Trailer365: Iron Man 3

Day 110: Iron Man 3 (2013) [Original Post]

Trailer365: Blade

Day 109: Blade (1998) [Original Post]

Trailer365: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Day 59: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) [Original Post]

Trailer365: Spider-man

Day 51: Spider-man (2002) [Original Post]

Trailer365: The Wolverine

Day 6: The Wolverine (2013) [Original Post]

Hero of the Week #4: Captain America

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Marvel)
Real Name: Steve Rogers
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March, 1941)
Group Affiliation: Avengers, Secret Avengers, Invaders, SHIELD
Gaming Credentials: Spider-man & Captain America in Dr. Doom's Revenge (1989); Captain America and the Avengers (1991); Maximum Carnage (1994); Marvel Super Heroes (1995); Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems (1996); Marvel vs Capcom 2 (2000); Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (2005); Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006); Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (TBA)
Infinite Wars Cumulative Ranking: #7

I've blogged about it before and I'll definitely blog about it again: comics and video games have a lot in common, both as artforms, and as industries. In many respects, I believe the relatively young medium of gaming could learn a lot from it's sequential senior. Where gaming has a leg up, however, is justification for levity towards death.

If you were following the news at all last week, you probably heard all about Marvel's big announcement for Captain America #600 -- the return of Steve Rogers! If you bought into the hype and actually picked up the hefty $4.99 issue, then allow me to apologise on behalf of the entire industry. Chances are you would've been left a little bemused by the so-called major issue, given that it was a lead-in to the actual series and event of Captain America: Reborn.

Unlike last week's hero (Flash); Captain America's death did not come with a grandiose sense of self-sacrifice; did not benefit all of mankind; and hadn't really even been put to paper all that long!
It was only back in April of 2007, in Captain America #25, that the big A bit the big 1 when he was shot Lee Harvey Oswald-style on the steps of the courthouse he was to be tried in for unlawful activity as an unregistered superhero. The proverbial gunman-on-the-grassy knoll was Cap's arch-nemesis and rooftop assassin, Crossbones, who was working on behalf of the Red Skull. The actual culprit amidst the chaos, however, was the Captain's own straight shooting ex-girlfriend, and agent of SHIELD, Sharon Carter!... Or so it seemed...

Reborn re-examines the events of the fateful shooting, starting with Sharon Carter, the superspy who had been brainwashed to shoot Cap in the gut at point blank and will now find a way to bring him back.

For Marvel Comics, who owe their most significant history to the Stan Lee era of the 1960's; Captain America is one of the few enduring characters that connects them to the Golden Age of comics. Revived as part of Lee's super-group, the Avengers, the Captain re-entered the "modern" world as a man not quite in sync with the time around him. That otherworldly distance the WWII hero possessed has allowed him to become a cypher for many discussions about the American political landscape, and the ideals of an idealistic nation.
To this day, the character largely represents the incorruptible good that America has failed to achieve, but always strived for. He is a character larger than life, important around the world not for the jingoistic flag-waving his red, white, and blue costume represents, but for the larger-than-life superheroic truth and justice he stands for.

The subtleties and unique intrigue of 1940s superheroes, even in their updated incarnations, hasn't always connected directly with gamers, but many will fondly remember the character for his iconic flinging of the shield in games like Captain America and the Avengers and the vs Capcom series. Off the back of his significance in the modern Marvel Universe, however, Cap has enjoyed a more substantial role in the Ultimate Alliance game, which, for now, represents the most thorough venture into the entire Marvel universe, rather than just one brand.

 
 

Cap returns in the Ultimate Alliance sequel, Fusion, packing a punch as one of the key figures in a storyline adapted from 2006's Civil War. The story, centred around the registration and exposure of superheroes to the government, pitted two factions of heroes against one and other in a clash of ideals, asking readers to choose between Captain America and Iron Man. As if to bring events full circle, it was the Civil War that indirectly led to the assassination of Captain America!

