OLD COMICS WEDNESDAY: DAWN OF JUSTICE!

After untold months of anticipation: the Batman v Superman rivalry has crash landed in theatres across the globe! The movie is the Dawn of Justice, beginning the first steps toward the path of a full Justice League on film starting with the gathering of Batman, Superman & Wonder Woman!

This Old Comics Wednesday, we're receiving future echoes of heroes to come with some of the classic Justice League battles featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths! By clicking the covers below, you'll find feature showdowns involving charter League members: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom, Booster Gold, Firestorm, Vixen, Guy Gardner and many more!

The heroes battle some of DC Comics' most dangerous enemies of justice: Lex Luthor, Darkseid, Doomsday, Joker, Sinestro, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd, Mongul, Cheetah, Poison Ivy and more!

HERO OF THE WEEK: WONDER WOMAN (DC)
Real Name: Diana of Themyscira
First Appearance: All-Star Comics #8 (Dec, 1941)
Fight Club Ranking: #12

Featured Fights:
- vs ETRIGAN: The Demon #17 (Nov 1991)
- vs STORM: Marvel versus DC #3 (Apr 1996)
- vs MANTIS & JUGGERNAUT: Unlimited Access #1 (Dec 1997)
- vs MORGAUTH: JSA Strange Adventures #1 (Oct 2004)
- vs SUPERMAN & BATMAN: Superman/Batman #15 (Feb 2005)
- vs ULTRAMARINE CORPS: JLA: Classified #3 (Mar 2005)
- vs MONGUL: Infinite Crisis #1 (Dec 2005)
- vs INJUSTICE LEAGUE: Justice League of America #15 (Jan 2008)
- vs SINESTRO CORPS: Green Lantern #25 (Jan 2008)
- vs MINOTAUR: DC Universe 0 (Jun 2008)
- vs MARY MARVEL: Final Crisis #3 (Sep 2008)
- vs CHEETAH: Wonder Woman #29 (Apr 2009)
- vs GENOCIDE: Wonder Woman #32 (Jul 2009)

I had some trouble narrowing down this week's HOTW. The source of inspiration wasn't hard to find: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice officially hit wide release Friday - instantly becoming the biggest talking point in comics and pop culture of the moment! We already featured Superman earlier in the year [02/01/2016], leaving a choice between the intangible "winner" of the week, or the one I have the most thoughts about. I threw a quick poll up on Twitter and returned the answer I already felt was most true.

Wonder Woman may not be the name on the marquee, but she's the spiritual victor coming out of this week's Batman v Superman cinematic showdown. While the air around the title heroes is grim with disappointment, Wonder Woman gleams with a sense of joy, and the promise of something new.

To be fair, some of this fancy free enthusiasm comes from being the third wheel in a big budget car crash. The trajectory of Batman and Superman in each other's direction became so poorly motivated and basically unattractive, they were always going to be the two to blaze bright, or crash and burn. Right now, it feels like the latter. For the first time in recent memory, they truly feel like century old characters: bloated and collapsing broken under the weight of the grandiose pointlessness they permit. Too big to fail. A license to get it spectacularly wrong. Victims of a poor reading of old texts.

With her first solo feature film coming in 2017, perhaps it was by design that Batman v Superman tried to leave DC's two biggest icons worse for wear, so everyone would be even more inclined to embrace the bright spark of Wonder Woman.

By choice, this Wonder Woman is rooted in 100 years of alternate modern history, and Greek mythology. As an exercise in building cinema's second superhero universe, it most closely resembles two of Marvel's least impressive outings: Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor.

Like the former, Wonder Woman's film will flashback to the Second World War. Like the latter, Wonder Woman's origins isolate her from the other superheroes of science and humanity. The challenge will be adequately bridging these gaps, while also remembering to tell a satisfying tale.

Teaser clips shown during a special on The CW (three months ago) failed to really give any indication of the film's depth. Its visual palette appears dark and dour, not dissimilar from Batman v Superman. Warner Brothers recently assured audiences the Justice League movie will be lighter than Dawn of Justice, which receives an R on [uncut] home release. Here's hoping it won't be too late for Wonder Woman to shine bright on her own - or with friends.

