AVENGERS versus INFINITY WATCH

Warlock Must Die! (Marvel)
Where: Warlock and The Infinity Watch #27 When: April 1994 Why: Jim Starlin How: Tom Grindberg

The Story So Far...
While Adam Warlock attempts to use the combined Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, and Power to unlock the lost memories of teammate Maxam -- he has no idea forces are conspiring to destroy he and The Infinity Watch!

US Senator Kyle Munson has used his mind-altering powers of hate to turn The Avengers into a bloodthirsty hit squad headed to Monster Island with a mission to kill Warlock!

The hate-mongering Senator is in truth the malicious Man-Beast who is out for revenge against Adam and The Infinity Watch for thwarting his attempts to conquer Counter-Earth and wield the powers of The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Drax 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Giant-Man 6 (Genius)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Drax 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Drax 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Adam Warlock 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Adam Warlock 30 (Super)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Giant-Man, Thunderstrike, Black Widow, Hercules, and Vision.

Operating under brainwashing from the former Hate-Monger; The Avengers have already taken out Gamora in the previous issue, but apparently suffered the temporary loss of Vision as a consequence of the beach-side melee.

The Infinity Watch are: Adam Warlock, Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Maxam, and Pip The Troll.

The Watch are missing one of their best fighters, but they've still got a whole lot of cosmic might on their side! By nature of their assembly, they wield four of the Infinity Stones: Gems possessed of primordial energies of fundamental cosmic elements that once combined to make the Infinity Gauntlet.

Drax The Destroyer wields the Power Gem, adding it to his already impressive physical strength. In this incarnation we saw him team with Hulk to temporarily topple Thanos during The Infinity Gauntlet, and go toe-to-toe with Thor in the Infinity Crusade! He's a natural to neutralize Thunderstrike or Hercules.

Maxam lacks the boost of a gem, but his ability to increase his size & strength compliments Drax, taking care of either of the loose Avengers powerhouses, or maybe directly countering the super-sized might of Giant-Man!

With the Mind Gem enhancing her mental powers: Moondragon has the potential to neutralize any of their opponents, and maybe even finish the whole fight by breaking the brainwashing that's turned them against The Watch. Failing that, her hand-to-hand skills are good enough to test Black Widow or Captain America!

Warlock could similarly use his natural super-human gifts to fight The Avengers, or wield the Soul Gem to pull everyone into its pocket reality for a dose of soul-searching. if that fails and an exit strategy's needed: Pip the Troll might just be able to help the team escape with the Space Gem's teleporting potential.

We've seen The Avengers take on all kinds of challenges, but we've never seen them take this one. Let's find out what happened!

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

What Went Down...

Through gritted teeth Captain America makes his mad declaration: "WARLOCK MUST DIE!"

The sentiment is echoed by Giant-Man as The Avengers square-up against The Infinity Watch. Adam Warlock asks for reason, while Drax mistakes Thunderstrike for Thor, and Pip The Troll leeringly confronts the Black Widow.

Pip disappears as quickly as The Widow's temper flares, while Warlock gives up on diplomacy and knocks Giant-Man to the ground with a flying right hook!

Moondragon takes the opportunity to launch a jumping martial arts kick, deflected by Captain America's shield. She takes on the hand-to-hand challenge, matching his bitter madness with her own critique of the "pompous" Avenger.

Maxam struggles to land a hit on Hercules, who remains bitter over their meeting during the Infinity Crusade. Herc aims to pay him back, using his own surprise attack to grab Drax by the cape and toss him into the ocean many miles away!

While Drax tries to figure out where he is -- Maxam finds himself caught between a rock lifted by Hercules, and the hard place of Thunderstrike's hammer!

Knowing when he's outmatched: Maxam calls for help, receiving a polite acknowledgment from Warlock, who evades a giant fist swung by Hank Pym -- and unleashes a direct karmic blast from the Soul Gem!

Warlock hops away from the kayoed Giant-Man, but before he can come to his teammate's aid is struck by the massive boulder hurled by Hercules!