Cap also returns later in the year in the [delayed] digital reissuing of Marvel vs Capcom 2! Captain America: Reborn #1 hits comic stores July 1st. The much talked about feature film, Captain America: The First Avenger, is currently slated for a July 2011 release.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club is updated with varying consistency, promising a feature fight for every Friday on the calendar (even if sometimes they're late). The site acts as an information resource, discussion site, review blog, and an All-American good time.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8995755

Hero of the Week #1: Wolverine

WOLVERINE (Marvel)  
Real Name: James "Logan" Howlett
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk #181 (November, 1974)
Group Affiliation: Secret Avengers, X-Men, X-Force
Gaming Credentials: Wolverine (1991); X-Men (1993); Wolverine: Adamantium Rage (1994); X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995); Marvel Superheroes in War of the Gems (1996); Marvel vs Capcom 2 (2000); X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003); X-Men Legends (2004); X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009); Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (TBA)
Infinite Wars Cumulative Ranking: #6

When I'm hanging around here blowing off steam, you might not know that I'm actually neglecting a much longer running blog called, Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. In a nutshell, that's the place where I indulge in the lows and highs of comics culture, featuring superhero fights like a big weird pseudo-sports league. Like a lot of great comics themselves; I like to think it's a lowbrow vehicle with highbrow ideals.

In an effort to reconcile the gap between the two blogs, I generally use my own references when linking to details of relevance. Fortunately for me, superheroes are inexorably linked with video games, and while it might seem slightly obtuse for the uninitiated, it's not really that much of a stretch to spotlight a superhero each week. Wolverine's a great example of that!

Wolverine has a long and sordid past in video games, but his most recent outings have all shown just how at home the character is in the gaming arena.

Early appearances famously hindered trademark attacks as the conventions of 8-bit gaming struggled to reconcile the capabilities of a claw slashing, brute sniffing, always healing mutant into the conventions of the time. While some suffered on a fundamental level that forced the usually agile hero into clumsy platforming, others succeeded at failing on more deliberate levels, like the various games that penalized players for popping a blob of white pixels representing his famous adamantium-laced claws.

The revolution of 3D gaming brought with it many challenges to be navigated in order to unlock the massive potential of the added plane. Through the last few generations we've seen in-game logics gradually let go of the boxed-in fundamentals that constrained early games, adapting the rules to represent a heightened state of hyper-realism.
The introduction of stealth elements, 360 directional environments, diverse enemy AI, adaptable visual displays, and designs that minimized the importance of life-and-death scenarios, all played directly in to the hands of a character like Wolverine.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, like the film it was based on, had it's creative issues as a result of contemporary influences ("IMO"), but it made the next vital step toward realising superheroes (and Wolverine in particular) in all their visceral glory.

The most prominent feature unique to Wolverine was the graphical impetus for ramping up the violence.

Despite being a custom-designed killing machine with knives sticking out of his hands; it's been a struggle to ever see that adequately represented in any satisfying form, let alone put in the hands of gamers. Raven Software's graphical impetus for ramping up levels of blood and violence might not have put forward an argument for superheroes as chin-rubbing philosophical cyphers, but it seems safe to say that it announced the guilty visceral extent the character and games are capable of reaching far better than the film.
Of course, as much as Origins pushed a version of realism to some success, that does nothing to discount the classic almost literal version of the character that will return in 2009's rereleased downloadable version of Marvel vs Capcom 2!

Despite being best known for their free-flowing superpowered melees in comics, developers have made regular efforts to capture the energy of superhero fisticuffs under the ceremonial restrictions of single-plane 2D fighters. Results have ranged from the average to downright mediocre, but unsurprisingly, the seasoned masters at Capcom found a way to make it work.
Vital to their success was the graphical fidelity and artistry that made this 2D fighter an enduring staple of the 3D era, defying contemporaries like Tekken and Virtua Fighter with it's bold and accurate representations of characters from the comics, and fluid, fever-pitched combat. Wolverine never once lopped an opponent's limb off, or suffered a career threatening impalement, but still felt beautifully accurate in his various movements before the inevitable berzerker barrage.

