THE SOCIETY versus POWERGIRL
The Survivors (DC comics)
Where: Infinite Crisis #2 When: January 2006
Why: Geoff Johns How: Phil Jiminez

The story so far...
Long ago there was a crisis that threatened existence across dimensions. The champions of the multiple Earths opposed the existential threat, and through their triumph came a rebirth of reality, and a merged existence.

A select few survivors from worlds before the crisis were able to escape to a life exclusive to the redefined reality that was unfolding, some infiltrating the new central Earth with no memory of all that once was.

They were the likes of Powergirl and Psycho-Pirate, and they integrated into their new lives well, but such was not so for the refugees in non-space. Trapped in the crystaline universe they had made for themselves, they were forced to watch as life evolved in a very different, darker way, and their ideals were betrayed. Able to take it no more, these super forces take full advantage of unfolding instabilities, and reemerge to shape the worlds again...

Previous Form:
The Society [#20]: The Society represented an army of villains united, led by Lex Luthor, who used the fate of Dr. Light as a scaremongering motivator.
Powergirl: Making her overdue debut in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Mr. Atom 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Giganta 5 (Professor)
Speed: Powergirl 5 (Super Speed)
Stamina: Powergirl 6 (Generator)
Agility: Clayface 7 (Infinite)
Fighting Ability: Powergirl 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Powergirl 5 (Lasers)


- This particular collective representing The Society includes; Psycho-Pirate in a leading role as a core member of the villainous cartel, with the muscle-bound team of Clayface, Giganta, Mister Atom and Girder assigned to capture Powergirl.

- While the majority of the team represent super strength, Psycho-Pirate is a much less offensive character. His powers revolve around the Medusa Mask, which can influence and amplify the emotional state of most targets.
Rare exceptions of exceptional will-power have been shown to resist the effects of the mask, such as Black Adam. [Infinite Crisis #6]

- Infinite Crisis served to clear away a garbled history, reinstating Powergirl's origins as a Kryptonian from the universe once identified by Earth-2. As such, Powergirl exibits powers closely resembling Superman, including; super strength, speed, invulnerability, heat-vision.

- A refugee from a world before the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Powergirl is apparently immune to the effects of Kryptonite from the contemporary DC Universe. In this respect, she is potentially more effective than her cousin.

The Math: Powergirl (Average) The Society (Total)
The Pick: The Society

What went down...
Somewhere in a city on Earth, a building shudders as Powergirl bursts through one of it's stone walls at the behest of a rampaging force of nature. Mud animate Clayface extends like a plank from the building, carrying Powergirl into a hard descent into the road below.

Psycho-Pirate emerges at street-level, reassuring Powergirl that she need not be worried, given that Luthor has expressed a requirement to have her alive.
It comes as little consolation as the Pirate's accompanying quartet of Society thugs loom over the street, Girder lamenting on the possibility of roughing her up.

Powergirl meets the challenge head-on, defiantly blasting her way through Clayface's swirling muddy mass with focused beams of heat-vision.

Mr. Atom, the robot that challenged Captain Marvel to his very limits, steps up to the plate, taking flight to knock the airborne Powergirl down with a super swing of his robotic fist. PG's descent brings her into the clutches of Giganta.

Just as Girder steps up to insinuate more harm for Powergirl, the storming clouds over Metropolis part, giving way to the bathing warm glow of Earth's yellow sun.

Something streaks by faster than a speeding bullet, clipping across Giganta's face to shake her grip, and free Powergirl from her enormous clutches.

More powerful than a locomotive, the same red and blue streak charges through the battlescene once more, achieving the impossible to rip through the super-durable frame of the robotic Mister Atom!

For Psycho-Pirate the writing is on the wall, but Powergirl can barely believe her eyes. There, hovering above the wrecked bodies of the Society's muscle, is someone familiar yet alien to Powergirl, soaking up the life-giving energy of the yellow sun that embues her.

With greying temples, there flies Superman.
"It's been a long time, cousin. Too long."

The hammer...
Coming in at the crucial moment to score a decisive win is Superman, from Earth-2, of course. Not that his Earth is Earth-2 now that we have fifty-two very specific Earths courtesy of Mr. Mind, and a megaverse revamp by Grant Morrison and the team.

Y'know, I very nearly defaulted to one of my pre-scanned stand-by issues of Wolverine, but I didn't want to let the Marvel/DC imbalance get away from me again, and despite Wolverine's relevance, the justice discussion has thus far hovered around the icons of the DC Universe, so we're following suit.

This was also a great opportunity to initiate Powergirl into the Infinite Wars, which is something I've wanted to do for quite some time, and this issue was on the hitlist, having been sitting on top of a pile for quite a while now.

What makes this issue such a great segue, apart from what's listed above, is that Powergirl was right at the centre of the Infinite Crisis mini-series as a crucial part of the underlying discussion of the nature of justice.
For the refugees of former Earths, their own desire for familiarity is largely defined by the methods of justice employed by heroes of their respective universes. We then, through the conclusion, see a divergence of justice, with characters like Superboy-prime and Alexander Luthor each following paths of what could be interpreted as villainy.

Typically I don't like to confuse an entry with images from unrelated sources, but I'm going to break format because, otherwise, we don't get to talk about this.
What I essentially want to do is try to add some depth to the theory of the totem of justice that has formed the spine of much of the discussion over the past month of Infinite Wars, and even abroad. [See; Infinite Crisis #1, Hawkman #23, JLA #118, Action Comics #824]

In trying to break down the degrees of force and intent in justice, I think I was able to break it down into eight levels, four representing the "light" and the "dark" of the matter. Obviously characters are known to fluctuate, and some of these examples build on my own personal inflections and ideas.

