WRECKER versus DAREDEVIL & ELEKTRA

"Rites of Reconciliation" Part Five (Marvel)
Where: Daredevil #24 When: October 2025
Why: Saladin Ahmed How: Jose Luis Soares

The Story So Far...
When The Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk, disappeared from New York City, he left a power vacuum in Hell's Kitchen soon filled by a mysterious European syndicate known as Nouvelle Direction.

They use their considerable resources to marshal local mercenary forces against Daredevil's opposition, but the Taskmaster soon finds himself unsatisfied with his contract when Elektra arrives to fight at Daredevil's side.

As the heroes put aside their latest tensions to investigate the unfolding drama, they find somebody else is hunting Nouvelle Direction's top players. The mutilated corpse of ND's Regional Vice President is accompanied by an ominous quote from Job 5:17 - "Chastening of The Almighty". With little to go on and Taskmaster's trail cold the pair's search for answers leads them to The Bar With No Name...

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: The Wrecker 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Daredevil 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Daredevil 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: The Wrecker 6 (Generator)
Agility: Daredevil 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: The Wrecker 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Draw 26 (Metahuman)

How many Daredevils does it take to screw over a Wrecker? Technically we've got two of 'em today as our most recent entries bring us to a battle that's been on my mind ever since an innocent tweet came across my feed.

Dirk Garthwaite received enchantment from Karnilla the Norn Queen when she mistook the violent burglar for Loki during a home invasion. He's been a super-powered thorn in Thor's side ever since -- sharing his magic with The Wrecking Crew to create a quartet of heavyweight mercenaries menacing Marvel's heroes.

The Wrecker is typically at the peak of his powers when he's running solo - as we saw when he brutally roughed up The Thing -- but even when his magical might is divided, The Wrecking Crew are formidable enough to very nearly beat the gamma-irradiated Sasquatch to death!

This spells trouble for our street-level heroes, but they aren't without their hopes!

"Citizen V" proved agility & skill were enough to stand toe-to-toe with The Wrecker when The Thunderbolts clashed with The Wrecking Crew in their first public fight. Atlas was able to match their muscle, but Mach-1 secured victory when Songbird helped contain concentrated knockout gas deployed from his armor.

The gas gambit came into play again when The Punisher helped Deadpool & Spider-Man turn the tables against The Wrecking Crew with heavy artillery from the Unicorn's Power Horn and Klaw's Sonic Disruptor. Hobgoblin's gas took out most of them, while Deadpool proved Wrecker's enchanted crowbar doesn't share the protections of Thor's hammer, finishing the ringleader with his own weapon.

Finding ways to turn strengths into weaknesses is a great way to equalize a situation against a super heavyweight opponent! We saw Daredevil do just that against another enchanted Thor villain when he wore down the Absorbing Man!

The Man Without Fear is no stranger to defying the odds, fighting above his weight class against the likes of Klaw, Wolverine, and Tombstone. He's even stood his ground against the Hulk -- albeit in a losing effort. Fortunately, Matt Murdock isn't the only Daredevil competing in today's featured fight!

Elektra has been going by the moniker at this time, sharpening her skills as the guardian devil of Hell's Kitchen during & after Murdock's latest stint in prison.

Our Elektra file is as neglected as Wrecker's, but we've seen how DD & Elektra worked well together while defeating Bullseye, in addition to her highly skilled martial battles with DC's Catwoman, and Wolverine. She and Selina Kyle also matched the overwhelming strength of Abomination during the chaos of the crossover -- an inconclusive result that might otherwise bode well.

Elektra's training with Stick and assassination techniques makes her a threat to any opponent. Whether or not they surpass Daredevil is a debate for another day. Today we merely seek to see what happens when these two martial masters pit their skills against the supernatural might of The Wrecker!

The Tape: Daredevil & Elektra Ranking: Daredevil (#8)

What Went Down...

The Bar With No Name: a travelling hive of scum & villainy. Sometimes necessity requires it change its location, but it's always a font of information connecting directly to the criminal underworld. When answers run dry, or certain ne'er-do-wells need to be located -- this is the place to come.

Daredevil and Elektra stride directly into the establishment as they have done many times before. They state their intention: information about Taskmaster and his client Nouvelle Direction. This time they are over-confident.

From the shadowy periphery steps one of the many questionable patrons, but The Wrecker does not plan to provide information. A side door offers cover until he was ready to emerge to catch Daredevil by surprise with his enchanted crowbar!

DD lets out a pained yell as his back and shoulders take the brunt of an overhead clubbing strike. The kind of direct blow that's given gods pause for thought!

The Man Without Fear hits the ground face down, flat & hard. Elektra is there to come to his aid -- Hell's Kitchen's newest "Daredevil".

She leaps at The Wrecker with a sai in each hand, slashing one of the tempered blades downward against the deadly enchanted weapon.

The Wrecker swats her weapon away like a grand slam slugger, but slides one hand towards the hooked end to hold it steady against a direct strike!

The direct approach would probably skewer any normal man, but the enchanted crowbar effortlessly directs Elektra's lunging stab away from its target.

This isn't any random attack. The Wrecker reveals his status as muscle for hire. An old fashioned super-villain henchman for the gig economy. No danger of the entire Wrecking Crew attending this one. Nouvelle Direction just needed one good man. A two on one barroom brawl, but Elektra plans to settle it herself.

The former mercenary thrusts her tool of trade once again -- but this time it tags the exposed belly of The Wrecker. The price for pulling his crowbar back with both hands behind his head.

The pain sends The Wrecker into a rage!

