NEW MUTANTS versus HELLFIRE CLUB

King of the Hill! (Marvel)
Where: New Mutants #75 When: May 1989
Why: Louise Simonson How: John Byrne

The Story So Far...
When an attack on the X-Men's home turf led to the inevitable defeat of The Marauders -- an explosive device planted in the X-Mansion allowed Mister Sinister to strike the ultimate revenge against his enemies!

Unaware of the events that transpired; the New Mutants return from battling an alien called Gosamyr to make the shocking discovery that their school is in ruins!

A brief skirmish with an injured Sabretooth gives them a taste of what transpired, but there's no time to dwell on the past. A new threat arises when former Headmaster Magneto returns with The Hellfire Club at his side!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Sebastian Shaw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Magneto 5 (Professor)
Speed: Cannonball 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Sebastian Shaw 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Warlock 6 (Malleable)
Fighting: Mirage 4 (Trained)
Energy: Selene 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Magneto 28 (Metahuman)

The New Mutants are: Cannonball, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Mirage, Warlock, and Illyana Rasputin.

This is a young team, facing the challenge of a once trusted mentor, but that doesn't mean we should count them out. They'll all go on to great things, and already show signs of their future promise -- even at this early stage. On their way here they dealt with a short-lived challenge from a weakened Sabretooth.

The Hellfire Club are: "White King" Magneto, "Black King" Sebastian Shaw, "White Queen" Emma Frost, and "Black Queen" Selene.

The Inner Circle clearly have experience on their side - none more so than Magneto. His admission as White King comes with his intimate knowledge of the New Mutants, having served very recently as their Headmaster.

We've seen Magneto withstand the coordinated powers of the adult X-Men in X-Men #113. He's clearly a major threat all on his own, and even the telepathic assault that took him out in X-Men #25 is covered by his Hellfire Club support.

Emma Frost hasn't developed her diamond form yet, coming to the fight strictly as a powerful telepath. Sebastian Shaw offers super-human muscle, able to absorb any impact against him and convert it into strength. Selene rounds out the group with mastery over inanimate objects and life-draining.This one really comes down to team dynamics and execution of strategy. For the New Mutants to have a real chance they'd need to clearly identify the strengths and weakness of themselves and their opponents.

This is long before Emma Frost will develop an invulnerable diamond form, so taking her telepathic powers out of the battle early with a frontal assault could be a good use of Cannonball or Wolfsbane. Removing Sebastian Shaw without powering him up could be a job for Warlock, who could eject him similarly to Nimrod in Uncanny X-Men #209. Wolfsbane could claw Selene, while Mirage's empathic image casting is free to attack Magneto at his core.

The New Mutants could also try to turn Magneto against his new teammates. Will the perfect scenario play out for them? Let's see how it went...

The Tape: New Mutants Ranking: Cannonball (#115)

What Went Down...
Hovering above the ruins of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters: Magneto and The Hellfire Club survey the damage. Angered by their former headmaster's return, Sunspot grabs a massive hunk of damaged machinery and hurls it!

The steel equipment is effortlessly deflected by The Master of Magnetism, who also holds his clubmen afloat. He allows Black King, Sebastian Shaw, to descend and match Sunspot on the ground. He attacks with a devastating left hook!

Cannonball leaps to his teammate's defense for the second time this day, but finds his path to Shaw suddenly cut off by a rising wall of wreckage. A defensive measure courtesy of Selene, she who commands all that is inanimate!

Cannonball smashes into the wall and falls to his hands and knees!

He's too stunned to resist The Black Queen, who lingers over the fallen firebrand with sinister intent. She traces her hand over the back of Cannonball's neck, preparing to drain his life-force -- when she suddenly becomes a decrepit hag!

The transformation is a mere illusion plucked from Selene's own psyche by the empathic powers of Mirage! The young mutant makes her inner most fear a tangible reality, but she's soon undone by a psychic assault from Emma Frost!

The White Queen mentally forces Mirage to release Selene from her influence, inciting Warlock to bare massive fangs in defense of his teammate!

The techno-organic creature notes his imperviousness to Emma Frosts' telepathic bolts, but fails to consider his absolute vulnerability to the Master of Magnetism! His cartoonishly distorting body is swept toward the rest of the new Mutants, who find themselves collectively surrounded by twisting metal!

Tired of their rebellious opposition, Magneto holds his former students encased in a ball of metal to end the battle.

The Hammer...
With the New Mutants at his mercy: Magneto quizzes them about the young mystery girl in their company and their missing member. He's surprised to learn his once promising student, Illyana Rasputin, has chosen to become a child to avoid succumbing to her own darker impulses.

