AVENGERS versus MANDARIN

Thieves Honor (Marvel)
Where: Avengers #313 When: January 1990
Why: John Byrne How: Paul Ryan & Tom Palmer

The Story So Far...
A series of sudden super-villain attacks have stretched the ranks of The Avengers across the country as they respond to the decimation of their coastal island Hydrobase, and underground Manhattan headquarters!

Only Edwin Jarvis is on hand to raise the alarm when The Mandarin begins a frontal assault on an already damaged & unguarded Avengers Park. All thanks to Loki and his Acts of Vengeance designed to organize and consolidate the resources of some of the world's most powerful super-criminals!

Not content to leave their butler to face another siege: Captain America leads the call to assemble on Central Park -- but with The Wizard circling the skies over New York City, the star-spangled super-soldier will have to rely on the few local heroes able to answer the call!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain America 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Mandarin 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Captain America 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Black Widow 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Mandarin 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Captain America 28 (Metahuman)

The Avengers are: Captain America, Black Widow, and Hellcat.

Wonder Man and Vision accompanied Captain America on the trip from the West Coast, but had to peel away to take on The Wizard. That means Cap is relying on unpowered first responders Black Widow and Hellcat -- less than ideal against the ten rings of power wielded by The Mandarin!

Although appearing mystical in nature, each of Mandarin's rings is originally part of an alien technology that grants him specific skills. The names and breadth of their power has changed over the years, but the basics remain true:

The Ice Blast, or "Zero" Ring, is worn on the left little finger, and does exactly what it sounds like, generating sufficient cold to freeze anything in ice. That might give Cap some unfortunate flashbacks to his post-war suspended animation, but as we saw when he battled Cold War, he can keep a handle on it.

The Mento-Intensifier, or "Liar" Ring, is worn on the left ring finger, and can be used to bring a person under Mandarin's thrall, or generate a world of inescapable illusion penetrating the victim's very mind.

The Electro-Blast, or "Lightning" Ring, is on the left middle finger, and can deliver powerful bolts of electricity through the air! A power not unlike its namesake, but Cap's shield was able to absorb Loki's electric attacks in Avengers (Vol.2) #1.

The Flame Blast, or "Incandescence" Ring, worn on the left index finger, can super-heat the air by emitting radiation to fire potent jets of flame of varying intensities. Another one handily blocked by Cap's shield, as seen when he met Ghost Rider in Avengers #214!

The White Light, or "Daimonic" Ring, is worn on the left thumb, and traditionally emits various electro-magnetic spectrums, which has also been known to effect a susceptible target's mood, or mental state.

The Black Light, or "Nightbringer" Ring, sits on the right little finger, and projects an area of total darkness. Its energies are associated with the inter-dimensional Darkforce used by Darkstar for a variety of offensive & defensive projections, and contained within Cloak, who can trap opponents within its endless darkness.

The Disintegration Beam, or "Spectral" Ring, worn on the right ring finger, is traditionally used to destroy anything it strikes, unmaking it on a molecular level with an estimated 20-minute charge time. Cap's no stranger to avoiding those kinds of attacks, dodging Red Skull's blast cannons since the Second World War!

The Vortex Beam, or "Spin" Ring, is wielded on the right middle finger, and can allow The Mandarin to fly, levitate targets, or generate massive swirling winds as offensive weapons. It has also been associated with moving at super-speeds.

The Impact Beam, or "Influence" Ring, is a standard favourite for The Mandarin, using his right index finger to direct powerful blasts and waves of energy. It's an equivalent to a lot of energy blasters, such as Titanium Man's, which Black Widow was agile and canny enough to avoid, with added shielding from Iron Man!

The Matter Re-Arranger, or "Remaker" Ring, is worn on the right thumb and allows for limited molecular and atomic manipulation of matter. It's commonly used for generating poisonous gases from thin-air, and altering Mandarin's appearance.

Agility and avoidance are the greatest tools Captain America, Black Widow, and Hellcat have at their disposal. The Mandarin's rings are incredibly powerful, but also limited in their scope. His defense is shored with a modern suit of armor, but a coordinated strike could potentially still defeat him!

The Tape: Avengers Ranking: Captain America (#7)

What Went Down...

Black Widow and Hellcat leap across the rooftops as Captain America's modified quinjet soars down beside them on a course towards Avengers Park.

He hails the assembling heroes over the jet's exterior speaker and advises them to hang back while he takes a recon flight over the attack sight. It's a good plan to protect his unpowered teammates, but the Captain never gets to make the flight -- blasted out of the sky by The Mandarin!

The Quinjet makes a dramatic, skidding crash landing into the rubble of Avengers Park as The Mandarin gloats over his successful strike!

Mandarin stalks toward his prey with Cap slumped in the exposed driver's seat -- rattled by the violent impact that tore the jet open like a tin can! 

The villain clutches the barely conscious Captain in the pilot's seat and raises his hand to prepare a killing blow -- but it's suddenly snared by the Black Widow's high tensile line!

Black Widow yanks The Mandarin away from the jet and introduces herself to the stunned villain.

