THING versus WRECKER

RAGE (Marvel)
Where: Fantastic Four #355 When: August 1991
Why: Danny Fingeroth How: Al Milgrom

The Story So Far...
The Thing's feeling down and his funk has brought him to the Lower East Side slums of his old stomping grounds. He's so bleak he doesn't even care about the kids whipping bricks at him as he skulks toward the stairs of 7135 Yancy Street -- the apartment block he grew up in!

A new family lives there now, but after accidentally scaring the tenant, and a run-in with her feisty son Raul, it's a trip down memory lane as Ben Grimm finds himself a house guest for home cooked meal, and the adoration of little Javier Garcia.

Unfortunately for all, The Wrecker's mood hasn't been good since the passing of his mother, and after shaking down "Weasel" for information about his recently incarcerated turncoat teammate -- The Wrecker is coming to Yancy Street to bust his old buddy out of a secret secure prison cell -- and nothing's going to stop him!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thing 3 (Straight A)
Speed: The Wrecker 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: The Wrecker 6 (Generator)
Agility: The Wrecker 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: The Wrecker 4 (Arsenal)
Total: The Wrecker 26 (Metahuman)

In our previous update we explored the role of powerhouses as mountains for an underdog to scale -- but what happens when the challenger is an equal threat?

The Thing is one of Marvel Comics' premiere bruisers! Bombarded with cosmic rays - space pilot Benjamin Grimm was transformed into a rocky monster with super-human strength, durability, endurance, and a heart of gold.

Thing defends the world from earthborn dangers and extra-terrestrial terrors as a founding member of the Fantastic Four! His adversaries typically originate from, and wield powers of, the realm of science -- so the magical enchantment that fuels The Wrecker and his crowbar will be a bit of a change of pace.

The only time we've observed Thing against a magical opponent was when Luke Cage was turned against his old friend, and Avengers teammates, by the mystic Agamotto. Thing helped subdue the possessed hero by matching his mystically enhanced strength with brute force -- something he's done countless times against some of the grandest opponents in the Marvel Universe!

The Wrecker is famously an arch-nemesis for Thor -- but don't think that puts him in a weight class significantly higher than The Thing!

With his famous indomitable will to call upon, and the keen strategy of Mister Fantastic; Thing was able to endure the crushing pressure of journeying to the center of Thor's old adversary, for a memorable defeat of Ego The Living Planet!

Thing has also matched muscle with everyone from Hulk, Rhino, Doctor Doom, Paibok the Power Skrull, his own Infinity Doppelganger, Super-Skrull, The Adaptoid, and a sixty-foot tall mummy called Gomdulla! He can fight above his weight class, and win, lose, or draw -- he always leaves a lasting impression!

We've seen The Wrecker and his Crew make mincemeat out of Sasquatch, and their battle with The Thunderbolts showed that it takes more than brute strength to bring them to a stop. A straight fist fight doesn't necessarily favour The Thing, but as we saw in another recent entry -- The Wrecker's enchanted crowbar can be wielded by another. That's one tactic Thing might be able to use to turn the tables.

We've looked at the record and done some theorizing. Now it's time to find out what actually happened when The Wrecker came to Yancy Street!

The Tape: The Wrecker Ranking: The Thing (#11)

What Went Down...

In a hidden, high-security basement prison bunker -- The Wrecker closes in on his former teammate Thunderball! The erstwhile Crewman is without his famous ball & chain, or the enchantments that grants him his super-human powers. Just Dr. Eliot Franklin, alone with the lights out, and a failed electrified bed frame.

All hope seems lost for the powerless turncoat as The Wrecker approaches striking distance when suddenly -- it's The Wrecker sent hurtling by a powerful blow!

To The Wrecker's surprise -- The Thing stalks through the darkness, but his fists aren't raised for the simple sake of saving Thunderball. It's righteous anger that fuels his fury! For the innocent people who lost their homes and lives to the wanton destruction of The Wrecker's warpath through Yancy Street!

Thing hammers his fist toward the floored Wrecker -- but the villain's enchanted wrecking bar blocks the heavy blow!

Wrecker fires back -- rising to his feet to strike Thing across the chest with the mighty crowbar! The pain inflicted stuns Thing, allowing Wrecker to collect Franklin in his left hand, and escape through the hole in the ceiling!

On the street, Wrecker raises his bar in preparation to beat Franklin to a pulp -- but a huge chunk of concrete knocks the weapon out of his hand!

