Hey again, action junkies! It's Friday and that means it's time to take a look at the best brawls from the latest flood of new comic books. This week, we've selected two from DC and one from Marvel. Over in the DC universe, villains are fighting each other because of what's going on in Geoff Johns' FOREVER EVIL (you're reading that, right?) and Man of Steel's two big villains have busted into the pages of SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN. Meanwhile, Deadpool pulls his best Xenomorph impression on a whole lot of unfortunate bad guys. Ready to check 'em all out? Of course you are.
"Hey, why isn't a fight I love being highlighted and/or listed in the honorable mentions? What gives?!" Well, it's possible we didn't read that issue (not sure if you noticed, but A LOT come out each week), or we didn't dig it as much. So, be sure to make suggestions in the official Best Battles Discussion Thread from now on to put this stuff on our radar. We review that before writing this weekly feature and do our best to get our hands on the issues suggested.
SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #5
As if relationship trouble with Wonder Woman wasn't difficult enough, two of Superman's incredibly dangerous villains have broken free from the Phantom Zone: General Zod and Faora. In spite of all his strength, Kal-El isn't as well trained as these two foes and the fact he's outnumbered obviously doesn't help matters, either. It's probably not easy to defend yourself when one person is blasting you with heat vision and the other is hitting you in the back of the head with super-human kicks. In fact, that sounds pretty obnoxious, doesn't it? But he's the Man of Steel! He's endured worse, right? Keep focused, Clark, and maybe you overcome the odds.
Bad news: Superman isn't doing that well in this fight. Sure, he lands a punch every now and then, but the numbers advantage is just too much and the fact Zod's willing to fight dirty makes matters even worse. As if they didn't have a big enough advantage as it is, Zod sets fire to a forest located right next to a town. This obviously diverts Big Blue's attention, allowing these cheaters to get yet another hit on him. Clark's able to backhand them away and put out the fire, but the fact remains that he's still pretty outclassed. Luckily for him, Diana was told what's going on and she's come to save the day. Prepare to see why Wonder Woman rocks.
Superman fans, it sucks Clark was basically a punching bag, but come on, the Man of Steel has already had more than a few times to shine in this book. It's great to see the Amazon step up to the plate and kick all kinds of butt in a swift and effective way. Not to mention it's a very nice chance of pace to have Wonder Woman coming to Superman's aid and saving him. Anyway, as the fight progresses, Diana continues to do fine. Supeman? Not so much. Okay, this isn't the most flattering issue around for Superman fans, but hey, he tried.
Where does the fight go next now that Superman's been injured? Does Wonder Woman continue to hold her own? Do they all decide to grab some coffee and talk it out? Do yourself a favor and buy the book to see how it all goes down.
DEADPOOL #23
Deadpool has his sights set on getting Agent Gorman, but a helicarrier full of U.L.T.I.M.A.T.UM. troops (man, that's a pain to type) is standing in his way. Instead of having one big shootout and stabfest -- you know, something we've seen plenty of times before -- co-writers Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn turn this issue into one big love letter to Alien(s). Sadly, these goons never received that memo and Rick one of them didn't bother to look in the air vent.
Warning: things get graphic, so if buckets of blood and people melting isn't your thing, you may want to pass on this one.
The two soldiers then react how anyone else would in such a situation. No, not soil themselves and run away! They open fire like complete madmen at the vent above them. After unleashing a volley of bullets at the ceiling, the two are certain they've taken out the creature that's lurking above them. It tuns out the Merc with a Mouth has a bucket of acid waiting for them and uses it right as they look up.
You may have noticed that Deadpool's acting a tad more brutal than usual and there is a legitimate reason for that. We won't spoil what happened in the last story (because you should read it), but its events left a major impact on Wade. Yes, he's still dropping jokes left and right, but he's definitely letting his more tormented side show -- something we haven't witnessed very often over the past few years. Needless to say, having this version of Deadpool gunning for you is a scary thought, so Agent Gorman keeps running and running, but nowhere on the ship can keep him safe from Deadpool. No amount of cannon fodder will be able to protect him.
Does Wade get his precious money? Can Gorman make it out alive? If you even remotely like Deadpool, you need to be reading this book. If you're looking for a jumping on point, pick up the trade for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and catch up. Trust us, it's worth it.
FOREVER EVIL: ROGUES REBELLION #5
DC's latest event, FOREVER EVIL, hasn't exactly been the most positive experience for the Rogues. The team is now down to just Mirror Master, Trickster and Weather Wizard. However, a not-so-friendly encounter with the Royal Flush Gang makes Weather Wizard walk away from the group. Now there's just two of 'em and they still have business with the card themed group (long story short: they're holding Golden Glider). The duo came prepared to take on the Royal Flash Gang, but little did they know it would actually be the Crime Syndicate of America they would be battling. As Atomica and Johnny Quick arrive, the masked gang decides to sit back and enjoy all of the madness as the two groups face off.
As you can see above, the speedster from Earth-3 completely humiliates Mirror Master, effortlessly tossing the Rogue aside after he could fire only one blast. Moments before that, Atomica struck Trickster with an impactful wallop to the face. So yeah, things aren't going too well for the team, are they? To top it off, the Rogues -- well, two of them -- brought local authorities to the fight. They thought they'd get into a shootout with the Royal Flush Gang, not face two members of the Crime Syndicate. They're out of their league and it shows as Quick speedily disarms all of them and then Atomica... well, see for yourself.
The villain with super-speed proceeds to embarrass everyone in his path. He's obviously enjoying every second of this, however Grid contacts them and says they need to wrap it up and return. Atomica aims her gun at the Rogues, but one of their teammates returns just in the nick of time: Weather Wizard! Not only does he give the alternate Earth villains a much-deserved zap, but he also hits them with a verbal jab, too.
The fight doesn't go on for much longer, but it's still well-worth reading. There's a stunning splash page, a jaw-dropping display of raw power and a cliffhanger that'll definitely make you want to read the next one.
Honorable Mentions
- O.M.A.C. vs. Suicide Squad
- Eternal Warrior vs. Big ol' robots & the "boss"
- Batman & Bluebird vs. The Egyptian's security guards
- Nightwing vs. Spinebender
- Mindy McCready vs. pedophiles
- RoboCop vs. Jonas Krail's security guards
What are your top three fights from this week's new comics? Also, don't forget to make nominations every week in the official thread or tell Gregg via Twitter.
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