but it soon becomes the target of a swarm of OMAC soldiers. The blue scarab compels him to run!

An eye beam blasts the Blue Beetle in the back as he tumbles through the halls of the satellite with flying OMACs firing in hot pursuit!

He calls for assistance from Booster Gold, but the time travelling hero isn't there to help him. Fortunately, the blue scarab comes with its own sophisticated onboard artificial intelligence -- and fingertip electric shocks that disrupt OMACs!

The sudden whip of his arm being pointed behind him leaves Jaime feeling worse for wear, but his troubles get far worse when he runs into another chamber filled to the brim with OMACs!

The suit forms a massive shield on his forearm and directs the Blue Beetle through the clambering horde -- barging his way through in what Jaime thinks is the wrong direction.

Reaching a smaller room Blue Beetle finally finds some friendly faces -- Green Arrow and Black Canary!

The emerald archer spots the young hero arriving and quickly fires off a couple of "super-conductor goo" arrows invented by Ted Kord to cause a feedback loop that turns the OMAC's energy blasts back against them!

GA kicks the control to close the doors, doing his best to drive the OMACs out.

With a moment of calm, the scarab begins analyzing its technology -- determining it to be the device responsible for keeping Brother Eye undetectable by generating sub-dimensional artificial reality space.

A sonic canary cry and electric finger blasts make light work of the technology!

With explosions following them, the trio of heroes race through the satellite halls until they come across another chamber filled with OMACs and an ensnared Black Lightning!

Brother Eye's database doesn't contain the newly minted hero, so Black Canary tells the Beetle to put everything into his shot to disable the OMACs before they can adapt to his attacks.

The combined might of Blue Beetle's energy blast, Black Canary's sonic shriek, and the Green Arrow's quiver proves enough to put the OMACs out of commission!

Mister Terrific shows up at the perfect time to lead the heroes back onto the flying Blue Beetle Bug, where John Stewart, Metamorpho, and Sasha Bordeaux are waiting to pilot them off the exploding satellite!

It looks like they're home free, but the scarab wants nothing to do with the Green Lantern on board. It phases Blue Beetle out of synch with reality, shifting him out of the Bug as it takes off -- leaving Jaime on board the exploding satellite!

The Hammer...

Even though it's mission accomplished for destroying Brother Eye and rescuing the innocent people turned into OMACs -- Blue Beetle is left behind all alone in space!

Even Batman can't rescue Jaime Reyes as he's carried out of the exploding satellite by Green Lantern -- completely unaware that they've flown directly past Blue Beetle, who's still phased into another plane of reality by the scarab.

It's a horrifying moment for a high school boy to find himself alone in, but we have the comfort of knowing it's all in the past. These events happened between the panels of Infinite Crisis #6, which focused on other Leaguer's efforts to bring down Brother Eye, most specifically Batman, Black Lightning, and Mr. Terrific.

In Blue Beetle #7, Jaime is recounting the memory of what happened, unlocking part of a lost year in space, while standing in the desert crater made when he finally crash-landed back to Earth in Blue Beetle #1.

As we've already documented, The Beetle's fiery return to Earth caught the attention of Guy Gardner, resulting in some spectacular superhero smackdown as his Green Lantern ring began reacting adversely to the Blue Beetle's presence.

Something similar happened with John Stewart in Infinite Crisis, and this aversion between the scarab and Green Lanterns was one of the intriguing mysteries that helped stitch a new Blue Beetle into the fabric of the DC Universe.

For those of us reading way back in 2006, it was understandably controversial that Ted Kord was killed off in the Countdown to Infinite Crisis special, but the new Blue Beetle was actually a pretty easy sell with or without a murder stunt. It was a fresh and vibrant new addition to the DC lineup, marrying forgotten aspects of Charlton Comics' 1960s revamp of Dan Garrett, with a bold new graphic conceit.