Marvel's WWII Captain America omitted almost all reference to their other Golden Age heroes. Licensing scenarios of the time meant characters like the Sub-Mariner and Human Torch were unlikely to be available for feature. [Yes - I know about the unnamed cameo]. Other live-action DC properties have been toying with the multiverse, and multiple generations. It'll be interesting to see if Wonder Woman's history makes any reference to the Justice Society of America.

Gentle nods to the likes of Jay Garrick and Alan Scott would be nice. It could lay some potentially useful track for the future Flash film, and explanations of the Speed Force, while also filling out Wonder Woman's world. If you're going to create a history -- why not go all out using it?

Wonder Woman will be fighting the tide when DC Comics goes all-in on their Rebirth event, as well. The heroine, and return of writer Greg Rucka, were big parts of Wondercon announcements, which failed to instil a great sense of belief or enthusiasm for DC's "new" direction.

Like their movies; DC Comics have had the stink of shallow, brooding mediocrity since 2011's New 52 line-wide reboot. The sense of a poorly defined, but carefully contrived universe -- designed specifically for the movie age, but not necessarily existing readers -- turned once dynamic heroes and villains into plodding contradictions. Stripped of their history and iconic definition; many of the characters became pale shadows of their former selves, at odds even with some multimedia. Other properties didn't even make it that far.

While there were undoubtedly questionable decisions along the way: Wonder Woman managed to be one of the less offensively damaged characters. This could be because her print existence has long been subject to severe inconsistency, and existential dilemma. Finding the definitive Wonder Woman has often been difficult. I thought Darwyn Cooke was approaching the character in an interesting way during The New Frontier. His Wonder Woman literally stood tall as a classic superhero in the mould of the mid-2000s Amazon warrior princess. Bold, decisive, and sometimes lethal in her approach to justice.

Unfortunately, Rucka's return means another Year One story -- probably still with a mind for the film division that now lords over comics, and Rucka's own boisterous interests. The promotionally lauded return of old contributors implies some stepping on toes, but DC are openly rejecting any idea of another "reboot" -- five years too late, sadly. For all the hullabaloo, it sounds as if the chain will remain broken by the New 52, even if revisions try to patch up some of the holes. We shall see.

What ever the path, be it film or comic, Wonder Woman is clearly one of the more exciting characters to watch in the DC pantheon. Watching, I'm sure we will be! WW was in action just last Friday for a transition from Dawn of Justice, to the anniversary of DC versus Marvel! You can find more from all these topics by following links and staying tuned!

<< Hero of the Week 04/04: Batman       [Home]       Hero of the Week 03/21: Daredevil >> 

SPIDER-MAN & WONDER WOMAN versus MANTIS & JUGGERNAUT

No Time Like The Present! (Marvel/DC)
Where: Unlimited Access #1 When: December 1997
Why: Karl Kesel How: Pat Olliffe

The Story So Far...
New York City native Axel Asher had enough trouble holding his own life together before he was confronted with a destiny to protect two parallel universes! Drawn into an inter-dimensional conflict between warring cosmic brothers and the denizens of their respective universes, Axel became the hero of two worlds: Access!

 

Having undone a merging of universes, and averted cosmic annihilation, Axel learns to adjust to the challenges of keeping both worlds separate, while also living a normal life. Crossovers continue to draw him deeper into the DC and Marvel Universes, but his powers help maintain the balance of reality.

 

What happens when it isn't just space that's starting to bleed from one universe into the other? When Mantis shows up in the Marvel Universe with a plan to kill Axel's girlfriend, he's forced to use his powers to recruit heroic allies from each universe once more. Only this time he's crossing over through time, as well!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Juggernaut 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spider-man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Wonder Woman 5 (Superhuman)
Stamina: Juggernaut 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Mantis 5 (Lasers)

Not a hoax! Not a dream! Heroes of two worlds uniting against the threat of an unexpected, villainous alliance!

Spider-man is Peter Parker of the Marvel Universe, joined by Wonder Woman of the DC Universe. They had a brief encounter during a previous crossover in 1981's Marvel Treasury Edition #28, and are aware of each other during this inter-dimensional team-up -- which has to be a good thing!

