CAPTAIN MARVEL versus WONDER WOMAN

Hellfire's Web (DC)
Where: War of the Gods #1 When: September 1991
Why: George Pérez How: George Pérez & Cynthia Martin

The Story So Far...
The gods must be mad! Turmoil grips the returned deities of New Olympus as they travel to Themyscira to recruit a champion most favoured to fight a coming war on their behalf: Princess Diana -- Wonder Woman!

From beyond their purview the sorceress Circe has enacted a spell to incite a holy war amongst the many pantheons overseeing the Earth! Preying upon their arrogance, she spurs them to seek dominion in their own image, demanding conflict of the mythologies that would inevitably reach contradiction!

Summoning the hellfire of Hecate, Circe unleashes chaos upon the Earth as its heroes scrambled to thwart the various deities wreaking its destruction. While in New Olympus, the Roman gods bring a champion of their own to face Wonder Woman and their Grecian counterparts!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain Marvel 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Captain Marvel 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain Marvel 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Captain Marvel 6 (Generator)
Agility: Wonder Woman 2 (Average)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Captain Marvel 3 (Explosives)
Total: Captain Marvel 30 (Super)

What's the deal with Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman? Although they don't really have a lot to do with each other, they compare relatively well, with similar high level super-human abilities, and ties to the gods & legends of ancient times.

They teamed up on the big screen in Shazam: Fury of the Gods and have both been on the same Justice League roster, but back in 1991's War of the Gods they came to blows -- and it isn't the only time!

Wonder Woman and the heroes of Earth-One fought a befuddled Marvel Family during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, where Captain Marvel Jr got the drop on Wonder Woman, attacking to free Mary Marvel from the Lasso of Truth.

Mary picked up her own win in Final Crisis #3 when the powers of SHAZAM were usurped by the evil New Gods, and she managed to turn Wonder Woman's close quarters advantage against her, using under-handed chemical warfare!

Years later it was Captain Marvel who found himself outnumbered by Wonder Woman and the corrupted Justice League. He managed to steal the Lasso of Truth for his own use, surviving Wonder Woman and the League's attacks through Hell, to restore them to their senses with his magic lightning!

Marvel's Storm defeated the Amazon icon with repeated lightning strikes during the Marvel versus DC crossover, and Captain Marvel's lightning ambush is a compelling tactic for defeating Wonder Woman!

The lightning ambush worked well against Superman, but their famous Kingdom Come struggle also hints at how Wonder Woman could turn the tables on the mighty Marvel: his magic word!

Forcing his transformation back to young Billy Batson was how Black Adam stole victory in Hawkman #23, and the Lasso of Truth might just compel The Captain to speak his word if asked. Failing that, the Lasso also showed it could undo brainwashing when Wonder Woman used it on a Grodd-controlled Tasmanian Devil in JLA: Classified #3. Food for thought! Let's see how it went.

History: Draw (1-1-0)
The Tape: Captain Marvel Ranking: Wonder Woman (#10)

What Went Down...

Confronted with the arrival of Wonder Woman at the side of the Greek gods, their Roman counterparts produce their own human champion -- a non-descript, small boy, who at their behest speaks a greeting in his own words: "... Shazam."

The raging tempest over New Olympus begins to swirl and funnel at the simple utterance, delivering a spectacular focused bolt of lightning to the boy, who is replaced with the mighty figure of Captain Marvel, surrounded by brilliant energy!

The magic lightning is enough to stir Zeus from his slumber. He confronts Jupiter and the Roman pantheon in full armor with promise of war, and Wonder Woman desperately attempts to intervene -- only to be attacked by The Captain!

A powerful left knocks Wonder Woman off her feet, sending pain radiating through her body as the roar of Zeus and Jupiter's colliding lightning thunders overhead.

The many gods wage war across New Olympus, their turmoil echoed across the Earth as nature is thrown into chaos, and Circe's efforts to unleash the Armageddon of Hecate's fire go completely unchallenged!

Instead of taking his place fighting to save the world, the entranced Captain Marvel continues to pursue Wonder Woman with callous indifference.

Seeing that a youthful spark has left his eyes, Wonder Woman does her best to keep one step ahead of the mighty marvel's devastating blows.

The Captain buries his fist into New Olympus with a powerful and speedy strike, but the Amazon knows she must fight back if the day is to be saved.

Wonder Woman seizes her opportunity to spring nimbly into a backflip that throws her feet into Captain Marvel -- launching him across the battlefield!

A Doric column snaps like a stick of chalk as Captain Marvel smashes through it!