Enraged at her interference he pivots to draw his free hand and blast a stream of fire from the ring of Incandescence. Widow narrowly avoids it, delighting at the unseen arrival of her comrade in arms -- Hellcat!

Hellcat leaps onto The Mandarin's armored shoulders and rakes her steel alloy claws across his frustrated façade!

The villain struggles beneath the grip of Hellcat's entangled arms and legs while Black Widow takes the opportunity to rush in an deliver a flying kick!

The two-on-one advantage doesn't last long. The Mandarin catches Black Widow by the ankle and tosses her across the park -- while also flipping Hellcat off his back and over his shoulder!

They spill across the rocky terrain -- vulnerable to another of his ring attacks!

The Influencer ring sprays concussive energy blasts across the battlefield that shatter the very ground beneath Black Widow & Hellcat's feet!

The heroic pair look severely outgunned when The Mandarin is once again caught by surprise from another attack at the rear!

This time it's Captain America who's able to return the favour to his allies, tossing his mighty shield directly into The Mandarin's armored helmet!

The chauvinistic villain is frustrated by Cap's recovery, but accepts that the battle can now be between men "as it should be". His Ice Blast "Zero" ring makes for an unfortunate irony as he encases Captain America's feet in ice -- a chilly fate all too familiar to the super-soldier once suspended in a frozen tundra.

At that same time -- Mandarin's partner in the Acts of Vengeance, The Wingless Wizard, glides overhead, bringing his battle with Wonder Man & Vision into convergence with the other Avenger's struggle.

Spotting the immobilized Captain America from the sky above -- The Wizard attempts to finish him off with a blast from his gauntlet, but Cap lurches forward into an evasive diving roll!

Wonder Man regains The Wizard's attentions, while The Mandarin plots a strategic retreat, blaming his ally for fouling his attack. He's so distracted by the failure he doesn't notice yet another Avenger arriving until his struck by his hammer!

Mjolnir collides with Mandarin's armored body and knocks him off his feet before flying back to the waiting hand of Thor!

The God of Thunder doesn't take kindly to The Mandarin's abuse of his powers!

He charges the rising villain, striking mightily with with a hammer-held uppercut!

Meanwhile, Vision comes to Captain America's aid, melting the ice from his feet with carefully applied eye beams. The liberation allows all Avengers present to assemble against the tyrannical twosome!

The Mandarin summons the dark forces of the Black Light Nightbringer ring to shroud his enemies -- and The Wizard -- in inescapable darkness!

He condemns his ally to suffer the consequences of their defeat, while the veil of darkness allows The Mandarin a clean getaway. He flies into the air -- gone before the heroes regain their sight.

The Hammer...

The arrival of Thor tips the scales in favour of The Avengers and drives The Mandarin into a hasty retreat. Bad news for The Wizard, who's left to face the music when his co-conspirator in the Acts of Vengeance betrays him upon exit!

Wizard was otherwise engaged in a completely separate aerial skirmish with Wonder Man and Vision, but chose to converge with the fighting in Avengers Park, taking potshots at Captain America. Not his only tactical error it would seem, but we'll take a closer look at his fight another time.

As it happens: the in-fighting is rife amongst the bad guys, who're duking it out while observing from their private meeting chambers, as well.

It seems Doctor Doom has nothing but contempt for The Mandarin and the inefficiencies of his frivolous, showy fighting style, while Red Skull is losing patience with Doom's arrogance. An inevitably violent clash of egos ensues -- another battle for us to return to some time in the future.

As a matter of housekeeping: Aficionados may also be interested to note I've chosen to predominantly refer to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #15 when breaking down The Mandarin's rings in The Tape section.

That particular 1984 issue is the wonderfully informative "Book of Weapons, Hardware, and Paraphernalia" -- a reference tome that answered a lot of common fan questions about the basic practicality of various devices, and locations.

With regards to The Mandarin's rings; The Handbook is obviously a little outdated, but the basics remain true. You'll note that I've also included, and alluded to, the more recent names & abilities outlined in 2010's Invincible Iron Man Annual #1.

If you didn't pay close attention to the information, you might like to scroll back and take a second look. It will allow you to appreciate the exquisite attention to detail of artist Paul Ryan's pencils, which assign each blast from The Mandarin's rings to the exact finger. Scripted or not -- it's the mark of a great comics artist!

Ryan was also saddled with the slightly less intricate design Mandarin was wearing around this time. I've never been all that crazy about this armor. It's serviceable, but never seemed to ring true. I suppose I would've preferred something more ornate, reminiscent of the colourfully stylized Chinese armor popular in wuxia.

A colour scheme of green, gold, and a little red or purple would've recalled other eras of Mandarin's design, but I suspect distancing the character from earlier incarnations was a deliberate conceit. When he wasn't in this blue & silver shell, he could typically be found wearing a tasteful suit consistent with his corporate machinations of the time. A welcome evolution for the modern era.