Despite their defeat, the New Mutants defiantly refuse to return to their former headmaster's tutelage. The team has simply seen the former villain make too many compromises to ever accept him as their teacher again.

This effectively concludes Magneto's four years as New Mutants Headmaster, and a member of the X-Men. He'll return to villainy shortly thereafter, rebuilding Asteroid M, and joining the cabal of conspiring villains in Acts of Vengeance. We saw how that led him to battle Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #327.

The split from the New Mutants has immediate consequences within the pages of New Mutants #75, where Sebastian Shaw seizes the opportunity to challenge Magneto's position as White King. In the end it always comes down to in-fighting and power struggles with these people.

Shaw claims Magneto was elected into the Inner Circle as a leader of both the X-Men and New Mutants -- but now controls nothing. Magneto takes that about as well as you'd expect, and the two throw down for the main event battle hinted at on the cover of the issue [see; top]. You can be certain we'll return to take a closer look at that fight some time in the future!

Today was supposed to mark the long-awaited wide release of New Mutants in theatres, but FOX's final X-related film was once again delayed, by the closure of cinemas, and unprecedented measures to curb global spread of COVID-19.

These are strange days, but I figure Secret Wars on Infinite Earths can do its small part by continuing to feature some of the characters who would've been in theatres around this time. It's been a good time to do some extra reading while we're all self-isolating, and hopefully it provides a fun distraction.

As I've mentioned before, even as a young reader, I was never one to buy-in to kid heroes. That meant the New Mutants weren't really on my radar until a year later, when they got a major overhaul from the style guide of Rob Liefeld.

The revamp did a good job of shaking off the impression these were the geeks of the X-Men universe. I appreciate the effort to present them as authentically youthful and in training, but I've never been a big fan of this iteration of their matching black & gold uniforms. The update was well timed.

I appreciate that today's featured fight showed the New Mutants coming into their powers, but ultimately outclassed by their opponents. It moved necessary storylines forward, and avoided the dubious trope of kid-heroes overcoming unfathomable odds. This time the bad guys won and that feels credible.

Star pupil Cannonball did manage to violently kayo Sabretooth on the way to this fight, after Sunspot withstood a full rake of his claws. That was another well weighted way to give the team a win before they took a loss. It also set up a future rematch that we can officially add to the To Do list.

You can discover relevant past, present, and future fights by following links throughout this article, or by diving into the Secret Archive. That's where you'll find every battle indexed by publisher, series, and issue number! Or subscribe to Twitter and Facebook for daily links to battles inspired by the day's topics!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and counting! If you like superhero smackdown and want to see the service continue you can contribute via Patreon. Patrons gain insider access to the schedule, and can get involved with special feature articles and polls. Not to mention fostering my eternal gratitude and continued survival!

If today's battle has whetted your appetite, you can get the full story collected in Epic Collection New Mutants: Curse of the Valkyrie. Shop using the Amazon purchase link provided and you'll find yourself a good deal at a safe distance -- while Amazon supports the site at no extra cost! Nice!

Winners: Magneto & Hellfire Club
#81 (+60) Magneto
#182 (+288) Emma Frost
#390 (+508) Sebastian Shaw
#391 (+506) Selene
#128 (-13) Cannonball
#341 (-187) Sunspot
#353 (-156) Magik (Illyana Rasputin)
#357 (-128) Warlock (Phalanx)
#589 (-44) Mirage
#907 (new) Wolfsbane

HELLFIRE CLUB versus X-MEN

Salvation (Marvel)
Where: Uncanny X-Men #209 When: September 1985 Why: Chris Claremont How: John Romita Jr & P Craig Russel

The Story So Far...
Tensions between the Hellfire Club and X-Men reach breaking point when the X-Man of the future, Rachel Summers, infiltrates the Inner Circle to avenge a fallen comrade by assassinating their Black Queen!

The attempt on Selene's life ends with a killing blow, but it's Wolverine executing lethal force against the renegade Summers. True to her mantle as Phoenix, however, the young mutant refuses to die, sending the Hellfire Club on a hunt for the wounded girl in Central Park!

The X-Men engage the Inner Circle in a battle for their teammate, but they aren't the only interested parties! As the heroes struggle to stay above ground, another threat descends from the sky: the Sentinel of the future - Nimrod!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Colossus 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Selene 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Nightcrawler 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Sebastian Shaw 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Nightcrawler 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Storm 5 (Lasers)
Total: Wolverine 26 (Metahuman)

The Hellfire Club are: "Black King" Sebastian Shaw, "Black Queen" Selene, "Black Bishop" Harry Leland, "Black Rook" Friedrich von Roehm, and Tessa.

