Hey action junkies, thanks for returning to this weekly segment! Seriously, that's really cool of you and we appreciate it. This Wednesday's new round of comics had a lot of exciting fights to appreciate. In fact, there's so many that the honorable mentions section is the longest it has been in quite some time. The staff has talked about each of these brawls and we've managed to narrow it down to our three favorites. Honestly, it's a good thing you stopped by because there's a pretty solid amount of variety this week's edition. We have a frenetic fight between Venom and the Thunderbolts; two DC titans duking it out; and a lighthearted dose of cosmic fun.
"Hey, why isn't a fight I love being highlighted and/or listed in the honorable mentions? What gives?!" It's possible we didn't read that issue (A LOT come out each week, after all), 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.
THUNDERBOLTS #23
The latest issue of Charles Soule's THUNDERBOLTS has a very simple premise: Flash Thompson wants to let the symbiote take over and have the team bring it down. So yeah, it should come as no surprise this issue is making its way into this segment. As Flash allows Venom to take the wheel, the slithery alien immediately eludes the team because, obviously, taking them all on at once is suicide. What follows is Venom essentially singling them out. Think of it like Alien but with a lot of powers and a whole lot of weaponry. And sorry, Deadpool doesn't strip down to his tighty whities for issue's final act. I can't help but wonder how many non-Alien fans are confused by that statement. Anyhow, let's jump back into the fight because... you know, that's why you're in here.
Oddly enough, Venom seeks out the most powerful character on the roster first, Ghost Rider. Honestly, I'm no Ghost Rider expert, but the way Venom gets the better of him seems pretty questionable. Feel free to debate this in the comments, but it seems tough to believe the symbiote's sins are too much for Blaze to handle. But whatever, they had to move the powerhouse out of the way so Venom could proceed and, honestly, the scene at least looks really, really cool.
Venom then goes after Punisher, Elektra, and the Red Leader. As amusing as those segments are, nothing there is really worthy of highlighting (since we only pick 3 images per issue). So, instead of boring you with a play-by-play of everything that went down at that point (buy the issue if you want all of the facts, silly), we'll cut right to the first highlight worthy encounter: Red Hulk. As tough as Venom may be, Thunderbolt Ross simply has him physically outclassed. So instead of sticking around for a slugfest he's very unlikely to win, Venom toys with Ross' head and then escapes to locate his next target.
As the rest of the team comes up with a plan, we're treated to Deadpool's glorious display of tactics. Basically, Deadpool has a fake Spider-Man located right under a massive vehicle that's being held up by a wire. He'll obviously drop said vehicle when Venom happens to go for the bait -- if he does at all, that is. Unfortunately, this brilliant plan falls apart before Venom even gets there. I mean, it literally falls apart; the cable holding the ship snaps. That's okay, though, because we're treated to a bit of a melee between these two awesome characters. Deadpool somewhat dressed as Spidey vs. Venom. Place your bets! Spoiler alert: considering Deadpool is only sporting two blades, it would be wise to bet for the latter.
Exactly what you'd expect happens next and honestly, we don't want to spoil the fun for you. Artist Kim Jacinto does a killer job illustrating a fully unleashed version of Venom and the conclusion of their fight is equal parts funny and horrific.
Okay, so you remember how Ghost Rider was totally downplayed earlier? Well, Ross and the others have come up with a plan and the Spirit of Vengeance gets to serve as a key part of it. As much as I love Venom, watching Ghost Rider catch him with those vivid chains and then drag him across the floor is just so entertaining.
Venom's certainly a tough combatant, but come on, we're talking about taking on Ghost Rider, Red Hulk, Elektra, Punisher, the Red Leader, and Deadpool at the same time. Needless to say, it's an uphill struggle for him. Throw in the fact the team has now had some prep time and it's safe to say we all know which side is going to win this encounter. But why did Flash Thompson want them to do this and how do the Thunderbolts finally put him down? As always, we won't spoil the conclusion here, so you'll just have to purchase the issue if you want to see how it all unfolds.
SUPERGIRL #29
After a brutal throwdown with Lobo, Supergirl became the newest member of the Red Lantern Corps. Kara Zor-El letting the rage take over is a big dose of terribleness for her friend, Siobhan Smythe. The Kryptonian has lost control and is firing blast after blast at her buddy. Siobhan is barely able to dodge the projectiles and attempts to flee, but when you're facing someone that mighty, you can't really hide from them, can you? Siobhan reaches the hash conclusion that the only way she's going to survive this is if she turns into the Silver Banshee and defend herself with some good ol' fashioned black magic. But in doing so, she fears that she too would lose command of her abilities. Siobhan makes the transformation and, luckily for everyone in the city, she's able to keep keep control of her actions. So begins a battle between two titans that will involve many, many blasts and tremendous punches.
