ANNIHILUS/DEFILE versus
THE FANTASTIC FOUR
World War 3 Part 1: Life in Wartime (Marvel)
Where: Fantastic Four #13 When: November 1997
Why: James Robinson How: Mike Wieringo

The story so far...
Two very distinct worlds collide as battles with cosmic forces undo all that is, and redefine it as all that could be. Marvel's mightiest heroes, having been trapped in a parallel universe of Franklin Richards' creation, soon find themselves thrust into yet another existence, this time along side the heroes and villains of Wildstorm.

This new world leaves behind the threats of Galactus and Damocles, creating it's own new history of turmoil.

Asia and Europe have fallen to alien invaders, as the Daemonites and Skrulls form an unlikely alliance with a traitor to all humanity -- Dr. Doom. Together, their technologies and inherent abilities allow them to infiltrate the rebellious remaining walks of life, creating a grim new world of distrust, chaos and war.

Previous Form:
Mr. Fantastic (#10): Victorious over Iconoclast, Frightful Four & Sinister Twelve.
Invisible Woman (#17): Victorious over Iconoclast, Frightful Four & Sinister Twelve.
Annihilus, Defile, Burnout & Maul: Each making their first appearances in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Maul 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Genius)
Speed: Annihilus 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Defile 6 (Generator)
Agility: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Rubber)
Fighting Ability: Maul 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Annihilus 6 (Mass Destruction)


So, once again we dive into the unfamiliar waters of Wildstorm comics. It's all become a bit Marvel lately, and while I'm much better exposed than that might lead you to believe, Wildstorm's properties remain something of an unknown quantity for me.
Yes, berate as you please.

This particular Fantastic quarter consists of an even split between traditional and Wildstorm. Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman remain in tact, while Burnout and Maul step in as entirely plausible replacements for the Human Torch and Thing.
Actually, if you didn't take the time to read the issue, you'd be forgiven for assuming they'd slapped a late goatee on the Torch, just to go along with the contemporary beat of the Heroes Reborn philosophy.

For the most part Burnout and Maul fulfill much the same duties as their counterparts. Maul has the distinction of sliding his intelligence in relation to his strength, making him a little bit more like a controlled Hulk than the Thing, but otherwise, he's supplying the muscle for this team.

One of the great things about Annihilation was the way it amped up Annihilus from a regular annoyance, to an A-list cosmic threat. We can't really consider that the definition of Annihilus, but it's nice to acknowledge that potential.

Here, Annihilus and Defile present an atypical villain threat.
Escaping the Negative Zone to wreak a brief wave of destruction is nothing new for Annihilus, nor is thwarting it new to the Fantastic Four. Not that the threat should ever be discounted, but it's not until Annihilation Wave that you could ever consider picking anyone but the FF, here.

The Math: Fantastic Four (Total) Annihilus/Defile (Average)
The Pick: The Fantastic Four

What went down...
Returning from an expadition to the Negative Zone, Mr. Fantastic and his fellows are excited to have gained further knowledge, despite failure to recover their missing ally -- Benjamin J. Grimm aka The Thing.

Richards instructs his teammates to begin the process of closing the doorway to the Zone, while he prepares to contact SHIELD about their findings.
Before Richards can even get a dial tone, their Negative Zone pursuers burst through the gateway between dimensions, bringing lethal intent with them.

Pledged to prevent the leaking of knowledge, the two otherworldly invaders go straight to work. Before Burnout or Maul can activate their powers, the two are sent hurtling through the air by their attackers.

Richards orders the Invisible Woman to continue the closing process, while he attempts to wrangle Annihilus and Defile back into the Negative Zone. Fortunately for Mr. Fantastic, Burnout and Maul recover from their spill, ready to step up to the challenge. Annihilus declares his "small" foes barely worth the sport, but Annihilus is soon forced to eat his words as Maul expands to deliver a giant knuckle sandwich!

Disgusted by the notion of a one-punch defeat, Annihilus prepares to vault off of his buttocks back into battle, but before he can do so a jet of flame pushes him back through the portal!

Meanwhile, as Invisible Woman attempts to hide from sight while initiating the shutdown sequence of the N-Zone portal, Defile comes to menace her. Using his Daemonite senses, he looms over the occupied Sue Storm with evil intent, but soon finds himself tangled in the rubbery limb of her lover, Mr. Fantastic!

The FF leader thoroughly wraps up his foe, able to overcome Defile's impressive strength through sheer leverage. Using his bendy spine, Richards maneuvers the monster back to the portal, and sends him through at the cost of his own safety.

With Defile through just in the nick of time, Richards finds himself on the wrong side of the dimensional gate as it begins to close. He stretches a hand back desperately, finding Maul, who has strength enough to whip the elastic man back into the right dimension at the very last second.
A flash of spectacular white light serves the backdrop as the doorway closes!

The team regroups, victorious against the Negative Zone menace.

The hammer...
The winners through strength of teamwork, the Fantastic Four!

As you might imagine, I chose this entry as something of a bridge between the Heroes Reborn comics we've been discussing lately, and the pencils of Mike Wieringo. There's probably a good chance you've already learned of his shocking death just a few days ago.

I didn't know Wieringo personally, but like many regarded him as one of the many fantastic pencillers working in superhero comics over the past decade.

For me, I probably connected with his energetic pencils mostly through his Spider-man work, but could not escape his influence on books like the Flash, and of course, Fantastic Four. Rightly or wrongly, he's the artist I most identify with giving Thing teeth, which is just a weird little tidbit.

Like many, I'll certainly miss the vibrance of his artwork. He was, with no conceit, part of the contingent of mainstream superhero artists who managed to compromise the so-called photo realistic with a more cartoony, and animated approach to pencilling, which was something I greatly appreciated.
I won't say much more, suffice to say, it's a tragic loss for his friends and family, and the comic book community as a whole.

On a lighter note; you may recall the last entry [Fantastic Four #6] where I described the Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four run as a great collection for fans of the movie, or new readers in general, to get initiated with the characters.
I've obviously been championing the ninties somewhat lately, and as much as I feel Heroes Reborn is worth defending, this is probably where the wheels undeniably fall off.

There might have been a nice enough story here, but the thirteenth issues of the four Heroes Reborn titles live up to the number's dread. I could be wrong, but the way I remember events panning out, each book was only announced for a year's worth, twelve issues each. Presumably, if that was the case, these issues represent a final chance to milk a little extra out of sales all round, and for Wildstorm to slip it's characters into the larger audience, who might not otherwise be reading these characters.

We haven't really touched on the fact that the Heroes Reborn story was built out of the shock commissioning Rob Liefeld and Jim Lee at Wildstorm Comics to return to Marvel, (years after their Image coup), to tackle the sinking core properties of the Marvel Universe.

The deal presented mutually beneficial advantages, among those, the chance for Marvel to come into contact with the Wildstorm digital colourists who were doing a lot of impressive work through the mid-nineties.

