By Ben Morse
Every week, a secret cabal of Marvel staffers gathers to discuss the best of the best when it comes to the House of Ideas. This week on the agenda: the top ten fights of 2007, what made them rock, key turning points, and awesome comics you can check out on Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited for more breathtaking brutality.
10. THE HULK VS MARVEL'S "HEAVY HITTERS"
Where It Went Down: WORLD WAR HULK #2
Why It Makes The List: After
Iron Man's defeat at the opening of World War Hulk—keep reading, true believers—the cavalry of Marvel's strongest heroes, including
Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Luke Cage, Doc Samson, Ares and more, came in as the proverbial cavalry, dog piling the Hulk, but finding no joy thanks to the monstrous brute's increased powers and Warbound backup. The
Fantastic Four next gave it the old college try, but following the most one-sided
Hulk vs Thing fight ever and a not-so-brilliant attempt by Reed Richards to simulate the
Sentry's powers without the Sentry, Marvel's first family became among the first prisoners of war.
Turning Point: After busting through the
Invisible Woman's supposedly
impenetrable force field, the Hulk stretches and pounds
Mr. Fantastic until he resembles a bloody mass of putty.
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… FANTASTIC FOUR v1 #26, the Hulk goes up against the
Avengers and FF in a story by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
9. THE MIGHTY AVENGERS VS ULTRON
Where It Went Down: MIGHTY AVENGERS #1-6
Why It Makes The List: Though the Avengers have faced many incarnations of
Ultron over the years, they've never encountered anything like the version of the mechanical menace that surfaced following
Civil War. Co-opting Tony Stark's body and rewriting his DNA to physically resemble the Wasp, Ultron used Iron Man's absolute control over weather satellites and his own
myriad backup armors to tax even a team of Earth's Mightiest Heroes that included the likes of
Ms. Marvel, Wonder Man and the Sentry to the absolute limit.
Turning Point: Faced with an army of sentient Iron Man armors,
Ares rips the legs off one unit and uses them to blast another through the chest!
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… AVENGERS v1 #57, Ultron's inaugural battle with the Avengers in the
Vision's first appearance
8. THOR VS IRON MAN
Where It Went Down: THOR #3
Why It Makes The List: From the minute fans learned Iron Man had created a
Thor clone during Civil War without the Thunder God's knowledge, they knew a titanic showdown between the two former Avengers buddies had to be on the way, and it went down with gusto in 2007. What began as a war of words turned physical
and dangerous for Iron Man as Thor unleashed his full power and unparalleled rage, remind Tony Stark once an for all the difference between even the most powerful mortals and a god.
Turning Point: Thor calls down the lightning and splits Tony Stark's tin can of an armor in two, leaving the Golden Avenger considerably underdressed.
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… AVENGERS v1 #7, under the Enchantress' control, Thor attacks his fellow Avengers
7. THE HULK VS IRON MAN
Where It Went Down: WORLD WAR HULK #1, IRON MAN #19
Why It Makes The List: Iron Man flew into his one-man war against the monster he thought he had exiled forever, the Hulk, looking the very model of preparation in armor that more closely resembled a tank, but the Green
Goliath would have the last laugh before too long. In full view of the assembled heroes of Earth, the
Hulk took everything Shellhead had to throw at him—and it was no light menu—and still brought the house down—literally!
Turning Point: Hulk tosses Shellhead through Sentry's Watchtower, bringing the massive structure crashing down through Avengers Tower like a hot knife through butter!
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… AVENGERS v1 #1,
Loki manipulates the Hulk into throwing down with Iron Man and the other soon-to-be Avengers
6. THE NEW AVENGERS VS THE HAND
Where It Went Down: NEW AVENGERS #27-31
Why It Makes The List: When the New Avengers received their errant ally
Echo's distress call from Japan, they didn't know what to expect, but a legion of ninjas commanded by the deadly
Elektra couldn't have been on the top of their wish list. Both sides pulled
out all the stops, from the Hand setting
Luke Cage ablaze to
Wolverine doing what he does best—which isn't nice—but in the end Echo struck the final blow…and nobody could have been prepared for what happened next.