He remains undeterred, quickly recovering and stalking his opponent.

Under the watchful gaze of Zeus Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman launch themselves -- only for their collision to be interrupted by another lightning strike!

Zeus accuses Jupiter, but it was none other than Halciber Filius, Son of Vulcan, whose bolt tore through the wall of reality surrounding Olympus so as to free Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman from further exploitation.

The pair tumble through the dark void of Chaos itself, drifting between time and space where further lightning and conflict finds them still!

Blown in separate directions by a wayward blast of energy -- the heroes find the glowing scepter of Mercury locked in combat with his Greek counterpart, Hermes!

As one of the pantheon that empowers Shazam's champion, Mercury orders Captain Marvel to destroy Hermes. An instruction Marvel can barely process as the bewitching influence of the gods begins to fade: "Destroy...Me?... Destroy?"

Wonder Woman senses the change in demeanor and tosses her lasso of truth around the befuddled hero to continue his restoration.

The well-meaning Amazon appears to trigger some unknown chain of events that rips through the fabric of the Chaos realm and grips the trembling Captain Marvel in a convulsing stasis of energy.

Around the Captain swirls a maelstrom of visions showing anguished faces. For a moment, Wonder Woman believes she recognises one of them, but the verge of realization is elusive as Hermes commends her efforts.

Mercury responds with his glowing caduceus unleashing a massive field of energy that Hermes is unable to contain!

Mercury and Hermes remain locked in battle as they disappear into the void, while Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel are thrown in separate directions through holes in the dark puffs of Chaos!

The Hammer...

The more time passes and we're removed from the classic Captain Marvel -- or at least some recognizable version of it -- the more I come to appreciate the thesis of Underworld Unleashed #3: The idea that Captain Marvel is an incorruptible hero, defined by an unwavering good nature and pure heart.

I don't know that Mark Waid intended it to be a defining and enduring landmark for the character, but it's a pleasing and functional iteration on the general sense of "innocence" that's led to less satisfying characterizations, particularly the New 52 revamp that Waid has now been enlisted to walk back, at least a little.

Sure, it's a simplistic, allegedly anachronistic idea, but it's also inherent to the aspirational nature of comic book heroes.

Writers, artists, and fans might not live up to these altruistic ideals every waking hour of their lives -- but we can dream that such a thing were possible through the pages of a comic book. Super-Heroes, stalwart and true.

The Power of Shazam! #11 flirted with the possibility of Captain Marvel being corrupted by The Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, but also directly acknowledged the contemporaneous work of Underworld Unleashed #3, and ultimately held true to it.

Today, we featured a fight from several years before both issues, with a similar dilemma to Power of Shazam! #11, and arguably a similar conclusion.

Fans have always delighted at the dream match of Captain Marvel versus Superman, and the fight with Wonder Woman continues in that tradition, as well as the similar circumstances of an Anti-Monitor enhanced Psycho-Pirate twisting the fundamental emotional spectrums of entire worlds, including The Marvel Family's "Earth-S", in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6.

I suppose I'm more forgiving of a momentary lapse caused by some intuitive or grand subversion of cosmic forces, rather than a prolonged twisting or redefinition of the man himself. A short subversion to get us a marquee title bout. Like I said: fans might not always live up to purely altruistic ideals.

Objectively you might call it a "corruption" of Captain Marvel, but I really enjoy the way the entire War of the Gods story intuitively derives interesting conflicts from mythical influences already existent in the DC Universe.

War of the Gods is ultimately a rare DC Comics event drawn from Wonder Woman, but in an interview with Fantazia magazine, George Perez explained that he was also inspired by Captain Marvel, and a long-held curiosity about why disparate figures such as Roman god Mercury, Greek demigod Hercules, and Judaic leader Solomon would "get together to create a superhero".

The sextet of gods & legends who grant Captain Marvel his powers of wisdom, strength, stamina, power, courage, and speed, make for a natural submission into the empyrean conflict, and his manipulation to fight on their behalf. A gentler direction of his actions than the more malignant corruption of Mary Marvel that occurred during Final Crisis, when the evil New Gods replaced her pantheon.

To that end, Perez massages the concept slightly, anchoring Captain Marvel to the Roman gods in this story, allowing Zeus counterpart Jupiter license to produce Billy Batson alongside his mirrored pantheon of deities, which includes a Hercules as counterpart to the Greek gods' Herakles.

All this ancient mythology can read a little bit dry, but the slog is worth it for the bold & colourful superhero highlights that are sprinkled throughout. A meeting of ancient and modern mythology, sewn together with a respect for the canon of both pantheons, informing intuitive, logical connections.

