Spider-Man vs Punisher, a Bat-family brawl and battle of the Goblins!
Greetings, action fans! Every week I'll review the new selection of comics and do my best to pick out the best battles to grace the panels. Yes, I usually say it's a good week for fights, but I really, really loved the action scenes in this week's new releases. It was a tough time narrowing it down to just three, but I'm pretty confident with my selections and hopefully you also loved the encounters.
"Wait a second... a fight I like isn't in here! What gives?!"
Excellent question, random reader! You see, I don't have the luxury (or the bank account) to read every single new comic, so it's entirely possible a cool fight or two will elude my eyes. So, give the fight some love and post about it. And if possible, share scans!
It's hard to believe Frank Castle technically made his debut as a (misunderstood) Spider-Man villain. His excellent training allowed him to tag with wall-crawler with mercy bullets back in the day and, believe it or not, even throw down with him in close range. But let's be honest here, a determined Spider-Man should make short work of Castle. Swing and a miss!Despite all of his training, Spider-Man is too physically advanced for Frank. He's extraordinarily faster, stronger, more agile and has vastly superior reflexes. I've always said Frank would need to resort to more dangerous weapons if he wants to give Pete a challenge, and it's nice to see writer Greg Rucka agrees with me. His short battle between the two almost word for word represents how I think it should go down. Bow before the might of Spider-Man's jawline. One thing that made me extremely happy was Parker letting Frank get in a few hits. We're talking about a character that is regularly smashed through buildings and takes strikes from superhumans -- so it's incredibly questionable when Spider-Man gets stunned by a strike from someone with human stats (Chameleon for example). At the end of the day, Parker is far more durable than a lot of people give him credit for... and it's nice to see Rucka recognizing this. "Cheater," says the man with superhuman stats fighting a human.The thought of Punisher eluding and possibly besting the Avengers is an absurd one, but if each encounter is treated this well, I have full faith that PUNISHER: WAR ZONE will be an excellent read and become a regular in this weekly segment.
SO. MANY. ARROWS. Seriously, I can't handle the overabundance of awesome arrow usage. Whether it's violently impaling through a shoulder, wrist or hand, each panel was painfully stellar. The premise was simple: Batman Inc and allies invade a building full of League of Assassin characters. How could such an issue not make this list? No, I won't make a Skyrim joke here."Wingman" has a grand set of panels. He struts like a boss (the arrogance is so fitting for the character in the armor, too) and hilariously dispatches two assailants. You might not catch it right away, but the final panel has quite a cringe inducing footstep. I sincerely hope Mr. Red Pants is wearing a cup.The entire issue was just a whole lot of fun. The party doesn't even technically begin until the Bat family shows up. Once they kill the lights, it's more than transparent the LOA isn't going to be walking away from this one. A few hilarious panels of the members getting humiliated later and we have a clear outcome. Talia, maybe you next time you'll bring bigger guns like Deathstroke or Bane. Just a suggestion. What a warm "welcome back" for Mad Dog & Shrike!Finally, I have so much respect for Gaucho after this issue. So much. "I've had worse."
Don't get too cozy in that costume, Phil, because the original Hobgoblin is back in town and looking to take back what's his. Roderick doesn't mind Phil killing his brother... what truly ticks him off is Phil flying around pretending to be him and using all of his advanced gear. It doesn't help matters that Roderick thinks Phil is a total moron and a disgrace to the name as well. It goes without saying that a fight between these two is something to get excited about and Kingpin's response to the chaos is... amusing.Give the big man some popcorn. Despite his arrogance, Phil is actually a very formidable combatant. The lunatic laugh is absurdly effective, the flame sword is frightening and he has some pretty impressive physical stats. Luckily for Roderick, he's also sporting superhuman stats and his own variety of gear. Needless to say, a fight between these two should prove entertaining and fairly balanced. Thankfully, that's exactly how Dan Slott writes it. "FSSASSH!"As the two duke it out in the sky and everyone enjoys the show, a third party decides to ruin the fun. Party pooper Peter Parker interferes, landing a pretty remarkable shot which makes the duo come crashing down. It's a shame the fight was so brief, but I have a feeling we're going to see plenty more action from the twin Hobgoblins. Eat it, Bullseye.Honorable Mentions:Cyclops vs Inmates, Red Lanterns vs Third Army, Valkyrie vs Lady Deathstrike
Well, those are my top 3 this week. What are yours?Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. Don't let anyone know, but he rooted for the League of Assassins.
You know, when that Omega Drive whoopla was first happening I remember reading an interview with the writers involved. They said that they all got together and made each other care about the characters they were writing. That's the kind of creative work I like to see happening, and it's even better that Rucka still has that understanding of Spider-man.
Strangely, my favorite part of Punisher: War Zone #1 was Wolverine... That's right... I give that little SOB a lot of crap because I think more often than not he is poorly written as a holier than thou guy who murders people by the bus load. It was nice seeing him written in a more realistic way, as someone who can identify with Castle's methods. Rucka... please don't leave us!
