SUPERGIRL versus LEX LUTHOR

Power Chapter Three: Outsiders (DC)
Where: Supergirl #3 When: December 2005
Why: Jeph Loeb How: Ian Churchill

The Story So Far...
Kara Zor-El was a teenager when the planet Krypton was destroyed, but when her father sent her rocketing towards the planet Earth, she was waylaid -- arriving decades after her cousin had established himself as the last surviving son of Krypton and Earth's greatest protector: Superman!

Granted the same powers by Earth's yellow sun, she adopts the identity of Supergirl and embarks on a quest to become accustomed with her adopted home world. Batman, The Justice Society, and Teen Titans help to prepare her for the challenges ahead, but the brash young hero still has much to learn as she races to confront the watchful eye of Lex Luthor!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Supergirl 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Lex Luthor 6 (Genius)
Speed: Supergirl 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Supergirl 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Supergirl 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Supergirl 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Supergirl 5 (Lasers)
Total: Supergirl 30 (Super)

We've seen Supergirl face some heavy duty opponents, but today might just represent her biggest test! Few foes could be quite so motivated to do harm as the notorious Lex Luthor -- arch-nemesis of her Kryptonian cousin: Superman!

Lex Luthor is famous for his scientific brilliance and cerebral approach to battling enemies. He's as likely to manipulate a network of pawns and circumstances as he is to fight an enemy head-on. More's the better to get away scot-free!

His technological genius and financial might means he can build just about any weapon needed to level the playing field. His most famous invention is a green & purple power suit, seen being destroyed by Superman uncharacteristically easily in Justice League of America #15. It's rarely so simple!

Lex is motivated by a well-known hatred for Superman, but that obsession has also fuelled malice toward other heroes, as well. We saw him use artificially induced superpowers to torture Steel during 52 #42!

He also joined Libra and The Society during a murderous ambush of the Martian Manhunter in Final Crisis: Requiem #1. The Martian was defeated by fire-wielding members of the group, but gave them all a run for their money, using telepathy against them, including preying upon Luthor's fear of Superman.

When Supergirl fought Martian Manhunter back in Adventure Comics #450, he was disoriented, and favoured a more physical contest. Never the less, she managed to go toe-to-toe with the senior hero, before they called a truce.

She wasn't so lucky when facing Reactron and his radioactive StarSuit in The Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #9. She'd matched the nuclear-powered villain blow for blow until a poorly considered plan literally blew up in her face! You don't get away with those kinds of slip-ups against a foe like Luthor!

We know Supergirl has the strength and will to fight Lex Luthor. Her battles with the Marvel Family in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6 and Final Crisis #6 show that! It's just a question of whether her inexperience will allow Luthor the opportunity he needs to steal victory through any means necessary! Lets find out.

The Tape: Supergirl Ranking: Supergirl (#72)

What Went Down...
A wafting plume of blue breaks the monotony of endless red desert. Smoldering energy - emanating from the gauntlet of a lone armored figure: Lex Luthor!

Supergirl swoops down to confront the villain and is immediately introduced to his deadliest weapon! Kryptonite radiation spews from his closed fist, bathing the Girl of Steel in its power sapping properties!

Immediately suffering its effects - Supergirl careens  toward the earth with a devastating crash! Her body smashes into the rocky surface at Luthor's feet and the young heroine considers that she could be in way over her head!

As she crawls from the impact crater, Supergirl thinks of her cousin -- but quickly shakes those thoughts from her mind, even as Luthor clutches her throat in his metallic gauntlet.

The villain hoists his victim with arm outstretched, holding her with the sky at her back. He speaks spitefully, of her extra-terrestrial origins and a prophecy of his downfall foretold by Darkseid. He wonders where Darkseid has gone - accusing Superman of some murderous rendezvous beyond the eyes of Earth.

Luthor's bitter accusations inspire retaliation! Supergirl breaks the hold with a hovering kick and unloads with heat vision!

Cold and calculating, Luthor calls upon deflective defenses design to handle the same blasts offered by Superman. He verbally prods at the insult while firing back with the deflective force shield. It knocks the Girl of Steel back!

Barely able to stand, Supergirl is held up by the length of her hair while Luthor reminisces over past glories of metropolitan industry and presidential power. Supergirl can't help but think of her cousin's battle with Doomsday as Lex busts her lip with a thuggish punch to the face!

The villain speaks distantly of the way striking a girl reduces him, as if he wasn't a hooligan deep down. He buries his reinforced fist into Supergirl's abdomen with a vile punch, then breaks her nose with a back-handed fist.

Blood sprays from the weakened Kryptonian, all too mortal. All too similar to the pictures she'd seen of Superman's loss to Doomsday. Luthor justifies his attack with the symbol Supergirl wears and delivers an uppercut.

The once brash Supergirl now considers her own mortality as she lies in the dirt.

Luthor's twisted justifications turn to the "blackness" within everyone. The "sins of flesh and power" Superman supposedly denies. A poetic flourish for the final affront: a point blank beam of black kryptonite radiation!

Supergirl feebly pleads for the villain to stop. He only delights at her suffering.

Yet, for all his brilliance, and all his preparation -- Lex Luthor has failed to consider the consequence of his actions. The effects of black kryptonite prove completely unforeseen, spawning the very dark spirit he so vividly imagined!

At first, the black clad Supergirl emerging from Kara Zor-El's beaten body speaks in alien tongues. Then, as Luthor scowls unimpressed, her words turn to English, and he learns of his folly. He just made the worst mistake of his life!

The Hammer...
Woof. I can't say I took a lot of pleasure in describing that one! We've had some one-sided battles over the years, and a lot of villains finding success recently, but nothing quite so brutal! That was downright uncomfortable!