I rather like that Perez went out of his way to utilize Son of Vulcan: an acquisition from Charlton Comics that had dwelled in relative obscurity since coming under the DC banner. In War of the Gods, he was invited to be the Roman gods' champion, but refused, returning from banishment to the River Styx to strike back during today's featured fight.

It might seem like a lot to unpack, but with any luck that's something we'll be able to do together, revisiting some of the lighter moments and interesting curious little conflicts occurring throughout the series, some time in the future.

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Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured more than 700 battles and ranked well over 1,000 characters! Find them all, and future entries, by following topics linked throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for an index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

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Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#10 (--) Wonder Woman
#40 (--) Captain Marvel
#642 (new) Son of Vulcan [+1 assist]

ANTI-MONITOR versus SUPERMAN, DOCTOR LIGHT & SUPERGIRL

Beyond The Silent Night (DC)
Where: Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 When: October 1985 Why: Marv Wolfman & Robert Greenberger How: George Perez

The Story So Far...
Manifesting on a moon of the anti-matter universe of Qward: The Anti-Monitor channeled that dimension's energies into fulfilling its ultimate domination. Sensing his equivalent, The Monitor, in a positive universe, he then set his sights on inter-dimensional conquest that resulted in their mutual dormancy for eons.

This slumber was broken by the experimental hubris of scientist Kell Mossa, who inadvertently roused the Monitors while attempting to learn the secrets of the universe. This allowed Anti-Monitor to enact a plot to destroy all universes comprising positive matter. Thus begins the Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Scouring the multiverse, The Monitor assembles heroic powers to fight the threat of existential annihilation. With some worlds now saved, Mossa channels positive and negative matter to guide the heroes through the universal membrane -- to confront the verge of the Anti-Monitor's hidden fortress!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Anti-Monitor 7 (Omnipotent)
Intelligence: Anti-Monitor 6 (Genius)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Anti-Monitor 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Doctor Light 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Superman 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Anti-Monitor 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Anti-Monitor 33 (Super)

When it comes to cosmic threats to the DC Universe it doesn't get much bigger than the Anti-Monitor! His aims threaten to unmake reality itself!

We saw The Flash take down his Anti-Matter Cannon in Crisis on Infinite Earths #8, but the only time we've actually recorded Anti-Monitor in battle was much later, when he returned as part of the Sinestro Corps in Green Lantern #25.

In that epic encounter, it took the combined efforts of the Guardians of the Universe, Green Lantern Corps, Earth's heroes, and one of the Anti-Monitor's own teammates, to destroy him! It bodes well that it was Superboy-Prime who struck the final destructive blow -- but we're getting way ahead of things!

Superman is the primary target in today's featured battle, but he isn't alone!

Japanese scientist Kimiyo Hoshi was studying the anti-matter phenomenon when she was struck with a beam of ionic energy passing through an unstable star in the Vega system. The cosmic force was enacted by The Monitor, who turned her into a new soldier for good - the photonic hero Doctor Light!

Kimiyo Hoshi shouldn't be confused with the villainous Arthur Light, even though her costume and powers bear some similarity. This Doctor Light is determined to the point of arrogance, unwilling to suffer fools as she applies her knowledge of science to mastery over energy and light-based powers.

Doctor Light can offer Superman powerful support against the awesomely destructive energies wielded by the Anti-Monitor. Her ability to move as light particles can also compliment one of their few advantages over the awesomely powerful anti-matter entity -- superior speed!

We've seen Superman keep pace with Barry Allen [Flash: Rebirth #3] and Wally West [Flash #209], and if he can use that speed in combat he could tactically wear Anti-Monitor down. Strength and durability alone probably won't cut it this time, but there will be extra muscle on its way once the fight begins.

When Supergirl enters the fray, she effectively doubles their power! We saw her go toe-to-toe with Captain Marvel in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6, and Martian Manhunter in Adventure Comics #450! She'll also revisit the conflict with Mary Marvel decades later in Final Crisis #6!

With both Superman and Supergirl fighting, it's conceivable the Anti-Monitor could be damaged sufficiently to be defeated. The extra hands mean he can be subdued and tag teamed, with Doctor Light weaving in and out, as well. Will that be the case? Only destiny can decide this one! Let's meet their fate...

The Tape: Superman, Doctor Light & Supergirl Ranking: Superman (#5)

What Went Down...
Penetrating the deepest sanctum of the great cosmic fortress: Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi and Superman stand in awe of a massive mechanical solar collector. While Doctor Light examines its advanced technology, Superman closes in to begin its ultimate destruction -- unaware of the figure lurking behind him in the shadows!

