AVENGERS & X-MEN versus RONAN

Whatever The Cost! (Marvel)
Where: Maximum Security #3 When: January 2001
Why: Kurt Busiek How: Jerry Ordway

The Story So Far...
A sudden global surge in extraterrestrial conflict reveals a master plan by the Intergalactic Council of empires to declare Earth a prison planet!

Encounters with the Kree, Skrull, Shi'ar, and more have earned humans a meddlesome reputation. To further delay them from reaching beyond the stars, the untamable scum of the universe are now interned to keep Earth busy. Energy lattice surrounds the solar system in an effort to contain humanity and the prisoners from further interference.

With the Kree seemingly conquered by the Shi'ar Empire, Ronan The Accuser was appointed overseer of the new prison planet, but in truth he has conspired to launch a new Kree uprising. With the mutated Ruul army at his command, and an infestation of the Earth by Ego feeding him unlimited power, Ronan stands poised to lead the Supreme Intelligence to ultimate victory!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Ronan 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Goliath 6 (Genius)
Speed: Nova 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Thor 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-Man 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Ronan 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Ronan The Accuser 34 (Super)

Earth's heroes are: Thor, Warbird, Sub-Mariner, Wonder Man, She-Hulk, Goliath, Hercules, Thing, Beta Ray Bill, Rogue, Colossus, Sunfire, with USAgent, Quasar, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Namorita, Speedball, Triathlon, and Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, Silver Surfer.

Several other heroes can be seen teleporting into action with Quasar, but for the sake of clarity, we're only focusing on those identifiably involved in the battle. This includes support troops led by USAgent fighting on the ground.

Ronan The Accuser has been dramatically augmented by Ego, who has begun to infest the Earth. The flow of power Ego supplies adds to Ronan's already impressive Kree might, and results in a massive increase in his physical size.

Working on the Ego problem are Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, and Bruce Banner. They've built a machine to repel the infestation, and drain Ronan's power by funneling it into a captive host. Silver Surfer has volunteered for the potentially lethal absorption, but it means he's taken out of the battle.

Silver Surfer's absence from the fight will be felt. We saw him beat Ronan back in Silver Surfer #13, but there are still plenty of other heavy hitters on the field who have credentials beating some prominent cosmic opponents!

Thor can match his hammer against Ronan's Universal Weapon, having used it to best Super-Skrull in Thor #465. Warbird (Carol Danvers) gained her powers from the Kree and has a late win over Thanos [FCBD Civil War II #1]. She-Hulk performed the rare feat of defeating Champion of the Universe in She-Hulk #8. Sub-Mariner was one of the first heroes to valiantly face Thanos in Infinity Gauntlet #4, joining She-Hulk in a noteworthy grim stand. Even Colossus has memorable cosmic face-offs, including a win over Ord in Astonishing X-Men #5!

Thing has made a career of taking on the universe's deadliest fighters. His renown across galaxies was built on battles against Ronan himself, The Champion, and villains like Ego, The Living Planet [Fantastic Four #235], Gladiator [Fantastic Four #249], Paibok The Power Skrull [Fantastic Four #358], and even his own Magus created Doppelganger [Fantastic Four #367]!

The heroes can also count on the aide of Beta Ray Bill, who was interned on Earth as part of the intergalactic council's designation as a prison planet. Beta Ray Bill famously defeated Thor in Thor #337, proving worthy to wield Mjolnir before Odin granted him his own hammer: Stormbreaker. He once fought Silver Surfer to a standstill in Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #2, and fought valiantly by his side against the unstoppable Tyrant in Silver Surfer #82!

This all spells one phenomenal fighting force, but will it be enough to mitigate the incredible power boost received by Ronan The Accuser? They're literally fighting a man with the power of an entire planet -- and a Kree army!

The Tape: Earth's Allied Heroes Ranking: Spider-Man (#2)

What Went Down...
A sudden flash of light signals the arrival of Ronan The Accuser. He hovers menacingly in the air, a towering titan gazing down at the aggravating heroes who have begun to threaten his power source.

With a gesture of his Universal Weapon, he summons an army of Kree imperial soldiers, and warns Earth's heroic brains trust that they will be destroyed if they reactivate their machine. Then -- another flash of light: the cavalry!

Quasar teleports a troop of heroes over thirty-strong and when Ronan  threatens to kill them all -- USAgent steps forward to order the heroes against him. They swarm the giant-sized Accuser!

Thor, Wonder Man, and Warbird come in high with blows to the head and face, while Sub-Mariner contends with the giant's right arm, and Beta Ray Bill and Goliath lock up the left! Working the body is Hercules and Colossus, while She-Hulk and Thing come in hot from below as the giant threatens to lose footing!

Around Ronan's feet, Kree soldiers scurry as they contend with the heroes' support forces. USAgent bats at a small group, while Spider-Man, Wolverine, Nova, Triathlon, Namorita, Speedball, and Captain America do the same!

Overhead: Ronan delivers his first decisive blow as he targets Thor with his own hammer-like weapon and unleashes the planetary force of Ego!

With a wild backhanded chop, The Accuser dispatches with Beta Ray Bill, Hercules, and Sub-Mariner! He then turns his attentions to the ionic Wonder Man and brings his massive Universal Weapon slamming down upon him!

USAgent bats a Kree soldier with his photonic shield and contemplates the fragility of humanity's hopes against the invaders, while across the battlefield Mister Fantastic rallies the Thing and Human Torch to defend their ace.

Bruce Banner and Iron Man finish loading the Silver Surfer into their device and in an agonizing instant Ego's incredible power begins flooding into his body! His back arches, while on the horizon the infested landscape that is Ego begins to contort violently -- and Ronan The Accuser begins to shrink!

Ronan is caught completely off guard as his unfathomable power weakens ever so slightly and his mass begins to reduce. The sudden change signals the opportunity for the heroes to strike!

Rogue calls out his sudden weakening, with Thor, Warbird, Wonder Man, Sub-Mariner, Beta Ray Bill and Colossus rushing in to capitalize!

