Best Battles in New Comics: 9/19/14
Every Wednesday, a variety of all-new comic books are released and with those stories often comes a whole lot of awesome action scenes. What good is having tales about characters that have super powers and shockingly good hand-to-hand abilities if those talents are never put to use, right? We've reviewed most of the new comics and there were plenty of cool brawls to choose from, but after giving it plenty of thought, we've picked three that we thought were plenty worthy of our praise. If your favorite battle isn't below, go ahead and show it some love in the comments section.
BATMAN AND ROBIN: FUTURES END #1
The first highlight comes from writer Ray Fawkes, artist Dustin Nguyen, inker Derek Fridolfs, and colorist John Kalisz. The Heretic, a.k.a. the brute who took Damian Wayne's life, appears to be alive. Seeing as these characters exist in a world with clones, Lazarus Pits, and so much more, it's not exactly the most far-fetched idea around that he could return. Batman needs to know if it truly is the being who once murdered his son and he isn't going to let the target out of his sights. Even though the years have taken a toll on his body, he's not going to hold back or falter. He has a new Robin in this time period -- a surprise we won't spoil for you -- and he refuses to let Alfred inform his sidekick of the situation. The latest thing he wants is to see "the Heretic" kill another Robin. So, with zero hesitation, Batman engages the physically impressive foe. He kicks things off with some smoke and electric attacks, but it just isn't enough. Wayne also tries to reason with his opponent, but none of his words break through.
Talking has failed. Equipment has failed. All that's left is pure hand-to-hand combat and the art team does a great job pulling us into all of the brutal strikes and throws. If this throwdown happened in BATMAN '66, there's be an absurd amount of onomatopoeias. Seriously, what we're about to show you is just a small sample of the battle.
What follows is two more pages of pure combat. The Caped Crusader pulls out even more tricks an in effort to topple this beast, but nothing slows the villain down or even fazes him. Even when Batman goes for a simple kick, the Heretic counters and violently smashes the hero against the ground. To call it an uphill struggle for Bruce would be an understatement. Even as Batman gets utterly destroyed, he refuses to let Alferd call Robin for backup. If he's getting stomped, what'll happen to his ally?
Honestly, we've had mixed impressions of the various FUTURES END tie-ins, but this look at Batman and Robin's future turned out to be one of the better chapters. It's loaded with good looking action and establishes a world that we'd be interested in seeing more of. But how does Batman bring the big dude down? Can he even drop the enemy? As always, we won't spoil that in here, so we recommend picking it up to get all of the details.
HULK #6
Our next highlight comes from writer Gerry Duggan, artist Mark Bagley, inker Andy Hennessy, and colorist Jason Keith. This latest story arc has made Hulk smart again. So smart, in fact, that he no longer wishes to be called Hulk. He now goes by the name Doc Green, and Doc Green has one mission: eliminate all gamma-powered weapons. He's used his blood to create what he believes is a curse, and now he just needs to get a chance to use it. Unfortunately for him, Rick Jones, a.k.a. A-Bomb, isn't very fond of the idea and views his situation as a gift, not a curse. Get ready for punching.
Hulk, using a nifty new device he installed in his fingertips (we'll leave the technobabble in the issue), he contacts one of his allies, Damon, and orders him to swiftly send a new needle with the antidote his way. Before he can say, "thanks, bye!" A-Bomb rudely interrupts the call with his big, blue fist. If you loved the above highlight, you're really going to appreciate the way Bagley presents the next punch.
The slugfest between these two ridiculously powerful characters ends up smashing into a water tower and the structure comes crashing down. Instead of continuing to throw their fists around, the duo pick up debris and begin to swing away at each other. The art team did a commendable job with all of the punches, but it's a nice little chance of pace to see them parry and lock weapons. They're not graceful like a Jedi, but it's still an entertaining bout, especially because of how Hulk attempts to end it.
Okay, so most of you have a good idea how the fight will end, but that's not really important. What is important is what happens next and where this path will take Hulk Doc Green next. A smart Hulk encountering a bunch of gamma characters who likely won't want to give up their abilities? Yeah, this has the potential to be a pretty good time. Oh, there's a M.O.D.O.K. cameo too, so that alone should pique your interest.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURES END #1
The final highlight is by writer Jeff Lemire, artist Jed Dougherty, and colorist Gabe Eltaeb. As you likely know by now, FUTURES END tie-ins pretty much give creative teams the chance to unleash whatever they please. It's just a possible future, so they're allowed to let their creativity flow and embrace what can essentially be viewed as a "what if?" scenario. In this case, we have Captain Atom trying to free himself from a prison on Mars. He has no problem breaking out of the facility, but there's a field around the planet -- one which he cannot bypass. There's several heroes on the red planet, yet none of them manage to slow Atom down even a little bit.
It's pretty obvious that Cyborg, Flash, and Vostok aren't going to accomplish anything against the enormous Captain Atom and the immediate future isn't looking very bright for the team. Flash is trapped in Atom's grip, Atom's other hand is closing in on Vostok, and Cyborg, well, Cyborg isn't doing squat with his blasts. Luckily for them, Wildfire swoops in and strikes Atom square in the face, forcing the giant to drop the Scarlet Speedster. At this point, Atom pretty much seems bored with the fight and reminds the heroes that he's not the only threat on this planet. It's splash page face off time!
Atom is able to drop Firestorm, but Vostok isn't doing too well against Blockbuster. Which, let's be honest, is pretty embarrassing since he's using a jetpack and projectiles against a guy who's limited to close range combat. Despite these advantages, the behemoth is able to get his large hands on the hero. Vostok's firearm may have been ineffective against Blockbuster's thick skin, but being up close and personal allows him to think outside of the box and earn a humorous victory.
JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURES END #1 may not be the most compelling issue around, but it's fun and it's amusing seeing so many characters being thrown into all of the madness. If you simply want to enjoy some wild action, you'll likely get your money's worth with this one. Besides, aren't you at least a little curious about how they potentially topple Captain Atom?
What are your top three fights from this latest round of new comics? Support what you love and tell the world below! Also, don't forget to make nominations every week in the official thread or tell us via Twitter. See you next Friday and have a good weekend!
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