Pain racks his body like never before as Superman is engulfed by the Anti-Monitor's awesome power! Here, his incredible strength and invulnerability will count for nothing. He is a mortal opposing the powers of a virtual god!

Kal-El's cry of agony echoes through the fortress, heard from afar by the super-humanly sensitive ear of Supergirl. She abandons the battle outside and follows the sound, but its Doctor Light who comes to his aide first.

Anti-Monitor effortlessly backhands Superman across the chamber and through a nearby wall. When Doctor Light attempts to intervene, her point blank beams of energy do nothing to deter their target. Anti-Monitor shows her how it's done!

He renews his pursuit of Superman, looming over the Man of Steel as his giant clasped hands smash against the Kryptonian's face! Every strike is another blow delivered to the hopes of the multiverse!

The cosmic titan stands ominously over the bruised Superman with his face obscured in smoldering energy. He means to deliver a finishing blow, but didn't count on Supergirl smashing through the halls of his fortress!

Faster than a speeding bullet she flies directly at the Anti-Monitor to deliver a devastating left hook! She keeps him off balance, following with an all mighty right that sends him smashing through another stone wall!

The advantage is short lived. Anti-Monitor swings wildly, launching Supergirl across the fortress with a furious left!

The enraged Anti-Monitor fires a beam of energy that catches Supergirl's limp body before she can land. She's sent tumbling in the air like a rag doll!

Promising death, he turns his attentions back to the wounded Superman -- but again the Anti-Monitor will be denied! Supergirl doggedly digs her heels in and rips the stonework up like a proverbial rug -- staggering the cosmic monster and sending his hand blasts harmlessly off course as he loses footing!

The Girl of Steel darts across the rubble to pour on punches from a mounted position. The strength and fury of her devastating blows begins to crack the Anti-Monitor's life-shell armor. He retaliates with a wild blow to the face, but the damage is already done! Power pours from his destroyed body!

With his power quickly waning, the Anti-Monitor must seize his opportunity to destroy his enemies and the worlds they come from.

As his body burns with leaking energy, the heroes huddle together, and Supergirl recruits Doctor Light to flee with her injured cousin while she plots a final desperate stand. She throws herself at the burning figure like a torpedo!

The trajectory takes the warring figures on a collision course with the solar collector machine - destroying it! Supergirl refuses to stop, still smashing her fists into the Anti-Monitor as they both burn within the machine's core!

Horrified, Doctor Light feels compelled to help the brave heroine -- but Supergirl desperately orders her to go. A momentary lapse that gives Anti-Monitor the chance he needs to lock his arm around her and unleash his raw power!

Superman can only watch in horror as untold cosmic energies completely consume Supergirl's body and a solid beam blasts right through her!

Anti-Monitor makes a desperate escape, running for a nearby ship as his body begins to fail him. He lives to fight another day. Supergirl will not.

Superman cradles his cousin's broken and bloodied body as her indomitable will at last begins to fade. She tells the Man of Steel not to cry. His example taught her to be brave - and she was. She dies knowing Anti-Monitor's machines were destroyed and the lives across multiple worlds were saved. 

The Hammer...
Supergirl's act of supreme sacrifice succeeds only in delaying the Anti-Monitor, who fled on the brink of destruction, but will return in the next issue fully healed, and wearing a newly formed shell that is his iconic armored design.

The battle and its result provides the first in a one-two punch of iconic deaths that set the stakes of Crisis on Infinite Earths apart from other events of the era. It was immediately followed with the death of Barry Allen, whose grim fate was prophesied in a much earlier issue.

In spite of a premise that could've easily incorporated their quick resurrection into a newly formed DC Universe; the deaths of both Supergirl and The Flash were granted an immediate and sustained sense of consequence. Dead was dead. At least for a while.

The Flash was at least permitted to have existed within this new universe's secret history, but his death quickly became a crucial part of the modern canon. Barry Allen was part of a slightly re-tooled Justice League origin, and would be paid frequent homage through the legacy of his successor, the former Kid Flash: Wally West. This new Flash struggled to understand the details of his mentor's death, but continued to honor it. No such luck for Supergirl, though...

The initial conception for Superman in the post-Crisis DCU was one of a mythic 'Last Son of Krypton'. Kal-El's world had become abundant with derivative survivors from his dead home planet. The reboot was an opportunity to restore his status as a one-of-a-kind icon, completely excising Supergirl from his reality.