He wraps both hands around the hilt of his magical bar and once again swings for the fences. A careless technique that's easily avoided by an elite level gymnast.

Elektra drops evasively to the floor, with her left arm bracing herself.

The lean allows her to avoid a wild follow-up, cartwheeling clear with speed and agility. The Wrecker shatters the ground beside her with a winding overhead that actually hits something this time. The floor can take it.

Wrecker, on the other hand, is driven to a mad rage!

Like a bull in a china shop -- he charges forward with another overhead clubbing strike that cuts straight through the serving counter! Elektra has no trouble vaulting gracefully straight over him.

It's another pointless attack, but it isn't without its consequences. Daredevil watches keenly with his radar-like senses tracking every detail.

His muscles tighten as his body intuitively assumes a crouching ready position. He heard a click. A faint one. Coming from The Wrecker's right wrist. An old injury? Wear and tear from years of smashing his weapon against unbreakable foes?

The Guardian Devil sees his opportunity to strike and goes for the weak spot!

This time The Wrecker lets out a throaty yell of agony!

Daredevil swings both his billy clubs upward against the motion of The Wrecker's strikes. The reinforced batons aim to break the bone, but at the very least cause significant pain.

With the ruthlessness of an assassin Elektra sees her opportunity to continue with a team assault. She throws her weight into a side thrust kick to Wrecker' gut!

The super-villain is knocked backwards, but is immediately struck with a billy club thrown straight at his spine!

Elektra keeps the punishment coming -- delivering a roundhouse kick that busts The Wrecker's lips and knocks him flat on his back!

It might not be a kayo, but it's enough to end the fight. The Wrecker stays down.

The Hammer...

At last we're here! It's probably no surprise that a match-up like this would pique my interest and find its way to The Comic Book Fight Club, but Daredevil (Vol. 8) #24 has taken on special significance since a harmless passing remark came across my X (aka; Twitter) feed -- and inspired an exploration into one of my favourite villains!

As we've just seen: Elektra and Daredevil teamed-up to take down The Wrecker, which THOR CORP community poster, Jered McCorkle, felt was a "career low" for "[a] once powerful and threatening Thor foe". I include this person's name for credit, not to harass them. It genuinely intrigued me.

Our Wrecker file had been sadly neglected, so in preparation for taking a look at the offending battle, we broadened the record and cracked into the backlog.

First we took a sample of street-level heroes against The Wrecking Crew with an issue that narrowly missed providing direct precedent. Then we explored how Daredevil fared against another enchanted weapon-wielder who regularly fights Thor. It probably would've made sense to finish with the thunderer himself, but instead, we deviated to look at The Thing versus The Wrecker to get a taste for the kind of heavyweights he frequently faces, and destruction he can wreak.

All in all it's been a very fun journey. A wonderful excuse to dig in to some old favourites -- and even make the leap to purchasing a new issue!

I don't encourage readers to behave like "goblinized" sports-freaks who regard comics with stats and fight cards -- but I do think this little exercise has been a nice example of what reading comics can be all about.

Sometimes new readers still aren't sure where to start, or how to proceed. From that uncertainty grew a mythic impression that comics can be impenetrable, or that the focus should be on an agreed upon, isolated canon of stagnant collected stories or "graphic novels". Of course, that's not really how most fans got into the medium until relatively recently, and I think it's ultimately very limiting. I've been a lifelong back issue reader and it's brought me a lot of joy.

Back in the day you just started with an issue that caught your eye, or landed in your hands, and then began tugging at threads & leads to explore in all directions and develop a sense of your own tastes. You actually just wanted to read and organically learn more -- if you can imagine such a thing!

New issues are typically a good place to start, but I admit, these days it isn't always a sure thing, with some series doing a poor job at delivering more than an incomplete chapter. While this was clearly Part Five of an on-going story arc, I'm at least pleased to have found some of that old satisfaction in today's featured issue.

At $4.99US, I wouldn't call it an impulse buy at the counter, but the contents kind of remind me of the good old days of dropping in on an adventure with a favourite character, and worrying about the rest later. Yes, there is a larger plot at play, and I could seek it out, but I still got a reasonable taste of Matt Murdock's current predicaments, and a good slice of action. A complete piece.

About the only thing missing here is a bombastic cover hyping the showdown between The Wrecker and the two Daredevils. I got the regular John Romita Jr cover [pictured top of article], which has an almost mid-2000s style of generic pin-up. It's important to acknowledge that this is actually a return to the "real" DD costume after a recent relapse into 90s armor, and all those other needlessly busy (or blackened) designs you may have seen. It might've been nice to have some copy text about that on the cover, but it's not really necessary.

Obviously Elektra is in the midst of a phase of running around in her version of a Daredevil costume. While the design isn't terrible, I personally see it as a bit of a downgrade. Taking on Matt's identity might've worked in a slightly tired redux of filling the void he leaves while in prison (again), but continuing to wear his clothes & moniker is unbecoming of an established icon. It does nothing for Elektra to disappear into somebody else's shadow. It's a weak place to find the character and we all know it won't last. Probably time to get over it and stop doing these prolonged character assassinations?

As for whether or not this was a new low for The Wrecker -- I come away from the issue kind of seeing it both ways...

There's nothing here to describe The Wrecker's powers being diminished. I'm not aware of anything like that being established in recent years. So I'm a little uneasy about Elektra drawing blood so easily, and bones being the weak spot to be exploited by DD. We know Wrecker throws down with the likes of Thor and The Thing! He's double tough - with durability that should match! Not so easily beaten!