After an already garbled crossover amongst the four titles, which featured time travel antics facilitating multiple battles with Galactus and his heralds, World War 3 was not really the ideal way to go out. Establishing a new reality (akin to the Amalgam characters) through flashbacks and vignettes is interesting, if not very effective. Though informative, it isn't terribly exciting, and asks a lot of a reader who may not really be all that interested in investing in what will be a short term spark of four-colour mayhem.

Through the mess of this character shuffle we get a glimpse of another surprisingly topical happening -- paranoia in this dystopian future over the potential infiltration of Skrulls. Something we expect to be dealing with in the coming year with Marvel already alluding to just such a problem in the pages of New Avengers, (written by Brian "Sugartits*" Bendis).

Makes you think!

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4
[Not the best written issue in the history of the FF, but a fine representation of Wieringo's kinetic pencils, and stretching influence across Marvel's properties.]

* Not an actual nickname for Bendis.

SUPER-SKRULL versus FANTASTIC FOUR/BLACK PANTHER/DR DOOM
Retribution (Marvel comics)
Where: Fantastic Four #6 When: April 1997
Why: Jim Lee & Brandon Choi How: Jim Lee

The story so far...
Reborn in a pocket universe created by Franklin Richards; the Fantastic Four are destined to relive their origins all over again as they unwittingly encounter familiar shadows of the past, also reborn in this new world.

Accosted by Victor Von Doom, a student from Reed Richards' days in college; the Fantastic Four and Black Panther find themselves the reluctant guests of castle Doomstadt. There, Doom is holding a mysterious chromed alien hostage, but this is not the limit of the extraterestrial presence.

Hidden within SHIELD and disguised as Agent Wyatt Wingfoot; a cosmically sleeper soldier of the Skrull empire has finally exploited his position, an alliance with Doom allowing him access to the herald of the Skrull Throneworld's destruction. Betraying Doom to use his machines, Kl'rt has absorbed the Surfer's cosmic power, and now prepares to turn his imitative Super-Skrull abilities against him.

Previous Form:
Fantastic Four [#3]: Victorious over Iconoclast, Frightful Four & Sinister Twelve.
Dr. Doom (#55): A Doombot successfully defeated Silver Surfer.
Super-Skrull (#113): A victory and defeat against Hulk and Thor respectively.
Black Panther: Making his first appearance in the Infinite Wars.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Thing 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Genius)
Speed: Black Panther 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Super-Skrull 6 (Generator)
Agility: Mr. Fantastic 6 (Rubber)
Fighting Ability: Super-Skrull 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Human Torch 7 (Solar)


Okay, so let's try to clarify the situation here.
I'll go more into the depth of the scenario later, but for the time being let's at least distinguish the clear lines of battle.

The Fantastic Four and Black Panther formed amicable relations a few issues previous, before being abducted by Doom -- who beat them to discovering the Silver Surfer. Doom is holding the Surfer, unwittingly, with the help of a cover Kl'rt, who has used Doom's technology to realise his potential as the Super-Skrull. Kl'rt wants to be the Super-Skrull to gain revenge on Silver Surfer, and by extension, Galactus.

Dr. Doom, displeased with the unpredictable course of events, throws in with the FF and Black Panther against Super-Skrull, to vanquish his foe and regain some control and measure of vengenace of his own. The Silver Surfer, though present, is rendered incapacitated at the opening of our story, and therefore has not been rated.

Traditionally Super-Skrull is specifically enhanced by the Skrulls to possess the collective abilities of their greatest foes - the Fantastic Four. In this case, the Super-Skrull develops under more organic circumstances, using the power cosmic to enhance his natural biological adaptive and metamorphic abilities.

Something I particularly enjoy about this story is the threat level given to the Super-Skrull. Much of the recent Annihilation mini-series that thrust the character back into a spotlight was about the many defeats the character had suffered, rendering him a joke amongst his own people. Here, we see a Super-Skrull embued with status befitting of a warring alien specie's greatest soldier.

The battle takes place in Castle Doomstadt, so you'd have to pay the advantage to Dr. Doom, who essentially builds his argument on preperation. Taking him on literally in his backyard is like showing up to a garage with your best toolbelt, and challenging a mechanic to a repair-a-thon. You might do well, but the home team has all the tools and parts they need on-hand.

Off the back of newer issues of Fantastic Four, there's been some debate about whether or not Black Panther is playing too far above his weight. I tend to be pretty conservative in my assessment of the character, so I'd be pretty willing to write him off at this point. Black Panther's main contribution here is merely a numerical one. Of course, in a team-up that includes the Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom, numerical advantage starts to be a pretty big talking point.

Alone, I'm just not sure I can give it to Super-Skrull.
Even on his best day, I think it would take a considerable element of surprise and speed to overcome this particular alliance of powers. Then again, the math tells a very different story...

The Math: Fantastic Four (Total) Super-Skrull (Average)
The Pick: Fantastic Four/Black Panther/Dr. Doom

What went down...
Having revealed himself and taken the Surfer's power, the Super-Skrull stands as an impressive threat to Dr. Doom and those that would stand in the way of his revenge. Doom takes none too kindly to the turn of events.

The Super-Skrull demonstrates his power with a blast of energy that topples the mighty Dr. Doom. Furious with the Skrull's advantageous betrayal, Doom blasts as the alien with the intent of taking that which his machines bestowed, but the Super-Skrull's understanding of the power cosmic makes it difficult.

Deflecting Doom's gauntlet blast, Super-Skrull returns the favour with the full fury of the power cosmic. Even the mighty Dr. Doom suffers considerably at the hands of the green alien creature, his armor struggling to cope.

The true Wyatt Wingfoot, agent of SHIELD, suggests the necessity of an alliance with Doom to use his machines to return the power cosmic from whence it came, back to the limp and lame body of the Silver Surfer. Doom quickly shifts his weight into the favour of his arch-rival Reed Richards, and his accompanying bed fellows, clearly recognising the unfavourable shift in the game.

At Reed Richards' request, Kl'rt reveals his motivations and the history of Galactus' involvement in his people's destruction, revealing base motivations for what is actually a plot potentially beneficial to the human race. Never the less, the unwitting humans see the benevolent unknown quantity of the Silver Surfer to be far less threatening than the Skrull, who had previously murdered several Wakandans prior to the Surfer's retrieval.

The Super-Skrull's history lecture is ended when Skrull agents send word of an incoming SHIELD extraction team requested by the real Wingfoot.
With his increased abilities and cosmic awareness, the Super-Skrull creates a giant invisible force field around Castle Doomstadt, destroying the incoming aircrafts in an instant.

With the stakes raised, Thing checks his watch to discover it's clobberin' time, opening up with his own cosmically charged super strength sufficient enough to topple the mighty Super-Skrull.

Enraged by the attack, Kl'rt uses his cosmic abilities to shift his fist into a mirror image of Thing's own, striking back with force considerable enough to launch Thing into a forced retreat. The blow sending Ben Grimm airborne!

Happy to take the fight airborne is the Human Torch, who takes to the air in a dazzling blaze of flames.
Looking to capitalize on a range advantage, the Human Torch fires off jets of flame at the Super-Skrull, who quickly dispells any illusions the hothead may have about his advantages.

