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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Fight: 3.5 The Issue: 4.5

GREEN ARROW versus RED HOOD
Seeing Red Part Three: Change Partners (DC comics)
Where: Green Arrow #71 When: April 2007
Why: Judd Winick How: Scott McDaniel

The story so far...
The Red Hood has rolled into town and he's survived the fight with Brick long enough to team-up with him in a diabolical plot against the Batman and Green Arrow!

Red Hood orchestrates a series of scenarios across the city to lure out the heroes, and lead them into an opponent swap! Having educated Brick in the ways of his former mentor, the plan is going without a hitch, except for the presence of a fifth wheel: Speedy!

Will the young hero come to the rescue of the legends, or is there something more than meets the eye to Red Hoods plans? What are those cries in the distance? What lies behind door number three? Doom for Speedy, perhaps?...

Previous Form:
Green Arrow (#11): Green Arrow has two victories over Brick.
Red Hood (#15): Red Hood is undefeated against Brick and The Society.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Draw 2 (Average)
Intelligence: Red Hood 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Red Hood 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Red Hood 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Red Hood 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Draw 4 (Arsenal)


Well, according to the tape, there isn't a field in which Green Arrow gets the better of Jason Todd. I guess there's no category for lady killing smarm, or dodgy goatees...

If you asked me flat out who would win a fight between these two, I think I'd be leaning toward Green Arrow. This guy's got the experience over Jason Todd, and that's not even including the time he spent dead. Time considerably less than Todd's time taking a dirt nap... In the real world, at least.

I felt the need to upgrade GA's energy power stats to reflect the arsenal of weaponry at his disposal, and while I haven't done so yet, I feel there may be need to recognise his prowess as a hand-to-hand combatant. I was reluctant to rate GA with the other martial artists, but given the strength of his recent training during the One Year Later flashbacks, it might be time.

Of course, that said, Red Hood has eaten, lived, and slept [hello!] with the Batman, which means this guys lives and breathes fighting. He's all about the tactical edge, and delivering every necessary blow with tempered precision and deadly accuracy.

Green Arrow's no slouch in the accuracy department. You don't get a reputation as the world's greatest archer without shooting a few apples off heads, but it could be said that GA's talents and scope are narrow. Certainly compared to the forward planning of a Red Hood, ala Batman training.

Maybe I'd be wrong in my initial assessment, if you asked me who would win a fight between these two. Maybe when we pull out the tape and measure everything up, the mechanics of the two characters lean toward Red Hood.
Then again, maybe the mechanics lie. Maybe Red Hood's impetuousness is a weakness exposed and fileted by Green Arrow's experience...

The Math: Red Hood
The Pick: Green Arrow

What went down...
While Speedy abandons her mission of aid to the heroes under fire, Green Arrow finds himself diving for cover from the afforementioned spray courtesy of Red Hood and an automatic weapon.

GA lands on his back, slinging a few arrows Red Hood's way, but the kid is good. He sees it coming before the arrows have even left the bow, and slips out of the line of fire, accordingly.

The Hood returns the favour with another spray of ammunition, forcing Green Arrow to backflip his way out of trouble and search for a new solution.
Still on his back, he spies water piping across the lab ceiling, and as mayor has the privilege of knowing water has been restored to this part of the Earthquake torn city.

He uses one of his trick arrows to set off the sprinklers.
Water cascades down on them both, distracting the Red Hood sufficiently enough to give Green Arrow an opportunity to fire off an arrow at his achilles.

The Hood blocks the arrows path with the blade of a sword.
He challenges the senior hero, questioning whether or not he'd had time to practise with his new sword in the rain. Green Arrow draws his blade, and gladly boasts his ability to cope with the terrain. He charges into battle.

Sparks fly as the two titans clash swords.
Locked together, Red Hood acknowledges GA's progression beyond "... just a sharp shooter!"

Green Arrow ducks a wild swipe from Red Hood, and props up to catch the Hood on the completion of his swing with one of his own. GA's sword slices across the armored helmet that is Todd's namesake. The slash leaves a line straight across the eye area.

"You missed. Either that or you weren't going for the throat. That's the problem with all of you. Limits."

GA ducks another swipe, and strikes back with a lunge that pierces the Hood's jacket. The sword provides a guideline for Red Hood to move into close quarters, using his helmet to viciously headbutt his opponent.

Arrow indulges the grapple with Todd, and uses it to throw his feet out onto a shelf of chemicals, pushing them back to the ground.

He follows with a swinging roundhouse kick that knocks the Hood silly enough to disarm him. With that, GA takes possession of his sword and forces him to yield, his neck in a scissored vice.

Despite the predicament, Todd mocks the situation.
"You and me fight with a few pig stickers and I'm going away in cuffs?"

He challenges GA to connect the dots, asking him if he really thinks a katana is a regular piece of his carry-on arsenal. He then highlights the fact that he's where he is, and Batman is across town. Then as the handle of Red Hood's katana begins to sizzle in his hand, Green Arrow gets it.

He tosses the sword into an adjacent wall, and on advice of a fleeing Jason Todd, does more than just toss it. They both make a dramatic escape, but it's Todd who has the barings to leap on a motorcycle to make his getaway.
GA fires an arrow into the air, but Red Hood is able to narrowly steer clear of it, getting notification of his package's arrival: Speedy.

The hammer...
Despite letting the baddie get away, Green Arrow earns comprehensive victory against a sword wielding Jason Todd!

As you may have gathered, this issue also contains a fight between Brick and Batman, and while that probably would've been the easier choice of the two, there was certainly a lot more meat to Green Arrow/Red Hood. Which you would really expect for the title character. Even so, hopefully we'll get a chance to revisit this issue just to get Batman/Brick on the board.

