The action-packed sequel to "My Top 10 Marvel Comic Book Battles, 1980s: pre-Secret Wars." No Secret Wars II crossovers appear here for some reason... Oh, yeah! Because that series was awful!
This entire storyline culminated in an epic battle between Captain America and Baron Zemo. My favorite parts were Yellowjacket's quiet surrender and the battle on the roof, while I was saddened to see the "death" of Blackout, one of my favorite villains from back in the day.
A one-issue story that was hardly filler, setting the tone for the whole "The X-Men are dead (wink)" run on this title. As a big fan of the Mad Max films, I loved the Reavers, and wish Skullbuster in particular was still around. ~sighs~
Not a prolonged battle and perhaps not as memorable as Amazing # 229-230, but the comic value of Captain Britain's "efforts" and the ease with which Phoenix ends the fight was so bloody brilliant. Love, love, love.
I guess I was nostalgic for Cap beating on Nazi war criminal butt. Cap, aged and believing he was dying, and the Red Skull have the ultimate throw down, and the Red Skull beefs it! It seemed as though he was dead-dead, but then...
I never saw the return of the Red Skull coming here. It was unexpected and handled well. I also really enjoyed the battle between Cap and the fake Captain America. Up to this point, hero-on-hero fights always seemed low consequence; the participants team in the end to take down the real threat. However, the would-be USAgent was batsh** crazy back in the day, and anything could happen. I mean, just a few issues before Vagabond defeated the Black Racer by tickling her...
Speaking of non-Captain America Cap, how did we not see Civil War coming? The fight picks up in Captain America # 341, but this was the superior of the two confrontations.
The Puma debuted in the previous issue, but this fight between Spidey the Native American quasi-hero, orchestrated by the cool as hell Rose, had the startling revelation that the new black costume was alive, setting readers up for the next issue which in turn heralded the creation of Venom. Also, on the last page, the Hobgoblin returns from his watery "death" in # 251. This issue was published the same year the twelve-issue Secret Wars were going down, but it is set after, thus its inclusion here.
The cover is the only part I didn't like. The interior art is great. The fight spills over into the next issue wherein the Hobgoblin is unmasked and revealed to be poor stupid Flash Thompson. Also, the Scourge of the Underworld rubs out the Fly in the second part. Woot! Anyway, epic fight. Just epic.
Mike Zeck, sadly, primarily did covers for Marvel and DC in the late 1980s, but the Punisher in prison could only lead to a high-octane cage match. The only thing that could have made it better was if CM Punk had ended the Undertaker's streak instead of Brock Les...Sorry. Too much Yoo-Hoo in the 80s. I did a stint at Betty Ford, and they cleaned the chocolate soda out of my system, but I still get confused sometime...
Typhoid Mary forces Daredevil to run a gauntlet of his recent foes, and the Man Without Fear fails. It was like Knightfall, but contained in one issue, and no one takes up the mantle while Matt recovers. A brutal, brutal battle.
