CAPTAIN AMERICA versus BATROC

(Marvel)
Where: All-New Captain America #1 When: January 2015 Why: Rick Remender How: Stuart Immonen

The Story So Far...
Drained of the super-soldier serum that keeps him young and powerful: Steve Rogers is forced to retire from active duty, passing the mantle & shield of Captain America to his trusted comrade-in-arms - Sam Wilson!

Adapting his winged suit for a new identity; the former Falcon flies again in red, white, and blue -- dedicated to upholding truth, justice, and the American ideal against the forces of evil!

His newest mission takes the all-new Captain America underground in search of a deeply hidden Hydra fortress. The criminal cabal hopes to exploit a young boy as the ultimate doomsday weapon. Standing in his way is one of Cap's oldest foes -- the mercenary master of savate: Batroc The Leaper!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain America 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Captain America 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Batroc 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Batroc 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Batroc 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Batroc the Leaper 23 (Champion)

When Captain America throws his mighty shield in today's battle -- it won't be Steve Rogers his opponents yield to! The villain known as Iron Nail forced Rogers into retirement when he drained the super-soldier serum from his body.

Replacing the rapidly aged hero in the field is one of his closest friends and most trusted allies: Sam Wilson -- also known as the high-flying Falcon!

Wilson first met Cap when the Red Skull hatched a plan to use the cosmic cube to remold him as a pawn in their conflict. Racketeer Sam "Snap" Wilson became possessed with keen senses, an uncanny mental link with birds, and the perfect well intending character to trick Rogers into adopting the sleeper agent.

Together they broke the Red Skull's programming and thwarted his scheme, allowing Wilson to become Captain America's regular crime-fighting partner for years to come. As Falcon, he was eventually gifted a winged harness designed by Black Panther. The new suit granted him the ability to fly -- adding to his already impressive physical skill and training!

We've seen Falcon and Captain America go to war as two of the original Secret Avengers in Civil War #3, and fight against Baron Zemo in Thunderbolts #105. When Cap was assassinated in Captain America (Vol.5) #25: Falcon was there to provide air support to Winter Soldier as they brought down Crossbones.

As Captain America: Sam Wilson also gains possession of Cap's iconic vibranium alloy shield. It offers additional defensive capabilities that he may find handy when he comes up against the educated feet of Batroc the Leaper!

Steve Rogers relied on his shield blocking the blows of Batroc's deadly savate strikes ever since the sixties! We saw him do it in Captain America #251, when Batroc teamed with Mister Hyde to successfully take the super-soldier down.

A mercenary for hire -- but not a madman; Batroc ultimately teamed with his arch-rival, Cap, to turn the tables on Hyde in Captain America #252. He wasn't so lucky when he ran afoul Deadpool in Monte Carlo, though. Deadpool #20 ended with the fighting Frenchman suffering two broken legs.

Batroc is fighting fit in today's battle, and his expertise in the French kickboxing style arguably make him a more specialized martial artist than the new Captain America. Cap's ability to evade and go airborne should give him plenty of ways to win, but as you can see below, the record so far has been kind to Batroc!

The Tape: Batroc the Leaper Ranking: Batroc the Leaper (#125)

What Went Down...
Undercover as a Hydra agent: Nomad leads Captain America into the inner sanctum holding the deadly boy they've come to save. There, they find Batroc The Leaper standing guard expectantly, finishing off a serve of croquembouche.

Nomad heads for the child, while the new Captain America rushes in to confront an old enemy. Batroc meets him snide derision and a leaping kick!

The Leaper shoots high with his kicks, aiming for the head, while his words attack the mind of the American.

He sarcastically quizzes the replacement Captain about his super-powers, attacking modern US culture and politics while listing super-obesity, hyper-warmongering, and omega-illiteracy. Cap blocks with his shield and hits back!

Batroc rolls with the punch and continues the mind-games, finding himself positioned between the Captain and Nomad, who was clipped by an earlier Hydra shot. Batroc takes the opportunity to boast about his worldly disposition, effortlessly delivering toppling kicks to both of his targets!

Cap crashes upside down into a mess of high-tech machinery and cables.

