DUCHESS versus BLUE BEETLE

Battle Lines (DC)
Where: Suicide Squad #13 When: May 1988
Why: John Ostrander How: Luke McDonnell

The Story So Far...
A covert operation in the Soviet Union makes enemies of The Suicide Squad when they're discovered attempting to liberate a famous author imprisoned as a dissident.

The arrest of Thomas Tresser, aka; Nemesis, becomes a world headline when the Soviet government attempts to bait the Squad into a return mission by publicly accusing him of an unprovoked attempted kidnap.

Its bait field-leader Rick Flag is all too happy to take -- igniting internal conflict with Task Force X head Amanda Waller! Faced with the prospect of exposure and a further international incident, she has no choice but to advise the President to commission the Justice League International to stop the rogue invaders!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Lashina 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Blue Beetle 5 (Professor)
Speed: Lashina 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Lashina 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Blue Beetle 2 (Average)
Fighting: Lashina 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Blue Beetle 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Lashina 27 (Metahuman)

The inevitable faceoff between Justice League International and the Suicide Squad goes off not with a bang, but rather a series of precision key matchups.

Duchess gets the fight started when she recognizes JLI's Mister Miracle. She does this because she is in fact Lashina: former field leader of Darkseid's loyal Female Furies. She was betrayed by one of her teammates while on mission to capture Mister Miracle, leaving her stranded on Earth, and in the care of Task Force X.

As Duchess she doesn't have access to her trademark steel whips, instead relying on high-powered customized weaponry like the cannon used against Major Force in a later battle. She also possesses natural attributes of super-strength and durability as a New God raised on Apokolips under Granny Goodness.

These attributes put her in a class above Blue Beetle, but you can never entirely count the resourceful hero!

Ted Kord is the second Blue Beetle, carrying on the legacy of Dan Garrett by using a natural acumen for science and inventing. With the resources of his father's company, Kord Industries, he created The Bug airship, and an arsenal of non-lethal weaponry, including his trademark compressed air gun, and bug drones.

On the surface it looks like Blue Beetle is fighting way above of his weight class, but like Batman or Green Arrow, he's a non-powered hero capable of causing an upset. JLI are some of his sillier days, but will he do it? Let's find out...

The Tape: Duchess Ranking: Duchess (#194)

What Went Down...
Duchess points a finger of confused, accusing recognition at Mister Miracle when Blue Beetle approaches to pacify the situation with a stern warning: "You take on one member of the JLI and you take on them all."

The erstwhile Lashina is all too happy to accept the challenge, but finds Blue Beetle more capable than he first appears. While unsuccessfully petitioning Mister Miracle for help -- he handles the situation with with an improvised arm drag.

Booster Gold finds great amusement in his friends' 'great touch with the ladies' and earns the ire of the slighted New God in the process.

In a fury she rips a door from a nearby prison cell and launches it at the chuckling hero. His futuristic power suit takes care of it though, protecting him from the steel bars while reducing them to tiny pieces of broken and bent steel.

The attack proves to be the inciting blow.

Batman coldly orders his team to pick a foe and watch out for shrapnel. They all peel off with a fight partner, but Blue Beetle's opponent has already chosen him. 

Duchess charges furiously, but the Beetle nimbly vaults over her and insists he doesn't like hitting women. "... And I'm not sure hitting you would do any good!"

He resorts to his gun, holding it to Duchess' head as the melee erupts all around them.

The super-humanly strong Duchess manages to keep Beetle off his feet with a single extended arm, but the pistol packing hero regains his footing and squares off with his target.

He unleashes the full force of his patented non-lethal arsenal -- a high-powered burst of compressed air finds it mark with Duchess' imposing torso, but fails to have any effect on the powerful New God!

A quick switch in tactics unleashes Beetle's secondary dazzle light at point blank range!

The blistering white flash succeeds in temporarily blinding Duchess.

With his opponent staggered and fuming mad -- Blue Beetle closes in to strike with a "patented" karate chop to the neck.

Robbed of her sight -- the New God doesn't even realise her mortal opponent has struck!

Blue Beetle clutches his wrist with sounds of agony suggesting the blow did far more to hurt him than its intended victim!

Duchess quickly turns the tables, grabbing Beetle by the leg to lift him off his feet. He bumps his head on the ceiling before crashing down onto his keister -- still in the grip of a very angry Duchess!

It's only the diplomatic intervention of Martian Manhunter that saves the Beetle from being squashed! He lets out a relieved sigh at the news a truce has been brokered between team leaders, ending the conflict - for now.

The Hammer...

For all intents and purposes it looked as if Duchess was about to take control and finish the fight, but we'll never know for certain. Blue Beetle survives an inconclusive result, with a little help from his friend Booster Gold early on.

The conflict is part of a hotly anticipated confrontation between the Justice League and Suicide Squad: Two teams that were positioned as pillars of the post-Crisis DCU coming out of the reconstruction phase of Legends.

The internationally minded League and their black-ops counterparts were steeped in global political intrigue, but behind their differing approaches to diplomacy with Russia, and other world actors, lies a good old fashioned conflict over morality, superhero ethics, and a general disdain for each others methods.

By nature of The League's operations, Batman was drawn a little closer to the light, but his role as a tactician keeps him to a privileged periphery, exposing him to as few people as possible, while he gathers intelligence, and maintains the mystique of an urban myth bubbling up from Gotham City's shadowy underbelly.

It was from the shadows that the inter-team conflict was set-up when Batman went undercover in Bell Reve Prison to investigate the rumored existence of the villain-based squad. His infiltration ultimately laid bare Amanda Waller and Task Force X personnel, giving us a taste of things to come when The Squad was sent to stop him, and he duked it out with Rick Flag and others.

