The Incredible Hulk vs. The Gardener and the Time Stone. (The Incredible Hulk vol.1 #248, June, 1980)

Hulk has returned to Jarella’s world of K’ai to bury her body. Having found the world decimated since he last visited it he was taken to the Valley of Life to bury his love. There he was attacked by The Gardener who refuses to let any living humanoid set foot in his small paradise.

Bound in vines, the Hulk demands that the Gardener to let him free so he can bury Jarella. The Gardener refuses, and as the Hulk continues to struggle, the Elder of the Universe realizes that he cannot explain himself to the Hulk in this state of mind. Using his Soul Gem, the Gardener awakens the mind of Bruce Banner….

Although they are all referred to as Soul Gems here, these are actually the Infinity Gems which are not called by that name until Silver Surfer Vol 3 #44. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #5 clarifies that the Infinity Gem that the Gardner had in his possession on the moon was actually the Time Gem. It also confirms that the Gem used by Adam Warlock was specifically the Soul Gem.

He explains how he, like the other Elders of the Universe, have one single obsession to govern the eons-long lifetimes, with his being Gardening. He tells how he obtained a Soul Gem and used it recently to create a lush garden on Earth’s Moon. When the Stranger came to his paradise, the Gardener got assistance in dispelling the invader with the aid of Spider-Man and Adam Warlock. Warlock and the Gardener combined the power of their Soul Gem’s in order to repel the Stranger.

However, thinking that he had tainted his Gem’s ability to sustain life on the moon, the Gardener left, leaving the Gem behind. This Gem ended up in the possession of the Mad Titan known as Thanos, who was collecting all the Soul Gems to power a massive synthetic gem which he plotted to use to snuff out all the stars in the universe. Thanos was stopped thanks to the combined efforts of the Avengers, Spider-Man, the Thing and Adam Warlock. However, Warlock perished while turning Thanos into stone. The heroes then buried Warlock’s body on an asteroid and left his Soul Gem there on his grave. The Gardener later came and collected the Soul Gem and took it with him to K’ai where he created the Valley of Life. Remembering how his last paradise was tainted, the Gardener vowed to never allow man to tread in his gardens again.

With the tale finished, Banner asks the Gardener to at least allow him to give the woman he loves a decent burial. The Gardener refuses and carries Jarella’s body away, assuring Banner that she will be buried. Having yet another thing taken away from him causes Banner to burst into tears. His sorrow is so great his body reverts back to human form, allowing him to get free of the vines he is caught in. However, Banner refuses to give in and vows to find Jarella and bury her himself, even without the power of the Hulk.

 

Jarella’s followers wait outside of the Valley of Life fearing that their would-be king had been killed there. Suddenly, a stampede of animals come rushing out of the forest and begin attacking them. While inside the lush region, Banner stops by a stream to get a drink of water when he is suddenly attacked by the very thing he tried to drink. As he is being pulled into the liquid, Banner’s pulse races enough to trigger another transformation into the Hulk. The Hulk fights his way free and then leaps across the Valley in order to intercept the Gardener and his animal followers. The Gardener orders the animals to attack the Hulk, but they are no match for him. Seeing signs of the battle, the people of K’ai are reinvigorated and start fighting back against their attackers. Meanwhile, with no more animals to set upon the Hulk, the Gardener tries to fight the brute one-on-one.

The two struggle and the Gardner begins to wonder how powerful the Hulk really is. As they fight, the Soul Gem levitates off the Gardener’s brow and the Hulk knocks the Gardner aside and plucks it out of the air. Hulk comes to the conclusion that if the Soul Gem could create the Valley of Life it could also restore Jarella’s entire world. With that, the Hulk throws the Soul Gem into the ground and it burrows its way directly into the planet’s core.

 

As the planet begins springing to life, the animals quit fighting. The people of K’ai soon join the Hulk as he buries Jarella in the Valley of Life. When her grave marker is constructed they are all surprised by a flower that suddenly pops out of the rocks. This is the work of the Gardener who has realized how selfish he was being and asks the Hulk if he can stay. The Hulk tells the Gardener as long as he remains peaceful, he may remain on K’ai. With his lover finally buried, the Hulk tells the Gardener to send him back home. With a wave of his wand, the Gardner causes the Hulk to resume his normal size, leaving the people of K’ai leaderless but with a bright future ahead of them.