Representing the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, these are some of the most powerful representatives of the venerated and clandestine organization.

The only member to have appeared previously in our record is the rotund Harry Leland. His mutant ability to inflict dramatic gravitational fields famously sent Wolverine plunging through a building and into the sewers in X-Men #132.

Sebastian Shaw can absorb kinetic energy directed at his body and convert it into a source of increased super-human strength and durability. Direct attacks literally make him stronger, making him a difficult opponent to contend with!

Selene combines vast mutant gifts with the knowledge of ancient magic. By draining the lifeforce of others she can extend her life and enhance her strength & powers. She's a powerful telepath able to influence others, generate psionic bolts, pyrokinetic fire, and telekinesis. She can also manipulate inanimate objects to make them do her bidding!

Selene also holds sway over Friedrich von Roehm, whose bloodline is tainted with that of the werewolf! Unlike usual lycanthropes, he relies on the mental powers of Selene to trigger his transformation. This grants him increased strength, speed, agility, and claws, but also reduces him to a feral state.

The X-Men are: Storm, Shadowcat, Rogue, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Phoenix, with Callisto and Caliban.

Recent events have left the team in pretty bad shape! When we join the fight there are only two X-Men still active on the battlefield. Team leader Storm is one of them, but even she's lost the use of her mutant weather powers from a prior incident. Shadowcat is by her side - one of the few ready for action.

Wolverine is still recovering from his battle with The Reavers, as well as a very recent attempt to kill Rachel Summers, who was on a murderous warpath with her Phoenix power. She's clinging to life somewhere nearby, but Wolverine is still back at base in the Morlock tunnels, having missed last issue's skirmish.

Rogue took the brunt of the lead-in battle and accidentally absorbed the powers of Colossus while trying to save him from being plunged deep into the Earth! The last time Rogue enhanced her strength with Colossus' power she was able to take down Nimrod! That's a pertinent example of her might after permanently acquiring the powers of Ms Marvel.

With flight, Rogue can be evasive while striking at the strongest members of the Hellfire Club. Wolverine and Nightcrawler may've been jumped by the Inner Circle in X-Men #132, but Wolvie got his revenge against their masked guards in X-Men #133! They can handle the likes of Von Roehm and lingering minions.

If Phoenix gets in the game she can neutralize Selene, but recent history might just turn her against the X-Men! Tip the scales and the X-Men are in serious trouble! We saw a similar line-up upset by Deathstroke and Parademons during a DC crossover in Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans #1! Let's see...

The Tape: X-Men Ranking: Wolverine (#4)

What Went Down...
The cold mechanical visage of Nimrod hovers silently over Central Park like a spectre of death. The assembled combatants can only watch in awe as they anticipate the inevitable fight for their lives that awaits!

Somewhere across the battlefield, Rachel Summers stirs, clinging desperately to consciousness in a bid to aide her friends. Storm and Shadowcat are the lone X-Men still standing, surrounded by hostile members of the Hellfire Club.

Despite their predicament, Storm smiles wryly as the ground begins to tremble beneath her feet. Her mutant weather powers have been lost, but she doesn't need them to know the vengeful storm front rising from the depths!

Rogue's return stuns the Black Bishop responsible for her quest to the depths and sends the Hellfire Club scrambling! Storm takes the opportunity to order Shadowcat to phase down to the lower depths where Colossus is still trapped under the heavy weight of Harry Leland's gravitational powers.

Storm doesn't notice the masked Hellfire Club snipers gathering in the surrounding bushes -- but Callisto does! The morlock dives to knock Storm clear of the shot. Nightcrawler and Wolverine teleport in at just the right time to reacquaint themselves with their old enemies. The guardsmen run!

With a shower of turf clearing: Sebsatian Shaw charges at Rogue, undeterred by the doubled-strength she gained by absorbing Colossus' power! She narrowly avoids his punch, leaving a nearby oak to snap under its impact!

Rogue knows she can't use force to stop Shaw, but she can redirect his power toward another threat. She launches him across the battlefield on a collision course with Nimrod! The Sentinel of the future is prepared!

Nimrod is able to "reverse [the] target's gravimetric polarity" before he makes impact -- repelling the Black King from the very surface of the planet!

Delighted at her rival's plight; The Black Queen attempts to curtail Nimrod's advances with her ability to manipulate inanimate matter.