Thunderball takes the opportunity to make a run for it as The Thing marches across the street with fists raised. He wants to test the villain without his magical crowbar. The Wrecker gladly runs into the fray!

Clutching both hands together -- The Wrecker strikes with a polish hammer that topples the Fantastic Four's powerhouse!

He had no real issue with Thing before, but now that Thunderball has escaped his clutches once more -- the leader of the former Wrecking Crew is developing a real dislike for his rocky adversary.

He reaches for his nearby wrecking bar -- just in time to swing it directly into the mid-section of an oncoming Thing!

Thing lets out an agonized yell as the impact of the bar echos boomingly between the remaining buildings.

Wrecker wraps both hands around the hilt of his crowbar and raises it overhead to bring the curved end smashing down into the Thing! The devastating blow elicits another pained grunt!

Wrecker gloats over his opponent as Thing lies on his side on the street like a prize fighter struggling to get back up.

"Hah! I'm beatin' ya, Thing! And ya know why? 'Cause I'm not lookin' to anyone for help! I'm doin' it alone -- just me and my wrecking bar!"

The villain wallows in epic self-pity and self-aggrandizing as he dwells on the recent passing of his mother and Thunderball's failed attempt to turn against him with the rest of The Wrecking Crew.

"So, a bunch'a pathetic nobodies died here today? So what?! The world's done me enough wrongs -- I got lots to pay it back for!"

Thing is disgusted by Wrecker's callous, self-important disregard for life. He may be hurting from the enchanted crowbar, but he's heard enough!

Safe in the knowledge that the inhabitants had just been evacuated -- Thing grabs Wrecker by the ankle and throws him at the wall of a nearby tenement!

Wrecker crashes into the structure, but with a simple flex of his shoulders -- he shrugs the rubble and crumbling building off like it was nothing!

They tie up again, and for all his might, The Thing finds himself teetering on the edge of being overwhelmed by the mystical strength of his opponent. He cannot maintain his wrist lock any longer -- The Wrecker breaks free and violently peppers him with punches and jabs from his crowbar!

The frenzied assault is merciless and unrelenting! A swiping strike to the face, an overhand clubbing blow to the right shoulder, a grand slam swing to the left side, a devastating two-handed overhead to the shoulders and back of the head!

Thing does his best to cover up, but the god-like hits take their toll!

The Thing begins to shrink under the impact of yet another clubbing strike from the wrecking bar. Police holding back a crowd of onlookers share in the horror of witnessing their beloved hero succumb to approaching defeat.

Wrecker gleefully swings his bar with one hand into The Thing's exposed side, delighted as the prospect of killing the hero and perhaps even showing mercy to what remains of besieged Yancy Street.

He raises the enchanted crowbar high overhead and once again brings it crashing down upon The Thing -- a direct strike right to the head! Thing winces but at last sees his carefully cultivated opportunity to pounce!

Thing throws his right hand out with lightning speed and precision!

He grabs a good hold of Wrecker's wrist and squeezes it tight.

It was a dangerous game, and with a couple more good shots they really might've been writing Ben Grimm's obituary -- but the high stakes have paid off. Thing covered up and took as much as he could, baiting Wrecker to get overconfident and careless.

Wrecker desperately pounds his free hand against Thing's shoulder, but the rapid punches do nothing. The dope has been successfully roped! Thing grabs hold of the other wrist and keeps squeezing!

Wrecker drops to one knee as Thing lords over him and keeps squeezing.

The pressure grows so great The Wrecker drops his crowbar!

For a moment the villain snaps and starts snarling: "So what?! I told ya before. I don't need the bar to beat ya! I'm still gonna kill ya! Just let go 'a me!"

It seems like the last ditch threats of a man pleading on his knees, but remarkably -- The Thing obliges. He releases his grip, but it's no act of mercy. He's just freeing his hands up...

Thing winds back with his right hand and delivers an all mighty knockout blow!

Wrecker is launched across the street and lands unconscious, where SHIELD agents are ready to lock his enchanted crowbar in adamantium containment, and collect him with "energy-sappers" for transport.

The Hammer...

It wasn't quite a textbook execution of the Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope technique, but The Thing successfully endures a pummeling -- only to turn the tables in similar fashion, by lulling The Wrecker into a false sense of security. Then it's full-scale clobberin' time!

The tactical win spares both Dr. Eliot Franklin, and most of Thing's old stomping grounds, but not without some shocking casualties!