Read More: Thanos takes the Time Gem from The Gardner. (Thanos Quest)

 

Welcome to the Justice League (Justice League vs. Suicide Squad)

From: Justice League vs. Suicide Squad

Batman vs. Lobo (Justice League vs. Suicide Squad)

From: Justice League vs. Suicide Squad

Supergirl vs. Emerald Empress

From: Supergirl #13

Avengers Infinity War – Big Game TV Spot

What do you guys think? Does it look good?

#InfinityWar pic.twitter.com/UGm3wOB28t

— The Avengers (@Avengers) February 5, 2018

#IronMan suited and booted! #InfinityWar pic.twitter.com/WMUEu5i16H

— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) February 4, 2018

#Spidey is heading to space.
Spidey can’t breathe 🤭 #InfinityWar pic.twitter.com/6brY06lEv3

— Marvelous Realm (@MarvelousRealm) February 5, 2018

When you're eating your #SuperBowl snacks & see the @MarvelStudios logo… #InfinityWar pic.twitter.com/tV5c5iBqr3

— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) February 5, 2018

Oh hello there, @ChrisEvans and @chadwickboseman. #InfinityWar @MarvelStudios pic.twitter.com/eApRJ56ZNQ

— Nerdist (@nerdist) February 5, 2018

The Avengers Assemble on Twitter for #InfinityWar

In what order should you watch all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies?

The best way would be to watch them in order of their release date. The films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have released in three phases. Which order did you watch the movies in?

Phase 1: Avengers Assembled

The Avengers Initiative (a.k.a Phase 1) was a secret project created by S.H.I.E.L.D. to create the Avengers, a collection of the most able individuals to defend Earth from imminent global threats; these individuals functioning as a response team to said threats which are too great for the forces of mankind to handle.

The Initiative was scrapped by the World Security Council after the alien incursion in New Mexico in favor of a weapons development program known as Phase 2. It was eventually reactivated in 2012 during the Chitauri Invasion.

1. Iron Man (2008)
2. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
3. Iron Man 2 (2010)
4. Thor (2011)
5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
6. The Avengers (2012)

Phase 2: Age Of Ultron

“Phase 2” was part of a plan initiated by S.H.I.E.L.D. after the alien incursion in New Mexico to create weapons of mass destruction using the Tesseract.

In response to the events in New Mexico and the revelation of alien worlds and powers beyond our own, the World Security Council scrapped the Avengers Initiative in favor of a more practical approach– the development of weapons powered by the alien Tesseract.

1. Iron Man 3 (2013)
2. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
4. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
6. Ant-Man (2015)

Phase 3: Infinity War!

Phase Three is set during a time of discord generated from the aftermath of Ultron‘s attack against the Earth. With public opinion of superheroes becoming increasingly divided, the Avengers become fragmented. In the midst of the Avengers’ turmoils, a number of new characters are introduced, such as Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Mantis, Spider-Man, Valkyrie, and Captain Marvel. Thanos‘ plot to collect all of the Infinity Stones, which began late in Phase One, is drawn to a close in this saga.

1. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
2. Doctor Strange (2016)
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
5. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
6. Black Panther (2018)
7. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
8. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
9. Captain Marvel (2019)
10. Avengers 4 (2019)

Phase 4:

Phase Four will be the fourth part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Phase Three. Phase Four consists of an unknown number of films planned between 2019 and 2028.

1. Spider-Man 2 (2019)
2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2020)
3. Other TBA Films (2020-2028)

Source: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Wonder Woman vs. Superman

Does Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth Work on Batman?

From: Wonder Woman Annual #1 (Rebirth) (2017)

Writer – Greg Rucka

Artist – Nicola Scott

Letters – Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Letters – Jodi Wayne

Wayne’s never stay down… (Rebirth)

From: Batman #22, 2017 – “The Button” Part Three

Wolverine vs. The Punisher

From: Punisher War Journal #6, 1989

Who is Ego the Living Planet? 🌎

Who is Ego the Living Planet?  If you just watched Guardians of the Galaxy you know that Ego, played by Kurt Russell is Peter Quill aka Star Lord’s father.  In the comics he has a similar origin as he explains in the movie, except he is not the father of any of the superheroes in the Guardians.  (Unless this has been retconned.  If so, let me know.)