Batman was already eager to get closer to the situation involving his former ally Thomas Tresser when President Reagan approached the UN sanctioned league, but once it's clear the rogue "American villains" they're working to intercept are the Suicide Squad he's even more motivated to throw them to the dogs.

Face-to-face in a Soviet gulag, the two teams break off into pairs, giving us a rematch between Batman and Rick Flag, and the first fight to breakout from the ensuing skirmish - which is also our featured fight for today.

I would be remiss to overlook our featured players, but what you see is mostly what you get. If you know anything about the JLI era, it's probably Blue Beetle's role as cackling comedy relief. It's evident in his obvious mismatch against the raging Duchess, but I do appreciate that he and his arsenal are still shown to be fairly credible in a fight. There's levity, but this isn't wholesale mockery.

Even so, fans of contemporary DC Entertainment, or the upcoming Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League video game, might not find what they're looking for in this iconic battle between the brands. For one thing: this is a mostly bloodless affair, lacking the apparent contempt DC has developed for its own iconic properties. I can't help but think positioning the heroes as figures for contempt while the players control villains is horribly tone deaf on multiple levels, but I digress...

The original match-up contains the battle within a pleasingly straight-forward single issue, while Justice League International #13 offers an enhancement tie-in that sets up the specifics of the collision with optional relevance. That said, there's also a lot of intrigue accumulated from the details of previous issues of Suicide Squad and JLI, informing a nuanced conflict steeped in concepts and character motivations.

Four of the combatants don't even actually engage in violence! Martian Manhunter and Vixen revisit their recent history together and resolve their opposition with a meaningful embrace, while Captain Atom and Nightshade keep their romantic ties on the down low by faking a mock struggle somewhere off to the side. Tickling is quickly nixed by the squirming Nightshade, but that's all the analysis we have.

You might expect a fight-monger like myself to deride this kind of thing, but I'd take a good story with intuitive use of characters over a lazy fight any day of the week. I actually quite like these characters and don't want to see them murdered in the name of fleeting thrills, or some psychopath's idea of "realism".

This remains a fantastic period of DC Comics with surprisingly enduring relevance and better balance of the things that make superhero comics enjoyable than a lot of more recent examples, or adaptations that are built on this foundation.

I will almost certainly be returning for more individual match-ups, but if you'd like to get ahead of the reading you can find JLI #13 and Suicide Squad #13 both collected in Justice League International Book One: Born Again or Suicide Squad Vol. 2: The Nightshade Odyssey. Use Amazon purchase links provided below and you'll not only get yourself a good deal -- you'll help support the site at no cost!

You can find more related materials to these characters and stories by following links throughout this post, or by infiltrating the Secret Archive for a complete index of every featured fight in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked in excess of 1,000 characters! If you'd like to help me continue creating more entries consider becoming a patron on Patreon. As a thank you you'll unlock extra updates, content, and options to sponsor your favourite topics in future articles.

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Winner: Inconclusive
#162 (+32) Lashina
#480 (new) Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
#650 (+237) Booster Gold [+1 assist]

DEADSHOT versus ENCHANTRESS

Hitting The Fan (DC)
Where: Suicide Squad #6 When: October 1987
Why: John Ostrander How: Luke McDonnell

The Story So Far...
When the Soviet Union proposes a trade with the United States for a controversial novelist's freedom; The Suicide Squad are called upon in secret to extract the prisoner right from under their noses!

It was a politically charged mission to Moscow none of them wanted to take, but the ingenious plan of new recruit Oswald Cobblepot, (aka; The Penguin), makes the trip behind enemy lines seem possible! There's just one catch: Nobody thought to ask Zoya Trigorin if she wanted to be rescued!

A hostile prisoner throws the mission into disarray -- much to the delight of Enchantress! With the Soviet Army closing in fast, Colonel Rick Flag has no choice but to order Deadshot to bring the wild witch down when she goes rogue!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Deadshot 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Enchantress 5 (Professor)
Speed: Deadshot 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Enchantress 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Deadshot 4 (Trained)
Energy: Enchantress 6 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Enchantress 24 (Champion)

Floyd Lawton is Deadshot by name, Deadshot by reputation -- but can a bullet from the assassin's gun really pierce the magic veil of the Enchantress? That's what we're here to find out in a battle of Suicide Squad teammates!

We have, of course, seen another Squaddy take down Enchantress in a previous instance: Bronze Tiger was on-hand to make sure she played nice when the team went up against Brimstone in their inaugural mission [Legends #3].

Deadshot's aim was true, successfully taking Brimstone down with the use of a specialized laser weapon. The next mission was also a success for Deadshot, who defeated Manticore in a deadly close-quarters battle [Suicide Squad #2].

There's no denying Deadshot is a master marksman, but not quite every shot is a bull's eye! His very presence with the Suicide Squad is a result of being captured by The Flash, who was too fast for Deadshot's draw [in Legends #1].

No hero has gotten under Lawton's skin quite as thoroughly as Batman! Their multiple run-ins include Deadshot's very first outing, when he posed as a masked vigilante to oust The Bat. He nearly pulled it off, but as in most of their clashes, it ended in Deadshot's defeat. His eventual comeback in Detective Comics #474 is one such example.

Enchantress doesn't have the hand-to-hand fighting prowess of Batman, nor his unique insights. She does, however, possess a broad spectrum of magic powers as a witch that should be able to deal with most guns and munitions.

Without specialist weaponry, Deadshot seems pretty out of his depth against Enchantress. His greatest strength lies in long-range sniping to get the drop on an unprepared Enchantress. That's how Bronze Tiger closed similar odds.