The Silver Surfer betrays his struggle as he begins to moan and his chrome skin burns ever brighter with blistering energy. Iron Man can see the strain is too great, but before any of the genius heroes can act -- Silver Surfer is torn free!

His smoldering and cracked body falls limply to the ground even as he attempts to volunteer for another try. The words catch in his throat as he passes out. There will be no reprieve for The Surfer.

From the air above, Quasar spots the brains trust of Banner, Richards, and Iron Man gathering over the exhausted cosmic rider. He scans the horizon, taking in the vista of his home planet Earth, then leaves Nova battling the Kree warriors.

It seems Silver Surfer's power cosmic could not contain the energies absorbed from Ego, but Quasar assures Reed Richards that his quantum power is more adaptive. Knowing the risks, he volunteers to be strapped into the machine and the draining process begins anew!

Sensing the sudden pull of his energy once more -- Ronan lashes out wildly by swatting Thor, Rogue, and Sunfire out of the air! The Kree Accuser can tell that the drain is more smooth than before, hastening his desire to find the cause.

Still gigantic; Ronan stomps across a smoking battlefield littered with the beaten bodies of Thor, Hercules, and more. He sets his sights on the machine attacking Ego's infestation of Earth, and prepares to battle Earth's last line of defense!

The Hammer...

Ronan does a very convincing job of cleaning house before setting his sights on the next challenge. The battle is won, but the war is certainly not over!

War is very much the tone here. I think the more superhero universes became proliferated with identifiable characters - the greater the desire to see a war-like scenario. Several series tried it. There are obvious echoes of Operation: Galactic Storm and Infinity Gauntlet in this one. I can't help but think of Annihilation as well, which took the hell of cosmic warfare even deeper into the trenches.

1984's Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars may be the most recognized example of conflict between warring Marvel factions, but that was much more about isolating defined sides and smashing them together like (tie-in) toys. Speaking of which: Isn't it about damn time we featured the site's namesake? I digress...

In a continuum of those memorable Marvel events, Maximum Security makes a lot of sense. Through the prism of published releases in 2001, however, it reads almost anachronistic.

The event feels like the last gasp of a movement begun with the soft Heroes Return reset of 1998. There's a colourful, fluffy house style in the artwork, and a confluence of references to Marvel's favoured past, and the character designs of the misguided mid-90s and probing millennium. All would soon go away.

Indeed, the concluding issue of Maximum Security may be cover dated 2001, but it very much belongs to the final throes of 2000, when it actually hit racks.

The release of the first X-Men movie that same year is arguably what changed comics forever. It was a foundation stone for the next two decades of superhero domination in cinema, but it would also influence two of the defining releases of 2001: Ultimate X-Men, and Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely's New X-Men.

Both were incredibly intriguing in their own way, participating in a movement towards more sedate art direction, and denser character work. Everything was being deliberately rethought. Designs got blacker, and bombastic super-heroics were taking a slight step back as written concepts took greater focus.

I was vaguely aware of the Maximum Security crossover unfolding when it came out, but it didn't connect with me. It seems like every ardent comic book fan has a lull in their reading, and for me, it was very much 99-2000. They were generally exciting times, and other interests just started to eclipse a lifetime of reading comics.

In hindsight, Maximum Security was a little old fashioned, but I think if I'd taken the time to look closer, I would've enjoyed it. It was certainly an interesting piece of history to revisit when I picked up back issues many years later.

Three issues doesn't give the core mini-series a lot of room to expand upon a fast moving plot, but there are, of course, many tie-in issues that focus closer on relevant characters and spillover. There may be no better marker of time than Gambit #23: a series I frequently forget even existed.

Ronan The Accuser stands out as a main villain, which feels like a culmination of sorts. Growing up I'd always thought of Ronan as a big deal (and a classic Fantastic Four villain), but under scrutiny it becomes apparent his appearances were steady, but infrequent. He's really more of a Captain Marvel character, and for many years he hung his accuser's hat on the legendary Kree-Skrull War.

At the start of Maximum Security he poses as another banished alien forced to warden the Earth prison. A dirty tactic, but a nice set up for his coming out as a literal big bad. It's fun to see him swatting around some of the heaviest hitters in the Marvel Universe, even if the interactions are a tad impersonal.

I'll look forward to returning to the next phase of the battle in the future, when the other, more surprising featured character comes back to the fore: USAgent!

In the mean time, Blogger restrictions means this entry will only appear tagged for the fighters featured tackling Ronan. For most of the others, we have an assist stat that acknowledges their support role. You can check out the updated character rankings and results at the bottom of this post.

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Winner: Ronan The Accuser
#398 (+286) Ronan The Accuser
#613 (+279) Ego The Living Planet [+1 assist]
#31 (-1) Sub-Mariner
#32 (--) Thor
#35 (--) Silver Surfer
#49 (-2) Warbird (Carol Danvers)
#70 (-12) Rogue
#74 (-3) Wonder Man
#80 (-6) Goliath (Hank Pym)
#145 (-1) She-Hulk
#400 (-56) Beta Ray Bill
#419 (-7) Hercules
#423 (-3) Colossus
#591 (-137) Sunfire
#2 (--) Spider-Man [+1 assist]
#3 (--) Iron Man [+1 assist]
#4 (--) Wolverine [+1 assist]
#6 (--) Hulk (Bruce Banner) [+1 assist]
#10 (--) Mister Fantastic [+1 assist]
#12 (--) Thing [+1 assist]
#115 (+1) Nova (Richard Rider) [+1 assist]
#130 (+2) USAgent [+1 assist]
#428 (--) Speedball [+1 assist]
#614 (+282) Quasar [+1 assist]
#922 (new) Namorita [+1 assist]
#923 (new) Triathlon [+1 assist]

AVENGERS versus THANOS

(Marvel)
Where: Free Comic Book Day Civil War II #1 When: May 2016 Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Jim Cheung

The Story So Far...
An Inhuman known as Ulysses Cain may hold the secrets to the impending future! In an effort to verify his ominous visions, Inhuman Queen Medusa accompanies him to The Triskelion for further testing under the watchful eye of Black Panther and The Ultimates.

