The Great Comics Face-off game.

[Hyperion]

How sad is it that I'm usually the first person to answer?

[JSayonara]

Also, Marv, the Randomator hit you tonight.

You know the score, pick three characters and I'll choose one to go up against my pick.

Heroes and Anti-heroes only.

[Doc]

Streaky

Black Lightning

Duo Damsel

Oh god yes.

[darthfoley]

Streaky

Black Lightning

Duo Damsel

Once again, yep.

[Ballsac]

Streaky
Black Lightning
Multiple Man

[Marv-El]

Streaky--a simple orange cat who gains powers. How great. Pure Silver Age.
Black Lightning--The 100, a school-teacher who becomes Secretary of Education, an Outsider and Leaguer. He's DC royalty.
Duo Damsel--married to luckiest character in comics, Chuck Taine.

[StrayCatBlues]

Streaky

Black Lightning

Duo Damsel

[John Moores]

Streaky

Black Lightning

Duo Damsel

Yep.

[Scot Eric]

I vote for ginger kitties, fake afros and the best opportunity any 30th century comic book character would ever get at a threesome.

[JSayonara]

The Human Bomb aka Roy Lincoln is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics.
He first appeared in Police Comics #1, and was created by writer and artist Paul Gustavson.

Roy Lincoln was originally a scientist working with his father on a special explosive chemical called "27-QRX."
However, when Nazi spies invaded his lab and killed his father, he resorted to ingesting the chemical to prevent it from falling into their hands.

As a result, Lincoln gained the ability to cause explosions in any object he came into contact with, particularly through his hands; the only way to control it was to always wear special asbestos gloves (which were subsequently retconned into "fibro-wax" gloves after the human health hazards of asbestos were discovered).

Donning a containment suit to prevent any accidental explosions, Lincoln became the "Human Bomb," removing his gloves only to expose his explosive powers against Nazi and Japanese enemies, as well as ordinary criminals.
He later gained enough control over his powers to be able to remove the containment suit, though the gloves were always necessary.

VS

Dan the Dyna-Mite is a fictional character, a teen-aged superhero published by DC Comics.
He was the young sidekick to the character TNT, and was created by Mort Weisinger and Hal Sharp in 1942.

Danny Dunbar was the star pupil of Thomas N. Thomas, a high school chemistry and physical education teacher.

One evening while Thomas and Dunbar are working on an experiment, Thomas' hand accidentally touches Dunbar's and both teacher and student find themselves feeling more energized.
Thomas realizes that each of them has somehow absorbed the chemicals with which they have been working.
By touching each other, Thomas and Dunbar now become charged with an unknown form of energy and briefly possess superhuman powers.

They decide not to reveal their discovery publicly for fear that it would be misused. Instead, they use their new super-powers to fight crime as costumed heroes. Thomas becomes known as TNT and Dunbar as Dan the Dyna-Mite, and both join the wartime All-Star Squadron.
Thomas and Dunbar each wears a "dyna-ring." By pressing the rings together, Thomas and Dunbar trigger a chemical reaction that temporarily charges the two heroes with energy.

In April 1942, TNT and Dyna-Mite battle Nazi saboteurs who are attempting to blow up a dam in Colorado. When the saboteurs flee in a car, the pair gives chase in their own auto. One of the bullets hits the tire of the heroes' car and it crashes and bursts into flames.
The young hero Iron Munro pulls TNT and Dyna-Mite from the wreckage. TNT is already dead, and his spirit is carried off by the Valkyrie called Gudra (a member of Axis Amerika).
Munro takes Dyna-Mite to a hospital, where he soon recovers.

Danny is grief-stricken but bucks up when President Roosevelt requests that he and other young members of the All-Star Squadron take a cross-country tour to encourage the buying of War Bonds.
His depression is worsened by the assumption that without TNT, he can no longer use his own super-powers.
Soon Danny learns he can activate them by wearing both dyna-rings and pressing them together.

Much later on, Dan was seen as a member of Old Justice, in the pages of the Young Justice series.

[JSayonara]

Captain Marvel Jr. (Freddy Freeman) is a fictional character, a superhero originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently in the DC Comics Universe.
A member of the Marvel Family team of superheroes, he was created by Ed Herron and Mac Raboy, and first appeared in Whiz Comics #25.

After Fawcett Comics' success with their first superhero character, Captain Marvel, the company decided to introduce a spin-off character.
Although Captain Marvel had been given part-time sidekicks in the form of the look-alike Lieutenant Marvels in Whiz Comics #21, Fawcett Comics editor Ed Herron wanted to introduce a distinctive spin-off character.

Captain Marvel transformed from teenage boy to adult superhero with a magic word; Herron decided for his new character to remain a teenager to differentiate him from Captain Marvel.
Fawcett staff artist Mac Raboy designed the new character, named Captain Marvel Jr., using a more realistic style parting with C.C. Beck's more cartoony artwork for the Captain Marvel stories.

Captain Marvel, Jr's first appearance in Whiz Comics #25 was part of a three-issue crossover between Whiz Comics and another Fawcett publication, Master Comics, in late 1941.
The crossover, printed during the height of World War II, found Bulletman and Captain Marvel at odds with Adolf Hitler's superpowered champion, Captain Nazi. During a battle with Captain Nazi in Whiz Comics #25, one of Captain Marvel’s punches sends the villain careening into a lake.

An elderly man and his teenage grandson happened to be fishing in the lake near the place Nazi has landed, and, not knowing who he is, lift the unconscious man into their boat to prevent him from drowning.
Nazi immediately comes to, tosses the old man into the lake, and knocks the boy out of the boat with an oar.
The old man immediately dies, but Captain Marvel is able to save the unconscious boy, named Freddy Freeman, and bring him to a hospital.