So exactly who is he? What is he? Where did he come from? Keep reading for more answers…

I was digging around my old comic book archives looking for more stray trading cards and came across a few old issues of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. These official handbooks were compiled character profiles that were assembled into issues before Marvel started publishing them in the large hardcover format.

I flipped through a few pages and landed right on Ego the Living Planet! I had been meaning to do a profile since watching Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend but this saved me a ton of time. I scanned the two Ego pages and posted them here. I don’t think Ego has really changed much since this was printed, but if it has then please let me know!

 

 

Found some “old” Marvel trading cards in the basement (1992)

I was digging around in my old comic book boxes in the basement last night and came across this old shiny “hologram” Wolverine trading card.  It was sticking in the corner of the box and when I pulled it out, I also pulled out some old memories of riding my bike to the comic book store in the early 90’s with $10 bucks in my pocket and buying up all the latest Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld “X-books” and the Todd McFarlane “Spider-Man” comics.  I kept on digging through my old comic book box and unearth these treasures (along with a handful of Terminator 2 trading cards). I decided to scan them and add them here for posterity.  I’m not sure what sets they come from, all I really know is that I bought them around 1991-1992.  If you have any additional information or cards of your own like these, lets talk about it!

 

Real Name: Katherine “Kitty Pryde Height: 5’4” Weight: 105lbs. Group Affiliation: Excalibur First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #129, January 1980 Nothing slows Shadowcat down – if something gets in her way, she walks right through it! Her mutant ability to “phase” the molecules of her body gives her ghost like intangibility, letting her pass through walls, walk on air and allowing the things she touches to do the same. Though she’s a veteran super-hero, having served with both the X-Men and Excalibur, at heart she’s still an ordinary, rambunctious teenager-well maybe not so ordinary! X-TRA FACT: Though she lives in England with the rest of Exaclibur, Shadow Cat is America, born and raised near Chicago!

 

 

 

 

This the Wolverine “hologram” card.  I’m pretty sure I remember getting the Magneto hologram card too. I’ll look for that one.

 

 

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy manages to keep the heart and spirit of adventure from the prequel and inject a new level of weirdness into the sequel and it is 100% appreciated by this comic book fan.

I really loved this movie. When I said there is a new level of weirdness in Vol. 2, I meant it in the best way possible.  In this movie we are literally walking around on a friggin Living Planet!  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 features the group who has now, through a series of adventures and misadventures, begun to mesh together as a tea

Ayesha of The Sovreign

m and family.  They lend out their special talents to others, in this movie a race of genetically perfect, super pretentious, gold skinned people called “The Sovereign”, to take on threats that would send other people running for the space hills.
That threat is a giant rainbow shooting, bug eyed tentacle monster that has been eating (?) some very expensive space batteries that the Sovereign use.   The interesting part about this scene, which is right at the beginning of the movie, is that in most sci-fi movies a fight scene like this would usually be THE key scene in the film.  It’s a scene that would usually be the end or mid movie climax that is meant to grab and hold your attention.   In Guardians of the Galaxy it’s just a backdrop for baby Groot to dance to Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra.

Mantis has empathic powers and is able to transfer feelings to others as well as receive them.

The music in this movie is just as good as the first with some nice cuts like Fox on the Run by Sweet, My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, and Southern Nights by Glen Campbell and Bring it on Home to Me by Sam Cooke.   The highlights of the soundtrack for me were Brandy by Looking Glass and Father and Sons by Cat Stevens.  It was amazing to see how “Brandy” was used to illustrate the longing and the calling of the sea to the vast ocean of space that called Ego the Living Planet (played by Kurt Russell) away from Peter Quill’s mother and how that same calling can and will affect Peter in all of his future relationships. It’s a powerful and nuanced moment that I can’t help but feel that is almost too deep for a movie that features a talking tree and raccoon and where almost every other main character is a different hue.  But it fits.  It fits perfectly.  I didn’t think that that soundtrack was quite as powerful and striking as the Awesome Mix vol. 1 (Peter dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” is my favorite opening scene in all of the Marvel movies) but it still hit all the right notes right when it needed to.

Yondu gets his “fin” in Vol. 2.