The nearest comparison that comes to mind is Superman/Batman #15: another Jeph Loeb script from 2005, drawn by Carlos Pacheco, depicting the impaling of an alternate universe Batman, and freedom fighting Wonder Woman bruised and choked with her own lasso by a tyrannical Superman.

I wouldn't like to speculate about Loeb's writing process during what was a well publicized difficult time in his personal life. That would be overlooking the fact that the mid-2000s were a generally brutal period in DC Comics.

Some have tended to see Geoff Johns as the lead purveyor of violence around this time. He certainly roughed up Green Arrow and Kyle Rayner during the big return of Sinestro in Green Lantern: Rebirth #4. The bad guys were winning in Infinite Crisis #1 as well, savagely cutting down the Freedom Fighters.

Meanwhile, Loeb's despot Superman also claimed the life of Green Arrow in the first issue of Absolute Power, while the mainline Man of Steel was indulging in light heat vision knee-capping in the controversial pages of Action Comics #824.

To their credit: these depictions of Superman were still regarded as exceptions brought about by unusual circumstance. This certainly wasn't the relentless and fundamentally flawed Superman of Zack Snyder's miserable movie universe.

American geo-politics of the time obviously had some influence. The United States bared its fangs in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy. There was a clear shift in attitude, but the delivery of violence was seeded well before the abstract "War on Terror" upped the stakes of brutality in popular culture.

The style-clash of grim 'n' gritty and xtreme comics popular in the early nineties had familiar moments of blood and guts, but were predominantly frivolous fun & games. Examples like Adventures of Superman #464 show the transposing of surface elements of Dark Knight Returns into less weighty monthly issues.

Curiously enough, the bombastic hyper-violence of the nineties was largely tossed aside at the turn of the millennium: rejected in favour of deeper, darker stories, heavy weight written-driven concepts and concerned characterization.

In shifting towards the stakes of high consequence and long-form storytelling, comics began to focus on the credibility of its villains. Single issue episodes became more scarce as villainous plots were sustained "for the trade" over lengthier period of time. Evil was no longer set up to immediately fail, with the unforeseen consequence that extreme violence would become normal.

Lex Luthor is an interesting study over this period. Here in Supergirl #3 we see him reach an apex of extreme brutality, but for much of the preceding decades he was a villain who didn't get his own hands too dirty. This is an extension of efforts in the eighties and nineties to refine Luthor into a credible adversary removed from the oafish arch-villain of Super Friends or Hostess ads.

To get him here, Luthor became the great evil of our times: a xenophobic, self-invested businessman who put aside mad science to use clout and resources to achieve his ends. He was motivated by hatred for Superman, and an unending lust for wealth and power, which culminated in his successful bid to become President of the United States in another story written by Jeph Loeb.

This all may sound like contemporary commentary, but Luthor's tenure as 43rd President lasted roughly one term in real-time, beginning at the tail end of 2000, and at last unravelling in 2004 with his exposure as a dangerous and corrupt super-villain, and inevitable removal from office. Thus, the return of the green & purple power suit, and a freedom to

The cheap stunts and routine murder of annual event comics have maintained a bloody viciousness that DC Comics has struggled to move on from. The violent credibility of villains - a catalyst for more violent heroes. This cycle: the thesis for 1996's prophetic warning Kingdom Come, and the present day proliferation of evil Superman stories, and moral fluidity in heroes & villains. Dark times.

If you'd like to experience some of this violence first hand, or see the role it played in the belated reintroduction of Supergirl into the post-Crisis DC Universe -- you can find today's featured fight collected in Supergirl Vol.1: The Girl of Steel.

Shopping with the Amazon link provided will not only get you a solid deal delivered to your door, but also help support the site at no extra cost to you! If you don't see an embedded link to the right, you may need to adjust browser settings.

If you're a little bit more heroic than Lex and you like what we do here, you can support the site on Patreon. As a special thank you for your generosity you'll unlock various bonuses including poll options, extra updates, custom articles, and my sincerest thanks.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked more than 950 characters! You can discover more by following links throughout each post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index ordered by publisher, series, and issue number. Or follow on Twitter and Facebook for daily links to smackdown inspired by the topics of the day. Be sure to like & share!

Winner: Lex Luthor
#134 (+271) Lex Luthor
#78 (-6) Supergirl

JUGGERNAUT versus DEADPOOL & SIRYN

Deadpool Sandwich (Marvel)
Where: Deadpool: Sins of the Past #3 When: October 1994 Why: Mark Waid How: Ian Churchill & Ken Lashley

The Story So Far...
PREVIOUSLY ON DEADPOOL... Black Tom Cassidy has been afflicted with a viral wooden growth that threatens to consume his body. His brother Sean uses Interpol connections to bring Weapon X geneticist Dr. Emrys Killebrew to examine the prisoner.

Black Tom's best buddy Juggernaut is worried for his pal, so he stages a daring dual breakout and kidnapping of Dr. Killebrew. He then learns there may be only one hope for curing the infection -- the healing factor of Deadpool!

Deadpool did his best to defeat the unstoppable Juggernaut, but when knives fail, he opts for a vat of molten metal -- big mistake! Now Juggernaut is mad as hell and covered in flaming hot magma!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Juggernaut 6 (Uh oh!)
Intelligence: Deadpool 3 (Alert, Not Alarmed)
Speed: Deadpool 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Juggernaut 7 (Unstoppable, duh)
Agility: Deadpool 4 (Does Whatever A Pool Can)
Fighting: Deadpool 4 (Underrated)
Energy: Siryn 4 (Celine Dion at Eurovision)
Total: Deadpool 26 (Stud)

The first time the Merc' with a Mouth starred in theatres, we took in the sights and sounds of Deadpool: Sins of the Past #2! Now that he's officially back on Blu-ray -- what better time to follow-up with a sequel of our own?