Imitating Mr. Fantastic's elastine capabilities, Super-Skrull closes the distance gap with a stretched rocky fist that makes light work of the Human Torch.

With his flame put out, the Human Torch is rendered unconscious in the Super-Skrull's arms, while Doom, Richards and T'Challa [Black Panther] begin formulating their plan of attack to return the power to the Surfer.

While Doom demands total cooperation of his unlikely allies, the Black Panther jumps into the fray to buy them some time, as options of physical distraction begin to wear thin.

Launching at the alien with a stiff martial arts kick, the Black Panther knocks Super-Skrull back with surprising efficiency for the most human of all present.

The Panther provokes the Super-Skrull's most lethal intentions, narrowly leaping over a cosmic power blast in an effort to spring the heroes' plot to channel the energies back to their source. Invisible Woman uses her invisible force fields to divert the energies back to the Silver Surfer's shackled body.

With Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom manning the machines, they ensure the appropriate processes are in action for the gambit. An explosion throws cosmic vapor and smoke into the castle room, but Doom is certain of the result.
Emerging from the smokey frost, a solitary and uncomplicated figure -- the Silver Surfer, embued once more with his Galactus-given cosmic power.

The Surfer's resurrection allows the powerful Super-Skrull to refocus his priorities back to revenge. Stepping up to the Silver Surfer, he prepares to unleash the remaining power cosmic stored within him in a final attack on the Surfer.

Though weakened, the source of the syphoned power cosmic proves to be far more capable and powerful than even the Super-Skrull could imagine. For all the knowledge of the Surfer's humane past, the Skrull is soon privvy first-hand to the matter of fact that the Silver Surfer is anything but human.

With each extra-terrestrial influence unleashing their powers to their fullest extent, the heroes and Dr. Doom are forced to flee the scene. As the power cosmic tears Castle Doomstadt asunder, Doom recognises a new threat arising, as their energy threaten to compromise the integrity of his own nuclear fusion power sources.

Ever the survivalist, Doom takes advantage of his homeground preperations and leaves the Fantastic Four and their allies to fend for themselves as the castle crumbles. Fortunately, the FF reach their transport in time, but mysteriously the threat of explosive vaporizing never arises.

As they take leave, from somewhere amongst the rubble stands a stoic Silver Surfer. Though unfeeling, the cosmic herald grants the heroes some shred of gratitude for saving his life by diffusing the threat of the reactor.

The hammer...
Though he is destined to bring about their destruction, on this day, the Silver Surfer saves the lives of the Fantastic Four, Black Panther and Dr. Doom -- victorious over the Super-Skrull!

For what is essentially a pretty simple comic, there's a lot of moving parts at work here. The two issues preceding lay the immediate groundwork for this story, while plotlines like the traitorous Wyatt Wingfoot are the culmination of the entire six issues of this volume.

[In FF #4]; the Fantastic Four travelled to Wakanda and met with Black Panther, and developed relations there whilst searching for an anomaly Reed Richards tracked from space -- the Silver Surfer. Way back at the beginning of all this [FF #1], Wyatt Wingfoot turned out to be a turncoat, sabotaging the space mission that leads to the creation of the Fantastic Four [in the Heroes Reborn world].

That Wyatt Wingfoot is in actuality Kl'rt the Super-Skrull, presumably posing as a SHIELD agent in an effort to use our destination point as a means of locating the Silver Surfer. As Wingfoot, he falls in with Doom, who no doubt represents one of the most likely technological influences to discover the Surfer, and so we begin to understand his motivations for interfering in previous events.

Having knocked the Silver Surfer from orbit, Doom's forces race to recover the herald to Galactus while he leaks cosmic energy in a Wakandan jungle.
This provides some level of confusion, while Kl'rt covertly uses his Skrull abilities to operate not unlike the Predator, picking off Wakandan warriors and preventing their interference in the efforts of Doom.

The Fantastic Four and Black Panther, disturbed and uncertain about the developing events, force themselves on the situation and are quickly neutralized and caught by Kl'rt, who takes them (with the Surfer) to Dr. Doom.

Collectively abducted, the FF (with the crucial addition of the Black Panther) maneuver their way through the stock standard series of traps and holding cells typcial in classic Dr. Doom stories, to finally confont the man himself.
With no memory of their past lives, this serves as a second first-time meeting of old rivals in Richards and Doom, who were perhaps even more intertwined in this world's history than ever before, as part of the collegette 'Atomic Knights.'

Doom is generally content to play games with his arch-foe and Reed's fantastic allies, while also undertaking the personal project task of syphoning the Surfer's energies. [Nothing new there. See; Silver Surfer #107]

Which finally brings us to the issue reviewed here, where Kl'rt uses Doom's machines to absorb the Silver Surfer's powers himself, thus reawakening his Super-Skrull abilities from his previous life (with a little something extra!), and so we have our issue-long battle!

The issue then includes an introduction to the line-wide Industrial Revolution crossover, where Doom witnesses the aftermath of the siege on Avengers Island [Avengers #4 & #5], and makes the shocking discovery that Bruce Banner -- young optemist of the Atomic Knights -- has becoming the raging Hulk!

So, if knowing is half the battle, and now you know, you should have a pretty good edge in a fight against any of your friends who are buying Onslaught Reborn, but didn't read Heroes Reborn. Which has been a recurring theme for us here on Secret Earths for no real good reason.

I have to admit, I've been quite content flicking back through these issues, which I actually enjoy on the level they are intended. The Fantastic Four was definitely, I believe, the strongest series of the lot, anchoring much of the broader stories with it's mythology. Of particular note are the increasing recurring references to Galactus, which become of greater importance in the later half of the Heroes Reborn year, and build to a really epic event that puts the "Ultimate Gah-Lak-Tus Trilogy" to embarassing shame. Ouch, Ellis! Very ouch!

Like I've said through discussing a lot of these issues, as simple and naff as they are, there's a lot of good in these pages. I think we see here an illustrated argument for Jim Lee's involvement in the industry, and a creative potential that's easily forgotten on the basis of his flashy pin-up style and involvement in projects like the increasingly late All-Star Batman and Robin, and WildCATS.

I like what they've done here, and again, to put today's Ultimate books to shame, read the first six issues of this, and then browse the pancreatic team-up of Bendis and Millar on the first six of the Ultimate book. Heck, read through the first twelve issues of the Ultimate books, and witness good books gone bad.

Dr. Doom gets the classic treatment here, versus the embarassing bastardization of one of the most prevelant villains in popular culture. While Super-Skrull shows the potential improvement to be made with reinvention of classic ideas.
Also something I've long considered an interesting concept, tying the 'cosmic rays' that gave birth to the FF, to the cosmic influences of a character like Galactus. This has, as long as I can remember, struck me as a no-brainer.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 6
[If you saw the movie and then wanted to check out the comics, the complete Heroes Reborn FF might just be the penultimate purchase! Classic interpretations through a contemporary filter, and fun aplenty!]