I also wonder if Daredevil took that crowbar shot a little too easy, but we should allow some license for a seasoned fighter rolling with the punches, just like we did during his fight with Absorbing Man. Even if those "punches" are actually a sneak attack from a magical crowbar dangerously close to his head & neck.

Of course, this criticism assumes a lot about how thoroughly the good guys win.

The Wrecker clearly took a kicking and went down. That's not in dispute. He is still talking, however...

He might be lying flat on his back, but he doesn't seem too bothered about it. In fact, there's a bit of a demented smile there! He's just a hired hand, after all. In his own words: a 'contractor' not 'an employee'. He doesn't know anything. Can't tell the heroes anything. May not even be all that invested in the fight!

Maybe it borders on "quiet-quitting", but The Wrecker's job is essentially done. So perhaps he could keep fighting but is content to leave it at that. Maybe this isn't the humiliation it might otherwise appear to be.

Zooming in on the details: I find it interesting that, although the conceit of a bum wrist might seem like a bit of an easy out for the obvious mismatch -- it does kind of call back to our featured fight against The Thing.

Ben Grimm can obviously apply significantly more pressure to a wrist lock, but perhaps that prior episode is exactly why there really is a nagging injury.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about those kinds of injuries creeping in to super-hero stories, but it would at least be an attentive solution, rather than a cheap out. A more functional sense of consequence and verisimilitude than the more severe crippling of Doctor Octopus some years back. An interesting concept that really demanded more commitment than was perhaps every realistic.

All in all, I don't think this loss is irreparable damage to The Wrecker's reputation, but it's a very casual defeat in execution. A far cry from a dramatic overcoming of the odds like Spider-Man besting Juggernaut, or even DD beating Absorbing Man. Which may speak to the fact that these kinds of upsets have happened a lot and might not be as logical any more.

To really gauge where it sits in the pantheon of The Wrecker's defeats we'd have to explore more -- something I honestly wouldn't mind doing. We will probably switch gears for our next updates, but if you'd like to see more from The Wrecker and his Crew be sure to drop a comment, or get involved on Patreon.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has been serving superhero smackdown for well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1000 of your favourite characters! If that sounds like a good thing to you -- I'd really appreciate it if you considered supporting the project on Patreon. It's free to follow, and a Tier 1 sub is a great, cheap way to support 100% man-made, farm fresh niche content.

You can find deep dives into all these characters and their exploits in the Secret Archive. That's where we file every featured fight in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Alternatively you can explore your favourite characters and topics by following links throughout every post. Flex that mind muscle and go on a journey! That exploration is the joy of comics!

Get daily recommendations inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share to help boost the signal -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber. A sixth sense even more penetrating that DD's radar!

Winner: Elektra & Daredevil
#8 (--) Daredevil
#61 (+34) Elektra
#457 (-4) The Wrecker

THING versus WRECKER

RAGE (Marvel)
Where: Fantastic Four #355 When: August 1991
Why: Danny Fingeroth How: Al Milgrom

The Story So Far...
The Thing's feeling down and his funk has brought him to the Lower East Side slums of his old stomping grounds. He's so bleak he doesn't even care about the kids whipping bricks at him as he skulks toward the stairs of 7135 Yancy Street -- the apartment block he grew up in!

A new family lives there now, but after accidentally scaring the tenant, and a run-in with her feisty son Raul, it's a trip down memory lane as Ben Grimm finds himself a house guest for home cooked meal, and the adoration of little Javier Garcia.

Unfortunately for all, The Wrecker's mood hasn't been good since the passing of his mother, and after shaking down "Weasel" for information about his recently incarcerated turncoat teammate -- The Wrecker is coming to Yancy Street to bust his old buddy out of a secret secure prison cell -- and nothing's going to stop him!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Thing 3 (Straight A)
Speed: The Wrecker 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: The Wrecker 6 (Generator)
Agility: The Wrecker 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: The Wrecker 4 (Arsenal)
Total: The Wrecker 26 (Metahuman)

In our previous update we explored the role of powerhouses as mountains for an underdog to scale -- but what happens when the challenger is an equal threat?

The Thing is one of Marvel Comics' premiere bruisers! Bombarded with cosmic rays - space pilot Benjamin Grimm was transformed into a rocky monster with super-human strength, durability, endurance, and a heart of gold.

Thing defends the world from earthborn dangers and extra-terrestrial terrors as a founding member of the Fantastic Four! His adversaries typically originate from, and wield powers of, the realm of science -- so the magical enchantment that fuels The Wrecker and his crowbar will be a bit of a change of pace.

The only time we've observed Thing against a magical opponent was when Luke Cage was turned against his old friend, and Avengers teammates, by the mystic Agamotto. Thing helped subdue the possessed hero by matching his mystically enhanced strength with brute force -- something he's done countless times against some of the grandest opponents in the Marvel Universe!

The Wrecker is famously an arch-nemesis for Thor -- but don't think that puts him in a weight class significantly higher than The Thing!

With his famous indomitable will to call upon, and the keen strategy of Mister Fantastic; Thing was able to endure the crushing pressure of journeying to the center of Thor's old adversary, for a memorable defeat of Ego The Living Planet!

Thing has also matched muscle with everyone from Hulk, Rhino, Doctor Doom, Paibok the Power Skrull, his own Infinity Doppelganger, Super-Skrull, The Adaptoid, and a sixty-foot tall mummy called Gomdulla! He can fight above his weight class, and win, lose, or draw -- he always leaves a lasting impression!

