Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Some Super Slugfests

It’s impossible to list all the comic book fights that I like, but I’ll list down a few good ones I can remember anyway. They don’t have to be part of great stories; they’re action sequences that kick ass, or are fun, in my opinion. I’m sure you have your own faves, so share ‘em. In no particular order, 30 super fights, beatdowns and slam-bang battles:

1. The Ultimates vs. the Liberators (Ultimates II # 12)- Big, spectacular, and popcorn movie-ish in a good way.

2. Hulk vs. the X-Men (World War Hulk: X-Men)- Poor muties! King Hulk is badass.

3. Phoenix vs. Galactus (Excalibur # 61)- Rachel Summers vs. the god formerly known as Galan. Guess who wins.

4. Marauders vs. X-Men (Uncanny X-Men # 211)- Remember the first battle in the Morlock tunnels? Awesome.

5. Supergirl vs. the Anti-Monitor (Crisis on Infinite Earths # 7)- Kara’s unforgettable final fight.

6. Jesus vs. a vampire (Loaded Bible: Jesus Vs. Vampires)- Yes, Jesus the warrior owns, and has supernatural powers. “Holy Spit!”

7. Ravager vs. the Terror Titans (Teen Titans # 57)- Deathstroke’s daughter gives some wannabes a beatdown, all by her lonesome.

8. Archangel vs. Cameron Hodge (X-Factor # 34)- A confrontation that was worth the wait.

9. Oracle vs. Tarantula (Nightwing # 87)- Babs threw a fork that stabbed her leg, too!

10. Ralph Dibny vs. Felix Faust and Neron (52 # 42)- Man, that was a good one.

11. Peter Parker vs. Flash Thompson (Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man # 11)- Flash taunts a freshly unmasked Peter into playing dodgeball. Big mistake.

12. Hulk vs. Doc Samson (Hulk # 319)- Mindless Hulk and Len briefly trade blows.

13. Superman vs. Doomsday (Superman # 75)- Aand, they’re both dead.

14. Baron Zemo vs. Moonstone (Thunderbolts # 12)- The ambitious leader and the ambitious subordinate finally show their contempt for each other. Alas, poor Zemo.

15. Darth Vader vs. Darth Maul (Star Wars Tales # 9)- Maul’s probably a clone, but it doesn’t matter. He ends up dead again, fancy moves notwithstanding.

16. Wolverine vs. Sabretooth (Uncanny X-Men # 213)- Before it became such a cliché, that rivalry sort of rocked.

17. Captain America vs. Batman (JLA-Avengers # 2)- the two are so evenly matched, and this is better-executed than their DC Vs. Marvel bout.

18. Thor vs. Perrikus (Thor Vol. 2 # 53)- The new Lord of Asgard gives his Dark God attacker a beating he’ll never forget.

19. Monsieur Mallah vs. Grodd (Salvation Run # 4)- Apeshit crazy! Plummet of the apes!

20. Oracle vs. Spy Smasher (Birds of Prey # 108)- Wow, Babs really kicks ass.

21. Colossus vs. Juggernaut (Uncanny X-Men # 183)- Bar brawl! Drunk Pete didn’t stand a chance.

22. Bullseye vs. Elektra (Daredevil # 181)- The classic, fateful clash!

23. Atom and Green Arrow vs. Darkseid (JLA # 14)- Ray Palmer and Connor Hawke take down the dark god of Apokolips in an alternate timeline.

24. Spider-Man vs. Superman (Superman and Spider-Man)- Obviously mismatched, but still funny.

25. Superman vs. Atlas and Samson (All-Star Superman # 3)- Supes arm-wrestles them at the same time.

26. JLA vs. Avengers (JLA-Avengers # 2)- The melees all over their universes and the culminating Savage Land fight are action-packed.

27. Secret Six vs. The Society (Villains United # 6)- No holds barred villain showdown!

28. Superman vs. Captain Marvel (Kingdom Come # 4)- Shazam!

29. Zealot vs. Voodoo (WildCATs # 25)- Pris gets beat up by the Coda bigot, but drives her away with her spilled “mongrel” blood.

30. Thanos vs. the Marvels (Infinity Gauntlet # 4)- Finally, Thanos wins something.

2 comments:

Reno said...

I find it hard to believe that Barbara Gordon would still be an effective fighter now that the use of her legs is gone. She may be a good fighter, but the loss of the use of here legs would simply not give her ample leverage to smack people around like that.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe some fight experts who might be reading this will be able to enlighten me. :)

OLIVER said...

Hi Reno!

She was trained after her spinal injury by Richard Dragon (who also recently taught martial arts to Renee Montoya/ the new Question). He must've taught her some pretty useful techniques that didn't require leverage from the lower body. I'm just assuming, of course. ;)

But I understand; I guess her kick-assery will always depend on the writer handling her. In Morrison's JLA, for example, she didn't stand a chance against Prometheus, who just snatched her and mercilessly tossed her out her tower.