INVISIBLE WOMAN versus TALISMAN

Chapter 2: First Contest: Frenzy in the Frozen North! (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #2 When: July 1982 Why: Mark Gruenwald, Bill Mantlo & Steven Grant How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Across the universe there exist immortal entities whose very being determines cosmic reality. The Grandmaster is one such entity: an Elder of the Universe whose taste for games inspires a Contest of Champions!

Snatching the world's heroes from a temporarily frozen Earth; The Grandmaster drafts a team of twelve to represent him in a contest of life and death! His team must race to find segments of a golden artifact scattered to the four corners of the world. His ultimate prize will be the restoration of his immortal brother: The Collector!

Collector was killed by the mad man-god Michael Korvac, but his passing is beyond even the vast cosmic reach of a fellow Elder. Thus, The Grandmaster issues his challenge to the ultimate opponent - Death herself!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Invisible Woman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Invisible Woman 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Invisible Woman 4 (Trained)
Energy: Invisible Woman 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Invisible Woman 21 (Champion)

We're back in the arctic to revisit the first round of the Contest of Champions!

Two teams of three representing The Grandmaster and Death are locked in a race to claim a hidden portion of a golden artifact. We've already seen Darkstar versus Sunfire and now we return to look at one of the other early skirmishes.

Invisible Girl was chosen to represent Death, competing alongside teammates Iron Fist and Sunfire. That might seem like a winning combination if the warmth of Sunfire's flame can be trapped in an invisible bubble, but team cohesion doesn't appear to be a priority for the hot-headed mutant.

On Grandmaster's team is Talisman, who's joined by Daredevil and Darkstar.

Little is known about the mysterious mystic known as Talisman, but the source of his powers comes from convening with Alcheringa, or the Dreamtime.

This meditative state grants him a projected astral presence, enhanced perception of his surroundings, and commune with the timeless spirits of his ancestors.

Talisman also wields a sacred tjurunga, which he can use to project disorienting effects of Dreamtime upon others who are inexperienced with, or unwelcome in that plane. He uses a bullroarer to direct this: two small pieces of wood swung by a string tether. He can also use this method to teleport himself and others.

Although Susan Storm is still going by the Invisible Girl moniker at this time -- she's absolutely no rookie!

Early adventures were a trial by fire against the likes of Hulk [Fantastic Four #12], building up the steely determination she showed while traversing the depths of Ego The Living Planet in Fantastic Four #235, and defending her family from the eerie Iconoclast in Fantastic Four (Vol.3) #2.

Invisibility might not help her evade the senses of Talisman, but her ability to cast structural force-fields could insulate her from his sense-altering attack, and help her subdue his vulnerable physical form. She also holds another unusual advantage brought about by circumstances: her costume!

Made of unstable molecules, the Fantastic Four's uniforms were created by Mister Fantastic to accommodate their powers and their unusual journeys.

The costumes are highly resistant to temperature changes, giving Invisible Girl extra insulation against the freezing cold of their wintery battlefield, as well as the air and warmth she can trap within a personal force-bubble. That could be a difference maker against the scantily clad Australian! Let's check it out...

The Tape: Invisible Girl Ranking: Invisible Girl (#15)

What Went Down...
With her team going their separate ways, Invisible Girl cloaks herself in a veil of transparency and presses on through the blizzard. She sets her sights on one of  the opposing team -- a curiously seated man, who appears motionless.

The invisible woman anticipates easy ambush, but notices her feet leaving deep depressions in the snow. She crafts two large forcefield discs beneath her feet to tread above the ground, not knowing her opponent roams beyond this realm!

Drifting across the open tundra as an astral projection -- Talisman suddenly senses the approach of someone at his mortal body. In an instant, he snaps back to reality, rejoining spirit and body to confront his would-be attacker!

The sudden rising of a lively Talisman startles the Invisible Girl. Although he cannot see her with his mortal eyes, her shocked exclamation confirms the presence of an unseen opponent. He responds with a sound of his own!

Talisman swings a bull-roarer above his head, unleashing the whirling coo of its handcrafted wooden ends. It is no ordinary sound-maker, but rather a sacred tjurunga through which he channels a gateway into another way of being!

The sudden onrush of Dreamtime catches Invisible Girl by surprise. Despite her many travels across uncharted realms and dimensions -- nothing has prepared her for the timeless expanse of this ancient way of perceiving.

The world appears to bend and distort around her as Invisible Girl struggles to get her bearings. Even as it does, the snow-covered ice beneath them both begins to rend with a massive crack. It provides the focus Susan Storm needs to reorient and create a protective forcefield around herself.

Talisman notes the Invisible Girl's instinctive efforts to navigate the disorienting void as he flees across the cracking ice.

The shaman is so very far from his home in the Australian outback. He knows a plunge into the watery depths with so little clothing could spell certain death. He does not have the luxury of a "force-sphere", which protects Invisible Girl, bobbing gently on the surface without getting her wet.

The pair becomes separated as the ice begins to rapidly melt as a result of the battle overhead between Sunfire and Darkstar. It inadvertently exposes the golden artifact that brings both teams into competition.

Standing on a forcefield raft, Invisible Girl prevents Darkstar from reaching the object with her darkforce projections with another forcefield. While she does, Talisman once again plunges the battlefield into a disorienting blur of dreaming.

Daredevil and Iron Fist stagger through the swirling energies, but this time Invisible Girl is ready. She strides confidently through the confusion toward her goal, while Talisman takes it upon himself to teleport closer as well.

In the end, neither will claim the prize -- nor victory in battle over the other.

It is instead the blind determination of another that reaches through the dreaming to claim the artifact and end their game.

The Hammer...
You could argue the battle between Invisible Girl and Talisman technically ended when they both separated, but they did inadvertently continue to clash. The Contest of Champions may decree Daredevil winner by retrieving the golden prize, but by our rules of combat, even accounting for Talisman's second dreamtime projection, this battle ended with an inconclusive draw.

If Talisman seems at all familiar, it might be because you're thinking of another indigenous Australian character: Gateway. Both can use a bullroarer to open portals through time and space, but otherwise have little to do with each other.

