I look forward to writing this segment every week... but this one? Oh man, I had a lot of fun. Why? It's thanks to the phenomenal selections I've made and how much I'm in love with them. The super brawl in INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US is amazingly cool, Ollie vs. Komodo is a visual masterpiece, and HARBINGER WARS is downright vicious. Hopefully you'll love 'em even half as much as I do.
WARNING: This week's edition is rather graphic. So, the faint of heart should probably back out now!
Superman & Batman vs. Solomon Grundy (INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US #16)
Chaos has broken out at Arkham Asylum. What began as a verbal conflict between Batman and Superman took a terrible turn when Harley Quinn released the inmates. Characters like Calendar Man won't pose much of a threat, but when Solomon Grundy breaks out, it's time to step up your game a bit. There's a lot of characters in the fray, but Grundy puts his massive (and probably very smelly) hands over Damian's head. To resolve this problem, the Man of Steel makes excellent use of his heat vision.
Damian's safe and sound, but Grundy isn't down for the count... at least not yet. Nightwing reminds Clark he doesn't have to hold back against the foe, and, oh boy, does he listen! What happens next is too astonishing for words. Just look below and soak in the awesomeness.
It's hard to believe writer Tom Taylor and artist Mike S. Miller can top that, yes? If you're a Batman fan, they definitely do! Despite Superman ripping through Grundy's chest, the big villain gets back up. Batman may not have super strength or super speed, but he's got some oh-so-fine technology on his side and epic moves to back it up. Prepare yourself for the most badass flip ever and what is by far Batman's most radical feat in the alternate universe.
That's a one-two punch that'll drop a vast majority of characters, and as expected, Grundy's no longer in a fighting mood after his chest and head are splattered across the floor. A great issue for Batman and Superman fans, but Robin fans? Well... read the issue to find out!
Green Arrow vs. Komodo (GREEN ARROW #20)
Writer Jeff Lemire plots a super exciting fight, but it's the stunning visuals that launches this battle between archers to the next level. Thanks to artist Andrea Sorrentino and colorist Marcelo Maiolo, this is quite possibly one of the best looking fights in the rain I have ever seen.
After a short shootout in the cemetery, Ollie brings the fight to close range. In spite of suffering an absurd amount of injuries last issue, he's clearly aiming to end their feud. He kicks it off with a solid slug to the face, but Komodo returns the favor by using his bow as a melee weapon. From there, the Emerald Archer gives a respectable showing before getting a headbutt right on the nose and collapsing.
It doesn't matter if our hero took a bunch of arrows in the last issue. It doesn't matter if that headbutt wrecked him and sent him crashing into the mud. All that matters is Oliver's drive to save his friends and put an end to this madness, and that's more than enough to overcome. This is Ollie's fight to lose, and you bet your rear he's going to make Komodo pay for all he's done. Oliver grabs an arrow from the ground and... well, what comes next is one of the main reasons this edition of Best Battles has a graphic warning.
If you're not a Green Arrow fan, this book will turn you into one. Seriously, check it out.
Bloodshot vs. Toyo Harada (HARBINGER WARS #2)
Ever since we saw a fantastic cover of Bloodshot firing at Harada, I've wondered how they can make this fight even remotely fair. I mean, anything Bloodshot does, the powerful psionic can redirect or just rip him apart with ease. And, that's exactly how the fight begins. Bloodshot opens fire and Toyo effortlessly sends the bullets right back at Bloodshot. But seeing as he's sporting an accelerated healing factor, those wounds won't stop him in his tracks. The soldier tosses aside the gun and lunges at the powerhouse with a knife. As anyone could have guessed, things go downhill for Bloodshot (I'd say having your face blown off counts as downhill, right?), but then we're treated to a nice little twist to change the tide of the battle.
It turns out there's a protocol in Bloodshot in case he ever got near Harada. When he does get near the man, he releases a surge that disables psionic abilities. The fight is still incredibly unfair... except now it's unfair for Harada. With his powers disabled, Bloodshot mercilessly goes to down on him. As if stabs and punches weren't enough, Bloodshot displays another new ability designed just for Harada: vomiting deadly nanites onto his foe. So yeah, this definitely hasn't gone as anticipated.
Eventually, one of Harada's powerful allies stuns Bloodshot and the psiot uses the brief opening to telekinetically launch Bloodshot into the air. The fight's far from over, though. They're fighting on Bloodshot's turf, and he's taken plenty of precautions with the location. One of these precautions is a whole lot of explosives. While the super soldier plummets back to the ground, he makes sure everything around his enemy goes boom.
Where does the fight go from there? Come on, I'm not going to tell you! HARBINGER WARS rocks and you should buy it to find out for yourself.
Honorable Mentions
- Batman vs. Emperor Penguin
- Ryan Stegman's illustration of Peter Parker lifting his face vs. Your nightmares
- Dan Slott vs. Twtitter
- Dick Grayson vs. A rock
- Thing's fist vs. Wolverine's face
Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. This is the part where he shamelessly plugs his Google+ and Twitter page in hopes of getting a new follower or two.