We've got some great variety for you this week, Viners. There were a lot of solid options to choose from in the latest round of comics, but we just couldn't pass on giving the following three lots and lots of love. Firstly, you'll get to witness a hectic and massive battle between current Avengers and a former hero. Secondly, it's a fight between two street level badasses in New York. Last and most definitely not least, we're showcasing a fight with Godzilla! 'Nuff said, right? Once all is said and done, let us know what you think about the fights we've highlighted and be sure to tell us your top three from this week, too.
Did your favorite melee not get a mention? Well, it's possible we didn't read that issue, so be sure to make suggestions in the official Best Battles Discussion Thread from now on. We review that before writing this weekly feature and do our best to get our hands on the issues suggested!
Wasp & Thor vs. Sentry (UNCANNY AVENGERS #15)
In case you're not following along (shame on you), the Apocalypse twins basically want to kidnap every mutant and take them away from Earth. Janet's trying to make sure that doesn't happen, but there's one little problem: the Apocalypse twins have some VERY powerful horsemen of death. One of them happens to be Sentry, you know, the ridiculously powerful former Avenger. Upon realizing she can't avoid him forever, Wasp decides to put her foot down. Literally.
Unfortunately, Wasp gets sucker punched because apparently, Sentry can't handle his own fights (despite having the power of one million exploding suns and yadda, yadda, yadda). As the villain casually walks towards a seemingly defeated Wasp, she lets loose one last blast at his face. The energy attack connects, but it obviously isn't enough to knock out Sentry. What happens next is beyond trippy stuff (we won't spoil it for you), and before the former hero can finish the job, the God of Thunder... well, he brings the thunder. Big time.
An impressive attack, yes, but it's not enough to keep the powerhouse who once slugged it out with World War Hulk down for the count. As expected, Sentry's up shortly after and hits the son of Odin with one helluva strong uppercut. Before Thor can properly recover, Sentry follows up by smashing him into the ground yet again. Needless to say, things aren't going to well for the Asgardian.
Hey Janet, remember that time Thor saved you? Now would be a good time to return the favor, yeah? But how could she hope to remove such a powerful character like Sentry from the picture? Well, you'll just have to read UNCANNY AVENGERS #17 to find out. As you can see by Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder's review, we recommend it quite a bit.
Deadpool vs. Crossbones (DEADPOOL #21)
There's a price on Deadpool's head -- ten million to be exact. Naturally, that's a decent amount of cash, so there's going to be a lot of terrible people gunning for Wade. This issue reveals a number of villains who accept the text, but Crossbones is the first to randomly bump into Deadpool. The Captain America villain takes the first shot, but Wade is able to make it to cover and soon returns fire. Luckily for Brock Rumlow, his sniper rifle and kevlar take the hits.
Now that the guns are out of the way, it's time for this bawl to get up close and personal. Deadpool often goofs around and what have you, but at the end of the day, he has the skill and physicals to throwdown with a whole lot of street level characters and shouldn't be underestimated. Crossbones, on the other hand, is one tough cookie. The guy's squared-off with Captain America numerous times, so despite having an embarrassing loss or two (Bucky Barnes sends his regards), he's not a dude you should take lightly. Even though Deadpool lands the first hit, he quickly learns this won't melee be a cake walk.
Deadpool's jaw definitely felt that one, but if you've done your homework on the character, then you know it'll take a lot more than a peak human fist to the face to make him see stars. The hit does give the villain a momentary advantage though, allowing Brock to grab Wade by the throat. This is where the fight has the potential to go very poorly for Wade. It wouldn't be surprising if Crossbones smashed Wilson's face in or did some other sort of terribly violent thing to him. However, given what the merc with a mouth just went through in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, you can bet he's not just going to let Brock use him as a punching bag. Deadpool introduces his boot to Brock's face, but the attack doesn't stop Crossbones. Wade gets tossed into a car and after that, he makes it clear he's not feeling the fight and wants nothing to do with it. But we all know there's no way Brock will just let that ten million dollar opportunity pass him by, so he follows Deadpool into the park.
The fight has been pretty awesome so far, right? Well, you'll never guess how it ends once Crossbones goes hunting for him in the park. Seriously, you won't. It's all kinds of hilarious and on top of that, it's a great start to a new story. It goes without saying that we think you should do the right thing and buy it to see what happens and join in on the fun.
Godzilla vs. Gigan vs. Jet Jaguar (GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH #7)
Fights between skilled mercenaries and superheroes is good and all, but every now and then, it's okay to just enjoy a crazy rumble between ginormous creatures. Luckily for you, that's exactly what the latest issue of IDW's GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH is all about.
The issue begins with Godzilla setting his sights on Jet Jaguar, a size-changing robot. Jet means the iconic monster no harm, but despite that, Godzilla fires an atomic ray. The robot barely dodges it and before the fight can progress any further, Gigan, the alien cyborg, emerges. The extraterrestrial threat goes to town on Godzilla, but before he can deliver a finishing blow, Jet Jaguar saves him. From there, Godzilla damages his enemy to the point where he realizes that a tactical retreat is without question his best option.
Now that Jaguar's proven it's an ally and even saved Godzilla's life, will the famous creature be less aggressive? Nope, most definitely not. Even though the robot's trying to signal it means no harm, the King of Monsters unleashes at its target and smashes it while it's down.
Even though Godzilla dished out two devastating attacks, the robot's a-okay and decides to retaliate. Godzilla landed two attacks, but this Government robot only needs one attack to bring this fight to an end. It's a punch so epic that it gets the splash page treatment. Godzilla, you just got Guy Gardner'd.
Sure, that wallop dropped the legendary Kaiju, but what happens right after that? You can't just leave the beast laying in the middle of the city, after all. Keep in mind we've only shown you a small portion of the fight -- there's a lot more to enjoy in the full issue. So if you dig what you've seen, it would probably be wise to go pick up GODZILLA: RULERS OF EARTH #7.
Honorable Mentions
- Scarlet Spider vs. Shathra (SCARLET SPIDER #25)
- Gunslinger, Superstar vs. Toyo Harada (BLOODSHOT & H.A.R.D. CORPS #17)
- Blight vs. Constantine, Phantom Stranger, Nightmare Nurse, Swamp Thing and Pandora (TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA #6)
- Lady Shiva, Bronze Tiger vs. Jason Todd (RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #26)
- Lobo vs. Supergirl (SUPERGIRL #26)
- Hulk vs. Hank Pym, Tony Stark, Beast (INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #17)
What are your top 3 fights from this week? Share them with us below! Also, don't forget to make nominations every week in the official thread or tell Gregg via Twitter. Due to the holidays, there won't be a new Best Battles in New Comics next week but there WILL be something else posted!