VENOM versus IRON MAN
Oil and Gold (Marvel comics)
Where: Iron Man #302 When: March 1994
Why: Len Kaminski How: Kevin Hopgood

The story so far...
What happens when you take a billionaire industrialist, and add a deranged killing machine who considers himself a 'lethal protector'?

Recent corporate decisions have brought Tony Stark to the attentions of the alien symbiote wielding anti-hero called Venom, and he wants blood.

Believing Stark to be little more than a cancerous pollup, fleecing hard-working innocents of their hard-earned dollars; Venom makes the march to Stark Tower to get a piece of hard justice.

Previous Form:
Iron Man (#4): Iron Man has gained victories over the likes of the Hulk, Captain America and Diablo.
Venom (#59): Venom has not yet participated in a conclusive battle.
Spider-man: Wearing the black symbiote, Spider-man aided Jim Rhodes in defeating Backlash.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Venom 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Venom 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Iron Man 4 (Trained Fighter)
Energy Powers: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)

First off, I just have to acknowledge how bizarre a combination this is.
Six degrees of Spider-man connect these guys quite directly, particularly in a world post-Civil War, but otherwise there's just no connection here. Which is probably what makes it so enjoyable.

Venom's statistics probably don't highlight how formidable a foe he is, even for Iron Man. While his strength and abilities are perhaps not as potent as the Iron Man armor, Venom still weighs in somewhere around the second or third tiers.

The irony of the stats is that Iron Man could very easily defeat Venom based on some of his simpler tools, even things as base as sonic radar.
That said, being so unfamiliar with Venom as a foe, it's entirely reasonable to expect Iron Man to overlook this kind of specific solution, and instead engage in more direct combat.

Under those circumstances, Iron Man should still come out the victor relatively comfortably. However, Venom's capacity to barrel his opponents over with sheer strength and aggressions should not be overlooked.
The right kind of front-on attack could easily see the armor peeled open like a very expensive sardine can, leaving Venom to feast on the gooey goodness contained within.

Overall: Iron Man 31 (+7)
The Pick: Iron Man

What went down...
Having burst into one of the many highrise properties owned by Stark Industries, Venom has few bones about leaping all over his intended prey, and popping his head like an overgrown zit.

Fortunately for us, this decapitation reveals a ruse the likes of which would make even Victor Von Doom proud... If he hadn't done it a hundred times before, infidel!
The robotic LMD [Life Model Decoy - Mick Fury] serves only to stir Venom's rage further, but he remains clear of mind enough to deduce that "corporate scum" would probably be in the penthouse, if not the office.

A couple of broken windows later, Venom is again upon our moustached hero -- this time for real!

This is the period when Stark was largely housebound, having one of his frailer moments. Which means Tony's a hoverchair bound sitting duck when Venom comes looking for a late lunch.

A bit of quick thinking sees Stark using his chair as a projectile, which nails Venom with such force, it sends him hurtling through the brickwork!

At a slow crawl, Stark makes his way to the express elevator -- commando style!
Still feeling the effects of his near-death experiences, Stark heads for the armory, but Venom is lurking not far behind.
Coming back in the way he went out, Venom is right at the elevator doors as they slam shut.

The symbiote powered anti-hero makes little work, tearing and mangling the doors, before descending down the shaft: "Going down: Men's shirts... House-wares... And dismembered corpses!"

Uh-oh Tone, I think he means you!
"There's a word for what you are now, Stark: Spam."
Yep, he definitely means you!

With the elevator holding up until they reach sub-level 3, Stark crawls his way through his identification systems, as Venom finally begins to rip his way through, moving at a stroll like any good horror villain. Another set of big metal doors coming between stalker and prey, just in the nick of time!

Clawing at the doors, Venom is hurled backward as they blow out!
There, standing amongst the smoke and rubble is the symbol of hope and capitalism - gleaming like an golden angel -- IRON MAN!

Venom recovers and fires webbing over the eyeslats of the armor, forcing Tony to go to ultrasound viewscans. Thus, Venom inadvertantly brings IM a moment of the upperhand!


Unfortunately for Iron Man, the low frequency device is not enough to directly assault Venom, sending him into a deranged frenzy.

With the webbing away from his eyes, Iron Man holsters the red muleta, as Venom pins him to the ground.
"You're crunchy on the outside -- chewy on the inside!," Venom taunts.

Apparently tired of his foul mouth, Iron Man snatches Venom's wagging, saliva laced tongue and channels an electrical charge through his gauntlet.

Whilst verbally defending himself, he throws a punch to back up his strong words, sending the symbiote clad maniac through various generic set pieces.

A barrage of repulsor rays keep Venom pinned down, while Stark attempts to turn the psychological fight around. He accues Venom of being the very evil he claims to police, via his own demented ideals.

"You want to confront evil, Venom -- Take a good long look in the mirror."

Though Venom doth protest, he does so too much.
The psychological blows prove to be the most effective, and the psycho agrees to give Stark length of rope long enough to hang himself.

With that, Venom retreats into the shadows, and Stark lets him go, too weak to have a hope of giving chase.

The hammer...
Well, given that Venom really left of his own accord after giving Iron Man a pretty tough time of it. I think the best I can do here is call it a draw.
On points I'd probably go Venom, but gosh darn it. Gotta give IM something for effort.

It's been about three or four weeks since I last updated, I think.
I had a big tidy recently, and when I dragged my crammed longboxes out again to see what I might find, this was the gem that popped up. Well, actually, this was the second gem, after Ironman #259 - the issue I was actually looking for.

