AVENGERS versus THANOS

(Marvel)
Where: Free Comic Book Day Civil War II #1 When: May 2016 Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Jim Cheung

The Story So Far...
An Inhuman known as Ulysses Cain may hold the secrets to the impending future! In an effort to verify his ominous visions, Inhuman Queen Medusa accompanies him to The Triskelion for further testing under the watchful eye of Black Panther and The Ultimates.

Upon his arrival, Ulysses is suddenly confronted with a glimpse into an oncoming threat: Thanos is coming!

The Mad Titan aims to claim a Cosmic Cube from Project PEGASUS, but as he teleports towards their secluded Mount Athena base in New York -- a powerful assembly of Avengers prepares to greet him with extreme prejudice!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Black Panther 5 (Professor)
Speed: Photon 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Black Panther 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Thanos 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Human Torch 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

The Avengers are: Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Ms. America, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, She-Hulk, Dazzler, Medusa, Crystal, Human Torch, and War Machine.

It might be a tad glib to call them "The Avengers". More accurately, we have various solo heroes joining representatives of then-current lineups for The Ultimates, A-Force, and Inhumans. Avengers, by any other name...

They're up against one of the deadliest villains in the cosmic canon! Forget what you might've heard about altruistic balance and preservation of life. Thanos will always be The Mad Titan whose lust for Death nearly destroyed the universe!

When he famously formed The Infinity Gauntlet, he became nigh omnipotent, wiping out half of all life in existence to impress Lady Death. When the surviving heroes came to confront him, his true sadism emerged! Various heroes met a twisted end, including She-Hulk, who was consumed by some type of growth.

She-Hulk's the only one of today's heroes we've seen go against Thanos before. Despite her demise that day, she showed potential for getting some serious shots in! Iron Man was one of the heroes also there, but his example of an unceremonious decapitation isn't the most promising one for War Machine.

Thanos doesn't have any Infinity Stones in today's battle, which at least means War Machine should be able to leave a mark! Human Torch might fare better than Firelord, as well. Johnny went mostly unnoticed by Gladiator in Fantastic Four #249, but turned up the heat enough to burn Ego The Living Planet in Fantastic Four #235. The potential to go nova could scorch even Thanos!

Captain Marvel is the real ace up this team's sleeve. We've seen her Kree-infused powers mix it up with the uber-powerful Collective in New Avengers #17, a Dormammu-powered Hood in New Avengers #54, and a giant Agamotto-possessed Luke Cage in New Avengers (Vol.2) #2!

At this point in time, Carol Danvers is once again juiced to the max and powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with cosmic powers! That could give her the best shot at recreating Drax's killing blow against Thanos, seen in Annihilation #4! I don't imagine Thanos will be nearly as accommodating this time, though.

It took the remains of a Cosmic Cube to stop Thanos when he was resurrected anew in Guardians of the Galaxy #25! His naked rampage took down the entire Guardians lineup, including Drax, Groot, and Moondragon! He also didn't even break a sweat when turning on Terrax during an inter-dimensional scheme seen in Green Lantern/Silver Surfer!

Even without that Infinity Gauntlet, we know Thanos is as serious a threat as they come! He can be defeated, but will the pre-cognition of Ulysses give this assembly of heroes the advantage they need to do the deed? Let's find out!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Thanos (#9)

What Went Down...
True to the prophetic vision of the Inhuman Ulysses -- a purple beam of light signals the arrival of Thanos! Though unprepared for an Avengers ambush, he is heavily armed with sophisticated weaponry and immediately resists arrest!

The descending group of heroes are quickly dispersed by the gun's powerful blast. Captain Marvel absorbs its deadly energies. The Human Torch stays airborne and maneuvers to be the first to immediately strike back!

Swooping behind his target, The Human Torch bathes Thanos in an intense flame! There's no need to hold back against a foe as powerful and resilient as The Mad Titan -- but his fire can only blaze so hot with friends nearby.

The Torch's former Fantastic Four teammate She-Hulk ignores the burn and rushes in to dive tackle Thanos from behind! The bold move succeeds in scoring a takedown, but The Mad Titan swears this day will mark her death.

She-Hulk grapples with the burning Thanos before Captain Marvel calls her shot and unleashes a massive blast of photonic energy!

The explosive energy pushes She-Hulk clear. Dazzler joins in, enthusiastically pouring on the power with more energy blasts. With Thanos pinned down, Captain Marvel calls in War Machine for a second wave of artillery fire!