Gateway always struck me as the slightly more authentic character, perhaps benefitting from the proliferation of Australiana in pop culture in the six years following Contest of Champions. He first appeared in 1988, during the X-Men's Mad Max tinged outback era. Talisman is clearly researched, but strikes me as a little less uniquely Australian in his design and presentation.

Not that we ever got to know a great deal about Talisman.

Like some of the other characters created for Contest of Champions, Talisman didn't make many more appearances. His entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe only summarized what was seen during today's battle, and he largely existed as a one panel cameo in series like Quasar and New Avengers.

Quasar #23 seemed to get it right, briefly noting Talisman's awareness when the rotation of the Earth was stopped. That issue was written by Mark Gruenwald, who seemed to be one of the only Marvel writers concerned with keeping check of his global creations, despite Contest of Champions' relative endurance as an early Marvel "event" milestone.

On the plus side: Talisman at least continues to exist. He escaped the gratuitous executions suffered by Blitzkrieg and Defensor in issues of Captain America, and seems ripe for further consideration when the opportunity presents itself.

I like to think Talisman is obviously still out there watching out for Australia, but he'd also be a  good character for writers and editors to be aware of in stories that concern the well-being of the Earth, and matters of distant past.

The Dreaming gives Talisman unique governance over affairs of past, future, and existence. "Dreamtime" is an English translation for an Aboriginal Australian cultural tradition of creation, and ancestral knowledge existing beyond time.

Within a Marvel context Talisman becomes a specialist mystic who might be consulted when events concern other times, or when time and reality itself are under threat. He strikes me as an interesting foil to a character like Kang, and a potential ally known to heroes like Doctor Strange and Black Panther.

While thinking about this, it actually struck me how many Australian characters Marvel has. I don't know that there'd be a large market for it, but I could see how a very interesting series might unfold if these characters were brought together.

I can't help but think of Australia's initial good fortune in responding to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic, and how something like an in-fiction resurgence of a mutated strain of Legacy virus might be an interesting premise to send the various Aussies on an exodus back to their homeland.

A rural quarantine facility would keep them all held together, and place them in proximity to well known characters like The Reavers, and Talisman himself, as intrigue unfolds among the captive characters, and various forces working outside the facility. Ideas come to mind, but I digress...

If you want some more fantasy fiction you can check out The Contest: Killer Croc vs Talisman where the Australian shaman is in competition with an unlikely DC adversary. Our unofficial Contest of Champions sequel is an inter-company crossover where the battles are decided by you!

You can find more battles from the real Contest of Champions, or its official 1999 sequel, by following links throughout this post. Or go on a deeper dive by checking out the Secret Archive for a complete index of every featured fight in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked in excess of 950 characters! You can find it all right here for free, but if you like what we're about and want to see it succeed, you can now support the site on Patreon. In addition to my sincerest gratitude you'll get access to extra updates, additional poll options, and custom articles. A thank you for your generosity!

You can also follow Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to  get daily links to superhero smackdown inspired by the topics of the day. That's also where you'll find the latest polls and results from The Contest. Make sure you share and like updates while you're there, and feel free to say hi!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#15 (--) Invisible Woman
#457 (new) Talisman

PEREGRINE versus ANGEL

Chapter 4: Third Contest: Siege in the City of the Dead! (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #3 When: August 1982 Why: Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant & Bill Mantlo How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Across the universe there exist immortal entities whose very being determines cosmic reality. The Grandmaster is one such entity: an Elder of the Universe whose taste for games inspires a Contest of Champions!

Snatching the world's heroes from a temporarily frozen Earth; The Grandmaster drafts a team of twelve to represent him in a contest of life and death! His team must race to find segments of a golden artifact scattered to the four corners of the world. His ultimate prize will be the restoration of his immortal brother: The Collector!

Collector was killed by the mad man-god Michael Korvac, but his passing is beyond even the vast cosmic reach of a fellow Elder. Thus, The Grandmaster issues his challenge to the ultimate opponent - Death herself!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Angel 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 3 (Strong Willed)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Peregrine 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Draw 19 (Street-level)

We're back to the Contest of Champions and another battle spawned from its clash of teams representing The Grandmaster and his mysterious competition rival: Death! This time the battlefield is the air above the Shaanxi province of China. The team goal is to retrieve an artifact - but the fight is man to man!

Le Peregrine competes for The Grandmaster with teammates The Thing and Wolverine. As his costumed moniker may suggest: Alain Racine is both foreign and falcon-like -- wearing a winged flight suit, and fighting out of France.

He takes on the high-flying Angel, whose partners on Team Death are: Black Panther and the Russian hero Vanguard. The trio is far more composed than their rivals, but as we've already seen during Wolverine vs Black Panther, that won't help them secure victory in The Contest, or in individual skirmishes.

This fight isn't too far removed from Avengers #214, where Angel had been pulled into the orbit of The Avengers, and played peacemaker in a conflict with Ghost Rider. He won't have the luxury of talking his way out of this one, though.

The knock on Angel has often been that, despite his impressive mutant gifts, he isn't much of a fighter. In X-Men #6 he was bamboozled by boulders hurled by Magneto, then snatched from the sky and pitched like a baseball by Namor!

That's a key distinguishing factor for Le Peregrine, who combines aerial derring-do with mastery of the French martial art savate! That's the same kickboxing style used by Batroc, but Peregrine's style involves much more than leaping!

Retro-infused stories in Marvel: Heroes & Legends #1 and X-Men: First Class #2 showed how Angel can turn the tables on far more powerful foes by taking the fight to the air. In this fight, he faces an aerial equal, and won't have the luxury of being able to fall back on dropping his opponent from a great height.

In fact, I think the combination of flight and fighting ability gives Peregrine a convincing advantage. If Angel's going to secure a win, I think his best shot is to try to outmanoeuvre his opponent, and destroy his artificial means of flying.

The Tape: Angel Ranking: Angel (#73)

What Went Down...
With The Grandmaster's team hitting the ground running -- Angel deploys for aerial reconnaissance while his teammates debate tactics. Its not long before he crosses flight paths with his counterpart -- Le Peregrine!

The Frenchman proves familiar with his opponent's exploits and announces his intention to test him. Peregrine wastes no time flying directly for Angel, whose attempts to pull up are thwarted by a dive bombing double-booted kick!