Of course, it didn't take long for the merits of a Girl of Steel to be reconsidered.

It would still take until 2004 for Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El to be reinstated into the modern post-Crisis canon, but a facsimile was created in her stead fairly quickly: a compromised version conjured from a character minted just a couple of years before the Crisis rebooted history.

Matrix was a shape-shifting "protoplasmic" lifeform engineered in a pocket universe by a heroic alternate Lex Luthor. When she was thrust into regular adventures in the new DCU, she was entangled with a Luthor who had been masquerading as his own son. Her disguise was much simpler, inventing a Supergirl for a universe that had only known Superman.

The new Supergirl proved an adequate replacement, but inherently susceptible to high levels of continual convolution. Efforts to separate her from Kryptonian history, while still patching together familiar Supergirl tropes, just made things increasingly messy. Eventually she would have to go.

The argument for keeping Superman alone in the universe is a tempting one, but over time I've come to see more merits in a DC Universe with Supergirl in it.

The modern age has become increasingly fixated with darker impulses that challenge the fundamental core of Superman as a character. Supergirl, like other derivations of Superman, offer the perfect vessels for exploring alternative perspectives of Superman's experience, without interrupting or corrupting his status as an icon of truth, justice, hope, and aspirational American ideals.

Supergirl expands the DCU and Superman's world with her own adventures and canon, while also offering the opportunity to explore a Kryptonian who is younger, more impulsive, less experienced, and at the same time more versed in Superman's lost home world, and its traditions. These details, and an innate feminine perspective, have continued to make Supergirl an interesting character in multiple mediums. I can't help but think of the current TV series - a shining example of the value of the character, and the enjoyment she can provide.

Supergirl's death fighting Anti-Monitor was a pretty epic, bad ass way for the Silver Age version of the character to go out. I love seeing her refuse to back down - again and again. Does the headband somehow make it even more bad ass? I think so. I've got a real soft spot for it. It's a little eighties aerobics, but I dig it. It's a shame it had to die, but I'm glad it wasn't permanent.

That about wraps it for 2019. It's been a long year with some great fights and I'm bushed! Make sure you check out the 2019 Feature Fight Recap to revisit and vote for the best battles of the year. This battle technically kicks off Season 2020, so make sure you stick around for more Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!

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You can find more featured fights from the DCU and Crisis by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive! You'll be able to monitor a complete index of battles ordered by universe, series, and issue number!

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Winner: Anti-Monitor
#350 (+240) Anti-Monitor [+1 kill]
#5 (--) Superman
#71 (-2) Supergirl
#894 (new) Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi)

MARVEL FAMILY versus EARTH-ONE HEROES

3 Earths! 3 Deaths! (DC)
Where: Crisis on Infinite Earths #6 When: September 1985 Why: Marv Wolfman How: George Perez

The Story So Far...
When Psycho-Pirate is imbued with enhanced powers by the Anti-Monitor, his emotion-manipulating influence can now span three entire worlds!

While Earth-X, Earth-Four, and Earth-S are besieged by a destructive wave of anti-matter -- the Psycho-Pirate turns heroes into agents of their world's own demise!

On Earth-S, the Marvel Family are stoked into a blind rage that convinces them the red skies of impending doom have been created by their former allies from Earth-One! It's up to Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and the Teen Titans to fend off this world's mightiest mortals long enough to save it!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain Marvel 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Captain Marvel 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain Marvel 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Captain Marvel 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Canary 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Supergirl 5 (Lasers)
Total: Captain Marvel 30 (Super)

The Marvel Family are: Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, and Uncle Dudley.

The Marvel Family are the magically powered heroes of Earth-S. Led by Captain Marvel, they draw their might from a pantheon of gods & legends by speaking a magic word that will summon the transformative lightning of Shazam!

We've seen the Marvel Family fight together against the dastardly Doctor Sivana in DC Comics Presents Annual #3, and again against his Monster Society of Evil in the modern-classic Earth-S flashback of Convergence Shazam #1.

The heroes of Earth-One are: Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Changeling, Kole Weathers, and Black Canary.

The impromptu gathering boasts members of the Justice League of America and Teen Titans, but they'll still have their work cut out for them against an assembly as powerful as The Marvel Family!

Wonder Woman can match the Marvels blow for blow, but her Fight Club record hasn't been flattering. She was part of the JLA halted by Captain Marvel's lightning while entering Hell in Underworld Unleashed #3, and defeated by Mary Marvel in a reprisal of today's encounter in Final Crisis #3. Lightning was also a feature of her defeat by Storm during the crossover of Marvel versus DC #3.