THOR versus HULK
"... Let no man tear asunder!" (Marvel comics)
Where: Avengers #5 When: March 1997
Why: Rob Liefeld & Jeph Loeb How: Rob Liefeld & Ian Churchill

The story so far...
Trapped in a pocket dimension created instinctively by the powerful son of Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman; the world's greatest heroes are reborn in new lives in the wake of the epic battle with the creature called Onslaught!

As though destined to relive key events in their lives, Bruce Banner is again exposed to a massive dose of gamma radiation, turning him into the incredible Hulk.

A mindless and rage-filled beast, the Hulk seeks the one opponent he can never reach: Bruce Banner! Following beacons of Banner's work, the Hulk charges Avengers Island where a live gamma reactor core is housed. Having demolished much of the building and the few attending Avengers themselves, Hulk stands supreme, but a certain thunder gods would have words with him...

Previous Form:
Thor (#13): Aided the Avengers in the defeat of his half-brother, Loki.
Hulk (#6): Defeated a trio of Avengers during a Banner-seeking rampage.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thor 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Draw 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Thor 5 (Lasers)


There's just something about those epic superhero encounters that hit the money every time. Hulk has memorable feuds with many of Marvel's heaviest hitting heroes, and while this isn't the first that comes to my mind, I cannot deny the intrigue presented by pitting a god of men, against man's greatest rages unleashed.

These days Hulk's gotten pretty savvy when it comes to combat strategy, but ten years ago we were still back in the angry, fight-on-instinct days of Hulk. My, how innocent we were. We never even imagined a gladiatorially baptised Hulk!

Traditionally Thor isn't exactly a rocket scientist, but I like to think of him as a battle-wary warrior, and potential successor to the wise father, Odin. So, from that perspective, I like to think there's a bit more to his strategy than disarming foes with his silly-speak, before going to town with the hammer. From that perspective, in 1997, Thor should have the edge.

We've heard it time and time before: Hulk is strongest one there is.
It might not be the whole truth, but it's always worth considering. Hulk's strength fluctuates far enough that, under the right circumstances, he can overpower even a god, however I'm not generally one who subscribes to the theory that Hulk is an endless perpetual generator of physical energy.

For that reason, I'm going to go with Thor, because I'd like to think that a god is distinguished by his endurance and sheer power. Granted, not every god is going to have super strength, but Thor's a warrior god. He should be able to handle the Hulk at least four days of the week.

The Math: Thor (Super Class)
The Pick: Thor (The numbers don't like, do they...?)

What went down...
Still searching for Banner, amidst the broken bodies of Captain America, Swordsman and Hawkeye [see; Avengers #4], Hulk finds instead a hammer-wielding god of thunder and lightning, descending to rain a world of pain upon him for daring to strike down his fellows.

Hulk isn't having a bar of it, declaring a child-like manifesto based on his own terms, but Thor's will is not easily swayed. With his hammer Mjolnir in hand, Thor swats what he assumes is a troll with force enough to send the Hulk flying through several adjacent walls!

Thor continues to open up with Mjolnir, completely controlling Hulk with thundering blows until -- "no." Having had his fill of tasty hammer treats, Hulk recovers from the initial impact of the flurry enough to stall the hammer in mid-swing.

With his barings about him once more, Hulk locks up with Thor, doing his best to wrestle the enchanted Mjolnir away from his mighty grip!

Not having much luck breaking the bond of hammer and master, Hulk uses his impressive strength to release his frustration by vaulting Thor into the air with an incredible swing. Thor, losing the battles of wills, lands on his back, but before Hulk can celebrate he's pulled to the ground by the hammer's enchantments.

The Hulk distracts himself with intent to pick the hammer up, burning into a furious rage over the defiance of the inanimate object.

Shaken, Thor is able to summon Mjolnir to his possession once again, leaping back into the fray with the fury of the heavens themselves. Lightning fills the Avengers headquarters as Thor commands a strike at the Hulk.

With the jade giant out of his way, Thor goes about feverishly clearing wreckage to free the mortals he had become so attached to. He discovers Captain America's shield and limp hand when a green finger taps him on the shoulder.

The two powers demolish further areas of the structure as Hulk proves unrelenting in his desire to prove superiority. Believing the hammer to be Thor's strength, Hulk battles Thor through the halls, moving further away still.

Thor delivers a two-fisted Polish hammer, knocking Hulk into Hank Pym's science laboratory where the damaged body of Vision lies motionless -- a witness to this epic clash of titans.

With Hulk on the back foot, Thor delivers a three-hit combination that would have obliterated any normal human being. The gamma-irradiated Hulk continues to take further punishment, suffering a diving attack before falling victim to a stiff right to the jaw that snaps his bulging head back. Finally, Hulk shows sign of fatigue.

"S-stop." "Thou art mad."
Ignoring Hulk's pleas, Thor prepares to strike once more, but finds his hand caught in mid-air. With a sly grin Hulk agrees, "Hulk is mad. Very mad."

With dramatic poignancy, Hulk gathers his power for a single blow that sends the thunder god airborne. He snatches Thor out of the air by the hair, and thumps once more with a face-breaking blow, before pounding the Avenger into the concrete foundation of the building with explosive results.

Lifting his body in triumph, Hulk bares witness to a Norse god - defeated.

The hammer...
Working his way through the entire team, Hulk wins again!
You can also find the beginning of Hulk's rampaging path, where he was unable to take down Avengers stalwart, Iron Man. [Iron Man #2]

Hulk has, of course, asserted his dominance on Secret Earths like many other sites because of the explosive release of World War Hulk. If I were a betting man, I'd think about putting some moolah down on the exact opposite result to help wind down the Hulk's returning conquests depicted in the event.

The conclusion seems to be the source of much speculation, with the broad expectation being a begrudging truce between Hulk and other heroes, perhaps in the face of a new threat. (Skrulls, maybe?...)

We almost certainly have to accept that scalps taken by Hulk and his fellows will be minimal. Events of this nature inevitably have their sacrificial lambs, and from what we've seen it seems like Black Bolt may represent the most prominent of those, with perhaps this series Black Goliath yet to come.

If the alternative to a truce were to occur, and Hulk were to be put down by one of the heroes, the returning Thor is probably the best bet. Not only does Thor have the muscle to do the job, he also has many miles to go to reintroduce himself to the Marvel universe, after several years absent as a result of the Ragnarok storyline; detailing the cyclical demise of the gods.

We saw Thor's intervention in Civil War, where a cyborg Thor clone, created by Reed Richards and Iron Man, ran amok. As resulting in the afforementioned death of the giant-sized hero, Black Goliath.

In an abstract way, Thor now has the duty of making up for this injustice undertaken in his name. Few ways to reaffirm his presence in the Marvel universe would be more impressive than by returning to defeat the Hulk, who currently stands poised to threaten the entire United States, if not the globe.

Of course, that still poses a question for the future of the Hulk.
In this new tactical guise, the Hulk may finally be on the evolutionary path to becoming his future counterpart, the Maestro. Hulk may fulfill the destiny to become one of Earth's greatest villains, or perhaps Earth isn't even part of the equation.