Wrecker's violent incursion may've targeted an ostensibly abandoned Yancy Street building, but the attack also inadvertently shook the neighbouring apartments to their foundations -- instantly killing some occupants in the resulting collapse, while injuring many others as well.

It's an unusually brutal illustration of the potential for collateral damage when gods & monsters wage their private wars on the streets of the Marvel Universe. A realm The Thing remains earnestly tethered to, despite his cosmic adventuring.

He's able to help some in the building, as you would expect any good hero to, but the Garcia family -- who now lives in his childhood apartment and kindly offered to share a meal -- suffer the greatest of tragedies when their youngest, little Javier, can't be saved by medics, and succumbs to his injuries in the aftermath.

It's a surprisingly grim episode for an otherwise fun & dandy superhero slugfest, but we observe a simple morality tale of personal choice & accountability through the innocent eyes of the child, and the callous self-centeredness of The Wrecker.

The Thing's commitment to doing good against overwhelming odds elevates him from his monstrous appearance and humble beginnings, while The Wrecker can only expect to be regarded with disdain and incarceration for his pathetic disregard. Wrecker is the simple-minded malcontent who cannot see beyond himself and his own shallow self-pity. A tale as old as time we can all still learn from in our age of algorithmically curated echo chambers, and social unrest.

Indeed, it's sometimes disheartening to see even the superhero concept twisted and subjected to the demands of a loss of moral integrity and aspirational fantasy. Here, in a single-issue story from thirty-four years ago, we see The Thing choose the greater good of helping save lives before indulging the base entertainment of the superhero slugfest. A serve of responsibility with great power.

Here on The Comic Book Fight Club we're also seeking to learn more about The Wrecker's status and capabilities. It's an initiative that all started because of a harmless social media post -- arousing my curiosity, and long-held desire to look more at some of these now-classic battles against a favourite badguy!

Essentially it boils down to an assertion that The Wrecker losing a fight to Daredevil and Elektra was a career low. We've come at it from the perspective of whether or not street-level heroes can challenge The Wrecker, and whether or not Daredevil can rise to an enchanted powerhouse. This time around I thought we should take a look at how Wrecker handles a high-level opponent. A chance to see the peaks he regularly operates in, before we come back down to Earth again for the recent, offending battle.

I could've gone with any number of classic matches against Thor, and one day I'm sure I will, but Fantastic Four #355 has been burning up my desk, and the To Do List, for far too long. It's also a topical choice in a year that saw the Fantastic Four enjoy a revival kicked off by the release of Fantastic Four: First Steps. Let's face it -- I also really like the issue and just wanted to finally dive into it.

I've been enjoying the heck out of the late eighties and early nineties lately, particularly from Marvel. The characters, the melodrama, the action. The bombastic art style and vivid colours. A foot in the classics, but inching ever closer to what we come to regard as the modern comic book.

Al Milgrom does some great work here on pencils. I don't know that the isolated panels I've scanned can really do it justice, but I invite you to luxuriate in that last kayo panel. If The Wrecker were just breaking the border -- and maybe a couple of teeth -- it'd be a face-belter right out of the Sal Buscema playbook. Hey. Don't tempt me, fanboy! You know I'm always on a razor's edge for our pal Sal!

Under the intense scrutiny of our premise, I actually might cast some aspersions about Thing so brazenly absorbing as much punishment from the enchanted crowbar as he does. I've also got questions about the genius who thought to hide a former super-felon in the basement next door, but one problem at a time...

The Wrecker is at the peak of his strength at this time, having re-absorbed the totality of his enchanted strength from the rest of The Wrecking Crew, who are kinda on the outs with ol' Dirk Garthwaite, since trying to steal the rest of his power from themselves. That means those are some pretty heavy duty shots Thing's absorbing - and it may stretch the credibility of the battle ever so slightly.

Danny Fingeroth's script does offer lip service to the potentially fatal consequence of the strategy, but I think there are roughly three takeaways here:

As we build our record of The Wrecker's combat history, the reality may not be quite as impressive as we like to think. Conversely, this could also serve as a nice reminder of just how powerful and durable The Thing is! A fact that's been diminished over a couple of decades of bad movies, and even worse deliberate corporate mismanagement. Let it be known: Juggernaut may be unstoppable -- but a foundational principle of Marvel Comics is that The Thing doesn't quit!