Modernizing the character has been an on-going concern, with greater emphasis on science-based explanations for his rings redefining them as Makluan machine parts accessing other dimensions. Personally, I think this flirts with a loss of imagination, and prefer a Mandarin whose mysticism clashes with Iron Man's technology -- not that the two ideas necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

I do enjoy the more pulpy depictions of Mandarin, though. At the risk of being regressive: I think my favourite Mandarin design is the green & gold robes he returned to throughout much of the nineties. Its a style that very vaguely alludes to over-the-top villainy of Fu Manchu, albeit with a slightly more convincing approximation of Chinese imperial robes than Christopher Lee's qipao.

These allusions made the character a bit of a tricky subject when Marvel Studios attempted to adapt the character in Iron Man 3, and again, as a Fu Manchu stand-in in Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.

The substitution was as much a product of Shang-Chi's fictional father not being a Marvel owned property, but so fraught was their efforts to navigate the minefield of cultural sensitivities for the Chinese theatrical market, it seems the studio took a blank cheque approach. They retained so little from the source that the titular ten rings aren't even worn on the fingers! Not that Marvel Studios have ever been overly concerned with their comic book counterparts...

Here in comic book land Avengers #313 is a serviceable chapter in the Acts of Vengeance storyline, delivering one of the heavy hitters from the inner-circle of the villainous alliance. It's a little weird that so many heroes were dispersed after the action of the last issue, but anti-Avengers public protests explains that.

It's a fun time in Marvel Comics and Avengers history, and I particularly get a kick out of the unlikely team-up between Black Widow and Hellcat! They're out of their league taking on Mandarin, but turn out to be a terrifically fun tag team!

If you'd like to see the entirety of the team-up and today's featured fight you can find it all collected in Avengers: Acts of Vengeance and Avengers by John Byrne. Use the Amazon purchase links provided and you'll not only assemble a great deal delivered to your door -- you'll also help support the site at no extra cost!

If you like reliving, reviewing, and ranking superhero smackdown you can go the extra mile to keep us in the fight by becoming a Patreon subscriber! As a thank you you'll unlock access to extra updates, polls, and options to sponsor your very own custom articles! Not to mention earning my undying gratitude.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 600 battles and ranked more than 1000 characters! You can discover them all by following links throughout this post, or by diving into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number!

Get free daily links to battles inspired by the hot topics of the day by subscribing on Twitter and Facebook. Don't forget to like, fave, and share posts, and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday!

Winner: Thor (w/ Captain America, Black Widow & Hellcat)
#20 (+1) Thor
#7 (--) Captain America [+1 assist]
#41 (+1) Black Widow [+1 assist]
#101 (+6) Hellcat [+1 assist]
#144 (--) Vision [+1 assist]
#418 (+3) The Wizard [+1 assist]
#972 (-257) The Mandarin

SPIDER-MAN & HUMAN TORCH versus THE WIZARD & MYSTERIO
The Web and The Flame! (Marvel comics)
Where: Amazing Spider-man Annual #4 When: 1967
Why: Stan Lee How: Larry Lieber

The story so far...
When the Human Torch appears to be on a rampage in a populated city street, Spider-man swings in to save the day. Little does he know, Johnny Storm's landed himself a part in a Hollywood feature film!

In the times before computer generated special effects, Spidey makes for a great secondary addition to the film, but the misunderstandings continue as another Human Torch situation gets out of control!

Intent on destroying one and other, Spider-man and Human Torch wage war against one and other across the backlot of the film sets. All the while, the masterminds of the misunderstandings watch on from a hidden lair. Masterminds who go by the names -- The Wizard and Mysterio!

Previous Form:
Spider-man (#2): Has successfully teamed with War Machine, The Avengers, Namor & Ghost Rider.
The Human Torch (#29): With the Fantastic Four, defeated the Wizard's Frightful Four.
The Wingless Wizard (#77): The Wizard has led the Frightful Four to a win and a loss.
Mysterio: Mysterio has not yet been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Spider-man 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: The Wizard 6 (Genius)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Human Torch 5 (Marathon Man)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Spider-man 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Human Torch 7 (Solar Power)


Okay, I know what you're thinking: it's not exactly the super villain team-up of the century. It's not exactly the Sinister Six, or the Sub-Mariner and Dr. Doom.
Sure, that's easy to say, but what is it that we have proposed to us here today?

Spider-man and Human Torch are well established A-listers here on Secret Earths, and certainl in comics in general. That's probably a steady contrast to the ever made-fun-of Mysterio, and the just-barely-taken-seriously, Wingless Wizard.
We've got to shine a light on the Wizard.
Like a lot of master villains in the Marvel Universe, he probably doesn't have a great record. This guy has been duelling with Reed Richards since the sixties, and that's not a great way to get a reputation, but to his credit, he's played in that weightclass pretty well, all considered!

Wizard's brilliance usually revolves around specific gadgetry. Perhaps his most famous invention being the anti-gravity disc, which ties to the Wingless Wizard theme, and his abilities of flight.
If you've been following the site you'll have seen the Frightful Four initially getting the better of three of the FF with the use of said gadget-discs. [Marvel Adventures #12]

Mysterio also deserves more credit than he deserves. He's more than the green leotard and fishbowl dome. He too has a wealth of know-how in the field of technologies, particularly in the field of special effects. Which, as you can imagine, means he should be in his element in this issue, which revolves around a film.

