JUGGERNAUT versus DR. STRANGE & HULK

Of Monsters And Magicians (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Adventures #14 When: May 1998
Why: Ralph Macchio How: Andy Kuhn

The Story So Far...
Cain Marko is best known to the world as the unstoppable Juggernaut -- but when his powers begin to fade, he finds himself in danger of losing his super-strong identity!

Juggernaut's only friend in the world is Black Tom Cassidy, and the Irish super-criminal has heard a rumor that just might help his shrinking friend!

The Crimson Gem of Cyttorak that first gave Marko his magical might is said to be in the hands of a magician living in Greenwich Village. When the pair strong arm his aid Wong, they gain entry into the Sanctum Sanctorum, and an audience with Earth's Sorcerer Supreme himself: Dr. Stephen Strange!

Strange is indeed in possession of the artefact that can recharge the Juggernaut, but little does the villain realize, there is another guest in the Sanctum whose phenomenal strength could match even his. He appears to be meek Dr. Bruce Banner, but when you make him mad, he becomes a Hulk!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Hulk 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Dr. Strange 5 (Professor)
Speed: Hulk 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Juggernaut 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Dr. Strange 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Hulk 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Dr. Strange 6 (Mass Destruction)


Throughout November we've been looking at the exploits of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, but sometimes the key to being a good leader is knowing when to delegate! Good thing Dr. Strange has a very wide talent pool of secret allies to pull from!

Today's villain is a behemoth we're coming to know well on The Comic Book Fight Club! Juggernaut is a magically unstoppable powerhouse whose mystic strength has toppled Colossus [Uncanny X-Men #183], Captain Britain [Excalibur #3], Captain Marvel Jr [Unlimited Access #3], and as featured just a few weeks ago -- Dr. Strange, who lost his life in the reality of What If...? #24!

You could forgive the Doc for looking for a little assistance when tangling with a foe as powerful as this! Fortunately for him, his Sanctum Sanctorum attracts a wide array of friends and foes, luring this time the frail form of Dr. Bruce Banner, better known to the world as the incredible Hulk!

Hulk's unnatural super-human strength is biological in nature. Altered by the science of gamma radiation, Hulk is the raging monster that lurks within the mind and body of scientist Banner. He's one of the most powerful figures in the Marvel Universe, owning featured victories over Silver Surfer [Incredible Hulk #95], The Sentry [World War Hulk #5], The Avengers [Avengers #4], Thor [Avengers #5] and Red Hulk [Hulk #6]!

Popular conceit is that Hulk's strength increases the madder he gets - and nothing makes him madder than an opponent he can't beat! Some feel that implies limitless strength, but here on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, we have always subscribed to the belief that Hulk's mortal body has a limit to the power it can produce, or contain. That's okay, though!

Unstoppable, though he may be, Juggernaut can at least be temporarily defeated! We've seen the likes of Nimrod [Uncanny X-Men #194], Superman [DC versus Marvel #1], Spider-man & Wonder Woman [Unlimited Access #1], and The Avengers [Thunderbolts #150] put him on his tin canned keister!

As evenly matched opponents go - Juggernaut and Hulk are a couple of the greats. Any fight could go either man's way! Let's not forget that Hulk has Dr. Strange in his corner, though -- and there's one special detail in this encounter that undoubtedly gives the heroes an edge!

Juggernaut has come to the Sanctum Sanctorum because his magical strength has been dwindling. He's literally wasting away -- needing to make fresh contact with the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak to recharge his powers! When the fight breaks out, he has done that, inadvertently spilling into the dimension of Cyttorak himself, but

It isn't a standard necessity for the character. Just one of those uncommon afflictions that introduces a little vulnerability. When the fight begins he has been recharged - and spilled into the dimension of Cyttorak, himself. However a shred of doubt about his power remains, and that's all Hulk and Dr. Strange should need! Let's check it out...

The Tape: Hulk Ranking: Hulk (#6)

What Went Down...
With Wong held hostage by Black Tom Cassidy, the unstoppable Juggernaut penetrates the inner chambers of The Sanctum Sanctorum. Responding to the shrinking villain's plea, Dr. Strange produces the crimson Gem of Cyttorak -- only to be swatted aside as Juggernaut greedily snatches it away!