Though he's suffered a substantial fall from grace, I really like the idea of Brick as a criminal presence big enough to become regularly involved in the Gotham underworld. It's the kind of development that could've really slot well into Winick's period on Batman, with a more flowing and developing sense of Gotham City and it's criminal activity.

Another great reason to feature Green Arrow/Jason Todd was that it meant would could continue to diversify our featured characters, and maybe reflect a little bit of what's going on. Even though we've been talking about Red Hood more this year than last, when he was a lot more relevant.

To the former point, hopefully you've noticed a conceited effort to feature a greater balance of DC material. I fully acknowledge that I was more of a Marvel kid growing up, but I really have a great affection for many of DC's characters, and in the latter years really jumped the fence to their side.
Right now I fall somewhere in the middle, but for integrity's sake I just like the notion of getting more DC material on the site. And heck, we all know the Marvel zombies that probably visit us here could use the education. Oh yes! I went there!

Judd Winick's been a pretty regular feature on the site, but I haven't really talked at length about Scott McDaniel. It's interested me that he's remained on the title for so long, because after the initial departure of the art team of Phil Hester and Ande Parkes, I really didn't expect him to last it out.

While I'm reluctant to really slam the quality of his art, I personally feel it's somewhat lacking. I don't think the inks are doing it a lot of favours [this issue inked by Andy Owens] in respet to refining and cleaning some of the lines up, but to be fair, that isn't really the inker's job description.

It continues to work conceptually, following on from the cartoony vibe established previously, despite the book's tendency to delve into more traditionally dark and psuedo-realistic themes. Which has helped the title keep it's charms, but I still can't help but feel the style of energy, and the exaggerated limbs and action produced, just isn't feel right.

I've been quite surprised by some of the positive reviews I've heard, that specifically mention McDaniel as a highlight. iFanboy is a recent source of interest that springs to mind.
I'd have to honestly say, if the subject material wasn't so fun, and the characters featured weren't of initial interest to me, I probably wouldn't be buying.

The Fight: 6 The Issue: 5

WOLVERINE versus SHIELD
What If Wolverine Was Never Deprogrammed?: Bite The Hand That Feeds (Marvel comics)
Where: What If? Wolverine Enemy Of The State #1 When: January 2007
Why: Jimmie Robinson How: Carmine Di Giandomenico

The story so far...
Wolverine became enemy of the state when he was attacked by a mysterious warrior called Gorgon, killed, and resurrected by the mysterious group called The Hand.

Brainwashed into being an agent of Hydra, Wolverine went on a spree to kill and thus recruit other powered heroes into Hydra's control.

Eventually Captain America and the X-Men were able to intervene, and put a stop to Wolverine's rampage long enough to deprogram him once more, but in other realities this was not the case. Here we bare witness to a world where Wolverine savaged Captain America, and escaped to fight another day...

Previous Form:
Wolverine (#3): Wolverine has suffered defeats against Captain America and Magneto.
Captain America (#7): Captain America has victories over Wolverine and more importantly, MODOK.
Invisible Woman (#28): The Fantastic Four defeated the Frightful Four previously.
Kitty Pryde (#95): Wolverine decapitated Kitty Pryde in another issue of What If...
Magneto (#244): Magneto has yet to attain victory.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Captain America 3 (Trained Athlete)
Intelligence: Magneto 5 (Professor)
Speed: Wolverine 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Wolverine 6 (Generator)
Agility: Captain America 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Wolverine 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Magneto 6 (Mass Destruction)


Across the given areas of the tape you've got a pretty good spread of capabilities and talents, and with that, let us delve right in, totally overlooking my rampant lateness.

The SHIELD team is comprised of the awesome foursome of Captain America, who's missing half an arm and leg, but has a neato hover chair; Invisible Woman, who is possibly the last survivor of the FF; long-time rival of Wolvie - Magneto; and rounding out the team is Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat.

Wolverine's a well known scrapper, but against a grouping like this, it's a pretty big ask. On the site alone you can find our world's version of the Wolverine/Captain America scenario [Wolverine #25]; and the famous encounter with Wolverine where he loses his adamantium [X-Men #25].
So, I guess you could get two things out of that; A) Wolverine's on the back foot to begin with, and B) Wolverine should probably try to avoid issue twenty-five of books for a while...

In the situaton of a What If... issue you can open your mind to Wolverine's true potential. I don't think the title has ever traditionally been a mature readers title, but without the constraints of maintaining a franchise, death is on the menu for anyone and everyone. And Wolverine is the best there is at serving menus. And those menus are ugly, bub.

So, yeah, Wolverine is actually in with a chance here.
He's got the healing factor, and he's even got Hydra in his ear teleporting him around the city. Without any kind of restraint there, Wolvie could take it.

That said, Magneto and Invisible Woman are big asks. Particularly Magneto, given the nature of Wolverine's adamantium.
And Kitty Pryde has the emotional tug, which is always the defense against a brainwashed hero. Hey, don't try to deny! There's precedent!

The Math: Team Cap (Total) Wolverine (Average)
The Pick: Team Cap

What went down...
Bunkered down in a SHIELD base that Hydra do not have information on, the foursome prepare themselves for their plans. SHIELD have begun leaking dummy information about their whereabouts, to lure Wolverine and Hydra in with the scent of Captain America.

Their plans are to have Kitty Pryde close blast doors, sealing the place up; Invisible Woman is to snare Wolverine with her forcefield powers; Magneto will disrupt Hydra's teleportation and communication systems by powering an electromagnetic machine; and then they'll contain him.