Over in the comics, the Wolvster's still wrapped up in all the universe-spanning guest-appearing action that made him infamous. Today, however, let the record show that our Hero of the Week isn't just a secret avenging X-man, but a gaming super-stud, as well.
Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club is updated with varying consistency, promising a feature fight for every Friday on the calendar (even if sometimes they're late). The site acts as an information resource, discussion site, review blog, and general good time.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8992180

AdVantage Point: Marvel Super Heroes War of the Gems (1996)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book and let him pick out all the advertisements for video games.
This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, stream of consciousness.

 

In only a handful of articles we've already discussed several examples of games making good use of a licensed comics property [Dragonball, Catwoman, Wolverine, X-Men], but while most have done well to adequately represent the recognised characters attached to specific brands, few games before 1996 could boast the scope of today's Capcom platforming beat 'em up feature -- Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems.

As this generation's movie goers are fast discovering, superheroes from Marvel (and DC) are part of an expansive universe that goes far beyond the human/mutant socio-politics of the X-Men, corporate espionage of Iron Man, and government experimentation of Hulk. The great creative attraction of borrowing the established properties of the Marvel Universe is not only the implied sales base it comes with, but also several decades of creations and ideas ready to be drawn upon!

Borrowing the six cosmic Infinity Gems from Infinity Crusade, and evil doppelgangers created by the Magus in Infinity War; War of the Gems leaves behind the various X-Men and Spider-man games in an effort to touch upon the Marvel Universe at large!

Fans will recognise the protagonists summoned by Adam Warlock (to obtain the scattered gems) as various heroes from Capcom's 1995 arcade fighter, Marvel Super Heroes. Iron Man, Spider-man, Captain America, Wolverine, and Hulk, all appear as playable options.
Like War of the Gems, the traditional beat 'em up also featured the Infinity Gems, allowing players to obtain various power-ups via their application. One or two pieces of art from the fighter were reused for the SNES exclusive, but for the most part, this did benefit from being a newly created game. Representing the Marvel Universe are villainous doppelgangers of previous Capcom absentees; Daredevil, Hawkeye, Puck, Sasquatch, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thing, Vision, as well as traditional antagonists, the Magus, Nebula, Blackheart, Dr. Doom, and Thanos.

In a period where comics and the SNES were in decline, you could note that the advert makes great usage of the established heroes of the Marvel Universe. Cross-promotion meant cartoons had already exposed audiences to the popular feature heroes, creating a self-perpetuating engine that could only benefit from the exposure of narrative direction that gave War of the Gems a greater point than many of it's 8 and 16-bit predecessors.

I might be inclined to be more critical of SNES games than most, but the 1996 release dates shows all it's benefits in colourful screenshots showcased in the ad. Quite unlike many games in the console's prime, War of the Gems shows off the four-colour glory of the recognisable icons of print. Level design struggles, as most games do, to be a trademark of the game, but locales like Latveria at least enfuse each stage with an imagination unique to established comics properties.

Though primative, these games represent the sustainability inherent to characters that have endured over forty years of publication. Problems encountered by the likes of the recent Wolverine film tie-in ( X-Men Origins: Wolverine), treat the properties with a short-sighted perspective, offering little to set them apart from alternate releases in the same genres. Wolverine succeeds on the unlikely premise of developing technological and conceptual platforms, but as increasingly evident in the current market of gaming, those aspects are becoming a diminished factor to any sales pitch. The leap in graphics and function simply isn't the same as it was in the medium's early days.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 promises to capitalize on storylines introduced in Marvel's Civil War, offering up the next available opportunity to gauge how comics can use their experience as a sequential medium to blaze a trail in gaming's philosophical search for existence. One can't help but feel the eagerly anticipated virtual console release of Marvel vs Capcom 2 might just challenge the action-RPG, continuing this generation's disregard for the value of story. Disappointing, but a perspective that might just lend extra oomph to the future's change of heart.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 was the popular culmination of Capcom's Marvel license.
Thus, we come full circle. Hopefully the value of story in gaming can do the same.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8988273

AdVantage Point: X-Men Mutant Academy 2 (2001)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book, and let him to pick out all the advertisements for video games.
This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, stream of consciousness.