As intriguing as the new, alien Blue Beetle might've been in the pages of Infinite Crisis, it only got better once we met the boy behind the mask in his own on-going series. The art team of Cully Hamner and colorist David Self immediately sold the visual world of Jaime Reyes, in and out of costume, and with issue #4, new colorist Guy Major continued that aesthetic splendor seamlessly.

Things might look a little off in panels featured in today's entry. The colours & lines are a little less slick and sumptuous in this section, visually indicating a slightly different temperature for flashback sequences, but please note that these scans aren't very flattering. As always - seek this work out for yourself!

Blue Beetle was instantly colourful, bold, and exciting, with a palette reminiscent of contemporary animation, and the raw energy of a new young hero stepping into a fully developed superhero universe. It was little wonder the character soon found fans in cartoons through Batman: Brave and the Bold and Young Justice.

These types of characters tend to compare to early Spider-Man, but the third-generation aspect reminds me of the thrillingly uncertain energy that carried the first few years of Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. There's also something in that 2000s approach that feels consistent with Invincible, but the Image hero could only pretend to be part of something bigger. Blue Beetle had those genuine ties.

Of course, as easy as it would've been to drop Jaime Reyes directly into Ted Kord's spot, surrounding him with all the better-known DC icons of the Justice League -- they instead used a Green Lantern appearance in issue #1 to naturally transition the character far away from the other heroes, into his own naturally developing world of friends & family, and the burgeoning threat of The Reach.

We aren't quite there yet, but like a lot of DC Comics fans, I'll be rooting for the new Blue Beetle film to do well enough in theatrical release to expand the legacy on the big screen. I'm not quite expecting a five-star adaptation, but Cobra Kai fans know Xolo Maridueña has the goods to go all the way with Jaime Reyes, and there's plenty more material for the live-action character to explore. Peacemaker and Ted Kord seem like no brainers!

If you've enjoyed this entry and would like to see more exploration into the world of Blue Beetle -- consider becoming a supporter on Patreon. As a thank you for helping make it all possible you'll unlock additional content, an invite to the Discord community, and options to sponsor your own choice of featured content.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has recorded over 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all by following links throughout each and every post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

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Winners: Blue Beetle, Green Arrow & Black Canary
#174 (+293) Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
#16 (+3) Green Arrow
#38 (+5) Black Canary
#1019 (new) OMACs

DEATHSTROKE versus BIRDS OF PREY

Perfect Pitch Part Five (DC)
Where: Birds of Prey #90 When: March 2006 Why: Gail Simone How: Paulo Siqueira & Adam DeKraker

The Story So Far...
Calculator has become the central nervous system behind unionized villains of The Society. Marshalling a network of criminals, information and intelligence, he helped create the ultimate force in organized crime -- but his online dominion is challenged by one white hat hacker: Oracle!

New incarnations of Hellhound and Black Spider failed to bring down Oracle's associates, The Birds of Prey, after torturing Savant, but one of the perks of The Society is having access to a near limitless army of super-villain back-up!

Deathstroke has his sights on terminating Black Canary and Huntress while they attempt to evacuate casualties of their last battle!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Deathstroke 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Savant 5 (Professor)
Speed: Deathstroke 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Deathstroke 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Black Canary 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Deathstroke 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Huntress 3 (Explosives)
Total: Deathstroke 26 (Metahuman)

Calculator called in one of The Society's best available mercenaries to provide back-up! Deathstroke showed just how deadly he can be when he impaled Phantom Lady during a Society hit on the Freedom Fighters in Infinite Crisis #1!

Being deployed alone against a group of heroes shouldn't be an issue. He was largely able to manage the X-Men alone when they crossed over in Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans. He also famously and single-handedly set about dismantling the Justice League in Identity Crisis #3!

The Birds of Prey are: Black Canary, Huntress, Lady Blackhawk, Creote, and Savant.