Upon his arrival, Ulysses is suddenly confronted with a glimpse into an oncoming threat: Thanos is coming!

The Mad Titan aims to claim a Cosmic Cube from Project PEGASUS, but as he teleports towards their secluded Mount Athena base in New York -- a powerful assembly of Avengers prepares to greet him with extreme prejudice!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Thanos 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Black Panther 5 (Professor)
Speed: Photon 5 (Super-Human)
Stamina: Thanos 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Black Panther 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Thanos 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Human Torch 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Thanos 34 (Super)

The Avengers are: Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Ms. America, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, She-Hulk, Dazzler, Medusa, Crystal, Human Torch, and War Machine.

It might be a tad glib to call them "The Avengers". More accurately, we have various solo heroes joining representatives of then-current lineups for The Ultimates, A-Force, and Inhumans. Avengers, by any other name...

They're up against one of the deadliest villains in the cosmic canon! Forget what you might've heard about altruistic balance and preservation of life. Thanos will always be The Mad Titan whose lust for Death nearly destroyed the universe!

When he famously formed The Infinity Gauntlet, he became nigh omnipotent, wiping out half of all life in existence to impress Lady Death. When the surviving heroes came to confront him, his true sadism emerged! Various heroes met a twisted end, including She-Hulk, who was consumed by some type of growth.

She-Hulk's the only one of today's heroes we've seen go against Thanos before. Despite her demise that day, she showed potential for getting some serious shots in! Iron Man was one of the heroes also there, but his example of an unceremonious decapitation isn't the most promising one for War Machine.

Thanos doesn't have any Infinity Stones in today's battle, which at least means War Machine should be able to leave a mark! Human Torch might fare better than Firelord, as well. Johnny went mostly unnoticed by Gladiator in Fantastic Four #249, but turned up the heat enough to burn Ego The Living Planet in Fantastic Four #235. The potential to go nova could scorch even Thanos!

Captain Marvel is the real ace up this team's sleeve. We've seen her Kree-infused powers mix it up with the uber-powerful Collective in New Avengers #17, a Dormammu-powered Hood in New Avengers #54, and a giant Agamotto-possessed Luke Cage in New Avengers (Vol.2) #2!

At this point in time, Carol Danvers is once again juiced to the max and powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with cosmic powers! That could give her the best shot at recreating Drax's killing blow against Thanos, seen in Annihilation #4! I don't imagine Thanos will be nearly as accommodating this time, though.

It took the remains of a Cosmic Cube to stop Thanos when he was resurrected anew in Guardians of the Galaxy #25! His naked rampage took down the entire Guardians lineup, including Drax, Groot, and Moondragon! He also didn't even break a sweat when turning on Terrax during an inter-dimensional scheme seen in Green Lantern/Silver Surfer!

Even without that Infinity Gauntlet, we know Thanos is as serious a threat as they come! He can be defeated, but will the pre-cognition of Ulysses give this assembly of heroes the advantage they need to do the deed? Let's find out!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Thanos (#9)

What Went Down...
True to the prophetic vision of the Inhuman Ulysses -- a purple beam of light signals the arrival of Thanos! Though unprepared for an Avengers ambush, he is heavily armed with sophisticated weaponry and immediately resists arrest!

The descending group of heroes are quickly dispersed by the gun's powerful blast. Captain Marvel absorbs its deadly energies. The Human Torch stays airborne and maneuvers to be the first to immediately strike back!

Swooping behind his target, The Human Torch bathes Thanos in an intense flame! There's no need to hold back against a foe as powerful and resilient as The Mad Titan -- but his fire can only blaze so hot with friends nearby.

The Torch's former Fantastic Four teammate She-Hulk ignores the burn and rushes in to dive tackle Thanos from behind! The bold move succeeds in scoring a takedown, but The Mad Titan swears this day will mark her death.

She-Hulk grapples with the burning Thanos before Captain Marvel calls her shot and unleashes a massive blast of photonic energy!

The explosive energy pushes She-Hulk clear. Dazzler joins in, enthusiastically pouring on the power with more energy blasts. With Thanos pinned down, Captain Marvel calls in War Machine for a second wave of artillery fire!

Reeling from the awesome display of power, Thanos wonders how the Avengers could be ready with such a coordinated attack. He doesn't have long to contemplate before Medusa ensnares him in blinding, suffocating curls of hair!

War Machine is still firing munitions when Thanos manages to gain purchases of Medusa's living locks and hurls her toward the armored Avenger!

The collision throws War Machine's targeting off, sending a wayward missile into the chest of She-Hulk! The Colonel moves in to check on his friendly fire victim, letting his guard down for just a moment -- a fatal decision!

Thanos seizes his opportunity -- rushing through flames to drive his massive fist into the armored but prone mid-section of War Machine! A killing blow!

As Captain Marvel and Black Panther watch on in horror, Thanos turns to his opponents with a sinister grin and demands his Cosmic Cube. They respond.

Captain Marvel, Spectrum, and Blue Marvel launch an all-out assault! Their awesome powers create a wall of energy that hammers the Titan from all sides!

For a moment he faces into Captain Marvel's raw power, stumbles into Dazzler's pink bursts, feels Black Panther's claws slice at the back of his neck, is caught from behind by Blue Marvel's force bolts, takes Spectrum's best to his face!

The devastating gauntlet leaves Thanos a stumbling, smoldering mess. He has no defense as Captain Marvel moves in to deliver a devastating uppercut!

The finishing blow launches Thanos across the battlefield, leaving him lying unconscious amidst the flames. Captain Marvel rushes to cradle a bloodied War Machine. Black Panther & Blue Marvel tend to a barely breathing She-Hulk.

The Hammer...
The Avengers defeated Thanos, but at what price comes victory? War Machine is dead, and She-Hulk in critical condition! Such dire stakes can only signal the beginning of yet another major Marvel Comics event...

I come into this one with some pretty strong biases. Ten years removed from the gratuitous murder of Goliath in Civil War #4 -- the novelty has long since lost its flavor. By this point, I'm largely beyond caring about the majority of crossover events, let alone their obligatory superhero deaths.