When last we saw him: Juggernaut was toweling himself off after a nice warm shower in molten steel! The result of dousing a magically unstoppable behemoth in liquid metal? Hot stuff coming through!

Juggernaut's hot & bothered and charging toward a second date with Deadpool and Siryn -- but this time: they have a chaperone!

Interpol's best man Danny Peyer has tracked down wanted Wade Wilson for his laundry list of international crimes. DP's hoping Peyer will play cavalry, but against Juggernaut, his men are severely mismatched!

We've seen it all before. Juggernaut slapped Colossus silly in Uncanny X-Men #183, kayoed Captain Britain in Excalibur #3, clobbered Captain Marvel Jr in the crossover of Unlimited Access #3, and walked away completely unscathed from a building dropping on him in Amazing Spider-man #230!

Of course, later in that same issue, Spider-man managed to keep Juggernaut down for a ten count by burying him in a few thousand gallons of wet cement! Spidey scored another win over a decade later by teaming with Wonder Woman for another DC/Marvel crossover in Unlimited Access #1!

We know Deadpool can be pretty crafty himself! Speed, agility, and ruthlessness helped him face the Hulk and live to tell the tale [in Deadpool #4]! Old fashioned survival skills bested Ajax's cyborg strength and cleaning power in Deadpool #19! Good gear and tactics had Cable on the ropes in New Mutants #98! And the greatest power of all was categorically proven to be dance when DP beat Taskmaster way back in Deadpool #2!

Alas; Siryn's sonic scream won't lend itself to a funky disco beat, and the best Danny Peyer can hope to be is David Bowie to Deadpool's gyrating Mick Jagger. The decks are decidedly unstacked with nary an Abba sample, nor rhythm, at hand. Will Deadpool be able to sock it to Juggernaut like the jive turkey he is?

That's what we're here to find out! You can't give it up! Round 2! FIGHT!

The Tape: Deadpool Ranking: Deadpool (#20)

What Went Down...
If running from a flaming Juggernaut sounded bad enough -- Deadpool and his favourite gal, Siryn, find themselves caught between a rock and squad of heavily armed Interpol agents! Lucky for them: Juggernaut beats Interpol!

Deadpool leaps clear of the incoming Juggernaut, dragging Siryn out of harm's way, as well. Peyer has to make his own way -- diving clear in the nick of time, while his Interpol friends open fire. Their ammunition barely leaves a scratch!

Peyer orders a tactical retreat, recognizing Deadpool's set-up. Before he leaves he warns Deadpool their beef isn't over. The threat puts a sightline on Deadpool, prompting Juggernaut to use his mass to bring the roof down!

Deadpool makes a graceful super-hero landing and starts throwing everything he's got in the direction of the ten-foot mountain of muscle and fire. Gunfire, shuriken, and katana blades all bounce and break off Juggernaut's magic hide!

Juggernaut reveals his ultimate goal is not to get revenge for past slights, but to collect Deadpool so his best pal Black Tom Cassidy can be cured of a nasty wood infection! As the old saying goes, mutant healing factor today

DP drops a choice reference to Wolverine, but that only gets the concerned Juggernaut in a dither. (He's just so anxious about his friend's condition!)

A massive, smoldering, unstoppable fist swings in Deadpool's general direction -- but he narrowly ducks it, and scrambles to escape through Juggernaut's legs!

Siryn watches frozen in terror as Deadpool calls for some much needed backing vocals! Juggernaut tells her to stay out of it, catching the crawling Deadpool by his ankle only to drag him into his clutches.

Massive fingers engulf Deadpool's neck as Juggernaut exercises his aggressions with a blatant choke. The sight of such obvious peril is enough to shake Siryn from her terror and unleash a bone-rattling scream!

The sonic blast blows the windows of the warehouse they've been fighting in and shakes even the Juggernaut to his core! It's enough to free Deadpool from his powerful grip as Siryn comes to the rescue - gliding him to safety with the knife manufacturer's entire building collapsing on top of Juggernaut!

The Hammer...
Once again we find ourselves in need of a definition for victory!

When it comes to a fighter as unstoppable as Juggernaut: defeat is rarely a permanent condition -- but who ever said it has to be?

Many have tried dropping a building on Juggernaut, but Siryn did it particularly well - and went one better - also rattling him to the core with a sonic scream! Juggernaut goes unseen for the rest of the issue, which is enough to convince me Siryn won the battle - even if the war wages on...

Indeed, Juggernaut does return in the fourth and final issue of the Sins of the Past mini-series. He concludes business with Deadpool, having started their feud a year earlier in Deadpool: The Circle Chase. Which was presumably inspiration for Juggernaut's live-action return in Deadpool 2 -- now on Blu-ray!

If you're just joining us: today's feature fight brings an end to the inconclusive battle begun back in Deadpool: Sins of the Past #2! No doubt we'll return again some time in the future to check out Round 3, and the earlier encounter.

Deadpool doesn't walk away completely empty handed from today's featured fight! Though his efforts failed to register as contributing to victory -- this does mark his first recorded assist on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, and therefore an important milestone of personal development. Way to go, Wade!

The now-classic Deadpool on-going series launched a few years later in '97 and would continue to pick up the tab on Deadpool's developing crush on Siryn, and path to becoming a hero. Even Dr. Killebrew [mentioned in the first section] comes back for more wacky fun -- at least until he's iced by Ajax. SPOILERS!

