MONTHLY PUNCH-UP #22 (October 2007)
THOR versus DR. DOOM
"Fourth & Goal" (Marvel)
Where: Heroes Reborn: The Return #4 When: December 1997 Why: Peter David How: Salvador Larroca

Quick Fix...
In August we spent a lot of time talking about the mid-nineties crossover spectacular, Heroes Reborn, and here we bridge the gap from the end of that closed-off reboot project, to Heroes Return, which is exactly what it suggests.

After spending a full year under the watch of guys like Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, and an ever ill-fated Rob Liefeld; the characters leave behind their Ultimate styled reinventions to come back to a clean restart in the Marvel Universe proper. Good news for all concerned.
Especially Iron Man, who was relieved of some silly business revolving around a literal regression into his teenage years, as opposed to the childish bitch-fit he's throwing across the current Marvel Universe. Morning, Vicar!

If you want to know more of the backstory involved, you can probably follow the Heroes Reborn tag and read through some of the hammer conclusions of those posts. The quick summary is that the heroes battled Onslaught, it all hit the fan, Franklin Richards used his super-duper cosmic powers [see; X-Men Annual #14 for more Franklin power] to instinctively whisk the heroes into safety by creating a pocket universe, represented by a blue ball he fiercely guards.

Somewhere along the line the Celestials catch wind of the whole affair, and decide one of the two universes needs to go. Franklin and the gang win over the sympathis of one of the Celestials, who takes human form on Earth, and eventually the two universes collide in an effort to return the heroes to their home before the new universe is collapsed.

In order to successfully crossover to their universe, the heroes and villains that were sucked into the Heroes Reborn world must gather to cross into reality simultaneously, or risk damning everyone. Not such a problem when everyone gathers to utilize one of Dr. Doom's advanced ships to ferry through a break, but things go awry when the good Doctor decides to risk everyone when he kidnaps Franklin Richards with the intent to harness his imeasurable power.

With the boy in hand, Doom teleports out of the ship, into the gulf of space.
Despite the futility of his efforts, Reed Richards stretches out of the ship to reach desperately for his son. The rocket propelled Doom looks set to out maneuver any would-be attackers, but before he can fire a deadly blast from his gauntlet, Thor comes to the aid of Mr. Fantastic!

Iron Man and Thing desperately hold on to Mr. Fantastic, while Doom and Thor drift further from the vessel intended to be their salvation.

Spiteful, Doom risks much for an opportunity to rule his native world without opposition, opting to gamble his own life by drawing Thor into the outer space of the pocket universe, potentially damning all to eradication by the terms laid out by the Celestials.

Thor valiantly beckons his fellows to return inside to the safety of their ship, asking them to abandon him to ensure Doom have no further influence on their fate.

To the Latverian monarch's dismay, Thor manhandles him with godly strength, using his mystic hammer Mjolnir to summon a dimensional rift in the fabric of the pocket universe space-time, where he would intend to remove both he and Doom to the in-between of non-space.

The pair disappear into a vortex, leaving the heroes no choice but to press on. Confronted by a mirror of memories from the lives they forgot during their year in exile, the heroes blast their way toward home, shattering the pocket universe.

Though the heroes would not know it, the Celestial Ashema sacrifices her own consciousness to preserve the reality of Franklin's pocket world, and the lives that were inadvertantly created within it.

For the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, an overdue return to a world that has mourned them. Their return is an unceremonious one, seeing the heroes scattered as their travel disintergrates, and they are dispersed across reality.

Not a lot left to say, except that as we close our Marvel Ultimate Alliance Mondays features, we're going to have a complete month of DOOM!
Let this be the first of five fingers of Doom, delivered in a similar fashion to our evil doppelgangers in September. Next month's Punch-Up will feature a full rundown of the many posts connected to the villains from the video game.

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 4
Winner: Thor

The Top 5...
#1 Spider-man (-) (14) (Marvel)
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [Galactus]
Win Percentage: [71.43%] Features: [28]
Season 2006: [#2] Current Ranking: [#1]

We're officially entering the final quarter, and this is where the dash to beat Spidey is going to happen. As the league leader both for the year and in cumulative rankings, Spider-man seems an indomitable cultural icon, but with very little happening post-Spider-man 3, now may be the time for the inevitable decline.

Batman has a lot on the horizon, but whether or not three months are enough remains to be speculated. Despite his death, Captain America is now presenting a serious threat to the top spot, and with increased activity, it really is anyone's game at this point.

Upcoming creative changes to the Spider-franchise are worth lamenting, notably the streamlining of titles to three issues a month of Amazing. Nothing sounds particularly exciting, but it remains to be seen exactly how the big names involved will stamp their mark on the revamped series.

#2 Batman (-) (20) (DC)
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [Catwoman]
Win Percentage: [71.43%] Features: [21]
Season 2006: [#1] Current Ranking: [#2]

DC got a long overdue showing across September, giving Batman an inevitable boost as their leading icon. A defeat at the hands has damaged what was one of the most impressive win percentages on the site, bringing Batman now on a percentage par with Spider-man.

Making a late charge is Captain America to seriously threaten Batman's year long security in the top two. It was a late charge that positioned Spider-man for a strong year in 2007, and teased at stealing top spot in '06. If Cap mirrors, he'll almost certainly take number two before '08.