The third option is that the practical necessities of a functional shared universe of super-heroes and super-villains means the bad guys lose. They lose a lot. Even when they seem impossible for a hero to defeat -- their apparent superiority only functions to make a greater mountain to scale, a more impressive dragon to slay.

For a guy like Ben Grimm usually you need somebody on the scale of Champion of the Universe, or Ego The Living Planet, to make that kind of grandiose stand, but perhaps a full-powered assault from The Wrecker is just as impressive a feat.

Your mileage for Thing's periodic moping sessions may vary, but I enjoy the human tale here of Ben Grimm revisiting his old stomping grounds. It's fun to see peeling back the shocking secret that he was once a member of the Yancy Street Gang and even tagged the apartment hallway -- at least until his father smacked him straight. We don't condone violence against children or anything like that, but it's nice that Benjy got his head on straight, and grew up right, despite the abuse.

These are some pretty heavy themes, dealing with class structures, child abuse, gang violence, tragedy, and even the death of a minor, but it's handled with a certain light touch. Again, I think of the fetishization of the "Evil Superman" in series like The Boys, where so many have managed to completely overlook the utter contemptibility and pathetic core behind those fragile, juvenile figures.

I find myself nostalgic for a simple thrill. The kind of comics they just don't seem to make any more. A single issue tale with a favourite character. A cheap impulse purchase, with a heroic lead, and a general sense of good. Not a multi-year commitment to the temporary decimation of an icon, or the "realistic" loathing of one character for another. Not even a well-meaning but hyper-fixateded, clumsy social message of the day. Just mature storytelling. Fiction for what it is. Completely bear and unashamed. Unique, wholly realised, and a quick bit of fun.

Back issues are where I'm finding my thrills, but in the interest of getting this thing moving, I think our next stop will be the offending issue of Daredevil from the year 2025. We'll go straight to the source to see just how bad it is, and maybe then we'll reconvene, because you know I want more Wrecker on the record, but there are also other subjects I'm interested in, in addition to random odds & ends.

There are plenty of good stories & battles from all years and you can find them in the Secret Archive! That's where we keep a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number. If you'd rather find more from your favourite characters & topics you should hit up links throughout posts to discover more. Just don't forget to flex your mind muscle and see what else is there!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has been serving superhero smackdown for well over 700 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 getting involved on Patreon. It's free to follow, and a Tier 1 sub is a great, cheap way to support 100% man-made, farm fresh niche content.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber. Yancy Street Gang members welcome!

Winner: The Thing
#9 (+2) The Thing
#453 (-14) The Wrecker
#441 (+2) Thunderball [+1 assist]

THE SPOT versus SPIDER-MAN

Breakin'! (Marvel)
Where: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #100 When: March 1985 Why: Al Milgrom How: Al Milgrom

The Story So Far...
From a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan, Wilson Fisk employs a staff of scientists working to develop super-powers to bestow upon loyal agents, serving to maintain his grip on New York City's organized crime.

One such recipient was The Black Cat, whose new bad-luck powers come with strings attached, but as she and Spider-Man plot a confrontation to remove The Kingpin from their lives -- another super-powered agent emerges to run interference!

Dr. Johnathan Ohnn's experiments have covered his body with inter-dimensional portals - transforming him into The Spot! He works in secret, hidden from the cameras that monitor The Kingpin's empire, and with Spider-Man on his way, The Spot waits in ambush to settle the score before deciding his allegiance.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Spider-Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Spider-Man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Spider-Man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Spider-Man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Draw 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Spider-Man 29 (Metahuman)

Dr. Jonathan Ohnn was assigned by The Kingpin to research and reproduce the dark energies of Cloak, but when a city-wide power outage interrupted his experiments, he stepped into a void of light & dark, transforming into The Spot!

The Spot's white figure is dotted with black voids that are functioning portals between the material world and a "Spotted Dimension". Similar to Cloak, he can use these portals for instantaneous teleportation of himself, or others, creating intricate redirections that can turn a person's punch back onto themselves!

We saw these classic Spot tactics employed in battle against Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #589, which also demonstrated his ability to project portals throughout surrounding space to set up handy ambushes.

Because The Spot's actions are intertwined with a dimension beyond the fabric of our reality, he's potentially able to attack without triggering Spider-Man's spider-senses -- one of his greatest advantages against the wallcrawler!

Ohnn's a scientist, not a fighter, but by deploying floating portals he can challenge Spidey's agility and maneuverability by throwing surprise punches from all directions. Keeping Spidey guessing is his best bet at levelling the playing field!