I decided to scrap the original issue planned for this entry, just to get a post done on enthusiasm. Yes, that's right. I was enthusiastic about a comic from the mid-nineties that featured Venom in an obtuse guest appearance.

The crazy thing about what Len Kaminski does here is not the mere inclusion of the guest character. It's the fact that, beneath the fairly typical execution, lies a sound concept!

One of the things that has me most jazzed about Sam Raimi's inclusion of Venom in the upcoming Spider-man movie is the nature of the character. Though often portrayed more as a psychopathic anti-hero, Venom has the basic fundamentals of a really scary, horror style menace.
This applies even moreso where Spider-man is concerned, with one of Venom's most deadly qualities being the fact that he has Peter Parker's entire history on tap.

Couple that with supreme camouflage abilities, spidey-sense immunity, super strength, and all those other wacky powers -- and Venom becomes a pretty frightening prospect.

It's interesting then to see the character's distorted mobility used as the driving force for a chase comic, like this particular issue of Iron Man.
Like many comics featured on Secret Earths, it's not going to win any awards, but it's a fun a propsect.

Despite Venom's ultimate warning, I don't think the comics ever had him cross swords with Iron Man again. Which, in a way, is a bit of a shame.
Villain-of-the-week appearances like this really didn't help sustain the interest in the character, and highlight some of the missteps taken in the nineties as the character was finding his way in the Marvel world.

I guess an ironic conclusion to this entry is the current course being taken in Civil War. The contrast of Stark's character aside, Mac Gargan is among the villains being employed by Iron Man and the registration crew.
Mac Gargan, better known as Scorpion, has been in posession of the venom symbiote for the last year or two.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4.5

NEXT: Whatever tickles my fancy!

DEATH'S HEAD versus CHARNAL
What if... Minion had not killed Death's Head? (Marvel comics)
Where: What if...? #54 When: October, 1993
Why: Simon Furman How: Geoff Senior

The story so far...
History is told by those who survive it, but within the cosmos exist an ancient alien race known as The Watchers. It is their duty to spend the eons witnessing and noting history, swarn to watch, but never to act.

Uatu, Earth's Watcher, is privvy to countless realities where each imaginable alternative is played out in vivid detail.

In our reality the cybernetic creature Minion killed Death's Head, and in doing so assimilated his personality, which eventually assumed dominance over the Minion host body.
In another world, however, a split second skips. A finger hits a teleportation switch. And Minion, unappeased, moves on to the next name on his list: #106 - Reed Richards.

Recommended reading:
Marvel Adventures #12: The Fantastic Four did battle with their sinister counterparts, the Frightful Four.
Civil War #3: Captain America leas his Secret Avengers into overwhelming odds, in much the same circumstances over in Civil War.
Neither Death's Head nor Charnal have been featured on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Charnal 5 (Professor)
Speed: Sub-Mariner 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Charnal 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Human Torch 7 (Solar Power)

If you're looking at the stats there, you might be wondering if I've mixed something up. Well, honestly, Death's Head versus Charnal is something of a misnomer, because Death's Head has jumped back through the time stream to assemble an awesome force of heroic muscle.

Individually they are some of the most prominent heroes in the Marvel Unvierse, but together they are one of the most unlikely collections of chartered Avengers one has ever seen. Not only that - like any group who lose one of their own, they're none to pleased about the death of Reed Richards.

Bruce Banner hogged a lot of the press, but if there's something we've learned in the past, it's that you do not want to make Susan Storm angry!
You would most certainly not like her when she's angry, BDSM masochists withstanding.

Couple that with two old-time heavy hitters in the Sub-Mariner and Captain America; three of Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four; and two promising contemporary young guns in Cage and War Machine... What villain would be insane enough to go up against them?

This is an alternate reality story, based upon the British UK future comics, whose canonical status is debatable. So, there are a few inherent difficulties that arise here.
It's hard to say whether the insane-enough villain here is Minion, Charnal or something all together different. Apparently Charnal was the prophecized evolution of the original Death's Head's body, mystically enfused with Baron Von Strucker's mind. In our universe Death's Head seized control of Minion's body, and became Death's Head II, and helped defeat the menace of Charnal.

In this world Charnal is instead Minion; post-the death and assimilation of Reed Richards, and again enfused mystically with the evil of Baron Strucker. By no means the true Charnal, but still quite scary none the less...

It's a tough call to say who should win here.
A collection as impressive as the heroes gathered to face Charnal is always difficult to bet against, but that's without taking into account the sheer power at the disposal of Minion. His character is such that he adapts to compensate for weakness, and so the same trick is said to never work twice.
With a guy like that, it's everything or nothing.

Given the circumstances, you'd be mad to go against the heroes, but this one will by no means be a gimme! Also... I'm sweltering hot because the air conditioning can't be repaired until Thursday, so... Cut me some slack.

Average: Charnal 31 (+6.87)
Overall: Death's Head 193 (+162)
The Pick: Death's Head

What went down...
We join the battle right in the thick of things, as Captain America leads the troops in to an intelligence gathering exercise. I have to say two things straight off the bat:
- This story is not for the incredibly squeamish, or sentimental.
- This is actually one of the few stories in recent years that writes superhero Captain America like a competent, vocal military strategist. Go Cap!

So, anyway... War Machine dumps both barrels on Charnal, as Thing literally punches through his torso, producing a rather fetching salmon pink splatter. So it's still alright for the kiddies.
The veterans are in the mix too. Cap deflecting energy blasts from the creature's fist with his shield, while the Sub-Mariner comes around the back for a swooping attack.