The blow catches Angel by surprise, but he vows not to be caught so easily again! The winged mutant puts distance between he and his attacker, drifting backwards, but he's soon to be disappointed!

Peregrine swoops to deliver another devastating savate kick at the optimal arc of a loop de loop!

The blow is sufficient to send Angel hurtling towards the ground! He pulls himself out of the plunge at the last second, and starts formulating a plan to outmaneouvre his opponent -- and arm himself!

Peregrine looms like a bird of doom as Angel swoops a village street to collect a large walking stick from a local peasant. When Peregrine begins to draw nearer, he turns on the speed and flies as if he's fleeing!

Angel allows Le Peregrine's arrogance to grow as he gets closer to catching up.

Then at the perfect moment Angel pounces -- suddenly flying up and over his pursuing challenger to turn the tables! He locks the staff under Peregrine's jaw and pulls it tight against his windpipe!

The assisted chokehold causes Peregrine to gag on his words, but it doesn't stop him fighting! The nimble martial artist simply throws his legs back, managing to dig his heels in and lock them around the Angel's mid-section!

Suddenly it's Peregrine who's in control, squeezing the air out of Angel with the tightening of his powerful legs!

As he lifts his chest and arches his back in an effort to fill his lungs, Angel also inadvertently releases the choke. Knowing time is running out, the X-Man resorts to a desperation move -- using the staff to club Peregrine on the back of the head!

The blunt force is enough to knock Peregrine out cold and send the pair plummeting earthbound. Angel comes to land in a field, standing over his defeated foe with the knowledge it could've easily been another result.

The Hammer...
Quite a dynamic fight that's nicely differentiated from the aerial action of Sunfire versus Darkstar. I like how raw and basic the battle is. It's part aero dog fight, part street fight. Not necessarily what you'd expect from Angel -- and one hell of a way to introduce Le Peregrine!

There isn't actually a whole lot of it. It's only given one dedicated page, but the way the action is intercut with Wolverine versus Black Panther, and the other key battle, really helps keep the energy up. Some other matches throughout the series have overlap, but the flavor of this one is just a little bit different.

It's intriguing to me that Peregrine has a far more storied career after Contest of Champions than most of the international heroes created for the event. We've already talked about Blitzkrieg and Defensor: German and Argentine heroes killed in a 1995 Captain America story, with few appearances in between.

Le Peregrine doesn't seem particularly more marketable than either of those characters, yet he's managed a couple of dozen subsequent appearances! He was featured as recently as 2017's Secret Empire, as part of a rebel force opposing Hydra known as The Champions of Europe.

He's essentially been afforded the treatment I thought the other characters should've had as well. Not quite a feature player, but when the right story calls for it, he's out there flying around France ready to answer the call.

I wonder if some of Peregrine's staying power is attributable to the strength of his first appearance. He wasn't given a win over the more established X-Man, but he dominates his opponent in a way Blitzkrieg and Defensor did not.

I'm quite taken with the combination of flight and savate. There are several winged characters in comics, but a lot of them don't really use refined fighting techniques. Peregrine is a character who could conceivably shed his wings and keep on kicking. Combining flight with specific martial arts is pretty interesting, and savate's heavy emphasis on kicking without punching works perfectly!

I can't imagine Peregrine fronting a solo series, but I'm very intrigued by the prospect of how he could flesh out a team book, Marvel Comics Presents style anthology, or other relevant series as a more frequent recurring character.

Peregrine's still relatively unexplored, and low key enough that there's room to develop him in new ways. Yet there's also enough history and character to generate some pretty easy new plots that would be worth seeing.

You can't mention savate in Marvel Comics without conjuring Batroc The Leaper, and the fact they haven't established a strong rivalry already is almost hard to believe! A feud for mastery of the style seems obligatory and could be a lot of fun -- especially if it were to escalate into new incarnations of Batroc's Brigade. That would be particularly applicable if Peregrine were in a team scenario.

Peregrine worked briefly for Silver Sable, which creates some interesting ties, and further ingrains him into the mercenary world that Batroc occupies.

It could be very interesting to see the flying Frenchman meet other prominent mercs in the Marvel Univrse, like the recently resurrected Jason Macendale, Taskmaster, Sabretooth, Crossbones, Deadpool, Moon Knight, and so on.

As we saw in today's featured fight: it can also be satisfying just to see how he might interact with other winged allies and enemies. Revisiting Angel could be interesting, but I also like the idea of a run-in with Vulture, flying with Falcon, and perhaps developing a friendship with Wasp. We talked a little about how she might find her way to France while looking at Marvel Super-Heroes #3.

I rather like the emotionally connected portrayal of Peregrine in a James Robinson written issue of Scarlet Witch from 2016.

That was an out of leftfield story about love, loss, and suicidal depression. I think it would be interesting to keep that element of sensitivity, but marry it to the bravado seen in Contest, creating some version of a Luc Besson sensibility in the vein of Leon or Taken.

International intrigue seems like an easy way make the most of the character's European origins, while giving him some edge. That realm was exploited through a Black Widow team-up, and there are a lot of other characters in the Marvel Universe who could fit the bill. Good humored tension between the French and British has often been a source of amusement. I'm also personally intrigued by the unique cultural exchange between France and Japan.

I'm sure I could sit around fantasy booking ways to revisit Peregrine all day, but what I'd really like is for you to help decide an unofficial Contest of Champions sequel! Check out The Contest: Hawkman vs Peregrine for the full rundown of their match-up and ways you can comment & vote for the winner.

You can find more superhero smackdown from the original Contest of Champions, or its much later official sequel, by following links throughout this post. Or just jump into the Secret Archive for an index of every featured fight ordered by publisher, series, and issue number!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles with more on the way! Get additional updates inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to Twitter and Facebook. If you like what it's all about you can also unlock extra schedule info, custom article requests, and polling by signing up to Patreon.