These guys have only met briefly before this match-up, but as we know, all Spidey really has to do is stay on his toes, keep his wits about him, and counter those attacks to have a shot at winning. Let's see how he did...

The Tape: Spider-Man Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...

Spider-Man swings his way pensively through the city towards a rendezvous at The Kingpin's high-rise headquarters. He knows he's probably heading straight into dense security, but right as he wonders about the whereabouts of a strange new wildcard in the Manhattan crime ranks -- a black portal pops into existence!

The air is suddenly a swarm of tiny black holes as The Spot emerges from the largest portal in answer to Spider-Man's musings!

The sudden appearance sends Spider-Man into an unprepared tumble, navigating the array of portals, while twisting his body to spray a blanket of webbing back from whence he came!

The web closes in too quickly for Spot to catch such a wide net in a single portal, so he rapidly improvises a gathered cluster of nearby spots into a single doorway that sends the snare into the vacant void of another dimension.

Spot follows it through, using his inter-dimensional vantage point to reach through multiple smaller portals to throw two punches and a kick from opposite directions, while his head peeks out from a spot from up above.

Spidey's danger warning senses help him navigate the throng of hostile limbs, sending him leaping from the rooftop to stay clear of the blows.

Safely out of view clinging to the side of the building, Spidey crawls around the facade, forcing The Spot to seek out his prey as it circles around behind him.

The wall-crawler silently vaults over a brick structure jutting from the rooftop, and nimbly flips out of a squat to land directly behind The Spot's head poking out of a portal. He winds up to deliver a sucker punch right to the side of the head!

Spider-Man's fist swings without contact as it sinks into the stretching abyss of one of the portals Spot had preemptively amassed across his vulnerable cranium!

As Spot's disembodied hands wave judgmental fingers from nearby floating portals -- Spider-Man is struck with a moment of inspiration from the eeriness of it all. He feigns defeat, vowing to keep clear of the portals - fleeing for the relative safety of higher ground!

The Spot responds to his cowardice with a frisbee toss of dozens of portals that follow the web-slinger to the vantage point of the looming brick box.

A stiff left fist flies straight at the wallcrawler's jaw as he struggles to block it, followed by a wild right foot that kicks right in his face!

A right hook swings out of another portal -- knocking Spidey off his perch!

Down on the rooftop and completely surrounded by portals -- Spidey endures further punishment as they close in around him and he's struck with two disembodied fists from either side!

He struggles to march forward -- paying for his determination with a thrust kick to the back!

Spider-Man perseveres, taking the back of another fist to the base of his skull -- while a rising heel kick catches him low and sends him falling to the ground.

He keeps crawling forward, even as a right hand rains down from above!

The Spot applauds his opponent for running the gauntlet of his wild and unpredictable blows, but prematurely presumes victory from their impact.

Crawling towards The Spot's feet, Spider-Man reveals his true gambit!

With so many portals distributed around the rooftop, The Spot's body has become a predominantly white mass of mortal muscle and flesh!

With his target in reach -- Spidey unleashes a devastating left to the jaw!

As The Spot reels from the blow, Spidey sinks his fist into the scientist's exposed body! It's enough to send The Spot into a panicked retreat!

The rookie super-villain finds refuge within one of his portals, but from the array intrudes Spider-Man with a stern warning that he'd best rethink his life of crime!

The Hammer...

There might be an argument that The Spot made a successful getaway, but the proportionate strength of a spider helps Spider-Man not only endure the pummeling of a one-man gauntlet, but also inflict swift pain sufficient enough to drive him into a panicked retreat.

Unlike their much later encounter in Amazing Spider-Man #589, The Spot doesn't get away scot-free. If he were walking away, he might've limped. We can't forget that Spidey packs a punch, and Jonathan Ohnn's a hapless scientist. This one hurt: "Whew! He could have killed me!"

This was the second battle between the pair after The Spot's active debut in the last issue, and origin story in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #98.

It's nice to see their knowledge of each other, and tactics, evolving accordingly, but as we already know, this is all just preamble to a main event showdown with The Kingpin. Well worth your time, if you haven't read.

It's all part of a double-stuffed 100th issue that also boasts compelling B story revolving around Black Cat's relationships with Spidey and The Kingpin, and a simmering on-going subplot of the black symbiote working its way back to Spider-Man. Material that, for a long time, made this one of my favourite acquisitions from diving into the comic book store $2 bins in the early/mid nineties.