Reeling from the awesome display of power, Thanos wonders how the Avengers could be ready with such a coordinated attack. He doesn't have long to contemplate before Medusa ensnares him in blinding, suffocating curls of hair!

War Machine is still firing munitions when Thanos manages to gain purchases of Medusa's living locks and hurls her toward the armored Avenger!

The collision throws War Machine's targeting off, sending a wayward missile into the chest of She-Hulk! The Colonel moves in to check on his friendly fire victim, letting his guard down for just a moment -- a fatal decision!

Thanos seizes his opportunity -- rushing through flames to drive his massive fist into the armored but prone mid-section of War Machine! A killing blow!

As Captain Marvel and Black Panther watch on in horror, Thanos turns to his opponents with a sinister grin and demands his Cosmic Cube. They respond.

Captain Marvel, Spectrum, and Blue Marvel launch an all-out assault! Their awesome powers create a wall of energy that hammers the Titan from all sides!

For a moment he faces into Captain Marvel's raw power, stumbles into Dazzler's pink bursts, feels Black Panther's claws slice at the back of his neck, is caught from behind by Blue Marvel's force bolts, takes Spectrum's best to his face!

The devastating gauntlet leaves Thanos a stumbling, smoldering mess. He has no defense as Captain Marvel moves in to deliver a devastating uppercut!

The finishing blow launches Thanos across the battlefield, leaving him lying unconscious amidst the flames. Captain Marvel rushes to cradle a bloodied War Machine. Black Panther & Blue Marvel tend to a barely breathing She-Hulk.

The Hammer...
The Avengers defeated Thanos, but at what price comes victory? War Machine is dead, and She-Hulk in critical condition! Such dire stakes can only signal the beginning of yet another major Marvel Comics event...

I come into this one with some pretty strong biases. Ten years removed from the gratuitous murder of Goliath in Civil War #4 -- the novelty has long since lost its flavor. By this point, I'm largely beyond caring about the majority of crossover events, let alone their obligatory superhero deaths.

Truth be told, the bloom was off the rose for Marvel's blockbusters by the time Siege rolled out in 2010. That story functioned as a reunion of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, mopping up lingering consequences of the original Civil War, specifically its villain-centric aftermath: the period known as "Dark Reign".

Dark Reign had been a refreshing exploration of ideas organically grandfathered in through the post-Civil War and Secret Invasion landscapes. It was anchored around monthly Avengers titles, rather than a single dedicated event-series. Sadly, Siege was to bring that pleasing break in action to a much-hyped end.

Siege ultimately cobbled together mayhem and carnage in four unfortunately lackluster key issues, and various focused tie-ins. It played like a perfunctory ticking of two to three major editorial boxes, most notably: The removal of Norman Osborn as Marvel's ultimate arch-villain, and the emphatic killing of The Sentry, which reads like a meta-textual in-joke. Even with a reduced four issue core, these simple beats couldn't sustain a series, resulting in a messy, joyless counterpart to DC's better built, superhero war-time smorgasbord of Final Crisis.

The palpable tedium of Siege should've seen Marvel close the door on events for a fair while, but instead, the publisher went into event overdrive in the years that followed. It hasn't even been a decade since Siege -- yet Cap, Iron Man, and Thor have all been split-up, pitted against heroes, maimed, and killed more than once! Only to reenact another mock reunion before doing it all over again.

They've shared the 'death bench' with many high-profile heroes in that time, all of whom died and returned within a couple of years. The endless cycle of kill, rinse, repeat leaving the Marvel Universe stinking of its own meaningless decay.

Civil War itself was an obvious template for many of these deaths and event series, which made it even more difficult to feel like a 10th anniversary sequel was worth the while. In 2016 it was a major motion sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. How can I miss Civil War if it never goes away?

No surprises then that I'm still not very interested in Civil War II's hero-on-hero conflict, or the Inhumans-fuelled take on Minority Report. Here comes the twist, however. because I've got to say the Free Comic Book Day launch issue is actually a very satisfying read!

It would, of course, be foolish to assume macro grievances belie any quality publishing. There's usually something to like on the bill. In this case, time away from Marvel's jumbled brands, and bloodthirsty event schedule, probably helped enhance the simple pleasures that make FCBD Civil War II #1 so enjoyable.

The pros are easily distilled: It starts with some nice character interaction, lays the groundwork for the moral quandary ahead, and features a big battle with an A-list villain that goes to conclusion. It's a pretty satisfying done-in-one read!