 

Marvel's most marketed merry mutant, Wolverine, returns to big screens and gaming consoles, not just in a movie game tie-in, but also the reissued downloadable release of the 2D fighting classic, Marvel versus Capcom 2!

The popular fighter marked the culmination of a long association between Marvel and Capcom which saw multiple iterations of the formula, building on the original 1994 release, X-Men: Children of the Atom -- the game that presumably validated a string of subsequent "2.5D" fighting games released by Activision.

Writing Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, I know as well as anyone just how much of a superhero's time is spent fighting. I mean, sure, that's just part of the indulgent orgy of the Roman concept of beautiful iconoclastic people smashing into each other in a literal expression of metaphorical ideals. It makes sense!
What hasn't made sense, to me, however, is the sheer volume of fighting games we've now seen with superheroes in them.

Yes, fighting is a large aspect of the superhero super-genre, but I'm not sure what lining the characters up on a two-dimensional plane does to lure so many fans. I suppose the license offered by their well known superpowers grants a sense of acceptance that the martial arts-based genre might otherwise struggle to exceed, but I'm sure that's not the only reason. I guess it's more to do with a mindless acceptance -- which isn't inherently a bad thing!

It does, however, bring me back to the grinding dissatisfaction that can be felt when looking at the demands of contemporary gamers. Granted, the games that have framed this reference today come from this decade, but their self-imposed limitations are owing in part to technological limitations that made a history of simplistic gaming palatable to otherwise discerning consumers.

As much as Wolverine's recent outings have defied the fact -- the beauty of superheroes is that they partake in ideas and concepts much larger than themselves. Corporate superheroes are more than just their local associations. They are pieces of an entire universe filled with seventy years of rich history and information and ideas and story. Story being the driving motivation behind even the some of stupidest superhero comics.

I believe strongly that franchises like Street Fighter, Tekken, and to a lesser extent, Mortal Kombat, have all failed to fully realise their story-driven conceptual potential.
That said, even I can admit that the two-plane fighting genre doesn't really lend itself to the mass exploration that more interactive genres offer. It is a simple exercise in besting an opponent, and while some assemblance of story can be well insert into that model (ie; X-Men: Next Dimension), it doesn't communicate as naturally as the platform or action-adventure genres that superheroes also populate.

Superheroes are inherently suited to video games.
Maybe their popularity in fighting games is simply a facet of that inevitable association.

That inevitable association offers a nice closing point to this streaming rant.
Like most other instalments of the AdVantage Point, we observe a commercial that is obviously advertising an established brand to an audience probably already familiar with the topic. I can't help but think of a discussion I had with someone working in the industry - at Acclaim, if memory serves - about the difficulties of ever actually introducing something new to an industry making most of it's money off of established brands.

The Mutant Academy advert (and game) not only borrow the well established iconography of the comics and cartoons (which were still fresh enough in memory in 2001), while also borrowing from the recently successful 2000 first feature film. The advert recalls the popular fight between Wolverine and Mystique in the first film, which established an association that had otherwise been incidental, until that point. Mystique's film persona also worked it's way into the game itself, making a traditionally uninvolved character a more present offensive force.

Mutant Academy really wasn't anything special as a game, but probably served it's purpose.
Recalling recent apathy from gamers who have apparently come to associate superhero games with a similar negativity to their film tie-in cousins, I have to say I kind of understand. This goes against character for me, as I would otherwise thing of the many positive examples of superheroes in video games. A natural transition that's been in play since the beginning of gaming time.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987538

AdVantage Point: Wolverine Adamantium Rage (1994)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book, and let him pick out all the advertisements for video games.
This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, advertisements.