Batroc keeps applying the pressure, moving on him fast with a kick directed squarely at his face. The Captain manages to catch it inches from impact, and use the block to fling Batroc across the lab and through a nearby window!

Cap jumps fearlessly through the shattered glass to follow Batroc on the underground plunge outside the facility. The Frenchman opens his body to slow his descent, while the winged hero does the opposite to close the gap!

The experienced aerialist tackles Batroc in mid-air, but the mercenary is unfazed and throws a hard punch! Cap returns the favour, smacking him in the face with the front side of his shield!

They fall to a jutting pipe that Cap barely catches with one hand, while Batroc lands the right way to wrap his legs around and hang upside down. Despite the precarious position -- still they continue fighting!

Batroc blocks a punch and swings upright to the top of the pipe. Captain America finds a hard straight right to the body and follows it with a devastating left to the face! The blow pushes Batroc to deliver a left that busts his brow!

The Captain drops to his arms and knees on a metal mesh platform while The Leaper mocks Steve Rogers in absentia for sending an "errand boy".

In his gloating, Batroc fails to notice Nomad hovering overhead. Nomad sends his horde crusher staff hurtling towards the unsuspecting mercenary -- who's knocked tumbling from the small platform!

The Leaper disappears into the smoldering red void cast by liquid magma burning beneath them. It happens so fast, even the winged Captain America is helpless to stop the fall. He can only chastise the callousness by which Nomad dispatched his enemy. Unnecessary lethal force is not their way.

The Hammer...
It looks like bad news for Batroc, but worry not! He survives to leap another day, returning later in the series. No thanks to Nomad! He came out of nowhere with extreme prejudice to save the all-new Captain America (and steal his heat)!

This incarnation of Nomad was known at the time as Ian Rogers, but also answers to Leopold Zola. He's a frightfully convoluted creation who was born in the pocket reality of Dimension Z: Arnim Zola's personal testing grounds for his twisted experiments.

It turns out Steve Rogers spent a lifetime lost in the pocket dimension, where he raised Arnim Zola's would-be son as his own. It all plays out a bit like a long-form, pulpy twist on the same kind of lived-in detour that was Planet Hulk.

That heavy deviation from the status quo speaks to some of the frustration that has plagued Captain America's recent publication history.

It seems ever since his apparent assassination in 2007, the character just hasn't been allowed to settle in to any kind of iconic, familiar routine.

He spent some of 2009 lost in time, while Bucky filled in as Captain America. He returned in 2010, but was appointed Director of SHIELD while his super-soldier serum was deactivated by Machinesmith. Cap's exile in Dimension Z happened in 2013, followed by another loss of his super-soldier serum in 2014, and Sam Wilson's reign as Captain America in 2015. Steve got better the following year - only to suffer the ultimate indignity of that unfortunate Hydra business in 2017.

All of this constant upheaval may've made short-term headlines, but it also killed the simple pleasure of picking an issue off the rack and enjoying the latest adventure of a beloved character. The repetitive monotony has become unappealing, and created successive jumping-off points that last multiple years.

While all of this disruption was going on with Cap, Marvel also made a habit of alternating between killing and resurrecting its other leading characters. This took on a slightly different twist in the mid-2010s, when the "All-New" brand signaled efforts to replace the classics with a generation of surrogates.

Marvel had some success in its heyday with brand shakeups like this, such as the popular costume changes of the 1980s. These included Cap's black outfit (later USAgent's), Wolverine's brown costume, Iron Man's silver centurion armor, and Spidey's black costume.

There were certainly plenty of successful understudies created over the years, too. Yet, with so much print dedicated to constant instability, the All-New replacement characters were all too often ill timed, and indelicately shunted into position. It seemed cynical and didn't give these characters their best chance to succeed, but they certainly weren't all bad.

We've talked about the strong art direction that made All-New Ghost Rider one of the must-read series under the "Marvel Now" banner. Now we're getting to another of the more intriguing propositions.