To be completely fair and objective despite the amazing visuals and banging soundtrack, the first act of this movie is a bit of a mess.  It’snot unwatchable by any means (far from it actually), it just lacks direction.  There isn’t that one thing that really advances the plot (like trying to constantly stay one step ahead of Ronan the Accuser and keep the Infinity Gem out of his hands) and it kind of meanders a bit between action set pieces and people sitting and talking.  I’ll say this though, characters sitting and talking never gets boring because all the actors in this movie are all over the top interesting and the delivery of comedic lines are on point. When Ego finally lays bare his plans, that’s when things get REALLY get interesting.  I won’t spoil anything here, but he reveals a critical plot point that elicited loud gasps of disbelief in my theater.

That’s all I can really say about this movie for now because the longer I talk about it the more I’ll want to reveal some spoilers!  If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend going as soon as you can.  It’s worth the full price of admission, especially if you were a fan of the prequel.

What did you think about the movie?  Have you seen it yet? How many times have you seen it?  Comment below and let me know.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Rating: 4.5/5

+ Amazing visuals and soundtrack.

+ Some truly touching and heartbreaking moments.

– Plot meanders a bit in the first 1/4 of the movie.

 

*make sure you stick around for all 5 post credit scenes…

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m Mary Poppins y’all!

Can Galactus Eat Ego The Living Planet?

Galactus travels through space…

The world devourer pauses when he detects the thoughts of a powerful creature and decides to seek out its source as his hunger is mounting once more. Taking a smaller craft, Galactus flies into the Black Galaxy and finds himself before Ego the Living Planet.

While aboard the Rigellian flagship, Thor meets with the Rigellian commander and the Recorder to determine their plan of attack against Galactus. With their course set, Thor and the Recorder travel off in a ship to confront Galactus himself. The Recorder detects that Galactus is within the Black Galaxy and the two speed off to meet their foe there. They are spied by a group called the Wanderers, a group of aliens that have survived the destruction of their worlds at the hands of Galactus and seek revenge against the world destroyer and they decide to follow after Thor and the Recorder.

Finally, back in the Black Galaxy, Galactus and Ego boast about their mutual power and Galactus demands to consume Ego’s energies. Ego tries to stop this by unleashing a furious blast at Galactus, the force of which reaches Thor and the Recorder’s ship destroying it and seemingly killing its passengers.

 

 

The Mighty Thor meets Ego the Living Planet!

Thor and the Recorder robot travel into the Black Galaxy and find that it is structured in an almost organic fashion, dubbed by the Recorder as a “Bio-Verse.” Following their navigation they come before Ego the living planet, who tells the two that it has been waiting for them.

The Mighty Thor vs. Ego The Living Planet!

Thor and the Rigellian Recorder have traveled into the “Bio-Verse” where they meet Ego the Living Planet. Wanting to have a dialogue with with the two visitors, Ego changes his environment to one that the two visitors find familiar, and creating a Asgardian themed Avatar to show them around, as well as give them a show of his vast powers.

Ego explains to Thor that he intends to beat Thor in combat, rationalizing if he can defeat the Thunder God, then nothing can stop him from taking over the world. Dissolving his avatar, Ego forms an army of anti-bodies to battle Thor and the Recorder. Forced with fighting these mindless drones and deal with Ego constantly shifting the planets shape. Fighting off the anti-bodies, Thor and the Recorder are then sucked into the arterized tunnels of Ego’s being.

 

From: Thor #133, October, 1996

Rogues Gallery of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

From our new best friends murdockmanila at  http://mcuexchange.com/  I present an infographic on the Rogues Gallery of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This super detailed infographic breaks down all the major and minor threats in the MCU, from the movies, the Netflix and TV shows, right down to the One-Shots!

Enjoy!

 

 

Daredevil kills Bullseye (Shadowland)

They are called The Hand – An organization of ninjas, thieves and assassins.  Originally banding together 800 years ago to fight off the oppressive system of feudal Japan, The Hand turned to corruption and darkness when the mutinous Snakeroot Clan seized power.

Over the years, they’ve come into conflict with many super humans – Spider-Man, The Avengers and the X-Men to name a few – but none of the feuds compared to their war with Daredevil.  Matt Murdock’s ties to The Hand run deep; his mentor, Stick, died trying to destroy The Hand, and his former lover, Elektra, served The Had as an assassin for many years, nearly losing her soul in the process.

So when The Hand sought Daredevil out to become their new leader, he was understandably confused. He initially rejected their offer, but eventually consented, plotting to use the organization as a force for good When his arch-enemy Bullseye destroyed a city block – and killed 107 people in the process – Daredevil resolved to turn The Hand into an army of protectors.