A year prior, an alliance would've been much trickier. During Marvel versus DC [#3], a cosmic contest of champions pitted Wonder Woman against Storm, while briefly in possession of Thor's hammer Mjolnir. The true-blue amazing Spider-man missed out on the showdown of that particular century, but has contended with the likes of Superman, Lex Luthor, Joker, and others, in other universe shattering encounters.

The villains of today's crossover are Mantis of the DC Universe's New Genesis, and the unstoppable Juggernaut. Mantis is a newcomer to The Comic Book Fight Club, but Juggernaut we know well. He too has infamously faced the might of Superman [DC versus Marvel #1], and has the only history recorded on site between our tag team tusslers, mostly unphased in his clash with Spidey [Amazing Spider-man #230].

There's a nice thematic symmetry to the two sides. Spidey & Mantis are super-powered bug-men, Wonder Woman & Juggernaut are magical powerhouses. How does this shake down in combat? Not exactly evenly.

We've seen Wonder Woman take on her share of magical bruisers: A mythic Minotaur [DC Universe 0], the monstrous Genocide [Wonder Woman #32], a corrupt Mary Marvel [Final Crisis #3]. Two outta three ain't bad! She had Mongul dead to rights in Infinite Crisis #1, and gave Superman some grief that same issue. Given Juggernaut's sketchy win/loss record, we can at least call that a stalemate.

Mantis, on the other hand, possesses a range of standard New God super-human abilities: Strength, speed, agility, flight. The real catch is his ability to siphon power from attacks and even individuals, which could render Spidey and WW both at a serious disadvantage! How will they handle it? Let's find out...

The Tape: Spider-man & Wonder Woman Ranking: Spider-man (#2)

What Went Down...

Inner city calm turns to panic when Empire State University comes under fire from the New God Mantis! How he came to be in a universe not his own is a mystery of meagre importance, paling in significance to his intent: To destroy the girlfriend of man of two worlds - Axel Asher!

As Access, Asher uses his ability to create inter-dimensional doorways to pull his girlfriend Ming out of harm's way -- right before explosive beams of energy blast from Mantis' hands to her location! Mantis glowers at the narrow escape, failing to notice the friendly neighbourhood Spider-man coming at him from behind with a flykick to the back!

The advantage is momentarily lost when Mantis uses his physical might to pin Spider-man to the ground and begins drinking in his life-force!

A spray from mechanical web-shooters covers Mantis' face in a blinding weave - prompting him to relinquish the hold and start blasting energy! Fortunately, the proportionate leap and agility of a spider makes light work of dodging the blind shots -- which find the invincible chest of the Juggernaut!

The mystically endowed menace isn't taking a swing at Mantis, though. He's unharmed and in cahoots! Instead rampaging against Spider-man - who leaps out of the path of Juggernaut and into a blast of energy!

Juggernaut clutches the hero's head in his giant hand and invites his accomplice to grab the other end to finish the job properly. It doesn't look good for the human-spider wishbone - until a streaking Amazon delivers a torpedo-like right across the face of Juggernaut!

Spider-man delivers an uppercut to Mantis, who's swiftly caught by the golden lasso of Wonder Woman! Spidey offers to take the load, but finds he's fresh out of web-fluid. The distraction gives Juggernaut the time he needs to sneak up behind and viciously smash Wonder Woman's face into the Earth!

The Amazon warrior recovers and instantly fires back with a left cross that staggers the hulking villain - but doesn't topple him! Juggernaut dares to be amused by the powerful attack, which "almost hurt". The world shakes from the impact of two titans colliding at full charge!

Meanwhile, Mantis is flying wild -- driven mad by the rapidfire banter of his webless opponent! Spidey dodges those deadly hands and snags the gleaming lasso still wrapped around Mantis' neck! It makes a fine substitute for web, as Spidey swings the magic rope around Mantis' wrists and mounts his back!

Access returns to the scene - informing Spidey he's having trouble figuring out exactly where in the DC Universe Mantis came from. That makes a return delivery tricky, but it hardly matters when Mantis goes aerial - dragging Spider-man helplessly behind him!