Level 1: No harm, no foul -- "Peachy keen"
There's an interesting resonance to placing a character like Captain Marvel at the top, just because Black Adam so clearly represents the other end of the scale.

This is the level representing heroes who exist on the greatest abstraction. For the most part they are entirely removed from the kinds of situations and scenarios that would bring them into moral conflicts, instead representing a wholesome simplicity. They fight monsters and aliens whose plans are reasonably transparent, and may even find themselves resolving battles with conversation. After school specials.

Level 2: Ideal Superhero -- "Best case scenario"
Writers have put Superman in positions that see him sliding up and down this scale, but on an idealistic level, he is closest to the child-friendly variety of vintage wholesome. What sets him apart is his connection to the human world, and specifically his inevitable confrontation and acknowledgment of elements much deeper on this list.

This is a hero who will do their best to resolve conflict through passive or defensive means, always reactionary, never pro-active. They are bound by a strict code of process, which sees a villain privvy to even the right to privacy.
He's the hero that exists in a world much more like the ideal compromise between freedom and injustice.

Level 3: Common superhero -- "Soft prevention"
Fairly typical of most superheroes, and maybe the defining quality of the Silver Age. These are heroes who will take preventitive measures wherever possible, but for the most part meet criminal activity with non-lethal force.

Much like a Superman, characters that fit into this category have probably seen darker times throughout their careers, but then, this isn't about defining a character like The Flash. This is about setting the paramaters by which characterization can be measured. This being around generic.

Level 4: Law enforcement -- "Extenuating circumstances"
This is a character who most resembles real-world law enforcement agents, such as police officers. Force is used where necessary, prevention through intelligence is a valued, and when situations dictate, lethal force may be reluctantly introduced.

There are a lot of characters who will resemble this scenario, and Superman is certainly one that comes to mind, with cases like the time he was forced to regrettably condemn criminals to the Phantom Zone.
Ultimately I think it's important to stress that these characters are not quick to use violence, even though it is a part of their arsenal. Mr. Terrific, on the merits of his current associated with Checkmate, is a positive example of this.

Level 5: Excessive force -- "On their terms"
This is the turning point, for me. Where the hero doesn't necessarily become more ambiguous, but his methods do. While his motivations may be pure, a Batman will meet characters with intimidation and force.

Batman makes a fantastic, vivid example because his code is very specifically against killing, even though he gladly endorses crippling force, broken bones, and severe psychological trauma.

Level 6: Longterm prevention -- "An eye for an eye"
Like a level 5, this is a heroic character still unwilling to take a life, but unlike Batman, much more content with exerting higher degrees of force. It is a much more primal force for justice, quite likely to react to a crime and deliver a punishment accordingly.

We saw Hawkman deliver just such a punishment in a recent entry, where he severed the arm of the Matter Master, when he threatened a gala with his matter-altering wand [Hawkman #23]. Cause meets effect for this type of character, and the ends justify the means, but death is still a reluctant and unnecessary extension of this brutal force.

Level 7: Longterm solution -- "A life for a life"
This is what we saw when Wonder Woman broke Maxwell Lord's neck and when the Justice League were attacked by Mongul [Infinite Crisis #1], and is where lethality is much more freely endorsed.

While all of the other levels would experience remorse or reluctance in taking a life, it's my opinion that this is the point in the justice scale where lethal force is a ready part of the arsenal the second this character opposes tyrrany. It does not necessarily entail wreckless behaviour, perhaps coming with good judgment, but is certainly a darker brand of good.

Level 8: Blanket wrath -- "Punishment and suffering"
This is where it gets decidedly old testament.
This is the realm of characters like The Spectre, or Black Adam, who readily dish out the most brutal and deadly kind of punishment.

It is typically a hero of unwavering character, with the potential to become so incorruptable they are blind to the lines of what is necessary, and what is not. This is the extreme that Level 7 would live in threat of, and perhaps even be personally fearful of.

It brings us full circle, distanced from common reality by an impossible position of judgment that deals with humanity in the same way Level 1 does not. It represents the darkest end of the scale, just as Marvel does the lightest.

There may very well be flaws in the deeper logic of some of this, and certainly the specifics of the examples may lead to some confusion, but to place some kind of structure on the rules of our recent discussions, this totem will suffice.

It is important to remember that it is ultimately a totem of justice, and while a character like Black Adam fell into a depiction more explicitly evil, that is not the focus of this list.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 5.5
[On the strength of her handling of Clayface, I'm going to give Powergirl a win stat here, even though her effect was minimal. Powergirl evaded me through my formative comic reading years, but through the efforts of creators like Geoff Johns, PG has not only earned a spot at the forefront of the DCU, but also the enjoyment of a reader who never paid much attention. And yes, I'm straight.]

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Wander Woman
MONGUL versus JUSTICE LEAGUE
Infinite Crisis (DC)
Where: Infinite Crisis #1 When: December 2005
Why: Geoff Johns How: Phil Jiminez

Quick Fix...
Okay, so the lazy schedule has helped me quickly correct, but if I'm to impress the various important establishments like the BBC, and various other publishers of print and media hitting up this humble blog, I've got to hit the hard issues before they go stale.

