Let's get ready to rumble! Sorry, had to. Thanks for checking out this week's edition of Best Battles and hopefully your eyes will be pleased with the latest slugfests.
This week, artwork by Marco Checchetto and Fabio D'Auria made VENOM an obvious choice, the Ninja Turtles engaged in a boisterous brawl, and Wolverine is pushed aside not once, but twice by teens! Once again, the Honorable Mentions section is packed as well.
As much as I'd like to, I don't have the time, money or attention span to read every single new comic. So, if there's a battle that you loved and it's not on this list, you're more than welcome to chat about it and share scans of said fight. But in the meantime, here are my top 3 battles this week!
There's minor spoilers here, so tread carefully!
Venom vs Harkspur Brood goons (VENOM #27.1)
Once a bully, always a bully. Using rubber bullets isn't showing mercy, Eugene, it's only prolonging their suffering. This was a vicious issue for the symbiote's latest host -- both physically and emotionally. Unfortunately for these goons, they were on the receiving end of Flash's internal temper tantrum and he enjoyed the savagery every little bit.
The gang of Satan worshiping humans was clearly outmatched against the superhuman anti-hero, but that don't stop him from giving the group a warm dose of humiliation. Simply put, this isn't a fair fight at all. Even if they were armed to the teeth with sonic weapons, I doubt these chumps would stand much of a chance at all. Venom's out to hurt, and he definitelyfollows through.
Venom came for information, but in the end it was clear he really went there to unleash. The man has been through massive trials since Rick Remender kicked off the series, and while he's trying to right his past wrongs, it's clear he's making the same mistakes all over again... but this time against people more deserving of his hatred.
As if the arm snap wasn't bad enough, Flash later visits the poor guy in the hospital and ragdolls him around the room for a bit.
TMNT vs Slash (TMNT #16)
Go, Ninja!, go, Ninja, GO! Seriously, go! Get outta there or Slash is going to rip you apart! The team is trapped underground with the powerhouse, Slash, and taking him down won't be easy. One by one they attempt to do what they can, but Slash proves be too much for them.
I love the Turtles, but I'm not going to lie.. seeing Slash embarrass them was incredibly enjoyable. The team manages to eventually subdue the creature, although it proves to only be a temporary solution and Slash promptly overpowers the four Turtles.
"Wahhhhh Andy Kuhn's art," says a lot of Viners. Yeah, the dude has some wonky facial expressions, but hopefully you can appreciate his work more after feasting your eyes on these panels. Change is tough to accept,
I know I usually don't hesitate with spoilers over how the fights conclude (after all, the warning is in the intro for a reason), but if you want to know what happens... BUY THE ISSUE! This series deserves your love and if that will get IDW an extra copy or two sold, then I'll consider this a victory.
Wolverine vs Classic X-Men (ALL-NEW X-MEN #2)
'Best Battles' isn't just about violent or adrenaline rush inducing fights. Bloodshed and brutality isn't a mandatory requirement here. Sometimes, a quick but highly amusing encounter can stand out above the rest. And mark my words, if Aunt May smacks someone again, it'll make the list. In the meantime, seeing Wolverine shamed by the young X-Men from the past will have to do.
Their scent makes James go wild and, much to no one's surprise, lunging and screaming at a team of characters with assorted powers wasn't the best idea. Jean uses her telekinesis to hold a confused Wolverine stationary and Cyclops doesn't hesitate to jump on the opportunity.
Hardly one of Wolverine's most flattering appearances, but it's still nowhere near as humiliating as how Garth Ennis treated him over in Punisher's books (a shotgun to the groin is a bad time). At least Iceman was kind enough to break the runt's fall.
But hey, Wolverine is their elder and will put them in their place verbally, right? Oh wait...
Truth be told, as embarrassing as it seems, this really isn't a bad showing for Mr. Howlett. Considering he lunged at the group out in the open, it's totally logical that the team of various and immensely useful powers would quickly knock him around a bit. Throw a bloodlusted Logan in a forest with that team though and the odds won't be in their favor.
Honorable Mentions:
- Doctor Strange vs "New Avengers"
- Flash vs Gorilla Grodd
- Thor vs God Slayer
- Red Lanterns vs The Third Army
- Gambit vs Queen's Guards
- Talon vs Benjamin Orchard
- Superman vs H'el
- Batman vs Scarecrow
Want more action? Here's the previous Best Battles:
Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. Follow him on Twitter for early spoilers about his picks every week.
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