There are obvious questions left to be answered, but the FCBD issue avoids reading like a trailer for coming attractions. Impressive, since that's really the primary function these promotional free issues serve.

For a lapsed reader, some of the fun is simply in seeing old favourites together again. I got a real kick out of seeing FF alum She-Hulk, Human Torch, Medusa, and Black Panther together again, and kicking ass. Most get their moment.

As alluded to in The Tape; this was a period of Marvel history where corporate malevolence, and editorial malaise, had led a lot of established brands to erode meaning. This isn't technically an Avengers assembly, so much as a gathering of representatives of The Ultimates, A-Force, and Inhumans. The fact that these divisions are essentially meaningless is actually helpful in an isolated case.

Jim Cheung does a great job delivering the action that comprises the majority of the piece. Each character gets their moment in clear sequence, with big action beats given room to shine. There's a tremendous sense of space and reality, but with that comes both good and bad. It's easy to track what's going on, but it sometimes feels a little small scale. The intense, inescapable red/blue palette also contributes to an impression of a murky lot of one thing in one place.

Movie stardom means Thanos is as strong as ever, even though he's here to be the fall guy. It was a little weird that he comes in looking like Cable with guns strapped all over his body. I don't think that's a visual joke about Josh Brolin's dual live-action roles, but you never know. It doesn't matter much, as Thanos is quickly forced to fend for himself, sans cannons. He puts up a helluva fight, but after several years of promotional exploitation, he was ripe for being beaten in the prologue.

Of the lineup present to arrest Thanos, it makes good sense that Captain Marvel gets the knock-out blow. You could make a case for other characters, but she's the best equipped, and most primed to take the story forward. I don't know how well her conflict with Iron Man stands up to Cap's in 2006, but the fact it isn't simply a straight repeat of the earlier disagreement is appreciated.

I didn't know Carol Danvers had a romantic relationship with War Machine prior to reading this. Given their affiliations with Tony Stark, and history as military personnel, it seems like a pretty natural coupling. It's dangled unsubtly in the first few pages, milked to provide extra emotional context for what's coming.

I'd be lying if I said there was any real joy in witnessing the death of War Machine. Cheung is asked to convey a precise misstep in motion, and the net result makes War Machine look a little silly. The fact that the killing blow comes from a villain as credible as Thanos helps mitigate the goofiness. Without that, it flirts with the unintentional comedy of Hawkeye's needless self-sacrifice in the earlier Avengers Disassembled. Ultimately, tangled hair and bumping into a teammate is a pretty undignified end for a seasoned hero like War Machine.

Ten years on from Civil War, they seem to be trading on a character of greater notoriety than Goliath, but to what end? Frankly, it seems like a transparent decision to remove one African-American Iron Man alternate, to make way for a new one, the future Ironheart.

The race of the two Civil Wars fatalities may be coincidence, but as the latter participates in clumsy efforts to address the imbalance of representation, the self-defeating fallacy of the decision becomes all the more clear. Indelicate decisions like these only hobbled efforts to introduce a new generation of diverse young heroes, mortgaging the past for an unearned future.

War Machine had long, frustrating lulls of inaction throughout his published history, but remained grounded by those early stories that built a relationship with Tony Stark, and the Avengers. It always seemed there was plenty more to do with the character.

Given Tony Stark was destined to be the major scalp for Civil War II, the potential for Rhodey to continue to play a natural role in the development of Ironheart just seems obvious. They would both be scarred by his demise. The emergence of a new armored hero would naturally draw Rhodey back to action. His potential as a mentor figure would then seem natural more than cliché, building Riri Williams a strong foundation in the Marvel Universe. Oh well!

Want to put the pieces into greater context for yourself? You can pick up a trade paperback of Civil War II, which includes the Free Comic Book Day special and complete mini-series! Shop using the Amazon link embedded and they'll support the site at no cost to you! Who could possibly go to war over that?

Think I need to take a closer look at the rest of Civil War II? Let me know in the comments, or while you're following Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook. There, you'll also find daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! You can also deep dive into the Secret Archive to discover more!

We always finish with the verdict and rankings update. Captain Marvel clearly delivered the knock-out blow, but under examination, a team effort kept Thanos off balance, and led to his defeat. So the win is shared.