If the feminist blogging community has been anything to go by lately, I actually probably have until about 2025 to catch this one, so maybe I'm getting in early. Alas; I'll endeavour to kill the joke no more, and get straight to the topic at hand -- Amazons Attack!

Haven't they just?
Readers of the on-going saga will know I'm still cash-strapped and months behind on comics, so Amazons Attack isn't exactly something I'm familiar with, but as it so happens, it was something I didn't have any particular interest in anyway, even in those long forgotten months where it was placed before my spending dollar. It just wasn't a story that jumped out at me, regardless of pretty covers of a sword-wielding Batman, and my relative ignorance.

Never the less, the story has taken the internet by storm. Adding fuel to the fire was the daring act of writer Will Pfeiffer to throw to the open forum [on his blog], where he invited the wrath of disgruntled and satisfied readers alike.

There's also been a story floating around the blogosphere regarding the validity of the so-called "DC Trinity," in particular reference to Wonder Woman's claim to the position on the team. These two delicious morcels provide the perfect vehicle for us to make up for a gross lack of representation of the character, and do some chatting of our own with another of our fancy, fun-time double features!

The so-called Trinity converge on the wreckage of the Justice League satellite, destroyed recently with Martian Manhunter aboard. While there are no signs of J'onn J'onnz, another presence lurks in the shadows, listening in to the bitter descent amongst the highest ranks of the Justice League heirarchy.

Concerned about recent events involving Wonder Woman's brutal execution of the corrupted Maxwell Lord, Superman is soon distracted from the conversation by the otherwise inaudible sound of a heartbeat. His reaction proves too slow, suffering a slugging fist from the villains Mongul!

The monstrous alien swats Batman aside, but Wonder Woman is at the ready with sword in-hand. She slashes at the hulking beast, who gladly meets her blood letting with a blow that sends her shattering through the ruins of the satellite base. If it wasn't already destroyed, it soon would be!

Superman returns with a vengeance, heat-vision blaring, but again he finds himself swatted away by Mongul's fantastic strength. Looking for a different tactic, he hoists the ever-so human Batman off the ground by the neck.
Assessin Batman's suitability as donor for another skull for his throne, Mongul isn't prepared for a quick recovery by Superman.

Superman throws all of his Kryptonian strength into a blow that knocks Mongul's face around itself. He continues the ill tempered attack with a stressed combination of fists, unrestrained heat-vision, and fury!

With Mongul downed, Superman checks on the rattled Batman.
Wonder Woman proves less concerned with her fellows' well being, and more with the permanent solution to Mongul's terror. She dives with her sword in the axe-handle position, prepared to strike down the fallen villain once and for all.

Ever the boyscout, Superman intercepts the killer-blow, catching the sword before it can split Mongul's head like an overripe melon. Even Batman, whose dark justice more closely resembles Wonder Woman's warrior code, questions the warrior princesses' intentions.

While the trio debate their philosophies of justice, Mongul is able to barge through them, making an untimely escape, free to trouble them again in the future.

I've been hovering around the place making tongue-in-cheek references to a slightly cheesy harsh justice trinity of DC royals; Wonder Woman, Black Adam and Aquaman. As silly as it sounds, I'm actually hiding a deadly serious, if under developed, concept. A concept that would perhaps best fit in the Wonder Woman book itself, strangely enough.

It grabs on to some very recent reference points.
I love the implication of Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier work, that revels in Wonder Woman's supposed warrior origins in a retro-contemporary war-time situation. I love that, in the name of good, she gleefully takes part in the slaughter of men who have committed terrible evils. With such a vile situation, I even don't mind that there's a distinct feminist agenda there, that errs a little too narrow sighted for what I'd like of such a prominent superhero.

I also latch on to, of all things, the brief appearances in Brian Azzarello's Superman, which again played to Wonder Woman's strengths as a warrior, and cast her in a scenario closer to man-made suffering than giant snake-haired monsters, or simplified struggles of diplomacy.

I think about these characters; Black Adam and Aquaman.
Black Adam is a character we've talked about a lot this year, as one of the more high-profile anti-heroes at DC comics right now. I expressed concern about a potential return to over-simplified super villainy [Hawkman #24], and certainly this concept asks that you disregard that kind of tact in favour of holding on to his unwavering role as conquering dictator, first confirmed in Black Reign.

Neither he, nor Aquaman, have a book right now, with the latter having his title cancelled in an almost inevitable cyclical series of false-starts.
I look at the commonality of these characters as outsiders who have lived in societies far more advanced than our own, and yet, also somewhat ancient in their design. I consider the viability for these characters to break apart from the mold of the well established characters, to blaze a trail as not only characters depicting a diverse interpretation of justice, but also as a platform for interesting scenarios and world affairs.

As part of the "Trinity" Wonder Woman is either too sympathetic, like Superman, or too harsh, like Batman, albeit, a tad more lethal. As a character whose stage should be the world, I can't help but see untapped potential in a Wonder Woman who breaks away from the conceptually obscure hub of world activity - America - and extends herself, with a coalition of likeminded outsiders, to subscribe to a proactive course of their own warrior's justice. Not that the American hub wouldn't still be a regular touchstone, given the international interests of groups like Checkmate, and the Justice Society.

I don't know how Amazon Attacks affected Wonder Woman or her outlook on the world. I don't know if she was part of the presumed invasion of Amazons on the world-of-man, or if she were revolted by it, (in that Superman-style turn).
I don't know if it really matters. It seems like Wonder Woman is crying out for a strong and certain characterization and course of direction, requiring simplicity, but intelligence, and this might just be the time for it.