Nothing special comes to mind for Batman, but it's interesting to note a new series right up our alley! Gotham Underground debuts this month from DC comics, and looks set to initiate some of the concepts we've discussed in the past concerning the criminal underworld of the urban sprawl. Should be interesting for those with the money to purchase such luxury items.

#3 Captain America (RE) (4) (Marvel)
Class: [Meta] Last Opponent: [Galactus]
Win Percentage: [42.31%] Features: [26]
Season 2006: [#8] Current Ranking: [#3]

Like a dead artist, Captain America's stock continues to rise exponentially as his death is mourned by the Marvel Universe.
Success in the Infinite Wars has mirrored the critical acclaim of the series title he left behind, which has been carried on successfully despite the fact he no longer appears in it.

It sounds like a new Captain America may finally be named soon, which might just carry on the Steve Rogers nostalgia train. Rogers himself is also fixing for a return to the Marvel Universe with the Invaders/Avengers time travelling caper coming sometime in the near future from Kreuger and Ross.

In the 2006 September Top 5 count, it was Spider-man who made the shock entrance at the number-two spot as the beginning of a late charge. He didn't quite manage to usurp the top spot until early '07, but if history is anything to go by, it might be Cap's turn to threaten the leader as we head into the final quarter.

#4 Black Adam (-1) (5) (DC)
Class: [Super] Last Opponent: [Kobra]
Win Percentage: [100%] Features: [6]
Season 2006: [#n/a] Current Ranking: [#9]

He holds on for another month, enjoying success in another appearance courtesy of the new quick fix double features. Longevity in the Top 5 was always going to be Adam's problem, and with few entries in my meagre collection to go, it seems it may actually finally be the end of the dream run for 2007's MVP.

There's still a slew of recent entries out there including the final issues of 52, the World War III four-parter, the current Dark Ages mini-series, Countdown, and an apparent appearance in Dwayne McDuffie's new Injustice League. The only problem will actually be seeing that stuff. Sponsors, if you're listening...

It may be Superman who rises to claim Adam's spot as the second DC hope, after a recent string of entries in September. Likewise, characters like Catwoman and Green Arrow lurk as potential threats to a top five stay for Teth-Adam.

#5 Mr. Fantastic (RE) (3) (Marvel)
Class: [Champion] Last Opponent: [Ahab]
Win Percentage: [58.33%] Features: [12]
Season 2006: [#14] Current Ranking: [#8]

Perhaps the most unlikely entrant into the top five, despite being here before, way back at the very beginning. The success of the Fantastic Four has arguably been a long time coming, and with Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch coming up on the title, they'll remain in mind.

If things continue for the quartet, it's quite possible Reed Richards may be but a sign of things to come. Thing lurks close by at sixth spot, while Johnny Storm and Invisible Woman are no more than a couple of wins away themselves.

There's an argument that claims Reed Richards could be one of the greatest fighters in the Marvel Unvierse, if he were free of his inhibitions. We saw shades of that when he battled his doppelganger [Fantastic Four #366], and it may just be reinforced by his show here in the top 5.

Super Stock...
1. Spider-man (-) (M)
2. Batman (-) (DC)
3. Captain America (+3) (M)
4. Iron Man (-1) (M)
5. Wolverine (-1) (M)
6. Superman (+4) (DC)
7. Hulk (-2) (M)
8. Mr. Fantastic (-1) (M)
9. Black Adam (+2) (DC)
11. Thing (+4) (M)
13. Human Torch (-) (M)
14. Invisible Woman (-2) (M)
15. Beast (+3) (M)
17. Silver Surfer (+5) (M)
20. Catwoman (+79) (DC)
21. Storm (+16) (M)
24. Wasp (-4) (M)
26. Flash [Wally West] (+22) (DC)
27. Robin [Tim Drake] (+1) (DC)
28. Hawkman (+22) (DC)
31. Etrigan (+37) (DC)
42. Jean Grey (+56) (M)
45. Yellowjacket [Hank Pym] (-18) (M)
50. Iceman (-5) (M)
51. Cable (+58) (M)
52. Wonder Woman (+288) (DC)
53. Cyclops (-13) (M)
54. Ronin [Clint Barton] (+70) (M)
62. Gambit (+87) (M)
63. Dark Claw (+97) (DC/M)
68. Tabitha Stevens (+88) (M)
76. Atom Smasher (new) (DC)
89. Rainbow Mika (-7) (Capcom)
90. Sakura Kusanago (-7) (Capcom)
100. Cheetah (-7) (DC)
105. Vega (new) (Capcom)
106. Dhalsim (new) (Capcom)
108. Guile (new) (Capcom)
109. Despero (new) (DC)
110. Warlock (Tech) (new) (M)
111. Cannonball (new) (M)
112. Forge (new) (M)
113. Sunspot (new) (M)
114. Banshee (new) (M)
115. Ms. Marvel [Sharon Ventura] (new) (M)
116. Franklin Richards (new) (M)
117. Thunderhawk (new) (Capcom)
118. Fei Long (new) (Capcom)
119. Ryu (-13) (Capcom)
124. Galactus (+208) (M)
126. Deadshot (-60) (DC)
143. Sagat (-69) (Capcom)
144. Captain Cold (+180) (DC)
145. Aquaman (-78)
146. Captain Marvel (+188) (DC)
148. Scarlet Witch (-48) (M)
150. She-Hulk (-23) (M)
158. Ken Masters (new) (Capcom)
159. Darkseid (-19) (DC)
160. Black Canary (-25) (DC)
168. Phoenix [Rachel Summers] (-23) (M)
175. Brainwave (+26) (DC)
200. Arachne (-22) (M)
223. Dr. Druid (new) (M)
224. Chun-Li (new) (Capcom)
225. Puppet Master (new) (M)
226. Alfred Pennyworth (new) (DC)
227. Ron Troupe (new) (DC)
228. Green Lantern
[Kyle Rayner] (-26) (DC)
237. Martian Manhunter (new) (DC)
250. Hyena (-27) (DC)
252. Balrog (-27) (Capcom)
300. Echo (-27) (M)
301. Zangief (-26) (Capcom)
350. Sasquatch (-25) (M)
358. Macro-Man (new) (DC)
359. Ra's-A-Pocalypse (new) (DC/M)
362. Mongul (new) (DC)
364. Hammer (new) (DC)
368. Birdie (new) (Capcom)
370. Matter Master (new) (DC)
371. Kobra (new) (DC)
372. Ahab (new) (M)
373. Saviour (new) (DC)
374. Preus (new) (DC)
388. Dan Hibiki (-113) (Capcom)
389. Quicksilver (-52) (M)
390. Brick (-40) (DC)
391. Lizard (-40) (M)
392. Magneto (-40) (M)