Charnal is able t oswat the Thing away, sending him careening into an abandoned building, but the Sub-Mariner arrives in time for a WW2 double team, nailing Charnal from behind while Cap takes the jaw with a mighty toss of his shield!

War Machine dives in for crums, unloading everything available at point blank range - but Charnal proves just how tough he is by not only taking it, but also slicing through the War Machine armor with his axe-like fist!

The team continue their coordinated assault with the Human Torch coming in for a nova attack, while Luke Cage, resisting the heat thanks to his super durable skin, ties Charnal up in a full nelson so Sue Storm can make her move.
The woman scorned uses her invisible force fields to pop Charnal from the inside, creating various bursting cavaties of salmony goodness.

Cap swoops in, ever aware of the entire battle, scooping Sue Storm in his stride, as Thing comes back -- PISSED!
Thing brings the entire house down - literally - right on top of Charnal, ad the gang viewing from afar start the cheers. Prematurely, of course. What kind of an unstoppable killing machine would Charnal be if he went down that easy?

Business really starts to pick up, as Charnal emerges from the rubble, acknowledging that the motley crew had succeeded..., "IN GETTING MY ATTENTION!"

Cap declares his intentions to take Charnal's head, but it's now that things start to go wrong.
Charnal catches the shield and manages to swing through it, tossing it in the general direction of Namor - decapitating him!*

It's now that Charnal's rampage really begins to pick up.
As the Human Torch swoops in for another attack, Charnal swings his head with eyes glowing, and asks the haunting question, "I wonder, Torch. Would you be so fond of that flame... If you could FEEL it?"
Then, like a moth to a flame, Johnny Storm is extinguished... Reduced to little more than a pile of smoldering ash.

It's War Machine's turn to take none to kindly to events, this time.
He topples Charnal with a hammering blow that is drawn so superbly, you actually feel the shock. It is a blow that no mere mortal could hope to survive, but Charnal is so much more, and so Rhodey suffers a similar fate.
Lifting his malformed axe-like hand, Charnal strikes forward, penetrating the eye slats of the War Machine's helmet.

Another hero falls to his knees.

Then comes an ambush all too late from friends too angry to feel sad.
First Thing from the left, then Cage from the right. Then together, in unison, they strike a devestating blow to the gut of the beast, and tie up his arms. They mean to end it.

Sue Storm swoops for her attack once more, this time unrelenting -- but it is too little too late. Charnal scoffs her as he turns her powers against her friends -- her family, and then burns her to a crisp like he did her brother.

Captain America - ever the bad ass - stands alone, prepared to fight the creature that is enfused with the mind of his old nemesis, Baron Von Strucker. He will fail.

Death's Head suits up with a gun that would make even Rob Lifeld blush, and fires into the field toward Charnal, and the lifeless corpse in his arm that wears the garb of Captain America.

FADOOM!
Death's Head follows it up with rapid fire succession, and walks onto the plane to face his smiling enemy. The creature who was destined to kill him in another time and place.

Death's Head extends a wrist mounted energy blade, and runs into battle firing.
He stabs deep into Charnal's chest, and follows it up with a gashing uppercut with his facial tusks.
Charnal continues to boast his superiority, putting serious distance between them with a devestating left.

The two mecha-creatures exchange barrage after barrage of fire, and Charnal finally starts to feel it.
Death's Head walks toward his enemy coldly, taking all the hits Charnal can dish out, before walking straight into a right hook, all the while challenging Charnal to finally tap into one of the 105 brilliant minds he's assimilated.

At close quarters, Death's Head drives a synaptic scrambler into Minion's mighty back. The disruption is brief, but provokes Charnal to tap into the most brilliant minds in the known-world.

Drawing upon their wisdom, Charnal sets out to inflict maximum pain on his counterpart, and with the killing blow in sight, an unlikely moment of hesitation... A moment Death's head capitalizes on - decapitating the AIM cyber beast.

When the embers settle and the smoke clears, Death's Head is left standing. Victorious in a future much brighter than our own. In a future where Mr. Fantastic has died, but had one final moment to live up to the moniker.

The hammer...
Well, it's about time for another first. While Death's Head leads his troops to an epic victory, his entire strategy was built on sacrificing his allies. Way to play the assist, guys!

Whoof! Well, that was a long one, so I certainly won't keep you too long.

Despite it taking me well over a week to actually get around to completing this update, I was actually really excited about it.
What if... has easily been one of my favourite titles for most of my comic reading life. Regardless of the insane fun that can be had peering in on alternate outcomes to critical events -- you're also guaranteed a varied and star studded read every month!

It was easily one of the most disappointing days in Marvel history when the second volume was finally cancelled in the late nineties. Way to go nineties, you soiled the legacy!

Sadly some of the more recent What if work has been more concept driven, and probably hasn't quite come up to par. As much as I love it as a fifth-week event, it jus hasn't been the same, and it seems abundantly clear that there's a narrow sighted approach to the concept.

This is a book that is essentially dedicated to alternate realities, which could potentially open up to be versatile enough to include all manner of stories -- like the recent Age of Apocalypse flashbacks, Exiles, Mutant X, the What If stories we have seen recently, and all manner of additionals.
It might even make a really great anthology series! Short stories, original concepts, a return to existing concepts. Lots that could be done there on a regular basis!