Spidey and Human Torch are famous for having a jovial love-hate relationship, and while that might slow things down... The bad guys are toast.
I just wanted to give them a little bit of respect. Mysterio is cool, fools.

The Math: Spider-man & Human Torch
The Pick: Spider-man & Human Torch

What went down...
Freeing himself from the shackles of a tarpaulin, the Human Torch flames on to swoop back around and take a second run at Spider-man, who not too long ago ripped the Torch's trailer open like a tin can!

Watching on from a secret location, the Wizard scowls the heroes for not exerting the fullest of their powers against each other. In his fury, he accidentally wrenches a lever that activates a laser ray from a hidden lense in the ceiling of the studio.

With the ruse foiled, Mysterio makes measures to rectify the situation with the activation of a gas emitting cage that lowers around the pair of heroes.
Unable to escape the gas, the Human Torch finds his flames doused as they both become engulfed with the asphyxiating fumes.

With the Torch clinging precariously to the edge of the cage, Spidey uses some quick thinking and webs up the gas dispensing nosels. With the noxious gas clearing it's not long before Johnny Storm can flame on once again, much to the chagrin of the dastardly duo watching on.

With his spidey-senses tingling, the web-slinger leads the charge toward a control cubicle in the upper corner of the studio. As they make their approach the Torch fires off jets of flame, heating the box up to be a furnace.
Mysterio totes his genius as the Wizard rushes to initiate escape plan A!

Spider-man and the Human Torch swoop down just in time to intercept Mysterio and the Wizard emerging from the box, but they quickly discover they are little more than hologramatic illusions courtesy of Mysterio!
Meanwhile, the two villains make their escape via a secret hatch in the roof!

By the time the heroes are hip to their plan, Mysterio and Wizard are already hovering high above, clinging to a gravity defying contraption. With their foes in sight, the sinister pairing begins their escape, pleased to have a pursuing audience.

The Torch tows Spidey via a line of his fire-resistant asbestos webbing, as they follow their nemesis' across the lot to the artificial jungle grown for movies. The villains disappear into the foliage.
Rather than risk burning down the entire scene, Spidey drops from his line to use his spider-senses to steer them to the hidden location, but a thunderous THOOM alerts him to another danger!

Stomping across the compound is a giant animatronic gorilla being controlled by the Wizard from the safety of a secondary base. Having lured the heroes over, he uses the behemoth of a machine to swat the flaming Human Torch out of the sky!

The slap proves so severe it knocks the Torch out, leaving him unconscious and vulnerable beneath the monster's grip.
As the gorilla snatches the FFer off the ground, Spidey leaps on it's back and rips away at the surface, exposing circuitry and mechanics. With all the proportionate strength of a spider, he pounds down on the vital mechanics, finally rendering the machine ineffective!

But peril is not yet gone! The frozen grip of the mechanoid hand still has Johnny Storm clutched so tight he can't breathe. Again the wall crawler is forced to call upon his strength to pry the giant fingers apart, and free his rival from doom!

Taking time to reload his web cartridges, Spidey gives Johnny Storm the time necessary to revive, before taking chase once again.
They work their way through the vegetation until they find the underground bunker that contains the wingless Wizard and the menacing Mysterio!

Just as they had before, the heroes swoop in to deliver defeat, but again find themselves snared in another trap. Glass walls lower from the rocky cavern, coming between them and their foes, and the exit.
With the flick of a switch, the Wizard then unleashes a barrage of hurtling boulders coming from all sides! The Torch charges the glass, but it's too thick!

With nowhere to go, the two heroes have no choice but to combat the situation head-on. While Spidey uses his fantastic agility and danger warning senses to escape harm, the Torch reduces the incoming boulders to slag.
With the threat neutralized, Spidey directs the Torch to focus his flames on one point of the glass. It takes a moment, but finally it melts enough for Spidey to shoot two precision lines of web to the magnetic field switches that control the boulder attack.

With the process interrupted the boulders become erratic, shattering the weakened glass and exploding into the villain's lair!

With the barrier destroyed, the heroes are finally able to catch up with their lethal foes. The Torch superheats Wizard's gun, preventing one final effort of escape, thus sealing the fate of the Wizard and Mysterio!

The hammer...
After all that, a well earned victory goes to Spider-man and the Human Torch. Like we didn't all see it coming.

Whew! Well, I've been to the dentist a couple of times and I'm a week behind, so that's going to be my excuse. As you can see, this was also a gargantuan entry that covered maybe only half of this action-packed Amazing Spider-man Annual!

If we ever get around to revisiting it there's probably at least two seperate fights we could talk about between the Torch and Spidey, which could be fun!
These are two characters who've clasically had a really fun relationship, and we'll probably be talking about that in a couple of months from now. Oh, have I said too much?

Yes, this is particularly topical as in less than a week Spider-man 3 will hit theatres across the globe. We'll be joining in with a whole mess of Spider-man posts across May, so consider this an sample with which to whet your apetite.
Of course, after that, June will be all about the Human Torch and his fellows in the Fantastic Four, with the release of Rise of the Silver Surfer, the sequel to the first Fantastic Four feature film!