Supergirl shares most of the same powers of her famous cousin, but she had similar issues when fighting the dark Mary Marvel in Final Crisis #6. Their tie was only broken by the intervention of Captain Marvel Jr, who's fighting by his adopted sister's side this time!

Captain Marvel has had many run-ins with Supergirl's famous cousin, where the magic lightning has been revealed to be a potent weapon against Kryptonians, if dodged at super-human speed! The best example is Kingdom Come #4, which also reveals the potential to turn the transformational bolt against its caller!

Black Canary and her ear-piercing canary cry will be an X-factor in the battle, as will the animal-based metamorphosis of Changeling, (aka; Beast Boy), and the crystal-generating powers of Kole Weathers.

Kole predominantly offers strong defensive capabilities, while Changeling can add a degree of muscle to Wonder Woman & Supergirl via large animal transformations. With the addition of Black Canary's targeted audio disorienting, the group could seize an upset against their magic match-up! Let's see...

The Tape: Earth-One Heroes Ranking: Wonder Woman (#16)

What Went Down...
Black Canary only has seconds to react as a giant green elephant announces its impending arrival through the brick wall at her back! The animal is Changeling: shape-shifting Teen Titan who's been hurled violently by an unseen assailant!

Supergirl hovers over the young hero as he reverts to human form, skidding through the city rubble that litters the street. She checks on his well being, but is quickly set upon by the powerhouse responsible for attacking: Captain Marvel!

Earth's mightiest mortal blazes a trail across the battlefield like a human missile, mistakenly under the impression Supergirl and her Earth-One comrades have taken to evil! He charges her -- only to be caught with an aerial uppercut!

Fearing for her life, the young heroine attempts to reason with the rampaging Marvel. She appeals to his better nature, insisting his mind has been influenced by an unseen force. Squatting amongst the wreckage of the city -- Captain Marvel rejects her pleas as unacceptable lies!

Firmly believing Supergirl has unleashed the anti-matter cloud consuming his world, Captain Marvel ignores her shared experience and desire for help -- clenching both fists to pound the ground with the strength of Hercules!

The shockwave of Captain Marvel's blows topples a nearby building over Supergirl's head, but she doesn't join the bird-shaped Changeling in flying retreat. Instead, the girl of steel redoubles her efforts to fly through the building and collide with Captain Marvel to end his uncontrolled rage!

On the ground below, Black Canary theorizes the emotional manipulations of Psycho-Pirate must be responsible for Captain Marvel's uncharacteristic rage.

Before she can act on her theory, the street-level hero is struck by the awesome vision of a giant crystal barrier! Kole Weathers wields it to prevent the city's denizens from rushing into the anti-matter field. As she does, the mysterious Harbinger appears at her side to enact a ritual she cannot comprehend.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman attempts to tame a befuddled Mary Marvel by holding her in the lasso of truth. Mary resists, tugging at the golden rope while taken by the same emotion-warping madness as Captain Marvel!

The rage is shared by Captain Marvel Jr, who rockets through the air to catch Wonder Woman by surprise and rescue his sister!

Fate turns once more as Black Canary suddenly sends a sonic shriek emanating through Mary and Marvel Jr's ears!

The Marvels clutch their ears in agony, begging for a reprieve as the focused canary cry rattles them to their very core!

With Uncle Dudley caught in the coiled snake form of Changeling, Wonder Woman declares the Marvel Family "on ice". The victory pales in significance as Harbinger communes with the universe in an event of cosmic significance.

The Hammer...
It was a close call, but Black Canary comes through with the sonic cry that allows Supergirl, Changeling, and Wonder Woman to wrap the Marvel Family up! A hard fought win with great significance!

Supergirl and Captain Marvel stare in awe as the cloud of Psycho-Pirate's influence lifts, and the anti-matter void threatening Earth-S disappears! Against overwhelming odds -- the world is saved!

This was the moment that effectively assured the Marvel Family would continue their adventures into the new, composite DC Universe that would emerge from the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Not that it was an entirely smooth transition!

The wholesome qualities that defined classic Captain Marvel made him one of the first targets for harsher modern sensibilities, and the evil New Gods who represented their darkest extremes in-story.

In Legends #1: Captain Marvel was tricked into believing he'd used his magic lightning to kill a villain called Macro-Man. Now more tied to his youthful alter-ego, Captain Marvel was effectively retired by Billy Batson's loss of faith in himself, and his mighty magical powers.