Unassuming scientist Bruce Banner watches from the threshold as a beam of red energy escapes the gem above an unconscious Sorcerer Supreme. Seeing the emaciated Juggernaut for the villain he is - Banner dives into the fray!

The tackle sends Banner and Juggernaut plunging into a portal emitting from the ruby. Black Tom contemplates the error of their plan as his associate disappears into the void of another dimension!

Inside the other realm, Juggernaut's body swells as it bathes in the raw magic of Cyttorak! He revels in a power like he's never felt before! Standing large and super-charged, he fails to notice the ghostly presence looming behind him!

A blast of mystic energy gets the Juggernaut's attention! It seems Dr. Strange's unconscious state was not a result of physical harm -- but rather, a plan to open the interdimensional doorway and entrap the Juggernaut with his astral form!

The Juggernaut starts charging toward his ectoplasmic foe, but strange claps his hands together and fires a beam at the at his feet. The spell causes the very ground to rise up around the Juggernaut -- but his unstoppable strength is too great to be held for long!

Strange attempts a more direct approach, conjuring a gigantic medieval pincer -- but Juggernaut catches its pointed ends, and shatters the weapon with his phenomenal power! As he stalks toward the astral spectre, Strange realizes the powers Juggernaut receives from this realm could place him in mortal danger!

Seeing the man who helped him in peril, Bruce Banner gives in to his inner anxiety and rage. In an explosion of muscle and anger, he shatters the calm bestowed by the mystic and unleashes the incredible Hulk!

Believing the Hulk to be summoned by Strange's magic, Juggernaut accepts the challenge. A chance to prove who the strongest in the world really is!

The two behemoths collide -- the unstoppable force meeting the immovable monster! A green hook chin checks the Juggernaut. He fires back with an unstoppable uppercut! Hulk drives both fists down atop his foe. Juggernaut fires back with a left cross of his own. Hulk throws another punch back his way. Two evenly matched powerhouses locked in a call-and-reply conversation of combat!

Seeing no end in sight: Dr. Strange plants a suggestion in the simple mind of the Hulk, urging him to direct his blows in the direction of a distant temple. An almighty blow sends Juggernaut flying in the intended direction.

At the foot of the enormous idol is another gleaming gem of Cyttorak! Seeing a chance to boost his powers to even greater heights: Juggernaut reaches out for the ruby. At first, it has the intended effect - flooding his massive body with rippling waves of energy! Triumph turns to horror as Juggernaut is consumed by the unending raw power! He shrieks for help as his body bursts with light and he disappears!

In Juggernaut's place appears the visage of the entity Cyttorak! He chastises Earth's Sorcerer Supreme for trespassing upon his realm, but also expresses a begrudging gratitude for his prior role in dispensing with Mindless Ones. For that, Cyttorak agrees to return Stephen Strange and Bruce Banner to Earth.

Juggernaut, however, will not be so fortunate. He must be punished for meddling with primal forces beyond him!

The Hammer...
After careful deliberation: Hulk & Dr. Strange will share the victory, with an invaluable assist from Cyttorak! Hard times for Juggernaut, who quite clearly picks up another defeat.

Fans of The Comic Book Fight Club will be excited to know the result means Hulk rises from #6 in the rankings, to #4! He super-leaps new #5 Wolverine, and pushes Superman out of the Top 5, down to #6! Scroll to the bottom of this entry for the full character rankings update.

Despite its impact on our ranks, not all fans will be rushing enthusiastically to quote this particular example of the Hulk defeating the unstoppable Juggernaut.

Marvel Adventures, for those who may not know, was a consolidated out-of-canon series spinning out of the various comics inspired by Marvel's cartoons.

Throughout the early to mid nineties; X-Men, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Hulk all graced the small screen in starring animated series. The quality of the animation varied, but for the most part, they were excellent, faithful introductions to the wonderful world of Marvel Comics.

Many episodes adapted famous stories from classic comics. On rare occasions, the cartoons even crossed over with one another! Dr. Strange was one such hero to go between series, appearing in a Spider-man episode in '96, before making his way into the second series of Incredible Hulk, in '97.

The whole phenomenon first closed the loop on itself in 1992, when Marvel published issue #1 of X-Men Adventures. Throughout its four year run, the series would adapt episodes of the cartoon to comics. It sounds a little silly, but it was a 90s commerce solution to an influx of cartoon viewers becoming comics readers. The barrier to entry was low, and familiarity bred the cool kids who skipped out-of-continuity stories, delving deeper into the on-going canon!