Enchantress was supposed to impersonate novelist Zoya Trigorin while the Squad extracted her from Russia, but with the mission thrown into chaos, she's completely off the leash. That bodes well for Deadshot, who can capitalize on her distraction. Will it work? Let's find out...

The Tape: Enchantress Ranking: Deadshot (#114)

What Went Down...
An explosion rings out from the Novogorod Psychiatric Hospital. The mission has gone bad. Real bad! The Suicide Squad regroups in the snow covered woods just outside, while The Enchantress delights at the opportunity for chaos!

With Russian troops rapidly closing-in; Colonel Rick Flag is forced to make an urgent decision about the witch flying overhead. With time running out, he turns to Deadshot with a non-lethal order to shoot.

Deadshot feigns concern that he may not be able to bring Enchantress down without accidentally killing her. Flag puts a gun to his head and warns him not to miss!

Unaware of the conspiring gunmen below; Enchantress is completely unprepared when she hears the sudden explosion of Deadshot's rifle!

The searing sting of the bullet follows in an instant. Struck in the head, The Enchantress plummets from the sky to the thick floor of snow below.

Flag orders Nightshade and Nemesis to collect the body. A dark smile creeps over Deadshot's face as he assures the Colonel his shot was made to order -- on target and non-lethal.

Enchantress is groggy when Nemesis lifts her from the snow by the shoulders. He demands to know her name, but she instinctively refuses! If spoken, it will return the wicked witch to the darkness -- restoring innocent June Moone.

So Nemesis tells her she's June Moone: a spy who will be shot on sight! The barely conscious witch denies this, too. With time running out he leans over her face and asks who she really is. At last she says it: "Enchantress!"

The Hammer...
This one may challenge your definition for a "fight", but the fact is: some conflicts end not with the throwing of fists, but with the firing of a single bullet! Such is the stock & trade of Deadshot!

As we build a bigger profile for Deadshot, it'll be interesting to see what his strike-rate as a marksman is really like. The reputation of killers in comics doesn't always match-up to results. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see what today's win does for his overall fight rank!

Today we're here to track the movements of Enchantress, whose early tenure with the Suicide Squad provided one of the great sub-plots of the first couple of years. It loosely inspired elements of the 2016 movie, but as with most things in that adaptation, the source material was not well represented.

The premise is simple: The Suicide Squad are a band of convicted villains operating as a black-ops team to work-off their sentences. They're guided by trusted agents like Rick Flag and Bronze Tiger, but the criminal nature of most of the team means there's always an underlying tension of mistrust.

Enchantress is arguably the most openly hostile of the group, but she's tethered to the pleasant alter-ego of June Moone, who volunteered her services.

Moone initially has enough sway to keep the wicked witch in check, but every time Enchantress is summoned, her dark powers grow. The threat that she'll turn on the team is always there, but the trade-off is that her magic is one of the Squad's most powerful weapons, and sometimes can be directed.

Inevitably, this dangerous game means various members of The Squad are forced to take Enchantress down once her work is done.

We saw this in their inaugural mission, when Enchantress saved the team from being scorched by the flaming aftermath of Brimstone -- only to immediately turn on them! Bronze Tiger became the first teammate to shut her down.

Comics being what they are; there are different flavours to the various times Enchantress is thwarted. The next time we visit the theme it will probably seem vaguely comical, but each indignity is only building toward the inevitable.

The reader knows Enchantress' power and hostility is growing, and the tension that mounts is one of the great threads weaved into the tapestry of John Ostrander's early Suicide Squad!  It could've greatly enhanced the film had they taken it in the same direction, rather than abruptly making her the arch-villain of the first film. One of many mistakes.

If you're looking for more Suicide Squad, or follow-up entries, be sure to check out the Secret Archive. You'll easily find featured fights indexed by publisher, series, and issue! If you just want to read these issues in their entirety for yourself, you can support the site by using the Amazon link provided!

You can also follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Facebook and Twitter to get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! A like, share, or retweet is a much appreciated way to show support!

Additional Note: Assist stats will be recorded for Rick Flag for ordering the hit, as well as Nemesis & Nightshade, who helped ensure Enchantress switched back to June Moone. These details were important to securing Deadshot's triggerman victory.

Winner: Deadshot
#66 (+48) Deadshot
#846 (-314) Enchantress
#383 (--) Rick Flag [+1 assist]
#420 (+75) Nemesis (Tom Tresser) [+1 assist]
#527 (new) Nightshade (Eve Eden) [+1 assist]

BRONZE TIGER versus RAVAN

Trial By Fire (DC)
Where: Suicide Squad #2 When: June 1987
Why: John Ostrander How: Luke McDonnell

The Story So Far...
To the outside world: Belle Reve Federal Prison is just a hive for holding incarcerated scum and villainy. Within those walls reigns Task Force X Agent: Amanda Waller - taking her pick of the litter for an expendable covert ops group codenamed The Suicide Squad!

In their second field mission The Squad are headed to Northern Qurac. Their target: Jotunheim -- the cliff-side stronghold of an emerging terrorist organization known simply as The Jihad.

Task Force X has inside intel on the super-human terrorist group, who've been hired to commit an attack on the United States within the week. That means the know exactly who they're up against, and how to take them down! Now it's just a matter of wrangling their reluctant forces long enough to take them down!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Draw 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Draw 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Bronze Tiger 25 (Champion)

The Suicide Squad are headed to Northern Qurac for their second field mission against a terrorist organization known simply as The Jihad (later Onslaught). We've already seen Deadshot take on Manticore. Now Bronze Tiger has drawn a perfectly matched opponent as skilled in the deadly arts as he is!