We've seen The Wrecker and his Crew make mincemeat out of Sasquatch, and their battle with The Thunderbolts showed that it takes more than brute strength to bring them to a stop. A straight fist fight doesn't necessarily favour The Thing, but as we saw in another recent entry -- The Wrecker's enchanted crowbar can be wielded by another. That's one tactic Thing might be able to use to turn the tables.

We've looked at the record and done some theorizing. Now it's time to find out what actually happened when The Wrecker came to Yancy Street!

The Tape: The Wrecker Ranking: The Thing (#11)

What Went Down...

In a hidden, high-security basement prison bunker -- The Wrecker closes in on his former teammate Thunderball! The erstwhile Crewman is without his famous ball & chain, or the enchantments that grants him his super-human powers. Just Dr. Eliot Franklin, alone with the lights out, and a failed electrified bed frame.

All hope seems lost for the powerless turncoat as The Wrecker approaches striking distance when suddenly -- it's The Wrecker sent hurtling by a powerful blow!

To The Wrecker's surprise -- The Thing stalks through the darkness, but his fists aren't raised for the simple sake of saving Thunderball. It's righteous anger that fuels his fury! For the innocent people who lost their homes and lives to the wanton destruction of The Wrecker's warpath through Yancy Street!

Thing hammers his fist toward the floored Wrecker -- but the villain's enchanted wrecking bar blocks the heavy blow!

Wrecker fires back -- rising to his feet to strike Thing across the chest with the mighty crowbar! The pain inflicted stuns Thing, allowing Wrecker to collect Franklin in his left hand, and escape through the hole in the ceiling!

On the street, Wrecker raises his bar in preparation to beat Franklin to a pulp -- but a huge chunk of concrete knocks the weapon out of his hand!

Thunderball takes the opportunity to make a run for it as The Thing marches across the street with fists raised. He wants to test the villain without his magical crowbar. The Wrecker gladly runs into the fray!

Clutching both hands together -- The Wrecker strikes with a polish hammer that topples the Fantastic Four's powerhouse!

He had no real issue with Thing before, but now that Thunderball has escaped his clutches once more -- the leader of the former Wrecking Crew is developing a real dislike for his rocky adversary.

He reaches for his nearby wrecking bar -- just in time to swing it directly into the mid-section of an oncoming Thing!

Thing lets out an agonized yell as the impact of the bar echos boomingly between the remaining buildings.

Wrecker wraps both hands around the hilt of his crowbar and raises it overhead to bring the curved end smashing down into the Thing! The devastating blow elicits another pained grunt!

Wrecker gloats over his opponent as Thing lies on his side on the street like a prize fighter struggling to get back up.

"Hah! I'm beatin' ya, Thing! And ya know why? 'Cause I'm not lookin' to anyone for help! I'm doin' it alone -- just me and my wrecking bar!"

The villain wallows in epic self-pity and self-aggrandizing as he dwells on the recent passing of his mother and Thunderball's failed attempt to turn against him with the rest of The Wrecking Crew.

"So, a bunch'a pathetic nobodies died here today? So what?! The world's done me enough wrongs -- I got lots to pay it back for!"

Thing is disgusted by Wrecker's callous, self-important disregard for life. He may be hurting from the enchanted crowbar, but he's heard enough!

Safe in the knowledge that the inhabitants had just been evacuated -- Thing grabs Wrecker by the ankle and throws him at the wall of a nearby tenement!

Wrecker crashes into the structure, but with a simple flex of his shoulders -- he shrugs the rubble and crumbling building off like it was nothing!

They tie up again, and for all his might, The Thing finds himself teetering on the edge of being overwhelmed by the mystical strength of his opponent. He cannot maintain his wrist lock any longer -- The Wrecker breaks free and violently peppers him with punches and jabs from his crowbar!

The frenzied assault is merciless and unrelenting! A swiping strike to the face, an overhand clubbing blow to the right shoulder, a grand slam swing to the left side, a devastating two-handed overhead to the shoulders and back of the head!

Thing does his best to cover up, but the god-like hits take their toll!

The Thing begins to shrink under the impact of yet another clubbing strike from the wrecking bar. Police holding back a crowd of onlookers share in the horror of witnessing their beloved hero succumb to approaching defeat.

Wrecker gleefully swings his bar with one hand into The Thing's exposed side, delighted as the prospect of killing the hero and perhaps even showing mercy to what remains of besieged Yancy Street.

He raises the enchanted crowbar high overhead and once again brings it crashing down upon The Thing -- a direct strike right to the head! Thing winces but at last sees his carefully cultivated opportunity to pounce!

Thing throws his right hand out with lightning speed and precision!

He grabs a good hold of Wrecker's wrist and squeezes it tight.

It was a dangerous game, and with a couple more good shots they really might've been writing Ben Grimm's obituary -- but the high stakes have paid off. Thing covered up and took as much as he could, baiting Wrecker to get overconfident and careless.

Wrecker desperately pounds his free hand against Thing's shoulder, but the rapid punches do nothing. The dope has been successfully roped! Thing grabs hold of the other wrist and keeps squeezing!

Wrecker drops to one knee as Thing lords over him and keeps squeezing.

The pressure grows so great The Wrecker drops his crowbar!

For a moment the villain snaps and starts snarling: "So what?! I told ya before. I don't need the bar to beat ya! I'm still gonna kill ya! Just let go 'a me!"

It seems like the last ditch threats of a man pleading on his knees, but remarkably -- The Thing obliges. He releases his grip, but it's no act of mercy. He's just freeing his hands up...

Thing winds back with his right hand and delivers an all mighty knockout blow!