Turning Point: Echo guts Elektra with her own sai, causing her to revert to the form of a Skrull in one of the year's most shocking moments.
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… NEW AVENGERS #13, the old New Avengers vs the Hand
5. THE HULK VS THE SENTRY
Where It Went Down: WORLD WAR HULK #5
Why It Makes The List: With Iron Man, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers all having fallen at the hands of the Hulk and his alien army, the unstable Sentry represented humanity's final hope for New York City not to become the crater that never sleeps. The Golden
Guardian of Good and Jade Giant battered one another with blows that literally rocked the ground beneath them, both refusing to give an inch until it became clear to at least the Hulk that their fight would break the world if he could not end it—which he did, but at no small cost.
Turning Point: Both combatants, spent and exhausted, revert to their puny human forms of Bruce Banner and Robert Reynolds—and keep fighting!
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… SENTRY #1, the Sentry makes his debut and encounters his archenemy the Void
4. NOVA VS ANNIHILUS
Where It Went Down: ANNIHILATION #6
Why It Makes The List: With the fate of the known universe on the line,
Nova stepped up to the plate for a rematch with the Negative Zone demigod
Annihilus, the latter powered by the Quantum Bands the insidious insectoid had ripped off Quasar's charbroiled corpse. The Human Rocket found himself severely overmatched, but toughed it out in a "Rocky"-like effort against Annihilus' Ivan Drago until the right moment presented itself courtesy of
Phyla-Vell's timely interference.
Turning Point: Nova reaches his hand down Annihilus' throat and rips his guts straight out—'nuff said.
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… ANNIHILATION PROLOGUE, Annihilus makes his presence known and decimates the Nova Corps
3. THE X-MEN VS THE MARAUDERS
Where It Went Down: X-MEN #200
Why It Makes The List: With bad blood that goes back years and has claimed casualties on both sides, any time the
X-Men and Marauders meet up you're bound to see a barnburner, but their pre-"Messiah CompleX" skirmish proved especially hard-hitting with no less than three Children of the Atom turning traitor mid-fight.
Before the sun set,
Iceman had lost his powers,
Cable got blown sky high and the rest of the good guys got buried under a house—not a good day to be an X-Man.
Turning Point: Mystique jumps ship from the X-Men to the
Marauders in the harshest of ways, shooting her "daughter"
Rogue in the back!
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… UNCANNY X-MEN #213, the X-Men and Marauders go at it with Wolverine and
Sabretooth leading the respective charges
2. THE IRON FISTS VS THE STEEL SERPENT
Where It Went Down: IMMORTAL IRON FIST #6
Why It Makes The List: The combined kung fu firepower of two generations of Iron Fists went on display when
Danny Rand teamed with his predecessor, Orson Randall, to oppose archrival the Steel Serpent, along with his legion of
Hydra foot soldiers.
Artist David Aja creates a virtual martial arts ballet as the Iron Fists rely on their grace and skill to counter Hydra's numbers and the raw savagery of the maniacal Davos.
Turning Point: Orson passes on his portion of the Iron Fist power to Danny, giving the younger warrior twice the punch and a rad new costume!
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… IMMORTAL IRON FIST #2, Danny Rand meets Orson Randall for the first time
1. THE ULTIMATES VS THE LIBERATORS
Where It Went Down: ULTIMATES 2 #12-13
Why It Makes The List: The—pardon the pun—ultimate climax of writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch's 25 issue ULTIMATES opus, a story literally years in the making, didn't just live up to the hype, it smacked it with a hammer and blasted it into orbit with a repulsor ray. The
Ultimates' battle royal with their international cracked mirror counterparts, assembled by god of evil Loki, saw every major player from the series plus a supporting cast of hundreds on each side go to war, culminating in an unprecedented eight-page splash by Hitch to capture all the action.
Turning Point: With their backs against the ropes despite help from across the Ultimate Universe, the Ultimates receive aid from the unlikeliest of sources: a very pissed off Hulk!
If You Liked This, You Should Also Read… ULTIMATES 2 #7, Loki sews the first seeds for the chaos to come
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