Thanks for checking out the latest edition of this week's Best Battles in New Comics! If you're knew to the weekly segment, all you need to know is this is the spot where we celebrate some of the best action scenes from the latest round of new comics. We don't mean to brag, but you've picked a pretty great week to visit the segment! First up, we have the closest thing you'll get to seeing a modern fight between Marvel's heroes and the Justice League. After that, you'll visit Invincible's universe for a big dose of chaos. Last and most definitely not least, you'll observe two fan favorite characters from Marvel engaging in a fun yet violent fight.
If you're not a fan of the ones we picked, we encourage you to praise the one you have in mind instead of simply posting something like, "why isn't ___ in here?" It just may motivate someone to check out the comic, after all. Also, we have a discussion thread for this segment and check it frequently on Wednesdays and Thursdays. So if there's a fight you like in a new comic, be sure to recommend it in that thread before we write the feature!
*This contains a few INVINCIBLE spoilers!*
NEW AVENGERS #20
An epic battle between the Illuminati and the Great Society has been building for quite some time, and with the latest chapter, writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Valerio Schiti finally deliver a fight. And yes, it's every bit as glorious as you'd want it to be! Reed Richards and Beast are taken out off panel (way to represent for team 616, chumps), but several other match-ups are still underway and Hickman chimes in on all of them. The Rider, who's essentially Batman's analogue, dukes it out with Black Panther. It's basically a stalemate as these two avoid melee attacks and projectiles. It's a blast watching these two skilled and tech heavy characters go at it and really makes you wonder what would happen if T'Challa and the true Dark Knight really were at odds. Anyway, here's a glimpse of their awesome skirmish.
Really cool, right? That's a terrific street level fight, but when we're talking about teams this diverse, that means we're also going to be treated to a slugfest between two powerhouses. It's time for Hulk vs. the Sun God. Guess which DC Justice Leaguer he's an analogue of? No, not Lex Luthor! Come on, it's Superman! The Man of Steel vs. Hulk is a heated debate which still goes on to this very day. In this issue, the two heroes have a mighty clash, but eventually Hulk begins to do what he does best.
Is that enough to keep the Sun God down for the count? Let's just say Hickman does indeed pick a winner and we won't spoil the answer in here. While many of these fights are balanced (Namor and their version of Martian Manhunter, the Jovian, are locked in a stalemate), one fight isn't very fair at all: Iron Man vs. The Great Society's Flash analogue, Boundless. It isn't Tony's finest hour.
In case you're wondering, Black Bolt followed Doctor Spectrum and they're now both off-world, but we haven't even shown you the main event: Doctor Strange vs. Doctor Fate's analogue, The Norn! The other fights are entertaining, but this one's the game changer. You won't want to miss how this fight unravels and the cliffhanger it leaves us on.
INVINCIBLE #112
There was a spoiler alert in the intro, but just in case you glossed over it, here's another warning: THAR BE SOME INVINCIBLE SPOILERS IN HERE! We don't give away all of the details or the ending, but if you haven't read the latest issue or if you're trade waiting, we recommend scrolling to the next highlight. Can't say we didn't warn you.
After spending an absurd amount of time in the Flaxans' dimension, Robot has returned with one simple mission: to rule the Earth. He believes that if he has total control of the planet, he can make it a better place for everyone. Unless he thinks you'd disagree with the plan, that is. If so, he's going to kill you. You know, for the greater good and all that. Robot already attacked Invincible and Eve, and now the character is setting his sights on various members of the Guardians of the Globe. Remember, we told you there's some spoilers in here. In order to highlight all of the madness, there's no good way to avoid some of them. But don't worry, there's plenty we're not showing you.
Try to find it in your heart to forgive the upcoming pun, but artist Ryan Ottley, inker Cliff Rathburn and colorist John Rauch did a killer job with these pages. Robot's projectiles make the violence less bloody but that doesn't mean they're any less horrific. Much of the issue is Robot going around and killing any hero that's likely to stand against the grand plan, so obviously, that means there's a lot of murder going on. Considering they do such a great job with the character's expressions, it makes some of these deaths pretty tough to observe.
This issue isn't limited to just one violent encounter, of course. Robot also assaults the Pentagon. Outnumbered and facing increasingly difficult odds, Robot eventually unleashes a secret weapon to even the odds. And by "even the odds" we mean "make the fight totally unfair" and you need to read the issue to see the full impact of what happens. We won't show you how it concludes, but here's an epic punch from the scene. You can't have an edition of Best Battles in New Comics without a good serving of those, after all.
INVINCIBLE continues to shock and we haven't even scratched the surface of what goes down in this bloody issue. How does Monster Girl react? What happens at the Pentagon? Does anyone survive the attacks by Robot? Go read the issue for all of the details!
DEADPOOL VS. CARNAGE #4
Cullen Bunn and Salva Espin's crazy limited series comes to an end! As expected, it wraps up with a big ol' brawl between the Merc with a Mouth and Carnage. You didn't expect anything else from a book called "DEADPOOL VS. CARNAGE" did you?! If you've been following along, then you know Wade Wilson has found a way to even the odds in this finale: he's wearing several symbiotes. As talented as Deadpool may be, there's just no denying Carnage has a large physical edge. However, these symbiotes give him a new set of abilities and he takes full advantage of them during his initial assault against the infamous Spider-Man villain. It's a pretty cool display, but after humiliating Cletus Kasady a little bit, it's back to the basics for Wade... and for him, that often means filling his enemies with a lot of lead. Well, the somewhat upgraded basics thanks to those tendrils!
Bunn and Espin never lose sight of this limited series' primary goal: to keep things fun! Even though this is a bloody showdown between two lethal and dark characters, artist Epsin and colorist Veronica Gandini transform the gruesome encounter into something that has an almost cartoon-ish and comedic experience. They pummel and dismember one another, but instead of feeling shockingly graphic, it constantly reminds us that these are two characters that can take it and almost seem to relish the fight.
The fact these two can take so much damage plays perfectly into the tone Bunn creates for this limited series, too. He can have these two slaughter one another all day long, and at the end of it, they could still grab a cup of coffee and talk about how much they hate Spider-Man. Okay, the latter is very unlikely, but the point still remains. Deadpool's accelerated healing factor means he can take a huge amount of punishment (and not to mention stabs from a symbiote), and, thanks to his red symbiote, Carnage is a dude that's incredibly tough to keep down. That means this book can take hilarious yet savage turns and keep on going. Here's a prime example of that.
We all had our theories on how Bunn would wrap this up, but we can almost guarantee that none of you will see the ending coming. Overall, DEADPOOL VS. CARNAGE is basically everything you'd expect it to be If non-stop comedy and these two fighting over and over again sounds like a good time to you, then you should obviously check it out! The limited series may be over, but it's looking like it won't be the last time we see these two in the same story. Promotion art seems to imply both of these characters will be in Marvel's upcoming event, Axis.
Honorable Mentions
- SUPERMAN #32
- LARFLEEZE #12
- DEADLY CLASS #6
- AQUAMAN #32
- ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER #4
- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3
- RED LANTERNS #32
- NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #1
- X-O MANOWAR #26
- ORIGINAL SIN: HULK VS. IRON MAN #1
- C.O.W.L. #2
- SHADOWMAN: END TIMES #3
What are your top three fights from this latest round of new comics? Also, don't forget to make nominations every week in the official thread or tell us via Twitter. See you next Friday and have a good weekend!