With the arrival of May comes the moderately anticipated release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in cinemas, and on game consoles, worldwide. The dual release ensures those who are lazy, disinterested, or illiterate, can finally learn the secret history of the much marvelled mutant.

When it comes to slashing claws, berzerker barrages, and gravelly brooding, few stalwarts of the medium can rival the iconic X-Man. With a well seasoned traveller in the realm of video games under their wing, Raven Software could've easily slackened off in the comfort of knowing they were part of a multimedia sure-thing. Instead, they went the extra mile to ensure their Wolverine game could stand-out in the crowd, attaching themselves to the violent origins of a character who, despite having six inch blades sticking out of his hands, is all too often pacified by kid-friendly ratings.

It's undeniable that Raven have pushed the graphical boundaries to match-up with the dreamy human pectacular that is the film's star, Hugh "Huge" Jackman, but unfortunately, that itself brings with it it's own baggage.

By tying in to the film Raven instantly bought in to a brand that was ready to be exploited.
While the filmic Wolverine offers a gritty hyper-realistic platform upon which the Wolverine game could be designed, the militant recreation, though conceivably palatable to mainstream gaming audiences, leaves little to inspire future generations.

Today's feature ad isn't entirely dissimilar from the 2009 release.
Now fifteen years old; Adamantium Rage pits Wolverine against a host of villains familiar to the decade, such as Bloodscream, Cyber, Albert the robo-clone, and Psi-Borg, as well as enduring mainstays like, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and the Hellfire Club. Unfortunately, these mid-nineties references drag the title down in a similar fashion to Origins, bogging the game down in less than intriguing elements from the heroic canon. Also like 2009's game is the awfully generic surroundings Wolverine is thrust into as he grapples with grossly powerful enemies, unremarkable level designs, grubby graphics, and surprisingly clunky controls.

In the modern era, you can at least be thankful that the mass slaughter of 2009's bland villains will come much easier; the overall quality of the visuals will be improved; and you won't have to see Elsie Dee at any point -- the hilariously named exploding little-girl-cyborg friend of Albert.

While ties to the film franchise are likely to muddy the connections between Origins' story and the facts of the thirty-plus year canon; Origins will benefit, like the film, from an era where the once legendary mysteries of Wolverine's past have been put to bed.
The false memories that once plagued the character with nauseating repetition now give way to decades of history as the immortal mutant walks a path of relative immortality thanks to his mutant healing factor. This history contributes to revealing the titular origins, whilst meandering into other recent revelations, like the existent of other instalments of the Weapon Plus program, into which James "Logan" Howlett was submitted in it's tenth (Weapon X) iteration. This was the process famously revealed to have grafted the unbreakable adamantium metal to his skeleton -- which included boney retractable claws!

This composite history established over the past three decades comes together as a glorious whole.
If you've read this blog, you know I'm a story guy, and from that perspective, it's pleasant that there can be some conceptual spine to a narrative that features FMV cut scenes and a handful of guest stars from the film (Sabretooth, Deadpool, Gambit) and others, like the robot-hunting Sentinels, whose giant-sized robotic proportions were always too financially unviable to make it to the big screen.

Where does this stream of consciousness take us?
Well, I'm going to introduce a third-act plot twist -- the greatest comic book game known to man.

Though graphically superior in terms of it's visual fidelity and violence, Origins can't hold a candle to Adamantium Rage's mid-nineties contemporary, X-Men 2: Clone Wars.

While playable characters included Cyclops, Gambit, Beast, Psylocke, and Nightcrawler, the X-sequel boasted some impressive Shinobi III-esque SEGA gameplay, an expansive list of tough-but-fun levels, and a narrative that invited an A-list parade of villains [The Hand, Master Mold, Magneto, Apocalypse] before finishing with the titular menace of the Phalanax, made this one of the best games around!