Convoluted production issues on the third series of animated X-Men saw episodes shuffled to meet deadlines, censorship and run time. Volume 3 of X-Men Adventures adapted The Phoenix storylines central to the cartoon, but left many stories unrepresented. Instead, a subsequent launch of Adventures of the X-Men began a new era of telling original stories only partially inspired by the world of the cartoons. Marvel Adventures continued this with a revolving cast of cartoon inspired heroes and villains, often in combination.

Considering the state of Marvel Comics from '96 to '98, these simplified and iconic versions of characters had a real place on racks. In Adventures, fans could get fun, done-in-one stories away from convoluted events like Ben Reilly as Spider-man, the Heroes Reborn reboot universe, and so on. I may have been enjoying those stories at the time, but I certainly appreciated these alternatives.

If classic heroes and villains weren't selling point enough - there was the wholly unique art style of Andy Kuhn! You may know him these days from series like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or Firebreather. In the mid to late nineties, his big, bold, exaggerated art style gave Marvel's characters a unique contemporary look, and helped define the identity of Adventures branded comics!

Of course, being so identified with the Adventures ghetto probably didn't do him a lot of favours in the dismissive eyes of regular Marvel readers. He's found his way into books like Secret Avengers in recent years, but in my opinion, Kuhn remains significantly underrated! An artist I'd love to see more of.

We may get to more Kuhn in the future, but for now, we conclude a month of celebrating Doctor Strange! The Sorcerer Supreme has been the subject of our November battles, and is in theatres now!

If you read this week's spoilerific Hero of the Week spotlight, you know the Doctor Strange movie has an intriguing surprise cameo. That's going to fuel our final feature fight - next week! It's a forgotten classic, so you won't want to miss it! If you have, be sure to dive into character tag links or the Issue Index Archive! You'll find hundreds of features if you do!

Winners: Hulk and Doctor Strange (w/ Cyttorak)
#4 (+2) Hulk
#22 (+10) Dr. Strange
#43 (--) Juggernaut
#504 (new) Cyttorak

SABRETOOTH versus JUBILEE
Rites of Passage (Marvel comics)
Where: Adventures of the X-Men #7 When: October 1996 Why: Ralph Macchio How: Andy Kuhn

The story so far...
In their last confrontation, Sabretooth and Wolverine battled in the snowy ranges of Alaska, where the X-Man was able to out maneuver his old foe to send him hurtling down an icey ravine.

Having finally clawed his way back to the surface, Sabretooth is madder than ever, and intent on getting revenge on his arch-nemesis.

Stalking his way across America, Sabretooth returns to the X-Mansion he once infiltrated under orders of Magneto. Ironically, the X-Men are abroad in Russia tending to matters concerning the master of magnetism, leaving Professor Xavier and Jubilee alone in the mansion -- with Sabretooth!

Previous Form:
Sabretooth (#326): Suffered a defeat at the hands of Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
Jubilee (#224): Went down to Robin during the inter-universe competition.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Sabretooth 4 (Steroid Popper)
Intelligence: Sabretooth 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Sabretooth 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Sabretooth 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Sabretooth 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Sabretooth 7 (Born Fighter)
Energy Powers: Jubilee 3 (Explosives)


From one mansion incursion [Ultimate X-Men #49], to another! Just like last time, Professor Xavier has been taken out before the action could even get started, so we're going to take a look at this one as a one-on-one situation. Which is a little bit ridiculous, because, well, just look at those stats...

By way of the patented Haseloff tape, we see that Sabretooth represents one of the most well rounded fighters in the Marvel universe, moderately ranking in most areas, excelling in the field of combat, appropriate for this particular website.

Jubilee is... Jubilee. Granted, she's got several steps up on Angel, but her powers generally extend to wearing a yellow jacket and surrounding her hands with colourful pops of light. An "omega mutant" she is not.

Jubilee really has no business fighting Sabretooth. Well, okay, maybe we could come with something. I mean, Jubilee is a victim of her perpetual youth. It's reasonable to assume she'll grow up into a plasma-blasting bad ass. Maybe one day we'll find out Boom-Boom, Jubilee and Dazzler are all descended from neanderthal finger-sparky disco queens who invented fire and were mortal enemies of the Sabre-rine species Jeph Loeb introduced recently. But I digress...