Hulk found a sense of belonging after being shot into space by Tony Stark and the Illuminati. Veering off course led Hulk on an unlikely path that recast him as hero, and partner and father to a family, whose deaths motivate his attack on Earth. Could the stars provide a new home for the Hulk?

I guess we haven't even considered the Sentry, who has previously been seen to nullify the Hulk's rages. Then again, the implications of that come more from the irrational cycle of anger Hulk has traditionally felt, rather than the motivated and calculated attack we're seeing today.

It'll be two more issues before we know the Hulk's final fate, but if this issue's review has been any indicator, one thing is for certain: There's still much smashing to be done before World War Hulk is through!

With that, it's been a long week! For perhaps the first time ever we've delivered a battle for every day of the working week. If you don't mind, I'm going to go soak my fists in some ice! What do you people want from me?! Get off my lawn! Go read some of the archives, ya mooching yancys!

EXTRA: Forsooth! You can find more punches, kicks and licks across the bloggerverse via Bahlactus and his Friday Night Fights! Have at thee, noble mortals!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 3.5
[Almost an entire issue dedicated to a fight, which consists of far too many splash shots and ill-defined scenes to be overly commended. Also sports one of the dullest covers going around, but a fun piece of a larger puzzle.]

SASQUATCH versus THE WRECKING CREW
Alpha To Omega (Marvel comics)
Where: Omega Flight #1 When: June 2007
Why: Michael Avon Oeming How: Scott Kolins

The story so far...
Suffering a defeat that saw the death of most of it's members, Alpha Flight came to an end with the attack of the being known as The Collective.

The only survivor, Sasquatch, retreats from the life led as a superhero to return to his first love of science, but as the Americans begin to crack down with the advent of their Hero Registration Act, problems begin to creep across the boarder to Canadian soil.

The Canadian government, with aid from the US, seeks to reform the team around Sasquatch as Omega Flight, the last chance to prove once and for all Canada is worthy of a super team. However, before the team can gather, Sasquatch finds himself thrust back into action as the Wrecking Crew roll into mapleleaf country, looking to raise rabble without opposition.

Previous Form:
The Wrecking Crew [#24]: Defeated by an early incarnation of Thunderbolts.
Sasquatch: Making his first appearance.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Wrecker 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Sasquatch 6 (Genius)
Speed: Bulldozer 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Piledriver 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Piledriver 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Thunderball 4 (Arsenal)


Alright, so I'm not a big Alpha Flight fan, but I can get behind what they're about. One of the greatest contradictions of mainstream superhero comics is the relative lack of diversity amongst their powers, with the improbable majority of radiation leaks and magic infusions occuring in the United States.
From that perspective, I think Alpha Flight is a good thing. Omega Flight, ironically, not so much, but it's inclusion of US mainstays into the mix is the least of it's problems. More on that later.

I like the Wrecking Crew. For the most part they're a pack of poorly designed super-thugs, but I like them, I think they're a good bit of fun, and I quite enjoyed the last time we took a look at them. [Thunderbolts #1]

In the painstakes they're a mob of heavy hitters that make even Thor blush, each possessing their own Nordic enchantments on an assortment of cheesy, suitably thematic weapons. Wrecking balls, crowbars, standard fare for a team of mooks pitting their hopes on the market value of a brand built on construction.

Some minor fluctuation aside, Sasquatch is a Hank Pym-level intellect with a Hulk-level body, give or take some fur. When it comes to combat he's no slouch, but in the way Hulk can rise to the challenge of a god like Thor, I'm not terribly confident in Sasquatch's mythic abilities.

Considering each member of the Crew derives their powers from Norse god-power, that doesn't bode well for ol' saskie. For Sasquatch to stand any chance against a team of this level it would require surroundings that could facilitate an intelligent strategy, that might see him pick each member off one by one in a stealthy Canadian Wolverine-fest. Or, failing that, Alpha Flight would have to come to his aid, which completely evens the stakes.

Alas, this battle is schedule for Sasquatch alone, so there's little to no argument for Sasquatch to debut with a victory in the Infinite Wars. Still, as the only survivor of The Collective's slaughter, he can probably at least look forward to a bout of unconsciousness, before returning to his survivor's guilt.

The Math: The Wrecking Crew (Total) Sasquatch (Average)
The Pick: The Wrecking Crew

What went down...
Rolling into Canada and raising hell seems to be the best plan the Wrecking Crew have ever pulled off until they step out of the bar they've spent the night terrorizing.

Bulldozer takes a shotgun blast from a nervous resident, but his cackling is cut short by something descending from amidst the rain. "Hey, what is that?

Their celebrations for the absence of familiar heroes are cut short when Sasquatch lands with destructive results. Like a cartoon nail, Bulldozer is buried in the ground by the force of Sasquatch's landing.

Piledriver makes remark of current affairs, having believed Sasquatch had died with his fellows in the slaughter of Alpha Flight. Sasquatch snarls something in response, and The Wrecker kicks off the action once more with a promise to clarify the situation, raising his enchanted crowbar in the air.

Sasquatch puts the Wrecker down hard, using his speed and reach to great effect with a swiping attack. He fields further speculation about whether or not he's a clone, keeping Wrecker and his enchanted crowbar underfoot until Piledriver initiates a rush attack.

Sasquatch takes the hit, and lets loose with emotion, defying the Wrecking Crew's intentions to roll into a defensless Canada.

He stalks confidently back into battle with the Wrecker, but suffers a chain garotte from behind from Thunderball.

Wrecker and Thunderboll lay into the Alpha Flight survivor with unrelenting blows. In desperation, Sasquatch lashes out with his claws, raking at Thunderball's eyes sufficiently to temporarily blind him.

Free from restraint, Sasquatch pounds the ground, scattering the members of the Crew, while he has flashbacks of the demise of his team at the hands of The Collective. The memories drive him into a feral rage, but before he can act on them, a truck hurtles through the air toward him.

The truck explodes, putting Sasquatch down for the count.
Ever the villainous types, the Wrecking Crew seek retribution in blood, all four members laying into the fallen Sasquatch with murderous intent.

The hammer...
The winners by knock out, the Wrecking Crew!
This marks their second outing as a unit, and their first victory, after suffering a defeat in another series starter. Which contrasts the way to start a superhero comic; either with a strong initiation at the expense of an established threat (ie; the Wrecking Crew) with bigger, perhaps brand new threats to follow. Or, like this issue, you start the hero in peril, building up to ultimate victory at the end -- like a Rocky movie. With any luck Omega Flight will end with Sasquatch single-handedly ending the war on terror, uniting all mankind in celebration.

Of course, to do that, all mankind would have to avoid buying Omega Flight.

Alright, I'm not usually one to use this forum as a means for baseless bickering, and comfortable with my tastes, it's rare I actually buy a bitter disappointment, but this is the exception that proves the rule. The issue itself isn't terrible, but if you've been following us over the past few weeks, you'll have seen the discussion about series beginnings including their opening storyarcs. [Captain Atom: Armageddon #1, Batman #608, Avengers #1, Nova #2, Avengers #4, DC: The New Frontier #2]

Omega Flight has become the measure of how not to start a series, particularly a title ultimately designated 'mini-series' status, but in truth there are a lot of other perpetrators. The posterchild of the painfully slow burn has to be Brian Bendis, whose original New Avengers work calls back to this in a big way, and in a solo perspective, Ultimate Spider-man also begins in much the same track. Unfortunately for USM, that sort of thin story telling has continued, while New Avengers has, for the time being, found it's footing somewhere in the late twenties.