Anyway, I'm rambling, and this has been a long enough post as it is.
You'll notice categories at the bottom of each post. I upgraded to Beta, so hopefully this will aid any navigational needs, and generally enhance the blog.

I doubt I'll be doing daily posts in December, as I'm still trying to catch up. I know you're crushed.

The Fight: 6.5 The Issue: 5

NEXT: The Flash and Nightwing against the menace of Gorilla Grodd!

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!

MONTHLY PUNCH-UP #9 (September, 2006)
MAN-APE versus SPIDER-MAN
Bride of the Panther Part 5: "Here Come A Storm"
Where: Black Panther #18 When: September, 2006
Why: Reginald Hudlin How: Scot Eaton & Kaare Andrews

Quick Fix...
I know what you're thinking! What the hell's going on?
Well, in an effort to make these punch-ups just a little more interesting, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to feature those fights that just aren't quite long enough to be a weely post during the month.

These might be anywhere as short as 'one punch! [Bwahaha!]' or a few pages. It's just a way to expand the stats, and get some issues in that might not otherwise be featured; like Black Panther #18.

When Reginald Hudlin took on a new Black Panther series I was moderately interested. I didn't read the Priest series, but I'm a general fan of the Black Panther. Love him via the Fantastic Four, and other stories.
There were some pretty scathing reviews, and I have to say, what I knew of the new series really only seemed to emphasise them. One thing that bothered me in particular was Hudlin's interest in gathering all the afro-characters in the one place... Even if that really isn't what I envision as natural for the character; ie. Blade.

Still, I picked this issue up, and I have to say, it's one of the best Civil War comics I've read! It really is superb, and I probably couldn't recommend it enough, even if you didn't read the first four parts (like me).
This was just a whim purchase from a local newsagency... Which makes it's existence all the more amazing, really. Black Panther in a local store?! Whaaa?

Anyway, keeping to the blog's motiff -- the fight!
As with most comic book weddings, anyone and everyone connected by a string of degrees is invited -- even Wakandan villain - Man-Ape, who had actually come to the wedding to seek vengeance for not being disrespected by not being invited, but upon arrival, was told he was on the list.

So, at the bar, Iron Spidey has a quick drink, and bumps into the Man-Ape. Man-Ape recounts the story of how he arrived at the wedding, one thing leads to another and, well, look left. As you can see, Spidey's advice doesn't have the intended ffect on a guy who clearly already has insecurity issues...

Spidey cowls up; Man-Ape waves a chair above his head; and the next panel...

... is Man-Ape crash landing.

Which, really, is the perfect defining first example of a quick fix. Spidey wins, flawless fictory!

This issue, overall, isn't the best looking issue, and honestly, some of these examples don't evoke Klaus Janson's best work, but still, it's a great read.
I'm actually a big fan of the idea of moving Storm out of the X-universe, and into a relationship with Black Panther. I tend to think this has the potential to better connected the Panther with the on-going relevence of the Marvel Universe, and also give Storm something a little more worthwhile to do.

I don't think it was just Halle Berry who felt Storm could use more to do.
I don't think I've ever thought of Storm as necessary to any moment, outside of maybe fulfilling the minority and female slot required by the X-Men cartoon.

The Fix: 5 The Issue: 6.5

The Monthly Top 5...
#1 Batman (-) (9) (DC Comics)
What is there left to say about Batman? He is well regarded as one of the ultimate fighting characters in comic books, and it should come as no surprise that he's perched so firmly on top.
Omit him from updates for a few months, and you'll be forgiven for still thinking he's being featured every week.

It's not over until it's over, but right here and now, it's looking like Batman is all but assured to be the number superhero of 2006. Marvel have taken over entries lately, but Batman is everpresent.

- Batman versus Captain America (May 15, 2006)
- Batman versus Bullseye (May 22, 2006)
- Batman, Nightwing & Robin versus Two-Face (July 21, 2006)

#2 Spider-man (+28) (new) (Marvel Comics)
Okay, this one surprised even me.
It was only this week that I decided to include the Quick Fix having had BP #18 sitting on my desk the past fortnight. Likewise, it was only today that I decided Spidey, IM and Thor-Clone would get the win for Civil War #3 - so... Wow!

Suddenly Spidey is ranked number two, and apart from Batman, is the only undefeated character in the top five. Could this be the first legitimate contender for Batman, right out of the clear blue sky? Who better than Spidey to rival DC's top character?
Very interesting!...

- Spider-man versus Tri-Sentinel (April 14, 2006)
- Spider-man & Iron Man vs Blacklash (August 11, 2006)
- The Avengers (inc. Spider-man) versus The Secret Avengers (August 25, 2006)
- Spider-man versus Man-Ape (September 1, 2006)

#3 Daredevil (-1) (8) (Marvel Comics)
The Daredevil featured in Civil War was Danny Rand, but DD is still a stalwart of the top five, and that's the way we like it.
Honestly, the Quick Fix addition is almost tailor made to include some of the fantastic work Ed Brubaker did when he took over the DD book. Work that involved some great fights, but fights that just weren't quite enough to stretch out to a full post, so... DD is well and truly in the hunt here.

I hear he's fighting Tombstone in a recent issue, which just makes this fanboy all giddy, because if there's a street level hood I love, it's Tombstone!
As I give into my whims more, you'll probably see DD holding onto his spot here, and try (but failing) to take Bats. He's a sentimental favourite here on Secret Earths.