When the proximity alert hits, their problems begin.
Magneto readies the jamming device, while Kitty Pryde phases through the wall to look around for Wolverine, who hasn't emerged yet. Sue Storm warns her to keep her eyes peeled, but doesn't notice the shadow moving below the grate in the floor.

The Invisible Woman should've taken her own advice!
Wolverine's claws burst through the floor and her feet, spraying blood onto the steel.

Invisible Woman goes down as Wolverine pushes the floor panel up, her feet still pinned to the floor via his claws. Desperate and tough enough to act, she creates a forcefield bubble around Wolverine's head, cutting off his air supply.

This cold, controlled Wolverine doesn't even hesitate to pop his own claw through his throat, performing a tracheotomy on himself, rendering Invisible Woman's attack moot. With that, he leaps on top of the heroine, and pops his claws through her skull.

Captain America's attempts to bait Wolverine finally pay off. Wolvie lays murderous eyes on the maimed Captain, and makes a wisecrack about murderball. Geez Wolverine, you'll date yourself!

You don't want to bet on a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest, but if ever you were going to do it, it'd be if it was Captain America. Despite the handicap he fends off Wolverine's savage attack, using his good leg to spring the mutant across the room.

Wolverine is snatched in the air - the work of the one and only master of magnetism; Magneto!

Disappointed by the turn of events, Magneto springs into action, confidently lamenting on the weaknesses of an adamantium skeleton as the reason why Hydra so certainly avoids him.

However, with the field broken, Hydra is able to resume contact with Wolverine and teleport him behind the distracted mutant. "Always been your problem, bub..."

Magneto pays for his deviation, taking all six claws through the chest. The adamantium slices through flesh with little or no resistance, bursting out the front. Magneto will bend metals, no more.

He drops to the ground, his helmet popping off and bouncing on the ground above his head.
It echoes eerily as Captain America watches from his chair, fully aware that it's just he and the murderous mutant, now.

Wolverine leaps onto Cap's hoverchair, and raises his arms back.
Hands reach out of the wall behind, and Captain America finds himself intangible just at the right moment, as Wolverine brings his weapons hailing down at Cap's star-spangled chest.

The Captain orders Shadowcat to let him go, whipping his shield forward, allowing it to become solid as it wooshes past Wolverine's ducking head.

Cap pushes Kitty away, and tells her to let go, as his shield hooks around in the air in a boomerang style U-turn. Wolverine spots it, but can't avoid feeling the crunch from both sides, making the meat in a shield/fist sandwich!

While Wolverine collects himself on the ground, the Captain reminds his soldier of her mission. "You know what to do now."
Wolverine certainly does. An uppercut finishes with Cap's jaw, and several gushing pints of blood. Hydra doesn't like loose ends. Wolverine ties it up.

All alone, Wolverine stalks the last of his prey.
Shadowcat makes an emotional plee, trying to reach the man she once regarded as a mentor and dear friend. She revisits the events of the past [Enemy of the State], and considers all those that died in this world, while Wolverine slashes his arms through her phasing form.

Kitty throws a punch, slipping out of her phased form for just a moment.
Wolverine detects her inreasing heartrate and sweat and challenges her to make her one move, or put an end to it all by surrendering. She makes her move.

With blood gushing from her wrist, Kitty apologises to Wolverine as he stumbles away from the reader, dropping to his knees. She clutches at her wound, revealing a blood stump, the cut-off of where she left her hand phased in Wolverine's skull.

SHIELD chose wisely.

The hammer...
Well, that was cheery, wasn't it? The winner, if you can call her that, is Kitty Pryde. Pretty grim, but hey, Cap lost a hand and an arm, plus he ended up dead. Well, yeah, I guess he ended up dead in our universe too, didn't he? What a moot point...

... Anyway, yes! I am drifting further and further behind.
I'm only an hour away at this point from being a full week behind, so thankfully I'm on the case and trying to maintain justification for your readership!
A lot of things have been keeping me sufficiently distracted, including work on my own comics projects, which you've probably heard about by now.

Though it took me a while to get to it, I really like these fifth week What If events. I think over time the void that was left by the title healed over, but these extras on the months with a fifth Wednesday have been a delicious application of the concept, and a welcome treat. Even if some of them have been on the mediocre side...

This one, thankfully, was not that bad. I was a big fan of Enemy of the State, as you might know if you've been with us long enough. It's one of those storylines that was really made for a blogsite like this, and one of these days we'll get all the relevant parts up and reviewed, I'm sure.

The original Wolverine run was notable for the feature roles of writer Mark Millar, and more to my point, penciller John Romita Jr.
I can never really decide whether I love or hate JRjr's pencils, but it isn't even a factor with Carmine Di Giandomenico taking the role of both penciller and colorist, with inker Robert Campanella rounding things out nice and smooth.
The finished product has a rendered sheen of a flat-coloured cartoon, boasting cool colour palettes and smooth, clean lines everywhere. It's really a great looking comic. I'd love to see more from this team!

The artwork aside, which really IS a huge highlight, the story plods on along well. As you would expect from the scenario, there's a grim overtone of Wolverine hacking his way through the superhero community, and we even get a one-page fight with Moon Knight that I might like to get in the Quick Fix sometime in the future!

Like the original storyline it isn't heavy on over-thought plotlines, but it contains enough to be less of a beat 'em up comic than the original, and has the obligatory twist ending that makes you rethink what you've read.
Due to the nature of the flat summary style used here, you've actually had part of the twist (Kitty Pryde's role on the team) spoiled, so if you haven't read it... Sorry.

Still, it's a pretty decent read, and is hopefully a shot of Wolverine into the site that will keep up our average hitcount. I know guys, but it was a good issue, and the hits are just a bonus. Stop buying if you have that big a problem!