Of course, Billy naturally gets wise before the end of the DCU defining mini-series, becoming a founding member of the new Justice League alongside Black Canary. With any luck, we'll get the chance to look further at the battles found in Legends, and the subsequent series that led to Justice League International.

In the mean time, we can technically close the book on a year of featured fights for Season 2019! Today's battle was inspired by the upcoming television version of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which will feature a cavalcade of live-action cameos and callbacks across episodes of Supergirl, Batwoman, The Flash, and Arrow.

You can dive deeper into the original Crisis on Infinite Earths by following the tag link, or by exploring the Secret Archive for a full index of entries in order of publisher, series, and issue number!

Hold the fate of the multiverse in the palm of your hand by checking out collected editions of Crisis on Infinite Earths! By using the Amazon purchase links provided you can get yourself, or a loved one, the perfect holiday gift -- and support the site at no extra cost to you!

Stay tuned for more fabulous fisticuffs and the chance to vote for the best featured fights of 2019! Thanks to everyone who's finding Secret Wars on Infinite Earths and helping spread the word by liking & sharing daily links via Twitter and Facebook!

Winners: Black Canary, Supergirl, Changeling & Wonder Woman
#15 (+1) Wonder Woman
#38 (+16) Black Canary
#70 (+41) Supergirl
#330 (new) Changeling (Garfield Logan)
#567 (new) Kole [+1 assist]
#46 (-3) Captain Marvel Jr
#49 (-2) Captain Marvel
#125 (-13) Mary Marvel
#353 (-27) Uncle Dudley

FLASH versus RAG DOLL

Countdown To Crisis! (DC)
Where: Justice League of America #196 When: November 1981 Why: Gerry Conway How: George Perez & Romeo Tanghal

The Story So Far...
In an effort to destroy his nemesis Superman, Ultra-Humanite forms a Secret Society of Super-Villains across two worlds. His goal: to orchestrate the capture of ten key heroes who will upset the balance of worlds - resulting in the orchestrated destruction of his own!

Earth-1 is home to a Justice League of America led by the youthful Superman, while Earth-2 boasts seasoned veterans of the Justice Society and a matured Superman. Despite a meeting between the heroes of two worlds, they are blissfully unaware of the forces plotting against them!

The Society's efforts have already led to the capture of Earth-1's Wonder Woman, Black Canary, Batman and Earth-2's Hawkman and Hourman! Now the wicked Rag Doll, and recently unretired Monocle, set their sights on Earth-2's Flash with the world only 40% away from cosmic annihilation!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Flash 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Flash 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Flash 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Rag Doll 6 (Generator)
Agility: Rag Doll 6 (Rubber)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Rag Doll 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Flash 26 (Metahuman)

As the golden age Flash: Jay Garrick was the fastest man on Earth-2! Exposure to strange vapors unlocked the speedster's unique powers, later linked with the same esoteric Speed Force that fuels Barry Allen and Wally West!

How do you beat a guy who can move faster than you can see? A lot of villains have tried, but few methods have been as unusual as Rag Doll's!

If you've ever had a friend who was double-jointed, you've seen first-hand how a person can bend fingers and limbs the wrong way. In the case of Rag Doll: Peter Merkel was born triple-jointed -- allowing him to twist and contort his every joint into bizarre and impossible configurations!

Most notably: Rag Doll can compact his body into impossibly tight spaces. With such phenomenal natural pliability has also come a super-human quality to absorb impacts! The flow of his flexible limbs isn't super-fast, but he's been shown to react quick enough to twist between the flight path of gunfire!

Rag Doll's known to carry guns himself, and even though The Flash is faster than any speeding bullet, he can occasionally be caught by surprise! We saw Sandman use powers and terrain to chin-check Flash in 2004's JSA #64.

Rag Doll can exploit any nook or cranny in a given environment, allowing him to hide in plain sight and launch attacks on unsuspecting victims. He may look like a goofy child's toy, but it turns out Rag Doll is actually quite deadly!

The Tape: Flash Ranking: Flash (#143)

What Went Down...

A red & blue streak blazes a trail along a Keystone City dock at dusk. The Flash racing to meet an anonymous police tipster with information about Rag Doll!

Hidden between wooden crates, and obscured by hat and coat, the informant points Flash in the direction of a ship: The Lazy Sue. The speedster leaves with thanks in the blink of an eye -- never noticing the villainous Monocle!

It only takes a few more beats for Flash to have scoured the entire vessel and come up empty -- or so he thinks!..

It soon dawns on The Flash that his old enemy Rag Doll can hide in smaller spaces than any ordinary man! The realization comes with seconds to spare as the folded Rag Doll leaves his hiding place in a ventilation cowl and opens fire!