Over the ensuing months, they’ve confronted crime and corruption on the streets of New York – with brutal force. As Daredevil’s power within the group has grown, so has his willingness to push the limits in order to keep the peace.  He sought to change The Hand but it appears The Hand has changed him.

 

 

From: Daredevil Shadowland (2010)

Cloak and Dagger swap powers.

From: Cloak and Dagger- Spider Island #3

Cloak and Dagger: Origin (Cloak & Dagger #4, 1983) ✨✨✨

Tyrone “Ty” Johnson (Cloak) and Tandy Bowen (Dagger) met in New York City as runaways. Tyrone was a 17-year-old boy from Boston, Massachusetts with a debilitating stutter and ran away to New York City when his speech impediment prevented him from stopping his friend from being shot by police, who mistakenly believed he had just robbed a store. Tandy was a 16-year-old girl from a privileged upbringing (born in Shaker Heights, Ohio) who ran away because her multi-millionaire supermodel mother was too busy with her career and social life to spend time with her daughter. When they met, Tyrone considered stealing Tandy’s purse, but before he could, a thief stole the purse and Tyrone retrieved it for her.

Afterwards, they had dinner and became fast friends. When naïve Tandy accepted an offer of shelter from some strange men, wary Tyrone went along to protect her. The two teens were soon forcibly delivered to criminal chemist Simon Marshall developing a new synthetic heroin for Silvermane and the Maggia, testing it on runaway teens with fatal results. Johnson and Bowen somehow survived injections of the drug, and they fled.

During their escape, the drug turned them into superpowered beings Tyrone found himself engulfed in darkness and seized by a strange hunger which eased in the presence of Tandy glowing with a brilliant light. Trying to hide his newly shadowy appearance in a makeshift cloak, Tyrone began absorbing Marshall’s thugs into his darkness while Tandy struck them down with daggers of light. The two teens dubbed themselves “Cloak & Dagger” and declared war on drug crime in combating drug-dealers and helping runaway children.

At the end of this first issue you get a good sense of Cloak and Daggers power set. Dagger displays Olympic level gymnastics skills by jumping over a charging thug, evading gunfire and taking out a room full of armed men. And Cloak shows off his dark force by sucking in the bad guys and terrorizing their souls.

Another important scene shows that Tandy’s light has a pleasing effect on Tyrone, calming him and keeping the dark dimension at bay.

 

From: Cloak and Dagger #4 (out of a 4 part limited series), 1983

Created By: Bill Mantlo & Ed Hannigan

Story: Bill Mantlo

Pencils: Rick Leonardi

Inks: Terry Austin

Letters: Joe Rosen

Colors: Glynis Wein

Editor: Tom DeFalco

Chief: Jim Shooter

Cloak and Dagger post cover Deviantart by Daniel Murray

http://danielmurrayart.deviantart.com/

Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger Trailer (2017)

 

Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, or simply Cloak & Dagger, is an upcoming American cable television series created for Freeform by Joe Pokaski, based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios and Marvel Television, with Pokaski serving as showrunner.

The series stars Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph as Tandy Bowen / Dagger and Tyrone Johnson / Cloak, two teenagers who acquire superpowers and form a romantic relationship. A television series featuring Cloak and Dagger entered development for ABC Family in July 2011. In April 2016, Cloak & Dagger received a series order for Freeform, the new name of ABC Family, and by that August, Pokaski had joined the series as showrunner and executive producer. Holt and Joseph were cast in January 2017, with Andrea Roth, Gloria Reuben, Miles Mussenden, Carl Lundstedt, James Saito, and J.D. Evermore also starring in the series. Filming on the series began in February 2017 in New Orleans.

The series, consisting of 10 episodes, will premiere in 2018.

Superman & Batman vs. The Four Pillars

  

   

From: Batman/Superman #31

Dr. Strange official trailer

   
    
    
    
    
   
Dr. Strange is directed by Scott Derrickson with a screenplay by Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. 

In Doctor Strange, surgeon Stephen Strange learns from the Ancient One after a career-ending car accident.
Doctor Strange is scheduled to be released on November 4, 2016 in IMAX.