Jokes aside, I'm trying to wrap this up so I can get on with the next feature!
I'll be trying to catch my way back up before the 100th fight next Monday, but I won't make any promises about that. I will, however, promise one of the biggest weaks of Secret Earths history whenever I do get around to it. And if you're wondering -- nope. We don't break the themes. Cheers!

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 5

IRON MAN, BLACK WIDOW & CRIMSON DYNAMO versus TITANIUM MAN
Triangle (Marvel comics)
Where: Iron Man #316 When: May 1995
Why: Len Kaminski How: Tom Morgan

The story so far...
With the Cold War well and truly behind America, Stark Industries finally succeeds in efforts to open an industrial park in Russia. Good news for Stark, but not so much for resurrected Soviet Super-Soldier, Boris Bullski aka the Titanium Man.

With the Black Widow by his side, Iron Man finds himself in a fight for his life, while Russian military scramble to recover and put an end to this political nightmare.

In their desperation, the Russians turn to a former villain and ally of the Titanium Man - General Valentin Shatalov - the sixth man to wear the armor of the Crimson Dynamo. Thus, with hopes for a future Russia, they send their soldier into battle -- but whose side will he be on?

Previous Form:
Iron Man (#4): Iron Man has a string of victories against; Diablo, Hulk, Captain America, & She-Hulk.
Black Widow (#117): The Widow was among the pro-registration heroes during Civil War.
Crimson Dynamo/Titanium Man: Neither of the armored Russians have previously been featured on the site.

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


Alright, I'm running behind schedule once again, and there's a lot to get through, so I suppose here is as good a place as any (as opposed to all those other places we usually begin...).

For anyone wondering, we're dealing with mostly originals here.
This is the resurrected Boris Bullski-Titanium Man at this point, and the Black Widow featured is the always lovely, always deadly, always Russian about the place -- Natasha Romanova.

As the tape shows, despite being equally rated with his armored counterparts, Titanium Man excells in the field of strength and durability. At the heart of his bulk is a lack of technology, which required much larger mechanics along the lines of the earliest 'refridgerator' suits of the Iron Man armor.
That said, this appears to have come with great capacity for physical strength, and that's definitely got to be recognised.

In the numbers game, the advantage goes to the good guys, who number not only Black Widow, super-spy extraordinaire -- but also the pairing of two suits of armor in Iron Man and this sixth incarnation of the Crimson Dynamo.
While it may not be reflected in the armor's capabilities, I probably rate this as the slickest and most attractive suit of crimson armor. While that will win it points with the fashion judges, it gets no points for originality. Tres derivate~!

But more to the point, the combined abilities of the two suits of armor should spell defeat for the Titanium one. The nature of the beast (and materials used to make his suit) make it possible for Titanium Man to turn the tables, but statistically it just shouldn't happen.

The Math: Iron Man, Black Widow & Crimson Dynamo
The Pick: Iron Man, Black Widow & Crimson Dynamo

What went down...
We begin our story with our invincible hero in the menacing clutch of the Titanium Man, as the villain threatens to break him in two!
Fortunately for Mr. Stark, the Black Widow is on hand to swoop in to the rescue and do more than the translating she was paid for: like kick some tin can ass!

With Titanium Man on the back foot, the former Russian spy reintroduces her comrade to the pain of the Widow's bite, firing her blast directly into the base of the Titanium Man's helmet.

The attack serves only to further enrage the Titanium Man!
With Iron Man being whipped around like a ragdoll, Black Widow is left to play the agility game, leaping to avoid the attacks of her countryman while Iron Man rights himself for a second pass.

He thunders in, jetting head-first into his adversary like a human torpedo.
The attack still doesn't manage to fell the bulky Russian, leaving Iron Man to take energy blasts.

The nimble mechanics of the Iron Man armor allow him to slink between the beams with relative ease, despite taking a hit initially. Stark berates Widow for getting involved, despite being grateful for the save, and punctuates his ability to take Titanium Man down, plummeting atop the aforementioned feet-first with devestating results.

Iron Man comes around to finish the job, but Black Widow intervenes, insistent upon talking Bullski down, perhaps even relating to his dated ideals on some level.
At that moment, ruby blasts rain down from the sky, signalling the entrance of the man we're here to acknowledge:

The Dynamo informs Iron Man of his jurisdiction, and orders him to stand down to allow him right to deal with the Russian matter. Iron Man, not content with leaving the battle, reenforces his claim with the threat to Stark property.

Titanium Man begins a sermon of distain for the foreign interference, but to his surprise he is abruptly shushed by his countryman. Though the Crimson Dynamo voices similar distaste for the capitalist tendencies of their government, he declares his allegiance to the country as it is, and not as he or the Titanium Man would have it be.

Titanium Man is not so easily convinced.

TM runs through the Dynamo, and swats him out of the air with an unforgiving fist!
Like the attack he suffered moments ago, Titanium Man brings the entirety of his armor's weight down upon the comparably diminutive suit of the Crimson Dynamo, squashing him between he and the Earth.

The Dynamo continues to try to reach out with a calm voice of reason, lamenting that their efforts of the past [Ramont 4] were futile and foolish. However, this only strengthens the Titanium Man's resolve, and harshens the blows of his bulky gauntlets.

Iron Man makes the save, charging from behind with a stiff shoulder.
As Titanium Man turns to meet his attacker, the Black Widow strikes again with the blast of her sting, and yet again Titanium Man turns, this time struck by a blast from the Crimson Dynamo!

Betrayal comes from all sides as Titanium Man finds himself the victim of a combined triple threat of pooled attacks. Though they serve to rattle his cage, the Ruski super-soldier is still able to swat away the opposition, and with one final jet blast, make an escape.
"Though you are all against me, I shall never surrender!"