So, yes! Plenty to look forward to! Consider this the trailer!

It's late into the AM as I try to finish this overdue post, so I'm probably not going to have a chance to get into any of the complexities of Stan Lee's obvious fascination/admiration of Hollywood, or any of the dynamics going on in this gem from the sixties.

What I will mention, which came to my attention somewhere during the middle of the lengthy summary section, is Spidey's web situation.
A smirk creeps across my face when it dawns on me that some readers visiting the site won't realise that up until a few years ago, Peter Parker's web-slinging relied solely on wrist-mounted shooters built to be worn under his gloves, which required cartridges of a special adhesive solution Peter himself had concocted.

Let's not forget, Peter Parker gets a 5 rating for intelligence in the tape regularly, because the guy does have the smarts. We saw some of that here when he took more of the leadership role next to Johnny Storm's impetuous, young hothead.

So, there you go. If the hammer can provide you with anything, it's that passing musing about the state of Spider-man and his mythology.
Barring unforseen changes in the future, it's bizarre to think the mechanical web-shooters may actually be erased from the minds of all but the trivia buffs and poseurs!

In my excitement last week, I accidentally mentioned in last Monday's post that MODOK was next up, but as you can see, I'd forgotten that Mysterio was the next Marvel: Ultimate Alliance villain to be featured.

Today is Monday 23rd, which is when we should have had our 100th feature battle posted, and once I've caught up to that, yes. MODOK will arrive!
So, stay tuned for that one!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4.5

THE FRIGHTFUL FOUR versus THE FANTASTIC FOUR
The Ties That Bind (Marvel comics)
Where: Marvel Adventures #12 When: March, 1998
Why: Ralph Macchio How: Andy Kuhn

The story so far...
The evil mastermind of the Wizard has again begun plotting against the Fantastic Four, this time navigating micro-cameras into Reed Richards' inner scientific sanctum to spy on the team.

When the Human Torch appears to storm away, the Wizard sees it as the perfect opportunity to spring his newly trained Frightful Four into action.

Thus, he gathers the Trapster, Thundra and Sandman, and proceeds to place explosive devices throughout the business district that surrounds the FF headquarters. The Fantastic Three do their best to curb the violence, but succeed only in preventing further destruction.
When they return, they find their abode infiltrated.

Previous Form:
Fantastic Four #129: This very incarnation of the Frightful Four did battle with Thing and Medusa, in Thundra's first appearance.
Civil War #3: Thing, Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman were present at the confrontation between opposing sides in Civil War.
Fantastic Four #3: Reed Richards held his own against the Red Ghost and his Super Apes.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Genius)
Speed: Human Torch 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Thing 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: Sandman 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting Ability: Thundra 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Human Torch 7 (Solar Power)

There's kind of a psuedo-technical element to this section with the stats, so I thought it might be nice to round out every week with an additional stat. As objective as I try to be every week, it just looks like I'm picking the winner all the time, so there's a nice little addition. With any luck the uber stats provided by the patented Haseloff system will eventually show the dichotomy of character strength versus standard.

ANYWAY -- A little arch-rivalry here in the form of the Fantastic Four versus their evil counterparts, the Frightful Four.

I don't know if you'd call this the classic group, but it's probably my favourite teaming of Frightul foes.
It's probably worth noting that this incarnation sort of has a counterpart overlap. With Thundra's chief function being super strength, Thing gets her by default, which means Sandman can be shuffled off to either Invisible Woman or Mr. Fantastic, who both have malleable powers. Although, Wizard is the natural nemesis of the team leader/genius, Reed Richards, so you can start to see the team's evolution.

Paste Pot Pete has never really struck me as a good fit, but I guess I like that. I'm not all that fond of the two-dimensional thought process that tells a villain, 'If I counter balance each of their powers, we're assured victory!'

Now, the smart bet might have the Trapster using his powers of entrapment to tangle with the forcefield yielding Invisible Woman - leaving the Sandman to douse the flame of the Human Torch. However, for whatever reasoning, Petey takes the hothead, with whom he's tangled previously, albeit to poor results.

The Sandman's versatility, combined with Thundra's presence does lend a pretty good argument for the Frightful quarter. However, particularly between those two strongarms, there's a lot of in-fighting. Thundra's allegiance to the group is one of convenience, which does tend to make her something of an X-factor.

The FF, while having their squabbles, are generally far superior than most opponents when it comes to being a cohesive unit. They also have a track record of regularly besting their villainous alternates.

I'm reticent to immediately throw it the way of the FF just because of past performance, but one does have to consider the strategic intelligence of each member of the Fantastic foursome. They all possess fairly respectable competence in the art of combat, and flow particularly well as a unit.

This juxtaposes the Frightful team, which are usually far better prepared, but dependent upon the precision planning of the Wizard. Even when they hold the superior advantage, the inability to ensure the prevention of variables is often their downfall.

Between these two teams it'll always be a close fight, but particularly in the Adventures book, you'd be mad to bet against the home team.

