It's Friday and that can mean only one thing for action junkies: it's time to reflect on three very cool action scenes from the latest comic books! We have a nice dose of variety for you this week, Viners. One from Marvel, one from Valiant, and one from DC. First up, we have a martial arts showdown between two incredibly skilled dudes from Marvel. After that, a trio of Valiant characters attempt to outwit their universe's most formidable psiot (yeah, good luck with that). Last but certainly not least, Supergirl smacks Lobo through some walls. Okay, let's go ahead and dive into all of these awesome fights.
"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.
AVENGERS WORLD #3
Shang-Chi is an exceptional hand-to-hand combatant. Dubbed the Master of Kung Fu, his technique and skill has allowed him to hang with some of the best street level combatants Marvel has to offer. But Tomi Shishido aka Gorgon? Well, that guy is an absolute beast. In Enemy of the State, he had no issue holding his own against the combined forces of Wolverine and Elektra. On top of being seriously skilled, he has impressive physicals, mental powers, an effective healing factor, and can turn a person to stone with a mere glance. Needless to say, if we cast aside powerhouses, there aren't many who should be able to defeat him in a fair one-on-one encounter. This, however, is something Shang-Chi's well aware of. Before the melee even begins, Shang tells himself, "This is a fight I cannot win." Yes, the odds are most definitely not in his favor, but it would hardly be the first time a hero has toppled overwhelming odds, right? In an attempt to even the playing field, Chi disposes of the lights and slips into the shadows, striking and then fading away every chance he can.
Even though Chi lands a kick to Gorgon's face and an epic punch straight to his chest, it's not enough to topple the villain. In fact, immediately after that strike connects, Gorgon grabs Chi's wrist and effortlessly throws him into the distance. The martial artist violently lands on a roof and, to prevent the hit and run tactics from continuing, Gorgon sets fire to the location in order to keep everything illuminated. Chi is actually able to use this blaze to his advantage and throws a fireball at Gorgon's face. This prevents Gorgon from using his stone stare, but still, Chi knows this is remains a massive obstacle for him. Before going in for the strike, Chi channels strength from other warriors in an effort to help him knock out the villain.
Boldness, resilience and power allow the Avenger to land three giant hits on his enemy. The third strike brings Gorgon to his knees, but the man does not fall any closer to the floor. Instead, the powerful bad guy rises and Chi prepares for his opponent's retaliation. As good as Chi may be, Gorgon's volley is quick, vicious and effective. And, one thing is clear, Gorgon remains unfazed by the Avengers' previous attacks.
Is Chi able to counter Gorgon and find a way to elude defeat? You'll just have to read the issue to find out, but keep in mind, we've only shown you a small sample of the fight. There's a lot more martial arts goodness to appreciate in this one and we strongly recommend experiencing the full fight for yourself.
UNITY #4
Ninjak, Livewire and Eternal Warrior spent three issues helping Toyo Harada obtain the powerful X-O Manowar armor. Now that Harada has it in his possession, they're realizing maybe it wasn't the best idea around. After forming a plan, the trio sneaks into Harada's facility and aims to snatch the cosmic weapon. Unfortunately for them, a durable fellow named Anchor is standing guard. Unaware of how dense the character's skin truly is, Ninak strikes him with a sword and the blade shatters upon impact. The MI-6 operative quickly discovers that dispatching this big guy won't be so simple and takes a fist to his face.
Ninjak eventually puts Anchor down with a bit of knockout gas, but it's too little, too late. Harada is now aware of what they're trying to do and leaps into action. Before the world's most powerful psiot can retrieve the armor, Livewire bonds with it (if this confuses you, you should probably read the previous three issues). In spite of wearing such a mighty weapon, Harada is still able to swat her aside with ease. However, the Eternal Warrior was able to flank him as Livewire had his attention.
As totally expected, Gilad Anni-Padda isn't actually able to best the telepath. In fact, with just one brief moment of eye contact, Toyo Harada is able to take over the Eternal Warrior's mind. Instead of immediately ripping him to shreds or doing something equally cruel, Harada makes Anni-Padda equip his gun and press the barrel against his own head. Before Harada can make him pull the trigger, Ninjak -- because he's the best ever -- hits the firearm with a throwing star and saves his teammate from the bullet just in the nick of time. Ninjak then attempts to take out Harada by his lonesome. Spoiler alert: it doesn't go too well.
What can the group possibly do to escape from Harada? Or is the immensely powerful psiot able to get the advanced armor back? At any rate, you should be reading this book because it's easily the most epic and action-packed thing Valiant is releasing. That's saying a lot since each of their books are bringing a lot of quality to the table.
SUPERGIRL #28
Previously, someone was going around claiming to be Lobo. Now, the real one has come to Earth in hopes of finding out what exactly is going on. Unfortunately for him, Supergirl had a not-so-pleasant experience with the impostor and now she's going to take it out on the real one. After the scene opens with a massive close-up of Kara Zor-El's firmly clenched fist smashing against his face, she then proceeds to harshly clock him through a couple of walls.
Kal-El's cousin may be a physical titan, but she's definitely lacking discipline in this fight and that's something the bounty hunter will soon take advantage of. You see, Supergirl was able to smack around her target without any hassle, so she overconfidently rushes in yet again. Except this time Lobo is waiting for her and hits her square on the chin with one helluva blast. You can't help but feel a little bad for her after she bounces off the ground and just her head winds up crashing through a wall.
In an attempt to reason with the very upset Kryptonian, Lobo lures the fight to Kara's home, Queens, NY. He pleads his case to her, saying he wants to legitimately help her and took her there because he hoped she wouldn't want to damage her own home. It turns out he was dead wrong on that one. Even though his words seem sincere, she thinks the Czarnian bounty hunter is trying to manipulate her. So, instead of talking it out and avoiding any unnecessary destruction, Kara opts to punch the alien all the way to the park.
After tossing her aside, Lobo attempts to get the heck out of there and summons his ship. However, Kara has other plans. She tags the ship with a blast of her heat vision and it creates explosion worthy of a Michael Bay movie. If you've seen the cover, then it's safe to say you can accurately guess the big reveal that happens on the next page. That said, you probably don't know how it happens, do you? So yeah, give SUPERGIRL #28 a read if you want to see how this development occurs!
Honorable Mentions
- Animal Man vs. Brother Blood (ANIMAL MAN #28)
- Apollo vs. First Born (WONDER WOMAN #28)
- Beast vs. Nightcrawler (AMAZING X-MEN #4)
- Harley Quinn vs. Goons (HARLEY QUINN #3)
- Superior Spider-Man, Punisher, Daredevil vs. Green Goblin's goons (SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP #10)
- Two-Face vs. Two-Face (BATMAN & TWO-FACE #28)
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.