With the damage of the battle having taken it's toll, Iron Man is unable to follow the fleeing Titanium Man, turning instead to find the Black Widow nursing a floored Crimson Dynamo. Though badly hurt, he has served his country valiantly.
As a mark of respect, Tony Stark strips Shatalov of the Dynamo armor, and swares a resolution for the people of Russia.

The hammer...
Magneto was mad! Titanium too! And the Crimson Dynamo picked up the victory along with Iron Man and Black Widow.

We've been doing this for two months now, and honestly, I have to admit it's been probably that long since I played the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video game, so the relevence of each of these character's appearances is starting to dissipate.
I went with a Crimson Dynamo appearance that I had handy, and was interested in. As I mentioned in the tape, this has got to be the best looking Dynamo design, even if it's similar to IM's.

Fortunately for us, the game features Shatalov in the armor, so I didn't have to cheat my way through this one. There have been something like seven or eight different men to wear the armor, so as you can imagine, it can make sending evil Christmas cards difficult come December in Latveria.

If the accompanying image shows nothing else, it's that Tony Stark is living the life of the ultimate action figure.

If you switched out the helmet, I guess this design harkens back to the Centurian armor worn in the eighties. Or maybe that's just a really lazy observation because of the red and silver colour palette.

Speaking of armor, the first official images have been leaked from the set of the 2008 Iron Man feature film. It appears to be a shadey image of the first model of Iron Man armor, bulkier and unrefined than he will ultimately appear in the majority of the film, or at least we've been led to believe.

I've noticed a lot of people blindly speculating that it's War Machine, presumably because they're unfamiliar with the original bullet grey 'refridgerator' suit, or because they're blissfully unaware that the metals used probably don't come red and yellow.

Either way, amaze your friends with the knowledge that one of the earliest certainties revealed by director Jon Favreau was the fact that the movie will feature a fast track through the graduating design processes.
This fits neatly with the tweaked origin developed by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov during the Extremis storyline, that featured a scaled down version of the original armor.

If you're wondering where I'm going with all this, it's nowhere fast.
Once again we find ourselves a few updates behind, and I must apologise for that. There's been a massive influx of hits, and we've just hit 10k, so a big thanks to all the people all over the world visiting.

Some big things coming, but until then, I've gotta get some sleep! Cheers!

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4.5

NEXT WEEK: Swing your arms from side-to-side. Come on, it's time to go do the MODOK!

THE MONSTER SOCIETY versus BLACK ADAM
Deaths in the Family (DC comics)
Where: 52 #44 When: May 2007
Why: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid How: Keith Giffen & Eddy Barrows

The story so far...
Black Adam's nation of Khandaq has been plunged into a plague of darkness, and Adam's young protégé, Osiris, believes his committing a murder with the powers granted to him is what's responsible.

Convinced to give-up his powers, which free him of his condition as a cripple, Osiris is quickly slaughtered by Sobek, a crocodilian creature he rescued from the sinister mad scientist, Dr. Sivana.

Sobek reveals himself to really be Yurrd the Unknown, member of "The Four Ages of Dread Of Apokolips in it's anguished, bloody morning."
The NEW Monster Society, and remaining three horsemen of Khandaq's apocalypse reveal themselves, and launch their sleeping attack on Black Adam.

Previous Form:
Black Adam, Isis, The Four Horsemen: None of these characters have been featured previously on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Black Adam 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Black Adam 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Black Adam 5 (Super Speed)
Stamina: Black Adam 6 (Generator)
Agility: Black Adam 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Black Adam 7 (Born Fighter)
Energy Powers: War 6 (Mass Destruction)


Okay, this was a tough one, because the [Four Horsemen] characters, as far as I know, are new to 52, so there isn't a lot of discussion to be had.
Certainly the nature of their powers and the way they are presented paints a fairly clear picture of their capabilities, but the minutia may be lost here.

The tape is deceptive, because while Black Adam's broad strengths paint a fairly encompassing picture, the four Monster Society pawns have a comparable bredth of strengths that simply aren't as potent as Black Adam's.

Each character possesses impressive physical strength. Famine (Yurr) appears to be the only character without a strong, unique twist to the rest of abilities. Rather than possessing any famine themed abilities, he's simply a reptilian with a penchant for eating things, and an insatiable hunger.

In the previous issue he revealed his true nature by devouring Osiris once he had reverted to his crippled form, which brings us to this issue, where the powers granted to Osiris return to Black Adam, and alert him of the danger.

Pestilence (Zorrm) possesses various chemical based attacks, with a backpack/blaster combination, as well as oral means of gas projection. He is potentially the weakest of the group, while also being the most grotesque and subversive.

War (Roggra) is a lumbering mechanical looking creature with various mount weapons, and a distinct theme of modern weaponry. There's a very tanky motiff, there.

Death (Azraeuz) appears somewhere between an angel and an Egyptian Anibus style creature, and as we will ultimately learn, he is capable of drawing dark strength from the deaths of others. [More on that in The Hammer -- Mumbling Mike]

The strength in numbers certainly gives this new Monster Society a leg up on the competition, but Black Adam is truly an impressive character. Arguably more powerful than his cheesy counterpart, Captain Marvel, Teth-Adam (as he's also known) is far more ruthless a character, despite his noble intentions.
He will make no bones about killing in situations of ambiguity, let alone with the onslaught of engineered creatures designed to destroy him.

It should also be noted that he has another young companion, Isis, a slave woman who was offered to him by Intergang, and ultimately proved to be an outspoken and courageous young woman named Adrianna Tomaz, worthy of the power of Isis.

Isis has comparable powers to Adam himself, if a little less potent, but also properties for healing, and limited control or influence over the weather.

