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Post by Doctor Doom on Mar 20, 2007 4:08:02 GMT -5
Just what the title says. What is the best super hero battle in a comic you've ever read? By "Battle" in this case, I mean multiple combatants on at least one side, no one-on-one duels.
For myself it's a dead tie: Ultimates #12 and Ultimates 2 #12, two double sized all-issue blowouts of unrivalled scale. My third choice would be JLA/Avengers #4, purely because we get page after page of PHENOMENAL action-packed PĂ©rez art.
Any takers?
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Post by Nutcase65 on Mar 20, 2007 5:33:20 GMT -5
The final battle in Avengers/JLA. This is what being a comic book hero is all about. Fighting against constantly increasing overwhelming odds. Villians getting stronger and badder as you go along. The unpredictable coming constantly into play, the fate of not one but two universes hanging in the balance.
Then the next to last fight scene. All that's left is Superman and Thor, and Thor is going down. When he throws Mjolner to Superman and says "do thou well with it". Man.
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Post by Doctor Doom on Mar 20, 2007 5:58:32 GMT -5
The awesomeness of JLA/Avengers is increased because this combiend team of the mightiest heroes of two worlds is led by not Superman, but CAPTAIN AMERICA, who even Supes admits to being a better leader than him. That has to go down as one of the best Cap moments ever (Although Busiek clearly hero-worshipped Cap to a pretty scary degree)
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Post by dlw66 on Mar 20, 2007 8:15:24 GMT -5
I'm going to scale it down a bit from the all-out frenzy of a multi-character brawl...
DD #181 -- Bullseye vs. Elektra in what should have been final battle. A playing card? A playing card? Miller brilliance...
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Post by Tana Nile on Mar 20, 2007 10:51:36 GMT -5
For the most horrific superhero battle ever, I'd have to say Miracleman 15. The battle between Miracleman and Johhny Bates absolutely devastates London, and Bates commits atrocities better left unsaid in this forum. This book really shocked me and despite all the books I've read since then, it has left a strong impression.
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Post by The Night Phantom on Mar 20, 2007 16:59:14 GMT -5
I tend to resist posting answers in threads like this because…well, how do I choose the single best _____ of all time??
Instead of making that choice, I’ll reply with a somewhat recent epic battle that leaps to mind. Say what you will about the overall event it takes place in, I think the battle pitting Superboy-Prime vs. Conner Kent, the Teen Titans, the Doom Patrol, the JSA, and all the Flashes (chiefly in Infinite Crisis #4, with some additional detail in Teen Titans #32) was awe-inspiring.
Also, I’d like to submit that, even though there be but two combatants, a Hulk–Thing fight is like a battle between grand armies.
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Post by dlw66 on Mar 20, 2007 21:40:50 GMT -5
I thought the way Busiek/Ross portrayed the confrontation between Spider-Man and the Goblin in Marvels #4, hearkening back to ASM #122 was powerful, moving...
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Post by Tana Nile on Mar 20, 2007 23:44:35 GMT -5
I'd rank the Avengers struggle against hundreds of pseudo-Ultrons in issues 21-22 of vol.3 as a hell of a battle. Especially when they finally get to the real Ultron, and Thor says, "Ultron, we would have words with thee."
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Post by uberwolf on Mar 21, 2007 17:50:20 GMT -5
I have to go with the Avengers vs. Count Nefaria. When I think super battles that ALWAYS comes to mind. The combination of action and internal conflict of so many of the characters involved is stunning. Wonderman's fear of dying in the fight. His awe as Cap hands him his shield. Nefaria's fear of Thor, then realizing he's taken the best the Asgardian can dish out and stops his hammer blow with one hand. Then the Vision shows up and shows everyone how it's done. Classic.
It always bothered me how the Vision would go from one of the most powerful and central characters to being secondary with little impact in battle. He was obviously one of the top players. d**n you Bendis!
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Post by Nutcase65 on Mar 21, 2007 22:35:17 GMT -5
Thor says, "Ultron, we would have words with thee." You know, I guess it might be his poetic language, but Thor actually gets a lot of good lines. i.e anytime his back is against the wall, everything is right on the verge of going to hades, the heroes are down and beaten, then Thor gets his second wind. Always followed by "I SAY THEE, NAY!" That always gets me.