Seeing as Siobhan is still in control, she realizes that a fight between her and an enraged Kryptonian is going to be a whole lot of bad news for the populated areas around them. However, she doesn't exactly have total control over her powers or even know what their limits are, so simply flying away doesn't appear to be an option at the moment. This is when Silver Banshee decides to be a bit of a team player and lets Siobhan know about one of her abilities: teleportation.
Poof! Concern over the locals is now cast aside as the two abruptly appear one hundred miles away in the Catskill Mountains. As the two continue to unleash incredibly strong punches and blasts, penciller Yildiray Cinar, inker Ray Mccarthy, and colorist Dan Brown make sure the explosive event is every bit as forceful and vibrant as it should be. We are talking about a fight where a character is tackled into the side of a mountain, after all.
Are the two able to talk it out over a cup of tea? Does one of them take one too many super-strong hits and winds up seeing stars? Do the other Red Lanterns show up and make the fight totally unfair? This was just a small sample of the fight, so if you want to experience the whole thing, get your hands on a copy.
NOVA #15
Sam Alexander is trying to hunt down an evil dude named Skaarn, but Sam is a little too late and ends up barely missing the fiend -- by thirty seconds, to be exact. While his target may be out of his reach, three of Skaarn's hired guns are standing right in front of him. Calling themselves the "Disavowed of Galadoria," the trio (Bakin, Nujin, and Klax) was brought in to aid Skaarn on an upcoming heist. The three don't take Nova seriously when they spot him and basically accuse him of cosplaying. Sam quickly shows them it's no mere costume.
Sam had the advantage of a surprise attack, but now the three mercs realize they're dealing with a legitimate threat and not some little Nova fanboy. Bakin tags the teenager with a blast of heat and the hero quickly retaliates by tackling him through a wall. Keep in mind, they're fighting in an intergalactic trading post that's constructed into the noggin of a deceased celestial. So when Sam flies this enemy through a wall, they end up in somewhere.... well, organic.
One of the villains admits they wanted to go easy on the kid, but they're through holding back -- I mean, they are fighting a kid. We saw Bakin can generate heat and Nujin was blasted away before he could react, but what can Klax do? It turns out this character actually has a pretty awesome ability. Klax is able to "short-circuit" a character's perception of reality. This gives artist David Baldeon the chance to unleash a few trippy panels (saving those for the people that pick up the issue) and it puts Sam in a rough spot. How does our cosmic hero get out of this, you ask? He fuses their legs together. Yup, he merges their legs. That's gotta suck just a bit, no? At least he's kind enough to take their focus off their newfound problem.
As you can see with that final panel, Nujin's about to reenter the fray. As you can imagine, the foe probably isn't all that happy about getting humiliated right when the fight began. Will Sam also kick Nujin's booty? Will Bakin and Klax's health insurance cover the operation they'll need to debond their legs? Will there be an awesome cliffhanger that promises more Beta Ray Bill goodness? Answer key: maybe, unlikely, and yes! Gerry Duggan's NOVA is good fun, and you enjoy fun, right? Of course you do. Now go give it a chance.
Honorable Mentions
- Batman, Aquaman vs. Ra's al Ghul's forces and experiments (BATMAN & AQUAMAN #29)
- X-O Manowar vs. Malgam (X-O MANOWAR #23)
- Magik vs. Sentinels (UNCANNY X-MEN #19)
- Suicide Squad vs. OMAC (SUICIDE SQUAD #29)
- X-Men vs. The Sisterhood (X-MEN #12)
- Tanalth the Pursuer vs. Namor (ALL-NEW INVADERS #3)
- Superman vs. Wraith (SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6
- Batwoman vs. Wolf Spider (BATWOMAN #29)
- Superior Spider-Man vs. Hobgoblin (SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2)
- Agent Ran Shen vs. Bucky (WINTER SOLDIER: THE BITTER MARCH #2)
- Wraith vs. Monster (SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2)
- Beetle "vs." Daredevil (SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #10)
- THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #20's splash pages vs. Our eyes (spoiler: Thor wins via TKO)
That's it for this week, friends! What are your top three fights from this latest round of new comics? Also, don't forget to make nominations every week in the official thread or us via Twitter (be sure to use #CVBattles). See you next Friday. Oh, have a good weekend, too!
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