It remains to be seen what Gail Simone will do with the character, but I can't say I'm really holding out hope. Short of a one-shot war on refridgerators, I can't see Simone bringing a lot that interests me to this particular character. Will a phoenix rise from the ashes? We shall see...

The Fix: 6 The Issue: 5.5
Winner: Superman/Wonder Woman

[Something I didn't get to mention was just how refreshing it is to see Batman out of his depth. All too often we see him swiftly counter-acting the presence of Superman-level aliens, which is fun, but a little too consistent. A refreshing take on the situation, in a charged gathering of the "Trinity".]

---

WONDER WOMAN versus ETRIGAN
The Region Beyond Part II: Beyond Redemption (DC)
Where: The Demon #17 When: November 1991
Why: Alan Grant How: Val Semeiks

Quick Fix...
It was a while ago now I had a brief online discussion with a man deserving of more recognition on a blog dedicated to superhero fisticuffs, and macho bravado. I of course refer to the one and only, Beau Smith; a man of certain and sure opinion, who had a major creative hand in the life of Guy Gardner as the editorially mandated - Warrior.

During that discussion I peddled a different theory about Wonder Woman. With Greg Rucka's "new" take on the diplomat in shoulder pads and a skirt, I was interested in taking that urban slant and turning it on it's side a little.

From the serious, to the silly, we arrive at this book. Something of an abberation in my collection, it came into my possession by means inadvertant, and has since sat lonely, waiting for just such an occasion as this.

My theory, at least for Wonder Woman's life among humans, was of confidence and liberation. It proposed an almost She-Hulk style sexuality, partially opening the floodgates to all things fanboys have pondered whilst staring at an Alex Ross Wonder Woman's thighs. Because, we already know Wonder Woman finds men attractive, but having been raised on an island exclusively inhabited by Amazonian women, I think it's fair to assume she'd be open-minded.

Actually, I think what takes it from being a little uncomfortable, and brings it back to being an interesting character trait is that she'd be very as matter-of-fact about it. You would have to imagine that there's a familiar bisexuality amongst a race living with women, but apparently also aroused by the presence and mysteyr of man.

I like the idea that the fact has never been explicitly addressed because, for the extremely liberal Wonder Woman, it just isn't an issue. In the same way I don't march around the streets declaring my heterosexuality, for Wonder Woman it would be such a non-issue, she wouldn't consider it. Of course, taking that slightly alien perspective, I also don't think she'd blush educating someone on any of the invoved practises, or anatomical implications of such a lifestyle.

Of course, that's not to say I want to recast Wonder Woman as some sort of lady-about-town tramp. Huh, figures you'd assume that, sperm bank.
No, see, we know Wonder Woman isn't some sort of floosy for the same reasons we know she is attracted to men: It's on the page!

Case-in-point, having been smelted by an evil villain, and cast into the Netherworld by an impishly passing Klarion the Witchboy, Wonder Woman finds herself the subject of the unwanted affections of The Demon - Etrigan!

Confused, Wonder Woman is taken surprise by an evil Banshee creature as a welcome to what appears to be Hell. She puts the creature down hard with an unrelenting fist, but she underestimates the hellspawn creature. It springs back up, launching at the warrior woman while she is distracted talking to Etrigan, who dangles from the ceiling wrapped in chains. [Long story!...]

Sensing Wonder Woman is pure-of-heart the Demon's host is compelled to go to her aid, but the demonic body is uncooperative with the brain's commands.
Wonder Woman suffers at the hands of The Banshee as it rips and tears at her flesh exposing a flowing trickle of crimson blood that finally awakens the Demon's simmering interests in an explosion of excitement.

Freed the Demon swiftly pounds The Banshee into submission, and leaps at Wonder Woman.

Compelled by the sweet smell of Wonder Woman's blood, the Demon does not stop there. With an excess of enthusiasm he snatches the Amazonian off her feet and passionately throws her to the wall, his demonic tongue wagging at the streams of blood across her face.

Thoroughly offended by the Demon's unsolicited advances, Wonder Woman has no choice but to throw her Amazonian super-strength into a well placed knee. Though powerful, the blow fails to rattle the Demon's cage, instead only enticing him further by his joy for massochism. Overwhlemed, Jason Blood, the demon Etrigan's host, can merely commentate the creature's actions, awaiting the opportunity to wrest control from the savage beast.

Giggling gleefully the Demon renews his advances, ignoring Wonder Woman's warnings to descend on her with his tongue wagging between massive pointed teeth.

He pins her to the ground, and through a veil of his own twisted sense of romance, begins to wail on her.
It is only the exertion of Jason Blood's will that finally stays the Demon, managing to utter the enchantment that returns him to form of man.

Like I said, I'm not so sure this is the kind of blunt, forward approach to Wonder Woman's romantic life I have in mind, but as something of a curiosity, I just had to throw it into the mix. I think it's fair to say it fits the previously discussed harsh justice, as pictured right.

Harsh, but fair.
Lord knows my knees would wander if I were being molested by a blood-thirsty demon. I don't care how helpful he may have been.

Y'know, despite some mature overtones, this story actually highlights another potentially interesting avenue for the Wonder Woman character, and that would be the young readers line. Like a Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman has struggled to find a strong, consistent characterization, and might even be there that she could begin to build a new franchise opportunity with more light hearted antics.