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Post by Shiryu on Mar 22, 2007 10:39:02 GMT -5
I vote for the final battle in Avengers/JLA #4, for exactly the reasons Nutcase gave above. A great fight, showing what heroes are really about. Close second is the final battle in Ultron Unlimited, probably followed by the battle in Secret Wars #7, when the heroes attack Doombase.
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Post by thew40 on Mar 22, 2007 17:57:54 GMT -5
I vote for the final battle in Avengers/JLA #4, for exactly the reasons Nutcase gave above. A great fight, showing what heroes are really about. Close second is the final battle in Ultron Unlimited, probably followed by the battle in Secret Wars #7, when the heroes attack Doombase. Agreed on all points. I'd like to also add that the battle between Superman and Captain Marvel in "Kingdom Come" # 4. "Shazam!" The heroes versus Onslaught in "Onslaught: Marvel Univerese" is just freaking epic. The battle between Sandman and the Furies is great because it's a non-battle. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about. Build-up, build-up, build-up . . . poof! Done! The Superman/Doomsday battle is rather imprinted in my mind as rather huge and great. The final battle(s) in "Earth X" are rather fantastic. Ultimately, though? Number one? That goes to the X-Men versus the Imperial Guard, then versus the Dark Phoenix in the climax of the "Dark Phoenix Saga." It was just so desperate and so tragic. The X-Men actually lost the battle, even though the threat of the Phoenix was neutralized. ~W~
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Post by Nutcase65 on Mar 25, 2007 16:24:29 GMT -5
Not to keep blowing my own post,but I'm gonna hit it again.
Another great thing about that final Avenger/JLA battle, aside form the no-ninja thing is how it continues. I don't know about you guys but I could actually feel the fatigue of the superheroes in that battle, it was written that well. It is probably the only case I can remember where the delay in the release of the last issue of a series was really worth it to me.
Just re-read it still in love with it.
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Post by Doctor Bong on Mar 25, 2007 18:21:14 GMT -5
Yes, I see what you mean about the sense of them getting to the point of exaustion...
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Post by Nutcase65 on Mar 25, 2007 18:51:24 GMT -5
Only one other time in reading any book has the author been able to make me FEEL the absolute weariness of the characters involved.
If I can make you feel physical weariness through my writing (and no boredom doesn't count) I have done a good job. They did a good job.
Another sappy moment that got me, and I might hear some rips about this one.
Sue has just walked away from Tony Stark after knocking the drink out of his hand and lighting him up. The last page of that issue. Stark, Richards and Parker with the Lord's Prayer as the dialog and Happys EKG flatlining. That got me.
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silvermoth
Force Works-er
The War is Over!!
Posts: 25
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Post by silvermoth on Apr 2, 2007 5:50:48 GMT -5
I adore the Young Avengers and New Avengers vs Kree and Skrull. That was a brilliant battle
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Post by thew40 on Apr 3, 2007 12:13:13 GMT -5
Another sappy moment that got me, and I might hear some rips about this one. Sue has just walked away from Tony Stark after knocking the drink out of his hand and lighting him up. The last page of that issue. Stark, Richards and Parker with the Lord's Prayer as the dialog and Happys EKG flatlining. That got me. I actually found this to be one of the bst moments in the entire "Civil War" story. It's a shame it was so small compared to everything else. It was never even mentioned elsewhere. ~W~
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Post by Doctor Bong on Apr 3, 2007 13:36:43 GMT -5
The only thing I can say about this is: the death of Happy makes me very un-happy...
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Post by Doctor Doom on Apr 3, 2007 16:31:08 GMT -5
I don't like him being dead but the very last page- with the Lord's Prayer and the different characters, was INCREDIBLY powerful considering I'm not exactgly a huge fan of Happy's character.
Plus it got bonus points for being the first title (thank you, Dwayne McDuffie!) at that time to show Reed taking care of the kids. Sue's faith was not misplaced.