The Identity Crisis battle still hangs over Black Canary in this encounter. He tied an airtight rubber mask over her head to silence the canary cry, and cuffed her to prevent any hand-to-hand reprisals. He utilized thorough tactics to beat the odds and systematically work his way through the likes of Flash, Zatanna, Hawkman, and Green Arrow.

We saw Green Arrow win his rematch with Deathstroke in Green Arrow #62, which highlighted the benefits of knowing the enemy and changing up the play.

Her sonic canary cry remains her best advantages over Deathstroke. We saw its power bring the Marvel Family to their knees in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6, and dissipate Shadow Thief in Justice League of America #15. She also defeated Giganta in the latter issue, using agility, and Cheshire, with fighting technique.

After their last battle, The Canary will know not to rely on her sonic attack. Like Green Arrow, she'll look to use her own tactical and combat skills to match The Terminator as best she can, while working to undermine his meticulous style.

In Underworld Unleashed #3, we saw Huntress help turn the tables against a cadre of super-villains with reckless abandon. Her improvised use of explosives seemingly endangered Black Canary, but it was a calculated risk that also got her out of harm. That ruthlessness could compliment Canary during this fight!

Lady Blackhawk is en route at the start of the fight and could provide air support to clear Deathstroke if things go bad. Savant is wounded from being tortured, and Creote will likely stay with him.

The Tape: Birds of Prey Ranking: Black Canary (#38)

What Went Down...
On a lonely rooftop in Gotham City the Birds of Prey drag their wounded topside to await transport. When they get to the rain spattered roof they soon find The Society had a third man watching over proceedings: Deathstroke!

With a drawn sword already in his hand, Deathstroke offers the Birds a chance to leave the injured Black Spider and go freely. Black Canary spits the offer back in his face and shows him the difference between the last time he humiliated her in combat and now -- this time there aren't any Justice Leaguers in the way!

Huntress fires off three bolts from her crossbow while Black Canary launches into a leaping kick that catches Deathstroke by the side of the head.

Internally, Canary knows she was allowed to strike first so Deathstroke could show he won't be so easily hurt. She keeps him busy, talking trash about finding a way to beat him after their last encounter. In her mind, she remains trained on one thought: the three seconds of distraction that will allow her victory.

Deathstroke fires back with an uppercut that sends the Canary airborne and reminds her just how hard his super-soldier enhancements can hit!

Huntress jumps back into the fray, but Deathstroke blocks her punch and effortlessly swats her away with the backhand of his sword-wielding fist! The deals are off the table. Now he's playing for keeps!

Without warning -- Creote rushes across the rooftop at Deathstroke!

With no regard for his own life, the Russian special forces soldier attempts to grapple with Deathstroke. He seeks only to hurt the mercenary for the pain he and The Society inflicted upon his beloved Savant!

The impassioned assault tangles Deathstroke up for a moment, but is soon remedied with a backwards rolling judo toss.

Black Canary takes the opportunity to rush in and feint for the canary cry, allowing Deathstroke a pre-emptive strike that snaps the bone in her arm. It would've choked the voice in her throat -- if that were her true intent...

The gambit was merely providing distraction while Huntress snuck up from behind and attacked his vertical base with a low strike! The low blow provides the three seconds needed to extend two fingers, cut across Deathstroke's blind side, and thrust her digits into his good eye!

Blood spurts from The Terminator's mask and he recoils, swinging his sword wildly to push Black Canary back! She dedicates the strike to Phantom Lady.

Deathstroke pivots toward the edge of the rooftop and resumes a prepared stance. Canary's eye poke of doom didn't puncture the eyeball. It will heal -- not that he needs to actually see to kill any of them. Canary knows it, too.

Canary threatens to blast Deathstroke from the roof with her canary cry if he goes for his gun, but he's not convinced she'll be fast enough. The stand-off is suddenly interrupted by Lady Blackhawk, who appears on the fire escape behind Deathstroke with pistols drawn. She under estimates his ability!