Sabretooth almost certainly eviscerates Jubilee in the most horrific of ways, but this book's based in the 1990s cartoon universe, so we know that won't happen. On the integrity of this section, I cannot say Jubilee would win, but...

The Math: Sabretooth (Meta Class)
The Pick: Sabretooth

What went down...
Arriving on the mansion grounds, not even the stealthy Sabretooth can evade the X-Men's hi-tech security systems. With the alarm sounding, Professor Xavier is unable to pin point the intruder telepathically, forced to activate the defenses.
Sabretooth is able to call upon his mutant gifts and years of experience to survive the various nets and pits, making it to the roof of the mansion.

As Sabretooth halts a skylight shield mid-closure, Jubilee convinces a reluctant Professor Xavier to allow her to investigate. Scouring the levels of the mansion, Jubilee reports via contact pin, finding nothing out of place on the first two floors, but a trashed mess in Wolverine's bedroom.

When contact goes dead, Jubilee scrambles to Professor Xavier, piecing together the clues to deduce the identity of their intruder, just as she turns the corner to find Professor Xavier, bruised and in the hands of Sabretooth!

He tosses Xavier aside and makes chase of the fleeing Jubilee. She scrambles through the mansion slamming doors on her way, but the powerful Sabretooth is able to smash his way through with minimal resistance.

She slows the feral villain a little with her mutant generated plasma explosions. The move further provokes the volitile intruder, but buys Jubilee the space to duck into the control room for the danger room, where she had trained earlier.

Tapping a few controls, she smashes through the observation deck window as the looming shadow of Sabretooth is cast over the control room doorway.

Breathing down her neck, Sabretooth suggests Jubilee simply give in to the inevitable. With hand on hip, she wags her finger in mocking satisfaction for the plan she has hatched to use the X-Men's training facility as a weapon.

To Sabretooth's dismay, attack discs fire from the walls, striking him in the behind. The surprise punishment doesn't stop there, jets of flame adding a light toasting to the ill prepared Sabretooth, who suffers the brunt of the attack while Jubilee backflips through the obstacles.

With his mutant healing factor taking care of most of the damage, Sabretooth arrogantly congratulates Jubilee on her improvement since the last time they clashed. Before he can punctuate his sarcasm with a gutting, he finds himself sprayed with a super-adhesive that holds him in place as giant mobile walls begin to move toward him!

Jubilee, also ensnared in the sticky goop, taunts the enraged Sabretooth some more, before using her pyrokinetics to free herself and make a dash from the final press of the giant training trap.

Jubilee quickly returns to the embattered Professor Xavier, helping him to his hover chair. She recounts her triumph over both danger room, and super villain alike, but the wise Professor warns, "Don't assume anything where that maniac is concerned." A decided shift of opinion from the last time Sabretooth clashed with Jubilee, having taken up quarters to receive 'therapy' from the Prof.

Predictably, the Professor's ominous warning marks the charging entrance of Sabretooth, sans half his pants. No longer content with taking it easy on Jubilee, Sabretooth refuses to take chase, instead bringing the fight to his own terms by wrenching a computer console from the War Room floor.

Sabretooth's aim proves off, Jubilee swiftly ducking the incoming projectile.
She shows him how it's done, blasting him with more of her patented multi-coloured plasma bursts. Like red to a bull, the attack serves only to renew Sabretooth's attack.

Jubilee again calls upon her maneuverability. She ducks an unrefined lunge, and does equally well leaping a savage claw slash that misses her by inches, and puts the savage Sabretooth off-balance.
The break, having provided Jubilee another tactical opening, allows her the opportunity to expel her energies at the ceiling, bringing down a hail of computer junk and rubble atop the feral mutant marauder.

Seeming unstoppable, Sabretooth quickly emerges from the tonnes of rubble, finally getting his clawed hands on the wile X-Man. Having caught her ankle in mid-flight, he pins her to the ground, using his massive weight advantage to prevent another plasma blast, and give her nowhere to go.

He savours the moment, suffering a rebellious spit to the eye!
Enraged to the final point, Sabretooth raises his claws to deliver the killer blow, but the recovered Xavier manages to halt his murderours thoughts with a telepathic mind-blast!