Omega Flight gets the big red X for simple lack of progression in storytelling.
There's a lot of talk about 'writing for the [five/six issue] trade', and as a writer I can fully understand and support the notion of writing to a strength of the medium, but not like this. Not when you have your team on the cover, and meander through a single adventure that doesn't see the team forming until somewhere well past the half-way point.

Personally, I have some issues with Scott Kolins' output over the past few years, starting somewhere around covers on New Invaders and interiors for the ill-fated Marvel Team-Up. I couldn't falter Kolins for that, given that he, for the most part, competently tells what little story there is here, but it doesn't help matters.

Likewise, on the flip side, every time I see Mike Oeming's name on a Marvel character, I can't help but slump my shoulders when it's a writing credit.
Though essentially regarded for affectionately aping the Bruce Timm style, Mike Oeming's strengths as a story teller remain at the tip of a pencil. His gritty minimalist pencils are the kind of stylized approach I long to see at a Marvel drifting farther and farther from the early 00's that saw successful creative experiments like Grant Morrison's New X-Men, X-Statix, and various other wins.

I mention New Invaders, and really, that's probably the kind of book I'd hoped to find here. Not just because of the obvious US Agent connection, but because it felt like it had the opportunity to operate on the fringes of the Marvel universe, delivering stories with familiar characters, in slightly less familiar settings.

Never before has this been a more valuable juxtaposition than with the advent of the superhero Civil War. To be fair, Omega Flight does successfully differ itself from the superheroc conflicts of the core Marvel titles, but it does so with such frivolity that I'm positively surprised, and maybe even a little appalled by the titles selling far less than it.

What really prompted this entry was my browsing over sales figures for June 2007, which highlighted what I consider to be a disappointing fact of this particular industry. A fact that quality, at the end of the day, is meaningless, and that for all the talk of many, the money is not where the mouths are.

Some of the surprising titles selling less than Omega Flight: Iron Fist, She-Hulk, Spider-man Family, Detective Comics, Green Arrow, The Spirit, Checkmate, Catwoman, Ex Machina, Blue Beetle. That isn't even delving into the regularly neglected titles from publishers that aren't Marvel or DC. Poor form, direct market. Poor form.

I don't want to go over the top. I'm not about to blame Omega Flight for the numbers on those other books, because I think I've been scathing enough of it's legitimate faults, but I think it's worth setting in stone. This is not good comics writing. This is not even slowburn comics writing. This is not for me.

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 3
[Average first issue to a meandering, thin series. An unfortunate distraction from Mike Oeming's pencilling work. Some fun action for fans of the characters, but otherwise a book for the hall of shame. Sorry guys.]

FLASH versus CAPTAIN COLD
Book Two: Strange Adventures (DC comics)
Where: DC: The New Frontier #2 When: April 2004
Why: Darwyn Cooke How: Darwyn Cooke

The story so far...
America is changing as the decades bleed from the forties, to the fifties, to the sixties and the emergence of world influences. Men of power are changing in both the White House, and the ranks of the superhero community.

The old guard are forced to come to terms with the new breed of heroes emerging, and the strange new events and threats that accompany them. Among the new blood, Martian Manhunter, the Flash and Green Lantern, all bringing with them vibrance and youth to a jaded post-war tier.

As alien presences begin to press greater influence on this world, the heroes and their villains take shape, and are inevitably drawn to one and other in the common goal of justice. This is not the story of an end to the old ways, but rather to the hope of a new frontier.

Previous Form:
Flash (#82): Aided DKR Batman in the defeat of Superman.
Captain Cold: Making his first appearance.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Flash 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Flash 5 (Professor)
Speed: Flash 7 (Light Speed)
Stamina: Flash 6 (Generator)
Agility: Flash 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy Powers: Captain Cold 4 (Arsenal)


Y'know, the Flash was one of the many characters I regarded as close favourites, and as much as I loved his colourful villains, even as a child there was something that stuck with me: None of them are really in his league...

Okay, obviously that's only marginally true, because they do engage him regularly, and have even out lasted this particular Flash [Barry Allen] to menace his successor, Wally West.
But I don't really feel I need to elaborate. I think most of you, familiar with the nature of this section, already know what I'm getting at.

Guys who mess with the weather, guys with concealed joy buzzers, guys who spin really fast... Look, I live in Australia, and even I laugh at the notion of a boomerang wielding ginger in a silly coat, and I actually know how deadly the damned things are!

The problem with all of these guys is that they're going up against a chap who can dress you up in a customized three-piece suit before you can even blink, just to pull your pants down infront of everybody! He's the fastest man alive!

Our tape ranks the Flash, particularly police scientist, Barry Allen, at a healthy Meta rating. Even so, this doesn't really acknowledge the fact that, like a low rating Hulk, the Flash is a fairly one-note character. Granted, his note is very potent and versatile with the right imagination, but is still essentially defined by moving fast.

You'll get discrepencies in the canon, but a guy who moves fast (without the magic of a speed force plot device) can be undone by something as simple as a rope tied across a highway, which is probably where we arrive for Captain Cold.

A guy who burgled an Eskimo and whipped himself up a soft-serve gun isn't the most intimidating guy to walk down the street, but against a man who depends on movement, he suddenly makes a lot of sense. As a specialist villain, Captain Cold attacks the Flash at his strength, using his cyclon powered freeze guns to literally stop the Flash in his tracks.

There are a lot of ways for the Flash to get around that kind of power, and at the end of the day I'm not going to try to form an argument for a one-on-one victory for Cold. Suffice to say, his position as a senior member of the Rogues is often the key to his victory, if not more contrived applications of strategy.

I like Captain Cold. He's a fun and interesting villain.
Leonard Snart is probably as sympathetic as your Mr. Freeze's of the world, but there's a special charm about his character and brazen attitude to some of the deeds he and his company perpetrate.

The Math: The Flash (Meta Class)
The Pick: The Flash (He runs fast!)

What went down...
Iris Allen, reporter for a swanky magazine, is on location in Las Veges for the big title fight between Wildcat and Clay to do a piece on fashion when, during a phone call to her husband Barry, things turn sour!

An explosion sends the lounge singer on stage sprawling, and from deep within the icey smoke steps an individual even colder: Captain Cold!
Spying the young lady on the telephone, Cold fires a blast that freezes the phone right out of her hand, but not before she can tell her husband the identity of her attacker. A man all too familiar to Barry Allen aka The Flash!

Moving at fantastic speeds, the weird red garbed Flash blurs his way across the nation in the direction of Las Vegas! As quick as his name implies, the Flash arrives at the club, catching a speedy hug from his favourite gal, before making a line for the man with the frigid disposition.

In the time it takes for Cold to shout "stop", the Flash is on him, pulling his punch at the last second, just to hear what the villain has to say for himself.