#35 Green Arrow (DC)
Class: [Champion] Last Opponent: [Superman/Batman]
Win Percentage: [57.14%] Features: [7]
Season 2006: [#11] Current Ranking: [#16]

Once upon a time Green Arrow was a top five contender in the Infinite Wars, but with new additions slipping by the wayside in favour of nineties nostalgia, he just seemed to have lost relevance for us.

Nothing like a wedding to save a relationship!
Green Arrow and Black Canary have tied the knot, and it's the cliffhanger that everyone's been talking about! After attacking his new wife with a blade, Ollie finds himself with one of his own arrows buried in his throat. Way to spaz in the face of commitment, guy!

It might be a while before we see the turn around in the Infinite Wars, but the marriage of the Justice League sweethearts is without a doubt the most exciting new event over the past month. Brother Eye watches keenly!

The Hammer...
So, can you tell I'm phoning it in a bit? Things started great, but it's late and I could really use the rest, so I've kinda been whipping through the writing on this Punch-Up. Not really the best way to lead into a proposal of sponsorship, but hey, I like to think it shows a relatable side of humanity.

It's been another huge month of Infinite Wars, finally delivering that long ago promised slant toward some DC titles. Hopefully we'll be able to continue that as we cruise our way through back issues of varying importance.

That's probably a great segue to highlight the fact that, yes, we have put out the call for a sponsor. I figure it's a great opportunity for the Infinite Wars to get more involved in the new comics scene, while also offering a promotional canvas for an online retailer to promote prompt mailing, and sparkling service.
And before you look at me like that, just consider for a moment the fact that I haven't pulled a Dave Campbell to sell out to google ads and cookies.

Uh huh, that's right. You like that? Yeah?
Don't let the humorless, droning discussion about characterization and faux-feminism fool you. The Infinite Wars have got edge. Yessir.

Speaking of which, we should give a shout out to When Fangirls Attack, who continue to be the most responsive referrer of our reviews and discussions.
Likewise, Bahlactus has and will be involved in propagating the Infinite Wars, despite some apparent disgruntled responses to our format. To those who feel discontent with our distinct lack of isms, idioms and singular pictures of people putting boot-to-cheek -- waah waah waah. Mmm, hi-brow!

If you're inclined to link to one of our many trailing entries, I've been scouring the blogosphere for inspiration for our on-going musings. I'd very much like to be quoted, so jurors will never doubt my testimoy should I be called at an old age.
I've been endeavouring to do much the same, without being gratuitous about who and where I'm linking. Which leads us to our final topic:

It was The Fortress Keeper who turned my attentions to a top fifty list being compiled by Facedown in the Gutters featuring the internet's favourite twenty-five Marvel and DC characters. Rather than labour over my picks, I thought it would be fun to take advantage of nearly two years worth of stats, to highlight the Infinite Wars' cumulative top fifty, as divided by company representation.

Marvel Comics [tab]
#1 Spider-man
#2 Captain America
#3 Iron Man
#4 Wolverine
#5 Hulk
#6 Mr. Fantastic
#7 Venom (Symbiote)
#8 Thing
#9 Daredevil
#10 Human Torch
#11 Invisible Woman
#12 Beast
#13 Silver Surfer
#14 Thor
#15 Storm
#16 Luke Cage
#17 Wasp
#18 Sub-Mariner
#19 Elektra
#20 Kitty Pryde
#21 Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
#22 Rogue
#23 Scarlet Spider
#24 Winter Soldier
#25 HellcatDC Comics [tab]
#1 Batman
#2 Superman
#3 Black Adam
#4 Green Arrow
#5 Steel
#6 Catwoman
#7 Red Hood
#8 Flash (Wally West)
#9 Robin
#10 Hawkman
#11 Zatanna
#12 The Demon
#13 Nightwing
#14 Flash (Barry Allen)
#15 Wonder Woman
#16 Deathstroke
#17 Atom (Ray Palmer)
#18 Dr. Light
#19 Black Mask
#20 Soldier
#21 Sinestro
#22 Bizarro
#23 Atom Smasher
#24 Phantom Stranger
#25 Dr. Fate

Some interesting results coming from the cumulative rankings.
If anything I think this list just highlights the distinct slant toward Marvel the Infinite Wars has shown. This is something we hope to continue to rectify over the coming month, although, again, a fairly meager, and unimportant collection will hamper that. Hopefully some magic sponsor out there will lend a hand, at least in the new comics stakes. Mmm, comics for nothing.