A dark shadow watches from nearby island flora, and Pip The Troll materializes at Warlock's unconscious side, tossing his spiked mace "skull-cracker" in favour of brewing a "neat trick" he's been wanting to try out.

Meanwhile Maxam finds a forearm block wanting as Hercules follows it up immediately with a second, more devastating left that catches him across the chin!

Maxam's tired of being a punching bag for two demi-gods, and manages to narrowly avoid the raging descent of Thunderstrike's uru mace!

It crashes into the ground behind him, but Hercules continues his verbal and close-quarters assault, moving in to grab the "varlet" by the collar and punch him straight in the face!

Elsewhere Captain America blocks a kick with his shield, transitioning seamlessly into a shield swipe that Moondragon nimbly leaps over.

She resists Maxam's desperate plea to use a mind-blast: "Don't rush me! I'll be with you as soon as I attend to the good Captain in my own manner!"

A precision chop to the shoulder finds its mark, allowing Moondragon to kick Captain America's famous shield out of his hands! She follows with a stiff right palm strike to his jaw, dodging his right-hand counter punch with a twirl, to strike back with her own uppercut knock out!

Satisfied with her victory over Captain America -- Moondragon is happy to use the Mind Gem's powers to mind-blast Thunderstrike into submission!

The knock-out beam evens the odds for Maxam, but he fails to notice the massive ocean rock suddenly teleported overhead by Pip The Troll, which sends Hercules running clear of the impact zone!

The long thin rock crushes Maxam & Thunderstrike and kicks up a cloud of sand!

Moondragon doesn't even see Hercules coming as he runs right through her like a raging bull with a charging shoulder!

Pip tries to make the save, snapping the wooden handle of his spiked mace as he clobbers Hercules over the back of the head. The demigod shrugs it off, tossing Pip aside as he makes a path toward a recovered Adam Warlock!

Warlock ducks beneath a wild haymaker and returns fire with a jumping kick!

Hercules is unfazed, launching Warlock across the beach with an overhand punch!

He charges after Warlock, who unleashes the awesome mystic power of his Karmic staff, but the demigod "Prince of Power" resists its awesome energy, snatching it by the neck to push it away.

Warlock takes flight, unleashing a blast from the Soul Gem -- but it misses the target, allowing Hercules to grab him by the ankle and smash his face into the sand!

Warlock throws his free foot at Hercules' face, but the Prince of Power absorbs the kick and slams his left fist to the ground -- narrowly missing Warlock, who jumps clear and delivers another kick directly to the face.

Still Hercules shakes the physical assault off, rallying to deliver a devastatingly explosive backfist strike that knocks Warlock off his feet!

Warlock's body stays limp as Hercules walks the distance to pick him up by the collar, but the Avenger doesn't deliver his intended finishing blow.

Instead it's Hercules who is knocked unconscious when the eerie Vision emerges from the beach sand to deliver a surprise attack to his teammate's back!

The synthezoid's artificial brain appears unaffected by the telepathic brainwashing that enthralled his teammates. He reveals the plot to The Infinity Watch, recruiting Moondragon to use the Mind Gem to free them from their hypnosis.

The Hammer...

The last minute save from Vision helps The Infinity Watch secure their victory over The Avengers!

His timing might seem overly dramatic, but his actions are justified with cold synthezoid logic.

Knowing he couldn't possibly curb the hypnotized Avengers alone -- Vision used a skirmish with Gamora in the previous issue to feign damage, waiting for an opportunity to render assistance once The Infinity Watch had the upper hand! Or something along those lines... Something that conveniently gives us a "surprise" twist. Why not?

Vision shares the victory with Moondragon and Adam Warlock, who secured noteworthy individual triumphs over multiple members of the Avengers, including Captain America, Thunderstrike, and Giant-Man.

You already know who scored the double kayo because you just read the scintillating recap above, but it feels especially noteworthy that Moondragon managed to best Captain America in hand-to-hand martial combat!

Cap actually has one of the worst defeat tallies recorded on the site, [second only to Superman at the time of writing], but he balances significant losses with a high number of wins.