Wrecker is launched across the street and lands unconscious, where SHIELD agents are ready to lock his enchanted crowbar in adamantium containment, and collect him with "energy-sappers" for transport.

The Hammer...

It wasn't quite a textbook execution of the Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope technique, but The Thing successfully endures a pummeling -- only to turn the tables in similar fashion, by lulling The Wrecker into a false sense of security. Then it's full-scale clobberin' time!

The tactical win spares both Dr. Eliot Franklin, and most of Thing's old stomping grounds, but not without some shocking casualties!

Wrecker's violent incursion may've targeted an ostensibly abandoned Yancy Street building, but the attack also inadvertently shook the neighbouring apartments to their foundations -- instantly killing some occupants in the resulting collapse, while injuring many others as well.

It's an unusually brutal illustration of the potential for collateral damage when gods & monsters wage their private wars on the streets of the Marvel Universe. A realm The Thing remains earnestly tethered to, despite his cosmic adventuring.

He's able to help some in the building, as you would expect any good hero to, but the Garcia family -- who now lives in his childhood apartment and kindly offered to share a meal -- suffer the greatest of tragedies when their youngest, little Javier, can't be saved by medics, and succumbs to his injuries in the aftermath.

It's a surprisingly grim episode for an otherwise fun & dandy superhero slugfest, but we observe a simple morality tale of personal choice & accountability through the innocent eyes of the child, and the callous self-centeredness of The Wrecker.

The Thing's commitment to doing good against overwhelming odds elevates him from his monstrous appearance and humble beginnings, while The Wrecker can only expect to be regarded with disdain and incarceration for his pathetic disregard. Wrecker is the simple-minded malcontent who cannot see beyond himself and his own shallow self-pity. A tale as old as time we can all still learn from in our age of algorithmically curated echo chambers, and social unrest.

Indeed, it's sometimes disheartening to see even the superhero concept twisted and subjected to the demands of a loss of moral integrity and aspirational fantasy. Here, in a single-issue story from thirty-four years ago, we see The Thing choose the greater good of helping save lives before indulging the base entertainment of the superhero slugfest. A serve of responsibility with great power.

Here on The Comic Book Fight Club we're also seeking to learn more about The Wrecker's status and capabilities. It's an initiative that all started because of a harmless social media post -- arousing my curiosity, and long-held desire to look more at some of these now-classic battles against a favourite badguy!

Essentially it boils down to an assertion that The Wrecker losing a fight to Daredevil and Elektra was a career low. We've come at it from the perspective of whether or not street-level heroes can challenge The Wrecker, and whether or not Daredevil can rise to an enchanted powerhouse. This time around I thought we should take a look at how Wrecker handles a high-level opponent. A chance to see the peaks he regularly operates in, before we come back down to Earth again for the recent, offending battle.

I could've gone with any number of classic matches against Thor, and one day I'm sure I will, but Fantastic Four #355 has been burning up my desk, and the To Do List, for far too long. It's also a topical choice in a year that saw the Fantastic Four enjoy a revival kicked off by the release of Fantastic Four: First Steps. Let's face it -- I also really like the issue and just wanted to finally dive into it.

I've been enjoying the heck out of the late eighties and early nineties lately, particularly from Marvel. The characters, the melodrama, the action. The bombastic art style and vivid colours. A foot in the classics, but inching ever closer to what we come to regard as the modern comic book.

Al Milgrom does some great work here on pencils. I don't know that the isolated panels I've scanned can really do it justice, but I invite you to luxuriate in that last kayo panel. If The Wrecker were just breaking the border -- and maybe a couple of teeth -- it'd be a face-belter right out of the Sal Buscema playbook. Hey. Don't tempt me, fanboy! You know I'm always on a razor's edge for our pal Sal!

Under the intense scrutiny of our premise, I actually might cast some aspersions about Thing so brazenly absorbing as much punishment from the enchanted crowbar as he does. I've also got questions about the genius who thought to hide a former super-felon in the basement next door, but one problem at a time...

The Wrecker is at the peak of his strength at this time, having re-absorbed the totality of his enchanted strength from the rest of The Wrecking Crew, who are kinda on the outs with ol' Dirk Garthwaite, since trying to steal the rest of his power from themselves. That means those are some pretty heavy duty shots Thing's absorbing - and it may stretch the credibility of the battle ever so slightly.

Danny Fingeroth's script does offer lip service to the potentially fatal consequence of the strategy, but I think there are roughly three takeaways here:

As we build our record of The Wrecker's combat history, the reality may not be quite as impressive as we like to think. Conversely, this could also serve as a nice reminder of just how powerful and durable The Thing is! A fact that's been diminished over a couple of decades of bad movies, and even worse deliberate corporate mismanagement. Let it be known: Juggernaut may be unstoppable -- but a foundational principle of Marvel Comics is that The Thing doesn't quit!

The third option is that the practical necessities of a functional shared universe of super-heroes and super-villains means the bad guys lose. They lose a lot. Even when they seem impossible for a hero to defeat -- their apparent superiority only functions to make a greater mountain to scale, a more impressive dragon to slay.

For a guy like Ben Grimm usually you need somebody on the scale of Champion of the Universe, or Ego The Living Planet, to make that kind of grandiose stand, but perhaps a full-powered assault from The Wrecker is just as impressive a feat.

Your mileage for Thing's periodic moping sessions may vary, but I enjoy the human tale here of Ben Grimm revisiting his old stomping grounds. It's fun to see peeling back the shocking secret that he was once a member of the Yancy Street Gang and even tagged the apartment hallway -- at least until his father smacked him straight. We don't condone violence against children or anything like that, but it's nice that Benjy got his head on straight, and grew up right, despite the abuse.