As far as caling a winner here, it's hard to deny the numbers advantage possessed by the Four Horsemen. Black Adam is an incredibly compelling and powerful character, and if anyone's going to overcome odds like those, he's probably a good bet. The powers of Shazam may just have the edge here.

The Math: Monster Society (Total) Black Adam (Average)
The Pick: Black Adam w/ Isis

What went down...
Adam and Isis stand confronting Famine, as the remaining members of the Four Horsemen descend upon them. Death is the first to strike, swinging his giant golden scythe into the grip of the SHAZAM powered ruler.

The two mighty beings smash through the balcony roof of the Kahndaqi palace, but despite being on the bottom, Adam has strength enough to throw the larger Death beast off with a thundering right hook.
Famine descends quickly, wrapping his taloned finger tips around Adam's face.
"Let me tell you how I ate Osiris! How his organs popped in my mouth like fresh grapes..."

Osiris, having been snatched up by Pestilence, drops into the palace through the hole left by Adam and Death. She witnesses Teth-Adams firey rage first hand.

Adam takes Famine's snout in his hands, and as a tear makes it's way from the creature's eye, he pulls open it's jaw much farther than it should ever be. Blood sprays, "These are not men, Isis. Sobek said it himself. They are monsters."

War lumbers, as Black Adam points him out as next on the list. However, a hail of bullets interrupts his charge. He's pushed back, taking less damage than his residence, before War blows him off his feet with an explosive.

"I have the power of all the world's soldiers and missiles and bombs. Those are my gods."

Osiris continues her tustle with Pestilence, warned by her preternatural relationship with nature that he is a creature made of little more than virii and bacterium. It was he who brought disease and misery to the people of Kahndaq.

The creature stares through the single red orb on it's forehead, and sprays forth a green mist of goo and ill. Isis springs forth various tendrils of growth to protect her, as she slides clear of the muck.

The paths of the heroes converge. As Adam reels from the gunfire attack of War, Pestilence is throw into the mix by the greenery, before being swept into an isolated tornado along with War.

Isis' blood runs cold as Death returns to face the Black Adam family.
Death's penetrating gaze stuns both. A zealous War snatches Adam and tosses him out of the building, announcing himself the instrument by which Death's decree of doom will be dealt. Adam smashes the head from the statue of his long fallen wife as he comes to a painful halt.

War is on him almost immediately, grinding his head into the ground with the mechanical mess of engineering and metal that poses for a hand.
Adam continues to be tossed and pounded by the creature of War, while Isis finds herself victim to a full blast from Pestilence's mounted gun. Pestilence surrenders her to Death, "I have spread my disease across her and inside her."

Staring down at the stone face of his first wife, Adam is asked the question, "Will you beg for your life as well?"
It serves to inspire his rage. It gives him the strength to plunge his fist deep inside the chest of the robotic monstrosity of War.

It is difficult to say whether they are tears of mourning, or of unbridled hate, but as he rips away at the creature, Adam returns the favour, "Will you? A being who embodies all the war in the world does not impress me."

Blood gushes from Isis' mouth, and tears from her eyes, also, as she fades further and further still from life. Death lifts her by the chin with the tip of his scythe.

Pestilence' grin turns to a scowl.
Black Adam blasts his head off with the shoulder mount cannon taken from War.

Death swings his large scythe, scathing at the side of the Kahndaq ruler. Adam does away with the weapon, and uses his fists to shatter the teeth from Death's skullish head.
It is not enough to stay the beast's attack. He palms Black Adam's head, but still clinging desperately to life, Isis reaches a benevolent hand outward.

She calls to the Earth, asking it to spew forth it's moltenous lava so as to seperate the monster from her husband.
Death is jetted skyward in stream of lava and smoke, choosing to flee from further assault rather than face down the elements themselves further.

Adam cradles his queen in his arms. She confesses a new understanding for the bleakness she had discouraged. In these horseman she understands the great evils and digusting crimes man would commit, and she is angered. She stems Adams' faith in her, and the good she claimed. Dying in his arms, she asks for exactly what Black Adam can provide.

And with that vengeful scorn, lightning descends upon the ruler.
The power of Isis returns to him, and the sky begins to weep.
Black Adam is alone, but not without purpose.

The hammer...
Your winner, despite great loss -- Black Adam.
Hopefully I captured the battle with suitable drama, despite being somewhat tired by Easter festivities, and the general late we find ourselves in. Alas, we move on!

Like a lot of people, I've been well and truly been converted into absolutely loving Black Adam. The obvious aside, the character is regularly compared to Marvel's Namor, and I can't help but feel the character Black Adam has benefitted from, starting really with Geoff Johns and David Goyer's run on JSA, is exactly the kind of thing Marvel hasn't done with their character.

As I mention, the Black Adam reneissance dates back to JSA where he joined the team under the pretenses that he'd changed, but as we saw throughout the issues, he was detaching himself to ultimately form a much more hard-edged team. That progress culminated in the thoroughly awesome Black Reign JSA/Hawkman crossover story, and has really continued ever since.

As we discussed previously [52 #42], I came to the 52 party just as the business was kicking off, so I have a pretty narrow field of reference. Even so, I well and truly jump on the bandwagon toting Black Adam as the best portion of the series.

Perhaps the only concern coming out of this is the future of the character. He's crossed a pretty big line in the issues that follow this one, and that's not generally something you see from DC comics. With promotions for the upcoming World War III featuring the character prominently, you have to wonder...

I'd like to think calmer voices of reason would protect the character from such a fate, and I'd put my money there, but you just never know. It wouldn't be the first time we saw a character built-up, if only to be knocked down.