There was a certain naturally occurring arc to the return of Bucky Barnes in 2005, and his acceptance of the Captain America mantle, but removed from that context, it was always slightly dubious that a storied Russian assassin, The Winter Soldier, would inherit the legacy of a paragon of justice and liberty.

Since his debut in 1969: Sam Wilson has been an almost continuous presence in the life of Captain America. He's fought by his side untold times, participating as a trusted friend and ally. He's been an agent of SHIELD and eventually a charter member of the Avengers. In a great many ways, he's the most obvious choice to be chosen to succeed Steve Rogers as Captain America!

I particularly like the costume design. Sam Wilson has been his own man for a long time and it was fantastic to see that he retained his wings. There's really no reason not to. The way he combines using the shield with flight is pretty fantastic, and exactly the kind of combination of elements that makes this work.

I'm quite fond of these characters launching into their own series with an established villain. It worked for All-New Ghost Rider, and Batroc The Leaper lends some nice heft to the first issue of All-New Captain America, bolstering the mostly nameless ranks of Hydra goons.

I'm a little surprised Cap didn't get the win to start him off on a high note. He isn't new at this game, and I don't really rate Nomad enough to want to see him get the rub. That said, there is something to be said for not overdoing the success of a character in a new spotlight. It eases them into the new role, and gives them somewhere to grow. We've seen how Marvel legends like Spider-Man started out with awkward losses [see; Amazing Spider-Man #7, #13].

I think the win over Batroc would've helped sell Falcon to someone checking out the new series. I also would've liked to see him have a more compelling retort for Batroc's amusing commentaries on the state of American culture. Maybe it's because I'm a filthy foreigner, but I thought Batroc was a far more compelling verbal combatant, besting Cap's rather wet 'What makes you so elite?'

The issue ends with the arrival of Baron Zemo and a cadre of established villains, so if you thought Falcon (and Nomad) had trouble before, wait until they have to face down Taskmaster, Crossbones, Madame Viper, Baron Blood, and more! Something to think about as we wrap up today's battle!

If you'd like to see this fight in its entirety, and the rest of the arc, you can check out All-New Captain America Vol.1: Hydra Ascendant. Using the Amazon link provided will not only get you a safe deal delivered to your home, but also help support the site in the process at no extra charge!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has documented well over 600 battles with more than 950 characters! If you'd like to find more you can follow links throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights!

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Winner: Nomad (w/ Captain America)
#339 (new) Nomad (Ian Rogers/Leopold Zola)
#135 (-10) Batroc The Leaper
#960 (-1) Captain America (Sam Wilson) [+1 assist]

THE SHADOW INITIATIVE versus ROUGHHOUSE & BLOODSCREAM
Avengers: The Initiative Disassembled Part 4 (Marvel)
Where: Avengers: The Initiative #24 When: July 2009
Why: Christos N. Gage How: Humberto Ramos

The Story So Far...
When tragedy claimed the lives of hundreds of children in Stamford, Connecticut, the reckless superheroics of the New Warriors were blamed for instigating the violence perpetrated by the villain, Nitro. Thus, the call to register and police the use of superpowers became the championed cause of Tony Stark, aka; Iron Man.

Whilst battling his heroic opponents in the streets, Stark pushed forward the Superhero Registration Act which helped usher in the Fifty States Initiative -- a program to train young heroes under experienced veterans and guarantee the presence of a superhero team in every American state.

Within the Initiative organization itself is a secretive special operatives branch dubbed the Shadow Initiative. Their activities remain top secret and denied by all levels of the Initiative, allowing them to operate in secret for specific missions. Such an objective leads the group, under the leadership of Taskmaster, to Madripoor, where they track the traitorous Initiative alumnist, Hardball. With the Initiative closing down under assumed control by Norman Osborn, the Shadow group are on their own against the mercenaries of a town without law.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Roughhouse 5 (Superhuman)
Intelligence: Taskmaster 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Bengal 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Bloodscream 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Bengal 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Taskmaster 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Typhoid Mary 4 (Arsenal)


- The Shadow Initiative are: Taskmaster, Constrictor, Bengal, & Typhoid Mary.