Both stats are attributable to Cap's never-say-die attitude and warrior-like vigor for combat. He boldly risks taking the L by standing ground against obvious mismatches, like Thanos, but to other heroes he remains a mythic benchmark for fighting prowess. He holds top fighters like Black Panther and Wolverine to account, while occasionally becoming the scalp himself to prove another hero's worth, like his epic crossover showdown with Batman.

Moondragon's script notes the interest of comparing their fighting skills, but this one lacks the weight of importance other big time showdowns might aspire to, especially in more recent times where that kind of thing is given a lot of pages.

I'm not sure if Moondragon had the cachet for a bigger marquee spotlight against Cap, and the entire battle comes pregnant with modifiers, noting a compromised Avengers in a guest role.

It's all a little rough in composition, reflected somewhat in art that shows plenty of intent, but is a little sketchy compared to Tom Grindberg's usual work, which I have become a growing fan of in recent years.

Bob Almond is no stranger to inking Grindberg with a more characteristic finish, which leads me to wonder if there were deadline pressures, or late editorial interference that impacted the issue. Perhaps negotiations with the Avengers office?..

As much as The Avengers are here to be beaten by the title heroes in their fleeting guest role, it surprises me how impressive a showing Hercules has!

I like the callback to Herc's brief face-off with Maxam in the still-recent Infinity Crusade, but I'm not sure that justifies such a strong outing. He isn't just the last man standing, but also handily intimidates Maxam, and beats the heck out of Warlock! He's practically served a visual win, if not for the interference of Vision!

Perhaps this all speaks to Hercules' mythic inclination towards violent madness, or perhaps there was a particular vested interest in presenting the Avenger as a legitimate, uncompromised threat.

Although most of the presented group could be found in contemporary issues of Avengers, Hercules is the character I would most closely associate with this era of monthly issues, sharing a spotlight with the likes of Black Knight, Sersi, and Crystal -- all conspicuous by absence.

Thunderstrike won't even be back in the fold until next month's issue, May cover-dated Avengers #374, which means he technically showed up two months early as an active Avenger in Warlock and The Infinity Watch #26!

They were crazy times, and how ever this issue managed to come together, it's a nice artifact from both catalogues. A nice chance for us to dip into Adam Warlock and The Infinity Watch, as well!

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Winners: Vision, Moondragon & Warlock (w/ Infinity Watch)
#86 (+5) Vision
#200 (+402) Adam Warlock
#382 (+285) Moondragon
#645 (new) Maxam [+1 assist]
#646 (new) Pip The Troll [+1 assist]
#140 (-1) Drax The Destroyer [+1 assist]
#7 (--) Captain America
#48 (-3) Black Widow
#87 (-6) Giant-Man (Hank Pym)
#161 (-4) Hercules
#1040 (-39) Thunderstrike

CAPTAIN AMERICA versus THANOS

Cosmic Battle on the Edge of The Universe! (Marvel)
Where: Infinity Gauntlet #4 When: October 1991
Why: Jim Starlin How: Ron Lim & George Perez

The Story So Far...
When the Silver Surfer crash lands to Earth through the roof of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum -- he brings ominous warning of the greatest threat the universe has ever known! Thanos lives and has taken possession of the Infinity Gems of Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space to form the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet!

The Mad Titan's mission is to eradicate half of all sentient life in existence! A feat he achieves in an instant with but a mere thought! His quest to court the mistress Death does not end there, though. His dominion is now all that exists in the known universe -- a reality, his to dominate and reshape!

Ripples of Thanos' power echo throughout the universe, causing mayhem and destruction on Earth, where the mightiest heroes assemble in conference to discuss the unknown threat. The unexpected arrival of Adam Warlock provides limited answers as he takes command, selecting a special task force to confront Thanos in a desperate ploy to save the universe from The Infinity Gauntlet!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thanos 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Thanos 6 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

This is it! It's the final showdown between Thanos and the gauntlet of heroes!

If you're landing here, make sure you go back through the previous rounds to find out what brought us here! In order, the gauntlet was: Wave 1, Hulk & Drax, Wave 3, Thor & Doctor Doom, Wolverine, Wave 6, Cloak, Firelord & Drax, Iron Man, Spider-man & Thor, Nova, and Quasar!