I am trying to move through here pretty quickly, but I have to draw some attention to one little note. I realise Radiohead is one of those groups depressed teens like to attach to various scenes of pathos or drama, but I have to say, despite the slightly cartoony take on the violence, if I were going to cut this comic into a music video -- Thom Yorke - Analyse.
If you've got the book and the track, I challenge you to have a paced flick through, and fill-in the gaps of motion with your imagination.

Since we're reflecting the times as they are somewhat, you can expect a follow-up to the Black Adam action in the coming months, even though they're not the easiest reviews/summaries to write. I just think the character deserves it.

Actually, also, it's just dawned on me that we've had an awful lot of killing in the last few entries.
To anyone worried we might be turning the competition too far in the direction of a bloodsport, I offer sincere reassurance. Only Wednesday's usual dose of What if? books will be soaked in the blood of your childhood icons. Those, and maybe event books written by Brian Bendis.

All the best, and a belated Happy Easter to all concerned.

The Fight: 5.5 The Issue: 5.5

FREEDOM FIGHTERS versus SUPERMAN & BATMAN
Absolute Power Chapter Two: "What Price Freedom...?" (DC comics)
Where: Superman/Batman #15 When: Early February 2005 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Carlos Pacheco

The story so far...
In a world without freedom, the intervention of Lightning Lord, Saturn Queen and Cosmic King is unchallenged.
The time travellers from the 31st century use their hindsight to capture and raise Kal-El and Bruce Wayne through their formative years, sculpting them into the ultimate dicators.

With their knowledge, they preemptively prevent the birth of the greatest heroes. Extinguishing any flame that may potentially rise against their 'sons' and the utopian they believe they have created.

Some flames cannot be extinguished, and lost in the sea of humanity is one such individual, who, once discovered by the Amazonian Wonder Woman, is reborn once more as Uncle Sam. Once in possession of the lost Green Lantern ring of Abin Sur, Uncle Sam and Wonder Woman go about starting a revolution.

Previous Form:
Wonder Woman (#130): Wonder Woman was defeated by Storm during DC v Marvel.
Superman (#6): Superman has victories over Hulk, Metallo and the Mole Man.
Batman (#1): Batman is the first ranked character to reach ten victories, having defeated the likes of; Superman, Captain Nazi, Captain America, Bullseye, Two-Face, Amazo, Slam Badley and The Joker.
Uncle Sam & The Freedom Fighters: None of the charter members of the Freedom Fighters have been featured on the site.
The Legion of Superheroes: No member of the Legion has yet been featured on the site.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Superman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Superman 6 (Speed of Sound)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy Powers: Superman 5 (Lasers)


You ever get that feeling you've done something before you've done it?
Yes, not only am I running a couple of days behind again, but I'm catching up by doing a post that I wrote a week ago! If you missed out on that, scroll back to see a big giant picture of Galactus...

Anyway, taking a look again at this one I can tell you straight up that it really comes down to the two major players on either side: Wonder Woman & Uncle Sam versus Superman & Batman.

Sam's in possession of what, in the regular universe, would have been Hal Jordan's ring, given to him by Abin Sur. He's a character who's all about chanelling the people's spirit and will, so he's pretty well in the driver's seat with the ring en tow.

That said, if you think Batman is scary in the regular universe, what about a world where he's willing to kill and has access to an entire world's technology and arsenal! Set your phasers to pee yourself, because that's bad news bears.

Some folks are a little uncomfortable with the addition of super strength and flight to Wonder Woman's array of skills and abilities. Personally I'm pretty fond of it, and think it slots her suitably into that top three echelon, so I'm quite willing to entertain the idea that she'll go toe-to-toe with Superman.
That said, I still lean toward Supes when it comes down to a knock down, drag out fight between these particular two super powers. He's got a wider margin for flight, the heat vision, and all those other wacky powers that come and go.

In the mid-card, the Legion of Superheroes will provide strong numbers against the Freedom Fighters. However, the distinct lack of personality and/or fashion sense will leave the future-kids up the creek with the Human Bomb for a paddle.

The Math: Batman, Superman & The Legion
The Pick: Batman, Superman & The Legion

What went down...
The Freedom Fighters launch their attack in the shadow of the looming Superman/Batman New York monument, a symbol of the liberty absent.
There they are confronted by a number of members of the Legion of Superheroes from the 31st century, all brainwashed to do the bidding of their adult counterparts who have orchestrated this entire world.

The Freedom Fighters are swift and uncompromising.
In the interest of the future and liberty they slay all who cannot be subdued without lethality. The distraction does, however, prove sufficient enough, and Superman and Batman soon teleport to the scene.

The Ray is the first to take the bold responsibility of stopping the world's dominators, and he pays for it. Batman fires a clunky gun, blowing a hole through the Ray's head with a spray of blood and brain matter.

While the Human Bomb does his best to blast into the base of the monument, Wonder Woman launches herself at the Batman with a warrior's fury!

While Wonder Woman engages Batman, Uncle Sam uses the Oan energy of the Green Lantern ring to do battle with Superman. He creates a mighty eagle with the energies, channelling the will of the people, despite Superman's objective claims that the people bow before him.

Wonder Woman and Batman wage a war of words while they battle.
The Amazonian deflects an onslaught of razor-edged batarangs, whilst deflecting Batman's notion of a world where humanity desired only war, and needed to be protected from itself.

She takes a chop to the throat, but dishes it back, striking Batman across the face with the edge of her shield. He finds himself on the back foot, phsycially and philosophically as Wonder Woman speaks of a great age of heroes foretold by the Amazonian fates.

With a clear conscience, she strikes the deciding blow. Her sword plunges deep into his chest, and the would-be dictator dies then and there.