Truth be told, the bloom was off the rose for Marvel's blockbusters by the time Siege rolled out in 2010. That story functioned as a reunion of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, mopping up lingering consequences of the original Civil War, specifically its villain-centric aftermath: the period known as "Dark Reign".

Dark Reign had been a refreshing exploration of ideas organically grandfathered in through the post-Civil War and Secret Invasion landscapes. It was anchored around monthly Avengers titles, rather than a single dedicated event-series. Sadly, Siege was to bring that pleasing break in action to a much-hyped end.

Siege ultimately cobbled together mayhem and carnage in four unfortunately lackluster key issues, and various focused tie-ins. It played like a perfunctory ticking of two to three major editorial boxes, most notably: The removal of Norman Osborn as Marvel's ultimate arch-villain, and the emphatic killing of The Sentry, which reads like a meta-textual in-joke. Even with a reduced four issue core, these simple beats couldn't sustain a series, resulting in a messy, joyless counterpart to DC's better built, superhero war-time smorgasbord of Final Crisis.

The palpable tedium of Siege should've seen Marvel close the door on events for a fair while, but instead, the publisher went into event overdrive in the years that followed. It hasn't even been a decade since Siege -- yet Cap, Iron Man, and Thor have all been split-up, pitted against heroes, maimed, and killed more than once! Only to reenact another mock reunion before doing it all over again.

They've shared the 'death bench' with many high-profile heroes in that time, all of whom died and returned within a couple of years. The endless cycle of kill, rinse, repeat leaving the Marvel Universe stinking of its own meaningless decay.

Civil War itself was an obvious template for many of these deaths and event series, which made it even more difficult to feel like a 10th anniversary sequel was worth the while. In 2016 it was a major motion sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. How can I miss Civil War if it never goes away?

No surprises then that I'm still not very interested in Civil War II's hero-on-hero conflict, or the Inhumans-fuelled take on Minority Report. Here comes the twist, however. because I've got to say the Free Comic Book Day launch issue is actually a very satisfying read!

It would, of course, be foolish to assume macro grievances belie any quality publishing. There's usually something to like on the bill. In this case, time away from Marvel's jumbled brands, and bloodthirsty event schedule, probably helped enhance the simple pleasures that make FCBD Civil War II #1 so enjoyable.

The pros are easily distilled: It starts with some nice character interaction, lays the groundwork for the moral quandary ahead, and features a big battle with an A-list villain that goes to conclusion. It's a pretty satisfying done-in-one read!

There are obvious questions left to be answered, but the FCBD issue avoids reading like a trailer for coming attractions. Impressive, since that's really the primary function these promotional free issues serve.

For a lapsed reader, some of the fun is simply in seeing old favourites together again. I got a real kick out of seeing FF alum She-Hulk, Human Torch, Medusa, and Black Panther together again, and kicking ass. Most get their moment.

As alluded to in The Tape; this was a period of Marvel history where corporate malevolence, and editorial malaise, had led a lot of established brands to erode meaning. This isn't technically an Avengers assembly, so much as a gathering of representatives of The Ultimates, A-Force, and Inhumans. The fact that these divisions are essentially meaningless is actually helpful in an isolated case.

Jim Cheung does a great job delivering the action that comprises the majority of the piece. Each character gets their moment in clear sequence, with big action beats given room to shine. There's a tremendous sense of space and reality, but with that comes both good and bad. It's easy to track what's going on, but it sometimes feels a little small scale. The intense, inescapable red/blue palette also contributes to an impression of a murky lot of one thing in one place.

Movie stardom means Thanos is as strong as ever, even though he's here to be the fall guy. It was a little weird that he comes in looking like Cable with guns strapped all over his body. I don't think that's a visual joke about Josh Brolin's dual live-action roles, but you never know. It doesn't matter much, as Thanos is quickly forced to fend for himself, sans cannons. He puts up a helluva fight, but after several years of promotional exploitation, he was ripe for being beaten in the prologue.

Of the lineup present to arrest Thanos, it makes good sense that Captain Marvel gets the knock-out blow. You could make a case for other characters, but she's the best equipped, and most primed to take the story forward. I don't know how well her conflict with Iron Man stands up to Cap's in 2006, but the fact it isn't simply a straight repeat of the earlier disagreement is appreciated.

I didn't know Carol Danvers had a romantic relationship with War Machine prior to reading this. Given their affiliations with Tony Stark, and history as military personnel, it seems like a pretty natural coupling. It's dangled unsubtly in the first few pages, milked to provide extra emotional context for what's coming.

I'd be lying if I said there was any real joy in witnessing the death of War Machine. Cheung is asked to convey a precise misstep in motion, and the net result makes War Machine look a little silly. The fact that the killing blow comes from a villain as credible as Thanos helps mitigate the goofiness. Without that, it flirts with the unintentional comedy of Hawkeye's needless self-sacrifice in the earlier Avengers Disassembled. Ultimately, tangled hair and bumping into a teammate is a pretty undignified end for a seasoned hero like War Machine.

Ten years on from Civil War, they seem to be trading on a character of greater notoriety than Goliath, but to what end? Frankly, it seems like a transparent decision to remove one African-American Iron Man alternate, to make way for a new one, the future Ironheart.

The race of the two Civil Wars fatalities may be coincidence, but as the latter participates in clumsy efforts to address the imbalance of representation, the self-defeating fallacy of the decision becomes all the more clear. Indelicate decisions like these only hobbled efforts to introduce a new generation of diverse young heroes, mortgaging the past for an unearned future.

War Machine had long, frustrating lulls of inaction throughout his published history, but remained grounded by those early stories that built a relationship with Tony Stark, and the Avengers. It always seemed there was plenty more to do with the character.

Given Tony Stark was destined to be the major scalp for Civil War II, the potential for Rhodey to continue to play a natural role in the development of Ironheart just seems obvious. They would both be scarred by his demise. The emergence of a new armored hero would naturally draw Rhodey back to action. His potential as a mentor figure would then seem natural more than cliché, building Riri Williams a strong foundation in the Marvel Universe. Oh well!