Punisher war zone stole the spotlight for me this week. That fight is EXACTLY how a fight between Spider-Man and a human should go down. Rucka has one hell of an understanding of the marvel characters, and I do mean all of them In that issue.
Wow, a fight between Spidey and Punisher where Frank gets the edge and can't really be called PIS. I really loved that fight. It seems the writer does realize who has the physical advantage here and uses a smart way to give the win to the weaker character.
A bomb explodes in front of Spider-man and the Punisher, Spider-man (a superhuman) is weakened because that, and the Punisher is not.
Well, the bomb doesn't necessarily explode in front of them both. Frank throws it and it seems to actually explode against a wall which throws shrapnel at Spidey. So it would be safe to assume that the grenade is actually closer to Spidey than Frank. Outside of that, let's face it, Frank's threshold of pain, though not superhuman, is pretty freaky deaky and he could take a lot more of it than the average superhuman.
@k4tzm4n: Hmm? I was referring to when he threatened to blow up a hospital as a red herring.
I know, that came later in the encounter. Before that, Frank had a huge container of acid spill on Sentry. Naturally, it didn't slow him down one bit and IIRC there was some funny dialogue about it.
@k4tzm4n: Sounds about right. Honestly, the dialogue was what won me over the most. The writing and the art in that made me enjoy a Punisher series for the first time. And then Secret Invasion happened.
@k4tzm4n: I've only read the last 2 issues but I've enjoyed them. The zero issue is a good jumping on point as it gives a very detailed history of Carter and then jumps right into issue 13 without missing much. Liefeld is still credited but I get the feeling at this point most of the work is being done by others. It also has some pretty sweet art from Joe Bennett.
This Punisher from Greg Rucka is somewhat PunisherMax meets Punisher 616. Sadly it will be too late to save this run, but my question is: why do they didn't come up early with this kind of action?
Along the run it was a little slow paced, i liked, but probably for most of readers it wasn't enough.
A bomb explodes in front of Spider-man and the Punisher, Spider-man (a superhuman) is weakened because that, and the Punisher is not.
Well, the bomb doesn't necessarily explode in front of them both. Frank throws it and it seems to actually explode against a wall which throws shrapnel at Spidey. So it would be safe to assume that the grenade is actually closer to Spidey than Frank. Outside of that, let's face it, Frank's threshold of pain, though not superhuman, is pretty freaky deaky and he could take a lot more of it than the average superhuman.
A bomb explodes in front of Spider-man and the Punisher, Spider-man (a superhuman) is weakened because that, and the Punisher is not.
Well, the bomb doesn't necessarily explode in front of them both. Frank throws it and it seems to actually explode against a wall which throws shrapnel at Spidey. So it would be safe to assume that the grenade is actually closer to Spidey than Frank. Outside of that, let's face it, Frank's threshold of pain, though not superhuman, is pretty freaky deaky and he could take a lot more of it than the average superhuman.
It's not a bomb it's a flashbang
Then that Punisher has some SERIOUS flashbang ordinance because not only does it blow a hole in the wall, rip open Spideys suit and hurt him, but it also goes THOOOM! ;P
@Jonny_Anonymous: @feebadger: Yeah, I was also conflicted about what the device is. Spidey holding his ears implied to me it was a flashbang, but that explosion and damage seemed to be more like a frag/concussive. But hey, it's Frank. Maybe his grenades can get the best from both worlds :D
I thoroughly enjoy these fights of the week segments.
K4tzm4n is a hoot to read here. A total nod to the battle forum ethos when breaking down what is plausible and well written and, well, what is not. Good job!
Batman Inc. really gave me a good time, Jason is officially 100% more badass! but sadly I couldn't resist my impulses like you did Tony, as soon as I saw that I said:
"I used to be an assassin like you but then I took an arrow on the shoulder"
@Deranged Midget: I'm surprised he didn't try using his other powers on the creature before resorting to that. Oh well... pretty explosion is pretty, right?
@Deranged Midget: I'm surprised he didn't try using his other powers on the creature before resorting to that. Oh well... pretty explosion is pretty, right?
Well to be fair, after re-reading the comic, he was still drained from having been exerting himself for five days straight and only had so much time to recharge.
Punisher Warzone definitely wins the fight of the week. All the emotion and poignancy that was missing when Marvel put Spider-Man in the spotlight of AvX #10 is finally found here. The very complicated relationship between Spidery and Punisher has reached a climax and it is great. And wow, I don't remember the last time, if ever, that Spider-Man came off as intimidating, but he sure did in Punisher Warzone.
I don't know if A Babies vs X Babies was metnioned in last week's best battle article, there seems to be some confusion from retailers and diamond as to that books exact release date, but if that is part of this week's books then it deserves an honorable mention too.
Punisher vs Spiderman was a cool read and battle. I don't think it was too unrealistic and was a nice step to show that even Superheros can be bested with the right strategy and determination.
I loved the caption too, Spidey calling Frank a cheater. lol
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