Flash reacts with super-human speed, blurring out of the line of fire and towards the protruding tube! He returns fire with a knife-edged chop thrown at speeds high enough to cut right through the rusting metal structure!

Rag Doll manages to escape injury and makes a leap for the cargo hold! The hero estimates the plunge at a leg breaking forty feet, but soon remembers the "rubber-jointed freak" won't suffer a scratch from the fall!

To avoid injury himself, Flash swings his hands fast enough to create two focused jets of downforce that glide him safely to the level below.

Before the speedster can begin his search of the hold - he spies a waiting bundle of dynamite amongst the cargo. It explodes -- launching the unprepared hero into the air with a devastating blast!

The Flash crashes back down to the hold with his helmet clanging beside him! The explosion leaves the hero unconscious as Rag Doll stands unscathed over his nemesis, gloating about his powers of resilience in victory!

The Hammer...

It was a plan that worked to perfection: Monocle lures The Flash to the trap - Rag Doll blows it up! Eloquent in its simplicity, and devastatingly effective at scratching one of the major heroes off The Secret Society of Super-Villain's hit list of two worlds!

This was part of the annual crossover between Earth-1's Justice League of America and the Justice Society of Earth-2. Ultra-Humanite is the mastermind, plotting to surgically remove key heroes in the hopes of creating a cosmic imbalance that will destroy his world. If you know anything about the Ultra-Humanite: you know he won't mind relocating!

There are a lot of fun villains in this one that've been slightly forgotten, or just overlooked. A recent spotlight in Hero of the Week got me thinking more about the original comic book Rag Doll, who hasn't featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths yet. I figured I'd pull this issue off my desk and take a closer look.

It's a nice quick showcase of what makes Rag Doll work as a functioning high-concept super-villain. He's hiding in the shadows right under the hero's nose, then he strikes with total impunity - unafraid of the shock of an explosion!

It's a good transposing of the old children's dolls that always seem to survive a plane crash or similar human crisis. I'm in favour of updating the design of the character to enhance the creepiness, but there is a charm to such a ridiculous visual. If blowing up Flash wasn't bad enough for you, he robbed a bank with guns blazing in the prior issue. A nice subversion of an innocent image.

Now that we've seen the original Pete Merkel in action, we'll have to find time to get Junior on the books. The 2005 Simone/Eaglesham creation reinvented the concept by cranking up the creepy weirdness, and doubling-down on the body horror of surgically acquired triple-joints. A nice updated, made all the more appreciated by keeping the original in tact. In fact, papa Doll hates his son!

Not such a great showcase for Jay Garrick, who's played a little too absent minded for my taste. All part of moving the three-issue story along with enough gravitas to threaten A-list assemblies from two worlds.

The tradition of the JLA/JSA meet-up essentially starts with 1963's Justice League of America #21. It became a regular staple of the seventies and early eighties, before it kinda became redundant once Crisis on Infinite Earths consolidated all properties in one continuum.

Justice League of America #196 is titled the "Countdown to Crisis". Before there was a Crisis on Infinite Earths, there were crises on multiple Earths.

I've always been of two minds about the idea. It's obviously a lot of fun to have two generations of heroes meet. Nice that the tradition ensures it's going to happen sooner than later. I just kinda prefer that they're all living on the same world. It loses a little bit of the sense of importance, but it also never gets silly as the years go by. It's also nice to have a DCU populated with all these great characters! When Jay Garrick was a recurring part of The Flash's world, that was great! When he was having his own adventures in JSA - even better!

If you want to cross between time and space, you can do it by picking yourself up a collected edition via Amazon! Today's story can be found in its three-issue entirety in Crisis on Multiple Earths Volume 6. If you shop with the link provided, you help support our Secret Earth that hosts The Comic Book Fight Club!

You can find more featured fights and superhero smackdown by diving into the Secret Archive! There you'll find the many Earths of DC, Marvel, and beyond! Be sure to follow links throughout this post to discover more wonders relevant to your favourite topics!

You can also follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths via Twitter and Facebook for daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! Liking and sharing battles is a great way to support the site, so be a pal!

Winner: Rag Doll (w/ Monocle)
#317 (new) Rag Doll
#322 (-179) Flash (Jay Garrick)
#545 (new) Monocle [+1 assist]

CAPTAIN AMERICA versus THANOS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What Went Down...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subscribe to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook for daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! A like, share, or retweet is another excellence way to join the fight!

Winner: Thanos

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

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