The dozen battles make a compelling case for the unstoppable nature of Thanos as wielder of The Infinity Gauntlet! By assembling the Infinity Stones he has achieved governance over the Soul, Mind, Power, Time, Reality, and Space!

Captain America isn't the guy who'd usually take on a cosmic scale threat like Thanos, but with all other options exhausted, you can bet your bottom dollar he'll make his last stand count!

Dr. Erskine's Super-Soldier Serum means Cap is at the absolute peak of human physical ability. He may not be the Hulk or Drax, but if it comes to a fistfight Thanos will at least know he's there! Fortunately, he isn't going into battle completely unarmed. His shield is a rare alloy of steel and vibranium capable of absorbing massive impacts -- and delivering them, when thrown!

We've seen Cap test his shield against some pretty formidable opponents!

The classic shield withstood The Destroyer armor in Thor (Vol. 2) #1 after The Avengers returned from the Heroes Reborn pocket dimension. While there, Cap's shield saw him through battles with a Counter-Earth Thor [Avengers #1], and Hulk [Avengers #4]!

Even more compelling: Major Victory used a time displaced version of the shield to successfully defend against the blows of a rampaging Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy #25! Of course, that was Thanos fresh from resurrection and without the cosmic omnipotence that comes from wielding the Infinity Gauntlet!

Everything about this fight says one-sided, but Captain America has been known to overcome some pretty incredible odds! He won't back down against The Mad Titan, and he's also privy to the grand plan of Adam Warlock. Will that spell an unlikely defeat? Let us venture into the final stage of the hero's gauntlet!

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

What Went Down...

A smoldering stain is all that marks the short-lived challenge of the once proclaimed "protector of the universe" - Quasar. Surrounded by the broken bodies of his enemies -- Thanos surveys the battlefield in silent triumph.

At a glance, it would seem as if Thanos has conquered all who entered his domain. He clearly under estimates the iron will of Captain America, who stands alone against an unbeatable opponent, as he has so many times before.

Thanos dismisses the Captain's challenge as a joke, but the glib Avenger isn't backing down. He knows his role in Adam Warlock's grand plan and will fight to the death to see it through! Cap marches towards his unmoving, unimpressed opponent and stares him down defiantly!

High above the battlefield, the Silver Surfer has witnessed enough death. He readies to intervene, but Adam Warlock demands his patience. The Surfer must remain at the edge of readiness until the perfect moment!

On the platform: Thanos raises his massive fist and prepares to strike the militant mortal down -- but Cap's reflexes are too fast!

The Captain ducks the devastating blow -- only to find the very ground beneath him joining in the fray! Stone hands grow from the platform, clutching his ankles with an unbreakable grip! The super-soldier's agility has been taken!

Captain America's mighty shield provides protection from a cosmically charged hammer fist that explodes with energy! The defensive move pays off, but the price of survival is the shattering of the unbreakable shield!

Rooted to the ground and robbed of his defensive weapon -- Captain America stares defiantly at his unstoppable opponent! Again, Thanos raises his gauntlet, not to summon its limitless cosmic potential, but to render a killing blow. This is the moment of anger and hubris Adam Warlock has been waiting for!

There is absolutely no hesitation in the Silver Surfer! No sooner than the command is given than he is a silver streak blazing through space!

Time stands still as the Silver Surfer rides the space-ways at impossible speeds! The driving punch of Thanos' fist crawls in stretching inches. Captain America's expression never flinches. Adam Warlock shares his steely resolve.

Everything has been leading to this final gambit! The Surfer swoops in to snatch the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos' raised fist! It is a simple maneuver, but one that can end a suffering felt across the universe! His gleaming out-stretched fingers reach for the glove -- but finds only air!

The Silver Surfer misses his mark by the smallest of margins, but it is enough to cost the heroes their victory! Thanos flinches as the Surfer passes overhead, and blurs into distant space as he trajectory continues. The Mad God remains!

Captain America seizes upon Thanos' distraction with a left cross chin-check! His defiance is hopeless, but the warrior soldier fights on. Hope finds its last refuge in the heart of Steve Rogers. Thanos doesn't even look when he snuffs it out.