These are some pretty heavy themes, dealing with class structures, child abuse, gang violence, tragedy, and even the death of a minor, but it's handled with a certain light touch. Again, I think of the fetishization of the "Evil Superman" in series like The Boys, where so many have managed to completely overlook the utter contemptibility and pathetic core behind those fragile, juvenile figures.

I find myself nostalgic for a simple thrill. The kind of comics they just don't seem to make any more. A single issue tale with a favourite character. A cheap impulse purchase, with a heroic lead, and a general sense of good. Not a multi-year commitment to the temporary decimation of an icon, or the "realistic" loathing of one character for another. Not even a well-meaning but hyper-fixateded, clumsy social message of the day. Just mature storytelling. Fiction for what it is. Completely bear and unashamed. Unique, wholly realised, and a quick bit of fun.

Back issues are where I'm finding my thrills, but in the interest of getting this thing moving, I think our next stop will be the offending issue of Daredevil from the year 2025. We'll go straight to the source to see just how bad it is, and maybe then we'll reconvene, because you know I want more Wrecker on the record, but there are also other subjects I'm interested in, in addition to random odds & ends.

There are plenty of good stories & battles from all years and you can find them in the Secret Archive! That's where we keep a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number. If you'd rather find more from your favourite characters & topics you should hit up links throughout posts to discover more. Just don't forget to flex your mind muscle and see what else is there!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has been serving superhero smackdown for well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1000 of your favourite characters! If that sounds like a good thing to you -- I'd really appreciate it if you considered getting involved on Patreon. It's free to follow, and a Tier 1 sub is a great, cheap way to support 100% man-made, farm fresh niche content.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber. Yancy Street Gang members welcome!

Winner: The Thing
#9 (+2) The Thing
#453 (-14) The Wrecker
#441 (+2) Thunderball [+1 assist]

DAREDEVIL versus ABSORBING MAN

Alone Against The Absorbing Man! (Marvel)
Where: Daredevil #360 When: January 1997
Why: Karl Kesel How: Cary Nord

The Story So Far...
To the world at large -- the Avengers and Fantastic Four are dead. Seemingly killed in their battle to end Onslaught's conquest of New York City. In truth, they are merely lost in a pocket dimension of a child's creation -- but that hasn't stopped sinister forces seizing upon their absence!

Believing he is unopposed in a world without its mightiest heroes -- The Absorbing Man has come to the Manhattan Diamond Exchange to help himself to a small fortune. The only one standing in his way is a man without fear or a hope in hell of matching him: Daredevil!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Absorbing Man 5 (Super-Human)
Intelligence: Daredevil 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Daredevil 4 (Olympian)
Stamina: Absorbing Man 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Daredevil 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Daredevil 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Absorbing Man 2 (Projectile)
Total: Daredevil 26 (Metahuman)

It started with a random social media post -- and in our last entry we explored the potential for street-level heroes to overcome the likes of The Wrecker!

Daredevil is no stranger to a mismatch -- and today we're looking at a big one -- which will perfectly help us determine whether or not the Man Without Fear should be able to take down opponents who've gone toe-to-toe with Thor!

Absorbing Man has come to regard the Hulk as an arch-nemesis, while also applying his super-human strength against The Avengers and Spider-Man, but his career in super-villainy started as a foe for Thor.

Just like The Wrecking Crew; Carl "Crusher" Creel owes his strange powers to enchantment from the Norse Gods. In his case, it was Loki, god of mischief, who chose him to receive a formula that enhanced his durability, and allowed him to take on the properties of anything he comes in contact with.

Much like Thunderball; Absorbing Man favours an enchanted wrecking ball & chain as his primary weapon, which gives him a steady supply of steel to absorb for added strength and durability -- but can also take on the same properties as whatever Creel absorbed. He also gains added reach and bludgeoning power.

Our statistical analysis [above] deems Daredevil's diverse skills generally more advantageous -- but it's safe to say Absorbing Man is in a completely different weight class when it comes to pure strength. Not that that'll stop DD trying! The Man Without Fear has made a career of standing up against overwhelming adversaries -- with mixed results.

Look no further than his fight against the Hulk, which inevitably ended with defeat. He was also bested by the stone-skinned Tombstone when they fought a mismatch of strength in Portugal. Evidence that DD has no business tangling with the likes of Wrecker or Absorbing Man. Yet! Sometimes Daredevil defies the odds!

He was able to withstand the supernatural horror of Blackheart with a little help from a similarly mismatched Spider-Man. He showed speed & agility are key to survival, while defending his friends from an escaped Carnage. He even turned the tables in a two-on-one rematch with Tombstone and Matador -- relying on physical and tactical prowess to turn his opponent's advantage into weakness!

In addition to evasion, Daredevil has also showed great potential to use the urban environment against a superior adversary, such as when he improvised weapons against Klaw in their first encounter.

Our limited record shows Absorbing Man is susceptible to creatures great and small. He paled into insignificance in the crossfire between Ultron and Galactus, while showing vulnerability in his mortal form during a losing tag team contest against Wasp and Ant-Man -- arguably an even greater mismatch!

The Tape: Daredevil Ranking: Daredevil (#8)

What Went Down...

Absorbing Man is utterly unafraid as he bats Daredevil aside with a fist made of red brick.

Before the hero even has a moment to recover -- Absorbing Man's brick & mortar wrecking ball comes crashing down dangerously close to Daredevil's legs!