Tiger was along for the Squad's first mission against Brimstone in Legends #3, but as we ultimately saw, his deadly hands were mainly present to keep Enchantress in check [also in Legends #3]. He was out of his league against a giant beast of Apokolips, but this time Benjamin Turner is in his element!

In his youth, Turner left the crime-ridden streets of Central City to seek the path of a master martial artist. In Japan, he studied under O-Sensei alongside fellow student Richard Dragon. They fought side-by-side as agents of GOOD and the CBI, until Turner was captured and brainwashed by The League of Assassins!

For a time Bronze Tiger became one of the world's most notorious assassins, famous for besting Batman! A rescue mission led by Rick Flag eventually brought him back to the side of angels. He volunteered for the Suicide Squad as penance, never certain that the programming he received is totally gone.

Ravan's path to murder was decidedly more willing. He's one of the last of the Thuggee: a real-life cult of Indian thieves and murderers known to insinuate themselves into the lives of travelers, gaining their trust in order to kill them. Experts on the subject estimate the sect to be responsible for somewhere between fifty thousand, to two million deaths over a span of 150 years.

With every murder, Ravan believes he delays the coming of the Kali Yuga for a thousand years -- an age of chaos wrought by the demon Kali. He applies his religion to a modern context, making assassination his trade. He's a highly skilled hand-to-hand martial artist, with a particular penchant for the garrote. A charming playboy who delights at the contest of a worthy opponent -- and boy has he found one!

The Tape rates our two fighters statistically evenly matched -- but I give the overall advantage to Bronze Tiger. His training seems to be a bit more diverse, more expert, and his reputation far exceeds that of Ravan. I'm also tipping my hand a little with knowledge of their subsequent encounters. What happened the first time Bronze Tiger fought Ravan? Let's find out!

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Bronze Tiger (#135)

What Went Down...
His fourth tier quarters are described as "part shrine to Kali, part playboy mansion." There, Ravan rests -- until his peace is interrupted by the sound of exterior gunfire against the facility. Jotunheim is under attack, but as the skilled Thuggee martial artist quickly realizes -- so is he!

The master combatants share honorable introductions as they square off, each admiring the obvious skill of the other. It isn't often either man meets an opponent they can consider a worthy challenge.

is it Bronze Tiger's shoulder or fist that collides with Ravan's jaw as the fight gets under way? It's hard to say. The two fighter's legs tangle. The second blow is decisive: Bronze Tiger's right arm raining down with a tomahawk-like chop!

Ravan throws his arm up - staggering the Bronze Tiger enough to cost him a vertical base! The Thuggee fighter swings his right leg, but Bronze Tiger leans down and blocks the head-high kick!

Their masterful moves have been a successive flow of strike and counter-strike. Devastating in their precision, and chess-like in the consequence of their commitment to the most efficient response. The conclusion is an inevitability already decided several moves in advance.

The blocked kick forces Ravan into a vulnerable open stance. Bronze Tiger wastes no opportunity capitalizing -- thrusting a kick into his opponent's spine!

Ravan drops to the floor. He knows in an instant that he's defeated. His back is broken. He cannot defend himself. With resignation, he accepts his fate: "Kill me". Bronze Tiger turns his back. Ravan will not die this day.

The man once programmed to kill by The League of Assassins should have no trouble executing his opponent, but to what end? He was ordered to neutralize Ravan. In this, he has succeeded. He has no memory of his past life as a killer, and sees no reason to incite it. To Ravan's fury - he leaves with his victory.

The Hammer...
A broken back is a pretty definitive way to defeat your opponent! Bronze Tiger is undeniable winner.

Ravan lives to fight another day, and indeed, vows to find the means to take his revenge. He swears so on Kali - so you know he means business! Comics being what they are, you can probably guess he'll eventually return. The rematch - to be visited at some stage in The Comic Book Fight Club's future!

For now, we dwell on the past. Not for any negative contrast, but to reassess the fine works of John Ostrander and Luke McDonnell.

I haven't always appreciated them the way I should, but I've found my fandom along the way.

We were a little scattershot when Secret Wars on Infinite Earths featured the Suicide Squad last August. That meant short shrift on the series itself, and to Bronze Tiger, in particular. Nice to be back to pick up the tab!

If I remember correctly, Suicide Squad #2 fell into my lap some time around 1989 or '90. I was young. Very young. Too young to be responsibly handed a comic book about international terrorism, and/or military suicide missions.

It came in a show bag with an issue of MAD Magazine and a novelty whoopee cushion. A mothers group's nightmare, I imagine, but such were the times. It hardly mattered. Celebrity caricatures and faux-flatulence were good for a few laughs, but the Suicide Squad was a tough sell to a young reader. If a parent had been aware enough to be concerned about the impact of the subject matter, they would've been relieved to know it was largely lost on a small child. There was plenty going on in the issue, but there were too many generic folk without exciting costumes. No competition for the four-colour laugh riot of the then contemporary Justice League, or so I thought at the time.

For the most part, super-powers always made side arms seem pretty lame to this young reader. Punisher and Nick Fury lacked the charm of their pulp era forebears, and guys like Rick Flag and Nemesis didn't even have the decency to wear a fancy bodysuit! Blokes in t-shirts and slacks weren't exactly cutting it in a world dominated by Spider-man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the like.

I don't mind saying that the reader was definitely the problem.

With wiser eyes, I've found the joy in Suicide Squad, and even the members of The Jihad that once seemed so plain. You'll note that the super-villain group was redubbed "The Onslaught" a decade or two later, when the meaning of their name became a more sensitive subject in The West.

As it turns out, Suicide Squad was the kind of comics I actually loved all along. If I'd only investigated beyond an initial childhood bias, I would've seen it was far more than a mere modern take on war and spy comics.

