It's Friday on Comic Vine and that means it's time to reflect on this week's best battles in new comics! Since I had to spend about a gazillion dollars (that's a rough estimate) to prepare for Nemo, the blizzard of doom, my comic pull was very light this week. Odds are I've missed a lot of awesome battles and it's up to you (yes, you!) to share cool images of them in the comments section for all to appreciate.
Regardless, I'm content with the three I've picked and hopefully you'll enjoy them every bit as much as I did. Enjoy!
Superman vs. Green Lantern (Injustice: Gods Among Us #4)
When the most powerful man you know is beyond pissed off and has his sights set on something, you really, really, reaaaaaaally don't want to get in the way. While Green Lantern's honestly trying to do the right thing here, deep down he's gotta know there's no way this ends well for him -- even if he's sporting an ego like in the pages of JUSTICE LEAGUE. In case you're not reading INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, I quickly catch you up to speed. Joker just did something terrible to Superman -- even worse than filling his undies with kryptonite. You see, he not only tricked Superman into killing Lois Lane... but it turns out she was pregnant with his child... and the minute her heart stopped, a nuke detonated in Metropolis.
So yeah, in one moment Superman lost the woman he loves, his unborn child and millions of people in the city he calls home. It's all due to the Joker and you can bet nothing, not even a Green Lantern, has any chance of stopping the Man of Steel.
You have to give Hal credit for trying, though. But this wound is too fresh and far too painful to heal with talking right now. Despite Hal using an oh-so mighty restraining bubble, Superman effortlessly smashes it with a single strike.
In spite of being blatantly outclassed, Hal still stands his ground and tells Superman they don't have to do this. It's definitely the noble thing to do -- sarcificing your own well being to protect your friend -- but there's a difference between being heroic and foolish... and in one swift motion, Kal makes Hal (say that 10 times fast) realize his decision was indeed a foolish one.
Naturally, Superman saves Jordan before he splats against the ground. The Man of Steel then departs to confront the Joker and there's no way I'll spoil what happens. Go read it if you want to find out! Or... you know, someone in the comments will happily spoil it for you.
Green Arrow vs. Komodo (Green Arrow #17)
This is a great new start for Green Arrow fans... it's just too bad it's a terrible, terrible start for Ollie's body. We're introduced to a villain named Komodo and he's one step ahead of the Emerald Archer the entire time. To add insult to injury, he even uses Green Arrow's own trick arrows against him.
Things are off to a pretty poor start for our hero and they're definitely not going to get any better. On top of being blinded by the flash arrow, he now gets a harpoon arrow right to the wrist. Oliver tries to rely on his hearing, but Komod's too quick for him.
When he finally does spot Komodo again, they have a draw similar to the kind we'd see with his old buddy, Merlyn. Komodo dodges the arrow and for a third time in a row, embarrasses him with yet another one of his trick arrows.
Even though Komodo mocked Ollie for having trick arrows, he doesn't seem to mind using them to his advantage one bit. The projectile incapacitates Ollie and the villain dishes out a brutal combo.
Luckily for Green Arrow, a dude named Magus comes to save the day. I know a lot of you haven't been following GREEN ARROW for quite some time, but this first issue by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino was seriously good stuff. Go give it a shot.
Shadowman vs. Mr. Twist (SHADOWMAN #4)
Man, first I lose Savage Opress, now Mr. Twist? The fictional world will surely miss these two badass villains. It's a shame Twist isn't the main baddy or will get more panel time because he was so darn entertaining. His lovably evil personality meshed with his bizarre look was a match made in heaven for this stellar book.
*Unfortunately, making scans from my .pdf copy removes the dialogue*
He doesn't even get to smack Jack around a bit... he just gets turned into sushi. Don't get me wrong, it looks spectacular thanks to Patrick Zircher's art, I just wish he went down swinging before having that scythe rip him to shreds.
If you've been following SHADOWMAN, then you know stabbing and slashing wounds won't keep the big guy down (come on, the opening move was a decapitation and he's still good!). Jack's gotta use his head, and luckily for him, the Deadside is filled with ghouls that'll let him slay the massive foe.
RIP Mr. Twist. You will be missed.
Honorable Mentions
- Hit-Girl vs Goons
- Kitty Pryde vs. "Ice Boy"
- "Spider-Man" vs. Vulture
- Hawkeye vs. "Lady Deathstrike"
- TMNT vs Krang's army
Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. He really, really, reaaaaaally recommends checking out Millar's HIT-GIRL run. It's a brutal delight. Oh yeah, follow him on Twitter, too.