Winner: Angel
#46 (+27) Angel (Warren Worthington III)
#920 (new) Le Peregrine

DEFENSOR versus IRON MAN

Chapter 3: Second Contest: Ghost Town Showdown! (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #2 When: July 1982 Why: Mark Gruenwald, Bill Mantlo & Steven Grant How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Across the universe there exist immortal entities whose very being determines cosmic reality. The Grandmaster is one such being: an Elder of the Universe whose taste for games inspires a Contest of Champions!

Snatching the world's heroes from a temporarily frozen Earth; The Grandmaster drafts a team of twelve to represent him in a contest of life and death! His team must race to find segments of a golden artifact scattered to the four corners of the Earth. The Grandmaster's ultimate prize is the restoration of his immortal brother: The Collector!

Killed by the mad man-god Michael Korvac; The Collector's demise is beyond even the vast cosmic reach of a fellow Elder. Thus, The Grandmaster's challenge is issued to the ultimate opponent - Death herself!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Defensor 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Iron Man 4 (Trained)
Energy: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)
Total: Iron Man 31 (Super)

Another round of Contest of Champions means a battle between opposing trios representing The Grandmaster and his great unknown adversary: Death. The ultimate goal of the Contest is for a team to retrieve a piece of a golden artifact, but we're here to focus on key conflicts that break out between two adversaries.

Defensor is competing for Team Grandmaster along with She-Hulk and Captain Britain. The little known hero hailing from Argentina is really Gabriel Sepulveda: a construction worker who discovered an underground passage that led him to a mysterious machine and powerful suit of armor.

Defensor's origin was explained in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #3. His mysterious armor shares style with 14th century Spanish conquistadors, but is made of vibranium -- the rare metal closely associated with Wakanda and another of his Contest teammates: Black Panther!

The vibranium allows Defensor to absorb incredible impacts without significant consequence, while internal mechanisms also enhance his physical strength. His primary weapon is a shield, but examples of his escapades are rare.

Iron Man is no stranger to vibranium - or fighting shield-wielding heroes. We saw him get the best of the greatest shield slinger, Captain America, when they clashed in Captain America Annual #9 and again, much later, in Civil War #3.

Iron Man also has a long history of clashing with various armored enemies and rivals. In Iron Man #310 he overcame upgraded War Machine armor, led the fight against Titanium Man in Iron Man #316, stood down Doctor Doom in Mighty Avengers #10, and even endured The Destroyer armor in Thor #1!

Iron Man will also participate in Contest of Champions II almost two decades later. He gained a victory over Psylocke, but due to the unusual circumstances of the sequel, was defeated in a lopsided clash with the entirety of X-Force!

Iron Man's firepower and technology is generally far superior to that of the mysterious antique armor worn by Defensor. It would also seem he has far greater experience than the relative unknown. A compelling case for the win.

The Tape: Iron Man Ranking: Iron Man (#3)

What Went Down...
A quiet walk through an abandoned saloon is suddenly interrupted when Defensor smashes shield-first through a window to confront Iron Man!

The Argentine hero is determined to claim the Contest's golden prize, which Iron Man rightly notes is actually for The Grandmaster. Reluctantly, he indulges the obligation to fight, firing a repulsor ray he expects will finish it quickly.

Instead - the blast is deflected by Defensor's vibranium shield and knocks the ill prepared Iron Man off his feet!

Defensor leaps into action to take full advantage of the armored Avenger landing flat on his back! Alas, he isn't quick enough. Iron Man anticipates the follow-up - rolling over to catch and viciously slam him into the barroom floor!

Meanwhile, battle between the other contestants rages on outside. A mistimed dive sees Captain Britain tumbling from the sky -- perfectly aligned to collide with an airborne Defensor as he's sent flying from the bar by Iron Man's fist!

Iron Man rockets out of the saloon to survey the battlefield. Outside, Captain Britain lies unconscious, while Defensor struggles to gain footing after smashing through an exterior support.

Defensor is too dazed to continue to fight, allowing Iron Man to seek out a third opponent from The Grandmaster's team!

The Hammer...
There's a popular myth that Iron Man was as low as a C-lister before the 2008 movie reinvented and elevated him for mainstream audiences. It is very much a myth, and I think his appearance in the 1982 Contest of Champions reminds us of this. Granted, he doesn't have the highest profile opponents, but he's also one of the few combatants to take on all three opposing heroes.

We saw Thing show up during the fight between Wolverine and Black Panther, but this is the first Contest battle that's recorded significant overlap between competitors. We'll talk more about Captain Britain's fate when his fight with Arabian Knight gets the proper spotlight.

You can see in the panel above; Defensor does a valiant job of trying to keep his feet, but his antique armor was ultimately outclassed by the power of Iron Man. That's not to say Defensor wouldn't have been a nice character to have in the Marvel universe, though.

Much like Blitzkrieg; Defensor was created for the globally minded Contest of Champions -- only to go almost completely unseen until Mark Gruenwald brought him back for a 1995 murder plot in Captain America.

It would seem the writer saw most of his Contest characters go relatively unacknowledged after the 1982 event, and figured them fair game. Which is a shame, because despite their relative obscurity, they undoubtedly contributed to neglected corners of the Marvel Universe.

Defensor doesn't have the slick modern appeal of most characters, but knowing there's an active hero whenever a story might swing by Argentina is a valuable thing. It's the kind of expansion that made the Marvel Universe come into being, and kept it ticking for so many decades of additions.

To the best of my knowledge: the origin of Defensor's armor was never clearly elaborated upon. His backstory was relegated to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, rather than any particular issue. Admittedly, the nature of his ancient vibranium armor doesn't lend itself to a modern revamp, but I'm not sure it needs to. Old timey conquistador could just be his look. Why not?

One aspect that could certainly live-on beyond the character is his vibranium shield. I don't know if there's a Defensor legacy character already running around the Marvel universe -- I don't think so. Maybe there should be, though. Passing the shield (and armor) to a new Argentine would certainly be better than cheapening Defensor's demise, or the act of dying, itself.

The metal itself generates a lot of interesting story possibilities. Between Black Panther and Captain America, there's been plenty of modern appetite for vibranium shields. Klaw and other villains usually have plenty of reason to track down this kinda stuff. I'm sure there'd be heroes interested in its resurfacing, too. A fine way to once again populate this part of the world with a local hero.