There's obvious cult appeal to these early Deadpool mini-series, which really do inform the path for Deadpool in subsequent years - more than I might've noticed at the time. That said, things really go to another level when Joe Kelly starts embellishing the comedy -- and Ed McGuinness defines a big and bold look for the series. Both really contributed iconic detailing to the basic model!

Speaking of big and bold, I've gotta give it to Ian Churchill (and Ken Lashley) - he draws a mean Juggernaut! I actually quite like some of the scenes where  the structure of his musculature and costume armor is more square. It's a slightly different take to the classic model, but I like it! When Juggernaut starts getting too rounded, it just ain't right!

If you wanna see more from these characters be sure to dive into the Secret Archive to find every battle indexed by publisher, series, and issue number. You can also get a full serve by following links throughout this post!

Get the full experience and support the site by purchasing a collected edition with today's feature fight in it - or the Deadpool 2 movie! By shopping with the Amazon links provided, you'll help sponsor the site at no extra cost to you!

Follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to battles inspired by the topics of the day! A like, share, or retweet is a nice way to let me know you're thinking of me. Which is important in any relationship. Shucks.

Winner: Siryn (w/ Deadpool)
#133 (+258) Siryn
#46 (--) Juggernaut
#20 (--) Deadpool [+1 assist]
#539 (new) Danny Peyer [+1 assist]

JUGGERNAUT versus DEADPOOL & SIRYN

Luck of the Irish (Marvel)
Where: Deadpool: Sins of the Past #2 When: September 1994 Why: Mark Waid How: Ian Churchill

The Story So Far...
Black Tom Cassidy is a bad seed with a bad problem. A viral wooden growth is claiming his humanity while he serves a life sentence in maximum security prison.

Former Weapon X geneticist Dr. Emrys Killebrew is Black Tom's only hope. Brought in at the request of Interpol Agent Sean Cassidy, the good doctor is running out of time and methods to cure the aggressive infection. Lucky for Tom, his brother isn't the only one looking out for his health. Eager to upgrade Black Tom out of the prison healthcare system, Juggernaut goes on the warpath!

Absconded with Dr. Killebrew, Black Tom's condition is hanging in the balance and the key to saving him may just be former Weapon X subject: Deadpool! The mercenary's sinful past with Black Tom is about to bite him in the ass and the unstoppable Juggernaut is first in line to do the biting!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Juggernaut 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Deadpool 3 (Special Ed)
Speed: Deadpool 3 (Atlhete)
Stamina: Juggernaut 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Deadpool 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Deadpool 4 (Trained)
Energy: Siryn 4 (Arsenal)
Vocal Range: Siryn 7 (Blarney Hell)

It's the unstoppable force meeting the unmuteable mercenary! Watcha gonna do brother when Juggernaut runs wild on you? That's the penniless question we aim to answer today! How will we achieve this daring feat of combat analysis? With our trusty numeric power scale and scholarly references, of course!

When it comes to superhuman strength, endurance and stamina - Juggernaut's in the top tier. His powers are derived from the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak: a magical ruby that's pretty tough to come by ever since Cain Marko got his mitts on it. We've seen him use his magic might to go toe-to-toe with heavyweights like: Colossus [Uncanny X-Men #183], Nimrod [Uncanny X-Men #194] and even Superman [DC versus Marvel #1]!

That sounds like bad news for mild mannered mercenary Deadpool, whose skills amount to: DIY home renovation, a skin condition, overactive imagination, access to 24/7 tech support, protection in the afterlife from Bea Arthur, swords, guns, and a healing factor. Fortunately -- it is not so bad!

A few years after today's feature fight, Deadpool scored a victory against an opponent every bit Juggernaut's equal - the Incredible Hulk [Deadpool #4]! He was also able to negate the super-strength of cyborg nemesis Ajax in Deadpool #19, and use unconventional tactics to topple the Taskmaster twice - in Deadpool #2 and Cable & Deadpool #36!

Of course, for all the raging hard muscle of the Hulk - he is still flesh and bone and can be penetrated (by swords). Juggernaut's magic strength tends to make him pretty resistant to being shanked. A whole construction site of pointy things didn't do Spidey any favors [Amazing Spider-man #230]! Then again, he's never been one to take the spider gimmick to its logical, skin piercing conclusion... You know what? He's the Juggernaut, bitch! Deadpool's in big trouble! If he had any clue he'd just run away! Call the whole thing off!

Is she pretty Irish, or Irish and pretty? Isn't "Irish redhead" a bit redundant? Oh, I guess there are Scottish redheads... Wait, is that racist?...

Oops. That's not an option, though. Pretty Irish redhead Siryn is in tow and DP's on the path to being smitten! Juggernaut does have orders not to hurt her [from Uncle Black Tom], but Juggernaut's never been known for being gentle, and Deadpool & Siryn don't know she's supposedly safe. Like her father Banshee, she's got a mean set of pipes on her, though. That rusty dome on his head doesn't seem like it stops sonic screams getting through, either. Yeah, just go with that.

Oh, by the way, Siryn has chosen the knife factory stage.

The Tape: Deadpool Ranking: Deadpool (#26)

What Went Down...

Having made a daring escape from a pack of mercenaries - Deadpool and Siryn have but a moments pause before the true threat presents itself: Juggernaut!

Taking refuge in a nearby "blade manufacturing" factory, the heroes hope to control the fight with walls at their back. If the door was any indication - the walls won't be much help. Juggernaut kicks it down and calls for last words...

Deadpool tips a box of blades over the hulking behemoth, showering him in sharpened steel! Against any ordinary mortal the tactic would surely have been sharp and to the point - but it was a blunt failure thanks to Juggernaut's magical invulnerability!