- Daredevil versus Turk (March 10, 2006)
- Daredevil versus Hulk (June 19, 2006)
- Daredevil versus Wolverine (July 07, 2006)

#4 Iron Man (+7) (new) (Marvel Comics)
There was a really beautiful situation that arose last month.
I pre-selected the Civil War entries a while before getting to them, so it was purely by divine justice that Iron Man and Cap wound up at #10 and #11 respectively last month.

As the lynchpins of August's entries, and interesting situation arose.
It came down to Civil War #3 with the winner going top five, either way. So, in the end, the unpopular guy hits the top five for the first time.

It's died down by now, but the announcement of Robert Downey Jr. for the feature film is still an exciting prospect, and really... Iron Man's stock ain't going down any time soon!

- Iron Man versus Hulk (June 26, 2006)
- Iron Man versus Captain America (August 18, 2006)
- The Avengers (inc. Iron Man) versus The Secret Avengers (August 25, 2006)

#5 Hulk (-2) (3) (Marvel Comics)
And with the exception of Batman, DC are completely squeezed out of the top by all the Marvel mayhem. Honestly, I foresee something of a Marvel slant for the near future, but that could realistically change.

This is probably the final stop for Hulk as he exits the top five after a valiant effort. As I've said previously, Planet Hulk just hasn't captured my imagination, despite sounding rather suitable for a website such as this.

I'm keen to learn more about World War Hulk, but until then, mean and green can be seen in June's Monday posts.

- Hulk versus The Thunderbolts (June 12, 2006)
- Hulk versus Daredevil (June 19, 2006)
- Hulk versus Iron Man (June 26, 2006)

Super Stock...
1. Batman (-) (DC)
2. Spider-man (+28) (M)
4. Iron Man (+7) (M)
6. Superman (-2) (DC)
7. Wolverine (-2) (DC)
8. Captain America (+2) (M)
12. Steel (-3) (DC)
19. Venom Symbiote (+37) (M)
21. Mr. Fantastic (+1) (M)
46. She-Hulk (-) (M)
53. Deathstroke (-4) (DC)
99. Thing (+29) (M)
100. Atlas (+24) (M)
101. Mach-V (+20) (M)
158. Sub-Mariner (-28) (M)
161. Baron Zemo (-42) (M)

The Hammer...
As I may have mentioned, this is being written quite in November. I'm a couple of months behind still, but I have actually made an entry for November (that will be seen once I chronologically arrive at it).

The next couple of months are mapped out, but to better facilitate updates, I'm going to abandon schedule and just start plucking issues on a whim, and doing entries whenever I feel like it.

With any luck we'll be back up to date by December, and if I'm enthused enough, I'd very much like to attempt to fill December with an entry for every day!
Whether or not this is a realistic goal - I DO NOT KNOW! But it'll be fun finding out.

This month [September] we've got a fairly random pre-selection, and October will be the last pre-selected month featuring a theme of Iron Man, Batman and killer robots. Which, I'm sure, is bound to be some fun.
I will probably continue to contribute entries for November, should the urge present itself. Which means they will join the first November entry, which features a gaming franchise comic.

That's about all for now.
Thanks for checking out the log, and hopefully you're having more fun as things shift and settle in different places. Cheers!

NEXT: The Frightful Four return!
August Hit Count: 1721* (+100)

* Hit count was recorded August 31. Hits for August posts may be reflected in October count.

THE AVENGERS versus THE SECRET AVENGERS
Civil War (Marvel comics)
Where: Civil War #3 When: September, 2006
Why: Mark Millar How: Steve McNiven

The story so far...
As the stars of a new superhero reality television programme, the New Warriors have embarked on a journey already of a controversial nature, but when a fight with some villains escalates the Marvel Universe will be rocked forever.

When amped up villain Nitro uses his explosive powers, there are far more casualities than the heroes, and far younger. A nearby school is wiped out, and thousands mourn the deaths of their children.

For the first time ever, the question of hero registration is answered with swift action. Leading the initiative, along with SHIELD commander Maria Hill, is Tony Stark - aka Iron Man.

Registration is mandatory. Those who do not declare, will be declared by Iron Man and the various registered heroes who are obligated by law to server and protect.

Previous Form:
Captain America Annual #9: Cap bitterly challenges a possessed Iron Man.
Marvel Team-Up #145: Jim Rhodes teams up with Spidey against Blacklash.
Captain America #6: Cap and Cable do battle with the forces of AIM.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Genius)
Speed: Spider-man 4 (Olympic Athlete)
Stamina: Vision 6 (Generator)
Agility: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Rubber)
Fighting Ability: Hercules 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Radioactive Man 6 (Mass Destruction)

It's been a couple of weeks since the last update. I'm doing this one now on Nov 6, having actually done a November update a couple of days ago.
I'll have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this entry when I realised exactly what I was dealing with. I suppose it's worth establishing first up, exactly what we're dealing with:

Pro-Registration (Avengers)
Atlas
Black Widow
Doc Samson
Invisible Woman
Iron Man
Joystick
Mach-V
Mr. Fantastic
Ms. Marvel
Radioactive Man
She-Hulk
Spider-man
Thing
Thor-Clone
Tigra
Yellow Jacket
Wasp
Wonder ManAnti-Registration (Secret Avengers)
Cable
Captain America
Cloak
Dagger
Falcon
Goliath
Iron Fist
Hawkeye Jr
Hercules
Hulking
Luke Cage
Patriot
Stature
Vision
Wiccan




Okay... That's a lot of characters... Which made doing the stats pretty overwhelming. But, this is the website that's supposed to indulge in these discussions, so I'm going to try not to cheap out on you too much.