With the situation dire, Jubilee gives her blast everything she's got, knocking Sabretooth backward to live wiring exposed by the console he tore up.
Her options becoming limited, she bravely charges full force at Sabretooth, knocking him back into the wiring! He lights up like a smouldering Christmas tree, but doesn't go down before delivering a final scare, reaching out in vein before collapsing unconscious.

The hammer...
Proving her value as an X-Man, the winner, Jubilee!

And who'd have believed it? Two X-Men features in as many weeks.
Features that didn't even contain Wolverine. What can I say? I'm not an Adventures fan, but those kinetic Andy Kuhn pencils lured me in for another dose of mansion mayhem!

I like to think the relaxed schedule has affored us the opportunity to approach these reviews something like a discussion. Even though we've seemingly thrown off the oppresive shackles of scheduled themes, you'll notice they're still weaving their way through the posts. I guess you can consider the empowered young female X-Man being the current topic of interest, but it's not going to stop here.

Certainly there are very specific beats in this story's script that really call back to the classic Uncanny X-Men #143, where Kitty Pryde finds herself alone in the mansion with a renegade demon from the N'Garai!

Like that classic issue the young mutants struggle in a condensened coming-of-age story, pitting them against overwhelming odds that would otherwise be swiftly dismissed by more senior X-Men. Like this issue of Adventures, Pryde used many of the same strategies to compensate for her offensive inadequecies against a much more powerful foe, but we'll talk more about that when we take a look at that famous issue.

Prompting this pseudo-discussion was a cocktail of Sabretooth's recent decapatation in the comics, and late night viewings of the 1990's X-Men cartoon, upon which this particular issue is based. As far as I know this isn't among the transcribed stories from episodes, but it does draw specifically upon the fourth episode of the series, Deadly Reunions, where Sabretooth infiltrates the Mansion on the behalf of Magneto, who more specifically combats Xavier for the first time in years.

In that episode, Jubilee is left alone, tricked into freeing Sabretooth of his shackles, and saved only by the intervention of Wolverine, who had stormed off previously in protest of Xavier's leniency for his old foe, while they battle Magneto on the basis of Xavier's history.

What's shameful about this story is how clearly it highlights Jubilee's lack of development through the nineties. While I wasn't a reader of Generation X, I think it's safe to say any headway made in those issues was minimal, as Jubilee fell by the wayside, a victim of perpetual youth.

Until now, it's perhaps only in the ill-fated M2 comics that anyone has made any attempt to develop Jubilee, those books recasting her as an adult member of a future Avengers. Although, even here, it should be noted that she's still sporting that ridiculous yellow coat, and fairly tame plasma based powers.

It seems a little obscure, but I'm pleased to see that Jubilee is at least appearing in some capacity, albeit under the guise of 'Wondra', in the pages of the new New Warriors book. Not only that, but she's taking on a more senior role within the team, which might be ambitious, but is certainly a positive step.

Maybe I'm too sentimental, but like Rogue [discussed Ultimate X-Men #49], it seems like such an injustice for a character who no doubt ushered many fans into the fold (via the cartoons), would fall so thoroughly from relevance.
I'm not really a fan of the character, so unlike Rogue, any personal connection is marginal, but it just [seemed] like such a typical case of dropping a ball of potential during play.

The utterly ill-conceived and disappointing Blade series, which recently came to an end, feels like another prime example of a failure to capitalize on properties developed prominently outside the existing fanbase.

Still, the clock's just ticked over to the AM, and I'm running late for our Monday appointment because of this, so I might bid you adieu before I get distracted by further tangential topics.

Before I go, I should direct you to the super-index site When Fangirls Attack, which is currently directing traffic to the last mansion-update. As a hub of all the feminist-based niche discussions, it's a very interesting source to visit and explore from time to time. It's a real pleasure to get a mention, as perhaps one of the less overtly intellectual blogs. Hopefully our superhero fisticuffs and interested musings are sufficient for their readers.

Also, I'm hard at work on the second issue of The Kirby Martin Inquest, so if you haven't already, see about picking yourself up a copy of the utterly affordable first issue. You can get link details from Nite Lite Theatre.
Just a day or two ago I got pin-up artwork from Chris Fason [Hero Happy Hour] that's looking super, and I'm very excited about the overall presentation of the book!

With that said, I'm bloody tired, so be kind if I'm a little late.
Also, yes, I have a new avatar. One that isn't a sissy looking Sentry.