Funny- McDuffie seems to be making a deliberate effort to partially redeem Tony while focusing on Reed in his title and the Knaufs did pretty much the same in their issues- focusing on Tony but pointing out that how hypocritcal Sue was being.
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Post by Nutcase65 on Apr 3, 2007 18:39:38 GMT -5
the fact that he's taking care of the kids, and with just that one splash you can see how lost he is without her. It reaches in and squeezes the blood pump.
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Post by uberwolf on Apr 3, 2007 22:09:20 GMT -5
Wait... kids? As in plural? When did that happen?
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Post by thew40 on Apr 3, 2007 22:20:23 GMT -5
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Post by Doctor Doom on Apr 4, 2007 3:16:45 GMT -5
Heh, yeah. As though he didn't already have enough brains it turns out Doctor Doom is in fact fully ready to not onyl deliver a baby, but deliver an incredibly troublesme one Reed couldn't. Leave it to Doom!
Of course he DID do the whole "Cast Spell on her to make her his familiar and then use her in a plan which sealed her brother in Hell, had her mother's face set on fire, had her uncle stretched over iron bars, had her father's best friend beaten almost to death by super-strong creatures" thing but that was just because he was bored!
PS: Random trivia: Valeria's first word? "Doom".
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Post by redstatecap on Apr 6, 2007 23:08:59 GMT -5
The Avengers vs. Michael Korvac. This, for me, is the best comic battle ever. A reinforced roster of Avengers and Guardians confront Michael in a non-descript suburban home, and the sh*t hits the fan. The Avengers come close to beating him before being annihilated down to almost the last man. In the days before mega-crossovers served up gratuitous death with regularity, this battle was truly shocking.
RSC
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Post by Doctor Doom on Apr 7, 2007 10:03:21 GMT -5
The Korvac fight is great, no dobut about it but I recently re-read it and found it... well, it's good, but thjere are many better. I honestly feel it's overrated. At the time though it was something staggering.
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Post by thew40 on Apr 7, 2007 11:38:05 GMT -5
The Avengers vs. Michael Korvac. This, for me, is the best comic battle ever. A reinforced roster of Avengers and Guardians confront Michael in a non-descript suburban home, and the sh*t hits the fan. The Avengers come close to beating him before being annihilated down to almost the last man. In the days before mega-crossovers served up gratuitous death with regularity, this battle was truly shocking. RSC I've never read it. Is there at trade of it? ~W~
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Post by Shiryu on Apr 8, 2007 13:57:38 GMT -5
Yes, it's reprinted on Avengers Legends #2. An interesting thing is that, despite having Korvac as the main background menace, most issues show the Avengers dealing with other enemies as well, including the Collector, and only towards the end the attention went fully to Korvac. Also, in these issues, there is Cap challenging Iron-Man's authority and doubting his commitment to the team. The final fight must have been a shock at the time, but when you read is as a reprint, you know that everyone survives in the end, so it loses something.
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Post by Doctor Doom on Apr 8, 2007 14:36:30 GMT -5
The Collector fight is the highlight of the story for me. It is the one comic which illustrates now and forveer exactly why Hawkeye is considered one of the best Avengers.
PS: shiryu just did a Nutcase-bomb!
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Post by Doctor Bong on Apr 9, 2007 4:11:25 GMT -5
On the cover of a Vol. I Silver Surfer issue the art depicted a grounded Thor swirling his hammer at a Silver Surfer descending from the sky to stike at him... As a kid, I would get at glimpse of it once in a while & it always stirred my imagination & I longed to be able to read it, though I never got my wish... I'm assuming it was the 1st encounter between the Silver Surfer & Thor... Do you guys remember it, and does anybody know if they actually get to fight each other iinside...?
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Post by dlw66 on Apr 9, 2007 16:10:00 GMT -5
That is from Silver Surfer #4, which has been reprinted a few times. Yes, it is a battle royale between Thor and his friends and the Surfer -- all in Asgard. It is John Buscema at his Thor/Surfer best!!
You can find it in the new Surfer Masterworks, Surfer Omnibus, Essentail Silver Surfer, and in one of the old 70's reprints volumes (maybe Greatest Super-hero Battles?).
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