With the appointment of Tony Stark as Director of SHIELD on the back of plans to register and train all known super-powered heroes, the Fifty States Initiative is passed to ensure a superhero team for every American state. The Initiative pays special attention to the next generation of heroes, erecting a training facility in Stamford, where the tragedy that sparked concerns about hero registration first occurred. Camp Hammond was named after the late Human Torch and is decicated to training the next wave of American heroes.

Within the Initiative organization itself is a secret special operative unit dubbed the Shadow Initiative. The original line-up included Bengal, Trauma, Constrictor, Mutant Zero, and the Scarlet Spiders. Their activities are strictly denied by the Initiative, which, upon the dissolving of SHIELD after Tony Stark was ousted by Norman Osborn under allegations of corruption, leaves the group stranded in the field under the leadership of late recruit, Taskmaster.

- Born in sixteenth century London; Zachariah Ravenscraft served as a physician on board a ship captained by Sir Francis Drake. During a battle with the Spanish galleon, Ravenscraft was mortally wounded and forced to seek the medical aid of a shaman named Dagoo. Using the mystic arts of necromancy, Dagoo saved the surgeon's life with a potion that transformed him into an undying creature similar to that of a living vampire. As Bloodscream, Ravenscraft lives an immortal life, using his powers to nefarious ends, whilst ever searching for the blood of an immortal to complete the potion to restore his humanity at the price of mortality.

Roughhouse is descended from a race of Asgardian trolls, but the details of his origins remain unknown. He possesses the superhuman strength and endurance associated with his lineage, but is said to carry the scars of an abusive childhood beneath his shaggy exterior.

Bloodscream and Roughhouse formed a working partnership on the island of Madripoor, where they were employed as muscle for the crime boss, General Coy. Despite being defeated in Madripoor by Wolverine, the pair have renewed their partnership throughout the years, working as mercenaries and arch-rivals of the clawed mutant.

Math: Shadow Initiative (Ttl) Bloodscream (Avg) Ranking: Constrictor (#566)

What Went Down...
A deluge of rain floods the streets of Madripoor where the members of the secret Shadow Initiative come face-to-face with the mercenary characters that populate this lawless town. Bloodscream & Roughhouse - a pseudo-vampire and troll - old names in the ranks of Madripoor's rogues and hoods.

Barrelling down on the squad leader, Roughhouse sends Taskmaster hurtling into the surrounding urban facade, shrugging off the coiled grappling of former villain-for-hire, the Constrictor. His rampage continues in the direction of the source of the metallic tendrils -- leading Constrictor to wrap his coils around the troll's throat.

Meanwhile, Bengal and Typhoid Mary contend with the vampire-like menace of Bloodscream, whose immortal condition allows him to withstand multiple lethal blows from the sword-wielding femme fatale.

Bloodscream, duelling blade-to-blade with Mary, succeeds in disarming her of the deadly katana, but with a killing blow in sight, his ignorance of Mary's unique abilities prove his folly. Utilizing her pyro-telekinesis, she summons her sword, cutting off Bloodscream's head along with his finishing stike.

With their adversaries seemingly subdued; the Shadow Initiative are forced to come to terms with their predicament as an abandoned cell amidst SHIELD's disassembly. With an entire island of mercenaries, and Hydra on their tail, the group face overwhelming odds, but as Bloodscream soon informs them, they are yet to completely overcome their present opposition.

The pseudo-vampire reattaches his head and attacks an unsuspecting Typhoid Mary. By snatching her arm, he invites a psychological break from the unstable assassin. She ignites the villain and herself with her pyrokinetic flames.

The assault levels yet another potentially lethal attack on Bloodscream, whilst forcing Taskmaster to turn his attentions on a teammate. Effectively victorious, the master fighter calms Mary and orders Constrictor to relinquish his dominance over Roughhouse, redirecting concerns to a conclusion. No longer bound to SHIELD, the group suggest a truce, defecting to HYDRA -- or so it seems...

The Hammer...
Admittedly, the aftermath of the fight presents something of a stalemate scenario, but based on the battle, we declare the Shadow Initiative victorious! Special note: Taskmaster and Bengal didn't get real involved in the scrap, so we'll put them down as assists.