We've got a whole lot of Dr. Doom coming up, including Fantastic Four #350 which was recently mentioned in one of the best Bahlactus links of the year: Time waits for no man, and it won't wait for Reed...
If you haven't read that lengthy post yet, I suggest you hop to it, or see that you deliver message to a previous-self from the past few days, so they can.

In a serendipitous alignment of events, I considered what it would be like to have a guest entry in the Infinite Wars. Lord knows my collection brings with it the baggage of my interests, and is distinctly lacking in certain prominent subjects. Suffering from allergies and heading into the Spring of the future, it might be fun to think about who might be able to rise to the challenge of our format gruelling, to read and write, alike.

Dem's Good Reading might be a good candidate, serving up an Infinite Wars worthy photographic recap of a super-fight from Invicible! If you think you might like to contribute, or know of someone you'd like to see tackle the format, drop a comment and let us know.

For now, I'm going to put an end to this while I'm only a little behind.
We've got Dr. Doom and Street Fighting aplenty in October. Don't forget you should still go and find your way to picking up The Kirby Martin Inquest #1, which will feature in more reviews, if people stop being slack. That's not just one reviewer in particular, but actually a platoon of people who've read it for free, and aren't paying their dues. Tut-tut.

I'm tired, still a little stuffed-up, and going nowhere fast with this. Cheers!

September Hit Count: [6036/36951] (+1578)

AVENGERS versus DESTROYER
In Search of the Gods (Marvel comics)
Where: Thor #1 When: July 1998
Why: Dan Jurgens How: John Romita Jr

The story so far...
The heroes have returned from being trapped in a pocket universe, but their return has garnered mixed pleasures.
The Norse Gods are lost, leaving behind the tattered remains of Asgard, and Thor is alone with the remorse of being the only known survivor, until a man claiming to be the human form of Baldur reaches out.

Thor ultimately discovers the misguided ruse of the crazed individual, but this is not the last hope of an encounter with artifacts from the fallen Asgard. Another menace is lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at those that Thor would care about.

The invincible Destroyer armor, created by Odin himself, has returned with the spirit of a disgruntled soldier inside it. Intent on wreaking independent havoc on the world, the possessor of the Destroyer stands against Thor and the mighty Avengers with a single threat: To open the visor and destroy the planet.

Previous Form:
Thor (#19): Victories over Captain Marvel, Super-Skrull & Superman.
Iron Man (#3): Victories over power houses Hulk, She-Hulk & The Mandarin.
Captain America (#9): Victories over Wolverine, Baron Zemo, MODOK.
Avengers [#2]: Victories over She-Hulk, Atlantean Military & Sinister Twelve.
The Destroyer: The Destroyer armor has not yet been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Destroyer 6 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain America 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Destroyer 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Destroyer 7 (Born Fighter)
Energy Powers: Destroyer 7 (Solar Power)


Okay! So, I'm back, another year older, and once again running behind on promised updates! Hey, I should probably shut up and get on with it!

So, the Destroyer armor! Another powerful Marvel villain debuts as a result of Ultimate Alliance Mondays and it spells bad news for Thor, who has just made a return to the Marvel universe in this issue -- as he has in the most recent new first issue of Thor! Ooo, tangentially topical!

Like Baron Mordo or Ultron, the Destroyer is a character I have a passing interest in, but have never encountered under circumstances that have led to any deeper connection. You can assume I've been slow to get to this update for similar reasons as those others, because it just isn't a character that pulls me in.

The Destroyer has his own special problem.
People like to say a character like Superman or The Sentry is too powerful to be interesting or truly effective, because for either to fulfill their potential is to be unstoppable. I tend to disagree in no small part due to the weaknesses sewn into their character, but it becomes a more compelling argument for an entity along the lines of The Destroyer.

The Destroyer's power is essentially that he's invincible.
The crux of "his" purpose and the threat of "his" existence is the fact that he has the potential to reduce the planet to smouldering rubble. Which doesn't make it impossible to build a future for the character, but in mainstream production line comics, chances are the various cooks are going to spoil the broth in their haste to get work done.

To go back to the usual point of this section, the Destroyer probably shouldn't lose. The armor alone is effectively unstoppable, and that's the whole point of it, and it lacks even the basic human weaknesses of an "unstoppable" character like the magically enhanced Juggernaut, Cain Marko.
As the Destroyer is animated by the essence of another, the obvious way to defeat it, as depicted in the game that has prompted this entry, is to attack the defenseless inhabitor. If the armor has been defeated in other ways in the comics, I haven't read enough Destroyer stories to know.

I don't doubt that Thor can beat the armor, because he has many times before, but for the purpose of this section I could not ethically declare anyone the likely victor, other than Destroyer.

The Math: Avengers (Total) Destroyer (Average)
The Pick: The Destroyer

What went down...
A quartet of Avengers are already on the scene protecting the innocent as chaos explodes on the outer skirts of Manhattan. Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye do their best to aid paramedics in pulling survivors from the wreckage of Destroyer's rampage.