Captain Marvel, in his alter ego as young Billy Batson, learns from a nurse that Freddy is not expected to last the night. This leads Billy to take Freddy to the underground throne of the wizard Shazam, who originally granted Captain Marvel his powers. Billy asks the wizard to heal Freddy and save his life, but Shazam cannot, and instead tells Billy that he, as Captain Marvel, can pass along some of his powers so that Freddy can walk again.

Shazam disappears and Billy transforms back into Captain Marvel, just as Freddy awakens. Looking up, he exclaims “Why...it’s Captain Marvel,” and is instantly transformed into a super-powered version of himself. Freddy, now called Captain Marvel Jr., resembles a younger Captain Marvel, though with a yellow-on-blue costume with a red cape, rather than Marvel Sr.'s yellow-on-red with a white cape.

Captain Marvel informs Junior that he cannot remain in his super-powered form at all times, but that he must allow his human form to heal as best it can. With that, Freddy once again said his mentor's name and returned to his hospital bed.
Freddy remains permanently lame in his left leg and is forced to walk with a crutch (although Captain Marvel Jr. bears no such impediment).
As a result, Junior sought revenge against Captain Nazi, and the two repeatedly battled in a number of World War II-era comic stories.

VS

Elvis Presley was...well, just don't step on his blue suede shoes, alright.

[John Moores]

^Possibly the hardest decision yet.

[JSayonara]

Beetle Bailey is an American comic strip created by cartoonist Mort Walker.
Set in a fictional United States Army military post, it is among the oldest comic strips still being produced by the original creator.

Beetle was originally a college student at Rockview University.
The characters in that early strip were modeled after Walker's fraternity brothers at the University of Missouri.
During the strip's first year, Beetle quit school and enlisted in the U.S. Army on 13 March 1951, where he has remained ever since.

Most of the humor in Beetle Bailey revolves around the inept characters stationed at Camp Swampy, (inspired by Camp Crowder, where Walker had once been stationed while in the Army).

Private Bailey is a lazy sort who usually naps and avoids work, and thus is often the subject of verbal and physical chastising from his supervisor, Sergeant Snorkel.

The characters never seem to see combat themselves, with the exception of mock battles and combat drills. In fact, they seem to be in their own version of stereotypical comic strip purgatory (initially basic training, they now appear to be stuck in time in a regular infantry division). The uniforms of Beetle Bailey are still the uniforms of the late 1940s to early 1970s Army, with green fatigues and baseball caps as the basic uniform, and the open jeep as the basic military vehicle. Sergeant First Class Snorkel wears a green Class A Army dress uniform with heavily wrinkled garrison cap; the officers wear M1 helmet liners painted with their insignia. While Beetle Bailey's unit is Company A, one running gag is that the characters are variously seen in different branches of the Army, such as artillery, armor, infantry and paratroops.

Beetle is always seen with a hat or helmet covering his forehead and eyes. Even on leave, his "civvies" include a pork pie hat worn in the same style. He can only be seen without it once—in the original strip when he was still a college student. The strip was pulled and never ran in any newspaper.

VS

Often reffered to simply as Sgt Bilko, The Phil Silvers Show (originally titled You'll Never Get Rich) is a comedy television series which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus a 1959 special.

The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army.

The series was created and largely written by Nat Hiken, and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series.

The show is sometimes titled Sergeant Bilko or simply Bilko in reruns, and is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers.
The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star, and writer-producer Hiken from a highly-regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator.

The series was originally set in Fort Baxter, a sleepy, unremarkable U.S. Army post in the fictional town of Roseville, Kansas, and centered on the soldiers of the Fort Baxter motor pool under Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko. However, Bilko and his men seemed to spend very little time actually performing their duties—Bilko in particular spent most of his time trying to wheedle money through various get-rich-quick scams and promotions, or to find ways to get others to do his work for him. Bilko and his men wore the shoulder sleeve insignia of the 69th Division, then a training division at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

While Bilko's soldiers regularly helped him with his schemes, they were just as likely to become "pigeons" in one of his schemes. Nevertheless, Bilko exhibited an odd paternalism toward his victims, and would doggedly shield them from all outside antagonists. The sergeant's attitude toward his men has been described thus: "They were his men and if anyone was going to take them, it was going to be him and only him." Through it all, the platoon was generally loyal to Bilko despite their wariness of his crafty nature, and would depend on him to get them out of any military misfortune or outside mistreatment. In such circumstances, Bilko would employ the same psychological guile and chicanery he always used to outwit his suckers, but for good purposes.

Bilko's swindles were usually directed toward (or behind the back of) Col. John T. Hall, the overmatched and beleaguered post commander who had early in his career been nicknamed "Melon Head". Despite his flaws and weaknesses, Col. Hall would get the best of Bilko just enough to establish his credentials as a wary and vigilant adversary.

[Ebon]

The Human Bomb
.................................elvis......that vote was uncomfortable
Beetle Bailey

[Marv-El]

Human Bomb. Childhood memories of that very issue and all the promise it held beat Roy's Young All-Stars, even though those stories may have been better.
Cap Jr. Hey, it's the better comic character.
Sgt. Bilko. Thought sure I'd scroll down and see Sad Sack vs. Beetle, but Phil Silvers is a runaway winner here.

Nine Questions with the men of Sequart

A Sequel Soliloquy: Scot Eric's Top Twelve #2's of All Time

The Golden Age Blog - Flash 11-20!

American Comics: The Illusion of Change

The Golden Age Blog - Flash 1-10!

CriticalMess interviews writer Steve Bryant!

Mess member Jim Beard helms new Batman TV book!!

Nine Questions with Pamela Des Barres

Advanced search