The series is and was a joyous melting pot of disparate concepts sourced from old comics, new comics, forgotten comics, and the real world of global culture, politics, and events. Heck. With more reading and awareness of the world, it turned out the war stories were pretty good, too! It's just nice that it has a kick of kung-fu heroes, Kirby Fourth World, and other super-hero mythology, too.
Most major characters weaved into the tapestry of Suicide Squad offer a thread of tangents explored over the course of the series. They provide a bank of natural stories that flow effortlessly around the missions, and DC crossover events that occur throughout. At times it seems as if Ostrander has more ideas than he can possibly find time for! Their simmering builds a lot of effective tension in the series, and makes every new story a well earned change of pace.

Bronze Tiger is a unique thread to the kung-fu comics of the '70s, and The League of Assassins, who are famous by association with Batman. Some time we'll take a closer look at Bronze Tiger's fight with Batman, which is frequently referenced in Suicide Squad to establish his credibility as a combatant.

Tiger's history isn't focused upon until much later in the run, but he adds a lot of spice to the mix as one of the team's few heroic figures.

Benjamin Turner is a man with conviction putting his troubled past behind him. A contrast to Rick Flag, who spends the early part of the series putting his troubled past in front of him. Their connection through backstory makes the Suicide Squad stronger.

Flag was the man who pulled Bronze Tiger out of The League of Assassins, and helped deprogram him with Amanda Waller. The retrieval mission was initiated because of Bronze Tiger's history with the Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI), and King Faraday. A rich tapestry of DC references that lend a strong sense of verisimilitude to the world of the Squad, and surrounding intelligence agencies.

It was fascinating to learn that Ravan is a character who appropriates a real life criminal concept. The Thuggee (said tug-gee) were apparently a genuine cult of bandits and murderers found in India. As noted in The Tale of The Tape [above], they're attributed by scholars with responsibility for somewhere between 50,000 and 2 million murders. A clan whose primary intent was to kill without remorse. A scary concept. Very effective in its context of comics!

Ravan eventually becomes a member of the Suicide Squad himself. I'm looking forward to examining more of those stories. His relationship with Bronze Tiger will remain antagonistic, but they establish a curious rapport around mutual respect. I mightn't have appreciated Ravan as a youngster, but his unique brand of suave assassin is a lot of fun as it develops!

For now, we update the rankings and press on! March is a month of martial arts mayhem inspired by the Netflix release of Iron Fist! The Marvel heroes have been taking over The Comic Book Fight Club, so I thought I'd take this last opportunity to show some DC love. We've got one more martial arts showdown to go, but as you'll soon see -- it comes from neither of the "Big Two".

Can't get enough Suicide Squad or Bronze Tiger? Ready to read the series for yourself? Use the Amazon purchase link provided [right] to get this battle and more in collected edition! Doing so helps support the site at no extra cost to you!

Use links littered throughout this entry to discover more exciting corners of the comic book universes! You can also dive into the Secret Archive Index to check out every previous feature fight referenced by publisher, series and issue! Or follow on Facebook and Twitter to get daily fight links inspired by current topics! A like and share make all the difference!

Winner: Bronze Tiger
#77 (+58) Bronze Tiger
#826 (new) Ravan

VIXEN & MARTIAN MANHUNTER versus PROFESSOR IVO

Last Stand (DC)
Where: Justice League of America #261 When: April 1987 Why: J.M. DeMatteis How: Luke McDonnell

The Story So Far...
One defeat too many has left the Justice League of America in tattered ruins. While the evil machinations of Darkseid plot to make outlaws of heroes, their enemies attack unabated by the whims of fickle law.

Professor Ivo and his mechanical menaces have plagued the Justice League for longer than they care to remember, but the divided heroes have never been more vulnerable, nor the villain ever more bloodthirsty!

Already Ivo's android assassins have seen to the deaths of Vibe and Steel, and made chilling attempts on the lifes of Gypsy, and the Martian Manhunter. With the rest of the team gone or resigned, Vixen stands alone to seek vengeance for her fallen allies! Her keen animal senses and savagery will ensure she stalks out her prey, but whose death will result when she finds Professor Ivo's lair?

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Martian Manhunter 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Martian Manhunter 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Martian Manhunter 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Vixen 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Martian Manhunter 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting: Vixen 4 (Trained)
Energy: Martian Manhunter 5 (Lasers)


I would've been really disappointed to finish 2016 without returning to this now classic encounter! It represents an interesting transitional period in Justice League history, where the infamous Detroit team was to finally make way for a glitzy group, newly assembled in the pages of post-Crisis event: Legends.

Legends #2 was the last time we saw this version of the JLA, suffering a brutal defeat at the hands of Apokolips demon-seed: Brimstone!

In that city shattering battle, Martian Manhunter was caught off guard by the firey beast. Rushing in without thought to his own vulnerability (flame), he was overwhelmed by debris that also buried Vixen, and the rest of the League: Elongated Man, Gypsy, Vibe, Steel, with allies Firestorm and Cosmic Boy.

In the wake of their humiliating defeat, the League veered towards disbanding as President Reagan issued an order to outlaw superheroes. Martian Manhunter favored accepting the decree, Elongated Man departed amidst in-fighting, and everybody but Vixen sort of went their own way. Good news for Professor Ivo, whose evil androids were able to pickoff Vibe and Steel - both killed!

Fearing death; Anthony Ivo has obsessively sought to attain immortality. His pursuit brought him into conflict with the JLA, whose powers he once hoped to steal, believing they could unlock infinite life. He and his androids are making their Secret Wars on Infinite Earths debut, but the instrument of his earliest attacks on the League has appeared before: Amazo!