Average: The Fantastic Four 21.75 (+0.25)
Overall: The Fantastic Four 87 (+1)
The Pick: The Fantastic Four

What went down...
When the FF return from preventing mass destruction, they find their private Baxter Building elevator has been filled with since-hardened paste. Reed Richards is a smart fellow, so he understandably warns the team to be on their toes!

Unfortunately, when they crack their way in, and head up via the elevator, they find themselves on the ceiling, courtesy of a barrage of Wizard's anti-gravity discs.
The Trapster ensnares the trio in paste, rendering them helpless cargo.

Standing at the controls of Reed Richards' recently devised sub-spatial gateway, the Wizard gloats, revealing the details of his plan, whilst musing that Richards was not the challenge he posed in the past.
As he reaches for control panel, a burning jet of flame torches his hand -- and the Wizard is suddenly informed that it was he who was outsmarted!

Well aware that the Sandman had infiltrated his lair, Richards organized the charade of Human Torch's storm-out, and equipped him with a device capable of rendering the anti-gravity discs useless! Thus, it is indeed clobbering time!

The Trapster fires off a blast of paste, but the Torch is able to harden it in mid-air, and then uses his flame to severe the tubing that feeds Pete's solution into his dispersal gun.
The Torch floats on, leaving Trapster in a flame barred prison cage.

The Sandman tussles with the Invisible Woman, using his extensive sand particles to lace the floor and reveal the invisible foosteps of his foe.
He forms two massive sandstone blocks of his fists, and begins to bring them together in crushing formation, but Sue's invisible forcefields manage to protect her long enough for Human Torch to flare to blinding brightness.

With the Sandman blinded, Sue lets loose a barrage of invisible bubbles!
But... That is apparently ineffective, so Sandman quips, "my turn!," and turns his arm into a deadly stream of hurling sand!
Sue throws up an air-tight invisible wall, and begins pushing the Sandman back bit by bit, and continuing the tradition of super villain mental collapses, he begins to have a serious case of the clausterphobias.
Unable to take the thought of being imprisoned (again), Sandman collapses into a mess on the floor.

Meanwhile, whoa! Look at that!
Thing and Thundra butt heads, aaand... Thundra proceeds to whoop Thing's rocky ass!
A left to the jaw, an axe handle across the back, and then for a big finish, the warrior woman hoists Thing above her head... But lucky for Aunt Petunia's favourite nephew, Sue throws an invisible bubble around her head, forcing her to pass out.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fantastic is being bested by the Wizard and his electrified gauntlet.
Wizard makes his move, heading toward the controls of the sub-spacial gateway once more. Using the control he had pre-devised, Richards manipulates Wizard's anti-gravity discs to lift him away from the controls, but it's too late.

With the gateway activated, Wizard becomes like a father caught in an autumn breeze.
The weakened Mr. Fantastic does his best to stretch out to his nemesis, but finds himself instead caught in the vaccuum.
Quick thinking by Thing sees a makeshift harness devised, and he is able to dive into the universe and snare his best friend. The Wizard, however, continued to slip out of reach, a victim of his own devices, but sure to surface again.

"Y'know, I'm wonderin' what happened to them other three clowns. Guess they decided ta skedaddle while they could."
Right you are, Thing. Right you are.

The hammer...
The winners by victory or forfeit, depending on how you look at it, the Fantastic Four!

I think I mentioned during the JLU review [Justice League Unlimited #14] that it would be unlikely that you'd see me review another Adventures book.
Well, after doing the already oft referred to review of FF #129, this particular issue sprung immediately to mind.
By no means is it a landmark comic, nor is it even particularly memorable in the broadest sense, but it uses these characters that are just something special, and not seen nearly enough anymore. Not by me, at least.

Another oustanding positive about this issue is the pencil work by Andy Kuhn, and the incredibly complimentary inks of Harry Candelario.
DC did tremendously well in cultivating the Bruce Timm animated style into their spin-off Adventures comic books (and beyond), and really, for quite a while Marvel had no equivalent.

While the Marvel cartoons never had a distinct or uniform style among them, Kuhn cultivates a unique style both suited to animation in it's simplicity, but also it's kinetic action. It appears animated in both senses of the word.
I'm actually surprised I haven't really seen Kuhn beyond these pages. While not what I would call a popular mainstream style, I think it's got a lot going for it. I might even rate him among my favourite artists, if I could do such a thing.

Macchio also competently weaves together a yarn that not only harkens back to some of the great seventies writers, but manages to very vividly highlight the characters therein.

Some of the plot stretches plausibility even further than Mr. Fantastic's longjohns, and it's a story of very little consequence, but on a website like Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, I'll gladly pay it. The more FF, the merrier!

Anyway, this was a pretty lengthy update for a fairly brief book, and ideally I'd like to be up to scratch before December, to do some thirty entries on the days.
We'll see how that goes. Stay sharp, folks!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4

NEXT: Could one moment change a universe? Next up, the swansong of a very unique Marvel hero, and the deaths of many. Be here!