The blow is enough to inspire Superman's rage, giving him the maddened strength to shatter Uncle Sam's green projections, and thunder through him at lightning fast speeds to come to the aid of his adopted brother.

At the base of their monument, Superman cradles the frail human body of Bruce Wayne, and cries to the heavens for his mother and fathers. They hear, and teleport their sons to their space station high above the Earth.

Wonder Woman tends to Uncle Sam, but the bone shattering speed at which he was hit has already taken it's course. Like a flickering beacon of justice, Uncle Sam again ceases to be, no matter the strength of the people's resolve.

Cosmic King and Saturn Queen mourn the death of their pawn, and Lightning Lord approaches his emotional son. He directs his pain to vengeance, and with that, the Superman leaps away from the Watchtower, and hurtles back to Earth.

A streak of red and blue trails behind the Superman as he bursts through the atmosphere back to New York, and directly into the Amazonian warrior woman.
She pleads for him to remember a time when he was a great hero, but her words fall on deaf ears as he pounds his mighty fists like piledrivers.

Superman had been taught to be emotionally distanced in his rise above the mere mortals of Earth, but this battle is oh-so different. This battle is personal.
He snatches the broken Wonder Woman's lasso, and coils it viciously around her neck.

This time it's Wonder Woman's turn to die.

Meanwhile, within the depths of the monument below, the Human Bomb has penetrated the hidden fortress below, where the means to travel through time are held under maximum security.

Doll Man goes to work on the controls, with the Phantom Lady en tow, programming them for Smallville, Kansas, in a time before Superman was snatched from the Kent's farm and corrupted.

Shrinking Violet appears on the scene to prevent them, but the arrival of the Superman quickly dwarfs her. He pounds through the ground, furious at the audacity and ungrateful actions of his subjects.

He sprays Phantom Lady with his arctic ice breath, blowing her until her icey visage cracks and shatters. "Obey. Or die."

The Human Bomb warns the angered Kryptonian off attacking him, fearing the potential results of his explosive atomic energies should they interact with the activated time bubble. Superman does not take kindly to the advice.
Heated laser beams penetrate Human Bomb's costume and brain, resulting in an explosion that shatters not only the statue, but the entire world around them.
Superman condemns the world to death.

The hammer...
Well, despite destroying the entire planet, I'm going to give this one to Superman in the end on points. No bonus for killing the planet.

So, here we are, and here I am, at the conclusion of this entry for a second time. I can only imagine how many of you out there have felt the bitter sting of typing away for a lengthy time, only to impatiently go straight for the publish button without paying mind to a cautionary save. You can rest assured that I've reverted to over cautious saving every few paragraphs since then.

As I mentioned, and as you no doubt noticed, I am again running a bit behind.
Apart from being unwell for a little while, there's a slew of convenient excuses. I've got family returning from some time overseas, it's Easter, and I've been hard at work putting the finishing touches on my own comics work, which for all intents and purposes is print-ready. So, hopefully there'll be news on that in the coming months.

In the mean time, what about this comic?
If you can imagine it, the last time I did this entry it was one of my laboured efforts, where maybe I lingered a little long on the one subject, and pushed through various ideas without really articulating them well. Hey, when I'm running behind, sometimes the Legion of Superheroes are enough to sap me of strength.

One of the points I did want to revisit, because I find it fascinating, is the closing stages of the battle between Wonder Woman and Superman.
Apart from being ironically topical off the heels of International Woman's Day last month, it's probably one of those things that has an air of controversy. Although, I don't remember there being any major rumblings about this particular issue, and I didn't use this extra week to polish up my research. [Someone light the Ragnell symbol!]

Superman fairly brutally beats on Wonder Woman, culminating in the full page splash pictured above. The scene where Wonder Woman, already bruised and battered, is choked with her own lasso, whilst exposing just the right amount of alluring waist and thigh. Disturbing, but still a little bit sexy!

Assuming this didn't cause a furor amongst the wacky fan community, I'm going to say I'm pleased. No, I don't indulge in the battery of women (or men), and I certainly couldn't condone any crime of the sort, but this is one of those situations where it's delightful to see reality and fiction suitably separated.

The world in which these heroes live is one of regular violence. Though we may not like to see the subject considered, assault of female heroes would surely be common place, and perhaps to fairly heinous degree.
For whatever reason, innocence has been a theme for comics for a very long time, and stories like Identity Crisis, which dared to breech the subject in a fairly flippant manner have cause phenomenal outcry from fans and commentators alike.

I'm not about to say injecting rape into regular comics is a healthy thing for the industry or reader, but what does please me about this fairly brutal depiction of violence [in Superman/Batman #15] is that it's honest, and it's real.

There seems to be a tendency to want to restrict the fisticuffs to the male characters, particularly if it's going to go beyond cartoony sound effects, but this simply doesn't ring true. Perhaps one of the greatest calls of precedent is the infamous Daredevil #181, where Elektra suffers the perils of being a costumed ninja in a world of criminals and adamantium bones.

From that point, certainly in the Daredevil title, there was a threat of violence to the characters that has rung true even to this day. Few characters have been as realistically battered as Daredevil, and we see that even in the most recent take on the character, with Ed Brubaker taking the stakes to imprisonment.

Superman/Batman seems to have it's share of detractors, as does writer Jeph Loeb. On this particular title much of that seemed to be directed toward the light hearted throwback style of the story telling, and the nature of stories with minimal consequence to the long term canon of the characters within.

Personally, I'm comfortable with that, and I'm going to go the other way.
Even if only in an alternate reality, I'm going to commend Loeb (and Pacheco), for their depiction of realistic violence inflicted upon a character who is a pledged warrior. She just also happens to be a woman.

The Fight: 5.5 The Issue: 5