I'm reluctant to call it my "Local Comic Shop". There probably wasn't any closer store, but it was a solid forty-five minute trip to get there. Well worth it, of course. Tony, the steadfast proprietor throughout that heady decade, always treated me very well. It wasn't unusual for him to give me an extra discount from within the fortress-like elevated square that served as a 360 degree counter. Even on the cheap ones.

I scored some more issues of Spectacular Spider-Man from rummaging through those $2 and $1 boxes on a subsequent visit. I was already a big Sal Buscema fan by that point, so an affordable stack of Spectacular issues might not have been the cutting edge of trends, but was the next best thing to sliced gold, as far as I was concerned. There were great issues in there that we'll probably talk about some day in the future, but #100 was always just a bit special.

The Kingpin fight might've been a classic piece of Spidey business, but I always thought fondly of this issue for the appearance of The Spot.

Back in those days, wisdom probably had it that Spider-Man didn't have any real business regularly tangling with a master of inter-dimensional portals. That's the kind of thing Doctor Strange deals with. Spidey's at his best with super-powered mobsters, and villains with their own proportionate powers of an animal or insect.

Not surprisingly, The Spot stuck to his word, and apparently gave up his life of crime after today's fight. He was out of action for more than a decade, and when he finally showed up again in Spectacular Spider-Man #245, it was as a precursor to the formation of The Legion of Losers -- a quartet of unloved oddball villains led by The Grizzly. Not exactly the bombshell return of a fan-favourite badguy.

Yet, I always liked The Spot. Al Milgrom juggles The Spot's movement and powers brilliantly, effectively using his head portals to create uncanny expression with what passes for a mouth and eyes, while his limbs pop out of two-dimensional discs that hover in an implied three-dimensional reality.

Coming from the pages of Spectacular gave him a certain pedigree, in my mind, and tangential ties to Cloak supplied him with an interesting place in the world, and strikingly graphic design related to his powers, even if it looked better here than when Herb Trimpe ran through his first fight in issue #99.

Like a lot of great arch-villains, The Spot also challenges the hero with a direct counter to one of his key powers: in this case - agility.

His rapid distributions of portals, and body-contorting array of applications, including turning an opponent's attack back against them, forces a character like Spider-Man out of his routine comfort zone, provoking inventive new applications of his abilities to find a solution to the problem.

Spidey evades some of the attacks in today's featured fight thanks to his danger-warning spidey senses, but later iterations of the character will also further exploit The Spot's otherworldly abilities, making his inter-dimensional maneuverings logically more difficult to track.

In the last decade or so The Spot seems to have become a more regular fixture, tangling with various Marvel heroes, with a new mainstream peak coming from his role in the animated feature film Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Something I never would've thought I'd be saying about the villain from the $2 box!

You can find more from the so-called "Spider-Verse" with Miles Morales, Spider-Man 2099, Ben Reilly, Spider-Boy, and more, by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights from the multiverse in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 iconic characters! By becoming a supporter on Patreon you'll help make it possible to continue to explore more of the sprawling comic book multiverse. As a thank you for making it possible you'll receive access to additional updates, a new Discord server, and customizable articles including the famous Rank & File Top 10!

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Winner: Spider-Man
#2 (--) Spider-Man
#652 (-177) The Spot

MOON KNIGHT versus BLACK KNIGHT

Death & Texas! Chapter 9: Moon Knight vs Black Knight (Marvel)
Where: West Coast Avengers Annual #2 When: 1987 Why: Steve Englehart, Mark Gruenwald & Tom DeFalco How: Al Milgrom

The Story So Far...
A day of baseball under the Houston Astrodome becomes a game of life & death when the second contest between coasts ends with The Silver Surfer smashing through the ceiling -- and the sudden deaths of the East Coast Avengers!

A cosmic bolt sent by The Grandmaster appears responsible, but in the realm of the dead, the deceased Elder apologetically informs them it was only as a means of summoning them to thwart The Collector's mad scheme for immortality.

The Avengers could yet be returned to life, but first they must subdue their West Coast counterparts, who, under the guidance of The Collector, have joined them in the afterlife by taking a poison elixir. It's a seven-a-side contest between two teams of Avengers, but what are the true stakes of their clash?

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Moon Knight 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Black Knight 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Moon Knight 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Moon Knight 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Moon Knight 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Moon Knight 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Draw 2 (Projectile)
Total: Moon Knight 24 (Champion)

Why does this feel familiar? Under the gaze of The Grandmaster we have two teams of Avengers facing off! Perfectly matched with seven on each side, they split up into one-on-one contests between West Coast and East Coast rivals.