Want to put the pieces into greater context for yourself? You can pick up a trade paperback of Civil War II, which includes the Free Comic Book Day special and complete mini-series! Shop using the Amazon link embedded and they'll support the site at no cost to you! Who could possibly go to war over that?

Think I need to take a closer look at the rest of Civil War II? Let me know in the comments, or while you're following Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook. There, you'll also find daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! You can also deep dive into the Secret Archive to discover more!

We always finish with the verdict and rankings update. Captain Marvel clearly delivered the knock-out blow, but under examination, a team effort kept Thanos off balance, and led to his defeat. So the win is shared.

Winners: Captain Marvel, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, Black Panther, Dazzler, She-Hulk & Human Torch (w/ War Machine, Ms. America, Medusa & Crystal)
#45 (+28) Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
#12 (+2) Human Torch
#37 (+14) Black Panther
#134 (+260) She-Hulk
#151 (+281) Spectrum (Monica Rambeau)
#174 (+305) Dazzler
#327 (new) Blue Marvel
#124 (+1) War Machine [+1 assist]
#344 (+5) Medusa [+1 assist]
#434 (-1) Crystal [+1 assist]
#558 (new) Ms. America (America Chavez) [+1 assist]
#10 (-1) Thanos [+1 kill]

MS MARVEL versus THE COLLECTIVE

(Marvel)
Where: New Avengers #17 When: May 2006
Why: Brian Michael Bendis How: Mike Deodato Jr

The Story So Far...
When a mysterious energy force from space destroys North Pole, Alaska -- a lone survivor emerges from the burning wreckage. This entity comes to be known as The Collective as it begins a march across Canada, brutally defeating the first line of defense: Alpha Flight!

With The Collective making its way toward the United States; SHIELD Director Maria Hill is forced to reluctantly enlist the aide of Tony Stark and the newest formation of The Avengers!

As The Collective reaches Cleveland, Iron Man is there to greet it with gentle inquiry. For a moment, The Collective stops its path of destruction and attempts to communicate, but the situation quickly escalates when Ms. Marvel arrives -- attacking in response to the distress call put out by the Avengers!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Ms Marvel 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Ms Marvel 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Ms Marvel 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Omega 6 (Generator)
Agility: Ms Marvel 2 (Average)
Fighting: Ms Marvel 4 (Trained)
Energy: Omega 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Ms Marvel 29 (Metahuman)

A mutant with the ability to absorb and channel other mutant's powers? That's a road Ms. Marvel has been down before -- and it didn't end well!

The Collective appeared violently and without warning in North Pole, Alaska. At first, it appeared to be a cosmic phenomenon, but in truth it was the consequences of M-Day: the moment Scarlet Witch decimated all but 198 of Earth's population of naturally occurring mutants.

The gestalt energies of thousands of former mutants were absorbed by one of their own: an Alaskan mailman named Michael Pointer. He would eventually be known as would-be hero Weapon Omega, but as The Collective, he was a burning maelstrom of barely controlled energies, unable to articulate as he marched a path of destruction towards Genosha.

Among the energy signatures detected within The Collective were: Magneto, Polaris, Quicksilver, Black Tom Cassidy, Blob, Rictor, Sunfire, and Xorn. Some heavy duty powers, far beyond the basic Tape stats for the later Omega! He seems to have some access to specific abilities, but for the most part he manifest as a bundle of energy, perhaps due to the overriding influence of Xorn.

On the surface, Ms Marvel's ability to channel and redirect energies seems perfectly suited to taking down the awesomely powerful Collective, but there remains many unpredictable unknowns surrounding the conditions of his power.

We've seen Ms Marvel go hand-to-hand with high-level esoteric threats before! She grappled with a Dormammu powered Hood in New Avengers #54, and gave a swift uppercut to an Agamotto possessed Luke Cage in New Avengers #2!

That said: a moment of carelessness also cost her a kayo from the power-borrowing Super-Skrull in Marvel Team-Up #62. We also can't forget that the power-absorbing mutant Rogue handed Ms Marvel one of her most famous defeats, resulting in the permanent absorption of strength and flight.

It's unclear if Michael Pointer can or will steal powers from opponents as The Collective, but if there's any possibility of that being the case, it could pose a serious physical and mental risk to Ms Marvel! Let's find out what happened!

The Tape: The Collective Ranking: Ms Marvel (#67)

What Went Down...
The Avengers are en route to Cleveland when Ms Marvel receives the emergency call from Iron Man. All the heroes are calling in their chips, but only Ms Marvel is available to answer the call. She immediately takes flight!

When the heroine arrives in Ohio, Iron Man is already on the scene standing face-to-face with the swirling energies of The Collective. She has no way of knowing the armored Avenger is on the verge of a peaceful resolution!

Coming in hot like a human missile - Ms Marvel torpedo dives The Collective and takes him skyward with the element of surprise!

Iron Man desperately attempts pursuit to call Ms Marvel off, but she's moving with too much momentum, and the damage is already done! The Collective gains his bearings and unleashes crackling bolts of power!

The discharge succeeds in putting distance between The Collective and his attacker, but Ms Marvel is relatively unscathed!

Ms Marvel's altered physiology can absorb The Collective's energy and channel it right back at the source -- or so she presumes! Without warning: the sky appears to ignite in flame as The Collective unleashes its awesome power!

The blast engulfs Iron Man and the Avengers quinjet, while Ms Marvel is sent hurtling across Lake Erie to crash land in Toledo! When she emerges from the highway impact crater, she discovers a shocking transformation...

... The Collective's energies have restored her to something resembling her Binary powers!

The Hammer...
An unexpected power boost comes as a result of facing The Collective and his awesome energies, but Ms Marvel never the less suffers temporary defeat. If there's such a thing as "failing up" -- this seems like a good way to do it!

It's been a while since I've looked through the "Collective" story. The last time was probably shortly after publication. With the theatrical release of Captain Marvel putting focus firmly on Carol Danvers, it seemed like a good opportunity to revisit her featured return, and those striking Steve McNiven covers!