It's maybe hard to say exactly what's best for the Wonder Woman character, but lord knows it has to begin with some chances. Few characters are as guarded as Wonder Woman, and yeah, some of the things we've discussed here are pushing the mould a little, but maybe that's what's needed. It was testing stories like the Dark Knight Returns that helped reinvigorate Batman, and maybe it's time Wonder Woman got the same leeway to produce the same results.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some of the sleep I should've had when I wrote this thing. I'd like to think I didn't, but if it got incoherrent, you know why. I tend to maintain though, the uncompromising Wonder Woman is the one I'd like to see the most. A harsh figure of international justice.

The Fix: 3.5 The Issue: 4
Winner: Demon/Wonder Woman

[This wacky tale will have to wait for another day to get a better review. I'm going to count it as a double within a double, awarding a shared victory over The Banshee, and a tie between Demon and Wonder Woman themselves. A book that's got the adult shift of the eighties, it probably shouldn't have been in a bargain bag.]

THE SOCIETY versus FREEDOM FIGHTERS
Infinite Crisis (DC comics)
Where: Infinite Crisis #1 When: December 2005
Why: Geoff Johns How: Phil Jiminez

The story so far...
The world is in crisis, and the heroes are divided to fall, while the villains are united in a way never before seen.
The Justice League is falling apart at the seams, struggling to recover from events such as Wonder Woman's brutal execution of the traitorous Maxwell Lord, where she very publicly snapped his neck; and the death of Firestorm.

Heroes such as the members of Uncle Sam's Freedom Fighters do their best to pick-up the slack, but with a united front of evil willing to cross any lines, it becomes more difficult than ever.

Having received information regarding a transmission between Silver Ghost and Mirror Master; Uncle Sam leads his Freedom Fighters to a seemingly abandoned refinery where they believe the supervillains are organizing weapons for terrorist activity. Unfortunately for them, Uncle Sam's suspicions prove valid.
Now the team need not only put a stop to evil, but also fight to survive.

Previous Form:
The Society [#15]: Unsuccessful against the team of Batman & Red Hood.
Freedom Fighters [#19]: Slaughtered by the World's Finest; Superman/Batman.
Black Adam (#13): Undefeated after battles with the Four Horsemen of Apololips.
Dr. Light (#109): Present for Deathstroke's battle with the Justice League.
Psycho-Pirate (#255): Ultimately killed by Black Adam after this alliance.
Uncle Sam (#163): Unsuccesful in team-up with Wonder Woman against Batman/Superman.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Bizarro 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Dr. Light 5 (Professor)
Speed: Zoom 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Black Adam 6 (Generator)
Agility: Cheetah 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting Ability: Deathstroke 7 (Born Fighter)
Energy Powers: Sinestro 7 (Solar Power)

I think you pretty quickly realise you're in trouble when you open the door and one of your guys gets shot through the chest. We'll get to that soon enough, but let's take a look at the daunting stats of the tape first up, which paint a pretty grim picture for the Freedom Fighters!

A team of nine villains is bad enough. A team of villains consisting of; Black Adam, Sinestro, Deathstroke, Dr. Light, Dr. Polaris, Zoom, Psycho-Pirate, Bizarro and Cheetah - even more bad news. A team of these particular villains as oganized by Lex Luthor, who is fronting a united new era for bad guys? Down right scary!

The tape indicate just how well rounded this particular team is. Nobody tips below a five, and even those come in the less common categories, and of the nine, seven of them register as the top characters in their respective category.
That isn't even taking into account things like the comparable strength levels of Black Adam and Bizarro, or the intangible forces controlled by Polaris, Light and Sinestro. Or even things as obscure, and difficult to measure, as Psycho-Pirate's emotive suggestions.

The Freedom Fighters are outnumbered, nine-to-six.
Among their rag-tag mob of heroes are most notably Uncle Sam himself, Human Bomb, Damage and The Ray. Their powers are strong enough to at least register where some of these villains are concerned; Sam bringing a degree of stamina and strength, while the Ray can control and manipulate light in a variety of imaginative ways.

The Human Bomb and Damage pose perhaps the greatest key to victory, but their potential also rests on the potential destruction of their fellows. If either of these atomic-scale heroes really unloads, to the point where they can defeat or waylay The Society, it will probably come at the final hour, with their fellows already fallen.

Black Condor really affects very little influence on this particular fight. Given the scope and brutal power of characters like Black Adam, Deathstroke and Sinestro, it's just simply not in the realm of possibility for a character like Condor to be of use. Likewise, Phantom Lady's illusions and Savate expertise are going to be of little use here.

The Math: The Society
The Pick: The Society

What went down...
Infiltrating the secret arms factory, the Ray uses his powers to manipulate the laser light grid that provides a net of security over the entrance, diverting the light to himself. With that, Human Bomb uses his powers to destroy the control panel for heavy blast doors, and as they open...

A blast of cynical yellow energy cracks it's way through the air, piercing the exposed chest of the unsuspecting Black Condor. Waiting on the other side of the door is the cream of The Society's villainous crop. An apparent ambush.

Bizarro ironically greets the Freedom Fighters with a misplaced Good-Bye, which is all too accurate, given the situation, as Sinestro sneers from beneath the glowing yellow energies of his fear-borne power.

Uncle Sam orders his troops to hold nothing back as they charge into battle with the murderous members of The Society.

The order is as good as worthless.
In a volley of violence and destruction the Society find themselves set upon by some of the deadliest villains known.