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4
[Kuhn is one of the unsung heroes of superhero comics. A fast, fun and energetic story, complimentary to the cartoons, but easily handed to anyone uninitiated. A feint reminder of how disappointing it is Sabretooth's off the board!]

THE FRIGHTFUL FOUR versus THE FANTASTIC FOUR
The Ties That Bind (Marvel comics)
Where: Marvel Adventures #12 When: March, 1998
Why: Ralph Macchio How: Andy Kuhn

The story so far...
The evil mastermind of the Wizard has again begun plotting against the Fantastic Four, this time navigating micro-cameras into Reed Richards' inner scientific sanctum to spy on the team.

When the Human Torch appears to storm away, the Wizard sees it as the perfect opportunity to spring his newly trained Frightful Four into action.

Thus, he gathers the Trapster, Thundra and Sandman, and proceeds to place explosive devices throughout the business district that surrounds the FF headquarters. The Fantastic Three do their best to curb the violence, but succeed only in preventing further destruction.
When they return, they find their abode infiltrated.

Previous Form:
Fantastic Four #129: This very incarnation of the Frightful Four did battle with Thing and Medusa, in Thundra's first appearance.
Civil War #3: Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman were present at the confrontation between opposing sides in Civil War.
Fantastic Four #3: Reed Richards held his own against the Red Ghost and his Super Apes.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Genius)
Speed: Human Torch 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Thing 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: Sandman 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting Ability: Thundra 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Human Torch 7 (Solar Power)

There's kind of a psuedo-technical element to this section with the stats, so I thought it might be nice to round out every week with an additional stat. As objective as I try to be every week, it just looks like I'm picking the winner all the time, so there's a nice little addition. With any luck the uber stats provided by the patented Haseloff system will eventually show the dichotomy of character strength versus standard.

ANYWAY -- A little arch-rivalry here in the form of the Fantastic Four versus their evil counterparts, the Frightful Four.

I don't know if you'd call this the classic group, but it's probably my favourite teaming of Frightul foes.
It's probably worth noting that this incarnation sort of has a counterpart overlap. With Thundra's chief function being super strength, Thing gets her by default, which means Sandman can be shuffled off to either Invisible Woman or Mr. Fantastic, who both have malleable powers. Although, Wizard is the natural nemesis of the team leader/genius, Reed Richards, so you can start to see the team's evolution.

Paste Pot Pete has never really struck me as a good fit, but I guess I like that. I'm not all that fond of the two-dimensional thought process that tells a villain, 'If I counter balance each of their powers, we're assured victory!'

Now, the smart bet might have the Trapster using his powers of entrapment to tangle with the forcefield yielding Invisible Woman - leaving the Sandman to douse the flame of the Human Torch. However, for whatever reasoning, Petey takes the hothead, with whom he's tangled previously, albeit to poor results.

The Sandman's versatility, combined with Thundra's presence does lend a pretty good argument for the Frightful quarter. However, particularly between those two strongarms, there's a lot of in-fighting. Thundra's allegiance to the group is one of convenience, which does tend to make her something of an X-factor.

The FF, while having their squabbles, are generally far superior than most opponents when it comes to being a cohesive unit. They also have a track record of regularly besting their villainous alternates.

I'm reticent to immediately throw it the way of the FF just because of past performance, but one does have to consider the strategic intelligence of each member of the Fantastic foursome. They all possess fairly respectable competence in the art of combat, and flow particularly well as a unit.

This juxtaposes the Frightful team, which are usually far better prepared, but dependent upon the precision planning of the Wizard. Even when they hold the superior advantage, the inability to ensure the prevention of variables is often their downfall.

Between these two teams it'll always be a close fight, but particularly in the Adventures book, you'd be mad to bet against the home team.

Average: The Fantastic Four 21.75 (+0.25)
Overall: The Fantastic Four 87 (+1)
The Pick: The Fantastic Four

What went down...
When the FF return from preventing mass destruction, they find their private Baxter Building elevator has been filled with since-hardened paste. Reed Richards is a smart fellow, so he understandably warns the team to be on their toes!

Unfortunately, when they crack their way in, and head up via the elevator, they find themselves on the ceiling, courtesy of a barrage of Wizard's anti-gravity discs.
The Trapster ensnares the trio in paste, rendering them helpless cargo.