The McNiven connection isn't insignificant. By the time this issue was published, he would've been working on Civil War: landmark mini-series that really shaped the course for Ms. Marvel, The Avengers, and the entire Marvel Universe!

I'm reminded how valuable Civil War was for sharpening the focus of the New Avengers series. The concept started strong, introducing an unlikely team of heroes responding to a mass prison breakout from The Raft [see; New Avengers #3]. Once the team was actually formed, it seemed to struggle to fully cohere. Civil War split the team, but led to a stellar run into Dark Reign!

The phrase of the day was that Bendis was "JLA-ing the Avengers". There had been many members and iterations of The Avengers to that point, but there was a definite unwritten understanding of what was and wasn't an Avengers flavour.

A top heavy group headlined by Spider-man and Wolverine seemed to fall firmly in the "wasn't" category, and the first year and a half of issues didn't always make a strong case for reconsidering. The hodgepodge nature of the team, and intent to establish something new, meant ideas lent themselves to being thrown at the New Avengers, rather than flowing from mutually organic sources.

Skrull intrigue in the Savage Land wouldn't see payoff until years later in the fairly lackluster Secret Invasion, while tough sells were spun from The Sentry and newly introduced Ronin, offering uneven asides from what I'd now say were weak elements. The series was hugely popular and sometimes tough to get a hold of, which left me dropping in & out with only mixed interest.

By the time of "The Collective", it was getting much easier to buy into the New Avengers as a lineup, but there's a noticeable sense of meandering. It doesn't help that the story ultimately ties back into House of M - a lesser conceptual successor to the Age of Apocalypse that held little to no interest, then and now.

Seeds for Civil War can be seen in these issues, but it's a needlessly repetitive run of battles. The Collective just wasn't a villain interesting enough to warrant so many pages. Repeated swirly battles with Ms Marvel, Iron Man, & Sentry don't satisfy. Killing Alpha Flight in a couple of throwaway panels was lousy.

On the positive, it furthered the restoration of Ms Marvel as a leading force in the Marvel Universe. It brings her back into Iron Man's orbit, putting them on the same page as tensions with SHIELD head toward Civil War. From there, New Avengers gets its much needed focus as the book for Captain America's rebel "Secret Avengers". Civil War also helps launch a new Ms Marvel series [see; Ms. Marvel #6], and a year after appearing on the cover of New Avengers #17, Ms Marvel features on the first issue cover for Mighty Avengers: a series that brought a semblance of the classic Avengers flavor back to regular publication.

If you'd like to revisit this point in history for yourself, you can check out "The Collective" collected in trade format! By using the purchase link provided, you'll help ensure Amazon support the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!

Follow links throughout this post to discover more from the stories, characters, and battles referenced. Check out the Secret Archive to go on a deeper dive into the multiverse of featured fights indexed by publisher, series, and issue number!

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Winner: The Collective
#323 (new) Omega (Michael Pointer)
#74 (-7) Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers)

MS MARVEL versus SUPER-SKRULL

All This and the QE2 (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Team-Up #62 When: October 1977
Why: Chris Claremont How: John Byrne

The Story So Far...
Having been imprisoned by Tigra and Red Wolf within an ancient artefact known as The Soul Catcher; Super-Skrull is once more unleashed upon the Earth when Spider-man inadvertently frees him during battle with Equinox.

The Human Torch and Spider-man stand valiantly against the Super-Skrull while the Fantastic Four and Avengers are unable to be raised, but they're no match for powers boosted by an uninterrupted signal broadcast from the Skrull Throneworld!

In victory, Super-Skrull seeks a Cavorite crystal to power a ship that will take him back to the Skrull Empire. As he attacks the family of vacationing antiques dealer Josiah Rubin -- Super-Skrull has no way of knowing the cruise ship also carries a witness to the earlier carnage: Carol Danvers, aka; Ms. Marvel!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Super-Skrull 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Super-Skrull 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Ms Marvel 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Super-Skrull 6 (Generator)
Agility: Super-Skrull 6 (Rubber)
Fighting: Super-Skrull 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Super-Skrull 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Super-Skrull 37 (Cosmic Power)

We've seen Ms. Marvel smack around heavyweight foes like a Dormammu enhanced Hood [New Avengers #54], and an Agamotto possessed Luke Cage [New Avengers #2], but each of those were team situations. She didn't have to throw the finishing blow -- which is her task for today's featured battle!

Super-Skrull is Kl'rt of the Skrull Empire, best known for receiving genetic alterations that grant him the combined might of the Fantastic Four! This one-man army can out-stretch & bend Mister Fantastic, disappear & move stealthier than Invisible Woman, fly higher & burn brighter than Human Torch, and even rival the strength and rocky durability of The Thing!

These powers typically come at the expense of his species' natural ability to shape-shift, but given he can fade completely from sight, it doesn't mean foes are any more likely to see him coming! He also possesses powers of hypnotic vision, with all abilities sometimes boosted by energy signals beamed from the Skrull homeworld.

In the pocket dimension of Fantastic Four (Vol.2) #6, Super-Skrull was able to add but a taste of the Power Cosmic, using it to almost defeat an all-star alliance of the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, and Doctor Doom!

Kl'rt's copied powers were to be the ultimate weapon of revenge against the Empire's Earthbound nemeses, but the Fantastic Four aren't the only familiar foes Super-Skrull's faced! He enlisted Skrull subterfuge & tactics to ambush Bruce Banner at his most vulnerable, in Incredible Hulk #374. He relied on his incredible strength and skills to go toe-to-toe with a mad Thor in Thor #465.

These examples demonstrate Super-Skrulls versatility and combat experience, but when it comes to true war, only the Kree can make a Skrull's blood boil!

Carol Danvers was an officer of the US Air Force when she gained Kree DNA, so combat tactics shouldn't be too big a problem. She's got cosmic muscle to trade blows with Super-Skrull, but won't want to drag this fight out. She's got to go shock & awe, or Super-Skrull's versatility could cause real problems!

The Tape: Super-Skrull Ranking: Ms Marvel (#54)

What Went Down...