As an understanding of what has occurred sets in, Thanos realizes the smallest fraction of a chance is all it could take to cost him his omnipotence. He wills himself back to the fullest power of the gauntlet.

If his swatting hand did not kill Captain America, his wish to erase all remnants of his battle with the heroes likely did. His platform is returned to pristine condition, but Thanos senses a greater struggle on the horizon.

Adam Warlock gazes from a distance, saddened by the heroes' failure. He now realizes there is only one option remaining. Reality itself will tremble when the cosmic deities embodying the universe are forced to fight!

The Hammer... A gauntlet of the greatest heroes of Earth (and beyond) challenged Thanos, but in the end, Captain America and his allies never really stood a chance.

Even more shocking: This result means Thanos has broken into the Top 10 of the Fight Club Rankings! He displaces Thing, who falls to #11 after Thanos leapt +2 places, now ranked #9!

Two weeks ago we embarked on a journey to document the battles of Infinity Gauntlet #4. With Captain America's defeat, and the Silver Surfer's failure, we have now completed that task. As we now see, Warlock's grand plan was always to sacrifice soldiers so that Thanos would grow careless and arrogant. Had the Surfer succeeded in taking the gauntlet, they could've restored all of the dead.

As noted: The gauntlet of battle doesn't actually end here! In Infinity Gauntlet #5, the struggle continues as the cosmic deities of the Marvel Universe confront the lone being capable of upsetting their delicate balance!

These beings of vast cosmic influence are led by Eternity, and include the likes of Galactus, The Celestials, Eon, Master Order, Lord Chaos, and more! We may explore the cosmic gauntlet at a later date, but for now, Secret Wars on Infinite Earths will return to a regular schedule, with more of your favourite heroes!

The last fortnight has, of course, been in celebration of the theatrical release of Avengers: Infinity War. The third movie in the Avengers series has already set unfathomed records at the international box office, and is now in wide theatrical release in the United States, and across the globe!

As exciting as the movie version might be, I hope everyone will have found the joy in the now-classic comic book event.

Both the comic, and the film, struggle with the isolated nature of their consequences. The movie more closely mirrors an earlier scene in the comic, when heroes disappear as Thanos purges half of all life. Never the less, both deal with the seemingly inconsequential nature of the deaths.

You either buy into the cosmic consequence of the story - or you don't. In the case of the comic, fights like Captain America's go a long way to making it all feel worthwhile. After the cruel and malicious deaths of Nova and Quasar, we know the odds are against Cap. Yet his determination to face his foe proves one of the most inspiring fights of the entire issue, and one of the most memorable moments from the entire mini-series!

I've heard one or two people describe their initial difficulty in grappling with the array of characters featured, but I think that's ultimately part of the joy once you get to grips with it. We've only touched on one of the six issues over the last two weeks, but I'm sure you'll find it was fairly manageable.

Events like these can often serve as nice little introductions to characters you might not know, but may want to seek out. Heroes like Sub-Mariner, Nova, Quasar, She-Hulk, and even Firelord, could very likely be tomorrow's movie icons. The only problem is finding the movies bland by comparison!

As always, Amazon links provided mean you can get ahead of the game by joining the wonderful world of comics! Shopping for Infinity Gauntlet via the portal provided will also help support the site at no extra charge!

For more Infinity Gauntlet goodness you can dive into the Secret Archive where all featured fights are index by publisher, series, and issue number! You can also keep your eyes peeled to current Hero of the Week entries, where we're touching on the hot topics spawned from the feature film!

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Winner: Thanos

#9 (+2) Thanos [+1 kill]
#7 (--) Captain America
#34 (--) Silver Surfer [+1 assist]
#531 (new) Adam Warlock [+1 assist]

Infinity Gauntlet #4
Thanos runs the gauntlet of heroes in a special series spotlighting the classic cosmic showdown!
Versus Wave 1, Hulk & Drax, Wave 3, Thor & Dr. Doom, Wolverine, Wave 6, Cloak, Firelord & Drax, Iron Man, Spider-man & Thor, Nova, Quasar, Captain America