Winners: Captain Marvel, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, Black Panther, Dazzler, She-Hulk & Human Torch (w/ War Machine, Ms. America, Medusa & Crystal)
#45 (+28) Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
#12 (+2) Human Torch
#37 (+14) Black Panther
#134 (+260) She-Hulk
#151 (+281) Spectrum (Monica Rambeau)
#174 (+305) Dazzler
#327 (new) Blue Marvel
#124 (+1) War Machine [+1 assist]
#344 (+5) Medusa [+1 assist]
#434 (-1) Crystal [+1 assist]
#558 (new) Ms. America (America Chavez) [+1 assist]
#10 (-1) Thanos [+1 kill]

SINISTER versus THE X-MEN
The Tempest: Part 4 (Marvel comics)
Where: Ultimate X-Men #49 When: September 2004
Why: Brian K Vaughan How: Brandon Peterson

The story so far...
A mysterious serial killer called Sinister has been murdering mutants throughout the Manhattan district, raising the concerns of the X-Men. Though reluctant, Professor Charles Xavier solicits the deployment of six of his most notable and seasoned students in the pursuit of the killer.

Though Wolverine and Storm track Sinister to his lair, they are horrified to discover the killer has already eluded them, and unbeknownst to the youthful X-Men left behind, he's coming for them.

Unable to detect Sinister's presence, Professor X is unable to prepare his mutants for the threat that is coming for them. Dazzler, Angel, Kitty Pryde, Rogue and Ice Man will have to fend for themselves, or die trying.

Previous Form:
Angel (#36): Has defied logic to be ranked inside the top 300.
Iceman (#42): Aided Beast in the defeat of the Lizard.
Kitty Pryde (#50): Defeated a Hydra posessed Wolverine with lethal results.
Rogue (#54): Led the X-Men to a defeat against Nimrod.
Sinister & Dazzler: Each making their first appearances in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Rogue 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Sinister 6 (Genius)
Speed: Rogue 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Sinister 6 (Generator)
Agility: Ice Man 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting Ability: Kitty Pryde 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Professor X 6 (Mass Destruction)


Some of the more astute readers of the Infinite Wars will have noted the absence of Ultimate Marvel titles, and perhaps even reached the deduction that I have a particular distain for them. While that wouldn't be far from the truth, we finally prepare to usher in this new take on Marvel's merry mutants.

For the most part these X-Men resemble their aged counterparts, lacking only the lengthy experience and control over their powers otherwise attained by the originals. That said, they remain a potent force to be sure, even with Angel dragging the team down.

The exact extent of Sinister's abilities are potentially untested, but there are noteworthy differences in the offensive of this character. Gone is the Darwinist mad scientist of immense intellect, in his stead, an ex-Oscorp employee who may very well have gone completely insane.

Believing he is in the servitude of one Lord Apocalypse, he uses good old fashioned .45 pistols to do his mutant hunting, with the added bonus of an ability to avoid detection, and a telepathic influence graphically represented by the classic red diamond on his forehead. It is something of an evil eye, one might say, allowing him hypnotic influence over his subjects.

These powers all make Ultimate Sinister a worthy adversary, but against the likes of Rogue, you have to wonder how far he's going to get.

Recalling the long hours spent in the danger room, this team of mutants has a well rounded foundation of powers to call upon in the name of team work.
Iceman provides a strong offensive/defensive role, capable of both protecting his fellows with icey walls, while also attacking with shrapnel attacks, and his own icey, rocky exterior. On the projectile front, Dazzler also brings her colourful pyrokinetics to the game.

Kitty Pryde's phasing powers potentially provided an elusive defensive for the team, being that she can share intangibility with whomever she comes in contact with. If unwilling to attempt to phase-attack Sinister for fear of succumbing to his evil eye, she can at the very least ensure the ammunition rounds of his forty-fives don't hit their marks.

Finally, there's Rogue, who even without the Ms. Marvel capabilities of her counterpart, remains a threat capable of gaining energy and abilities at the expense of her opponent. The only question concerning Rogue's power stealing, is whether or not she can cope with the dark insanity of Sinister's mind.

Professor Xavier is counted, but absent for the majority of this battle, falling victim to Sinister's brutality before the game really begins. Apparently immune to Xavier's telepathy, Sinister exploits the most mundane weakness in Xavier's arsenal -- stairs.

Angel is present, and summarily useless.
His mutant power? The ability to fly away.

The Math: X-Men (Total) Sinister (Average)
The Pick: The X-Men

What went down...
Sneaking in to the mansion undetected, Sinister counters Xavier's telepathic suggestion with his own, wealing the apparently helpless mutant out into the hall only to dump him down a staircase.