I recently brought the original back for one more run in our unofficial sequel to Contest of Champions. You can check out The Contest: Guardian vs Defensor to help decide who would win in a clash of cross-company shield wielders. Voting has been slow for these curious characters, so I'd really appreciate your input!

If you'd like to find more battles from the original Contest (or its official sequel) you can follow links throughout this post, or dive in to the Secret Archive for a complete listing of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has documented well over 600 comic book battles and counting! If you like reading about superhero smackdown, you can help make it all possible by subscribing to Patreon. Patrons receive illuminating schedule updates, special request options, and extra voting polls.

Subscribe to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to receive daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day. Don't forget to like and share posts, and look for pinned Contest polls to vote and have your say!

Winner: Iron Man
#3 (--) Iron Man
#912 (new) Defensor

SUNFIRE versus DARKSTAR

Chapter 2: First Contest: Frenzy in the Frozen North! (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #2 When: July 1982 Why: Mark Gruenwald, Bill Mantlo & Steven Grant How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Across the universe there exist immortal entities whose very being determines cosmic reality. The Grandmaster is one such being: an Elder of the Universe whose taste for games inspires a Contest of Champions!

Snatching the world's heroes from a temporarily frozen Earth; The Grandmaster drafts a team of twelve to represent him in a contest of life and death! His team must race to find segments of a golden artifact scattered to the four corners of the Earth. The Grandmaster's ultimate prize is the restoration of his immortal brother: The Collector!

Killed by the mad man-god Michael Korvac; The Collector's demise is beyond even the vast cosmic reach of a fellow Elder. Thus, The Grandmaster's challenge is issued to the ultimate opponent - Death herself!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Draw 2 (Average)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Sunfire 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Darkstar 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Draw 4 (Trained)
Energy: Sunfire 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Sunfire 23 (Champion)

We're back in the Contest of Champions, which means two teams of three represent The Grandmaster and Death in a race to claim portions of a golden artifact. The contest is interesting -- but what we're really here to see are the inevitable battles that break out between competitors from opposing teams!

Sunfire represents Death, fighting alongside Invisible Girl and Iron Fist -- not that you'd necessarily know it. The hot tempered Japanese mutant has no time for teamwork. His narrow focus on victory fuels a fiercely individual burden.

That's a quality that could work in the favor of Darkstar, who fights for The Grandmaster's team beside Daredevil and Talisman. Her first major deployment to the United States was to recover and return Black Widow to the Soviet Union, but she wound up temporarily defecting to the ranks of The Champions of LA.

Collaboration continued to be a hallmark of Laynia Petrovna's career, even after she returned to the USSR. Her mutant mastery of the darkforce was applied as a member of The Soviet Super-Soldiers, and later The Winter Guard.

Darkstar's powers are related to the same other dimensional energies used by Cloak, but her unique mutant connection allows her to fly, teleport, and project solid constructs made of abysmal darkforce energy. These can also absorb light.

Sunfire's powers are very different, but he shares some similar experience. He first entered the world stage as a hostile threat, using his atomic flame to enact a doctrine of loathing for American power, and its influence over modern Japan.

Sunfire fought the X-Men in his first outing, but was soon recruited to join them as one of the famous international lineup from Giant-Size X-Men. A redeemed Shiro Yashida later became a high-profile member of Japan's premier superhero team, Big Hero Six, while maintaining some loose affiliation with the X-Men.

Sunfire's self-sustained flame and aggressive nature make him a serious threat to Darkstar, but if she can keep her distance and use darkforce constructs to defend from afar -- she might just be able to take care of him!

The Tape: Sunfire Ranking: Draw (Not Ranked)

What Went Down...
A bitter arctic chill whips through the competitors as they discover themselves in the snow of the North Pole. Pleasantries between The Grandmaster's team are soon cut short as Sunfire takes to the sky -- prompting Darkstar to follow!

The hot-blooded hero sees his opponent approaching and seizes the opportunity to eliminate the competition with two searing spears of fire!

Darkstar nimbly navigates a path between the jets of flame and summons the energy of the Darkforce to return fire. A massive black hand forms from her outstretched fist, reaching to engulf an unprepared Sunfire!

The fist closes around Sunfire, surrounding him in darkness. Its massive fingers pin his hands by his sides, while the dark energies absorb the light of his fire into the cold void of another dimension.

Contemplating his samurai spirit, Sunfire stirs the raging inferno that burns within him -- and unleashes a blazing atomic explosion from all his extremities!

The stunning explosion blasts Sunfire free of the darkforce's suffocating grip and cracks the icy plane below!

The strain of the awesome outburst puts Darkstar on the back foot, allowing Sunfire to arch his back and resume an offensive. He sends a volley of three fire streams at Darkstar -- but her powers are still able to defend against their heat!

The shattered ice below suddenly reveals the golden prize at the centre of their contest.

Sunfire spots it first and abandons the battle -- making a beeline for the exposed water below in an effort to assist Invisible Girl in claiming victory for their team. Darkstar remains airborne, extending a giant black pincer in a race with Sunfire as a new struggle begins!

The Hammer...
The rules and objectives of the Contest of Champions ultimately outweighs the conflict between Sunfire and Darkstar. They become involved in the final mad dash to secure their golden prize, abandoning the battle without conclusion.

It's somewhat interesting to note that both featured characters are mutants. In fact, all three of the Contest of Champions battles we've covered thus far have included at least one mutant: Wolverine and Storm, the others respectively.

The Contest of Champions was originally conceived to tie-in with the Summer Olympic Games, so the international flavor is fairly deliberate, but the choice of adding lesser known heroes, and newly created obscurities, is a creative one.

It would've been very easy to overrun The Contest with X-Men. I'm not sure there's a more worldly bunch of heroes in the Marvel Comics canon to this very day. Wolverine, Storm, and Sunfire were all part of Professor X's global mutant recruitment drive in 1975, seen in the series defining Giant-Size X-Men #1.

There are two heroes representing the Soviet Union in The Contest, but neither is the famous X-Man Colossus. Along with Darkstar is her brother Vanguard, who debuted fighting Iron Man with his sister and the Soviet Super-Soldiers, in 1978, and competes later in The Contest on the side of Death's team.