The Ray is the first to fall, victim of Dr. Light's similar, but apparently superior, powers.
He sucks the light from The Ray's body in a way that could only be imagined as incredibly painful.

Damage finds himself at the mercy of Zoom's fists, as he swirls around the hero in an unstable, translucent blur. Zoom promises to make them stronger heroes if they survive. His barrage triggers Damage's explosive powers, which send him hurtling out of the building.

Phantom Lady's illusion of invisibility proves to be of little value against the feline senses of Cheetah. She quickly sniffs the Freedom Fighter out, leaping atop her before ripping away at her flesh.

With the Phantom Lady pinpointed and bleeding, Deathstroke charges in with his sword to finish the job. He drives his blade deep into her chest as she rematerializes. Her final word is, "Why?"
For Deathstroke, it is simply a matter of professionalism.

The Human Bomb's explosion topples Sinestro, Dr. Light and Deathstroke, and he cries for them to get away from his fellows.
Shaken by Phantom Lady's death, the Human Bomb runs amongst the carnage before Dr. Polaris floats down to revel in the defeat.

"Oh, she's dead, Human Bomb. Didn't you hear that delicious shriek?"

Enraged, the Human Bomb tears at his protective suit.
If it is death and war that delights Polaris, then the Human Bomb shall deliver more than he can handle. The Human Bomb glows with energy and explodes, blowing Dr. Polaris clean out of the sky.

Bizarro, attracted by the "pretty lights", descends atop the Human Bomb.

Declaring his affections he begins to pound the Bomb's bare flesh, incurring massive explosions with every thunderous punch. For every blow with the strength of a Superman, Bizarro encourages an equal amount of explosive force, until eventually the Human Bomb begins to disipate.

Eventually, with his blood and chest covered in blood, Bizarro is disappointed. The Human Bomb stirs no longer. He has exploded for the final time.

"No more pretty lights."

In spite of the many explosions, the fight rages on amongst the surviving heroes and villains. Uncle Sam finds himself with the uneasy task of battling Black Adam, perhaps the strongest man present.

Adam flies like a human torpedo, knocking Uncle Sam into the air.
Cheetah catches him on the ground, clawing at his face while Zoom buzzes around like a ghostly apparition.

The Ray, alive but weakened by Dr. Light's attack, finds himself at the mercy of the otherwise uninvolved Psycho-Pirate.

As The Ray spits threats at Psycho-Pirate, the medusa mask begins to shift from it's blank state to a calm, comforting smile.
"Don't be angry. Don't be afraid."

The Ray, relaxed, gives in to the exhaustion, allowing himself to be dragged away for the purposes of one, Alexander Luthor, for whom The Society does their bidding.

The last of the Fighters to fall is the first to rally them - Uncle Sam. Though he continues to fight valiantly against overwhelming odds, he is far outmatched, numerically and super naturally.

Sinestro uses his yellow energies to blast at the patriotic hero, sending him hurtling into the air. He eventually comes to land in a swamp somewhere nearby, and while his story is not through, the Freedom Fighters are through, and the Society free to carry out their evil machinations.

The hammer...
Conclusively the winners: The Society!

Meanwhile, Uncle Sam's resumé isn't looking terribly impressive right about now. The last time the character was featured, he and his team were completely wiped out by the tyrannical might of Superman and Batman. [Superman/Batman #15]
This time around things went a little better for the Freedom Fighters, but even still, to come out with a fifty-percent survival rate isn't really all that impressive by anyone's means. Maybe the X-Statix are about the only team impressed by those figures... Yeesh...

At the time this particular issue - the first of a major mini-series at the core of a company-wide event - caused quite a bit of controversy. Given the promotion of the event, a large part of the concern was rating standards, with this issue baring no kind of forewarning for the violence contained within.
Of particular interest at the time was Phantom Lady's brutally depicted murder, which sparked the obligatory discussion of misogynism in comics, and questions of violence against women.

I'm not so much interested in the censorship of violence against one sex over another. We've discussed before that, in fiction, I think it's nice for that equality to exist. I sometimes feel the violence needs to be more prevelent for both sexes, to continue to remind us exactly what kinds of threats these superheroes are dealing with. But I digress...

What struck me immediately having just completed the review was that I was declaring a team who just slaughtered the superheroes - victorious!
I think with the features we've looked at over the past year and a half I've come to build up an association with the declaration of a winner. Usually, even in the cases of the hero losing, there's a certain degree of honor and thrill to it.

Declaring The Society victorious here, however, after killing the heroes the way they did. There's something that just doesn't feel quite right about that.

Not that it really has to go beyond that.
I'm not sure this particular cast of characters was really what you'd call invaluable to the DC lot, and to the company's credit they have continued a tradition of reinvigorating properties in the newest incarnation of the Freedom Fighters. It's not all new, of course. Uncle Sam found his way out of the swamp after compelling one of the new leads to find him, and they have an all new, all-government approach, at least to start with.

I guess there's a triumph to come out of the deaths of these heroes, at least in some kind of creative off-shoot of a way. I admit, I'm usually not one to advocate wanton slaughter of worthwhile characters, but at least they've stayed dead for this long, and an attempt to revitalize the concepts has been made.

Though the book is mostly a vignette-packed primer for the DC Universe as it was becoming heading into Infinite Crisis, there's also a fantastic battle running parallel to this one on the moon, featuring the 'DC Trinity', so hopefully some time in the future we'll get a chance to revisit the story from that perspective.