I think you can pretty much take one universal fact here, that does seem to be pretty indisputable - The Pro-Registrants have the Anti outnumbered.
This is particularly telling when you take into account the power the pro-team is packing. Characters like Hercules and Captain America are great allies to have, but against a force with the Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts, Iron Man, Doc Samson and other heavy-hitters, it's just tough to bet against them.

By the nature of the argument, I suppose, the anti-registrants are chiefly street level characters, who really have very little business duking it out with the combined forces of the establishment.

The core Secret Avengers team of Goliath, Iron Fist (DD), Cap and Hercules isgreat for punking out Vulture's latest team of Sinister Six, but against an organized group of characters who can go toe-to-toe with the Hulk, they're kinda outmatched.
Just for clarification's sake, we're talking about characters like Thing, Doc-Samson, She-Hulk, Atlas, Iron Man... A mighty shield can only do so mcuh against that, and that's not even acknowledging the fact that half the Secret Avengers' allies are the Young Avengers. Against their seniors, you'd have to think experience counts for something.

It seems ill-conceived for Cap to lead this ragtag mob into a head-on collision with Iron Man's forces, and I guess that's perhaps a highlighting point.
This is not a planned confrontation. This is a trap, and a damned good one.

You can never count out Captain America all-together alone, let alone with an army of troops to be inspired. The numbers make it hard to tip against anyone else, though.

What went down...
I'd have to admit, this is probably a somewhat boring section more often than not. Summaries of what's going on the page are never going to be as interesting as seeing it, especially since sometimes I'm just not that interested anymore.

No WWD has ever been as injust as this one, though.
The team of McNiven, Dexter Vines, Mark Morales and Morry Hollowell make this one of the most amazing looking books I have ever read. This truly is artwork that can not be done justice by dull descriptions such as mine.
Never the less, I attempt to at least relay the events of the fight, for future prosperity.

After hearing a call over the police radio, the Secret Avengers rally their troops to converge as Geffen-Meyer Chemicals, where a tragedic accident has said to have left three to four hundred factory workers in peril.

Scanning his info-net, Cable finds nothing in terms of panic signals or other indicative informations. It's this, coupled with a nasty find, that lead the soldier of the future two twig first. Geffen-Meyer is a subsidiary of Stark Industries, and this scenario is purely for their benefit.

Darts fly dramatically from the sky, burying in the backs of Cloak and Wiccan, an attack to designed to prevent mass retreat. An ambush.
SHIELD helecopters and soldiers descend on the area ans the heroes gather in the presence of pro and anti groups.

Tony Stark attempts to reason with his old friend and ally, and with each faction standing tensely, Iron Man extends his gauntlet in the name of the greater good -- and Cap returns the favour.
"All right! Way to go, Wing-Tips! Didn't I say this was all gonna work out fine?," pipes Spider-man, just as Stark notices something attached to his metallic outer-hand.

As the SHIELD Electron-Scrambler, designed as a contingency against Iron Man, and given to Cap by the renegade Nick Fury, fries the Iron Man armor, Cap springs into action with Black Goliath following suit.

As battle begins, the heroes peel off into various pairings.
Goliath/Yellow Jacket, Atlas/Stature, Ms. Marvel/Cage, Cable/Radioactive Man, Wonder Man/Hercules, Thing/Hulking, Spidey/Patriot...

Iron Spidey intercepts Captain America's shield, and uses it against men he once called friends. Iron Fist (DD) and Vision go down, as Thing gets the better of the Young Avenger, Hulking in the mid-ground.

Cap and Patriot go back-to-back, as Spider-man fades from sight.
Cap explains the stealth function built into the Stark-produced Iron Spider-man outfit, and then has opportunity to feel the full effects of the suit, as Spidey rematerializes right infront of him - using the shield against him!

Meanwhile, Iron Man is rebooting his fried armor, and as Cap fights back against Spider-man in the foreground, IM looms rather ominously with his suit fully functional, and ready to torpedo into the fray.

Hercules, battling Doc Samson, does his best to warn Captain America of the incoming attack, but IM's speed gives him the opportunity to plow the patriot through a partially demolished brick wall.

Cap tries to continue the good fight, but the spiritual leaders of the opposing forces are poorly matched. Stark totes the armor's knowledge of Cap's arsenal of moves as he drives his gauntlets into Captain America.
Blow after blow reigns down, with little regard for the distinct margin between the suit of armor's strength, and the Captain's.

"Out of my way, you filthy traitors! He's killing him in there!"
In one of the less 'widescreen' moments, but also most inspiring, Hercules tosses Samson aside, and barrels through She-Hulk and Spider-man with the objective of saving Captain America.
"HOLD ON, CAPTAIN! I'M COMING!"

From the safety of the SHIELD Helicarrier, Maria Hill gives the order to initiate "codename lightning," as a result, Hercules does not have the opportunity to reach his target.

Hawkeye, Cage and Dagger are caught up in the lightning swirl also, as rain begins to fall on the battlefield.
Cable and Iron Fist gaze up to the pouring sky and gaze upon a sight they never expected to see.

They gaze upon a dead God.
They gaze upon Thor.

The hammer...
After Civil War #4, we all now know of course that Thor was in fact a clone manufactured by Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man, and no doubt in the future if I end up getting a hold of the issue, we'll talk some about that.

This is really a difficult situation as far as drawing a usual conclusion. With unfinished fights like this, I think it's best to just consider the end of the issue a cut-off point, thus, it's with no uncertainty that we call the Pro-Registration team he winners.