Across the battlefield, Wonder Woman fares a bit better. Perceiving Juggernaut's armor to indicate an innate weakness, she hones in on his helmet. A two-fisted uppercut rocks Juggernaut and sends his metallic dome flying!

Alas; Juggernaut's helmet is designed to protect against a weakness to mental attack -- something neither Spider-man nor Wonder Woman can render. With confidence he snatches Wonder Woman and runs her through a nearby faculty building at devastating speed!

Still flying above, a frustrated Mantis prepares an anti-matter charge to try to free himself from the cuff of Wonder Woman's enchanted lariat. He isn't paying attention when Spidey tosses the loose end around a lamp post -- sending Mantis into a high-speed downward spiral!

Spotting Wonder Woman and Juggernaut again brawling in the open, Spider-man calls his ally's attention to the "irresistible force" swinging wildly above. She sends an "unmoveable object" heading its way with an uppercut!

Add insect-men from New Genesis to things that can stop the Juggernaut. KO!

The Hammer...

The winners of this titanic tag team encounter are quite definitively Wonder Woman & Spider-man! As a matter of formality we also need to acknowledge the assist from Access, since he did recruit Wonder Woman to even the odds in the Marvel Universe.

Those in the know will remember there was a lot going on in the world of Wonder Woman around this time. She teetered on the brink of death in '97, resurrected for a spell as the Goddess of Truth. These strange twists were obliquely referenced in Unlimited Access, which, as it turns out, is actually a crossover between space and time -- making this a Wonder Woman plucked from some time in her past!

When you consider the inconsistency major superheroes faced throughout the nineteen nineties, playing in time doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Topical reference had meant the Spider-Clone participated in Marvel versus DC #3 the year prior, instead of the genuine article. Wonder Woman got to dodge that bullet thanks to time travel shenanigans, much the same as Hal Jordan, who appears a solid seven years before DC fashionably recommitted to its mistakenly discarded Silver Age icons [see; Green Lantern: Rebirth].

The disappointing fact of Marvel's four issue Unlimited Access mini-series is that it quickly breaks from the benefits of selecting characters at their iconic best, opting to get lost in mash-ups of alternate futures, and significantly dated pasts.

Even with a prior dozen or so DC/Marvel crossovers in the nineties, the desire to see comics' biggest contemporary icons together was still strong. Much more so than meetings with the sixties Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, or the Days of Future Past X-Men. Too many major players were still unused, and intriguing competitive match-ups unexplored. Wonderful as those stories are unto their own publication, nobody wants to feel the fight is just a meaningless What If...?

That may sound particularly absurd for an inter-company crossover, but one of the remarkable things about DC & Marvel's collaborations of the nineties was their willingness to play fair. Nothing illustrates the eerie détente as well as an editor's note advertising a recent issue of Green Lantern in the pages of Marvel published Unlimited Access. Concocting mutually owned Amalgams seemed like a nice way to keep things even, but now we're casually incorporating business as usual. Spooky!

The companies would become spiteful nemeses anew just a few years later, but in the late nineties, everybody seemed fine playing relatively nice! Impactful stories were an available option. The battles, with some notable compromises, could be presented with more than a dismissive denial. Fans might debate their outcomes, but whether you like it or not, Storm beat Wonder Woman, and Wonder Woman got the better of Juggernaut. For real.

Depending on your perspective, you may say Wonder Woman has also got the better of Batman & Superman. Throughout March, we've been taking inspiration from the unprecedented cinematic experience of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In mass theatrical release today - the movie includes the first feature film appearances of: The Batman v Superman rivalry, the DC Trinity, aspects of a cinematic Justice League, and Wonder Woman herself!

 

Starting now, and continuing into the month of April, we'll be featuring the 20th Anniversary of another unprecedented pop cultural showdown event: DC versus Marvel/Marvel versus DC!

 

It's been ten years since we first ran through the classic crossover contest. In April we'll continue to explore the two follow-up series and some of the inter-company crossover battles that you may have forgotten! So don't miss it!

