I loved the Tabloid-Sized comics that Marvel and DC used to put out when I was a kid. We had a whole bunch - Secret Origins of Super-Villains, The Fantastic Four, Superman Vs. Shazam, Stories from the Bible, Tarzan, Dick Tracy, Batman's Villains, Marvel Holiday Specials, and more. I have fond memories of lying down on the living room floor and seeing my favorite heroes in "big screen" action.
So, you see the line up here - who ultimately wins? I see Captain Britain, Black Bolt, Rogue and Iron Man winning for Marvel, The Atom, Superman, Batman, Flash and Wonder Woman winning for the JLA with Captain Marvel Vs. The Thing being a draw, so... advantage JLA! I tried to make it close, though, so your opinion may vary.
Let the journey to STF #2000 begin!
39 comments:
Great cover! But I have to disagree. Cap beats Bats.
But hey, everyone gets something wrong sometimes, and it certainly doesn't diminish the high quality image you produced.
Cap beats Batman if they're fighting without equipment. A fully equipped Batman? Different story. I'll give the edge to Batman, then.
Congrats on reaching #1900 Ross. Sweet, sweet cover, and as much I hate to admit here, the JLA goes all the way here. Too much raw firepower.
I think J'onn J'onzz beats Black Bolt, and GL beats Iron Man--though if Tony is wearing his old all-yellow armor, then "Advantage--Iron Man". ^_^
I'd have to go with Cap over Batman as well if it is a straight-up impromptu fight. I maintain that if Batman is given enough time to prepare that he can take out virtually anyone. I feel the same way, about Reed Richards. Someday, I'd like to see THAT contest!
But, no way does the Thing fight Captain Marvel to a draw. I respect the fact that Ben would put up a tenacious fight and could hold his own in a straight-up slug fest. However, with his Mercury speed and ability to fly, Captain Marvel could launch an endless series of hit-and-run attacks that Ben would not be able to defend against. (By the way, Ross, thanks for calling him Captain Marvel and not "Shazam".)
I'd also have to give the advantage to Green Lantern.
As for Thor/Superman, I've always thought that the mystic aspects of Thor's hammer might give him the advantage given Superman's extreme vulnerability to magic.
Thanks for a great cover and the previous 1899 great covers....
The real question, as always when the heroes are fighting one another, is "Who set this up?".
Who is/are the villainous mastermind(s) here?
Congratulations on the epic landmark!
I see Batman and Captain America being the draw - just like in DC Vs Marvel. The other battles could go either way.
Reminds me of a fan-produced trailer I saw on you-tube for a DCU/MCU crossover.
First off? AWESOME! Plain, simple, and--almost--inarguable. :-)
Secondly? I can just hear all your other reader/reviewers going "WTF! What does he mean 'almost?' ".
Well, much as I love blue-eyed Benjy (I still try to sound like Paul Frees when I quote "It's clobberin' time!"), I doubt even his Sunday punches could negatively affect Capt. Shazam's invulnerability.
That being said, I can truthfully say that I'm eagerly awaiting to see how #2000 can possibly top this.
And, once again? Congratulations!
Much as I hate to admit, I have to agree with Carycomic on this one. The Thing out-powering Shazzy would be like Roger Moore defeating Sean Connery in a Battle of the Bonds!
I admit to a bias when it comes to The Thing. he's my favorite Marvel hero... Benjamin J. Grimm always finds a way!
Thor beats Supes
Ultimate Cap crushes Batman.
Captain Marvel beats The Thing
Black Bolt actually could beat beat everyone on the cover with a whisper....
More Stingray team-ups please!
Who ultimately wins? The JLA, who eventually use teamwork (something the Marvelites still haven't figured out after 50+ years) to divide and conquer!
I'm just going to evaluate these battles from top to bottom:
Martian Manhunter vs Black Bolt: If MM can get quick blows in at first, he'll take it. If it's in an isolated area, though, Bolt can win with a single word.
Red Tornado vs Captain Britain: This would be an exciting battle, but I think that, in the end, Cap would take it.
Hawkgirl vs Rogue: Rogue, easily. She has Ms. Marvel's powers (well, she's flying, isn't she?), and a single skin-to-skin touch can put Hawkgirl down.
Wonder Woman vs Valkyrie: This would be a tough battle, and one that lasts a while, but in the end I think Diana would prevail.