THING versus THE FRIGHTFUL FOUR
The Frightful Four -- Plus One! (Marvel comics)
Where: Fantastic Four #129 When: December, 1972
Why: Roy Thomas How: John Buscema

The story so far...
Having returned from taking a licking at the hands of the Moleman, the FF are in pretty bad shape, and they get a little more lopsided when the hotheaded Johnny Storm announces he's going to live with Crystal in the Great Refuge.
Yeah, great timing kiddo. All this, and Sue's had to take the wheel while Reed snoozes, and Ben just made a woman-driver gag...

The fun doesn't stop for Marvel's first family, and before too long Reed and Sue are at each other when Agatha Harkness appears to tell them to collect their son Franklin, as she has matters of the utmost urgency to attend to.

You can't blame ol' blue eyes for taking a brisk stroll to clear his head, but it turns out that might just not have been such a great idea, when a scream rings out into the cold night air.

Previous form:
Neither Thing, Medusa, nor the Frightful Four members included here have been featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths in the past.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Wingless Wizard 6 (Genius)
Speed: Thundra 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Thing 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: Sandman 7 (Unlimited)
Fighting Ability: Thundra 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Wingless Wizard 3 (Explosives)

If you take a look at my modest comic collection, you'll find clumps of various titles with gaps between numbers anywhere between two issues, to two hundred.
In amongst that sea of inconsistency are some titles more popular than others, and for me, Fantastic Four is one of them. This makes it especially unusual that it's taken this long to feature the Thing -- long time favourite member of the FF.

Now, the Frightful Four have a habit of shuffling membership, so it's important to establish who it is we're dealing with here.
The cover is somewhat misleading, suggesting that Thundra is a fifth member of this sinister quartet, but what we find is actually that she is the fourth, while a former member appears in a reformed capacity. I, of course, refer to the Inhuman - Medusa.

So, the lineup this time around includes stalwart leader, the Wingless Wizard; providing muscle with a slice of versatility is the Sandman; pasting up the town with his patented ensnaring goo is The Trapster; and finally, the Amazonian-like warrior Thundra makes her first appearance in comics.

Really, you'd have to rate the Four pretty highly, despite their somewhat comical win/loss record.
Not only do you have the Wizard's wonderful toys, but also the versatility and strength of Sandman, which is only coupled by the brute strength of Thundra. Really, she makes a pretty impressive addition in place of Madusa, whose abilities are somewhat redundant next to the Trapster.

The Thing gets full credit for his strength, experience and overall durability.
It's these qualities that always make him a valuable asset to any team, but against the combined might of this foursome, his strengths start to diminish.
Pound for pound, Thundra alone could match Thing in the strength department, and while she might not win nine out of ten, she would take him to the very lengths in at least five of those bouts.

Whether their effectiveness ranges from sandy pants rash, to pastey suffocation, the addition of the other three members really tips things in the favour of the Frightful Four, I would honestly have to say.
Against the full roster of the original Fantastic Four it might be a different story, but with the Thing isolated it becomes too difficult to tip the hero.

Medusa, try as she may, is not an equalizer for Sandman, let alone the Wizard (who's nasty with those anti-grav discs, and his tactical intelligence) and the Trapster (who can... tie you up with paste...).

What went down...
Alright, so we all know it: Thing's a good guy!

I don't just mean that in the 'super powered bloke who fights villains and tyrrany in all their forms' either. I mean that if you're in a bind, he'll do what he can to help -- and when a woman's scream echoes in the night air, you can be damn sure Benjamin J. Grimm'll be there!

Barrelling head-long through a wooden fence, Benjy gets his first nasty shock when he plummets down into a dugout construction site.

Things take a further turn for the worse when a flexing figure emerges dramatically, shadowed by the moon behind him -- The Sandman!

Sandman clobbers his sendimentary counterpart, but when Thing tries to return the favour, he gets no love, swinging straight through a mid-section made of sand!

Escaping a grappling session with the FF's muscle, Sandy slips away to allow the entry of two other genial gentlemen in the form of the Trapster and the Wingless Wizard.

A two pronged attack on the Thing proves effective, tying him up with quick hardening paste, and following up with a swift diving attack from the Wizard who did fly.

It's at this time that another player in the game makes herself known.
Snatching the Wizard from the sky are long, red strands of hair belonging to the Inhuman known as Medusa. Dragging the Frightful Four's leader earthbound, Medusa makes clear her resignation from the questionable quartet.

While Medusa duals with the Wizard, Sandman and Trapster launch an attack on the Thing. Using his incredible and oft underrated strength, Sandman tosses a bulldozer in the hero's general direction, while Trapster comes from the other side behind the wheel of a dump truck.

Thing reduces the 'dozer to scrap metal with a left that woulda knocked it outta the park, and makes his turn just in time to surprise Trapster -- not by destroying his vehicle, but by yanking it from it's path into the air!

While the Thing shakes Trapster out of the truck, Medusa's dominance over Wizard has come under fire.
A face full of high-impact sand puts Medusa on the ropes, and frees up the Wizard to turn the tables on Thing, who is proceeding to dangle Trapster by his belt to deliver a spanking -- "Awright, Trappie -- My second time at bat, comin' up --"

One of the Wizard's "new and improved" anti-gravity discs slaps on Thing's back just in time, and Trapster falls to the ground with smug satisfaction.
It's only by the intervention of Medusa, who ensnares the floating Thing in her hair and removes the disc, that Thing does not end up space bound.
Afterall, if Jack Kirby had meant for Thing to fly, he would've given him wings.