Wolverine, complete with functioning healing factor (at lower health levels), and everready claws, was easily the most playable character on the list! Perfect for platforming speedruns, Wolverine embodied what was great about the game, putting cumbersome alternatives to bloody shame.

Unfortunately, licensing likely prevents the underrated classic getting a digital second-life.
Such issues haven't kept Wolverine out of the downloadable circuit, however. Capcom have just announced a digital release for the much-loved beat 'em up, Marvel versus Capcom 2. Worthy of note for it's depiction of the character in the 2D fighting arena, it's not only a classic triumph for Capcom, but hopefully a symbol of hope for anyone keen to find more colourful and traditional outlets for Wolverine.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987280

Infinite Wars: Fantastic Four & X-Men vs Ahab, Invisible Woman & Cyclops

FANTASTIC FOUR/X-MEN/X-FACTOR/NEW MUTANTS versus AHAB & THE HOUNDS
Days of Future Present Part 4: You Must Remember This (Marvel comics)
Where: X-Men Annual #14 When: 1990
Why: Chris Claremont How: Art Adams

The story so far...
For humanity there exists a dark potential future.
A time where mutants have been hunted to near extinction, and humanity lives enslaved by the robotic Sentinel armies that police the streets so vigilantly.

Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, refugees from this dark time, escape back to seek protection in a more placid time where their parents stood triumphant and hopeful against these evils. Unfortunately for them, their time travelling escape is not the only shift made from this future.

Dr. Roderick Campbell, the man-Sentinel known as Ahab, follows the two mutant rebels back through the timestream, hoping to use the environment to manipulate a final showdown with his longtime targets. Unfortunately for him, the mutants are far from extinct in this time, and despite his advanced technology and many powers, he may find himself overwhelmed...

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/fantastic-fourx-menx-factornew-mutants.html

Infinite Wars: Doppelganger vs Thing

DOPPELGANGER versus THING
By Reed... Betrayed! (Marvel comics)
Where: Fantastic Four #367 When: August 1992
Why: Tom DeFalco How: Paul Ryan

The story so far...
The Magus, with the aid of mysterious cosmic power, has created an army of sinister mirror images of the greatest heroes of the Marvel Universe in a bid for total domination!

Forced to face their inner shadows, the great heroes fight themselves for their own existance. For Thing, his doppelganger comes at a time already overcast with inner turmoil. Ex-girlfriend and teammate, Sharon Ventura, returns as he comes to terms with the reveal that his greatest love, Alicia Masters, did not marry the Human Torch. Instead, it was another dark diversion, the undercover Skrull Lyja, who married the Torch, which leaves Thing unsure of his feelings for his former flame.

The Puppet Master is sure of his feelings, desiring the happiness of his daughter, but will his love stop him taking advantage of the Thing's predicament, or will he use his fantastic telekinetic controlling clay to save the Fantastic Fourman?...

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/doppelganger-versus-thing-by-reed.html

Infinite Wars: Avengers vs Galactus

AVENGERS versus GALACTUS
The End of the Matter: What If The Silver Surfer Had Not Betrayed Galactus? (Marvel comics)
Where: What if...? #70 When: February 1995
Why: Chuck Dixon How: Joe Barney & Don Hudson

The story so far...
So it was, when the devourer of worlds came to destroy the Earth, that the Fantastic Four stood against him. Toppling his gleeming herald, the Silver Surfer would come to land on the balcony of an inner city studio belonging to the blind sculptress, Alicia Masters.

Though blind, she would see something inside the Silver Surfer thought long dead, and with an awareness of all things great on the planet Earth, the Silver Surfer remembered what it was to be Norrin Radd, inhabitant of Zenn-La. Thus, he rebelled and proved to be the crucial factor in defeating the devourer of worlds, Galactus.