Basking in imagined glories, Super-Skrull stalks through the halls of a British cruise ship, lost in visions of a hero's return home. A sudden flash draws his attention. When he turns the corner anticipating fresh combat -- the powerful fist of Ms Marvel greets his wrinkled green chin with confirmation!

The super-powered Skrull is only momentarily staggered before he sets his sights on his opponent. Even with his barings, the sight he sees stirs confusion. This woman claims to be human, yet she wears the uniform of his mortal nemesis - the "thrice-damned" Kree champion: Captain Marvel!

Inspired by deep-seeded hatred, the Super-Skrull fights first rather than wait for explanations -- returning fire with an elastically charged fist of rock!

The blow topples Ms Marvel as briefly as her own hit knocked back the Skrull. With plenty of negative experience to call upon from her brief Kree history, Marvel summons a mighty hatred for the shape-shifting warrior's race - and slams her fist into his vulnerable mid-section!

The impressive hit isn't enough to stop the Super-Skrull, who has all the malleability of Mister Fantastic! The tit for tat continues, causing Ms Marvel to regret her wild, emotional outburst before she's smashed through the ceiling!

Super-Skrull gloats that even the weakest Skrull warrior is superior to a Kree. Rather than rise to the taunt, Ms Marvel manages to put aside her blinding hatred and focus on the task at hand. She theorizes the Super-Skrull is most vulnerable when using the stretching skills of Reed Richards - and strikes!

A devastating right hand explodes against the elongated Skrull's face! Ms Marvel doesn't let up, keeping clear of Super-Skrull's "Thing hands" as she sinks another rising blow deep into his distorted torso!

The blows knock Super-Skrull's intended target loose from his belt. Recognizing a refined Cavourite crystal on sight -- Marvel goes to ground to retrieve it. Alas, the careless distraction provides Super-Skrull the opportunity he needs!

With a mighty strike the Super-Skrull sends Ms Marvel hurtling uncontrollably from the ship and into open air! The devastating kayo sends her on a trajectory toward the Statue of Liberty, unable to move let alone save herself!

The Hammer...

A momentary lapse in concentration has dire results! It gives Super-Skrull the opening he needs to end an otherwise competitive slugfest!

You can probably guess Ms. Marvel didn't come to any severe harm. This is an issue of Marvel Team-Up, after all! It was the webs of Spider-man that came to her aid, bringing about splashdown in the New York Bay.

A rough landing, but nothing the Kree powered heroine couldn't bounce back from for Round 2 later in the issue! A battle to be revisited in the future, no doubt.

Spidey actually mistook the hurtling figure for Captain Marvel. An easy mistake to make! This encounter would mark the momentous first meeting between Ms. Marvel and Spider-man: a rite of passage for most Marvel Comics heroes.

The pair would notably cross paths much later as members of the New Avengers, with one or two chance encounters in the intervening decades. In fact, it wasn't long before they met again in  the pages of Marvel Team-Up #77 (1979), facing the fanatical would-be Pope: Silver Dagger. By then, Ms. Marvel was wearing the famous black & yellow design she'd be associated with right up until the 2010s.

For the longest time it seemed important to distance Ms. Marvel from her derivative roots. That was one of the reasons I always appreciated the black suit, even if it wasn't the most inspired design. Coming back to Marvel Team-Up #62, I'm reminded how appealing the classic red & blue really is!

Neither "Marvel" was a favourite character growing up, but as I've gone back to discover the rip-roaring adventures of the seventies, I've come to enjoy Ms. Marvel's connection to the original Kree hero.

The fact Mar-Vell has been a rare case for a hero remaining dead for thirty years has made it all the more appealing that Carol Danvers take ownership of the Captain Marvel legacy, and advance it forward.

The current design in comics -- more blue than red -- is a nice adaptation, but it's hard to go past the original Mar-Vell inspired red & blue. Pants seem like a pretty sensible update. Shame to lose the scarf, though. Not sure why, but it just adds something a little extra to the visual. A nice signature, too.

Brie Larson will wear adapted versions of the most recent designs when Captain Marvel hits theatres next week. Considering she'll be taking on the lurking menace of Skrulls, you knew I had to make time for a Super-Skrull appearance!

I'm sure the FF-powered villain won't be showing up in Ms. Marvel's cinematic universe debut, but hey! Who woulda thought we'd be getting Skrulls at all after the Avengers settled for generic Chitauri?! Before the Fox deal cleared, no less!

As always, you can find more from the characters featured today by following links throughout this post, or the character tags below.

Dive deeper to discover more from the Marvel Universe and beyond by visiting the Secret Archive of past battles. You can also get more superhero smackdown in your life by following Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook! Be sure to hit that like, share & retweet and stay tuned for more!

Winner: Super-Skrull
#132 (+253) Super-Skrull
#67 (-13) Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers)

MS MARVEL versus PROWLER

Battle Lines (Marvel)
Where: Ms. Marvel #6 When: October 2006
Why: Brian Reed How: Roberto De La Torre

The Story So Far...
When super-villains fleeing the New Warriors caused the destruction of Stamford, Connecticut and deaths of thousands, the US government is mobilized to create the Superhuman Registration Act. Supported by prominent figures, like Iron Man, the act makes it law for super-powered individuals to divulge their personal details and enlist as part of a fully sanctioned force.

Some heroes follow the example of Captain America, opposing the invasive authoritarian action by going underground. To apprehend and detain these rogue individuals, SHIELD deploys a task force nicknamed the CapeKillers, along with registered heroes such as Ms. Marvel. With suspicions of a mole working within their ranks, the Unlicensed Hero Recovery Team targets The Prowler!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Ms. Marvel 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Prowler 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Ms. Marvel 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Ms. Marvel 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Prowler 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Ms. Marvel 4 (Trained)
Energy: Ms. Marvel 5 (Lasers)
Total: Ms. Marvel 29 (Metahuman)

The Civil War event of 2006 made strange bedfellows & brawls out of a divided superhero community. We're going back to check out one of those curious asides directly caused by the Superhuman Registration Act!