Green Lantern vs Iron Man: Tony would put up a good fight, but I think Hal would take this one.
Captain Marvel vs the Thing: Cap's good, but Ben would win simply because of his hidden superpower: his super-tenacity.
Flash vs Quicksilver: We've seen this one (in Marvel vs DC). Flash, overwhelmingly. He has the Speed Force, and Quicksilver doesn't.
Batman vs Captain America: We've seen this one too (same source). It was an extremely close match, but Batman took it in the end. It was thanks to a tiny bit of luck, though, so this could be a toss-up.
Superman vs Thor: My first impression was to go with Supes, but then I remembered that Thor's powers are magical, to which Superman is quite vulnerable. One lightning strike, and Supes is down.
Atom vs Ant-Man: These two are closely matched, but I think that Ant-Man's rapport with ants would eventually turn the tide.
As an aside, I think it'd be great to see an eventual big-screen adaptation of the Justice League/Avengers miniseries!
I have nothing more to say on top of what has already been said, except for Halkgirl vs Rogue.
My thought is that if Rogue does have her power-wise, but touch Halkgirl and she will be absorbing more then just Shiera, but also the thoughts and lives of all her reincarnations. That would be a bit overwhelming all at once.
Winner? Us, the readership.
In a battle between Atom and Ant Man keep in mind that The Atom typically shrinks to microscopic size (Ant Man usually doesn't get that small). So even as small as Ant Man is, The Atom can just go smaller and enter Ant Man's equipment to destroy it.
On the Marvel side you left out two major characters - Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk. You can't have a major battle without them. Maybe they show up later in the story going against Plastic Man and Firestorm.
I would love to see the two companies work together to produce a line of animated movies featuring crosscompany teamups. They could start with adapting the tabloid Superman vs Spider-Man story. Or maybe a Batman vs Spider-Man cartoon. They could mix and match and eventually do JLA and Avengers. Some of these might even be good enough to release into theatres.
Martian Manhunter vs Black Bolt: Depends on which Manhunter but from image it is an early one without some of the multi-attacks Manhunter uses (including psychic bolts) Black Bolt will win unless Manhunter is intangible when he attacks.
Red Tornado vs Captain Britain: Old style Reddy does not have a chance, the one which beat Solmn Grundy would wipe out Captain Brit.
Hawkgirl vs Rogue: Rogue even without taking off the gloves
Wonder Woman vs Valkyrie: Wonder Woman is too much for her.
Green Lantern vs Iron Man: The Old GL would have a lot of trouble when Iron Man broke out the all gold armor and he has lots of gadgets GL would need to defend against. I think GL would win if battle ended quick.
Captain Marvel vs the Thing: Captain Marvel is a great fighter but I think the Thing has him in experience and is used to fighting more powerful foes.
Flash vs Quicksilver: Quicksilver's fastest weapon is his mouth and that is ineffective against the Flash
Batman vs Captain America: Batman has said in previous combats that Captain America could beat him but that is not when Batman is prepared for the fight ahead of time.
Superman vs Thor: Superman can be beaten by Thor but it would take more than his trick of getting opponent on ground and putting hammer on top of opponent. Multiple lighting strikes would help but magic hurts not weakens Superman and he is tough enough to overcome Thor.
Atom vs Ant-Man: The Hank Pym Ant-Man would give Ray Palmer a lot of competition but Scott Lang could not handle the Atom.
Answer Man has changed my mind on Atom vs Ant-Man. I'll give that round to the Atom.
Normally, I would bet on Thor to take out Superman with one swing of his uru hammer, given that Mjolnir is filled with what the latter is even more vulnerable to than kryptonite! Namely; true magic. But, then, again? Supes might be able to take out Thor from long distance using his heat vision!
But, as Spidey might say: "No matter which of them takes out the other, I bet neither one sends candy and flowers, first."
@ my namesake: I predict GL downing Iron Man by power-ringing a can opener for use against the red portions of Shellhead's armor. Followed by Rogue using Hawkgirl as a battering ram against GL.*
*Ostensibly for "plagiarizin' my color scheme, sugah!"
