The 10 Best Hero Vs. Hero Brawls

Everyone is familiar with the typical comic book brawl: A Spandex clad do-gooder throws haymakers at an obscenely dressed psychopath with a really weak plan for world domination, the villain is defeated, and the day is saved. Hurrah!

On far rarer occasions, after years of palling around and washing their Spandex together, superheroes actually square off against each other in epic battles of good v. good. The reasons can range from political differences and ego overload to villainous manipulation. The latter is the case in DC's The War of the Green Lanterns, a storyline where Green Lantern villain Krona turns members of the Green Lantern Corps against each other.

In honor of the in-fighting, Complex proudly presents to you our list of the 10 Best Hero vs. Hero Brawls in Comics!

In order to get some cheap publicity and make a quick buck, Spider-Man decided to try to join the Fantastic Four in his debut issue. But after he broke into the team’s headquarters and demanded a job, the Web Slinger was soon jumped by the Thing and the rest of the family.

Even though Spidey possesses enhanced strength and the sticky palms of a basement dwelling Star Trek fan, he was no match for Marvel’s greatest super hero team. So the Web Slinger decided to do the honorable thing and run away with his tail between his legs.

But never say that perseverance doesn’t pay off because Spider-Man has finally become a member of the team only a mere 48 years later!

Who would win in a fight: an eight-foot-tall green engine of destruction capable of reducing an entire city to rubble in mere minutes or a walking, talking pile of rocks that spends his time whining about his grotesque appearance like a fat girl before prom?


While the Thing is certainly the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four, his encounters with the Hulk usually wind up pretty one sided. And that is pretty much how it went down during their most popular encounter in Fantastic Four #25.


It was evident early on in the fight that the Thing was clearly no match for the Hulk. But what this fight lacked in drama it made up for in incredible feats of strength by the Hulk and pure destruction, all portrayed with terrific art by the great Jack Kirby. This is one of the best examples of the over-the-top comic book action that made Marvel the premiere publisher during the '60s.

Captain America is the sentinel of liberty. He takes his job very seriously and views himself as a symbol of everything that is right in the world. Iron Man is a womanizing drunk with a little black book about as thick as most phone books.

Since the beginning, fans knew these two were destined to battle it out, and Marvel’s Civil War provided an epic backdrop for the brawl. Featuring the two icons on opposite sides of a heated political debate, this battle was one of the most personal and destructive in Marvel history.

And while no clear winner was crowned by the end, this fight is perhaps most famous for Captain America’s abrupt surrender mid-battle to the U.S. government and subsequent assassination shortly afterwards.

The Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe re-imagined Frank Castle’s family as having been killed during a super powered brawl rather than a Mafia hit. This led the Punisher to declare a war on anyone wearing tights (ballerinas and professional wrestlers excluded).


This “What If?” type story showed the Punisher systematically picking off members of the superhero community in gloriously violent fashion, like when Spider-Man and Captain America were bumped off in a hail of gunfire. But the Punisher also showed off his creative side in this book when he lured the X-Men to the Moon and then proceeded to shoot a nuke at it.

This story proved that you don’t need super strength or speed to be dangerous. Just your wits and intelligence. And a nuke.

Having just finished pissing off the entire Marvel Universe during Civil War, Iron Man soon set his sights on picking a fight with the God of Thunder. Claiming that he was going to slap Thor’s home city of Asgard with government sanctions, Tony Stark soon found himself on the business end of a godly ass-whooping courtesy of a very angry Thor.

Even for a functioning alcoholic with a hall of expensive armor, picking a fight with Thor was a pretty stupid idea. Beaten within an inch of his life, Iron Man dropped any sanctions against Asgard and let the city remain in Oklahoma. Another example of comics showing that violence does indeed solve problems.

This was the fight that fans had been waiting decades to witness. Think about it: Batman squaring off against Captain America; Superman doing battle with Thor; Ant Man fighting for b-list superiority against the Atom! This battle had it all!


And while it was surreal to see characters from both companies fighting each other, the brawl proved to be a little too short to claim the top spot on this list. But the fight was still a fanboy’s wet dream come true and the art by George Perez was so meticulously detailed and gorgeous that fans worldwide still drool all over their Shazam underoos at the mere sight of it.

While Marvel’s Ultimate Universe seems more like a failed experiment than a company-saving initiative nowadays, there is no denying that these books packed in some blockbuster action during their heyday. And there is no better example of an oversized super powered brawl than the Ultimates trying to take down the Hulk in the middle of New York City.

When the Hulk went on a tear after finding out that his ex-girlfriend had dinner with Freddie Prinze Jr. (yes, you read that correctly), the Grey Goliath had to be stopped by Captain America and his team of government-sponsored heroes.

While none of the team had much luck at first, a swift kick to the groin courtesy of Cap dazed the Hulk long enough for the Wasp to deliver the final blow. The Hulk soon reverted to human form as New York was left in ruins. If this type of super showdown is set to happen in the Avengers movie, then sign us up!

Guy Gardner was the edgy new Green Lantern during the '80s and was the complete opposite of the silver age Lantern, Hal Jordan. But Gardner’s brash, overconfident attitude often put him at odds with his teammates.

When Gardner tried to declare himself the leader of the new Justice League, his attitude became too much for Batman to handle. After challenging the Caped Crusader to a fight for superiority, Gardner was laid out in seconds flat with one big bat punch as the Dark Knight barely broke a sweat.

With his manhood crushed and confidence briefly evaporated, Gardner would never live down his glass jaw.

Dripping with testosterone, this brawl had been brewing since both characters butted heads in the early issues of The Avengers. With both behemoths claiming to be the strongest beings on Earth, fans waited patiently to watch them finally lock horns.

During the Avengers/Defenders War, it was only logical that the pair would finally come to blows. While the fight was pretty even for the opening few moments, it quickly turned in Thor's favor when the Hulk tried to lift the god's hammer, Mjolnir, and failed. This came as a shock to the Hulk, who had been known to lift entire mountains by himself.

But just as the battle was set to reach its climax, the Avengers and Defenders broke the fight up to the dismay of fans everywhere. What a bunch of nerds.

Frank Miller was on a crusade in the mid '80s to change everyone’s perception of Batman from a well adjusted vigilante to an obsessed loner with severe anger issues. The climax of his Bat renaissance was in the fourth issue of his magnum opus, The Dark Knight Returns. The titanic finale featured an elderly Batman duking it out with the government’s pet god, Superman.

While these two were usually good friends, Miller sought to end their relationship with this colossal showdown. Batman was viewed as the voice of the repressed population of Gotham while Superman represented the tyrannical government of this dystopian future.

With the help of a power suit and a kryptonite arrow, courtesy of the Green Arrow, the Man of Steel was actually defeated by the aging vigilante in pretty short order. The argument over who DC’s resident badass was had finally been put to rest. However, Batman suffered a heart attack soon afterwards and appeared to die.

But, of course, those who read the book know that this was all part of Batman’s grand plan to fake his death and train a team of vigilantes underground.