Leaping off of yesterday's conversation, it struck me that the heart and might of the Defenders were two of the most anti-social and confrontational heroes in Marvel's entire pantheon. But just how aggressive were these two? How often did they rile up their competition, get in the faces of the publisher's more staid heroes, and leap into fisticuffs with the "good guys"? I sought out to find the various battles in which Namor and the Hulk faced off against Marvel's heroes in misunderstandings (or for that matter righteous understandings).
Both characters maintained their own books, after sharing a title in Tales to Astonish, and participated in team play with both the Defenders and Avengers. Namor also starred in The Invaders. What do they have to be mad about? It seems like everything! These two never seemed to enter a debate without leaving bruises behind. Was it their fault or are Iron Man, Daredevil, Spider-Man and the rest to blame?
I am sure there are more instances than those I identify below, so add your own examples to the list. But pick four and let us know why that particular knock-down, drag-out, spectacle is of interest to you. Today's $1 Challenge is to find the four best Namor and Hulk hero battles in Marvel history. For today's event we are seeking the best battles, not the most expensive items. Have a go at it. Cheers!
18 comments:
Impossible to do the $1 challenge when presented this many beautiful works. I can't get past the covers to even think about the insides.
I would add Marvel $.35 Giant Size from 1973ish which had Hulk and Thing in the boxing ring, cover drawn by Rick Buckler I believe, just to make it even more impossible. (I know... something can't be "more" impossible.)
I think the Hulk on the cover of The Eternals was a robot so does that count ?
Everything counts in the Quarter Bin!
When talking about the Hulk, I don't think you can get any better than the Hulk-Thing battle in FF #s 25 & 26. This one pulled out all the stops, including the Avengers and two of the best covers, ever!
For Subby, I think I'll have to go with the classic DD #7, showing his pomposity and nobility. For the final choice, I gotta go with his stint in the Avengers #262. I really enjoyed Roger Stern's treatment of Subby and thought he interacted well with that team - especially Cap and Herc.
There are so many great choices for these two characters, but these are the stand-outs for me!
What a wonderful retrospective! I had to smile, as the Avengers 262 cover near the top was one of, if not the, first comics I bought when I returned to the hobby around 1985. Purchased at the Ben Franklin spinner rack in Eureka, IL. How's that for memory? Can't recall what to get at the supermarket, but that I remember as if it was yesterday.
One more observation - I just love the suit that Reed Richards designed for Namor. I always think he looks dumb in just his trunks, given that all the other Atlanteans wear some sort of full body clothing. I generally bristle at Namor's "normal" look.
Doug
I'll go with :
Daredevil King-Size Annual 4: I had this as a kid and I remember that with T'Challa thrown in the mix it just had so much hard, well laid out brawling among the three characters that it was unlike anything I'd ever seen.
Iron Man 54: Not so much for the brawling, but I think it was the first appearance of Moondragon. (off topic, I know)
Captain Marvel 21: I thought this would be some sort of typical two heroes-in-a-ring sort of thing, but I seem to recall that more than a one-and-done it actually advanced the overall arc of Captain Marvel at the time which was refreshing.
Iron Man 132: This was an awesome issue. Iron Man was the first comic I ever got and I've loved him over the years. Thor and Hulk are intimately tied as the idea for Thor came from the Hulk. But for me the real question was who would win, Iron Man or the Hulk? Answer? Iron Man beats him with one marvelous punch. But it breaks the suit and almost kills Tony Stark. How satisfying! That punch had more drama in it than soooo many mags today, it still hurts and I'm nowhere near Jersey! Huzzah!
Thanks for the this!
You know, I'm thinking a sub-genre of these covers, and stories, is either Hulk or Namor having a throw-down with Iron Man...
An impossible decision. They are all too awesome to pick just 4.
So, I'm just going to take $20.00 and buy them all. Excelsior!!!
Cannot believe I forgot The Incredible Hulk #118 when Namor and Hulk actually fight each other! Drat!
78 images and I miss a most important example.
The research for these challenges is challenging enough! Any others you can think of? CH47 pointed out one -any others??
Doug - it is funny how the memory works. For the early part of my collection I can tell you where I bought each issue.
Selenarch - I like your choices. I never read the DD annual but now I am curious.
Edo - the inspiration for this was partially a tweet I posted a week ago highlighting Namor and Iron Man. So many good stories. And honestly they are interesting sparring partners. Metal/Science vs Flesh/Nature.
Go Cubs!
Wow, great selection today Marti! I can only think of one other suggestion- Fantastic Four 167 (?) With the Hulk and Thing vs. The FF on the Arch in St. Louis. Which, by the way, would be one of my picks.
Otherwise, MUST GET Daredevil 7. Oh, I wish I hadn't sold that book years ago. Aaaaand, Avengers 49. And finally, can I get a twofer with Amazing Spider-man 119 and 120 (come on, it's the same tale over two issues; if not I'll go cash in bottles for the extra quarter).
Makes me wish for some good hearty comics to read here on my lunch break...
Wow, there's plenty to choose from! I'll go with:
MTU 14 (Spidey attacks Namor because he's lurking in Manhattan, then finds out he was trying to track down Dr. Dorcas and Tiger Shark after they killed his father; naturally Spidey helps Namor get revenge)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual 3 (the Avengers ask Spidey to bring in the Hulk as an initiation test, but Spidey feels bad for the Hulk and lets him go)
FF 26 (the first REAL fight between Hulk and Thing ... and it's a good one)
Captain America 230 (great cover, and I seem to remember the story being pretty good too; I think it was the crossover with Moonstone and the Corporation)
Actually, Martinex, you did include the Hulk v. Subby confrontation in Tales to Astonish #100, which preceded Hulk #118 by over a year (that's actually the first example that popped into my head anyway).
Going back a bit, both Namor and the Hulk also confronted the original X-men, in X-men #6 and
X-men #66
And Namor and Spidey had another confrontation in Amazing Spider-man #211.
Otherwise, old Jade Jaws had quite a few confrontations with various other heroes during Mantlo's run; you included Machine Man and 3-D Man, but there was also Captain Marvel (#246), another punch-up with the Silver Surfer (#250), the Israeli heroine Sabra #256), the Soviet Super Soldiers (#258) and the Rangers (#265), among others.
Thanks Edo. And of course Hulk vs Wolverine in #181.
And I left out the classic Namor and Stingray battles.
Edo - how do you paste in a link like that? I was hopeful to paste in a link to Giant Size Super Stars #1 that featured the Thing v Hulk fight in the boxing ring!
(As if Marti didn't paste enough to last a lifetime, already!)
And by the way, I am thoroughly enjoying "The Rabbi's Cat" that you recommended a week ago or so. Humorous, profound...
Hi CH47,
I tried to show you the code, but the comments section read it ... as code. :/ Basically he comments box supports HTML tags. If you right click on the page and select "Page Source" you'll see that code in Edo's comments. And here's a link that should help explain what to look for.
Selenarch - THanks much! Hope I can figure it out! (I'm no longer at the cutting edge of technology, lol)
Charlie, Selenarch beat me to it, but yeah - just follow the instructions at that link. I still remember how proud of myself I was about 5-6 years ago when I figured out how to do that in the Bronze Age Babies comments section... :)
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