 

Winners: Wonder Woman & Spider-man

(--) #2 Spider-man

(+3) #12 Wonder Woman

(+29) #138 Access [+1 Assist]

(-18) #341 Juggernaut

(new) #772 Mantis

OLD COMICS WEDNESDAY: BATMAN VERSUS...

In two days The Dark Knight takes the fight to The Man of Steel in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice! March 25th will mark the first shared theatrical outing for the World's Finest pairing. Earlier in the month we looked back at the storied comic book rivalry, and featured some of Superman's other hero-on-hero battles during weekly Friday Fight Night features.

This Old Comics Wednesday we're finally delving into the darkness of the criminal underworld and its fabled scourge -- honing in on the fight history of Batman!

As the #1 ranked combatant on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, Batman's fighting chops have been demonstrated against many more opponents than just Superman! By hitting the covers below, you'll be transported to featured fights involving: The Joker, Bane, Catwoman, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, Hush, Two-Face, Mr. Zsasz, Amazo, Dr. Light, Slam Bradley and even Marvel's Captain America!

HERO OF THE WEEK: DAREDEVIL (Marvel)
Real Name: Matt Murdock
First Appearance: Daredevil #1 (April, 1964)
Fight Club Ranking: #9

Featured Fights:
- vs BULLSEYE: Daredevil #132 (Apr 1976)
- vs HULK: Daredevil #163 (Mar 1980)
- vs PUNISHER: Daredevil #257 (Aug 1988)
- vs TURK: Marvel Comics Presents #19 (May 1989)
- vs SCOPE: Marvel Comics Presents #49 (May 1990)
- vs SLADE: Daredevil: Man Without Fear #2 (Nov 1993)
- vs DEADPOOL: Contest of Champions II #4 (Nov 1999)
- vs BULLSEYE: Daredevil #49 (Sep 2003)
- vs PUNISHER: Daredevil #65 (Nov 2004)
- vs WOLVERINE: Wolverine #24 (Mar 2005)
- vs SINISTER TWELVE: Marvel Knights: Spider-man #11 (Apr 2005)
- vs JESTER: Daredevil #75 (Sep 2005)
- vs BULLSEYE: Daredevil #79 (Jan 2006)
- vs IRON FIST: Daredevil #87 (Sep 2006)
- vs TOMBSTONE: Daredevil #90 (Dec 2006)
- vs TOMBSTONE & MATADOR: Daredevil #91 (Jan 2007)

There are a whole lot of properties vying for your attention right now, but the one with the most cut through in the last seven days is by far: Daredevil!

The sonar-sighted superhero returned to Netflix, March 18th, for a second series of thirteen hard hitting episodes -- unlucky, for some! If you were here earlier in the year [1/11/2016], you know former Hero of the Week The Punisher is Daredevil's arch-rival in the sequel series, which also introduces Elektra.

The arrival of Marvel's murderously militant vigilante has upped the stakes for the streets of Marvel Netflix, and fuelled a level of intrigue that defies mixed reviews, and the slightly cheap and nasty Netflix style. Which is to say, like a lot of praised comic book television of the moment, I tend to think the show is awaiting a harsher rethink from habitual binge viewers still soaking up the novelty.

A theme of this year's Hero of the Week has been design in live-action, which may be among the softest targets for the Daredevil show. Punisher gets the look right, remembering the death's head emblem omitted from earlier adaptations. Anyone with color trademarks is subject to compromise.

In the late nineties, fans rallied around mutual agreement that black armor was antithetical to the Daredevil character -- a sin of the time. Restoration of the iconic red look coincided with the very Daredevil renaissance that made TV a viable, exciting prospect. Armored DD was consigned to cultural regret - a touchstone for what-not-to-do. The binary costume/no costume dynamic of Frank Miller's milestone work gave superior options, ending with Miller's desire to make comics less cinematic. Fans of the time had no idea where things were going...

The 2003 feature film grappled with similar concerns of colour and proportion. They shied away from literal body armor, but arrived at a conceit of protective leather that isn't worlds apart. Both examples challenge the acrobatic nature of the character. Why hasn't he worn armor for the majority of fifty years? Because that would severely impede the skilful mobility that is his greatest strength.