Shocked to find she has no effect on the robot's body, Selene resorts to wrenching boulders from the earth to destroy it. Once again futuristic processors analyze the threat and neutralize it - reducing the great rocks to slag with a beam fired from Nimrod's chest!

X-Men and Hellfire Club pause to contemplate the eerie robot alike. Callisto tests the sniper's high-tech weaponry on the robot, but it leaves little more than a scratch! Enough to encourage Storm to propose a team-up with her enemies.

Friedrich von Roehm violently rejects the proposal -- launching himself at Storm with the savage fury of a beast!

The Black Rook takes the X-Men's leader to ground, but is swiftly swatted away by the back of Wolverine's fist!

Von Roehm locks his eyes on Wolverine with grit teeth and readies to answer the challenge. Once again he launches himself, ready to test claw against claw -- until a massive beam of energy consumes him in mid-air!

What lands is a mere pile of disintegrated ash! Nimrod takes Rook!

Storm reiterates her proposal for an alliance with the Hellfire Club - appealing to the remaining membership's survival instincts, while Rogue engages Nimrod in the sky above. For a moment the heavens whip her with sudden wind and rain!

The last time Rogue absorbed the mutant power of Colossus she was able to defeat Nimrod. Before she can attempt another miraculous victory -- the borrowed organic steel of her skin begins to fade! It's all she can do to keep ahead of Nimrod's energy blasts! A deadly game of keep-away with one inevitable outcome!

The Sentinel of the future tracks Rogue's movements and calculates a course based on velocity and maneuverability. There's nothing she can do as the air before her is filled with a "shockweb". She fries in a dazzling explosion of light that leaves her plummeting back to earth, unconscious and smoldering.

The dramatic demonstration is enough to persuade Selene, Harry Leland, and Tessa to accept Storm's offer.

The Hammer...

Until an alliance is reached between the X-Men and Hellfire Club, there are technically three factions acting upon today's battle -- all equally hostile to each other! That makes lodging the result a little trickier than usual, but a clean conclusion can be reached...

The majority of casualties in today's battle were suffered by the Hellfire Club, but they aren't alone in defeat. The X-Men were either ineffectual, or as in the case with Rogue, trounced by the futuristic weaponry of Nimrod! Victory therefore belongs to the time travelling killer robot.

You could reasonably argue that Uncanny X-Men #209 contains a single continuous battle beyond what's described above. There is, however, a very distinct break in the action that allows the dynamic to be completely redrafted.

Round 2 begins anew when the surviving forces unite to engage Nimrod. Or Round 3, as it were, given this all began in the issue prior. At some point in the future we'll take a closer look at what went down.

Forgive me if I now give in to the temptation to shout: "It's Nimrod!!"

If you're a fan of the nineties X-Men cartoon you'll probably understand where I'm coming from. There were a lot of quotable lines to come out of that wonderful show. The over-the-top identification of Nimrod comes from the first half of their unique Days of Future Past two-parter. It's a little Mugatu in its blunt declaration of the obvious, but it works in context.

Nostalgia has weighed heavily on the X-Men for a long time now. The commercial highs of the nineties seem very visible at the moment, but the franchise arguably struggles most with the source material that inspired the cartoon. That seems true of the future-set Powers of X, which showed its hand with new character designs that promised the return of something like Nimrod.

In the past I've regarded nostalgic regression as a bad thing for the X-Men, but after a decade of mediocrity and brand assassination, this seems like a reset that's overdue. It's a reinvestment in what's good about the X-Men, rather than the ill timed rehashing of past reboots, like Whedon's slide-inducing Astonishing.

There's something oh-so deliciously eighties about Nimrod. He's a marshmallow of a Sentinel, what with his big, white, ill defined humanoid body, and hot pink highlights. A character that could be a source for ridicule - if he wasn't so successfully defined as a credible threat in appearances like today's battle, and the earlier confrontation of Uncanny #194.

Nimrod was arguably played out by the time he merged with Master Mold to make Bastion in the late nineties (or whatever that was about), but now that we've now caught up to the dreaded events of Days of Future Past and it's Sentinel ravaged future of 2013 means there's fresh perspective. Treating that once looming threat at present-day is an exciting prospect. Timeline be damned.

Chris Claremont's collaborations with John Romita Jr arguably rival his earlier works with Byrne. There's obviously a tremendous debt of reference owed, but out of that comes a refinement, and loose change in style that I really enjoy.

I love the livewire approach evident in the plotting of this run of mid-eighties issues. Nimrod lingers as a developing sub-plot that occasionally comes to the fore, while a strong lineup of X-Men deals with threats like the Hellfire Club, and their own internal conflicts. It doesn't make for a strong, singular tome like Days of Future Past, but it exploits the serial nature of comic books thrillingly.