I probably talked out some of my key feelings on the Civil War during the entirely unrelated review of Thing against the Frightful Four [Fantastic Four #129], and I'm very keen to get this overdue update online, so I'll try to be brief.

I guess what Civil War #3 indicates particularly well is just how mismatched the two sides are at this point in the story. Likewise, it further highlights the lengths at which Captain America is going to fight against a system in which he's already practically involved with.

I mean, I think it's safe to say Cap's stance is one of principle and understanding, rather than one of necessity. He himself could probably be counted among the very first heroes to be techncially registered, purely by his very nature. It's a problem he's run into in the past when he's disagreed with decisions of an establishment, and has been forced to handover the property and trademarks of the government if he wishes to continue superhero-ing.

Even though Cap is probably the majority sentimental favourite, Civil War #3 goes lengths to highlight just how pig headed his stance of principle really is.
The very first scene sees one of the group of children he's leading into battle get taken down. With death right at the heart of this matter, and also all the recent history for the Avengers, there's definitely a negative light to be cast on Captain America and his team's actions.

There's not a lot I can say that hasn't already been said, but I think, when you stop thinking about the pro-registrants who are justly viewed as antagonists, and forget about the victimization of the anti-resgristrants, the other point is there.

Iron Man's team is right because in a Marvel universe where reality is being emphasized, security is what we would want. Likewise, Captain America is turning on his country to the point of blind vendetta, ignoring what is potentially the greater good, and leading this kids into a fight, rather than keeping them safe from the establishment.

The justification comes from the previous discussion [again; FF #129], because these are people reacting to tragedy, but ultimately... Is this the way Cap should go?
Probably not.

The Fight: 5.5 The Issue: 6

NEXT UP: The latest top five, and an all new feature in the long overdue September punch-up!

IRON MAN versus CAPTAIN AMERICA
The Terminus Factor Part One of Five: You are what you eat (Marvel comics)
Where: Captain America Annual #9 When: 1990
Why: Roy Thomas & Dann Thomas How: Jim Valentino

The story so far...
When Sherlock Holmes isn't cracking cases, he shoots heroin. Which is, frankly, why Holmes is nothing but a skinny elbowed English nancy.

Scoffing the most lethal of dangers, Captain America decides to volunteer for an experimental mission to pilot a Stark funded vessel to the center of a newly formed volcano. Why? Well, formerlyto protect Persephone-1 from sabotage, but really, just because he's that good. Human, too.

Things get ugly when a cybernetic egg planted by Terminus begins to crack, and a glowing lot of weird stuff starts to wreak havoc on the mission.
Only by the intervention of Iron Man (who just happens to turn up as Mr. Stark disappears...) do Cap and the pilot escape with their lives -- but so too does the Terminus goo!
Hitting a local waterstream has a strange effect on the fish that swim through it, and subsequently the bear who eats the fish, and so, Terminus enters the circle of life... and the water supply.

Previous form:
Iron Man #2: Iron Man battles Hulk to a standstill.
Captain America #6: Captain America and Cable do battle with AIM.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Iron Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: Captain America 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Captain America 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Iron Man 5 (Lasers)

It seems like it's been a while since we've had a straight one-on-one.
I guess it seems appropriate that the Civil War theme provide the first in a while. These two guys are arguably among the top tier of Marvel characters, stalwarts of the Avengers, and most recently, leaders of two different camps of thought.

Captain America isn't necessarily the most free-thinking sunnuva gun in town, but he represents the broadest sense of right, and the ideals of what all men aspire to. In many respects he's what America wants to be in the world, as opposed to what it is. He's a guiding symbol of good, who never backs down.

Stark, both in Civil War, and in general, probably represents more of what America really is. He's a character who made his early life producing technological advancements in weapons, and has essentially built a fortune by neglecting extrapolation beyond what serves his immediate goals -- which means ignoring the potential consequences around him.

Both characters exhibit an All-American iron will, but as the stamina readings show, Iron Man just has a little extra technology to back it up.

Wolverine might have a better PR agent, but Cap is truly the best there is at what he does, and he's about as close to human as you can get, without relying upon gadgets, or iron suits of armor. This guy has all the experience and grit to fight overwhelming odds, and plenty of times he'll even come out on top.

Iron Man's equipped to go toe-to-toe with pretty hefty opponents too, mind you.
The red and gold has regularly diced with the likes of Fin Fang Foom, the Mandarin, Titanium Man, and The Hulk.

So, what does all of that mean? Well, Cap may have taken down Japanese kamikaze pilots, and dropped a few Nazi tanks in his time, but neither of those had the maneuverability or firing power of Iron Man. Nor did they have the ability to out grapple him with hydraulic muscle.

He'll always be a sentimental favourite, but against Iron Man? We salute you anyway, Cap.

What went down...
Washington state has more resaons than a newly formed volcano for a couple o' Avengers to visit. You guessed it! It's time for the annual Georgeville trout feast!
Cue ominous music. Oh yes, that trout*.

Cap's a bit more manly than the silver spoon, so he doesn't bother with any food, but IM goes and sits by himself to chow down on some fresh, local trout.

As Cap is putting the moves on Dr. Napier (the Persephone-1 captain), some schmuck in a suit turns into "... a snarling animal -- leaping at us --!"
Napier makes her alliances known by calling Iron Man for help, claiming Captain America needs help, which promps Cap to machismo the guy head-first into the pavement.