The Man Without Fear keeps clear of the crushing impact and takes none too kindly to Creel's name-calling.

While the patter of banter keeps Absorbing Man on his toes - a fistful of pearls takes him off his feet! An improvised projectile sourced from the wreckage of the Diamond Exchange.

Absorbing Man may have slipped on the tiny spheres, but he's fallen within reach of the Diamond Exchange guardsman's loose sidearm.

He clutches the pistol with trigger in finger -- but gunning a man down isn't Crusher Creel's style. Daredevil detects the shift in temperature as Absorbing Man transforms from a man made of warm, earthy brick clay -- to cold, hard gunmetal.

Absorbing Man hurls his hardened ball & chain, but the nimble Daredevil leaps clear and lands on top of a Coca Cola vending machine. It's a temporary respite as the wall behind him gives way and he tumbles off the falling machine.

While Daredevil crawls through busted chunks of wall and ceiling from a nearby bar -- an off-duty cop enters the fray intent on serving & protecting.

With Absorbing Man shedding his metallic skin, he appears vulnerable to Detective Danny Levin's police issue firearm -- but quickly spinning to a nearby newsstand on the street, Absorbing Man solves the problem with a stack of today's headlines.

Three bullets pierce through Absorbing Man's body -- but the paper-thin form is utterly unaffected by their flesh-rending trajectory! They pass harmlessly through his left hand and chest, like something out of a cartoon.

He stretches his arms above his head and prepares to launch his paper body at the bewildered police detective -- but like yesterday's news, his solution to bullets fails to stand up to the latest breaking development in the form of Daredevil

The black & white villain gets red all-over as Daredevil takes full advantage of his flimsy frame -- folding him up by dropping, both feet first, from overhead!

DD stands triumphantly over the flattened felon, but the upper-hand is short-lived as Absorbing Man takes on the properties of the concrete street his flat-body is pinned to!

The return to a more substantial three-dimensional figure pops Daredevil off Absorbing Man's back, toppling him away from the looming villain.

The hero advises his law enforcement ally to fallback to safety, while the grinding of the Absorbing Man's concrete skin and heavy steps betrays his fast movement toward Daredevil's back. The hero senses him and takes evasive action!

A simple shift in weight allows Daredevil to turn Absorbing Man's momentum against him -- flipping him overhead and onto his back.

The Absorbing Man is barely slowed by the maneuver, but Daredevil finds a surprisingly effective alternate method for bruising him -- attacking his ego: "Don't worry, Detective -- Creel isn't much more than a super-powered paper towel! Now if his girlfriend Titania was here --"

The barb riles Absorbing Man up to prove something, but he still falls for the oldest trick in the book when Daredevil makes like Titania has just arrived behind him. A momentary lapse in concentration that leaves the human Creel wide open!

A right cross catches the distracted Crusher by surprise, and Daredevil keeps him from thinking about absorbing anything with a fast follow-up -- a straight shot!

Crusher cuts off the comeback. He grabs a tight grip on Daredevil's left wrist, while an unfortunately placed food cart provides a deadly new source of power from the street -- hot barbecue coals, still burning!

The searing agony of the smoldering hold rips pain through DD's arm!

A stray brick from the rubble of the battlefield gives Daredevil the means to rapidly free his hand. He smashes it over Absorbing Man's wrist -- snapping the hot coal hand from its glowing appendage!

Absorbing Man's none too pleased to lose his hand, but years of fighting the most powerful heroes in the world have taught him how to reassemble himself when a substance causes him to break apart.

Unsatisfied with the vulnerability of burning coal -- Absorbing Man grabs hold of a diamond bag and burns through to the loot. The contact with his skin is all he needs to transform his entire being into nigh unbreakable, living diamond!

It's Daredevil's turn to do the absorbing -- taking the impact of a vicious double-fisted diamond punch!

DD does his best to roll with the punch, but is left vulnerable to a vicious double-slap as the Absorbing Man snaps his hands backwards on arms outstretched!

The man of diamond swings his mighty wrecking ball, but his hulking figure towers over an evasive Daredevil.

DD survives his near-miss and decides to call it quits: "Sorry, Creel -- that doesn't sound like my kind of fun! I'm out of here!"

Scoffing at the hero's cowardice, Absorbing Man reels back with his ball & chain and hurls it like a deadly missile at the fleeing figure!

Demonstrating a change of heart that betrays his true intentions; Daredevil somersaults backwards with the straight-bodied grace of a gymnast -- and perfectly times his landing to catch the chain in mid-air!

With the Absorbing Man rapidly charging towards him, Daredevil doesn't have the time to reach out with his radar senses to find the exact flaws in Creel's diamond body -- but he knows they're there, so he swings blind and hopes for the best!

The reverberating collision rings DD's hyper-sensitive ears as he swings the ball & chain into Absorbing Man's body - a wide open target as Creel brings his diamond fists down over Daredevil like two hammers! The ball shatters!

Daredevil's legs go numb, but at least he's in one piece. Absorbing Man finds his diamond arm has been cracked clean off by the impact!

A diamond hand begins dragging its dismembered arm around the battlefield -- and Daredevil is to warn out to contend with twice the threat.

He desperately asks Detective Levin for his gun and finally starts applying his radar sense. With no other hope, DD begins slamming the butt of the gun handle into Absorbing Man's furious diamond body. Again and again, darting in and out to avoid a knock out, and chip away in search of the fatal flaw in the diamond!

The gun chips away pieces from Absorbing Man's remaining bicep, his hand, his jaw, his cheek, his back, his chin. All as DD struggles to remain conscious through a haze of exhaustion and tasting blood & sweat. It's exhausting - but worth it!