The power stealing Amazo has been known to act independently, and the increasingly mentally unstable Professor Ivo has become victim to the whim of his other robotic creations -- including his own doppelganger. The duplicate Ivo is responsible for the murders, but Vixen doesn't know - or care - about that.

As one of the last standing members of Justice League Detroit, Vixen has given in to her primal rages -- seeking vengeance for her comrades alone! Her ability to channel the innate skills of animals makes her a pretty tough customer, but alone against an army of killer androids, she might be in trouble!

Good thing former detective Martian Manhunter has also picked up the trailer to Professor Ivo's secret underground lair! He'll be making the save, and helping tip the scales in favour of the heroes. His Martian weakness to fire isn't ideal, but his phenomenal strength and molecular malleability means he can make light work of Ivo's tin soldiers, as long as they don't combust.

We've seen the trouble fire can cause Martians in DC: The New Frontier #2, and Final Crisis: Requiem #1! We've also seen plenty of Martian toughness, as well. He took down Appellaxian Stone God in Secret Origins #32, helped fight Doomsday in the guise of Bloodwynd [Superman #74], and caused Green Lantern & Flash a whole lot of trouble as a Black Lantern [Green Lantern #44]!

We haven't seen as much of Vixen thus far, but she has gone toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman [JLA: Classified #3] and Volcano Man [Justice League of America #15]. So it doesn't look too bad for the heroes! Let's see how it went...

The Tape: Martian Manhunter Ranking: Martian Manhunter (#32)

What Went Down...
Stalking through filthy city sewers, Vixen searches solemnly for her prey. Deep within the stone laden labyrinth - a familiar scent, drawing her deeper into the twisting underworld. Soon - a light emanating from a small grate. She pushes it in and descends into a small room, where Professor Ivo waits with a banquet.

Vixen makes her lethal intent clear while Ivo offers questionable pleasantries in exchange. Seemingly resigned to his fate, he asks for Vixen's company as last request of a condemned man. She hurls her cup of poisoned tea in his scaly disfigured face and reaches for his throat. An attempt at kindness, he calls it...

Suddenly the room fills with a dozen shirtless men - each an exact duplicate of the last! Vixen's keen sense of smell detects the distinct absence of humanity among them. Androids: programmed to kill, just like the ones who killed her Justice League friends!

Vixen goes to ground as the automatons surround her. She springs upward suddenly, delivering an all mighty uppercut! A knee to the stomach! A leaping face jam! A vicious decapitation! She is at one with her animal instincts.

She swings her fists wildly, separating two more of the android's heads!

Professor Ivo watches the battle coldly, expressing surprise. He didn't expect to see Vixen winning! These androids weren't programmed specifically like the ones that killed Vibe and Steel. Ivo corrects the deficiency, searching out Vixen's computer file to broadcast the necessary tactical attributes to his army.

The androids overwhelm Vixen, rushing in a pack. An android strikes with a backhanded fist. Another with a clubbing blow. They all lean in, throwing fists like a pack of wild dogs. Fear takes Vixen as she contemplates her own mortality. Significantly outnumbered, she anticipates her own coming death.

Then, the door to Ivo's lair suddenly explodes with an angry call of his name! The Martian Manhunter has also tracked the villain in search of justice! Refusing to accept another teammates demise - he marches through the android horde, furiously toppling and crushing the robotic men!

Professor Ivo fears and respects the "real" Leaguer who's beaten him so many times before "to a pulp". Searching for a means to defend himself, he recalls the Martian weakness to fire. Wielding a super-charged lighter, he bathes the distracted Manhunter in strength sapping flame!

Meanwhile, surviving androids observe that Vixen has no apparent life signs. Their programming is astute enough to warrant a second networked scan, but it fails to protect them from Vixen springing back to life! With a vaulting thrust of her legs she sends the two robotic men hurtling across the underground room!

The action distracts Ivo enough to give Martian Manhunter the break he needs to strike the villain! The Professor begs for mercy, inciting anger in the soulful Martian. He vows to teach him about pain and fear, but cannot bring himself to harm such a feeble opponent. An affliction Vixen does not share!

The grieving hero lunges at Ivo, wraps her hands around his throat, and snaps his neck -- revealing severed wiring and microchips. Another android!

Discarding the sophisticated facsimile, Vixen marches across the chequered floor towards a door that hides the true Professor Ivo! Not the conniving master of machines, but rather a feeble prisoner of his own creations.

Gripped with fear and insanity, the raving Professor is as afraid and ashamed of the actions of his own androids, as he is of the death he believes Vixen intends to inflict. Recognizing his torment and anguish, the heroes grapple with their own emotional needs, unable to direct a hate they cannot discard. They face the pointless deaths of their allies together. The final victory of the Justice League.

The Hammer...
It's a somber, quiet end for the Detroit era of the Justice League of America, but at least it comes with Vixen and Martian Manhunter victorious! As fitting a conclusion as possible to an obvious house-cleaning for the impending and iconic "International" re-launch.

This is another one of the issues I would've been very disappointed not to find time for. We spent a lot of the past year revisiting this period of DC Comics, in particular the concurrent mini-series Legends. I talked about this particular issue during the Vixen Hero of the Week - and here it is!

Justice League of America #261 purports to be "Chapter 21" of the Legends saga, but to even call it tangentially relevant to the main story would be very generous! If you were only reading the six issue Legends series, your final impression of the Detroit League would've come from their crushing defeat by Brimstone in Legends #2. Vibe and Steel are still alive, but you'd be forgiven for thinking they'd died buried beneath the rubble of Brimstone's rampage. 