Ready to murder the battered mentor, Sinister is discovered with pistols drawn by the icey Bobby Drake -- Iceman! He calls Sinister to freeze, utilizing his mutant gifts to gather a frost around Sinister's hands, to freeze them.

Sinister shoots his way out of his freezing restraints, and continues the hail of bullets, striking Iceman in the chest! The ammunition cracks and shatters his chiseled chest with an explosion of ice!

Rogue wanders out of a hall to witness the shocking event, too shocked to avoid another two-shots from Sinister's guns. Even so, both she and Sinister are stunned to find her unharmed, until the hand of Kitty Pryde slides it's way up Rogue's leg from the floor.

Shadowcat drags her fellow X-Man down through the floor, pulling her to safety in the level below. Alone, Sinister begins the hunt again, relishing their resistence as though it were meaningless sport.

As he charges through the mansion, his guns are suddenly knocking from his hands by the swipe of feathered resistance. The unhinged man finds himself on one knee, bowing before an angel of earth -- Warren Worthington III.

Angel takes a superior attitude, surprised to find himself unafraid of Sinister once disarmed. Unfortunately for him, Sinister has tricks up his sleeves, and Angel finds himself the victim of his telepathic suggestion. He compells Angel to do the unthinkable -- choke himself!

Angel drops to the ground gasping for air as he crushes at his own windpipe.

Sinister gives a brief sermon on his interests in evolution, and beliefs in reincarnation rather than heavens and hells. Before he can satisfy his biological curiosities he's blasted through a window by a volley of coloured beams!

Freed of Sinister's suggestion, Angel finds himself rescued by tearaway student - Dazzler!
The punk rock plasma chick leaves Angel to finish Sinister off for daring to invade their mansion. Before she can strike the finishing blow, Sinister counters, wrapping her arms behind her back in a cobra clutch, whilst drawing a blade from concealment.

He puts the knife to her throat, sharing the prospect of finding out what colours she has inside of her, when a stand off is reached.

Believing Iceman to be dead, Rogue holds one of Sinister's own guns on him with the intent to fullfil an eye for an eye. Fortunately for Sinister, Kitty Pryde phases through the floor to join Angel's pleas for peace, informing her Iceman suffered a broken rib or two at best, his ice absorbing the impact of the gunshots.

With a potentially lethal hostage situation still before them, Rogue insists on taking the shot, much to the dismay of Worthington. Loathed at an X-Man taking a life, he grabs Rogue by the arm, catching the gap between her long glove, and short sleeved t-shirt.

The contact proves sufficient for Rogue to begin sprouting giant angel wings from her back, while Angel drops to the ground, suffering the sapping effects.

Sinister takes pleasure in the girl's inadvertent skill to incapacitate her fellows, provoking her rages further. She leaps from the window, swooping down to snatch Sinister by the shirt, to drag him into the air.

Asking for a reason not to drop him to his demise, Rogue soon learns the depth of Sinister's insanity. With glowing red eyes, Sinister dares her to drop him, influencing her with his powers of suggestion, believing he has the greater odds of survival, perhaps by way of further powers of invulnerability or healing.

Fortunately, as Rogue begins to fall under the evil charms, Storm descends, having arrived by Blackbird with the other mutants who had been sent to the city to track Sinister. She summons a mighty storm, breaking through the suggestion with clarity and confidence. She compells the southern belle to abandon her bloodlust, and return to Earth before her borrowed wings expire.

Though it takes some doing, Storm finally talks Rogue down from the edge of murder. Though Sinister continues to try to influence the young girls decision, she proves strong enough to resist, content with knocking him out with a stiff shot, before she and Storm return him to terra firma.

A few hours later, Nick Fury and his SHIELD operatives arrive to take Sinister into custody. While locked in the SHIELD Triskelion detainment centre, Sinister has a visit from his master, Apocalypse. Emerging from the shadows, the Lord asks of his unworthy servant suffocation.

Crazy, or frighteningly real?

The hammer...
With the assist from her fellows, Rogue leads the X-Men to victory over the mansion incursion of Sinister!

Y'know, this is kinda like having all the planets in perfect alignment. This entry represents a rare occurance for the Infinite Wars. One, I've indulged in reviewing an issue of an Ultimate title, and two, it's an X-book! Rare are the days when I would be compelled to review such genres outside of some kind of forced and labored theme.

Of all the things to lead to this conclusion, a restless late night viewing of a few episodes of the 1990's X-Men cartoon, and some scenes from the Brett Ratner directed, X-Men 3. Though each have their fanbases, they're not typically what I think you'd expect to provoke decision making on a blog like this.