Over the years I've often thought it might be a more exciting comic with the likes of Colossus in place of Vanguard, but there's something to be said for the world building Contest achieves, and the more sporting tone of its brand variety.

Of course, Darkstar has loose ties to the X-Men, most notably serving with Angel and Iceman as one of The Champions. Long time fans might remember her as an unrequited romantic interest for Iceman before the team went their separate ways. The pair share a tender moment together during the gathering of prospective competitors at the start of Contest of Champions #1.

The Marvel Age was rooted deeply in the Cold War era, so the majority of Soviet characters have tended to be villains. I like the way Darkstar and her comrades embellish a heroic side to the other side of the iron curtain.

In Contest of Champions, I think we see Darkstar in her best design. Like her heroic bearing, she eschews the standard Soviet colour palette of red. Sure, there's a gold star, but the black and yellow athletic stripes down the side give her the look of a general, legitimate Marvel super-hero. I like it!

Sunfire has a pretty spiffy design himself, if a little more obvious. I suspect he's a character we'll return to, to explore more deeply in the future.

In the mean time: Darkstar is currently appearing in our unofficial sequel to Contest of Champions. You should check out The Contest: Green Lantern vs Darkstar for an intriguing match-up you can now view with more context. It's a closely contested result that deserves a closer look.

If you'd like to discover more battles like the one featured today, or explore more from the worlds of comics, dive in to the Secret Archive. There you'll find every featured fight indexed by publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has documented well over 600 battles and counting! If you like reading about superhero smackdown, you can help make it all possible by subscribing to Patreon. Patrons receive illuminating schedule updates, special request options, and voting polls.

Subscribe to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to receive daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day. Don't forget to like and share posts, and look for pinned Contest polls to vote and have your say!

Winner: Inconclusive (Draw)
#448 (new) Sunfire
#449 (new) Darkstar (Laynia Petrovna)

BLITZKRIEG versus STORM

Chapter 5: Fourth Contest: Struggle in the Jungle! (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #3 When: August 1982 Why: Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant & Bill Mantlo How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Across the universe there exists immortal entities whose existence determines cosmic reality. The Grandmaster is one such being: an Elder of the Universe whose taste for games inspires a Contest of Champions!

Snatching the world's heroes from a temporarily frozen Earth; The Grandmaster drafts a team of twelve to represent him in a contest of life and death! His team will race to find segments of a golden artifact scattered to the four corners of the Earth!

The Grandmaster's ultimate prize is the restoration of his immortal brother: The Collector! Killed by the man-god Korvac; The Collector's demise is beyond even the vast cosmic reach of a fellow Elder. Thus, The Grandmaster's contest pits him against the ultimate opponent - Death herself!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Storm 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 2 (Average)
Stamina: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Agility: Storm 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Storm 4 (Trained)
Energy: Draw 5 (Lasers)
Total: Storm 23 (Champion)

It's the Contest of Champions, which means two teams of three represent The Grandmaster and Death in a race to recover a special artifact! Within each trial there are inevitable battles breaking out between competing heroes. That's our special area of interest, with today's clash promising sparks will fly!

Competing for The Grandmaster is Blitzkrieg: a West German hero making his debut in the 1982 series, partnered here with Captain America and Sasquatch.

In civilian life he was Franz Mittelstaedt: an electrical technician who was struck by lightning while inspecting a faulty generator. Blitzkrieg's origins and powers are similar to the villain Electro, but his ability to manipulate and direct charge lends itself more uniquely to generating and commanding the course of lightning strikes. That's something he'll find in abundance against today's opponent!

Storm literally represents Death in this contest, partnering with Collective Man and Shamrock. Usually she keeps the company of the mutant X-Men, but she's no stranger to flying solo for a cosmic contest like this one!

In Marvel versus DC #3, Storm brought lightning down upon Wonder Woman, securing a victory after the Amazon threw away the storm-bringing powers of Thor's hammer. No such clemency in today's battle, where lightning strikes will only grant Blitzkrieg more ammunition to electrocute her with!

Storm is typically a measured fighter with a keen mind for tactics. If she can avoid being bamboozled by an unfamiliar foe, her mutant ability to control the gamut of weather phenomena will give her a huge advantage!

We saw Storm's skills used tactically when she subtly raised the humidity to slow down Magneto in X-Men #113. She can also summon hurricane force winds, pummeling rain & hail, or a bitter cold to freeze her foe to the bone.

Storm does have one glaring weakness: claustrophobia. We saw Deathstroke use this debilitating fear of enclosed spaces against her in Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans. The jungle setting in today's battle doesn't present any obvious risk for enclosure, so the forecast should be sunny for Storm!

The Tape: Storm Ranking: Storm (#51)

What Went Down...
Introductions are cut short as Blitzkrieg abruptly leaves his teammates, leaping on a stream of electrically charged particles to pursue their goal in the Contest.

It isn't long before "The Lord of the Lightning Strike" is spotted by one of their opponents who soars above the jungle terrain. With a simple gesture he sends lightning streaking towards her, forming an ensnaring electrical cage!

The German hero doesn't realise he's attack the mutant mistress of elements. With an indignant flexing of her muscles, Storm summons the necessary influence to shatter the cage, sending lightning blasting outward!

The skies darken as Storm catches up with her airborne opponent, but the raging thunder is a herald to more lightning that serves the will of Blitzkrieg. He turns its bolts against her, demanding that she yield to his power.

Blitzkrieg may have the advantage of shaping the lightning, but Storm controls all that her namesake entails!

The howling gale answers Storm's command as she whips Blitzkrieg with intense rain and unforgiving winds! The lightning rider is immediately humbled, flung from the skies like a leaf in a hurricane!

The Hammer...
The victory goes to Storm, but the story doesn't end there. She expresses displeasure with being a pawn for her mysterious overseer, (Death), and is unseen as the race to uncover the Contest's golden artifact concludes.

In fact, it's Blitzkrieg who recovers from the battle, and uses his powers to create a wind vortex by super-charging molecules in the air. This strips the jungle of leafy growth and exposes the artifact for retrieval.