2002's Spider-man gave costumed heroes permission to be bold on screen, but the Daredevil film makers were intimidated by possibility of comparisons. They shied away from vibrant reds and a clean anatomy. Zips, clips and a detached mask were the solution to breaking up the outline. Even in comics, DD had been known as the poor man's Spidey from time to time, but it's such a shame to see success be the reasoning behind a fearful decision. At that time, the black pleather of X-Men was already looking dated. A different costume likely wouldn't have improved the legacy of Mark Steven Johnson's monetarily successful movie, but as one of several better decisions - who knows?

Proposing a man walk on screen in a bright red, spandex onesie is never gonna work -- but it doesn't have to. Spider-man films are the standard barer for embellishing the human form in figure hugging costumes. Flair is the solution to giving texture to an otherwise simplistic design. It's amazing how little visual style exists in an era dominated by comic book properties! Daredevil's red should pop against thick blacks. Lighting contrast and cinematography wouldn't just elevate the classic costume, but the works in general. It should inspire composition. Film is missing romance! A study in human anatomy in motion is something I'd love to see. Life after Nolan has been too often defined by choices of what can't be done. Superheroes can do anything. They're amazing.

That mask remains a surprisingly tricky one. The tall dimensions of Ben Affleck's head provided the opposite obstacle faced by Charlie Cox. The Netflix cowl is improving, but depending on the angle, it can still look like the top half is an avalanche threatening to consume his face. Do you cast an actor for their cranium, or their art form? I'm not sure I'm really convinced by the ofay Brit the Matt Murdock I think of, but he serves his purpose in anchoring the show.

I've got mixed feelings about their slow burn approach, which chose to make a plot of the iconic DD costume, which is at least undergoing slight modification in Series 2. On the one hand, I appreciate the economy of storytelling and sense of ceremonial gravitas. On the other hand, spreading the simple things thin reminds that budget has a commanding role, and there's still a long way to go before live-action matches comics for content.

Fortunately, there's plenty of comics goodness to go around! If you're digging Daredevil you can get a choice range of past entries via last week's Old Comics Wednesday. You can find more from the Netflix heroes by following links to Punisher, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist!

<< Hero of the Week 03/28: Wonder Woman    [Home]    Hero of the Week 03/14: Spider-man >> 

CAPTAIN MARVEL & HAWKMAN versus SUPERMAN & BATMAN

Public Enemies Part Four: Battle On (DC)
Where: Superman/Batman #4 When: January 2004
Why: Jeph Loeb How: Ed McGuinness

The Story So Far...
A giant piece of the destroyed planet Krypton is hurtling towards the Earth! The humongous meteorite threatens all life on Earth, but President of the United States Lex Luthor has a plan to thwart what his government claims is a proven attack orchestrated by Superman!

 

Uniting with Batman; Metropolis' Man of Tomorrow helps devise a plan to stop the celestial threat, and undo Lex Luthor's corrupt political scheme once and for all -- becoming a wanted fugitive in the process!

 

With a bounty on their heads, the World's Finest evade attacks from some of the most notorious figures in the criminal underworld, before fending off a team of government enlisted heroes. When an accident during the fight causes mass destruction in Tokyo, the big guns of the Justice Society of America finally agree to step in to take the pair down safely and quietly at the rest of Wonder Woman. Enter the JSA's hand-picked heroes for a showdown in the snowy mountains of Japan: Captain Marvel & Hawkman!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Captain Marvel 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach Speeds)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Hawkman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Superman 5 (Lasers)

Over the past month we've seen instances of The Man of Steel getting the better of Captain Marvel [Kingdom Come #4] and Hawkman [Justice League of America #200] individually. So what happens when the battle escalates to titanic tag team proportions? That's what we aim to find out today as the JSA deploy their two most perfectly suited enforcers for an explosive two-on-two encounter with the JLA's finest: Superman & Batman!

Captain Marvel and Hawkman know each other relatively well, but the edge of familiarity likely has to go to the defending team.