The face-off between Wolverine and Rachel Summers in the issues leading to today's fight is really something to behold! Gritty, urgent images from JRjr radiate off the page. It's still a little herky-jerky in the initiation of certain events, but the fact that so many other ideas are firing and layered into the flow of events only enhances the reality of a character like Nimrod.

It's a pretty great time for the occasionally inconsistent X-Men lineup, too!

Rogue will arguably reach another gear as the Jim Lee pinup of the nineties, but better stands out as an MVP during this period of mid-eighties punkish, brooding growth. The brash icon she'll become is earned in these issues where she's still developing into the fullest potential of her powers, and her role as a hero.

Her ability to absorb the powers of teammates like Nightcrawler and Colossus is a winning visual-concept with an all-time cool-factor!

The fact steel-skin Rogue is reprised so quickly after #194 shows they knew what they had. The gimmick becomes a dramatic tool in this issue, triggered inadvertently as Rogue tries to save Colossus from his sinking fate. It comes a bonus sugar rush. The kind of idea you love to see, but a writer can't go to every time -- no matter how much they want to! Restraint keeps it special.

I actually pulled this issue out in the hopes of talking more about Colossus, but it looks like that will just have to wait until next time!

If you want to get more from the X-Men and characters featured today, you should follow links throughout this post, or dive into the Secret Archive for a full index of featured fights ordered by publisher, series, and issue number!

At the time of this writing it's been difficult to find a collected edition containing Uncanny X-Men #209. The black & white Essential X-Men Vol.6 is tough to find, but if you do any shopping via the Amazon affiliate link provided, you'll help support the site at no extra cost to you!

You can also get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook! Be sure to like and share your favourite fights!

Winner: Nimrod
#348 (+257) Nimrod [+1 kill]
#49 (--) Storm
#349 (-39) Harry Leland
#885 (new) Callisto
#886 (new) Selene
#887 (new) Sebastian Shaw
#888 (new) Friedrich von Roehm
#889 (new) Tessa (Sage)
#4 (--) Wolverine [+1 assist]
#890 (-5) Nightcrawler [+1 assist]

WOLVERINE versus HELLFIRE CLUB

Wolverine: Alone! (Marvel)
Where: X-Men #133 When: May 1980
Why: Chris Claremont & John Byrne How: John Byrne

The Story So Far...
While the X-Men are dealing with the re-manifestation of the Phoenix force in Jean Grey; the insidious Hellfire Club watches their every move -- plotting to turn the cosmic telepath into their very own Black Queen!

When the X-Men attempted to infiltrate a society event at the club, they were systematically dismantled by the prepared villains. For Wolverine and Nightcrawler, it meant a basement brawl with Inner Circle members Donald Pierce and Harry Leland!

Thanks to Leland's mass manipulation powers, Wolverine was sent plunging like a stone into the storm sewers beneath The Hellfire Club! Recovered, he now attempts covert re-entry of the elite establishment -- even as masked guards take a precautionary sweep of the building's lower levels...

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wolverine 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Wolverine 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Wolverine 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Wolverine 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Hellfire Club Guards 2 (Projectiles)


The Tale of The Tape appears to predict a fairly one-sided fight, but there are some statistics our patented system cannot account for! Wolverine may have any one of The Hellfire Club guard dead to rights -- but what about an army?

Over the years we've seen Wolverine develop into an unstoppable one-man corps, but there are limits to his amazing mutant abilities. That was never more true than the timeframe of today's feature fight, when the fledgling X-Man routinely showed vulnerability to the effects of overwhelming injury.

Wolverine's mutant healing factor ensures he can bounce back from just about any wound, but the rate at which he mends varies. Back in the eighties, if you gave his body enough damage to deal with, you could confidently expect to put him down for a while. We saw Nimrod produce enough force to kayo him with one blow in Uncanny X-Men #194. In the modern age, he tends to stitch back together pretty instantly. Somewhere between the two lies the best answer.

We cannot forget that a defeat brought Wolverine to this fight! In Uncanny X-Men #132, members of The Hellfire Club's Inner Circle ambushed he and Nightcrawler. The mass manipulating powers of Harry Leland were enough to send an unprepared Wolverine smashing through several floors - into the sewer.

If he's smart about it, Wolvie now knows to put distance between he and Leland, instead of trying to fight. His berserker rage and healing stamina tend to make him a little reckless, but he's no dummy. Of course, Leland thinks he was punked out by the last fight, so he should only have to deal with guards.