As an angry mob starts to form, crazy eyes Iron Man shows up on the scene.
Snarling ponytail suit guy got the jump on Cap, but Iron Man is a drunk, so he's well prepared to backflip, snatch up the damsel in distress, and forward flip his way through a double barrage of repulsor rays.

In the commotion some powerlines become severed, and some of the raving mob start to head toward them with no sense of repercussion. Cap is there to save a zombified kid, as some guy in lime green pants gets fried.
Cap dumps the kid in a barrel of ice, as Iron Man descends into the mob.

Cap, recognising Iron Man as a threat, tries to take him out quick with a swift toss of his mighty shield. IM goes down, and much to the surprise of the Captain, the mob descends on the Golden Avenger!
Meanwhile -- to his further surprise, the kid he dumped in the ice has returned to his senses. This prompts an idea, and also an impromptu opportunity to cop a feel of Napier's arse, as he ushers her into their helecopter with the rather conspicuous line, "Don't wory about us getting lonely..."

Back in the street, Iron Man blasts his way free of the ravenous mob, and cuts the chopper off as he flies over the snowy mountains.
A direct hit overhead to the main propellor ensures the craft head straight for terra not-so firma.

Emerging from the crashed vehicle relatively unscathed, Cap leaves Dr. Napier and challenges Iron Man to, "-- COME AND GET ME!"

Iron Man does just that, but Cap is able to backflip clear.
After getting nothing but net, shellhead decides to drive it to the hoop, and nails Cap square on the kisser with a swooping left hook.
Showing no fear, Cap eggs Iron Man on, taking a backhand that sends him flying again.

As the Captain continues to provoke the supreme assault from his ally, Dr. Napier could be forgiven for wondering if Cap was going crazy too, but alas, no
For Captain America is not without a plan!

Iron Man throws all the energy blasts he has, and then follows it up with a torpedo dive, knocking Cap a little sillier, as he plants himself deep in the snow. [Ding! Ding! Ding!]

Cap tosses his shield, and knocks Iron Man back momentarily, but the armored Avenger strikes back with a vengeance!

Cap spills over the edge of a mountainous cliff, and hanging on for dear life as the zombified villagers below watch, Iron Man blasts at the very piece of Earth Cap is clinging to!

As the sentinel of liberty begins to fall, fall, fall to his demise, something happens! The icey effects of the snow finally snap Tony Stark out of his maddened haze, and with no time to lose, he swoops down and catches the tiny patch of Earth and scoops Captain America up to safety!

The villagers gradually return to normal, and the day appears saved, but Cap and Iron Man are forced to ponder whether or not the menace of the glowing Terminus goo was indeed through.

The hammer...
Even though things ended peacefully, I've got to give this one to Iron Man based purely on points. Though Cap was ultimately able to pacify his sinister urges, Iron Man thoroughly had his number, and it was only by his will that Cap survived the fall from a cliff.

I had an interesting discussion recently about Captain America, and whether or not he has credibility as a military figure, and that ultimately led to a discussion about Civil War, which leads me here.

The conversation actually began when I said I felt Ultimate Captain America had a militant credibility that I felt the regular "616" Cap had long since lost.
I guess, honestly, there are two contributing reasons for that opinion. One is the stereotype of the fighting soldier as either a hardass drill sergeant, or a mindless jarhead. The other, perhaps the more legitimate half of the argument, is the fact that since his revival in the sixties, Captain America has spent his time devided between his roles as superhero, and ideal.

On this, my friend and I were able to agree - Captain America is an ideal - but our opinions largely diverged on whether or not his role as an ideal had superceded his credibility as a militant figure.

Personally, I err on the side of there being a distinct necessity for them to be exclusive. While a soldier may be inclined to go AWOL given the right motivation, and perhaps do so justfully, I still think there is an inherent responsibility to rank, order, and thought processes that might not necessarily reveal outcomes potentially disasterous.

For example; I feel Captain America's ideals in the Civil War scenario representative of his role as the ideal that all mean, of all colour and creed, should/would like to live up to. They are not, however, the actions of a man considering his responsibility to queen, country and greater good.

I would like to think many of us, when distancing ourselves from the material, would ultimately acknowledge that registration is a good idea. That, in the real world, it's exactly the kind of law we would each wish to see enforced and monitored to the greatest degree. This is particularly relevent, as discussed in a previous 'Hammer,' in a post-tragedy scenario.

What I think, logically, we would disagree with, is the way in which anti-registration heroes are being hounded, imprisoned and attacked with extreme prejudice.
Likewise, allowing Captain America a shred of his all-American dignity, I believe he would object to the methods used, but assuming a military role, as opposed to the role of an uber-idealistic superhero, would oppose via due process.

I doubt the thought process of a man who is almost as viciously opposing the registrants, as they are his camp. This is a man who has almost gone to the lengths to lead children (Young Avengers) into a war with his own country. This is a man putting the needs of certain individuals above the needs of the public, which has just recently lost thousands, many of whom were children.
This, in my estimation, is not the approach of a character with military credibility. This is a character who has filtered through the superhero mould, and abandoned process in favour of ideal.

And maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Also not a bad thing: Jim Valentino's pencils!
Maybe not as realistically tight as some of the contemporary best, but this is not the line I imagine when I think of a man who joined the co-founders of Image comics, and created the oh-so nineties character - Shadowhawk.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 5

NEXT: We round the month out with the one we've been waiting for - Cap and his supporters versus Iron Man and his supporters. Do not miss it!