Superman & Batman don't always see eye to eye, and the reason their occasionally bitter rivalry gets so volatile isn't just rooted in difference -- but because they know each other so darn well! When they're fighting on the same side that spells bad news for any opponents! Just take a look at past skirmishes with: Darkseid [Superman/Batman #42], Atomic Skull [Superman/Batman #21], Mongul [Infinite Crisis #1], and inhabitants of a universe where they conquered the world: Green Arrow [Superman/Batman #14] and Freedom Fighters [Superman/Batman #15]!

They haven't conquered the world in today's feature, but their fellow heroes are operating under the instruction that it's a possible goal. This means Captain Marvel & Hawkman can put some of their reluctance aside when fighting. An argument can be made that this allows them to fully exploit key advantages they hold over their counterparts.

As we saw in Superman #216: Captain Marvel & Superman match-up pretty well, but the magic strength of Hercules and power of Zeus gives Cap the slight strength advantage needed when employing his ruthless lightning ambush. Nth metal enhancements ensure Hawkman has a decided strength advantage over The Batman, as well. If he can use his medieval arsenal with impunity, even the ever-resourceful Batman could quickly find himself at a deadly disadvantage!

Switch it up and things get even worse for Batman, who won't have kryptonite to fall back on fighting the magic of Shazam, the way he usually does against Superman. Play that scenario out and the best Superman can hope for is a drag out one-on-one fight with the big red cheese. With a kryptonite meteor heading for the Earth, that's not an ideal place to be.

The Tape stats noted above show Superman & Batman have versatility over the specialist skills of their opponents, but the only way to know for sure is to let the fight play out! Let's see how it went...

The Tape: Superman & Batman Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...

Touching down with Powergirl & Katana en tow; Superman & Batman draw their plans to save a world they've been accused of threatening. Knowing the battle is far from over, they charge their juniors with a vital mission. They will not be able to execute it. A streaking red blur confirms it.

A weighted net ensnares The Batman, followed by the descending shadow of the winged Hawkman! He commands the outlaw heroes to honor their past and make it easy. Standing boldly over his fallen target, Captain Marvel echoes the sentiment -- reminding Superman he's beaten him before and will do so again.

Superman chooses non-compliance, blasting Captain Marvel in the face with an explosion of heat vision! His words scold as harshly as the heat, challenging the Captain for accepting President Luthor's orders!

While the super-powers collide, Batman gets to freeing himself from his netted prison. A cutting tool makes light work of the snare. Hawkman warns him to stay down. An interesting choice of words.

Superman and Captain Marvel come to super-human blows. The Man of Steel reviews his opponent's innate advantages. Toe-to-toe his magic power gives Captain Marvel the edge. A straight right to the jaw punctuates the point, before a stinging left follows directly at Superman's face!

Meanwhile, Batman observes Hawkman's obvious advantage: flight. As the winged warrior swoops with trademark fixed mace in hand, Batman attempts to turn the tables - firing his grappling cable around his flying foe!

The Bat succeeds in grounding Hawkman for a moment, but any advantage is short-lived -- the power of his mighty wings too great for the tensile strength of the chord! The recoil sends Batman flying!

Clearly struggling against their respective opponents: Batman calls for a "castling" strategy - a switch of King and Rook.

To facilitate the exchange, Superman catches Captain Marvel's next blow and uses the leverage to toss him in the direction of Batman! The Bat gets a kick in, directing Marvel's careening body into the snow -- while in the blink of an eye Superman goes airborne, collecting Hawkman at mach speed!

The Man of Steel heads for the Earth's upper atmosphere with a note of regret, intending for Hawkman to blackout. The veteran scoffs his target's arrogance, knowing full well what Superman & Batman are attempting. Far from done, he introduces Superman to his glove: The Claw of Horus!

The Claw draws its power from the Earth's magnetic core -- allowing Hawkman to hit Superman with the force of the entire planet! The blow sends Superman plummeting back down to Earth with extreme prejudice!

While below, Batman investigates Captain Marvel's impact. Instead he discovers young Billy Batson in the snow with a cut on his forehead. The Dark Knight checks on his opponent's mortal counterpart. When Batson whispers the magic word "Shazam" a magic bolt of lightning strikes the Earth to transform him back into the big red cheese Captain Marvel!