It was the notable downscaling of the Rogue character in X3, and her Jim Lee inspired prominence in the cartoon that really brought me to this title.
As far as I know she's absorbed some of her Age of Apocalypse style role, currently serving as a team leader for the team in the adjectiveless title.

Even so, while watching the cartoon it occurred to me that Rogue isn't the character she used to be. I mean, particularly out of the eighties and into the nineties, Rogue got to be a pretty big deal! Rogue was a character you'd find on lunchboxes and in lists of kid's favourite superheroes, whereas now, even for her elevated status, it feels to me that the character has slipped into relative obscurity.

Perhaps that's mostly a symptom of her core association with the X-Men.
We've discussed before my feelings on the progression of the X-Men in the years post-Grant Morrison, which I feel have been a drastic series of steps backward. [New X-Men #124, #150]

On a whole, I would say the X-franchise has been generally squandered to the point of total irrelevance. Only through the integration of a character like Wolverine, who serves up a six degrees of Kevin Bacon special by officially joining up with the Avengers, do the X-Men even really hit my radar.

It's probably an even sadder occasion when Angel is one of your most prominent characters, earning some spotlight through his appearances in Incredible Hulk for the World War Hulk crossover event. I mean really, Angel?!

I suppose it's fair enough to say the movement of popular stories is cyclical, and attentions have been redirected to titles that were suffering during the X-Men's previous reign of prominence. Certainly the Avengers is a prime example of the shift in vitality, bringing those characters to the forefront in a way the X-Men seemed to be for large sections of the passed decade.

Also in mind, the discussion regarding feminine concerns in comics that perpetuates many niche movements in the blogosphere. While my interests are limited, it's a subject we've touched upon before [Spider-man Family #1, New Avengers #27, Superman/Batman #15], albeit also in the hopes of getting a link on When Fangirls Attack, because let's be honest: The hits wouldn't hurt!

Something that's always attracted me in particular to the Rogue character, apart from the skin-tight yellow and green spandex bodysuit, was the fact that her character was relatively well developed within and of itself.
It seems to be typical of super heroines to be excessively derivative of existing properties, often spinning out of male counterparts. Even at the best of times these characters struggle to maintain my interests, often suffering in general.

Supergirl is probably a prime example of an unconfident and confused approach to a character inherently weakened by a redundancy complex. Without getting cringe worthy tales of super menstruation, you struggle to imagine anything unique coming from a bubbly young Kryptonian girl that hasn't already been approached with the Smallville tales of a young Kal-el.

Something the mutant women have always exceeded at is outdoing those constraints, with characters like Rogue certainly owing a lot to the creative influence of Chris Claremont. With X-Men as a vehicle, Claremont seemed to successfully champion original female characters, notching up other noteworthy works with Storm, Jean Grey and perhaps the most beloved, Kitty Pryde.

It's hard to say whether there's really any basis of mysoginism here, or if it's just a case of cheap and easy writing.

The X-brand affords a writer the creative hook of imagining a specific fantastic ability. With it instantly comes all the conceptual baggage, good and bad, of mutant society, making for a very simple, one-step hook that appears unique on it's own merits.

It more efficiently serves the purpose of spinning a character out of Superman, or the Hulk, or Batman, or Captain Marvel. Instantly granting a character a sense of identity, without distracting or lending the concept to lesser interpretations based purely on a big red S, or green hair.

Rogue definitely remains a great example of how the mutant hook presented a fairly basic slate of an idea, but eventually expanded it through the tugs and pulls inherent to that universe. It took some time, but like a Scarlet Witch, Rogue grew beyond the timid and uncertain young girl, to join the more assertive and well defined characters.

Seen here, developments derivative of the character conflicts Rogue experienced under the guidance of writers like Claremont. Rogue grapples with emotional concerns regarding her powers, and how her interactions with her friends can be potentially dangerous; while also struggling with her own rages and connection to the dark side. Certianly her association with Mystique in the core universe a defining quality to her interpretations here, and even in something like the X-Men: Evolution cartoon.

Layers like these have made Rogue one of the enduring characters to come from the 1980s. I only hope she becomes that significant, to me, again.

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4
[Vaughan fails to fullfil the excellence expected of his less mainstream projects, but competently lives up to the contemporary styles of the Ultimate brand. Skims over character, falling a little 2D as it grabs at broad strokes of concepts.]

NOTE: Prof. X also takes a defeat. Storm's involvement, inconsequential.