Having anticipated the potential interference of the scarlet speedster, Captain Cold reveals a contingency plot. Planted throughout the city are six tiny cryogenic explosives, each set to detonate thirty seconds from Cold's escape, or instantly should the Flash strike him. With his exit covered, the Flash has no choice but to abandon justice to ensure the safety of the public.

A waiting chopper descends through the open roof of the club, arriving to collect Captain Cold and his ill gotten gains, as a unique collection of personalities watches on from a private box. "I wish my buddy Jay was here. He sure would've loved to have seen this," remarks the champ, Ted "Wildcat" Grant.

The Flash streaks a red and gold blur all across the glitzy neon lit city, but is only able to turn up five of the alleged six bombs. After checking three times over it dawns on the Flash that the sixth was a final stalling tactic, to keep him busy while Cold made his getaway.

With the bombs tied to a balloon, the Flash powers his way up through a hotel, launching himself at high speed to collide perfectly with the open cockpit of the escaping helicopter. He yanks Cold into a carefully calculated descent toward a decorative fountain, rather than the pavement below.

Landing with a splash, Cold has a meltdown over the Flash's continued interference in his schemes, even miles away from Central City.

Things go from bad to worse for Captain Cold, as his ice gun begins to malfunction thanks to a little super speedy tampering at the hands of the Flash! Waist deep in water, Captain Cold is left by the hero to be detained poetically in bondage of his own design, the ice of the fountain freezing into an impressive sculpture as his gun explodes.

Then, high above the club, Cold's cryogenic bombs detonate, showering the Las Vegas desert with snow. Vibrating out of the visual frequency, Barry Allen takes in the rare sight with the rest of the crowd.

The hammer...
Your winner, and raining speedster, The Flash!

Okay, yes. I realise that doesn't make any sense, but I really wanted to have some kind of witty pun, and that was the best I could come up with at such short notice. I'll be sure to come with something prepared next time, ya lousy critical mooks!

So, if you stay abrest of comics hooplah you'll be well familiar with Darwyn Cooke's masterpiece, DC: The New Frontier. Few can debate the sheer grandeur of this comic, that was widely acclaimed by industry and fan alike as one of the best mini-series to be released in the last decade.

Not too long after the release of the book, DC/Warner announced a series of direct-to-video animated projects, including adaptations of well known comic series, including The New Frontier. Flash forward to now [see what I did there?] and you can soak in the exciting news and previews coming our way, with the official release date, Spring 2008!

The New Frontier really is the kind of comic any DC superhero fan needs to read. While it embodies much of what uninformed fans regard as DC's faults, it seems to be a book that has managed to transcend even the most irrational of barriers to be one of the most important superhero works ever.

New Frontier owes much of it's success to a sincere and indulgent take on the characters, that pays worthy homage to the days of old, but does so with a modern sensibility that takes full advantage of the development of comic book story telling techniques, and streamlines it all into an exciting, vignette styled sequential read.

The characters all benefit from fifty years of hindsight, strong in characterization, and instantly recognisable to most modern readers, despite the nostalgia slant. Batman appears; paranoid and solitary in a fashion more familiar to the last twenty years of the character. Likewise, Wonder Woman is far from a timid bondage queen, more akin to today's Wonder Woman, strong and certain in her actions -- a true warrior princess, ready to strike with uncompromising justice!

Many regard it for it's spine as a strong Hal Jordan story, but while you wouldn't know it from this site, but I'm a big Martian Manhunter fan. I think his portions of the story, particularly his interactions as a Gotham City detective, are the most pleasure I took from it. In a lot of ways it harkens back to one of my favourite stories from a 1988 issue of Secret Origins, that retells a similar period in Martian Manhunter's life through a very stylized style that echoes the three panel format here, and the type written monologue.

All in all New Frontier is a great read, that goes to lengths to remind us in a time of numerical restarts and character revamps, that the classics don't tarnish. As much as we all desire change, no one can rightly say that a Batman or a Superman is just a cape. These characters, human or otherwise, are legends!

I'm looking forward a great deal to the animated feature, and if you weren't aware or interested previously, hopefully this little entry has provided a teaser to whet your apetite. I think it's going to be a blast, with an interesting cast of voice talent, including Neil Patrick Harris as Barry Allen/The Flash.

I can't say I've ever thought of The Flash as sounding that shade of young, but I don't doubt the competence of Harris' acting ability, and this is a younger period for the Flash. Ugh, I could start ranting and raving about "my" Flash and all the different Flashes, and that would be very topical given recent events with Bart Allen, but I think I'll leave that for another day.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 7
[The greatest triumph in straight superhero storytelling of the last decade. A must-read for anyone comfortable with the genre. Technicolour, character and action like you won't find it anywhere else. Brilliant!]

HULK versus THE AVENGERS
"That which gods have joined together..."
(Marvel comics)
Where: Avengers #4 When: February 1997
Why: Rob Liefeld & Jeph Loeb How: Chap Yaep & Ian Churchill

The story so far...
Believed dead, the Avengers and Fantastic Four survive their battle with Onslaught when Franklin Richards whisks them away to a pocket dimension of his own creation, housed within the tiny avatar of a blue ball.

Within this dimension the heroes are reborn, as though their fates were predetermined to play out again as destiny decided them. For Bruce Banner, his transformation into the Hulk begins again as he falls victim to a terrorist attack on one of Tony Stark's gamma nuclear bases, which exposes him to massive amounts of radiation.

Intent on destroying Dr. Banner, the Hulk survives a battle with Iron Man and begins his trek toward any totem that might signify his other. Attracted to a similar nuclear power source on Avengers Island, the Hulk finds his next battle with the few stationary members of Earth's mightiest heroes!

Previous Form:
Captain America (#5): Overcame powerhouse Mr. Hyde with Batroc the Leaper.
Hawkeye (#95): Supported the Avengers on several adventures.
Swordsman (#25): Holds a solo victory over the Hulk, as Deadpool.
Hulk (#9): Holds a solo victory over the assemblage of the Thunderbolts.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Hulk 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Captain America 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Captain America 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Hulk 6 (Generator)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Hulk 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Hawkeye 4 (Arsenal)


Okay, so we could sit and sulk about the fact that I'm the only blog in the universe not reviewing World War Hulk -- or, we could have ourselves our own little World War Hulk with what little we have. Yes. That's it.

So, if you were with us but a week ago you might have seen this coming.
It's there that you can figure out why Deadpool is listed in this clash, because damned if I'm going through all of that again. [Avengers #1]

Suffice to say that the Avengers are in a bit of bother in this particular case.
If you've hit up Avengers #1 just now, you'll be skimming over the entry that features a collection of Avengers facing off, for a time, against Thor, and doing so just barely. It was only Loki's sinister schemes that turned the battle in the Avengers' favour, otherwise they were up the proverbial creek without a Scramjet.

That team included Vision, Scarlet Witch and Hellcat, all of which are absent at this particular junction. Vision is out of action as per battle with Kang, and Scarlet Witch is busy falling into Loki and the Enchantress' web of deceit.

