It's mighty morphin' Best Battles time! As always, we review all of the action packed madness in this week's new comics and picked three we thought are worth highlighting. It wasn't an easy choice this week, but ultimately we really dug the sweet looking sci-fi brawl in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, the brutality in VENOM, and the magnificent art and dark content in SUICIDE SQUAD.
Did your favorite battle not get a mention? Well, it's possible we didn't read that issue, so be sure to make suggestions in the official Best Battles Discussion Thread from now on. We review that before writing this weekly feature and do our best to get our hands on the issues suggested!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VS. SPARTAX TROOPS
The Guardians of the Galaxy are being held captive... well, all of them except for Groot! The alien has now had plenty of time to recover after being reduced to the size of a small stick, and now he's large and quite pissed off at the Spartax troops for incarcerating his friends. Prepare yourself for epic smashing.
After freeing his allies with his fists in a pretty hilarious short segment, the team gears up and prepares to take over the enemy ship. Yes, the enemies conveniently stock piled their weapons next to them and they even joke about it. After Rocket Raccoon takes a jab at Tony Stark for complaining about not having his armor, the team prepares to face their enemies. Once it goes down, everyone gets a panel showing how much fun they're having absolutely wrecking the troops.
As if Groot didn't already kick enough booty, we get another look at him ragdolling the opposing forces. Laser blast to the chest? No biggie. Meanwhile, Rocket Raccoon remains adorable and I did chuckle at his banter, but it's starting to get too repetitive as well. It was nice to see his final line was different, but I really hope the little dude switches it up more in the future. Otherwise, that could grow old really fast. Anyway, enjoy a look at some more chaos.
I don't know about you, but my fingers are crossed Drax will get more time in the spotlight. I know we're only 3 issues in, but I feel like the guy's role is quite limited compared to the rest of the team so far.
VENOM VS. LORD ORGE'S GOONS
Holy $#*& it's the Venom-mobile! Who said they could never market Venom toys to kids, right? This is easily the most disturbingly fantastic thing I witnessed in comics this week and I think it would haunt my dreams if I ever saw it in real life. Anyway, like Flash says on the page, you should never underestimate a dramatic entrance. Sure, he has the physicals to wipe the floor with them on his own, but why not make them pee themselves a little bit first?
What happens next is simply glorious and it's all thanks to Pepe Larraz's super awesome art. Yes, I adore Declan Shalvey's style, but Larraz's works veeeeeery well for the book, too. It's a little more cartoonish yet still manages to ooze a darker tone and makes Venom all kinds of fearsome. Plus, look at how fantastic the motion is behind Venom's vicious attacks.
While the thugs are equipped with submachine guns, we know that's nothing Venom can't handle. It's a cake walk for the symbiotic hero as he dances around their bullets and then humiliates them without even breaking a sweat under that gooey armor. In fact, Venom does later get shot in the face, but as expected, he spits the bullet out and is perfectly fine.
Why aren't you reading VENOM yet? I feel like the book receives way less discussion than it should here on the Vine. And if you are reading it, well... want to be friends?
DEADSHOT VS. UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Ales Kot and Patrick Zircher, I think I'm in love with you guys. As a long time Deadshot fan, this issue had me cheering like a mad man. Harley Quinn takes over Bell Reve and a mystery person let's her take control of the system. Who does she free first? Not Cheetah. Not King Shark. She releases Deadshot. Why? Because he's awesome, duh. He may not have pistols or his wrist guns on him, but in this issue he proves he doesn't need them to be dangerous. With just a few scalpels, Floyd shows off he can be accurate with anything.
If you need more evidence Floyd can be scary accurate with things that aren't firearms, he went bullseye for bullseye with Green Arrow at a bar once (Deadshot's second volume). Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Despite being stabbed in the gut by Quinn, the Unknown Soldier grabs a weapon and heads out in hopes of restoring order. He encounters a seemingly unarmed Deadshot and keeps his sights on him. Much to our surprise, Floyd challenges him to hand-to-hand combat. Seeing as Floyd isn't exactly known for being a threat without a weapon, he agrees and slowly lowers his weapon. Naturally, this is a huge mistake.
Upon closing the gap, Floyd performs surprisingly well. He takes a kick to the gut but in the process he manages to disarm his target, too. Soldier then rocks his face with a palm punch, but Floyd apparently sees the bloody bandage and goes for the cruel yet effective strike against his wounded foe. And finally, he tops it off with a headbutt because... why not?
Also awesome in this issue: King Shark gnawing on a massive creature's achilles tendon. Oh, and everything else, because honestly, the entire issue was terrific.
Honorable Mentions
