Earlier this month, the Comic Vine voters held a tournament to select a new Character of the Month. Five characters entered the competition, and it was Wonder Woman who was picked as the champion! As the Character of the Month, we'll give her plenty of love on the homepage with all different kinds of articles, but we're also going to test her abilities as a combatant. How will she fare against someone she's never met before?
She was able to defeat her first enemy, Marvel's Beta Ray Bill, but for her second opponent, we wanted to take a look at options that are outside of the Big Two. You know, to switch it up just a little bit. In the end, we picked Skybound's powerful character, Invincible! Would Diana earn a second victory in a row or would Mark Grayson knock out the popular Justice Leaguer? Well, the votes are in and Wonder Woman wins!
What this one came down to was experience and weapons. Invincible's an incredibly tough character, sporting very impressive physicals and pain tolerance, but it's Wonder Woman's tactical mind, impressive melee skills, and variety of equipment (e.g. Lasso of Truth) which made more voters side with her. Even if Mark does land a clean hit or two, Diana's no pushover and has what it takes to recover pretty swiftly. The longer this fight goes on, the more and more it favors Diana. It's worth noting an extended fight does increase Mark's odds since he'll be able to resort to more violent measures, but it also means Diana knows she has to fight smart and do what she needs to do to bring the fight to a close. No matter who you're rooting for, this would definitely be an entertaining brawl to witness. In case you're wondering about the voting, Invincible took 41%, Wonder Woman received 55%, and 4% thought this one is just too close to call. Now, let's see what some Comic Viners had to say about this match.
soldierofel
"I'm a big fan of Mark but I gotta give this to pre New 52 Wondy. She's got the strength and speed to go head to head with Superman and has got the combat skills to outclass Mark. That being said Mark won't go down easy. It'll be a tough fight but Diana takes the majority."
EpicMeltDown
"I have read every issue of Invincible since issue 1. I've reread the series numerous times. Meanwhile, I think I have only read maybe a dozen issues of Wonder Woman. I may be the only comic fan you'll meet who knows a hell of a lot more about Invincible than I know about Wonder Woman. In any case, that makes me a poor judge of what Wonder Woman is capable of. However, a lot of people have commented on the numerous times Mark's been left bloody and broken after a fight and citing that as evidence of weakness but that's not really the case in my opinion and here's why. Invincible the comic is all about trying to realistically portray super human battles. Why has Wonder Woman never had her guts spilling out of her during a battle like Invincible? It's not because she's necessarily stronger or better than Invincible, it's because she's published by DC comics who can't show battles that gory. The worst she can get is broken limb, a bloody lip, maybe a bruise if the artist thinks they can make it look cute, etc but ultimately she's always going to be mostly intacted with few if any marks to show for it.
Invincible has definitely gone up against, in my opinion, opponents much stronger than Wonder Woman. I think Invincible is meant to be faster and stronger than Superman these days which as I understand it should make him faster and stronger than Wonder Woman. I will say that she's supposed to be a very skilled combatant and she's definitely more experienced. As much as I would like Invincible to win this I could still see Wonder Woman coming out on top. But if Invincible thought it was a fight to the death he's proved he's willing to go to bloody violent places Wonder Woman probably hasn't encountered in the DCU. That could give Invincible a last minute edge."
jwrose5
"Yes, Mark has incredible raw power that would make him a challenge for any hero, especially Superman or Sentry, but he also has youth; inexperience. Diana has been fighting and training in multiple forms of combat her entire life, and her raw power would be enough to make Mark even with his impressive healing.
Is it a stomping for WW? No. Could Mark win? Sure, given a good plot line. But in terms of skill and power, WW takes this one home."
DarthTanka
"I definitely vote for Invincible there. Why you ask? Multiple reasons:
N°1: Wonder Woman even if she is a more skilled fighter has never been portrayed as being able to actually defeat Superman, and the Viltrumites in the Invincible universe are in my opinions Kryptonians on steroids. There are no limits to what they can do. OmniMan when he was first introduced was presented as the Superman of the Invincible world, and recently (I don't remember the exact issue, but i do believe it's one that came out less than a year ago), Invincible proved himself to be just as strong if not stronger than his father when they got to arm wrestle and he decided to let him win. Even whilst taking into consideration that maybe OmniMan is not as powerful as Superman (which is debatable since he doesn't have any of his weaknesses), as far as raw power and strength are concerned, Invincible is one of the most powerful Viltrumite there are, and on that field he is superior to the Amazon.
N°2 : Mark is one of the most tenacious heroes there are in comic books in my mind, if he has reasons enough to fight, he will keep on fighting even if his guts are literally splashing everywhere... So sure, Wonder Woman is a warrior at heart and she will never surrender in a fight, but I don't think in any iteration, I have actually seen her push herself the way Mark does when he is ready to go all the way. Even if you do not agree that Invincible's raw power is greater than WW's, the fact is that with his endurance he has been able to defeat opponents that were a lot stronger than he is, I'm thinking of Conquest there. With that in mind I don't see how any battle between the two doesn't end at least with a double KO.
N°3 : One of the attribute that makes Wonder Woman awesome is the fact that she is a honorable warrior, who will always choose to battle their enemy in fair manner, that is the way of the Amazons. Invincible on the other hand is not; when he has to fight an opponent, what matters to him is victory no matter the cost. The Invincible universe is more violent than the DC universe, the heroes and villains there actually do spill a lot of blood, and characters just as strong if not stronger than WW have lost their life...
N°4 : Still keeping in mind that Mark is as of right now at least as strong as his father, don't forget that in a very early issue of Invincible, when the nature of the Viltrumite empire was revealed, OmniMan managed to kill by himself all the members of the knock off justice league that were the original Guardians of the Globe, among which stood a Wonde rWoman parody named War Woman. Of course we know almost nothing about this character but we have no reason to believe with the way she was portrayed that she was in any way less powerful than the original."
cosmicallyaware1
"Well, I suppose I'll throw my two cents in here if it counts for anything.
Invincible has impressive abilities, there's no denying that. And whereas he has been compared in power level to Clark ( that's a whole debate in itself), it is only speculation on comparative levels (and Clark and Diana have the mutual understanding between the two of them that she is the victor in a physical confrontation correct?). That argument aside, it still doesn't seem to be an issue as Diana has faced foes with higher powersets and versatility and walked away the victor many, many times previously. That being said it is relevant to point out the main two factors that give Diana the majority of the win here:
1) Fighting ability: Diana is one of the most adept and skillful warriors in the DCU with a vast history of combat and skill, which her opponent does not lay claim to in return (not even slightly.). That alone coupled with her physical statistics (strength, speed, endurance, durability) would provide a solid victory. hands down.
2) Experience: Diana (especially pre 52) has much more of a history. Mark has only begun his career. That means she has much more battles won (and lost at that) to draw from. Battles "season" a warrior, and they learn from them. Yes, Mark has had some fantastic battles.......Diana has had multitudes more.
And for those reasons, Wonder Woman trumps Invincible."
That's it for the latest Battle of the Week. You're welcome to continue the Wonder Woman vs. Invincible debate below (click here to see all of the match's rules like location and more), but you're also free to make suggestions for Wonder Woman's NEXT challenge! Who do you think is worthy of being her third match? Share your ideas for opponents below or via Twitter. Don't forget to check the homepage Monday to see who Diana will fight next!