It's a bit of a strange twist, given how naturally Storm would've performed the same function. I can only suspect there was some effort being made to support the characters that were newly introduced in Contest of Champions. Blitzkrieg gets some credibility back, while Shamrock ultimately wins the heat.

The three-issue series does a decent job of incorporating a few foreign national heroes who already existed, to better blend the newly minted global heroes with the old. Popular additions like Storm, Sasquatch, and Black Panther lend heft to the concept, setting up headlining dream bouts like Wolverine vs Black Panther.

The international heroes created for the event weren't the most inspired bunch, but I appreciate the global flavor they added to the Marvel Universe.

With jingoistic origins circa World War II and The Cold War; Marvel Comics has tended to disproportionately populate the world with American super-heroes, and a modest smattering of European villains. The Contest went a ways to superficially addressing some of that issue, even if only by accident.

According to series editor Tom DeFalco: the Contest of Champions was originally conceived as a Marvel Treasury Edition to tie-in with the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. That plan was upended when the United States and their allies opted to boycott the Games over the Soviet Union's conflict in Afghanistan.

American audiences typically prefer to consume American stories and American characters. Marvel Treasury Edition #25 would later feature a Winter Olympic tie-in with Team USA, but the depleted Summer Games meant the original concept was effectively shelved, even as inker Pablo Marcos continued to work on pages from his home in South America.

Two confused years later and Pablo Marcos arrives in the Marvel offices in 1981 with around forty finished pages. Mixed communications had allowed Marcos to continue inking at a leisurely pace. DeFalco credits Mark Gruenwald with rapidly re-envisioning the finished work to pitch the mini-series we eventually got.

Adjustments for two years of publishing meant extensive reworking was needed to meet updated costumes and context, but it all worked out in the end. Sort of. There is one very famous mistake in this issue, which was ultimately completely edited by a promoted Gruenwald, while DeFalco dealt with personal tragedy. It completely undermines the end of the event, but that's a story for another day.

We're basically here to focus on Blitzkrieg, who's currently appearing in our own unofficial sequel to Contest of Champions. You can check out The Contest: Plastic Man vs Blitzkrieg to find out all about that, with a little added context now that you've seen the West German hero in action!

It's worth noting that West Germany was a country. This series was published in 1982: seven years before the Berlin Wall was torn down, and the subsequent reunification of Germany in 1990. That fact doesn't hold any special significance to the story, but it's an interesting piece of the time capsule it represents.

As you may have intuitively recognized; Blitzkrieg didn't go on to great success in the Marvel Universe. He was perhaps most notable for a short stint appearing in Mark Gruenwald's Captain America in the early nineties. There, he was briefly seen as part of the Schutz Heiligruppe: a German superhero team attempting to charge Red Skull and the Skeleton Crew with war crimes. Blitzkrieg made his final appearance in 1995, murdered by a teammate who was a serial hero killer.

I'm sure Blitzkrieg is a character few will miss, but I think it's a little bit of a shame he was so flippantly done away with. This is the kind of character that's good to keep in the mix for whenever they might be a story that calls for local German heroes. There are others, but none will have the history of debuting in The Contest of Champions.

If you wish to discover more contests like this you could follow links throughout this article, or dive into the Secret Index for a complete archive of featured fights ordered by publisher, series, and issue!

If you like what Secret Wars on Infinite Earths is all about and want to see it succeed you can go the extra mile on Patreon. Patrons help keep the lights on and can get involved with extra voting polls and special feature articles!

You can also subscribe on Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to superhero smackdown inspired by the topics of the day! Don't forget to like and share, and keep your eyes peeled for Contest poll update! I want to hear from you!

Winner: Storm
#37 (+14) Storm
#904 (new) Blitzkrieg (Franz Mittelstaedt)

WOLVERINE versus BLACK PANTHER

Chapter 4: Third Contest: Siege in the City of the Dead! (Marvel)
Where: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #3 When: August 1982 Why: Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant & Bill Mantlo How: John Romita Jr

The Story So Far...
Across the universe there exists immortal entities whose existence determines cosmic reality. The Grandmaster is one such being: an Elder of the Universe whose taste for games inspires a Contest of Champions!

Snatching the world's heroes from a temporarily frozen Earth; The Grandmaster drafts a team of twelve to represent him in a contest of life and death! His team will race to find segments of a golden artifact scattered to the four corners of the Earth!

The Grandmaster's ultimate prize is the restoration of his immortal brother: The Collector! Killed by the man-god Korvac; The Collector's demise is beyond even the vast cosmic might of a fellow Elder. Thus, The Grandmaster's contest pits him against the ultimate opponent - Death herself!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Black Panther 5 (Professor)
Speed: Black Panther 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Panther 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Black Panther 2 (Projectiles)
Total: Draw 26 (Meta-Human)

At long last we arrive at one of the legendary texts in comic book combat lore!

Contest of Champions is an early Marvel Comics event that gathered the world's heroes to compete as representatives of The Grandmaster and Death herself! The Contest pre-dates the more famed Secret Wars by a few years, and is distinguished for making opponents out of would-be heroic allies!

There's little love lost when Canadian X-Man Wolverine stalks Wakandan royal Black Panther in today's Contest of Champions battle!

Technically the heroes are part of two three-man teams: Wolverine, Thing & Le Peregrine represent The Grandmaster. Black Panther, Angel & Vanguard represent an unrevealed Death. Like a cosmic edition of The Amazing Race: the teams are teleported to China for a race to discover a hidden artifact.

Still very much the surly loner of the X-Men in 1982; Wolverine goes his own way after a few terse introductions. Thus, we have an intriguing clash of hyper-keen senses, battle-tested combat technique, super-human physical prowess, and command of rare metals!

Wolverine's mutant claws and skeleton were famously coated with nigh unbreakable Adamantium, while Black Panther commands the world's largest deposit of rare Vibranium! There seemed to be a little less fuss made about The Panther weaving the flexible mineral into his costume, back in the early days, so avoidance is probably preferable to testing metal against metal. Sorry, fanboys!

Agility is clearly one of the Black Panther's key advantages over Wolverine. The X-Man is a skilled fighter, but the facility of his mutant healing factor means he can afford to fight sloppy -- and often does, especially in these early days. Untamed aggression frequently gets the better of Wolverine, while T'Challa is all about being in control. Combat technique steered by a brilliant mind!