Alas, there are other worlds, where events such as this deviate in minor, but devestating ways. Just such a world saw the Silver Surfer remaining steadfast, forcing the Fantastic Four into retreat in the wake of Uatu's death, and the wounding of Reed Richards. With the FF absent, other heroes are forced to pick-up the slack, but can they possibly stand against the might of Galactus?...

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/avengers-versus-galactus-end-of-matter.html

Infinite Wars: Doppelganger vs Mr. Fantastic

DOPPELGANGER versus MR FANTASTIC
The Enemy Within! (Marvel comics)
Where: Fantastic Four #366 When: July 1992
Why: Tom DeFalco & Paul Ryan How: Paul Ryan

The story so far...
Adam Warlock, a cosmic weapon who reached omnipotence, purged himself of emotions to create two gestalt entities. From all his good came The Goddess, and from his negative emotions, The Magus.

Seeking total domination over the Marvel Universe, the Magus uses his fantastic cosmic power to exist in a pocket reality, manipulating the pawns of his game from afar.

To the bewilderment of Thanos; a man whose motivations are similar bit distinctly different; the Magus wages war on the heroes through the creation of doppelgangers using items resembling the fabled cosmic cubes. Crucial to his war on the heroes, the battle between dark shadows and crucial figures within the superhero community. Figures like Reed Richards!...

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/doppelganger-versus-mr-fantastic-enemy.html

Infinite Wars: Wolverine vs Captain America

WOLVERINE versus CAPTAIN AMERICA
Dances With Werewolves (Marvel comics)
Where: Captain America #405 When: Late August 1992 Why: Mark Gruenwald How: Rik Levins

The story so far...
Having escaped the feral clutches of lycanthropy before, Captain America finds himself once again strapped to the table of the evil Dr. Nightshade. Intent on turning him permanently, she injects her formula, incurring immediate results.

The feral Captain America proves strong enough of will to resist the influence of Dredmund; Nightshade's partner in crime, and self-proclaimed lord of Werewolves.

Confused and disorientated, the turned Captain America sprints into the surrounding Massachusetts wilderness, his super-soldier body origins giving him an edge against the opposing werewolves. Unlucky for him, werewolves aren't the only feral creatures in the wilderness: Enter the Wolverine!

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com.au/2007/09/wolverine-versus-captain-america-dances.html

Infinite Wars: Hawkeye/Captain America Double

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Millarky in the US

HAWKEYE versus AXIS OF EVIL
The Axis Of Evil (Marvel)
Where: Ultimates 2 #10 When: March 2006
Why: Mark Millar How: Bryan Hitch

Quick Fix...
Credit where credit's due, sure, but if you're an avid follower of the Infinite Wars, you'll probably have sussed by now that I'm really more of a character, story and leg man. Sure, creative teams are a part of the equation, but for me, a comic doesn't live or die by a writer, artist, or sychophantic obsession.

Well, okay, that last part isn't true. Maybe you get an extra look in if you've got some solid Sub-Mariner or Super-Skrull action going on -- but even then, I'm not about to sell the house to fund my comics obsessions. (Venting!)

Still, given the nature of the medium and it's intent on milking anyone or anything for all they're worth, certain creators are recurring factors in mainstream superhero comics. Then you break it down to the common denominator of our big action smackdown format, and you refine those commonalities down to this man -- Mark "Yarrrrrrrrr!" Millar.

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/quick-fix-double-feature-millarky-in-us.html

Infinite Wars: Doppelganger vs Captain America

DOPPELGANGER versus CAPTAIN AMERICA
Dark Dawn (Marvel comics)
Where: Captain America #408 When: October 1992
Why: Mark Gruenwald How: Rik Levins

The story so far...
The deadly Nightshade teams with Dredmund, lord of the werewolves, in a sinister scheme to turn the people of Massachusetts into werewolves -- including the super-soldier himself, Captain America!

Fortunately for him the combined might of he, Man-Wolf John Jameson, Wolfsbane, Wolverine and others sees the day saved, but before Cap can be cured of his lycanthropy there's another shocking surprise in store!