With Batman slumped over his shoulder, Marvel re-joins Hawkman - who stands over an unconscious and wounded Superman! Victorious!

The Hammer...

Did you see it happening? Our winners are very much Captain Marvel & Hawkman, but there's more to this story than meets the eye...

If you followed the recap, you may have noticed the absence of Powergirl and Katana - who exited just as the fight started.

 

This was the real key to victory, as Superman and Batman's ultimate goal in the fight was to ensure they were left unhindered. It's all part of a larger plot to avert the disaster President Lex Luthor has accused Superman of causing. The very reason they were in remote Japan - home to the industrious Toyman.

Fans of the Public Enemies story will know Captain Marvel & Hawkman's victory is short-lived. Somewhere between the end of the fight and Superman/Batman #5, the title duo blindsided their opponents while their guards were down, in order to steal their identities. This allows the fugitive Superman & Batman to confront Luthor at close proximity, and rescue their protégés, who had responded to premature news of their capture.

It's a contrivance almost purely for the reader's sake -- just barely functional enough in the bigger picture to make its convincing execution worth the while. It got us a kickass fight between rival heroes, and gave half a subsequent issue to a fun group of young heroes. Not bad!

 

It doesn't hurt that the whole affair is deliciously rendered by a master team of artists. I'm a big fan of the world according to Ed McGuinness. He was a natural fit for Superman, and I think a surprisingly effective and maybe underrated Batman artist, as well. He doesn't do it alone, of course. He's brought to his very best by inker Dexter Vines, with perfect, wet paint colors from Dave Stewart. The end result is big, bold, powerful and wonderful to look at.

 

It's easy to forget that a Superman/Batman team-up book was a slightly sketchy proposal in 2003, especially on the back of Jeph Loeb's instrumental rekindling of the Batman v Superman rivalry that same year [Batman #612]. McGuinness played a big part in successfully selling the dynamic of character examination under big action frivolity that underscored much of Loeb's run. There's positive and negative, but it gave something back to the introspective superhero comics of the time. If DC's upcoming Rebirth intends to address things that are missing - this balance of elements, characters, fun, stakes, and Ed McGuinness' pencils are all good places to start!

 

Ironically, some of McGuinness' least effective pages take place during the Captain Marvel/Hawkman fight. The intention of certain action sequences aren't as clear as they should be. These panels leave a lot of vague, uninteresting, dead space. Some of this seems to be in service of not calling attention to Hawkman's trump card - The Claw of Horus. It works, giving the reveal impact without obviously holding his hand behind his arm, but it may've pressured the Captain Marvel "Castling" sequence into some flat panels.

 

Something I do like about the Superman/Hawkman sequence is how well it plays off the fight in Justice League of America #200. That time Hawkman was left for dead floating unconscious in space. This time he was prepared!

 

Some may argue the surprise twist in Superman/Batman #5 invalidates the victory demonstrated in today's feature, but the result is never explicitly disputed. The outcome is merely overturned by a second, unseen skirmish. By hook or by crook, Captain Marvel & Hawkman did defeat Superman & Batman as we saw. Secret Wars on Infinite Earths bylaws typically dictate results should be determined by issue cut-off. The facts of the case just so happen to support the result, either way.

 

Which pretty much takes care of that! It also wraps up our run of Superman's battles with heroes for this month! It won't be the last time we take inspiration from the March 25th release of Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice, though! There's a third hero set to play a feature role and they'll be tag teaming with one of the other most talked about heroes coming soon to theatres. If you guess this unlikely pairing -- you'll deserve a no prize! 'Nuff said!

 

As always, you can find more Superman & Batman battles by following the links, or checking out the Issue Index Archive.

Stay tuned for more Hero of the Week and Old Comics Wednesday portal picks, too! Wanna read the comics you've seen here yourself? Use Amazon purchase links provided to support the site! Be sure to tell your friends, too!

Winners: Captain Marvel & Hawkman

(--) #1 Batman

(--) #4 Superman

(+8) #27 Hawkman

(+222) #100 Captain Marvel