For a series that will ultimately conclude with the assembly of the new Justice League -- (more star-studded than the last) -- it gets the job done. The focus of Legends is very much on the post-Crisis lay of the land, and the new mix of icons and acquisitions who'll be front and centre in DC's new era. There's very little time for romancing the outgoing B-league team, which makes the gratuitous "Chapter 21" tie-in branding very well meaning, if a little misplaced.

Martian Manhunter is the only Detroit hero who makes his way to a new featured role in Legends. He's a shape-shifting stand-in for President Reagan, who earns the government's trust for mistakenly vilified superheroes. He will continue to lend quiet dignity and soul to the new Justice League, offering the only real through line for enduring fans.

It might've been nice if Vixen could've tagged along, but I wouldn't want to downplay the justifiable unpopularity of the Detroit characters at that time. Fortunately, Vixen's newfound precarious existence, and the hard edge gained in this final JLA story, made her well suited to joining the other team that spun out of Legends: The Suicide Squad!

Her admission to The Squad strikes me as a pretty canny use of the character. It has a nice sense of symmetry: a diverging fork in the road for the final two Leaguers left standing at the end of Volume 1. It also allowed for further exploration and definition of a broken character. When the two teams meet and fight in Suicide Squad #13, there's a great moment of Martian Manhunter and Vixen quietly sharing a tender embrace -- much as they did at the end of today's feature fight. A sentimentality that's appreciated in both examples.

Of course, even JLA #261 was hastened to sell the 'New era of greatness for The Justice League' coming the following month! That iconic Kevin Maguire cover sure does a good job of pitching it, as well. It's tough for Gypsy and Vibe to make much of an impression when you've got Batman, Captain Marvel, Doctor Fate, Black Canary and Green Lantern scowling at you!

Thirty years later, I'm still pretty sold! By some bizarre twist of fate, the culture is in a place where the Detroit League has actually found a loyal audience on television! I'd like to say that's a good thing, but it tends to say more about how mediocre superhero TV is. With a less than impressive movie version on its way, you're reminded how it feels to long for the JLA done right!

There is definitely worthwhile material to be found in this period of the Justice League -- today's feature issue being one of the fine examples. That said, it could never be considered any kind of adequate standard for what the concept should be. The League doesn't always need to be the "Big Seven", but the best versions will always be hung on a cast of senior most iconic heroes, working toward an informed higher goal, and a greater good for humanity.

It's hard to know with any faith what really matters to DC Comics in 2017, but I'll sign-off with a warm thought. Just as Martian Manhunter and Vixen were able to share a moment built on the importance of their shared history, we can do the same. Knowing that these characters were part of a pretty great issue!

If you'd like to share more moments from Justice League of America, or any of the characters mentioned in this article, be sure to follow links provided for your convenience! You can sharpen your focus by targeting past features by publisher, series and issue in the Secret Archives Index!

If you like what you see, be sure to hit the G+1 button located just South of this article's text. Be sure to tell your friends all about the wonderful world of Secret Wars on Infinite Earths while you're at it. Every bit helps keep the wars infinite!

Winners: Vixen and Martian Manhunter
#22 (+10) Martian Manhunter
#115 (+231) Vixen [+5 kills]
#812 (new) Professor Ivo

RICK FLAG versus BATMAN

Up Against The Wall (DC)
Where: Suicide Squad #10 When: February 1988
Why: John Ostrander How: Luke McDonnell

The Story So Far...
There's something not quite right about Belle Reve Prison and it's newest inmate: Matches Malone. Neither is what they seem and they're about to collide in a clash of wills!

Malone is in actual fact The Batman: Deep undercover, and intent on exposing what's really going on within the fortress stronghold of the Lousiana prison! Elementary for one of the world's greatest detectives and escape artists!

Having acquired the information he seeks, Batman stages his exit, but not without raising the alarm. Having faced down the female fury of Duchess and the gun scope of Deadshot - freedom is in sight, but the Suicide Squad have one more taskmaster to throw at him! Enter: Colonel Rick Flag!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnastic)
Fighting: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Batman 4 (Arsenal)


Colonel Rick Flag is a career soldier with ties to the original Task Force X and Suicide Squadron. The exact details of his early military career are unclear, but his unwavering dedication to the job, and years of experience, were evidenced in his role as field leader of a new Suicide Squad.

Created under Amanda Waller's Task Force X; The Suicide Squad forced Flag to accept command of a team of convicted super-criminals who accepted black-ops missions in exchange for an expunged record. His personal recruits included the deprogrammed assassin Bronze Tiger, and cavalier mercenary Deadshot.

We saw Flag bravely provide a guiding hand to Deadshot during the team's first field mission: A takedown of the burning behemoth Brimstone [Legends #3], who was an unstoppable living weapon sent to Earth by Darkseid!

Flag's role was strictly leadership, but thanks to the division's superior intel, his group succeeded where the Justice League of America had failed [Legends #2]! Had the mission required, he could've called upon expert hand-to-hand and firearms combat training. His two offensive options against the likes of Batman!

When it comes to tactical and combative expertise - few are better than The Dark Knight! We've seen Batman put on hand-to-hand clinics with renowned opponents like: Captain America [Marvel versus DC #3], Bullseye [DC versus Marvel #1], The Knight [JLA: Classified #3], Slam Bradley [Catwoman #22], Victor Zsasz [Detective Comics #796], and Killer Croc [Batman #621]. He's even relied upon fighting skills to face super-threats like: Amazo [Batman #637], Captain Marvel [Superman/Batman #4], Scorpion [DC/Marvel: All Access #3], and New God of evil himself - Darkseid [Superman/Batman #42]!

Suffice it to say: Rick Flag is up against steep odds! He does have a tactical advantage in this particular situation, though!