Blackhawk's warning gave Deathstroke a location. He expertly twists his body around, disarming her with a twisting kick that carries him from the roof edge, onto the target and iron ledge. In seconds his hand is around her throat, dangling the pilot precariously over a multi-story drop!

The pouring rain tests his gloved grip and Black Canary has no choice but to concede to Slade's leverage. "Dammit. He wins. He always wins", she thinks spitefully. He commends her for almost beating him. Then: the unexpected!

Gunfire sprays the air, catching Deathstroke by surprise! The discharge sends him falling backwards over the fire escape rail with Lady Blackhawk!

The Canary throws herself forward to pull Lady Blackhawk back to the safety of the rainy rooftop. There, Savant sits worse for wear wielding one of Black Spider's smoking pistols. A favour to end his association with Oracle.

The Hammer...

It looked like a done deal when Deathstroke literally had them on their knees, but Savant managed to exploit the hard work of the Birds of Prey to pull out a slightly dubious last minute win!

This is essentially one of the follow-up battles to Identity Crisis #3, which drastically increased the stock of Deathstroke, and set up about a half a dozen legitimate rematches with various heroes.

Green Arrow in particular came out of Identity Crisis poised to become one of Deathstroke's new arch-rivals (or vice versa). This consequently made their rematch in Green Arrow #62 all about GA taking the master mercenary down. It established the pair as equals by flipping the script on Deathstroke's tactical foresight, showing Green Arrow could match him in planning and execution.

Not so in Birds of Prey #90, which delivers Deathstroke to Black Canary in overlap with events already unfolding in the series, and DCU at large. Primary is Calculator's obsession with besting Oracle, while the expanding influence of The Society also plays out, as it was in various other titles.

Both issues do a good job of juggling the lead protagonist's credibility against the newfound status of Deathstroke, but Birds of Prey dares to allow its hero to all but fail in service of the villain. Black Canary took him to the very edge, but with a broken arm and her allies in peril, she was forced to tap out.

For the purposes of our record: Savant will go down as victor, but he functions more like an exit strategy for the story. His eleventh hour gun spray credibly takes Deathstroke off the board without undermining his win. It was a fluke, but at least nobody got hurt (or killed).

It probably would've been more satisfying to just see Black Canary pull off the win, and really get justice for Phantom Lady's death in Infinite Crisis #1, but there's something to be said for the tenacity of the hero who comes up short, and keeps trying. They had a much toothier fight a year later in the Green Arrow & Black Canary Wedding Special, but that's a battle for another day.

Late last month we saw Black Canary and Huntress fighting together in Underworld Unleashed #3, but this is the first time looking specifically at the Birds of Prey series. A pretty ingenious way of getting the most out of a group of Gotham adjacent characters like Black Canary, Huntress, and Oracle.

A callous summary might have called it DC's answer to Charlie's Angels, but that doesn't capture the texture of the series, helped in part by the storied history behind leads Black Canary and Oracle, and the growth of the series. It isn't really 'the chick book' either, although it might be a fashionable compliment to say that it is. There's a fairly natural congregation of female acquaintances that makes good use of the platform, incorporating the likes of Lady Blackhawk, and building logical relationships between various heroes. Good stuff.

The world is now discovering a version thanks to the theatrical release of Birds of Prey featuring Harley Quinn. If you'd like to discover the comics, you can check out today's featured fight in Birds of Prey Vol. 5: Perfect Pitch. Use the Amazon link provided and you'll help support the site at no extra cost!

You can find more from the characters featured by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights by publisher, series, and issue number.

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Winner: Savant (w/ Black Canary, Huntress, Creote & Lady Blackhawk)
#332 (new) Savant
#38 (--) Black Canary [+1 assist]
#180 (+151) Huntress [+1 assist]
#574 (new) Creote [+1 assist]
#575 (new) Lady Blackhawk [+1 assist]
#78 (-7) Deathstroke