One of my all-time favorite comics is Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7, which introduced The competition based Elder of the Universe, The Champion. He took on all of the heavy hitters in the Marvel Universe and the result was in my opinion the best Ben Grimm comic ever printed. I thought it might be fun to have The Champion face off against DC's premiere boxer/hero. Like The Thing, Wildcat just doesn't know how to quit, even if the odds against him are overwhelming.
Wildcat has had an interesting history. Started in the 40s and still gets used on Arrow in the present. He has had power of some regeneration by writers at different times. He has been credited with helping to train different heroes as they have started out.
ReplyDeleteRoss, have you had many women in such fights besides Wonder Woman and She-Hulk? Since MMA has gained so much fame, a lot of women have shown why they are equal to men in fighting abilities.
A different example for guys who might still question a woman's ability.
ReplyDeleteLaila Amaria Ali is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. She is the daughter of the late legendary heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, and is the eighth of her father's nine children. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the WBC, WIBA, IWBF and IBA female super middleweight titles, and the IWBF light heavyweight title.
Losses: 0. Wins: 24. Total fights: 24. Wins by KO: 21
Ali grew up in Southern California with her parents and her older sister, Hana. After a troubled period in her teens, including time in a juvenile detention center, she earned a degree in business management at Santa Monica College. She worked as a manicurist while attending school and then owned a nail salon. She later recalled that she had been inspired to train as a boxer by watching a televised fight between women boxers Christy Martin and Deirdre Gogarty in 1996.
Ali made her professional boxing debut at the age of 21, on October 8, 1999, in a bout against April Fowler. She knocked out her opponent 31 seconds into the first round. Over the next eight years, she faced off against many leading names in women’s boxing. In 2001, she defeated Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of boxer Joe Frazier. In a nod to the longstanding competition between the two women’s fathers, the fight was publicized as ''Ali vs. Frazier IV.''
Just because they can give birth doesn't mean that can't be an equal to a male, especially when they train for it.
One of yesterday's new Teen Titans Go! episodes inspires this suggestion: Control Freak and Mojo.
ReplyDeleteI remember M-T-I-O #7. And, while it was intense, in its own way, nothing, for me, as ever been as emotionally powerful as the chapter from SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI entitled "The Man Who Would Not Fall Down."
ReplyDeleteIt was only when the alien-appointed referee gave the victory to Ali by TKO that Kal-El finally allowed himself to give up. Needless to say, Ali went on to the main event. Fighting the dictator of planet Bodace...and trouncing him, of course. Big time!
P.S.---That particular DC Special naturally included a ginger-haired Jimmy Olsen. :-)
ReplyDeleteMy money's on Ted, because -- apart from anything else -- he's used to fighting without powers that need to be "dampened" to make it 'fair'.
ReplyDeleteI wonder whether, in his civilian guise, he ever fought Ali?
Yes, in DC's New Frontier.
DeleteOh man, I LOVED that MTIO Annual! Ben Grimm kicked BUTT, and Colossus had a great moment.
ReplyDeleteGo Ted!
@Simreeve: Probably not. But, I'll bet he could've acted as Superman's coach for that one-shot confrontation with Ali.
ReplyDeleteI had that annual as a kid and read it again and again. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Laila Ali, the girl can sing pretty good too. She was unmasked as the Panda on last week's Masked Singer episode.
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of girl fights, Black Canary has both been captured and forced to fight or gone undercover to expose Roulette's fight club more than once. There was even an episode of the JLU cartoon series that featured a mind-controlled (thanks to tech provided by Grodd) BC, Vixen, and Hawkgirl vs. Huntress. Huntress snapped BC awake, they woke up Vixen and Hawkgirl, so Roulette threw Wonder Woman at them. The three regular JL'ers kept Diana busy until Huntress could take down Roulette and break the control device.
And in that vein, a cover of the JL women vs. the Avengers women (using cartoon style shots from JLU and Avengers Assemble) could be fun.
ITEM: That annual was fantastic. So many good and fun elements.... Ben's fight. Colossus refusing to give up until Champion stopped the match. The Hulk's moment. I learned to enjoy it more as I re-read it, but it's a classic.
ReplyDeleteITEM: @Carycomic, I cannot decide the nature of that fight between Superman and Ali. It was great, and Neal Adams made it a delight in every panel. But even when Superman went down, it seemed to be part of the plan. He had to get out of the fight to take out the aliens. However... it was still a great book!
ITEM: Ross, this is a great concept, and a delight to see. You just keep on keeping on, brother!
Wilidcat "just doesn't know how to quit"? Maybe he should get in the ring (for a charity event, of course) with a certain guy at Marvel who "can do this all day"! (They've met a couple of times on this blog, though both times Wildcat was with fellow JSA members, not by himself.)
ReplyDeleteNice! My high school's mascot was the Wildcats, so it's always nice to see this guy show up! Doesn't hurt that Ted Grant is a great character anyway!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which, the university that I attended for a couple of years had the Red Wolves as their mascot. Any chance that DC's Wildcat could cross paths with Marvel's Red Wolf? I'd love to see that!
Any chance of Golden Ager Marga the Panther Woman mistaking Wildcat for her Ted Grant?
ReplyDeleteTry this on for size: Black Canary vs Black Widow (in current day garb) as a photo cover. Arrow and Marvel Avengers should have lots of material to work with. Only thing, Widow can't have any hidden gimmicks and Canary can't scream.
ReplyDelete"Black and Blue or No Marks Against Them." (each can do great blocking.)
Another brilliant cover!
ReplyDeleteInspired!
ReplyDelete