Thor arrives on the scene, giving the Avengers the muscle necessary to launch an attack on the marching Destroyer. Assembled, Iron Man joins the thunder god in a tandem strike of repulsor rays and tossed Mjolnir, which the Destroyer silently deflects with his armored arms. They follow it immediately with a physical clash, flying the behemoth toward a dockside building.

Their attack proves unsuccessful, the two heroes on the receiving end of the Destroyer's destructive blast. As they hurtle across the rubble laden battlefield, Scarlet Witch steps up to attack the armor with a magical hex, prompting the armor to speak for the first time during the battle. His words are certain, a stern warning to the Witch to cease, or suffer the destructive force of the Destroyer's open visor, which will melt the planet.

Hawkeye is nimble enough to whisk Wanda clear of the Destroyer's energy blast, but only the mighty shield of Captain America is intervention enough to protect his fellow Avengers from the destructive clubbing blow of the armor.

Thor charges back onto the scene, directing the Asgardian armor away from his fellows with a thunderous left that knocks him back. The god of thunder continues his attack, clubbing with the power of his enchanted hammer!

The Destroyer strikes back with his own attack, delivering a one-two combo that knocks the wind out of Thor. Captain America recognises the tactic as Thor buying time to evacuate more survivors, but even the mighty thunder god can only withstand the punishment for so long.

As the military forms to the side of the battle, they watch Thor's efforts gratefully, withholding their arms as long as a hero remains in the field.

Thor, clearly unwilling to play the patsy, fights back at the armor designed by his father as a weapon against the all-mighty Celestials. Though he is truly powerful, his blows serve only to shake the armor.

With Thor at pointblank proximity the soldier inhabiting the weapon displays it's might, blasting the thunder god with a devestating stream of orange energies. The Destroyer's supply seems limitless, no matter the efforts of the heroes.

With the remaining civilians removed from the field, Captain America gives the order for another group attack. Hawkeye is the first, drawing a modified explosive arrow from his quiver, while Iron Man and the others charge into battle.

This time it's Iron Man who suffers the brunt of the Destroyer's blast, as he shakes off Hawkeye's arrow attack.

With the destruction again reaching to the innocent, Thor rises from the rubble with the intent of putting an end to the rampage. With Mjolnir in hand, Thor summons the power of the mightiest storm imaginable and unleashes it upon the cold, emotionless suit of enchanted armor with a command to fall!

Motionless, the soldier inhabiting the Destroyer armor coldly defies the thunder god, "I'm not moving. You are." With that, he unleashes a massive blast of energies that reduces the dockside building, atop which stands Thor, to rubble, spilling Thor into the air like a helpless child.

The Destroyer marches over the destruction to Thor's lifeless body.
Revelling in the power in his possession, the nameless soldier marches with the intent of putting an end to Thor's interference. He pounds down at the defenseless god so hard it causes tremors throughout the surrounding area.

With Thor defeated, no one stands to prevent the very thing they feared would happen. Clutching Thor's limp frame, the Destroyer asks Thor to say hello to those in Valhalla, and to the dread of the Avengers, he opens his visor.

Once the light subsides, the Avengers open their eyes to discover their world has survived, but as they climb across the rubble, Captain America has the misfortune of discovering the results first.

Lying smoking in a pool of his own godly blood -- Thor.

The hammer...
And that children is why you should never give The Destroyer armour to just anyone! It was made for defeating the Celestials! It's not a bloody toy!

Speaking of John Romita Jr, if I may diverge from the usual comics discussion/commentary to do a little traditional blogging, it would be much obliged. See, I could use the opportunity to vent...

It was my birthday Saturday, and as you might imagine, being the comics fan I am, I was looking forward to grabbing some of the latest titles thrilling and billing up the charts. World War Hulk was definitely at the top of my list, providing the convenient segue seen above -- just one problem.

Last weekend marked the end of the two week break for kids from school, and apparently I couldn't get my eagerly anticipated reads because children had bought them all. Children.

Oh, well, that's just fantastic! Apparently all the movies and toys and Mark Bagley pyjamas have finally paid off, and the damned kids decided my birthday would be a good time to buy up on all the comics. Fan-freaking-tastic.

So, to all of you out there who are advocating children and comics. To those of you who hand books out at Halloween, and recommend titles like Marvel Adventures: Avengers to parents of younger relatives and family friends. To you the people trying to perpetuate the medium's future: SCREW YOU!!!

It wasn't all bad, I soaked up the awe that was the 'pick of the week', Madman Atomic Comics #3, and have some battlicious gems that will no doubt be popping up on the site in the future. It just pains me to say one of those that won't will be the epic fights contained within the pages of World War Hulk...

To break kayfabe for a moment, it might be an opportune moment to mention I'm hard at work on some of the most enjoyable writing I've done in a while. While we continue to wait on the s-l-o-w print turnaround of The Kirby Martin Inquest #1 (contain your enthusiasm), I'm working on what will hopefully be one of the future NLT hits which will feature some of the early escapades of a character featured in a free online read previously, The Semite!

The story will mark the first conceited effort to produce something kid-friendly, but will still include structured story, character development, and just a lot of plain fun. I'm drawing on some of my childhood excitement for world mythology, and the product is turning out to be a lot of fun! There's maybe a hint of a Tintin meets Dragon Ball feel to these earlier stories, which brings us back around neatly to this issue of Thor!