Ms. Marvel has a long history with the United States Air Force and SHIELD, making it unsurprising she was on the side of government registration and regulation during Civil War. It was during her service with the Air Force when Carol Danvers was accidentally caught in an explosion that imbued her with hybrid alien genetics. Exposure to the Kree hero Captain Marvel meant she gained super-human strength, stamina, durability, and the power of flight.

After fighting the renegade Secret Avengers during the initial conflict [Civil War #3]; Ms. Marvel was assigned to the Unlicensed Hero Recovery Team, formed to track down and detain costumed vigilantes still operating without authorization.

One such unauthorized target was the original Prowler!

Hobie Brown first donned the purple & green costume of The Prowler to stage crimes he would later appear to solve in his civilian identity. After a robbery at the Daily Bugle escalated to violence, he was turned away from crime by Spider-man, turning his skills in engineering to become a force for good.

Prowler possesses no super-human abilities, but his costumed is equipped with various inventions of his own design, such as talon-like climbing gloves, various pneumatic weapons, and a reinforced but flexible suit. He's at home tackling the riffraff of New York City - but out of his weight class against Ms. Marvel!

This is the first time we're seeing Prowler in action, but we've seen Ms. Marvel demonstrate her power against big time threats like: Symbiote possessed Avengers [New Avengers #36], the Dormammu possessed Hood [New Avengers #54], and an Agamotto possessed giant Luke Cage [New Avengers #2]!

Prowler's only hope is to use speed, agility, and the familiarity of the city to try to turn the tables on the super-humanly strong Marvel! Good luck!

The Tape: Ms. Marvel Ranking: Ms. Marvel (#84)

What Went Down...
Choppers fill the night sky over New York City, casting a light upon the shadows that are home to Manhattan's scum and villainy. On this night, the criminal is not the usual breed. As the gliding form of Ms. Marvel exits the helicopters, use of force is authorized against a man whose only crime is not being registered.

Prowler is informed of his violation of the Superhuman Registration Act and ordered to stand down. Ms. Marvel hovers over him as he expresses disbelief for his government's reaction to efforts to help people. Like so many of his crime-fighting brethren -- Prowler chooses to go down fighting!

Pneumatically propelled explosives fire from Prowler's gauntlet, detonating against the alley wall behind Ms. Marvel. The hovering hero has no trouble evading, repositioning to return fire with cosmically charged consequences!

The energy bolt finds its target. Any hope of escape is thwarted. Prowler hits the cement - hard! An instant kayo as SHIELD Cape-Killers descend upon the alley to take the neutralized target into custody.

The Hammer...
So much for an upset! Prowler was always going to be outclassed against the might of Ms. Marvel, but who knew it would be such a devastating defeat? Such were the unflinching tactics used during the bitter conflict of Civil War!

A harsh Secret Wars on Infinite Earths debut for Prowler - but a no less welcome one! You may've seen another Prowler in the animated theatrical release, Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse, but this here is the bona fide original!

Prowler is technically the first character conceived by artist John Romita Jr, who submitted the design to his father John Romita Sr, and Stan Lee, when he was just thirteen years old! The result is a cult character who debuted in 1969, and has gone on to capture the imagination of generations of readers!

There must be something about that combination of purple and green that just tickles a child's mind. I'd drawn a similar figure in my own childhood, and thought Prowler was pretty cool once I discovered him some time after. I even bought an action figure when the character joined Spidey animated series line!

Not such an easy sell for Ms. Marvel. Carol Danvers will become a household name in March when Captain Marvel is released theatrically -- but it wasn't too long ago she was toiling in easily overlooked supporting roles, suffering from a strong of also-ran revamps, and changing identities.

Even during the conceited rebuild of the 2000s, it was easy to think of Ms. Marvel as a slightly dull and uninteresting character. The Warbird years seemed to work at creating an identity entirely distinct from Mar-Vell, but the slightly damaged militant affiliated with the Avengers and SHIELD could read quite dry.

I was never all that enticed by the flaming figure of Binary, who just didn't seem as cool as Phoenix or others, but the black suited Warbird often seemed like an over correction, existing too far from the character's colourful cosmic origins, still dogged by a sense of being a no-fun holdover from the seventies.

Captain Marvel's iconic death arguably should've freed his successor to inherit the legacy as fully as she has now. Instead, the burden of being a gender-swapped derivative of another hero seemed to persist, while upstarts like Genis-Vell, Marvel Boy, and Quasar were created to capitalize on Mar-Vell's legacy.

It wasn't necessarily an obvious move to relaunch a Ms. Marvel solo series in 2006, but EIC Joe Quesada, and Avengers writer Brian Bendis, seemed pretty determined to restore some of Marvel's seventies icons to their former glory.

Bets were hedged, relegating Danver's solo adventures to second & third tier guest characters and alternate realities, but the underrated hard work of Brian Reed and his collaborators helped get the character to where she is now. And let's be honest: Ms. Marvel throwing down with the likes of Prowler, Shroud, and Arachne might not make headlines -- but you know I'm gonna dig it.

The fight with Prowler plays as a nice pre-credits action sequence, getting the issue rolling into the Civil War tie-in. Itself another interesting, seemingly counter-intuitive facet, given the positioning of Carol Danvers as an antagonistic agent of the government's pro-registration, anti-vigilante hardline. Civil War had its arguments for both sides, but the romantic heart of the superhero concept was always to favour of Captain America, and the anti-registration side.

Regardless of divisions: the Marvel Universe is clearly better for having Carol Danvers in it, and I'll be looking forward to returning for more battles from Ms. Marvel's history in the coming months!

If you want more Ms. Marvel in your universe, you can find today's featured fight in multiple collected editions! Amazon purchase links are provided for your convenience, but shopping with them also ensures Amazon will support the site at no extra cost to you! Marvelous!

Find more classic combat and bigger battles by diving into the Secret Archive of every featured fight! Follow on Twitter and Facebook for daily links to battles inspired by the topics of the day!

Winner: Ms. Marvel
#53 (+31) Ms. Marvel
#870 (new) Prowler