Deadpool Facts:
Don't throw anything at Juggernaut that you aren't prepared to have thrown back.

Juggernaut gives Deadpool points for originality: few have tried to slow him down with meat cleavers! How many points did he give? About as many as he can scoop up in his giant Cytorrak Gem enhanced fists!

Deadpool shoves Siryn aside as a wave of knives slices through the air - and through Deadpool as well!

The merc' with a mouth is officially silenced as his healing factor kicks in to deal with the many lacerations. Still reeling from his earlier battles, bruises, bullets and regrowing an entire hand - Deadpool's living up to his name. He's totally defenceless when Juggernaut decides to get in on the puns. More knives, too!

Deadpool Facts:
Actually, if you look closely - Deadpool is stopping the knives with his Magnum look.

This time Siryn leaps into the path of danger -- much to Juggernaut's horror! She unleashes a sonic scream at a high enough frequency to shatter the blades before they reach her, or the mercenary she's hoping to save!

Little does Siryn realize, her banshee cry also damaged the factory floor. As Juggernaut takes chase of the pair, the ground gives way under their feet -- sending all players to the lower level!

Deadpool Facts:
You smelted it, you dealt it.

Down low in the factory, Juggernaut lands on his keister and cries Deadpool's name! The mercenary has pulled a disappearing act in the fall, so Juggernaut asks Siryn for directions. As it turns out, the nearest man in red & black tights is lurking just overhead -- somewhere near the factory's molten vat!

Doing his best Tarzan, Deadpool swings down on a chain to snatch Siryn off the factory floor as the vat of molten metal spills out onto Juggernaut!

Two years after Alien 3, weaponizing molten metal probably seemed like a pretty good idea. Alas; the unstoppable Juggernaut isn't real concerned about thermostat - and there's nothing to cool him off quick enough to put the ol' metallic freeze on him. All that means is...

... flaming hot Juggernaut covered in molten in the hizzoooouuusssse!!

With only one page remaining, Deadpool & Siryn make a mad dash to meet vengeful Interpol agent Daniel Peyer on the final page cliff hanger.

The Hammer...
Whoops! As per Secret Wars on Infinite Earths rules: we ring the bell when the issue comes to an end. I'm afraid that means this battle finishes in an inconclusive draw.

The fight does resume for a second round in the subsequent issue, which I'm sure we'll take a look at some time in the future. For now, we etch another Juggernaut draw into the records, and press on toward our final Deadpool feature fight for February.

We have, of course, been looking at Deadpool this month in celebration of his long awaited arrival in theatres. The only thing more amazing than Deadpool finding movie stardom after a decade and a half in development hell is Ryan Reynolds hitting on a superhero winner! Somewhere out there a horribly out-of-character Hannibal King salutes you!

By now you've probably seen the trailers, heard the praise, and become aware of sequel and crossover plans. Hopefully you're enjoying digging into the real Deadpool through these comic fight updates. For me, the fun has definitely been reconnecting with what was, at one time, possibly my favourite character.

Deadpool Facts:
Alien 3 is very underrated, Blade: Trinity has some moments, but the less said about Green Lantern the better.

If you caught last week's feature [Deadpool #19], or dug into the Deadpool back catalogue, you can probably already tell the '97 series was a sweet spot for my fandom.

The Liefeld years had blown me by, but by the time the first mini-series was coming ["Sins of the Past" is the second], the mystique of the character had caught up with me. Some time in '93 I got my hands on a X-brand promotional pamphlet that sold the series pretty well. By 1997, a convergence of cult character, comedy, and visuals made for an instantly enjoyable mix.

 

There was a bit of drama recently over [Rob] Liefeld's comments regarding who created the character. He shares credit with X-scribe Fabian Nicieza, but I don't think the movie ever even happens if you remove "Uncles" Joey and Ed from the equation. Without their well rounded work in 1997, I don't think you have the sustained popularity, or the definitive voice of the character. Good formative influences from Deadpool's cool uncles, before the other kids in school ruined him, and he started hanging out with the burnout of the family. [He's doing much better now].

That said, much of what you know of Deadpool is there from the earliest days -- as evidenced by today's hijinks. In 1994, Mark Waid wasn't quite as aggressively madcap in his comedy, but it's serviceable as an against-type mercenary. Very much the shadow Spider-man he's sometimes seen to be.

 

With that, we make a hasty exit. There'll be more of what you know of Deadpool next week when we transition from the merc' with a mouth to another Marvel hero. Can you guess who?

 

As always, if you'd like the full story that goes with our featured fight you can use the Amazon link provided [right] to pick yourself up a collected edition. You can also find more Deadpool battles by hitting the Issue Index or Old Comics Wednesday!

 

Winner: Draw

(+1) #25 Deadpool
(+4) #322 Juggernaut
(new) #378 Siryn

THOR versus HULK
"... Let no man tear asunder!" (Marvel comics)
Where: Avengers #5 When: March 1997
Why: Rob Liefeld & Jeph Loeb How: Rob Liefeld & Ian Churchill

The story so far...
Trapped in a pocket dimension created instinctively by the powerful son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman; the world's greatest heroes are reborn in new lives in the wake of the epic battle with the creature called Onslaught!

As though destined to relive key events in their lives, Bruce Banner is again exposed to a massive dose of gamma radiation, turning him into the incredible Hulk.

A mindless and rage-filled beast, the Hulk seeks the one opponent he can never reach: Bruce Banner! Following beacons of Banner's work, the Hulk charges Avengers Island where a live gamma reactor core is housed. Having demolished much of the building and the few attending Avengers themselves, Hulk stands supreme, but a certain thunder gods would have words with him...