If you had any doubt about Romita Jr's capacity for big action, just take a moment to imagine the context of the panels featured in today's update.
The story is pretty light here, with the first half being dedicated to developing plotlines and the character of the present-day Thor, while the second half is a Dragon Ball Z style stand-off of super powers. You even get some polite pauses, and familiar stalling tactics, and as a giant-sized issue, it's worth it.

I didn't get much further with the Heroes Return Thor, but in the absence of World War Hulk, this issue somehow feels like a fitting consolation.

The Fight: 5.5 The Issue: 5
NEXT WEEK: The Asgardian menace escalates as we face LOKI!

ICONOCLAST versus FANTASTIC FOUR
Be It Ever So Humble... (Marvel comics)
Where: Fantastic Four #2 When: February 1998
Why: Scott Lobdell How: Alan Davis

The story so far...
After the battle with Onslaught, the world believed the Fantastic Four and Avengers had perished, but to the delight of the world, the heroes returned a year later to the world they had left behind.

Unfortunately for the Fantastic Four, life had moved on in their absence, and their base of operations had been liquidated and revamped as the headquarters for the new team of super heroes: The Thunderbolts.

In need of a home, Reed Richards moves his family to his storage facility on the highliy appropriate Pier 4, but even as he gives his loving wife a new tour of their base of operations - something sinister is lurking in the shadows. Peril waits not for the Fantastic Four, as the Invisible Woman finds herself targetted by a mysterious assassin from another world!

Previous Form:
Fantastic Four [#3]: Victories over Frightful Four, Secret Avengers & Sinister Twelve.
Invisible Woman (#32): Unsuccesful against Wolverine and Death's Head, away from the FF.
Iconoclast: Has not yet been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Iconoclast 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Invisible Woman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Iconcolast 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Invisible Woman 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Iconoclast 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Draw 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Iconoclast 3 (Explosives)


Iconoclast represents an incredibly interesting and rare phenomenon in modern comics. That's the introduction of a character who is relatively interesting with allusions to an established motivation and history, but lacks any real definition.
What makes this particularly unique is that the character, as far as I know, and as far as I could find out, has never been followed up on.

In fact, even browsing Marvel's own Wiki-formatted database, there are not even any apparent references to the character, to be found. So, how to we measure such a character? Well, with some license, I suppose you could say.

It's not the first time we've analysed a character that hasn't appeared again in the broader medium, and as is always the case, we draw what we can from the pages in which they have appeared.

Perhaps the most distinctive technique exhibited by Iconoclast is his ability to exist somehow on two planes of existence. While he remains invisible and intangible to those of us in the regular realm, a character such as the Invisible Woman represents someone able to see and interact with that plane of being.

In that respect both Invisible Woman and Iconoclast are on relatively equal terms. Working in the Invisible Woman's favour are a few factors:
The Invisible Woman has the back-up support of one of the most seasoned teams in the Marvel Universe, which includes the brilliant mind of Reed Richards, inventor and thinker extraordinaire.

Invisible Woman also carries with her an inherent range of abilities thanks to her versatile application of forcefields and tactile invisibility. While she cannot fade from Iconoclast's sight, she can certainly rough him up with forcefield backed punches!

The Iconoclast appears to come, if not naturally, equipped with energy based "bio-blasts" with explosive results. Also working for the Iconoclast is an impressive degree of agility, and fighting skills that clearly rival the moderately trained Invisible Woman's.

If Reed Richards can get the rest of the team into the fight, then this becomes decidedly one-sided, but without the assistance of her team, it becomes much more difficult to say for sure that Invisible Woman would win. I'd like to think she has the broad tools, but Iconoclast makes for a convincing threat!

The Math: Iconoclast (Champion Class)
The Pick: Invisible Woman (Champion Class)

What went down...
Sue and Reed Richards share a hug in their son's bedroom when the Iconoclast makes himself known to Sue. He declares his intentions to "null" her before she can null him and his people. His hand begins to glow as energy builds in it, released in a massive explosion!

The Invisible Woman is able to protect her and her family with an invisible forefield, and while Mr. Fantastic consoles his son, Sue Richards' motherly instincts tell her to kick the Iconcoclast's arse!

Invisible Woman propels herself at Iconoclast with an invisible shield, extending beyond her fist to knock him through the window!

Mr. Fantastic quickly follows, initiating the appropriate security measures to see the broken window sealed, and his son protected from any other would-be invaders of the Pier-4 facility.

Out in the snow, Invisible Woman is knocked about by the Iconoclast, who not only remains invisible to Mr. Fantastic, but who also appears to have no effect on their surroundings, either. As he trails his wife's footsteps, he notes that there are no such accompanying imprints.

Mr. Fantastic leaps into the air stretching himself out to blanket the area in the hopes of ensuring physical contact with the Iconoclast so he can restrain him. Unfortunately he remains intangible to all but the Invisible Woman, thus provoking a more developed theory from Richards.
While he ponders the situation, a concerned Franklin Richards triggers the Fantasti-flare, alerting the attentions of the rest of the team who are busy messing around in the city.