@ Anon #2: Batman uses vastly superior brain by goading Cap into using his old riccocheting shield trick. Batman catches and re-directs shield using combination of martial arts and batarang-throwing skills. Shield heads for Blackbolt who catches it like child's play. Only to learn the hard way that there are magnetized gas pellets stuck to it. Pellets that emit cloud of sneezing powder!
One massive "A-choo!" later, Blackbolt and Batman only ones left standing (due to the latter wearing ear plugs under his cowl). The moment after that? It's just Batman, as he successfully puts Blackbolt in a sleeper hold...after first saying "Gesundheit!"
Captain Marvel should have fought ...
Captain Mar-Vel !
I'm surprised in this country of corporate buy outs that either parent company of DC or Marvel haven't bought the other out and combined the two universes .
Image the new stories like The Fantastic Four vs Lex Luthor or The Justice Society vs Ultron or The Crime Syndicate of America vs The Defenders......
Or imagine The Avengers with DC characters or The Justice League with Marvel ones!
Maybe we could see Dave Cockrums dream of both Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus as members of the Legion.
The possibilities are endless !!!!!
I am baffled as to how you can think Marvel vs. Ben is any kind of draw. Marvel is pretty much even with Superman while Thing has never, ever beaten The Hulk. Pretty sure Billy steamrolls him.
Iron Man only beats GL because you went with Hal rather than Kyle. Since Kyle's imagination is much wilder than Hal's, he'd have a much wider arsenal to tear Tony to shreds with.
If J'onn J'onzz knows the nature of Black Bolt's power, then could he not just use his telepathy to paralyze the nerves which control BB's voice?
Suggestion: Classic lineups of JLA and Avengers vs. Amazo and Ultron.
@Anon June 26 8:04 PM:
While that would offer some cool possibilities, I suspect that both parent corporate conglomerates are so big that neither could raise the money to buy the other one.
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Now that Disney owns Marvel, we could actually have matchups like Dr. Strange vs. Maleficent (from Sleeping Beauty).
Merging the DC and Marvel Universes would be horrible for fans. The competition makes each company stronger. If they did merge they would likely never use any of the less popular characters because they would want to focus on top characters like Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, and Captain America. Even B stringers like Green Arrow, Dr Strange, Aquaman, The Punisher, Hawkman, Silver Surfer, would quickly be forgotten.
If they want to work together to make some cartoon movies featuring teamups that would be fine.
The Answer Man said...
"Merging the DC and Marvel Universes would be horrible for fans. The competition makes each company stronger. If they did merge they would likely never use any of the less popular characters because they would want to focus on top characters like Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, and Captain America. Even B stringers like Green Arrow, Dr Strange, Aquaman, The Punisher, Hawkman, Silver Surfer, would quickly be forgotten.
If they want to work together to make some cartoon movies featuring teamups that would be fine."
I really want them to create more Amalgam issues. There were so many lovely concepts involved that I'd love to see continued... especially...
'Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD'
'Challengers of the Fantastic
'Spiderboy'
'Super-Soldier'
'The Darkclaw Adventures'
(Okay, so one or two of those characters were apparently killed in the back-story to 'Lobo the Duck' #1, but since when has that been likely to stop a superhero permanently?
^_^
It almost happened once: http://jimshooter.com/2011/08/superman-first-marvel-issue.html/
Red Bee is still deceased (discourtesy of Baron Blitzkrieg).
P.S.---belated congratulations on 1900 "issues" of STF!*
*By my calculations, the Big 2-Triple-Oh should hit "news stands" (or "the air waves" or whatever outdated euphemism you prefer) circa Oct. 3, 2017.
COVER OF THE MONTH!
Great Cover and I agree with most of your assessments with Cap/Bat and Iron Man/GL going either way. However, I'm curious how you came to the conclusion that Marvel and Thing would be a draw. The strength might be arguable even but Marvel possesses other skills such as speed, wisdom, etc. It's kinda like Mayweather vs McGreggor, if you confine Connor to just hands, he'd probably lose but if he unleashes his arsenal, hands, feet, grappling, etc. (i.e Captain Marvel), it should be a no contest. Just curious. :)
Just a personal bias because I love Ben Grimm as a character.
Ben would still be bound to lose ("super-tenacity" or not), unless he could somehow trick Shazzy into saying the Magic Word a second time. Followed, perhaps, by some Yancy Street equivalent of the Vulcan Neck Pinch.
Afraid he's right, Ross. :-(
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