Here we observe a study in contrast! Moon Knight shines bright in Khonshu's lunar light for the West Coast, while Black Knight stands darkly under the curse of the Ebony Blade from the East. They're hard fighting heroes with superficial similarities, but the differences run much deeper than cosmetics!

Marc Spector was a freelance mercenary before he was left for dead in the Egyptian desert and became the "Fist of Khonshu". He's highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, wielding a small array of handheld and throwing weapons, some even designed by his fellow West Coast Avenger of the time: Hawkeye.

Dane Whitman was a physicist when he inherited his uncle's castle, and discovered his true identity as the villainous Black Knight. Taking up the Ebony Blade, Dane chose to use its cursed legacy to infiltrate the Masters of Evil and work to defeat them from within.

Black Knight quickly became something of a master swordsman, able to use his cursed blade with considerable skill and precision -- but a magic sword won't intimidate Moon Knight!

Moon Knight's comics debut was stalking The Werewolf, and his adventures have continued to feature supernatural enemies such as Demogoblin, who blurred the lines of his life as a mercenary and occultist in Marc Spector: Moon Knight #32.

MK also tidily handled the villain Taskmaster by using extreme shock & awe tactics in Moon Knight (Vol.5) #6. Taskmaster wields a variety of weapons & styles mimicking The Avengers, including Black Knight's sword style -- but it proved a non-factor in his unusual exchange with Moon Knight.

Today's fight could really go either way. Moon Knight is a faster, more agile and proficient fighter, outfitted with useful projectile weaponry. Black Knight is a savvy swordsman with strong defense and close-quarters preference. Each believes they're fighting to save the others' life. Let's see what that brings out in them...

The Tape: Moon Knight Ranking: Moon Knight (#351)

What Went Down...

Black Knight confronts his opponents with intense determination. He doesn't know why Moon Knight is there. He isn't privy to impending membership with the West Coast team. He only knows he must win their battle to defend everyone's lives.

Brandishing the Ebony Blade wielded by his ancestors; Black Knight demonstrates the risk of its bloodthirsty curse by effortlessly slicing through nearby rock.

Moon Knight jokes that his opponent's elaborate explanations will 'talk him to death' before the sword strikes. A taunt that prompts Black Knight to action!

Again the dark metal makes light work of rock as Black Knight's weapon chases its target across the battlefield. Moon Knight keeps a step ahead of the mighty swing, vaulting over an arching protrusion that rises out of the barren landscape.

Even in evasion the "Fist of Khonshu" recognises a kindred spirit with the swordsman, and the risk of his sword's accursed ties with "the nightside".

Though sympathetic, Moon Knight seeks a quick end, making a nimble landing while reaching for a pouch at his back filled with throwing spikes!

His aim with the Hawkeye-designed projectiles is true -- but Black Knight blocks their path with a deft swing of his sword.

Moon Knight keeps up the offensive -- looking to test Black Knight with the fast follow-up of an expertly thrown boomerang.

Once again Black Knight counters with his enchanted sword -- cutting the boomerang out of the air!

Concerned Khonshu has failed to enchant his own weapons - and fearing the "crazed" advantage of the Ebony Blade; Moon Knight digs deep into his bag of tricks and unleashes all of them in a single all-out offensive!

Winged darts are met with the black steel of the Ebony Blade, but a snaring bolo passes beneath the zigzagging sword and wraps tightly around Black Knight's knees. He falls!

Moon Knight seizes his opportunity -- brandishing an ornate axe as he launches himself at the grounded knight!

The cursed sword is once again there to defend the Black Knight, blocking the golden axe with room to spare. He boasts about the weapon's supremacy, but Moon Knight vows to persevere: "I won't quit trying--!"

Black Knight uses his opponent's determination against him, releasing the block and swinging his legs up so the falling axe cuts through the binding bolo cord.

Free to move -- Black Knight quickly returns to his feet and cuts the head from the Egyptian axe while knocking it out of his opponent's hands!

Moon Knight dashes backward, retreating deep into the enveloping folds of his white cape as he farewells his final weapon -- but refuses to yield!

Tempting the curse of the Ebony Blade -- Moon Knight lunges toward his opponent with sword drawn!

The black steel pierces through Moon Knight's cape as the hero's words suddenly choke in his throat. The deed appears done, but all is not as it seems...