Unbeknownst to he, a secret war is being waged by the evil spirit of Adam Warlock, Magus! Creating sinister doppelgangers of Earth's greatest heroes, Magus sends his shadows out to do battle with their counterparts. Suffering fatigue of battle and Nightshade's cure, can Cap defeat his dastardly doppelganger, or is it curtains for America's greatest warrior?

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/doppelganger-versus-captain-america.html

Infinite Wars: Dark Claw/Flash Double Feature

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Longshots
DARK CLAW versus RA'S-A-POCALYPSE
Face To Face (Amalgam)
Where: Dark Claw Adventures #1 When: June 1997
Why: Ty Templeton How: Ty Templeton & Rick Burchett

Quick Fix...
I mentioned in the Punch-Up that there was a Ra's Al Ghul related entry I was originally interested in, and I also mentioned a little Two-In-One action coming. Hopefully you've been able to surmise that this entry answers both of those references.

I found myself flicking through this particular issue because, tangentially stemming from all the Al Ghul talk, I started thinking about Ra's-A-Pocalypse; the composite character that borrows elements from Marvel's Apocalypse character, and marries them with the DC character [hence Amalgam].

The resulting character is, though hardly elaborated on, a delicious little conceptual of a Darwinism-extremist. In this case there are trace elements of themes specifically explored in episodes of the Batman animated series, which provides half of the inspiration for this issue's adventure format.

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/quick-fix-double-feature-longshots-dark.html

Infinite Wars: Captain Marvel vs Macro-Man

MONTHLY PUNCH-UP #21 (September 2007)
CAPTAIN MARVEL versus MACRO-MAN
"Once Upon A Time...!" (DC)
Where: Legends #1 When: November 1986
Why: John Ostrander & Len Wein How: John Byrne

Quick Fix...
From one Ostrander [Suicide Squad #2], to another!
I guess we're loitering around the eighties a bit more than usual on the Infinite Wars, but with good reason!

I did have something else in mind for this month's quick fix, but it occurred to me that it might have come across [Hawkman #24] that I was anti-Captain Marvel, too busy being caught up in Black Adam hype.
Okay, so maybe I am caught up in Black Adam hype, but that doesn't mean I can't Shazam with boy Billy! Red and yellow is A-OK with me, chief!

Here we have, so I'm told, Captain Marvel's first DC appearance after the reboot event, Crisis on Infinite Earths, which gave DC the opportunity to arrange their house in order, under the pretense of streamlining and starting over.

Like a Civil War some twenty years later; Legends would bring together characters of varying status within the DC Universe, and put them under a microscope of cynicism and mistrust of the superhero element. Of course, why anyone would feel the need to cast a net of cynicism over stories about a pre-pubescent host of a politically charged talkshow, escapes me.

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/09/monthly-punch-up-21-september-2007.html

Infinite Wars: Black Adam vs Captain Marvel

BLACK ADAM versus CAPTAIN MARVEL
Black Reign (DC comics)
Where: Hawkman #24 When: Late March 2004
Why: Geoff Johns How: Rags Morales

The story so far...
Having attempted to prove his redemption through serving with the Justice Society of America; Black Adam soon comes to realise that the effective betterment of the persecuted will not be achieved through the good intentions of the Golden Age heroes.

Gathering a band of the willing and likeminded, Adam sets about righting the wrongs of his time with the JSA, fighting and executing his way to his homeland of Kahndaq.

With the aid of his fellows; many connected to the Justice Society themselves; Adam wages a coup against the oppressive rulers of the once proud and ancient Middle Easter country. Their militia no match for brute super strength, Adam liberates the Kahndaqi people, who are none too happy when the JSA, led by Hawkman, come to interfere in the rule of their new hero.

Full Article: http://secretearths.blogspot.com/2007/08/black-adam-versus-captain-marvel-black.html