For now, I've got to check out and head to bed, and hopefully get back to catching up again soon. We've got FF action next-up, cheers!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 5.5

THE X-MEN versus XORN
Planet X: Conclusion (Marvel comics)
Where: New X-Men #150 When: February 2004
Why: Grant Morrison How: Phil Jimenez

The story so far...
As a safe haven for gifted youngsters and adults alike, the X-Men welcome those in need with open arms, but sometimes this generosity comes with hazardous risk.

Having infiltrated the X-Men under the assumed identity of Xorn, Magneto reveals himself not as a beloved teacher, but rather as a drug-addicted man desperate to make his nightmarish vision a reality.

Under the influence of the power enhancing drug Kick, Magneto takes his old friend Charles Xavier prisoner along with several other misguided young X-Students, and proceeds to tear New York City asunder.
Has drug abuse pushed Magneto over the edge, or does the helmet that birthed his deception hide more secrets regarding the true identity of "Xorn"?

Previous Form:
Wolverine (#4): Wolverine joined the X-Men in the defeats of Nimrod and Magneto.
Professor X (#61): Professor X was instrumental in the defeat of Magneto.
Cyclops (#112): As team leader suffered defeat to Namor.
The X-Men: As a team the X-Men defeated a Hydra controlled Wolverine, Nimrod and Magneto.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Beast 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Beast 6 (Genius)
Speed: Beast 4 (Olympic Sprinter)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Toad 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Xorn 7 (Solar Power)

A fairly interesting crew of X-Men here, and an ill-defined threat in the form of Xorn. More on the controversy of the Xorn character in The Hammer section of the article, so for the time being, bare with the analysis as it is described here.

Xorn certainly possesses abilities here comparable of Magneto's own, which places him in a noteworthy class as a threat to the X-Men.
Playing the role of passificist, assessing the destructive or offensive capabilities of Xorn would be difficult prior to this occasion. For the most part his powers were used to manipulate characters in subversive ways, even using nanosentinel technology already in the X-Men's bloodstream to cast the illusion of healing on Charles Xavier's spine.

The necessity of the Kick drug and the characterization seen as Magneto suggest Xorn is perhaps not as limitless in his energy as the true Magneto has been seen to be. Other contemporary appearances, such as X-Men #25, have highlighted Magneto's abilities to draw upon the magnetic forces of the planet, possessing a rich well of mutant power.

Against forces like Professor X, Cyclops, Wolverine, Emma Frost, Phoenix and Fantomex, even Magneto has to stand up and notice.
With Xorn showing an unhinged personality, he starts to look like a bit of a chump. Particularly when considering this is Jean Grey heading straight back to cosmic town with the Phoenix force flowing through her veins.

There's certainly debate for this one to go several ways, and with the Kick drug allowing Xorn monumental capabilities (such as twisting bridges), the right shot could be the difference. That said, the level headed forces of the X-Men seem far too strong for such a renegade presence.

Unfortunatley Toad is not an equaliser.

Average: The X-Men 22 (+3)
Overall: The X-Men 176 (+119)
The Pick: The X-Men

What went down...
So, MagnaXorn is in his evil skyscraper lair in New York, which he has renamed New Genosha because he's a little bit crazy on drugs.
Humanity is not without hope, however, as a long X-Man has arrived. An animalistic X-Man. An X-Man of keen instinct. Sometimes described as a loner.
An X-Man named... Beak.

Wielding a metal bat... Not a great idea.
Much like Wolverine's metallic claw attack, the metal baseball bat is quickly turned to MagnaXorn's advantage as he tears it from Beak's dweeby little talon-claws.

Looming at the window, however, is salvation.
Atop the hovering EVA, Fantomex prepares to spring into action, breaking through the skyscraping icey glass of MagnaXorn's sinister tower -- and fires off round sof bullets that may or may not have some sort of obscure properties to them, allowing them to hit the target. Being shot at upsets him, and he demands Fantomex be destroyed. [Looking at you, Sean McKeever... Shyeah... - Mistaken Mike]

Esme, otherwise aiding MagnaXorn, objects to the prospect of being shot, so it's up to Toad to leap into the fray and put himself on the line. Which isn't such a good idea, because Fantomex makes no bones about shooting his knees off...

Of course, like all good things, Fantomex' rampage comes to an end.
MagnaXorn deflects his bullets, and wraps Weapon Thirteen up in bits of metal and trimmings from around his highrise citadellium. What he doesn't notice is that Fantomex' bullets pierce the glass tube that contains the helpless and tubed-up Professor X, beginning the draining of the freak brain neutralizing fluids inside.

While Fantomex gets wrapped up like a douche, another roamer in the night is picked out by Esme just before he uses his mega optic blast to explode through the floor. MagnaXorn is flung into the air by the crimson might of Cyclops.

Xorn falls back to Earth and Cyclops gives him a bitch slapping with all manner of emotionally charged punches.

Then, as if an ass whooping at the fists of Cyclops isn't bad enough, he decides to just pour optic salt into the wound by firing off a round at point blank range -- straight into the face of MagnaXorn!

The Magneto helmet is shattered, and Xorn is left a smoldering, burnt-up, facially disfigured and partially bald mess.

Furious and only briefly blinded, he uses the Xorn helmet as an unseen weapon, bringing it up behind Cyclops before driving it into the back of his skull, thus knocking the X-Men team leader out cold.