Previous Form:
Thor (#13): Aided the Avengers in the defeat of his half-brother, Loki.
Hulk (#6): Defeated a trio of Avengers during a Banner-seeking rampage.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thor 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Draw 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Thor 5 (Lasers)


There's just something about those epic superhero encounters that hit the money every time. Hulk has memorable feuds with many of Marvel's heaviest hitting heroes, and while this isn't the first that comes to my mind, I cannot deny the intrigue presented by pitting a god of men, against man's greatest rages unleashed.

These days Hulk's gotten pretty savvy when it comes to combat strategy, but ten years ago we were still back in the angry, fight-on-instinct days of Hulk. My, how innocent we were. We never even imagined a gladiatorially baptised Hulk!

Traditionally Thor isn't exactly a rocket scientist, but I like to think of him as a battle-wary warrior, and potential successor to the wise father, Odin. So, from that perspective, I like to think there's a bit more to his strategy than disarming foes with his silly-speak, before going to town with the hammer. From that perspective, in 1997, Thor should have the edge.

We've heard it time and time before: Hulk is strongest one there is.
It might not be the whole truth, but it's always worth considering. Hulk's strength fluctuates far enough that, under the right circumstances, he can overpower even a god, however I'm not generally one who subscribes to the theory that Hulk is an endless perpetual generator of physical energy.

For that reason, I'm going to go with Thor, because I'd like to think that a god is distinguished by his endurance and sheer power. Granted, not every god is going to have super strength, but Thor's a warrior god. He should be able to handle the Hulk at least four days of the week.

The Math: Thor (Super Class)
The Pick: Thor (The numbers don't like, do they...?)

What went down...
Still searching for Banner, amidst the broken bodies of Captain America, Swordsman and Hawkeye [see; Avengers #4], Hulk finds instead a hammer-wielding god of thunder and lightning, descending to rain a world of pain upon him for daring to strike down his fellows.

Hulk isn't having a bar of it, declaring a child-like manifesto based on his own terms, but Thor's will is not easily swayed. With his hammer Mjolnir in hand, Thor swats what he assumes is a troll with force enough to send the Hulk flying through several adjacent walls!

Thor continues to open up with Mjolnir, completely controlling Hulk with thundering blows until -- "no." Having had his fill of tasty hammer treats, Hulk recovers from the initial impact of the flurry enough to stall the hammer in mid-swing.

With his barings about him once more, Hulk locks up with Thor, doing his best to wrestle the enchanted Mjolnir away from his mighty grip!

Not having much luck breaking the bond of hammer and master, Hulk uses his impressive strength to release his frustration by vaulting Thor into the air with an incredible swing. Thor, losing the battles of wills, lands on his back, but before Hulk can celebrate he's pulled to the ground by the hammer's enchantments.

The Hulk distracts himself with intent to pick the hammer up, burning into a furious rage over the defiance of the inanimate object.

Shaken, Thor is able to summon Mjolnir to his possession once again, leaping back into the fray with the fury of the heavens themselves. Lightning fills the Avengers headquarters as Thor commands a strike at the Hulk.

With the jade giant out of his way, Thor goes about feverishly clearing wreckage to free the mortals he had become so attached to. He discovers Captain America's shield and limp hand when a green finger taps him on the shoulder.

The two powers demolish further areas of the structure as Hulk proves unrelenting in his desire to prove superiority. Believing the hammer to be Thor's strength, Hulk battles Thor through the halls, moving further away still.

Thor delivers a two-fisted Polish hammer, knocking Hulk into Hank Pym's science laboratory where the damaged body of Vision lies motionless -- a witness to this epic clash of titans.

With Hulk on the back foot, Thor delivers a three-hit combination that would have obliterated any normal human being. The gamma-irradiated Hulk continues to take further punishment, suffering a diving attack before falling victim to a stiff right to the jaw that snaps his bulging head back. Finally, Hulk shows sign of fatigue.

"S-stop." "Thou art mad."
Ignoring Hulk's pleas, Thor prepares to strike once more, but finds his hand caught in mid-air. With a sly grin Hulk agrees, "Hulk is mad. Very mad."

With dramatic poignancy, Hulk gathers his power for a single blow that sends the thunder god airborne. He snatches Thor out of the air by the hair, and thumps once more with a face-breaking blow, before pounding the Avenger into the concrete foundation of the building with explosive results.

Lifting his body in triumph, Hulk bares witness to a Norse god - defeated.

The hammer...
Working his way through the entire team, Hulk wins again!
You can also find the beginning of Hulk's rampaging path, where he was unable to take down Avengers stalwart, Iron Man. [Iron Man #2]

Hulk has, of course, asserted his dominance on Secret Earths like many other sites because of the explosive release of World War Hulk. If I were a betting man, I'd think about putting some moolah down on the exact opposite result to help wind down the Hulk's returning conquests depicted in the event.

The conclusion seems to be the source of much speculation, with the broad expectation being a begrudging truce between Hulk and other heroes, perhaps in the face of a new threat. (Skrulls, maybe?...)

We almost certainly have to accept that scalps taken by Hulk and his fellows will be minimal. Events of this nature inevitably have their sacrificial lambs, and from what we've seen it seems like Black Bolt may represent the most prominent of those, with perhaps this series Black Goliath yet to come.

If the alternative to a truce were to occur, and Hulk were to be put down by one of the heroes, the returning Thor is probably the best bet. Not only does Thor have the muscle to do the job, he also has many miles to go to reintroduce himself to the Marvel universe, after several years absent as a result of the Ragnarok storyline; detailing the cyclical demise of the gods.