Hellfire Club Guards may be lightly armored and in possession of some pretty advanced weaponry (guns), but anonymous hordes don't tend to stack up too well against unbreakable adamantium claws!

We've seen Wolverine cut through the highly trained ranks of The Hand on more than one occasion. It was a gory graveyard slaughter in Wolverine #20, and a cleaner affair with the help of the Secret Avengers in New Avengers #27.

Though hidden by featureless masks, this iteration of The Hellfire Club guard has a few illustrious members: Wade Cole, Angelo Macon  and Murray Reese [pictured above] are among their number today. In the future, we'll come to know the trio as mercenary members of The Reavers.

Ordinarily they might be able to rely on Donald Pierce or Lady Deathstrike to help them out, but that won't be happening here. We'll talk more about the implications of all of that in the "Hammer" section.

When we last saw Wolverine he was the only X-Man standing and in an all mighty pissed off mood! They say he's the best there is at what he does, and I think we can expect to see exactly what that is.

The Tape: Wolverine Ranking: Wolverine (#5)

What Went Down...
In the bowels of The Hellfire Club establishment, masked guards inspect empty basements as a precaution ordered by The Inner Circle. Wolverine plunged to his apparent doom, but there's no being too careful. Just as the guardsmen begin to question their task -- dripping water alerts them to danger above!

Wolverine releases the tension in his arms and legs to drop from the basement ceiling -- claws extended! The Hellfire Guards scramble desperately to point their weapons skyward -- but it does them no good!

Adamantium claws rake through the chest of Angelo Macon. He will live to remember the scars for the rest of his life! He's one of the "lucky" ones.

Another guardsman opens fire. Wolverine vaults nimbly over the surrounding storage crates, avoiding the gunfire while seamlessly targeting another of their well armed number. A ballet of death!

A momentary lapse in concentration leaves Wolverine vulnerable to a blast to the gut! He falls backward into a pile of boxes. The two remaining Hellfire goons can't tell if he's down for the count, or just playing possum.

The man called Wade Cole thinks he hit his mark, but won't take any chances. He already knows Wolverine can come back from death-defying injury. That's the entire reason they're in this fight. So he kicks away at the rubble and moves in close for a kill shot. He was right to exercise caution.

Wolverine springs to life and slashes his claws across Cole's abdomen!

The X-Man counts his lucky stars that the gun shots didn't do more damage, and squares off with the last Hellfire guard standing. The one called "Rosen" nervously tells his target not to move. Wolverine is amused.

Borrowing from Dirty Harry, the Canadian mutant gives Rosen the score: "Hey, bub. I know what you're thinkin'. He's hurt, an' he's five meters away from me, an' I got a full clip of ammo in my rifle. Question is: Can I kill Wolverine before he can reach me an' cut me into shish-kebab with those freaky claws of his?"

Rosen shudders: "Well, bub. Wolverine is virtually unkillable. Wolverine's claws are adamantium, the strongest metal known -- capable of slicin' through vanadium steel like a hot knife through butter. An' five meters o' floor ain't much distance at all -- fer me."

The hard sell works. Rosen drops his gun and tries to surrender -- but Wolverine lunges at him any way! He begs for his life, and Wolverine thinks about the old days -- before the X-Men -- when he would've gone straight for the kill.

The mutant hoists his prey up in one arm, drawing his claws on the other, but he's a man of his word. He'll spare the henchman on one condition: he tells him all there is to know about The Inner Circle. Intel for the fight to come.

The Hammer...
It's one of his most iconic early battles, so it can come as no real shock that Wolverine is the victor!

His win is a comeback story after the fight in X-Men #132, and continues on as Wolverine further penetrates the inner sanctum of The Hellfire Club's exclusive establishment.

Given the mounting significance of The Phoenix Saga, I dare say we'll be back some time in the future to see how the X-Men's struggle progressed. In the mean time, it's a different follow-up I've been looking forward to talking about...

Most of the panels featured into today's entry are bathed in red, but it should be noted - these are artistic exceptions on the page, and not a reflection of the entire sequence. Colorist Glynis Wein uses these red flourishes to heighten and imply the violence of Wolverine's strikes. John Byrne frames his images fairly tastefully, leaving the gore out of sight. Red sells their impact.

I belabor the point both for its artistic effectiveness, and because it's unclear exactly how permanently Wolverine aims to disable the Hellfire guards.

Is he killing them? Merely maiming? The answer would come a year and a half later when Murray Reese, Wade Cole and Angelo Macon returned, seeking revenge alongside Harry Leland in Uncanny X-Men #151.