Beneath the veil of his flowing cloak -- Moon Knight positioned his body askew to avoid impalement and trap the sword firmly under arm.

Locking the stunned swordsman at close quarters, Moon Knight swings a golden ankh from beneath his cape -- and delivers a knock out blow!

The Hammer...

The battle of the knights produced some dangerous gambits, but in the end it was Moon Knight whose daring won the day! His victory levels the scores for the West Coast Avengers at 3 all, but the final result doesn't really matter yet...

The only purpose served by this rumble between Avengers is to demand the attention of Death herself, so The Grandmaster can steal her power -- and use it to start a new game by completely rebooting the universe with his own rules!

It was a feat achieved by Grandmaster's willful submission at the end of The Contest of Champions, which earned the resurrection of his co-conspirator, The Collector, and ultimately allowed him to personally observe Death within her natural environment, gaining the privileged knowledge to ensnare and defeat her.

West Coast Avengers Annual #2 therefore becomes one long con: a prelude to the real sport of Avengers Annual #16, and a formal contest that will pit The Avengers against Grandmaster's "Legion of Unliving" for the fate of the universe.

That high-stakes battle sees Avengers face an all-star line-up of heroes & villains who were considered dead in 1987. An all together delicious scenario that pits Black Knight against his predecessor, and Moon Knight against Green Goblin -- who hadn't yet been deemed living in a retcon to his famous glider impalement!

Those will all be fantastic battles to spotlight sometime in the future, and once they are, you'll be able to find them in the Secret Archive. For now we must dwell further upon today's featured fighters and their apparent extremes.

Were these characters really ready to kill each other? As committed as they might be to their respective efforts to save the Avengers' lives -- I don't think so.

Although Black Knight speaks of his Ebony Blade's curse as though he were ready to take a life: he expresses stunned disbelief when the apparent killing blow is finally rendered -- without his deliberate involvement.

He also seems to have forgotten that they're both already dead. A fact Moon Knight is far more prescient of, having experienced his own dance between life & death in the desert, when he was claimed by the Egyptian lunar deity Khonshu.

Although this might inspire Moon Knight to cavalier efforts with his axe -- even he manages to conclude the battle without a lethal strike.

Moon Knight wields his weapons with respect and recognition for Black Knight's obvious fighting prowess, using them tactically to apply pressure without genuine murderous intent. These men remain heroes, after all, and their reluctance to kill -- even an opponent who is already dead -- seems self-evident.

Moon Knight is leveraging his relative obscurity as a recent submission to the West Coast Avengers, leaving Black Knight to interpret his measures as genuine hostility. He believes him a "madman": an interpretation that might ring true to modern readers, but is coming long before writers had fixated on characterizing Marc Spector as a man prone to mental instability.

Although this Moon Knight is a far cry from later interpretations, there is an interesting consistency between his tactics here, and the extreme measures used in later iterations. Risking laceration in the afterlife is a little less wanton than crashing a plane and taking arrows to the body, but such were the mid-2000s.

We really have the "Event" comics of that era, such as Civil War, to "thank" for the now ubiquitous circus of death that befouls most modern comics.

Today's feature reminds us that death has been a part of superhero comics for a very long time, but it also clarifies that the notion of heroes haphazardly killing each other with any impression of permanence is a much more recent cliché. One that seems long overdue retirement as a flimsy, self-defeating cry for attention.

Of course, this is not the forum that's going to completely deny the innate appeal of seeing which hero comes out on top from a good battle. A premise that the team of writers behind these twin '87 Annuals exploit to fast and furious appeal in their unofficial sequel(s) to the less star studded Contest of Champions.

I notice I've been on a bit of an Al Milgrom kick lately, and dare I say it -- today's fight is actually one of his weaker efforts in the West Coast book. His layouts are a little repetitive here, owing in part to the detailed minutiae driving the battle between Knights. It's good and clear, but I look forward to exploring some of the other Avengers in-fighting that produces more varied results.

To see more of that type of thing you can follow links throughout this post, or explore more than 650 featured fights, ranking over 1,000 characters, in the previously mentioned Secret Archive.

You can also check out the issue in its entirety in Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: Tales to Astonish or Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions. Use the Amazon purchase links provided to do any of your shopping and you'll not only score a good deal -- you'll help support the site!

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Winner: Moon Knight
#122 (+229) Moon Knight
#968 (new) Black Knight