We saw Thor's intervention in Civil War, where a cyborg Thor clone, created by Reed Richards and Iron Man, ran amok. As resulting in the afforementioned death of the giant-sized hero, Black Goliath.

In an abstract way, Thor now has the duty of making up for this injustice undertaken in his name. Few ways to reaffirm his presence in the Marvel universe would be more impressive than by returning to defeat the Hulk, who currently stands poised to threaten the entire United States, if not the globe.

Of course, that still poses a question for the future of the Hulk.
In this new tactical guise, the Hulk may finally be on the evolutionary path to becoming his future counterpart, the Maestro. Hulk may fulfill the destiny to become one of Earth's greatest villains, or perhaps Earth isn't even part of the equation.

Hulk found a sense of belonging after being shot into space by Tony Stark and the Illuminati. Veering off course led Hulk on an unlikely path that recast him as hero, and partner and father to a family, whose deaths motivate his attack on Earth. Could the stars provide a new home for the Hulk?

I guess we haven't even considered the Sentry, who has previously been seen to nullify the Hulk's rages. Then again, the implications of that come more from the irrational cycle of anger Hulk has traditionally felt, rather than the motivated and calculated attack we're seeing today.

It'll be two more issues before we know the Hulk's final fate, but if this issue's review has been any indicator, one thing is for certain: There's still much smashing to be done before World War Hulk is through!

With that, it's been a long week! For perhaps the first time ever we've delivered a battle for every day of the working week. If you don't mind, I'm going to go soak my fists in some ice! What do you people want from me?! Get off my lawn! Go read some of the archives, ya mooching yancys!

EXTRA: Forsooth! You can find more punches, kicks and licks across the bloggerverse via Bahlactus and his Friday Night Fights! Have at thee, noble mortals!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 3.5
[Almost an entire issue dedicated to a fight, which consists of far too many splash shots and ill-defined scenes to be overly commended. Also sports one of the dullest covers going around, but a fun piece of a larger puzzle.]

HULK versus THE AVENGERS
"That which gods have joined together..."
(Marvel comics)
Where: Avengers #4 When: February 1997
Why: Rob Liefeld & Jeph Loeb How: Chap Yaep & Ian Churchill

The story so far...
Believed dead, the Avengers and Fantastic Four survive their battle with Onslaught when Franklin Richards whisks them away to a pocket dimension of his own creation, housed within the tiny avatar of a blue ball.

Within this dimension the heroes are reborn, as though their fates were predetermined to play out again as destiny decided them. For Bruce Banner, his transformation into the Hulk begins again as he falls victim to a terrorist attack on one of Tony Stark's gamma nuclear bases, which exposes him to massive amounts of radiation.

Intent on destroying Dr. Banner, the Hulk survives a battle with Iron Man and begins his trek toward any totem that might signify his other. Attracted to a similar nuclear power source on Avengers Island, the Hulk finds his next battle with the few stationary members of Earth's mightiest heroes!

Previous Form:
Captain America (#5): Overcame powerhouse Mr. Hyde with Batroc the Leaper.
Hawkeye (#95): Supported the Avengers on several adventures.
Swordsman (#25): Holds a solo victory over the Hulk, as Deadpool.
Hulk (#9): Holds a solo victory over the assemblage of the Thunderbolts.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Hulk 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Captain America 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Hulk 6 (Generator)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Hulk 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Hawkeye 4 (Arsenal)


Okay, so we could sit and sulk about the fact that I'm the only blog in the universe not reviewing World War Hulk -- or, we could have ourselves our own little World War Hulk with what little we have. Yes. That's it.

So, if you were with us but a week ago you might have seen this coming.
It's there that you can figure out why Deadpool is listed in this clash, because damned if I'm going through all of that again. [Avengers #1]

Suffice to say that the Avengers are in a bit of bother in this particular case.
If you've hit up Avengers #1 just now, you'll be skimming over the entry that features a collection of Avengers facing off, for a time, against Thor, and doing so just barely. It was only Loki's sinister schemes that turned the battle in the Avengers' favour, otherwise they were up the proverbial creek without a Scramjet.

That team included Vision, Scarlet Witch and Hellcat, all of which are absent at this particular junction. Vision is out of action as per battle with Kang, and Scarlet Witch is busy falling into Loki and the Enchantress' web of deceit.

Hulk is strongest one there is.
It might not always be true, but nine times out of ten when Hulk walks into a building and says this, he's going to be right. This particular building, Avengers Island HQ, is no exception. Hulk is strongest one there is, and Hulk is mad.

The Avengers have the homeground advantage, but when the Hulk is ripping your hi-tech headquarters down around you, that can be more of a problem than an advantage -- especially when your headquarters houses a nuclear reactor core.
Oops! You can just bet a SHIELD architect is slapping himself over that faux pas. Nuclear Fission is so six months ago.

Swordsman, this world's counterpart of Wade Wilson, is decidedly less skilled (and wacky) than his usual counterpart. He and Hawkeye managed to be the only ineffective members of the team during the battle with Thor and Loki, no mean feat on a team with timid Scarlet Witch-classic, and hairy Hellcat.

Captain America is always the X-factor, but alone with his knuckleheaded allies, even Cap might not be able to overcome the overwhelming odds of a rampaging, butt naked, mindless Hulk.

The Math: The Avengers
The Pick: Hulk

What went down...
Monitor duty takes a turn for the interesting; Hawkeye discovering a rampaging naked green goliath entering the halls of the Avengers Island headquarters.

Hulk soon inadvertently finds his way to Hawkeye, smashing wildly through any wall or construct that gets in his way.

Hawkeye draws his bow quick to respond, shooting off an arrow rigged to expand into a weighted, electrically charged net. Though a charge sufficient enough to shake the Hulk is delivered, he quickly makes light work of the netting, tearing it asunder like an excited child through wrapping paper on Christmas morn.