Standing at the controls of Reed Richards' recently devised sub-spatial gateway, the Wizard gloats, revealing the details of his plan, whilst musing that Richards was not the challenge he posed in the past.
As he reaches for control panel, a burning jet of flame torches his hand -- and the Wizard is suddenly informed that it was he who was outsmarted!

Well aware that the Sandman had infiltrated his lair, Richards organized the charade of Human Torch's storm-out, and equipped him with a device capable of rendering the anti-gravity discs useless! Thus, it is indeed clobbering time!

The Trapster fires off a blast of paste, but the Torch is able to harden it in mid-air, and then uses his flame to severe the tubing that feeds Pete's solution into his dispersal gun.
The Torch floats on, leaving Trapster in a flame barred prison cage.

The Sandman tussles with the Invisible Woman, using his extensive sand particles to lace the floor and reveal the invisible foosteps of his foe.
He forms two massive sandstone blocks of his fists, and begins to bring them together in crushing formation, but Sue's invisible forcefields manage to protect her long enough for Human Torch to flare to blinding brightness.

With the Sandman blinded, Sue lets loose a barrage of invisible bubbles!
But... That is apparently ineffective, so Sandman quips, "my turn!," and turns his arm into a deadly stream of hurling sand!
Sue throws up an air-tight invisible wall, and begins pushing the Sandman back bit by bit, and continuing the tradition of super villain mental collapses, he begins to have a serious case of the clausterphobias.
Unable to take the thought of being imprisoned (again), Sandman collapses into a mess on the floor.

Meanwhile, whoa! Look at that!
Thing and Thundra butt heads, aaand... Thundra proceeds to whoop Thing's rocky ass!
A left to the jaw, an axe handle across the back, and then for a big finish, the warrior woman hoists Thing above her head... But lucky for Aunt Petunia's favourite nephew, Sue throws an invisible bubble around her head, forcing her to pass out.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic is being bested by the Wizard and his electrified gauntlet.
Wizard makes his move, heading toward the controls of the sub-spacial gateway once more. Using the control he had pre-devised, Richards manipulates Wizard's anti-gravity discs to lift him away from the controls, but it's too late.

With the gateway activated, Wizard becomes like a father caught in an autumn breeze.
The weakened Mr. Fantastic does his best to stretch out to his nemesis, but finds himself instead caught in the vaccuum.
Quick thinking by Thing sees a makeshift harness devised, and he is able to dive into the universe and snare his best friend. The Wizard, however, continued to slip out of reach, a victim of his own devices, but sure to surface again.

"Y'know, I'm wonderin' what happened to them other three clowns. Guess they decided ta skedaddle while they could."
Right you are, Thing. Right you are.

The hammer...
The winners by victory or forfeit, depending on how you look at it, the Fantastic Four!

I think I mentioned during the JLU review [Justice League Unlimited #14] that it would be unlikely that you'd see me review another Adventures book.
Well, after doing the already oft referred to review of FF #129, this particular issue sprung immediately to mind.
By no means is it a landmark comic, nor is it even particularly memorable in the broadest sense, but it uses these characters that are just something special, and not seen nearly enough anymore. Not by me, at least.

Another oustanding positive about this issue is the pencil work by Andy Kuhn, and the incredibly complimentary inks of Harry Candelario.
DC did tremendously well in cultivating the Bruce Timm animated style into their spin-off Adventures comic books (and beyond), and really, for quite a while Marvel had no equivalent.

While the Marvel cartoons never had a distinct or uniform style among them, Kuhn cultivates a unique style both suited to animation in it's simplicity, but also it's kinetic action. It appears animated in both senses of the word.
I'm actually surprised I haven't really seen Kuhn beyond these pages. While not what I would call a popular mainstream style, I think it's got a lot going for it. I might even rate him among my favourite artists, if I could do such a thing.

Macchio also competently weaves together a yarn that not only harkens back to some of the great seventies writers, but manages to very vividly highlight the characters therein.

Some of the plot stretches plausibility even further than Mr. Fantastic's longjohns, and it's a story of very little consequence, but on a website like Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, I'll gladly pay it. The more FF, the merrier!

Anyway, this was a pretty lengthy update for a fairly brief book, and ideally I'd like to be up to scratch before December, to do some thirty entries on the days.
We'll see how that goes. Stay sharp, folks!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4

NEXT: Could one moment change a universe? Next up, the swansong of a very unique Marvel hero, and the deaths of many. Be here!