Hulk is strongest one there is.
It might not always be true, but nine times out of ten when Hulk walks into a building and says this, he's going to be right. This particular building, Avengers Island HQ, is no exception. Hulk is strongest one there is, and Hulk is mad.

The Avengers have the homeground advantage, but when the Hulk is ripping your hi-tech headquarters down around you, that can be more of a problem than an advantage -- especially when your headquarters houses a nuclear reactor core.
Oops! You can just bet a SHIELD architect is slapping himself over that faux pas. Nuclear Fission is so six months ago.

Swordsman, this world's counterpart of Wade Wilson, is decidedly less skilled (and wacky) than his usual counterpart. He and Hawkeye managed to be the only ineffective members of the team during the battle with Thor and Loki, no mean feat on a team with timid Scarlet Witch-classic, and hairy Hellcat.

Captain America is always the X-factor, but alone with his knuckleheaded allies, even Cap might not be able to overcome the overwhelming odds of a rampaging, butt naked, mindless Hulk.

The Math: The Avengers
The Pick: Hulk

What went down...
Monitor duty takes a turn for the interesting; Hawkeye discovering a rampaging naked green goliath entering the halls of the Avengers Island headquarters.

Hulk soon inadvertently finds his way to Hawkeye, smashing wildly through any wall or construct that gets in his way.

Hawkeye draws his bow quick to respond, shooting off an arrow rigged to expand into a weighted, electrically charged net. Though a charge sufficient enough to shake the Hulk is delivered, he quickly makes light work of the netting, tearing it asunder like an excited child through wrapping paper on Christmas morn.

Hulk puts Hawkeye down with laughable ease, knocking him out with little more than a hulking flick of doom.

Captain America and Swordsman assemble on the scene to come to Hawkeye's aid.
Despite Cap's previous dressing down during a training session, the impetuous Swordsman charges the Hulk with the promise of making him sorry with a dose of stabby mcpain.

Before Swordsman can put his blades of death to work, Hulk snatches his tiny human hands in his own, breaking the fragile bones of the puny human. Thus, "Hulk is not sorry. Hulk is Hulk."

Cap interjects, tossing his shield to strike Hulk in the neck sufficiently to gain his attentions.

Captain America tries to talk the Hulk down, informing him that no one by the name of "Banner" resides on the island, all the while recalling seeing just such a name in the SHIELD files.

Cap considers a potential connection between the Bruce Banner responsible for building the Avengers Island gamma core, and the rampaging beast before him.

Disinterested in the talky-talk, Hulk lets rip with a burst of speed to attack the "flagman" who tossed his nasty shield at him. Cap tries one last attempt to reason with the Hulk, in much the same fashion as the Thor fight, whilst bracing himself for impact.

Hulk, getting madder by the second (but not interesting enough for me to pad this out to get to the splash pic), collides with Cap's shield with a shuddering boom!

Though Cap and his shield manage to hold up to the initial impact, the power of the Hulk is too much for any mere mortal. With no one left standing, Hulk lets out a roar, "NOTHING CAN STOP HULK!"

The hammer...
After some none-too-subtle tap dancing to get to the scanned images, Hulk wins! X-52, tell them what he's won!... Oh, right...

So, why the dedication to a picture of Captain America and Hulk butting heads inside a yellow text outline? Look, I haven't been able to get a hold of any issues of World War Hulk, so I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading a giant sound effect produced by Hulk and Iron Man. So this is my way of just prepping for what will eventually come.
This is the teaser for all the mayhem that will eventually arrive.

Now, speaking of ghosts of mayhem-future, I'd like to think we're having some fun here. Lately there's been a collection of throughlines to a lot of the features, so hopefully you can get a little bit excited for the promise of a Thor/Hulk confrontation sometime in the near future.

Even though I haven't been reading World War Hulk, I've been keeping loose tabs on what's going on, and there's a somewhat inevitable consensus regarding the nature of the consequences of the events.

I think heading into the event we all knew Hulk, for all the talk, couldn't "win" this thing. You can't expect Hulk to ever fullfil his potential, because that would involve murderizing some of the greatest icons and cash cows Marvel Comics have.

What's been unfortunate about WWH is the disjointed atmosphere we have in the Marvel universe, post-Civil War. In a lot of ways WWH doesn't have the platform to be an event as we know it, so it's awkwardly wading it's way through compromises and situations that can resolve themselves in no satisfactory way.

I saw recently a discussion where a Hulk fan mentioned that World War Hulk promotion was entirely forthcoming, but the inherent flaw was that promos were built on the claim that Hulk was madder than ever before, and heading to Earth.

Hulk can't possibly live up to that, and that's where I can understand the disgruntled readers dropping WWH through the third or fourth issues.
As has been a theme throughout these Heroes Reborn posts, I like to shine some credit back on these maligned issues.

While the series were free to operate within their own self-contained pre-Ultimate universe, they were still dealing with the characters, and therefore could only bend and shape them so far. What Heroes Reborn did well with the Hulk was to give him the space to make his way from a starting point to a conclusion, doing so in an order that coordinated between crucial events in other books. Meaning Iron Man could be taken down solo [Iron Man #2] as the first step in what essentially served as an incidental spine for greater events.

Hulk does redeem himself by simmering low enough to work with the side of angels, and really that seems the inevitable conclusion to World War Hulk, but given the circumstances, events have been so congested, they lack the smooth flowing graduation of this Heroes Reborn story. Although, perhaps ironically, also letting World War Hulk down is the marketing decision to spread the story quite thin, further complicating matters with tie-ins, less than cohesive.

Recently revealed were letters from Mark Millar, who pitched Civil War as a tighter, more finite event where the heroes would reunite in the final act (and Thor would return) to face the threat of the Hulk. Presumably this high concept would have provided a more streamlined landscape to give World War Hulk the stage it's due.

I personally am of two minds. As much as I like strengthening the events through a logical and dramatic graduation process, it might have been equally disappointing to see Civil War be so contained. I quite enjoy, for all it's difficulties, the division and social atmosphere of the registered and rogue heroes. It seems inevitable they will eventually be reunited by cause, but for the time being it's nice to see those ramifications.

It's just a shame that characters like Dr. Strange, who are almost demanded of a Hulk event of this scale, should really be unseen, existing in the underground.
Concessions like this haven't been singular, either. Ed Brubaker's Daredevil fairly casually highlights a new leniancy toward seasoned characters who wish to be unregistered. Something unthought of during the Civil War event-proper.

While this certainly makes the writer's job easier, and frees momentum up for us the readers, it feels like a typically slack late move from Brubaker. A writer who seems to initiate himself to a readership through strong ties to an existing status quo, before lazily meandering off to much less invested takes.

EDIT (October 4, 2007): Swordsman has been relisted as his own character, as per the Superboy-Prime Directive. These stats have been removed from Deadpool's listing.

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4
[A competent, but perhaps slightly brief Hulk battle, more a step in the journey than an epic to remember. Perhaps a little soon for creative shifts, as Loeb seemingly helps purge Avengers of naff concepts, like Swordsman. Still, fun!]