Hulk puts Hawkeye down with laughable ease, knocking him out with little more than a hulking flick of doom.

Captain America and Swordsman assemble on the scene to come to Hawkeye's aid.
Despite Cap's previous dressing down during a training session, the impetuous Swordsman charges the Hulk with the promise of making him sorry with a dose of stabby mcpain.

Before Swordsman can put his blades of death to work, Hulk snatches his tiny human hands in his own, breaking the fragile bones of the puny human. Thus, "Hulk is not sorry. Hulk is Hulk."

Cap interjects, tossing his shield to strike Hulk in the neck sufficiently to gain his attentions.

Captain America tries to talk the Hulk down, informing him that no one by the name of "Banner" resides on the island, all the while recalling seeing just such a name in the SHIELD files.

Cap considers a potential connection between the Bruce Banner responsible for building the Avengers Island gamma core, and the rampaging beast before him.

Disinterested in the talky-talk, Hulk lets rip with a burst of speed to attack the "flagman" who tossed his nasty shield at him. Cap tries one last attempt to reason with the Hulk, in much the same fashion as the Thor fight, whilst bracing himself for impact.

Hulk, getting madder by the second (but not interesting enough for me to pad this out to get to the splash pic), collides with Cap's shield with a shuddering boom!

Though Cap and his shield manage to hold up to the initial impact, the power of the Hulk is too much for any mere mortal. With no one left standing, Hulk lets out a roar, "NOTHING CAN STOP HULK!"

The hammer...
After some none-too-subtle tap dancing to get to the scanned images, Hulk wins! X-52, tell them what he's won!... Oh, right...

So, why the dedication to a picture of Captain America and Hulk butting heads inside a yellow text outline? Look, I haven't been able to get a hold of any issues of World War Hulk, so I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading a giant sound effect produced by Hulk and Iron Man. So this is my way of just prepping for what will eventually come.
This is the teaser for all the mayhem that will eventually arrive.

Now, speaking of ghosts of mayhem-future, I'd like to think we're having some fun here. Lately there's been a collection of throughlines to a lot of the features, so hopefully you can get a little bit excited for the promise of a Thor/Hulk confrontation sometime in the near future.

Even though I haven't been reading World War Hulk, I've been keeping loose tabs on what's going on, and there's a somewhat inevitable consensus regarding the nature of the consequences of the events.

I think heading into the event we all knew Hulk, for all the talk, couldn't "win" this thing. You can't expect Hulk to ever fullfil his potential, because that would involve murderizing some of the greatest icons and cash cows Marvel Comics have.

What's been unfortunate about WWH is the disjointed atmosphere we have in the Marvel universe, post-Civil War. In a lot of ways WWH doesn't have the platform to be an event as we know it, so it's awkwardly wading it's way through compromises and situations that can resolve themselves in no satisfactory way.

I saw recently a discussion where a Hulk fan mentioned that World War Hulk promotion was entirely forthcoming, but the inherent flaw was that promos were built on the claim that Hulk was madder than ever before, and heading to Earth.

Hulk can't possibly live up to that, and that's where I can understand the disgruntled readers dropping WWH through the third or fourth issues.
As has been a theme throughout these Heroes Reborn posts, I like to shine some credit back on these maligned issues.

While the series were free to operate within their own self-contained pre-Ultimate universe, they were still dealing with the characters, and therefore could only bend and shape them so far. What Heroes Reborn did well with the Hulk was to give him the space to make his way from a starting point to a conclusion, doing so in an order that coordinated between crucial events in other books. Meaning Iron Man could be taken down solo [Iron Man #2] as the first step in what essentially served as an incidental spine for greater events.

Hulk does redeem himself by simmering low enough to work with the side of angels, and really that seems the inevitable conclusion to World War Hulk, but given the circumstances, events have been so congested, they lack the smooth flowing graduation of this Heroes Reborn story. Although, perhaps ironically, also letting World War Hulk down is the marketing decision to spread the story quite thin, further complicating matters with tie-ins, less than cohesive.

Recently revealed were letters from Mark Millar, who pitched Civil War as a tighter, more finite event where the heroes would reunite in the final act (and Thor would return) to face the threat of the Hulk. Presumably this high concept would have provided a more streamlined landscape to give World War Hulk the stage it's due.

I personally am of two minds. As much as I like strengthening the events through a logical and dramatic graduation process, it might have been equally disappointing to see Civil War be so contained. I quite enjoy, for all it's difficulties, the division and social atmosphere of the registered and rogue heroes. It seems inevitable they will eventually be reunited by cause, but for the time being it's nice to see those ramifications.

It's just a shame that characters like Dr. Strange, who are almost demanded of a Hulk event of this scale, should really be unseen, existing in the underground.
Concessions like this haven't been singular, either. Ed Brubaker's Daredevil fairly casually highlights a new leniancy toward seasoned characters who wish to be unregistered. Something unthought of during the Civil War event-proper.

While this certainly makes the writer's job easier, and frees momentum up for us the readers, it feels like a typically slack late move from Brubaker. A writer who seems to initiate himself to a readership through strong ties to an existing status quo, before lazily meandering off to much less invested takes.

EDIT (October 4, 2007): Swordsman has been relisted as his own character, as per the Superboy-Prime Directive. These stats have been removed from Deadpool's listing.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4
[A competent, but perhaps slightly brief Hulk battle, more a step in the journey than an epic to remember. Perhaps a little soon for creative shifts, as Loeb seemingly helps purge Avengers of naff concepts, like Swordsman. Still, fun!]