Batman has infiltrated the secret Belle Reve headquarters of Task Force X. To do so, he's already had to run a gauntlet of armed guards, new recruit Duchess (formerly of the Apokolips Female Furies), and old arch-enemy: Deadshot! It's a strategy Bane famously used to run Batman ragged before securing supreme victory - the famous "breaking of The Bat" - in Batman #497!

Granted, Bane's approach involved releasing dozens of the deadliest inmates from Arkham Asylum. That forced Batman into an exhaustive chase across Gotham City. In Belle Reve Prison, his shortlist of opponents are all in close quarters. That means less leg work, but more intense action, and a home field advantage where the lockdown security of the prison could force Batman into an unwinnable situation!

The Math: Batman Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...
Leaving a trail of defeated operatives, Batman sprints through the shadows of Belle Reve Prison. Approaching the main gate, he hears an apologetic voice...

Colonel Rick Flag dive tackles Batman from behind! The impact takes his legs out from under him, sending both to the floor.

Flag leans into his fist as he extends over The Dark Knight Detective's shoulder, pressing the advantage. Batman reverses the position, throwing his elbow back directly into Flag's exposed jaw!

The Batman uses the opportunity to rise to his feet. Both men hunching over, the pair of fighters square each other off at breaking distance. They move in!

Batman and Flag both lead with the backside of their left fist. Their forearms collide in a firm stalemate. Batman rockets his right fist into play, but Flag is able to curl his left arm up to block and sweep away from his face!

They lean into each other -- foreheads pressing like the locked horns of two bulls! Flag throws a probing right hand in the rib direction of Batman's body. The Dark Knight opts instead for a fist full of t-shirt. He pulls Flag toward him!

The gambit gives Batman the opening he needs to nail Flag with a devastating uppercut! The blow sends the Colonel sprawling to the ground! As he scrambles on all fours, The Batman leaps - cape extending like a giant living shadow!

Just as it seemed the fight was entering the end game - a volley of gunfire rings above both men's heads! They stop in their tracks!

The shots come from the gun barrel of Amanda Waller! Backed by Duchess, Deadshot, and the Belle Reve Warden and personnel who were taken out earlier - she challenges The Dark Knight!

He questions her methods. She draws parallels. Batman invokes the tax payers who unwittingly fund her squad of unreformed criminals. She trades a secret for a secret: The Batman had to go under deep cover to infiltrate the prison facility. He wasn't wearing gloves the whole time. She'll keep his secret identity if Batman agrees to keep theirs. The begrudging bargain brings Batman's excursion to an end. He's free to leave.

The Hammer...
While it looked as if Batman was getting the upper hand in the fight, we have no choice but to call this battle a draw!

For their role in bringing about a neutral conclusion to the outcome: Amanda Waller, Deadshot, Duchess, bespectacled John Economos, and moustached guard J. Daniel "Murph" Murphy have earned an assist.

I tend to think of the outcome in terms of the first Rocky. Just going the distance with Batman is as good as a win for Rick Flag.

If you thought he'd be happy about his team's intervention in the skirmish, though, you've got another thing coming!

It's one of the interesting dynamics of the Suicide Squad team. Flag may be a career soldier with trouble in his past, but he isn't worlds apart from Batman when it comes to judging the covert employment of his super-villains teammates. He respects Batman, touting The Dark Knight's valor over the self-serving moral ambiguity of his team. An ally 100% committed to his team, even if he doesn't really like them.

Batman is a welcome presence throughout the issue. His break-in under the guise of frequent alias Matches Malone is a lot of fun. The way Amanda Waller uses it to turn the tables -- threatening to uncover Batman's secret identity through his need to go gloveless -- a great power play!

Did Batman really expose himself so carelessly? This isn't quite the invincible, omnipotent planner that Batman would become, but it is a tough ask to accept that he didn't have some kind of plastic fingertip covers, or the like.

His infiltration sets up an action-heavy escape for most of the issue. He runs through the guards, Duchess, and Deadshot, before being jumped by Rick Flag in the featured fight. I'm sure we'll aim to revisit the issue for those other fights. The battle with Duchess (aka; Lashina) is definitely one we'll need to document!

My only real complaint of this milestone issue is that the action seems to get away from penciller Luke McDonnell. It falls apart particularly in the Flag fight, which suffers from indistinct actions in a broken down, blow by blow battle.

It's no doubt the layouts are supposed to show the inching strategy and effort of the two fighters. An attempt to demonstrate Flag's ability to match Batman hand-to-hand, at least for a while. The exact movements are just a little too hard to discern from the artwork. The repeating, thin panels perhaps better replaced with a more dynamic impression of a short fight. I'm not sure.

McDonnell does great work throughout the early issues of Suicide Squad. I think his stylized photo-realism really creates an iconic look for the series. It's of the same cloth as Kevin Maguire's pencils, but lays on heavier shadows and slightly less super-heroic dynamism in scenes. This plays out well when "Matches" is setting his plan into motion in the empty prison. The way Batman slinks down the corridors and toward the reader in a two-thirds page reveal - awesome!

Want to see the whole issue for yourself? Pick up the collected edition by using the Amazon link provided for your convenience to the right! Like the tax dollars that fund the Suicide Squad, your purchase helps keep the wars infinite!

August is Suicide Squad month on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. Check back for Friday Night Fights and Hero of the Week updates featuring the characters from the movie and beyond! You can find even more features by infiltrating the Secret Issue Index!

Winner: Draw
#1 (--) Batman
#370 (+125) Rick Flag
#95 (--) Deadshot [+1 Assist]
#406 (+61) Amanda Waller [+1 Assist]
#497 (new) Lashina (Duchess) [+1 Assist]
#498 (new) John Economos [+1 Assist]
#499 (new) J Daniel Murphy [+1 Assist]