It's nice to finally get competition for June underway after a string of delays pushed this writing back to the start of August. Content is content, in my opinion, but it would be nice if we could gradually work toward being contemporary in our references. I like to think slightly obscure issues such as this will be a valued resource to future readers, but right now, you're probably more interested in more current developments. Assuming, of course, you're actually reading Avengers: The Initiative.

A couple of years into publication, it seems obvious that The Initiative is one of those sleeper titles people will talk about in the future. Born out of the squabble event of Civil War, the series has managed to touch upon each significant Marvel event since, making it one of the most relevant titles to the pulse of the Marvel Universe. Secret Invasion set-up Norman Osborn's rise to power in Dark Reign, a political scenario that connects very specifically to this series, and appears to be right at the top of the agenda of Year Three of the series.

If there was a strength to this title from day-one, it was it's inherent connection to high-concept reflections of Marvel's editorially driven events. Over the past few years, it's been DC that have taken control of their universe-wide "continuity," connecting sequential consequence in ways once considered the domain of Marvel, but no longer. The Initiative is the custodian of this notion, creating many of it's own unique curiosities, (such as the Iron Spiders), whilst remaining a constant reflection of the shifting sands of the shared universe around it.

I have to admit, this has been one of those series that's krept into my frame of interest with regularity, but constantly fell relegated to more "significant" titles through financial elimination. Finally, a quiet week persuaded me to lay down the comparatively reasonable $2.99US, in the interest of getting an overdue taste.

Like the old ham I am, I was attracted to the combination of the six characters involved in today's feature battle. Taskmaster in particular is one of those characters that's long called for a regular role, but for whatever reason, has regularly been overlooked by the powers-that-be. It might've taken a complete overhaul of the political landscape of the Marvel U -- one that's inevitably to be short-lived, probably not far into 2010 -- but at least it finally happened. Makes good sense, too, given Taskmaster's history as a trainer (of folks like USAgent).

I don't know how well it syncs up with their previous developments, but it's also a lot of fun to drift back into the grimey world of Madripoor and bump into forgotten B-listers like Bloodscream and Roughhouse. Particularly in a year that featured Wolverine under the film-inspired spotlight, it's kinda cool to know these slightly cheesy nineties icons are still running around to be used in the future. It's the kind of attention you like to see from the corporates, actually taking full advantage of their lengthy history and universe of characters. Bloodscream might not be a trademark cashcow any time soon, but we seem to have gotten past our phase of eighties-inspired urban stoicism to indulge again in the magic of comics.

Much like Dark Avengers; Avengers: The Initiative will now effectively extend the Thunderbolts concept as Norman Osborn holds his Dark Reign over the Marvel Universe. Whether or not the wolf-in-sheeps-clothing era will be the end of this series remains in the hands of Marvel's dedication to utilizing the unique nature of the series, and promoting it sufficiently. Christos Gage and Humberto Ramos, as creative names in a sychophantic market, are a pretty decent vote of confidence for the title, following Dan Slott and his collaborators.

Ramos' kinetic cartoon style probably won't endear to traditionalists, but this is the kind of title that's arguably laying the foundations for future generations of readers. Osmosis on the internet has probably led a lot of youngsters to adopt the cross-eyed confusion of those who genuinely struggle with the concept of the shared superhero universe, but those more open-minded cartoon networkers are exactly the kind of demographic that Ramos' style could speak to -- inducting them into the Marvel Universe with some of the most interesting tangential characters. Which is how many of us got into this gig twenty-or-more years ago.

For the modern-traditionalists, if you're knee-deep in Dark Reign and considering the Initiative, it might just be worth your while to check this out. 'Cause with a special ops team all to his own, y'just know Osborn's going to get up to no good!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4.5

To get the whole transition of The Initiative from SHIELD control, to HAMMER, check out the Disassembled collection available in hardcover, and soft TPB at the end of the year. By taking the initiative to use Amazon purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor future entries of the Infinite Wars. You'll find plenty more collections in the Gift Shop, which features editions containin most issues reviewed in the Secret Archives. Thank you for your patience.