Their injuries were severe enough that their survival depended on cybernetic replacements and enhancement. Claremont may've scripted names for three of the faceless goons, but who could've expected their return, or even survival? It's one of those wonderful examples of a seemingly incidental event creating something new and interesting!

As The Reavers, the trio would serve Donald Pierce and Lady Deathstrike in their pursuits against Wolverine and the X-Men. Individually, the cyborgs weren't necessarily spectacular villains, but as a recurring collective (joined by other cyborg misfits) they became something more.

I have a soft spot for their appearances during the X-Men's Australia era in the late eighties, which lends it all a vaguely Mad Max quality. A flavor I imagine was the general idea, and enhances the group. Coming at the end of the decade, they're a reminder of how far reaching the influence of the Dark Phoenix legacy was. It wasn't all about Jean Grey!

We're talking about these stories because in February we're anticipating the theatrical release of Logan on March 3rd! The alleged final big screen turn of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine will pit him against Donald Pierce and his cyborg posse. An apocalyptic re-imagining of these classic villains!

We're moving on from The Dark Phoenix Saga in our next feature fight, but if you'd like to get the full experience, use the Amazon link provided [right] to pick yourself up a collected edition! Doing so helps support the site!

You can find more featured battles by following links throughout this post, diving in to the Secret Issue Index, or by following on Facebook and Twitter!

Winner: Wolverine
#4 (+1) Wolverine
#822 (new) Wade Cole
#823 (new) Angelo Macon
#824 (new) Murray Reese
#825 (new) Rosen (Hellfire Club Guard)

X-MEN versus HELLFIRE CLUB

And Hellfire Is Their Name! (Marvel)
Where: X-Men #132 When: April 1980
Why: Chris Claremont & John Byrne How: John Byrne

The Story So Far...
Professor Charles Xavier is a man who experiences powerful visions. Gifted with the natural mutant ability of telepathy, he can literally see your thoughts! Yet, his most powerful vision is one for the future: A world of peaceful co-existence between ordinary humans and their genetically advancing mutant brethren.

The X-Men are mutants who share in Xavier's dream, fighting to defend a world that fears and hates them. Their philosophy is opposed by factions both human and mutant. Such is the case of The Hellfire Club - a shadow organization using their powers to manipulate the course of humanity for their own sinister gain.

Competing for the next generation of mutant students, The Hellfire Club elites see the X-Men as dangerous threats -- or allies. None is more powerful than the cosmically enhanced Phoenix, who single-handedly defeated their White Queen.

From the battle, the X-Men learn of The Hellfire Club, and the possibility they're being monitored. Founding X-Man and industrialist Angel agrees to help pierce the veil of the exclusive membership, sending them into the lion's den for a face-to-face encounter with The Inner Circle!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Donald Pierce 4 (Enhanced)
Intelligence: Donald Pierce 5 (Professor)
Speed: Nightcrawler 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Nightcrawler 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Donald Pierce 3 (Explosives)


The situation is simple: The X-Men are looking to crash a party at the Hellfire Club and they're taking a two-pronged approach. While some attend the soiree as guests -- Wolverine and Nightcrawler make a stealthy entrance from below through storm drains running under the compound!

Not a bad entry strategy for a former Weapon X covert soldier with heightened senses, and a mutant with the natural ability to blend into the shadows! Except of course when it's time to step into the light!

Donald Pierce and Harry Leland are members of the Inner Circle of The Hellfire Club. They are men of power, influence and unique special abilities!

Behind the privileged exterior of industrialist Donald Pierce lies the cold steel of cybernetic enhancement! The White Bishop's lightweight, metallic robotic limbs grant him phenomenal strength without impeding his speed! He can hit hard, clamp on a death grip, and defend against blows from the likes of Colossus!

The Black Bishop Harry Leland isn't nearly as swift as his counterpart, but his mutant gift more than makes up for it! By concentrating, the rotund lawyer can bring any opponent up to his weight class by increasing their mass! The effect makes the merest movement a taxing feat -- resisted only by the most willful!

The keys to victory could come down to a choice of dance partners. Leland's mass manipulation power might vex Nightcrawler, but the X-Man's powers of teleportation should allow him to escape the range of its influence -- and launch a counter attack. Wolverine, on the other hand, already has the weight of an adamantium coated skeleton to contend with, making him a soft target!

Donald Pierce's cybernetic enhancements give him a strength advantage over both X-Men, but Wolverine's adamantium claws should be able to cut him down to size given half the chance. Nightcrawler is far more vulnerable to strong-arm tactics, but he may be persuaded to relieve Pierce of his inorganic limbs through some strategic teleporting. We saw Rogue use Nightcrawler's teleportation this way when she fought Nimrod with the X-Men's powers [Uncanny X-Men #194].