We've seen Black Panther outwit Wolvie's Contest teammate Thing in Fantastic Four #52, outplay arch-villain Klaw in Fantastic Four #53, and fight Captain America to a complete standstill in Tales of Suspense #98! With upgraded armor, and Storm at his back, The Panther was even able to beat the metal of Doctor Doom and his Doombots many years later, in Black Panther #19!

Wolverine is no stranger to foes like these. We saw him terrorize the Fantastic Four in Wolverine #22, slice & dice nemesis Lady Deathstrike in Uncanny X-Men #205, and fight werewolf Cap to a near standstill in Captain America #405! Of course, we also Cap put an end to a rampage against the X-Men that briefly cost Northstar his life, in Wolverine (Volume 3) #25.

What's the net result? Clearly these are two bad ass fighting heroes!

It's difficult to ignore the superior skill, speed, and agility that have made Black Panther famous. Wolverine's healing factor means he'll always come back again, and his warrior spirit means he's a dangerous man, but his discipline is inconsistent. I'd say T'Challa probably wins 3 to 4 in every five matches.

The Tape: Draw Ranking: Wolverine (#4)

What Went Down...
For all the wonders of Wakanda, even Prince T'Challa is in awe of the terracotta army that greets him in China! Walking amongst the eerily still rows of warriors -- his keen senses detect movement: Wolverine strikes!

Black Panther ducks at the perfect moment, narrowly avoiding the clutches of the diving X-Man! Wolverine is impressed to see his speed matched, but he isn't playing around. He unsheathes his claws and makes his challenge known!

Once again The Panther proves fast and nimble enough to evade Wolverine. He flips forward, leaping over Wolverine and his lunging claw slash! He's shocked by the severity of the attack and the X-Man's intent to be deadly.

The Panther favours stealth, disappearing into the crowd of surrounding clay soldiers. He soon learns that Wolverine's mutant senses are as keen as his own! It's only a matter of time before the mutant finds him - so this time he attacks!

The Black Panther dives out of hiding to snatch Wolverine by the wrists, hoping to control his deadly weapons. The clawed X-Man is able to turn the momentum against his opponent, flipping Black Panther onto his back with brute strength!

Wolverine looms over his opponent, who does not break the wrist-lock that keeps the mutant's claws from finding their target!

As Wolverine presses down with his full body weight and talks trash -- his teammate in the game, The Thing, arrives to admonish his methods! Thing doesn't much like seeing his old friend Black Panther threatened -- not that the fight is over just yet! The slightest diversion in Wolverine's attention is all Black Panther needs to send him vaulting head over heels!

Thing joins the two heroes in the pit, and contemplates the personal pleasure of kicking his teammate's butt. The stand-off is ended when both Wolverine and Black Panther detect the foreign scent of the object they are meant to find.

Thing plunges his massive hand into the dirt below, scooping the strange golden object out of the earth. Victory in The Contest for The Grandmaster's team.

The Hammer...
Indeed, by the terms of The Contest of Champions it is Thing who claims victory on behalf of The Grandmaster's team. Our concerns, however, are purely of the combative! In this arena, the fight between Black Panther and Wolverine can only be considered an inconclusive draw!

Neither man established a definitive upper-hand during the battle, nor was there any finishing blow. A minor disappointment for fans looking to settle the age old debate of Adamtnium versus Vibranium, but a match-up we can no doubt revisit some time in the future!

We saw Thing defeated by Black Panther earlier this month, in his classic first appearance [Fantastic Four #52]. It's kinda fun to come back two decades later, to a time when Black Panther and the FF are longtime friends.

Thing doesn't much like his teammate Wolverine during the issue. Tensions between the two would infamously escalate to a brawl in the 90s that left Thing scarred, and wearing a helmet. Some form of cigar-chomping comradery was settled upon in the convening years. Even in gentler times, Wolverine still had to check off marquee fights with just about every hero in the Marvel Universe!

It's easy to forget just how much Wolverine has evolved over time. The cantankerous loner has softened considerably, especially in the new millennium. On the flipside, it could be argued Black Panther has hardened, expanding his technological arsenal, and responsibilities to the kingdom of Wakanda.

This month's theatrical release of Black Panther has introduced vast movie-going audiences to the world of Wakanda and its heroes. It's a kind of global acknowledgement American-centric media often overlooks.

The world beyond the United States in comics has been a subject of interest on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths over many years, which makes Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions a long overdue addition to our archive!

Unfortunately, many of the characters suffer from the familiar failings of heroes arbitrarily created to serve a singular focus. The likes of Le Peregrine (France), Shamrock (Ireland), and Talisman (Australia) debut with a relatively dull thud.

Established international heroes like Black Panther, Wolverine, Storm, and Captain Britain go a long way to giving the event a bit of credibility. Not that the international theme of The Contest is of any great focus, or consequence!

The Grandmaster and Death disqualify alien influence, even eliminating Atlanteans, but nothing in their rules seems to demand drafting from obscurity. I quite like the idea of a Marvel Universe "world warrior" tournament, but in the end, the global theme is a strange subtext that doesn't really serve the story.

There are plenty of fan-favourite American heroes keeping things interesting with unusual match-ups. No doubt they'll be the focus when we return to look deeper into The Contest of Champions -- forebear to the famed Secret Wars!

If you'd like to find more curious contests and major match-ups: dive into the Secret Archive Index to find a menu of featured fights catalogued by publisher, series, and issue number! For more direct selections, be sure to take advantage of links littered throughout this post, or follow on Twitter and Facebook to get daily fights inspired by the topics of the day!

Sharing links to your favourite fights is a great way to support the site! You can also donate via the PayPal button further up the page, or sponsor the site by making your next purchase via the Amazon link provided [right]! Buying a collected edition of Contest of Champions, or anything else, means Amazon will kick back something small to the site at no extra cost!

Stay tuned as we venture on! Who knows where the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths will take us next? Perhaps even to a fantasy match from Contest of Champions II?

Winner: Draw
#4 (--) Wolverine
#45 (+2) Black Panther
#10 (--) Thing [+1 assist]