Dr. Strange teaser poster

  
The new teaser poster for Doctor Strange was released today!  In the poster you can see the good doctor standing in front of the window of what is clearly the Sanctum Sanctorum 

 The mansion of Doctor Stephen Strange’s is located at 177A Bleecker Street, New York City, NY 10012-1406, on the corner of Bleecker Street and Fenno Place in the heart of Greenwich Village. Also known as the Sanctum Sanctorum (Latin for ‘Holiest of Holies’), the townhouse has served as the personal residence of Doctor Strange and former as the headquarters of the Defenders and the New Avengers. It is also the greatest concentration of occult esoterica and mystical phenomena in existence.  

 Strange is a practitioner of both the mystical arts as well as martial arts. His costume uses two mystical objects, the Cloak of Levitation and Eye of Agamotto that gives Strange added powers. First trained by the Ancient One, Strange is aided along the way by his friend and servant to the Sorcerer Supreme, Wong, and a large assortment of mystical objects.

  
Doctor Strange is produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the fourteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

  
 The film is directed by Scott Derrickson with a screenplay by Jon Spaihts and C. Robert Cargill, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. In Doctor Strange, surgeon Stephen Strange learns from the Ancient One after a career-ending car accident.

Adam Warlock seeks answers from The In-Betweener

From: Infinity Entity #2 (2016)

 

Adam Warlock was created by Earth scientists as an artificial, “perfect” human.  For some time, he explored the cosmos, occasionally allying himself with heroes such as the Infinity Watch and the Guardians of the Galaxy.  He had a dark side, however — and eventually, in order to prevent his evil self, The Magus, from permanently taking over, he convinced Star-Lord to kill him.

Recently, the Adam Warlock of an alternate reality was reborn in this reality with the help of Thanos, who has been both an ally and enemy over the years.  This alternate reality Adam was reborn with vast power and knowledge, as he contained the energy of his former reality within him — but he did not realize the full extent of his new powers.

Most recently, he assisted Thanos and the Guardians of the Galaxy in their attempt to thwart Annihilus from taking over the universe.  But Annihilus banished Thanos to an empty void, the severely wounded Guardians were forced to retreat, and Warlock was taken prisoner… Until he found himself floating in unfamiliar space, lacking memories and desperate for answers.

Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) vs. Rogue

From: Uncanny X-Men v.1 #269 (1990)

Lady Mandarin (Psylocke) vs. Wolverine

From: Uncanny X-Men V.1 #257 (1990)

The Uncanny X-Men vs. Nimrod

From: Uncanny X-Men v.1  #209 (1986)

Rachel Summers (with the Phoenix Force) vs. The Beyonder

From: Uncanny X-Men v.1 #203 (1986)

The Uncanny X-Men vs. Selene the Black Queen

From: Uncanny X-Men v.1 #184 (1984)

Incredible Hulk vs. Silver Surfer (Planet Hulk)

From: The Incredible Hulk v.3 #95

Bruce Banner has long seen his alter ego, The Incredible Hulk, as a threat to innocent life.  So when he saw the chance to use the Hulk’s strength for good, Banner accepted a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. to destroy a rogue ssatellite.  But when the mission was complete, a group of Marvel heroes including Reed Richards, Iron Man, Dr. Strange and Black Bolt exiled Hulk from the Earth, intending to send his shuttle toward and idyllic, uninhabited planet where he would pose no threat to himself or others.

Instead, the shuttle flew off course, passing through a wormhole that deposited Hulk onto the savage planet of Sakaar.  Weakened by his trip through the portal, Hulk was sold into slavery and sent to the Great Arena to die in gladiatorial battle.

Shortly after, a group of rebels tried to free Hulk, offering him the chance to fight against the Empire.  He rejected the offer uninterested in being the  rebels pawn.  But Elloe, a warior whose father was killed during gladiator training, accepts the rebels’ offer only to be taken into custody by Death’s Head Warguards.

In the Great Arena, Hulk and his team learned that if they survived three rounds of combat, they would win their freedom.  But the Emperor broke the rules, attacking the gladiators with a Deathfire bomb and a platoon of Death’s Heads.  Hulks crew survived, except for Lavin Skee who was killed in the fray.  That night, the surviving members of the crew spoke their true names and took an oath – they are now Warbound to each other, no matter what may come.

 

And what’s coming is the Silver Savage…

An introduction and explanation of the INFINITY STONES – (infographic)

*note– These are the Infinity Gems as they are represented within the comics, not within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  The way the stones look and  function has since been updated by Marvel; keep reading for details.