The Hellfire Club have the advantage of fighting on their home turf. They've also acquired intelligence on the X-Men through surveillance of their Danger Room training facility. All of which spells big trouble for Wolverine & Nightcrawler!

The Tape: Wolverine Ranking: Wolverine (#5)

What Went Down...
Trudging through underground storm sewers; Wolverine and Nightcrawler face the prospect of rising rain waters. Seeing an opportunity for subterranean subterfuge - Wolverine uses his claws to strip large electrical wires. A timed blackout to help them out of a jam if things go awry in the Hellfire Club!

The two heroes emerge from a hole in the bowels of the club. Wolverine worries the plan is all going much too easy. A concern soon rewarded as a hand emerges from the shadows to snatch Nightcrawler by the throat!

The inhuman vice-like grip belongs to Donald Pierce - White Bishop of the Inner Circle of The Hellfire Club! His squeeze is so tight, electric and unnatural, Nightcrawler cannot concentrate enough to teleport to freedom!

Wolverine leaps to his aid -- slashing Pierce's arm with the downward swipe of his adamantium claws! They cut the cloth of the industrialist's vintage coat, but leave his arm defiantly in tact!

The damage reveals an appendage of metal and wires. Donald Pierce introduces himself as a cyborg, effortlessly tossing Wolverine across the boiler room without so much as loosening his grip on Nightcrawler's throat!

His fall broken by a stack of boxes; Wolverine extends his claws and stalks toward the cyborg anew. As he does, a massive man appears from an elevator -- Harry Leland, the Black Bishop!

Wolverine scoffs at the man's interference, provoking a challenge he couldn't possibly prepare for. Suddenly -- he struggles to move!His weight increasing, Wolverine can barely move a muscle. Such is the mass manipulation of Harry Leland's power! Even as Wolverine strains to resist -- the crushing load of his mass grows ever greater! The phenomenal force means something has to give - but it won't be the iron will of Wolverine!

Instead, the very floor beneath him gives way -- sending him plummeting into the storm waters channeled below!

Wolverine is swept away, barely conscious as he hits the roaring water. He leaves Nightcrawler alone to suffer a similar fate, choked out by a cyborg hand!

The Hammer...

Who would've guessed a toffed up industrialist and his tubby lawyer could be so much trouble? Harry Leland and Donald Pierce are the victors, doing their part to disable a divided X-Men!

While this fight goes on in the lower levels, the rest of the X-Men are struggling with their own Inner Circle opponents. Unconscious Nightcrawler will soon be deposited onto a pile of defeated X-Men that includes Cyclops and Colossus. Their attempts to blend in with the party did not go so well. Dire straits to be explored further in a future feature fight!

Somewhat ironically, Leland's 'mass-ive' attack on Wolverine means he's the last X-Man still standing. The clawed Canuck may've plummeted through a few floors, and been washed away with the overflow, but he's made of pretty tough stuff! You can bet your bottom dollar he'll be back to help out his friends -- and he's going to be in one all mighty foul mood when he comes calling!

Chances are you've seen the iconic final image of X-Men #132 [above], or at least allusions to it. John Byrne captures the grit and determination in Wolverine that fans know and love. The promise of an exciting follow-up issue. That's where we're headed in our next featured fight, so you can look forward to it!

February on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths will be all about Wolverine in anticipation of the March 3rd global theatrical release of Logan.

The movie is set to pit the aging X-Man against a version of Donald Pierce and his cyborg minions. If you've been fooled into thinking that's an underwhelming threat for Hugh Jackman's [alleged] final performance -- you now know better!

In our next installment, we'll get to talk more about one of the great strengths of Donald Pierce's arsenal. It's a thoroughly unexpected legacy that comes out of these already classic 1980 issues, several years later.

Poor old Nightcrawler plummets down the rankings thanks to his part in today's defeat by Hellfire Club. The beloved character will always be more of a lover at heart, but one of these days we'll have to take a closer look at his triumphs.

They likely wouldn't come from The Dark Phoenix Saga, of which this is an early part. If you'd like to read this chapter, or others, you can do so by picking up a collected edition via the Amazon link provided! By doing so, you help support the site at no extra charge to you!

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Winners: Harry Leland & Donald Pierce
#303 (new) Harry Leland
#304 (new) Donald Pierce
#5 (--) Wolverine
#822 (-309) Nightcrawler