As Reed begins to postulate, Sue continues to fend off the flaming attacks of the Iconoclast. Richards scoops his wife up and makes a stretched leap to put some distance between them, enquiring about any potentially valuable information.
As Richards reaches an epiphany, the Iconoclast makes contact, stretching Mr. Fantastic's stretchy gut out and around, before flattening him with a blow to the face.

As his own jaw stretches away from his face, Mr. Fantastic makes an intellectual note, "Apparently even though I am unable to "see" him -- or to affect him -- he has no such limitations -- OWNLPHN! -- in regards to harming me!

If I didn't know better, I would've thought Mr. Fantastic had just recalled his trumph seen in last week's Fantastic Friday entry against Sub-Mariner. OWNLPHN! [Fantastic Four #412]

Tired of the assault, Invisible Woman slams the Iconoclast with an invisible battering ram! Iconoclast, on the back foot, concedes his conflicted state, but reveals the stakes of too many millions of his people's lives.
Susan tries to stem his concerns, assuring him that he wishes for noone to die, but the word of a would-be tyrant means little to one so afraid. He slices through her invisible construct, and then shatters a defensive field she forms.

As the Invisible Woman falls to another blow, the Human Torch and Thing arrive on the scene. For the first time during the battle a footprint emerges in the snow, allowing Mr. Fantastic to deduce the effects of heat on the Iconoclast.

He instructs the Human Torch to send his heat in the direction of the print, resulting in the emergance of a shimmering figure that is the Iconoclast!
Visible to everyone, the Thing charges at their mysterious foe, but his fists find nothing but air. The ghostly apparition flings Thing into the air, and turns to meet Johnny Storm, who flames his way through the air in retort.

The Iconoclast's ghostly hand plunges into the Human Torch, seemingly intangible, but still capable of inflicting great pain on the flaming hero.

The Invisible Woman comes to the desperate aid of her brother, again the only member of the team able to see the threat.

She uses her invisible powers to yank the Iconoclast from her brother!
The Iconoclast voices his conflict again, as the Invisible Woman questions the necessity of the death of herself, or others. Despite his reluctance, the Iconoclast remains vigilant in his goals.

Again he punches his way through an invisible barrier with a glowing fist. Invisible Woman backs up, noting that with every field Iconoclast breaks, the weaker her efforts seem to become. She continues to back up, reaching the edge of the pier as the Iconclast smashes wall after wall.

Finally, Sue Richards springs her final gambit. Having retreated far beyond the edge of the pier to over the water, she peels back her invisible platform, leaving the Iconoclast to drop into the icey waters below. The Iconoclast plunges into the water with a spectacular explosion of steam and energy!

On the pier, Mr. Fantastic reveals he theory he shared with his wife while Human Torch and Thing provided a distraction. A theory that Iconoclast himself was not manipulating his existence on our plane of reality, instead he employed a technology in-built into his suit, that could presumably be shortcircuited with water.

Though the Fantastic Four make efforts to find and retrieve the Iconoclast from the river, Reed Richards' most advanced scanning technology cannot find him. And as someone or something watches their heat signatures, Richards predicts that eventually their invisible menace will return.

The hammer...
Of course, Mr. Fantastic was thus-far wrong, as the Iconoclast never returned after his defeat at the hands of Invisible Woman! Full assist to the rest of the team, too.

I don't think we've loitered too much around this period of history, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed this era of Fantastic Four. It represents a large chunk of an otherwise modest collection, following the heights of the Heroes Reborn storyline into something more familiar.

Heroes Reborn was the Ultimate line before the Ultimate line, without the benefit of long term commitment. In that respect it was a condensed retelling of the character's origins, and their first encounters with many of their most recognisable villains, all put under a microscope of thirteen issues in four different series. In it's own way, it was actually very good, and Ultimate fans will note many simiarlities with one or two ideas developed in those books.

Things had become pretty garbled and distracted by the mid-nineties, so apart from streamlining the major Marvel properties, this was an opportunity to take a good look again at the classics, and put them all back in the spotlight.

When the heroes returned [as part of Heroes Return], it was a chance to move away from that magnifying glass and come out fresh. This is where we arrive at Lobdell and Davis on the new Fantastic Four; a delightful take that clearly takes inspiration from the classic intrepretations of Lee/Kirby and beyond, but brings it to readers with what was a contemporary sensibility.

Heroes Reborn was perpetrated by Image founders Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld (and others), so it had it's own version of the gaudy of the nineties, complete with trimmings and gimmicks. While FF post-Heroes Reborn appeared to be moving away from that, it was only a year later. Only so much could change.

It's almost hard to look at Iconoclast without a little bit of cynicism.
Granted, he provided some positive creative decisions. It cast a spotlight on Invisible Woman as an individual, something that happened with some of the team on and off during this run [like Mr. Fantastic in issue #3].

He also made for a convenient villain in a story that was very much establishing the team's new base on Pier-4, that could provide action, without taking the story away from the new HQ, and without demanding the destruction of it. It's probably not the kind of story you could have told with Annihilus.

Even so, there's something about Iconoclast that almost reads like an opportunity to explore with the technology becoming available. It's almost like someone sat down in editorial, and proposed the idea of experimenting with creating a Predator-style invisible character, who can be seen as an exciting computer-generated silhouette of distortion.

Granted, I say that with cynicism, but not outright negativity, because I think it's a great thing to do. This was an application of the computer technology becoming available that far outshined experiments with colouring, and special effects, ala some of the less attractive issues of Steel that spring to mind.

