Hey there, thanks for checking out the latest edition of Best Battles in New Comics! As you can tell by the segment's name, this is the place to be if you want to take another look at some of the most entertaining action scenes from the latest wave of new comics. There were a lot of great options to choose from this week. From a savage fight in ZERO to Storm displaying her might to the new Captain America facing yet another villain, narrowing it down to just 3 battles wasn't the easiest decision around. That said, we're really happy with the ones we decided to pick and we're confident many of you will have fun with 'em, too. And if your favorite new action scene isn't below, go ahead and give it some love in the comments. Tell the world why it rocked and say why other people should buy the comic. Now, we'll quit babbling and get right to the brawls!
BATMAN AND ROBIN #37
Let's go big for the first highlight, shall we? In Peter J. Tomasi, Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray and John Kalisz's BATMAN AND ROBIN #37, the Dark Knight did something very, very dangerous: He took on Darkseid, DC's biggest and ridiculously powerful villain. If you're not reading Robin Rises, we should tell you to fix that mistake and go read it right now. But we'll be nice and give just a bit of context so some of you don't feel completely in the dark while reviewing this fight. Basically, Damian's body is on Apokolips and Batman believes he can use the Chaos Shard to bring his son back to life. He put on a highly advanced armor -- one which his fellow Justice Leaguers helped him create and he calls it the Hellbat -- and went on an action-packed mission to retrieve his son. He's humiliated everything in his path, but no matter how much tech Wayne has on his side, Darkseid isn't a character who can be easily toppled or intimidated. Batman knows this -- the guy's a brilliant tactician, after all -- but that doesn't stop him from slugging the big dude right in the face.
Yes, it looks like Batman is giving Darkseid all kinds of trouble, but that punch -- and the next one -- didn't accomplish anything other than temporarily knocking the fiend off-balance. Sure, watching the Caped Crusader attempt to pummel one of the most formidable villains in the DC universe is cool (unless you hate Batman, then this must make you want to flip a table), but the creative team doesn't waste any time to make it crystal clear just who would win in a physical encounter between these two. Besides, you really don't think Batman's grand plan is to defeat Darkseid Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots style, do you?
Robin Rises has pretty much been non-stop and delightfully over-the-top action and yes, there's plenty of that to enjoy in this issue. Tomasi's script is a blast and never really slows down, but the art team really brings it with this one. We won't show you too much of the fight or spoil the big plot details, but we will say that watching these two smack each other around is pure fan service and there's some great looks into Batman's helmet. The dude's getting stomped on by a titan and man, they make sure you're well aware of just how devastating the attacks are. If you've been reading the series, then you know Batman's wings can turn into an army of "bats" and swarm enemies. Well, that's exactly what happens here to momentarily distract the villain and it gives Wayne an opening to land one more hit. Once again, it looks so cool and the onomatopoeia certainly makes it seem tremendous, but keep in mind, it's not doing any noteworthy damage to Darkseid.
In the end, the creative team gave plenty of respect to both characters. This entire fight revolves around Batman's plan -- giving credit to his abilities as a tactician -- and no matter what kind of attacks he dished out, Darkseid was perfectly fine -- giving credit to the cosmic villain's insanely impressive physicals. So, what is Batman's plan? We recommend reading the issue if you want all of the details! Yes, someone can just spoil it for you online, but there's a huge difference between just reading someone's recap and watching it all play out. It's a good time, readers.
ELEKTRA #9
Our next highlight comes from W. Haden Blackman, Michael Del Mundo and Marco D'Alfonso's ELEKTRA. For some baffling reason, quite a few of you aren't reading this series, so we'll give you a wee bit of recap. Bullseye -- whose body is basically broken and useless right now -- was being held by S.H.I.E.L.D. and a high tech base. Elektra wanted to get to him so she could ask him a question about the Assassin's Guild, but the Hand -- who happened to bring a dragon to the base -- was able to grab Bullseye and escape. They want to repair the deadly marksman's body and, as you probably know, Elektra isn't cool with that. Her history with the assassin isn't exactly full of happy memories. She's able to find out where they're keeping him and then proceeds to remind us just how swift and lethal she can be. She's able to drop several ninjas before they even know what's going on.
Oh, did we forget to mention that Elektra has a dragon on her side during this bloody assault? Because she totally does and yes, it's every bit as jaw-dropping as you'd want it to be. As Elektra quickly dispatches everyone who's unlucky enough to be in her way, this humongous dragon bluntly rushes in, smashing, stabbing and chomping on every ninja that's in its path. It's such a vicious scene and, even though it's causing so much death and suffering, you can't help but feel kind of bad for it when you see just how much damage the Hand ninjas have done to its head.
As if that wasn't enough, Elektra then has to go on to fight a son of Death and a wizard. Yeah, this book tends to get a little creative with its narrative, doesn't it? The action is all choreographed in a thrilling way and, as you can obviously see, the artwork is simply incredible. We won't reveal how Elektra takes down her opponent, but we will show you more of her being awesome in combat. I mean, that's what you came in here to see, right?
We've only shown you part of the action and there's a little more after Elektra lands that killer punch, too! There's so much good stuff we're leaving out of the highlight and hopefully it'll motivate you to give this book a shot. Plus, what happens with Bullseye? Were Elektra and the dragon fast enough to stop the wizard or is Bullseye now on the path to recovery? There's only 2 issues left in the series and it's definitely looking like it'll have an exciting conclusion.
JUSTICE LEAGUE #37
Last but not least, we have a look at Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson's latest issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE. The Amazo Virus, something Lex Luthor developed and it's just as nasty as it sounds, has been released and it has incapacitated most of the Justice League. Superman and Batman still remain and now they've come face to face with Patient Zero, a LexCorp employee named Armen Ikarus. Upon seeing the Kal-El's eyes glowing, Ikarus' eyes begin to mutate and he unleashes some heat vision right at the heroes. Don't worry, Batman's protected from the attack because he's in his "Haz-Bat" suit. Yes, it's really called that and yes, they joke about it in the comic.
Yup, just like the Amazo android, Patient Zero can gain multiple superhuman abilities. After simply looking at Superman's glowing eyes, the creature was able to evolve and use the power against the heroes. But here's the thing: Superman was also hovering while his eyes were glowing, so that means Patient Zero saw that as well. Wings grow from his back and he's able to speed away from the scene. The two Justice Leaguers attempt to find Patient Zero, but it finds them first. Not only was it fast enough to escape them, but it was also stealthy enough to sneak up on them! Luckily for the guys, Wonder Woman is watching their backs and she gets her Lasso of Truth around the evolving creature before it can strike Batman and Superman.
Now that Patient Zero is up against DC's trinity, it doesn't stand much of a chance. Maybe if it observed what the rest of the Justice League could do it would be a closer contest, but right now its powers are limited and this is a trio not many can overcome. With some quick teamwork and a little bit of super strength, Diana and Kal-El are able to harshly restrain the creature. As for Batman? Well, he's there for moral support as the powerhouses go to work!
Now, this wouldn't be a big JUSTICE LEAGUE story arc without some major cliffhangers and Johns certainly delivers with this one. The writer leaves us hanging with two attention-grabbing developments and both absolutely leave us wondering where things will go next. Plus, more of Fabok's art is always a good thing, especially when you these iconic heroes being thrown into all kinds of craziness.
What are your top three fights from this latest round of new comics? Support what you love and tell the world below. Also, don't forget to make nominations every week in the official thread or tell us via Twitter. See you next Friday and have a good weekend!