I don't think strictly comparing high ends is going to do either of these characters much justice either, but just keep in mind that regardless of which era you want to examine the recurring theme as it relates to Validus is that the monster is far and above Clark or any of his comparable patriots.
I have no arguments here. We can compare low, middle and high end feats all day long. I agree that Validus is a foe above Clark and his physically comparable friends. There is no doubt in my mind that he will start this fight at higher level of power than Mean Supreme.
You'd have to prove that Supreme has what it takes to beat someone that can literally toy with Pre-Crisis Kryptonians under several different pens, and with all the feats that these characters have had over the course of several decades that's gonna be quite a task.
I think as you have now seen, Supreme has a few different advantages in his corner for a battle such as this. Honestly, this whole response is going to be fairly short overall. I didn't see a whole lot of disagreement from you on my assessment of Supreme, and you will not see a whole lot of disagreement from me on your assessment of Validus. I don't want to turn this into a session of picking feats apart, and would rather focus on the differences between Supreme and the foes Validus has faced. Now if we were talking about strictly Moore Supreme, Validus would probably take it in a straight up fight. Give Moore Supreme some prep, or at least access to his citadel, and he would probably take it.
We aren't arguing Moore's Supreme as the figurehead though, and we have no prep in this battle. Instead we are arguing Mean Supreme, who is a whole different ballgame. This is a character that will scan his foes down to the molecular level, and can adapt his attacks to deal with that foe. A character that has adaptive defenses that will rearrange his very DNA to tailor them against the foe that he is fighting. A character that at peak levels, was equal to, if not greater than Moore's Supreme. This is a character that can absorb energy, and use that energy to amp himself. I am going to argue, that Mean Supreme has everything within his power set that he needs to take the win here...
- A pretty awesome healing factor that has even brought him back from the dead
- Adaptable defenses and powers that can be tailored to threats he is facing
- Comparable base power levels to pre-Crisis Kryptonians and Daxamites with the Moore feats in play
- The ability to absorb energy attacks to amp his powers
- He is a tactical and scientific genius, and basically has "smarts" that can and will come into play in combat
- A level of unrestrained brutality that Validus' pre-Crisis foes generally don't resort to
Let's get down to brass tacks, and spell this out in it's entirety. Supreme's adaptive defenses, durability and healing, should be sufficient to pull him through any attacks that do manage to land, especially if his healing is good enough to bring him back from the dead. Bear in mind, I am not advocating an instant sort of regen from death. If Validus managed to kill Supreme, there is no telling how long it would take for Supreme to come back, since as you have seen, sometimes it happens quickly and sometimes it takes a bit longer. Probably depends on the level of damage that took him out, but if a mostly de-powered Supreme can come back from this, then Validus isn't taking him out permanently. That said, death in this instance for Supreme would count as KO for the purposes of this fight. I just need to hammer home the idea of just how good his healing is though, which is why I am harping on this point.
All of this does little to help him if he can't actually harm Validus, right? Well, his ability and propensity to scan his foes down to the molecular level, using his scientific knowledge and looking for weaknesses, is one major advantage in his corner. Couple that with the ability to adapt his powers to help deal with foes, then you have a pretty amazing combination there in dealing with seemingly unstoppable monsters. Could Supreme create anti-energy with his powers of adaptation? Good question. I mean, he has altered his eyebeams to plasma, altered his eyebeams to a form of beta-vision that can disrupt biological networks, used his "Will Supreme" to tear a hole in reality...I think it is a debatable point that needs to be considered. We can even consider the idea of him amping his strikes with psionics, which Lady Supreme proved is well within a Supreme's abilities.
You also have to consider that Supreme isn't looking to simply KO or incapacitate his foe. He will bring to bear the full force of his might to mangle, maim, and completely remove Validus from this mortal coil.
In the end though, what I feel will be Validus' eventual undoing, is his lightning. Unlike the Kryptonians and Daxamites he has faced, Supreme is an energy manipulator with the ability to absorb and amp himself with energy attacks. Add to the fact that his adaptability will alter his very DNA to reconfigure his defenses and powers to help take down a foe...and that paints a very telling picture here. I would hazard a guess, and say that one of those bolts Validus is capable of producing, is more powerful than the combined blasts Khromium's forces were releasing on Supreme. If those combined blasts, took Supreme from Omni-Man levels to solo planet busting levels...then where would a blast from Validus take this Supreme to, who is starting at levels comparable to pre-Crisis characters?
Also, what happens if Supreme manages to channel one of those bolts, and strikes Validus with it? How well can Validus stand up to his own insane powers?
Validus will definitely start this battle as the most powerful of the two. Of that, there is no question. It is just that he is going to be his own undoing in this little confrontation. It's not where you start the fight, but where you end up. And thanks to one of Validus' most powerful attacks...Supreme will end up victorious=)
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