Feeling pretty much ticked off and a little chauvinistic [Saved by a female! How mortifyin'!]; Thing looks to take the frightened three down while they're all together by hoisting a crane above his head, and whipping it into the air. Enter: Thundra!

Much like Thing earlier, Thundra reduces the airborne crane to rubble, professing her name and might as she strikes the metallic menace down.

"You already tossed yer monicker at us, girlie! Now howzabout somethin' a wee bit more basic, like -- What's a seven-foot gal like you doin' in a place like this??"

[It's about now that Thing should start to quiver in his shorts, because not only is Thundra obsessed with battling her destined opponent of the strongest male alive, but she's also a walking, talking parody of feminisim. But more to the point, Roy Thomas? Run for the hills, man! Lordy! -- Emasculated Mike]

Thing stands his ground as Thundra whips her chain at him, unaware that it's not her intention to injure him with it, but rather to ensnare him so as to pull him into close quarters. Then the real pain starts!

Thundra's blow is so powerful, the explosive blow is exclamated with a giant asterisk: "Rolll your own sound effect, effendi -- We can't think of one that would do Thundra's murderous blow justice! -- Roy and Artie."

Medusa attempts to intervene once more, but tanglging her tensile strands around the psuedo-Amazonian only ensures she see the same fate. Swung and tossed like a cat by it's tail, Thing has to make do with some giant chunks of Earth, which he attempts to use as a makeshift catcher's mit.

Sufficiently distracted, Thing is left wide open to attack as the Frightful Four congregate around he and Medusa.
Vulnerable, not even Thing can resist the crushing combo of full strength blows from Thundra and Sandman! Despite calling him for herself, the combined effort delivers the victory, and leaves Sandman and Thundra to bicker while Trapster subdues Medusa.

The hammer...
Well, the winners, I'm surprised to say, are the Frightful Four!
The Thing was an overdue inclusion to the site, but I have to say, I'm quite pleased to have guys like Sandman and Thundra on the rankings list now, too. Characters that aren't necessarily moving titles, but are strong representations of the Marvel tradition.

It's interesting to see how Marvel's current crossover event Civil War is affecting that tradition. For me, I've enjoyed the story, and the shake up of the 'status quo,' despite being fairly confident it'll all be relatively reset reasonably soon.

I've seen long time readers offended by what they're seeing between the pages of Mark Millar's Civil War. They're seeing characters they enjoy and adore acting in ways that are familiar, yet very different.

In this particular issue of Fantastic Four, the FF are torn apart by in-house bickering, preparing for a shift in the team's roster. Johnny runs off to the Inhumans' Great Refuge, where he hopes to find love with Crystal, an Inhuman and elemental who cannot leave her home.
Meanwhile, Reed Richards and Sue Storm are torn apart when Reed places his science, as he so often does, above more personal matters, like the well being of their son Franklin.

Each of these events is motivated, in the moment, by contrived emotion penned by Roy Thomas. While these events bare little relevence to the story, or even Fantastic Four history as we recognise it today, they attempt to forward on-going plots by using the perceived humanity of the characters prompted by catalysts that could be described as little more than mcguffins.

What we arrive at is a fun moment in history, where Medusa is a member of the Fantastic Four, and a chance to see the Thing take on a brand new character in her first appearance - Thundra.

So, how do I feel about Civil War? I guess I'm not too fussed.
Not to say I condone dramatic dismissal of history, or characterisation. Quite the contrary, I loathe the fan who tells you not to care. Not to invest in the logic these on-going stories demand.
I simply cannot stand readers who insist there's something wrong with disliking a comic's delivery or plot. 'You don't have to buy' is not a good enough answer.

That said, I don't feel Civil War fails as a story, or as a Marvel comic.
This story has introduced feelings that have largely been avoided, partially out of respect for the American sensitivity, and perhaps partially out of a want of escape.

In the wake of 9/11 and shifting climates we do now, however, have a Marvel universe incredibly aware of itself, and the world in which we live.
The Stanford incident reflects a tragedy in American history, and the resulting climate indicates something relevent in the world. The necesity for security, and administration and policing is the subject, and practically the villain. But I don't really feel that's important.

What's important, and what makes this such an acceptable tale, is that it's a story about humanity, magnified several times to become super humanity.
This is a collective of persons with great power, and great responsibility who have lived parallel to great human tragedy, and gross neglect within their own community.

This story highlights a moment in time where all of these people are reacting.
For a time, after 9/11, America seemed united. The spirit was strong, and the will to ensure safety and justice at all costs was strong. It was natural.
Eventually emotions settled, and tensions relaxed. The climate was slack enough to allow a return to dissent, and confusion, and disagreement. The world fell back into it's previous, comfortable context.

This is what I see for the Marvel universe. This is what I see of Civil War.

The Fight: 5.5 The Issue: 5

NEXT MONTH: Civil War comes to Secret Earths! But first, stay tuned for an all new punch-up!