Ultimately the Iconoclast ball gets completely dropped, and certainly there's still potential for that concept to be picked up and run with. The basic ideas speak for themselves, but there's room for a lot of interpretation there.

What's clear is Invisible Woman's potential threat to the millions of people that exist in Iconoclast's world. I know a lot of popular interpretations take that to be something along the lines of Joss Whedon's Breakworld story in Astonishing X-Men, but I've always felt it might be a bit more indirect than that.
Rather than imagining some grim future where Invisible Woman gives in to malice, or anything like that, I thought it might have been something far more innocent.

I like to think Iconoclast hails from a sub-dimension along the lines of the Microverse, and that Invisible Woman's powers somehow impact on their way of being. Something that subtly ties her to them and explains her ability to see and interact with Iconoclast, beyond just invisible people seeing invisible people.
Something more along the lines of a human unwittingly stepping on a family of tiny bugs, or something.

Anyway, we're still over a week behind (today being the 18th), so I'll shut it down here. Next week we continue Fantastic Fridays with a special look at the Human Torch! Stay tuned, folks!

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 5

MR. FANTASTIC versus THE RED GHOST & THE SUPER APES
Where: Fantastic Four #3 When: March 1998
Writer: Scott Lobdell Artist: Alan Davis

The story so far...
Heroes Return saw the triumphant return of Marvel's core cast of characters after a lengthy hiatus from the "616" universe, and the styles that have made them famous.

Having overcome a universe of trouble in Heroes Reborn, the Thunderbolts stealing their home, trouble in France, and a single-celled Iconoclast; the FF were overdue for a visit from a more familiar nemesis.

Staying back to finish some analysis work before a New Year's Eve ball, Reed Richards is available to receive a call ending in distress from an ESU scientist, where Reed is a consulting Professor.

Tale of the tape...
There's a clichè amongst comic fans regarding characters' supposed potential to be the most powerful character in the universe. While in some cases it's an exaggeration, there are sometimes some very real points to be made, and where Reed Richards is concerned, this issue is part of one of those arguments.

Intelligence: 6 (Genius)
Agility: 6 (Rubber)

What makes Mr. Fantastic so fantastic is probably his almost unparalleled genius, and capacity for invention. If you need evidence, check out the last entry, which featured an invention by Richards capable of creating life in the most barren of locations.

Of course, intelligence is really quite relative, and if Richards has a downfall, it's his ability to see the potential in applying his genius to other areas. Areas such as combat, where his rubber malleability, and control over the density of his structure could potentially make him one of the most impressive super powered fighters in comics.
Every character has flaws and weaknesses, and this is Mr. Fantastic's.

On your average occasion, matching wits with the Red Ghost and his Super Apes, I would probably call it 50-50. Sheer numbers are probably more than an equializer against Reed Richards, whose greatest strengths in the field are as a team leader, and cooardinator.

What went down...
Ever the marital moron, Richards is hanging out in his lab, instead of going to a New Year's Eve charity benefit, with his dressed up wife. It's not all bad, because it means when Dr. Polombo of ESU leaves a message that ends in distress, Professor Richards is able to answer the call.

When he arrives he finds something rather surprising. Those damn dirty Super Apes are not only in control of their cosmic powers, but they're also super intelligent now too, at the cost of the Red Ghost's intelligence, it would seem.

Richards shows an uncharacteristically tactical approach to the fight, stretching his eye through a drainage grate to get a scope on the situation.
As it so happens, the Super Apes efficiently incapacitated the lone security guard, and scientist, leaving them to pump powerfully toxic nerve gas into Times Square.

The fun is interrupted by an innocent knocking at the door - or is it?
Using his powers to great effect, Richards takes one of the Super Apes out with a flying fist, before emerging from his hiding place in the drains.

Mikhlo the stretchy orangutan does what he can to wrap the good professor up, but Richards continues to show his offensive enginuity, stretching his head out, and then snapping it back full force. Not the most effective application of his powers, but still impressive.

With the other apes incapacitated, and the Red Ghost tied up in a test bunny's pink eyes, it leaves Richards in a showdown with Praetor - the brains of the group.

Praetor's advanced powers and intelligence prove to be a worthy challenge.
Intangibility and magnetikinesis make for interesting foils for Mr. Fantastic's versatile abilities, but ultimately he's able to get a hand free, and finish the job with the drain grate he came in through.

The remaining members of the Fantastic Four arrive just in time to apprehend the... delighted Red Ghost, still engrossed in the colour of the rabbit's eyes.
Ever the thinker, Reed Richards finds his victory hollow, as he ponders what potential threat merging genetic makeups could pose, as a result of their cosmically irradiated bodies.

The Hammer...
As mentioned last week, this was a relatively deliberate choice for a battle. With the release of Fantastic Four on DVD, I thought it would be appropriate to mark the occasion appropriately, by dipping into the FF longbox.

I'm sure we can all gladly agree that Mr. Fantastic came out with the win, rather conclusively. Something I always like to see in a comic book fight, but don't see terribly often.

Next week I dare say it'll be something from the DC bin, just to assure everyone we're not playing favourites. Of course, this entire website is fairly dependent on my meager comic collection, so equality isn't exactly an option...
Feel free to drop a comment, or even recommend or suggest a comic fight. Cheers!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4.5 [July 17, 2006]