Becoming more and more unhinged, and dribbling confused ramblings that actually lend credence to the eventual decision that this was merely an impostor Magneto, MagnaXorn unleashes desperation.
As Esme threatens to psychically attack his exposed brains with "Alzheimer's in fast forward", MagnaXorn lashes out, ripping the earrings from the young girl's ears. Mangled and disfigured ears -- the kinda pain that renders a teenage girl unconscious.

Xorn again dons the... Xorn helmet... protecting himself once more from psychic attack, just as Emma Frost appears on the scene in diamond form.
She consoles Esme [as she dies], and reunites with the distant Cyclops who is preparing to begin a romance with her.

Using his amped up Kick powers, MagnaXorn begins seriously messing with time and space and gravity, which seriously messes with the enjoyment of humanity in the world. Thus, the X-Men run stalling maneuvers to give time for Phoenix to take care of business.

Then Beast comes flying out of nowhere, and generally starts punking the crap out of Magneto. He pounds down on him, delivering an neutralizing solution for the Kick, whilst expressing his disappointment, "I can't believe you'd do this, Xorn! You of all people, Xorn!"

Xorn whips the needles out and stabs Beast with them, which gives him an opportunity to call Wolverine into the fight.
Wolvie brandishes his claws all up in Xorn's grill, but that matters for naught as a Phoenixified Jean Grey enters the battle proper as more than a transport vehicle for people who've been lost at sea, or thrown into the sun.

Taunting manages to get the unhinged false-Magneto to remove his helmet in an attempt to prove his identity as the master of magnetisim, but this exposes him to mental attack from the recovered Professor Xavier.

Phoenix lingers over Magneto's seizing body, and he reaches a frail and weak hand to hers, and something happens to make Jean scream.
Having broken the concentration of his attackers, MagnaXorn reveals his treachery.

MagnaXorn dons his helmet once more... Only to be decapitated.

Xorn dies, Jean dies.
They'll both be back.

The hammer...
As you may have noticed, the winner of this match with the assist from various X-Men - Wolverine. Which almost made up for having his adamantium stripped in a previous entry.

I say almost, because as was mentioned in the Tape, we have a bit of a situation concerning the identity of Xorn. Most comic fans from the last couple of years will be well in-the-know, but for those who came in late, it lays out pretty simply like this:

Magneto gets killed in Genosha for the umpteenth time when Sentinels flatten the place. In Grant Morrison's New X-Men Magneto becomes firmly established as a Che Guevera style t-shirt icon, and an inspiration to disillusioned semi-retarded teen mutants worldwide.

In an incredible twist of fate the new mutant named Xorn turns out to be an elaborate ruse by Magneto to infiltrate Xavier's school, and generally cause problems and lead children astray whilst taking drugs.

The drgs increase his powers and we arrive at the issue reviewed here, where Wolverine unceremoniously cuts his freaking head off. Four more issues to go and then Morrison leaves the book, and returns to DC where he has clearly been better nurtured and embraced by his own standards.

Marvel clearly had some issues with Morrison's ground breaking X-Men, which reinvigorated the franchise. Obviously as a franchise, the viability of killing off Magneto seemed unlikely, and likewise they enjoyed Xorn as a character... So the solution was to immediatel reorder the house of X by revealing Magneto was actualy hiding out on Genosha recovering (a redeemable Holocaust survivor once more) -- and drugged up, headless Magneto was an impostor.

I'm going to come clean, there were some serious lapses of concentration here, and that's largely due to the fact that what started out like a good idea for an entry, kinda drove me a little batty.

It gets messy beyond this issue, and after some vague attempts from Chris Claremont and Chuck Austen, and some unfortunately vivid delivery from Brian "I should stick to street solo characters" Bendis -- Xorn becomes his own character.
Well, his own character and a brother...

Beyond the farce and well on the safe side of a paying job, Morrison has said his intentions were for the character were exactly what he delivered: Magneto's last hurrah, fucking up New York City.
But we here at Secret Earths are bound by canon as tightly as possible.
So as cathartic as it may have been, sorry Wolvie. Wrong head.

A lot of people seem to talk about their 'period away from comics,' and usually it comes across as super-poseable bullshit, and an excuse to talk about how Blankets or something else flavoursome 'brought you back to comics.'

I'm not going to say I ever left comics. I've read them my entire life, but for a while there I wasn't buying much more than Mutant X... So while I was never gone to be brought back, New X-Men certainly renewed my interest in the X-franchise en masse, and was the gateway into which I began making much larger and expansive purchases.

Purchases like the graphic novels Blankets and Maus... [Kidding!]

New X-Men was a hot ticket item and tough to get from the comic store rack, but the issues I do have were a real delight. I can honestly say it's the first time X-Men has ever been a regular priority.

I've been wanting to feature an issue somewhere along here, but the curious thing is that as much action and violence as there was, there really weren't a lot of simple, break it down fights. I went with this one, and I stand by my choice, but the true brilliance to this run was the overall presentation.
Even the leather jacket uniforms, which were a happy compromise between the filmick black leather, and the classic primary yellow, were a brilliant step forward for the X-team.

Despite a distinct Marvel bias over the past few months, I've actually been sitting on the DC side of the fence for the last few years. Having grown up a Marvel youngster, I really feel post-Jemas the company went though a period of very disappointing creative direction.
While I feel they are now recovering, there's still a ways to go before I can ever expect to read and X-Men comic with the same vim as New X-Men.

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 5.5
Additional Stats: Victory also to Beast and Cyclops, with assists to the rest of the team.
Xorn fatal injury inflicted on Esme.