Daredevil can barely stand, but it's the Absorbing Man who won't survive another step. He looks down to discover his left hand has joined his right arm somewhere on the ground, with a massive cavity leaving his severely damaged diamond mid-section on the brink of cracking his body in half!

The Hammer...

He may have "taken out Earth's Mightiest Heroes" in the past, and be able to reassemble his broken body from fractured pieces, but on this day Absorbing Man was worn down and defeated by the Man Without Fear - Daredevil!

Creel is carted away in power-dampening restraints thanks to an emergency call by Detective Danny Levin, who lent the assist, and called in back-up while the fight was still raging. He's not as bad as he dresses, folks.

To the best of my knowledge; Daredevil #360 has never been held in special regard, but when you get right down to it, the disparity in weight class, and underdog success story, is comparable to a legendary example like Spider-Man versus the Unstoppable Juggernaut. A major upset victory for a street-level hero.

I suppose the novelty of that sort of thing had worn off around a decade and a half after Spidey's memorable win, but I think there are probably some other factors too, such as this brief era of Daredevil being lost between the quickly-regretted early nineties armor period, and the reboot with Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada. There were only twenty more issues of the original run after this one.

There's also the shadow of Frank Miller to consider. Daredevil #360 itself includes internal monologue references to two better remembered mismatches: the Miller-drawn fight against the Hulk, and his much earlier stand against Sub-Mariner. Two famous battles DD ultimately lost, as a matter of fact.

Beating Absorbing Man should therefore perhaps distinguish this battle, but truth be told, it also isn't the first time he's overcome significant odds against a super-villain, and the Miller influence may have cemented Daredevil in many minds as a down-trodden hero, notable for his noir-tinged street struggles more than his over-the-top super-hero triumphs.

That would certainly explain the reaction I saw to a recent issue where Daredevil and Elektra defeated The Wrecker. A social media post that described it as a "career low" for the villain -- capturing my imagination in the process, and setting us on a path to study the case further.

In our previous feature we looked at The Wrecker against some of Daredevil's friends, and now we can observe a similar scenario from the other side, showing Daredevil is certainly capable of enduring and cutting down an opponent of Thor.

There is the qualitative measure to make. There are a few blows here you might not expect Daredevil to survive, as illustrated, but I think we should allow for a little artistic license in these matters. Which is to say, I don't have any real qualms with Daredevil staggering wobbly legged away from a well-earned, inventive win.

Actually, to be honest, my bigger problem has always been depictions of Absorbing Man sustaining critical injuries. At this point, it's just a fact of the character, but I've never been completely at easy with the concept of losing half his head, or massive section of internal organs, just because he happens to have transmuted his body into another substance.

Absorbing Man's powers are magical and it's kind of absurd that I would have this hang-up, but isn't turning himself into a man of living steel super-power enough without adding molecular re-integration of broken off pieces? Isn't it dramatically more interesting if he needs to assess the risks of taking on the properties of fragile materials -- or suffer their consequences?

Granted, there is always going to be the issue of creative restraint, and the pitfalls of some bright spark inevitably deciding they're the one who should break the toys Kirby built. Maybe we just can't have nice things and I should accept that part of Absorbing Man's repertoire is piecing himself back together again.

On a positive note - I really enjoyed the inventive use of his powers in this issue. I can't think of many other times he's taken on the form of paper, and it was a somewhat elegant way for Creel to quickly avoid dealing with gunshot wounds. I'm not sure that it makes sense his body would flatten out like a Freddy Krueger gag from A Nightmare on Elm Street 5, but again - a little artistic license.

The issue takes place in the wake of Onslaught, and while it's a fairly basic big superhero fight issue, I do appreciate the way it leverages the apparent deaths of The Avengers and Fantastic Four, to give Daredevil his big moment, while showing the threat of villains emboldened by a perceived lack of opposition.

That's one of the unique pleasures of shared-universe superhero comics and I probably would've enjoyed seeing even more of it, at that time. There was a bit of it going around, but beyond The Thunderbolts, it didn't seem to be a primary focus. They weren't spinning another Acts of Vengeance style crossover out of it.

Of course, I wasn't paying attention to every series at that time. In fact, this era of Daredevil was something that largely passed me by, which has made it a real pleasure to go back to and re-discover all these years later. It might be my preferred vein of DD, swinging the pendulum back in the bombastic superhero direction, much like Ann Nocenti's work after Miller.

As luck would have it, there's actually another Daredevil mismatch from around this period that I'd like to explore, but in our next entries I think we'll continue expanding The Wrecker file, and perhaps dive into some other topics that have been tickling my fancy lately. I'm trying to be a little less scattershot, while maintaining the human touch. Absolutely no "AI" generated content here, buddy!

You'll be able to find out if I stuck to my plans, and flex your mind muscle, by following links throughout this post to discover topics you're interested in -- or by diving in to the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Crossovers are right down the bottom.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has been serving superhero smackdown for well over 700 fights and ranked more than 1000 of your favourite characters! If that sounds like a good thing to you -- I'd really appreciate it if you considered getting involved on Patreon. It's free to follow and a Tier 1 sub is a great, cheap way to support 100% man-made, farm fresh niche content.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by subscribing to X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber, so give it some thought won't ya?! You wouldn't want me to have to rob the Diamond Exchange. Wouldja?!

Winner: Daredevil (w/ Detective Danny Levin)
#8 (--) Daredevil
#669 (new) Det. Danny Levin [+1 assist]
#1039 (-340) Absorbing Man