Adam Warlock tells the Avengers how Thanos created a synthetic Infinity Gem. – Avengers Annual #7 (1977)

The Infinity Stones, originally referred to as Soul Stones, are six immensely powerful fictional gems appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Whoever holds all six Gems and uses them in concert gains omnipotence and omniscience. The six primary Gems are the Mind stone, the Soul stone, the Space stone, the Power stone, the Time stone and the Reality stone, and in later storylines, crossovers and other media, a seventh Infinity stone (Ego or Rhythm) is sometimes added. The Soul Gems first appear in The Power of Warlock. All six appear together for the first time in the second “Thanos War” storyline in Avengers and Marvel Two-In-One annuals. Thanos harnesses their latent energies to power a giant gem to extinguish every star in the universe.

In the third volume of the Silver Surfer title, the Surfer refers to the gems as “Soul Gems” for the first time. They are gathered by the Elders of the Universe, who intend to use their combined power to drain Galactus of his life force and then recreate the universe with themselves as the oldest beings in it (Galactus was the last survivor of the Universe that existed prior to the birth of the current Marvel Universe). This plot is thwarted by the Silver Surfer, and several Elders and the gems are lost in a black hole; Galactus consumes some of the other Elders.

The Soul “Jewel” is firmly planted in the forehead of Adam Warlock – The Power of Warlock #2 (August, 1972)

In a follow-up story, Galactus is poisoned by the Elders he consumed. Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic, and the Invisible Woman journey through the black hole to recover the gems. Invisible Woman becomes possessed by the sentient Soul Gem, awakening her evil Malice persona. She is later subdued, and the gems are used to remove the Elders from Galactus’ body. The Elders later reclaim the gems.

Each Gem is a small, smooth oval, and known by their respective powers. Each of the Gems represents a different characteristic of Existence and possessing any single Gem grants the possessor the ability to potentially command whatever aspect of Existence the Gem represents. The Gems are indestructible but not immutable. On two occasions one or more of the Gems have appeared in the form of deep pink spheres that were several feet in diameter.

The Mind, Reality, Power, Space, Time, Soul Gems housed in the Infinity Gauntlet.

On other occasions the gems have appeared in their normal shape but with different coloring (i.e. when the Soul Gem appeared to be red when worn by the Gardener).  In the Ultraverse, the merged Gems, Nemesis, were once again separated after a climactic battle with Ultraforce and the Avengers. The Space, Power, Soul, and Mind gems morph into humanoid beings.  The nature of these beings is not known, nor how these beings returned to their original forms.

Read More: 

1. Thanos Steals the Soul Gem from the In-Betweener.
2. Thanos Takes the Power Gem from The Champion of the Universe.
3. Thanos Takes the Time Gem from The Gardener.
4. Thanos Takes the Space Gem from The Runner.
5. Thanos Takes the Reality Gem from The Grandmaster.

The Joker is rendered sane in The Lazarus Pit (Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight #145)

After being shot multiple times by Talia Al Ghul, Batman has to make the difficult decision to save The Jokers life.  The Dark Knight has to save his life in order to find where Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia have gone….

The Lazarus Pit has restorative capabilites, such has bringing the nearly dead back to life and restoring youth, vigor and vitality to the aged.  However to some, after emerging from The Pit, undergo a brief period of insanity.

Has The Joker ever been sane before? Click here to find out!

How strong is the Hulk? The Hulk catches Iron Fist’s punch (Hulk vs. Heroes For Hire)

The Hulk is on a rampage!  After destroying much of New York City, the heroes start to arrive on the scene to put a stop to the jade giant. The Human Torch unleashes a blast of flame but apparently The Hulk’s thunderclap is strong enough to snuff out the Human Torch’s flame! Iron Fist charges up his fist and punches at the Hulk, but the Hulk catches the blow and re-channels the energy back into Iron Fist’s body. Power Man charges at him from behind, and the Hulk responds by punching him through four skyscrapers.

From: Incredible Hulk #300 (1984)

Batman vs. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Trapped in a world where they can scarcely tell friend from foe, the Turtles’ first encounter with the Dark Knight puts their fighting skills to the ultimate test. And while Batman and scientist Lucius Fox search for any clue as to where these strange ninjas come from, Shredder strikes a deal with The Penguin!

From: Batman -Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 (2015)

Susan Richards vs. Taskmaster (Civil War)