Try to support your answer if you can.
2006-10-05 15:48:32 · 5 answers · asked by Mr. Happy 2 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Comics & Animation
They have fought several times.
First was in a Crisis on Multiple Earths series in JLA. Around 1975, issue #135 or so. Shazam uses the lightning to free Supes from Krull's control from red kryptonite.
DC put out a collectors edition (giant size comic, $1, c. 1980) where they battled, along w/ Black Adam and Q(something). Mary Marvel and Supergirl are along for the ride too. Mostly a stalemate. (I have this issue, and re-discovered it a year ago. But, I never fully re-read it)
They also battle in 'Public Enemies', and Shazam says, "I've beaten you before". Hmmm. Superman doesn't disagree.
Then there is the Kingdom Come issue, w/ a brainwashed Capt Marvel (ugh, biggest flaw w/ a good book). Much of a stalemate, until CM goes off and sacrifices himself for the planet.
Ok, so the cannon of literature gives us little as far as concrete answers. That's b/c they are indeed very evenly matched:
Strength- Superman vs Hercules' strength. Advantage Superman in a big way. He can definitely outdo CM here.
Speed- Superman vs Mercury's speed. Advantage Captain Mavel, IMO. Superman's speed varies as needed by the writer. Mercury is faster.
Invulnerability- Superman vs Achilles. Superman has his weakness to kryptonite and magic. The latter is huge since Capt M has magic involved. Achilles of course has a weak heel, which I've NEVER seen exploited (bad writers). Thus both have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by the other. Even.
Power- Superman vs Zeus. Even. Zeus is not to be trifled with, not even by an alien.
Wisdom- Superman vs Solomon. Advantage Captain Marvel. BUT, wisdom is not intelligence, so I give that to Superman. Superman also has super hearing, x-ray and heat vision.
Endurance- Superman vs Atlas. Even.
I short, this is indeed even. If you had to battle to the death, then I see Captain Marvel's wisdom pulling out all stops: kryptonite, magic lightning, etc.
Meanwhile, Superman can go for the heel (heat vision), or simply use his tremendous strength to batter CM.
I'd reluctantly say Superman would win, unless Shazam got a shot in w/ kryptonie early.
2006-10-06 01:59:58 · answer #1 · answered by Iridium190 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ah, the Big Blue Cheese vs the Big Red Cheese!
I'll preface this by saying I agree- I don't see how a fight to the death would occur, since they are both so opposed to it... But assuming we get past that:
OK, they've fought several times, and while the record is essentially a draw, I see Captain Marvel with a slight advantage. First of all in a fight to the death, anything goes, and Superman just has more weaknesses to exploit. Any kryptonite in storage anywhere near the battle area and- game over. Any red solar radiation comes into play and... yikes. But let's assume none of that factors in.
As is well documented, Superman is vulnerable to magic, including the offensive use of Cap's lightning which was introduced in Kingdom Come and shamelessly copied in the JLU TV episode "Clash".
When Dr. Sivana stole the Shazam! powers several years back (I forgot the issue, but it was illustrated by Gil Kane) he defeated the Earth-2 Superman for just that reason- in his villainous tirade he stated that his powers were magical in nature, so he never tired and was even stronger than Superman, but that's Earth-2. Apples & Oranges, I guess.
In the Kingdom Come battle, Superman won- but it's got an asterisk since Captain Marvel wasn't mentally 100% there, he was fighting under Luthor's influence, and was described during the battle as having his "senses dulled".
In the JLU episode "Clash" both heroes were at full strength and in their right minds, and Superman won.
In JLA #29, Captain Marvel knocked Superman out cold. I have never seen the opposite occur.
Yes, J'onn Jonzz did it once, but that was against a Captain Marvel who had just broken free of mind control and was busy doing the "where am I" routine when the great green fist landed.
When Eclipso removed all inhibitions from Superman, the JLA called in Capt Marvel. He was holding back, not wanting to harm Superman, but the reverse wasn't true. Supes was going all-out and just managed a draw, escaping the battle but leaving a battered and bruised CM.
In the who-beat-who category, there's the fact that Lobo seriously beat the crap out of Superman the first time they met (yeah, this is an asterisk as well, but Lobo had the upper hand long before Supes got too close to the Kryptonite) When Lobo mixed it up with Captain Marvel- well, the battle was way too short, but Cap got in way better shots.
Finally, here's the quote from Alex Ross himself, in the May 2005 Wizard Magazine:
"I was definitely making [him larger than Superman] because the thought about Captain Marvel I've always had is that as much as he's never gonna be the legend in people's minds as Superman is, there's always somebody who's bigger and tougher than you are. You know, there's a reason why Bizarro's not in our story,becasue it would've subverted the role of what Captain Marvel needed to be. Captain Marvel is like Superman's opposite number. It's another version of him that is just slightly stronger."
OK, so that's one artist's take on the situation, but it seems entirely consistent with the trend I'm seeing throughout most of the comic books- a slight edge to the world's mightiest mortal.
I'll discount the events of the currently running "Justice" issues #4-5, since that was a deathtrap specifically designed for Superman. On a side note that's one helluva great series, I recommend it to everyone!
So my vote goes to Cap, just barely. In a 5-battle series, I'd say he wins 3 to 2.
2006-10-06 00:09:30 · answer #2 · answered by C-Man 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ah, the wisdom of Solomon is stumped! There goes one of Captain Marvel's powers!
Actually, this matter was addressed in the DC mini-series 'Kingdom Come' a few years back, where a brainwashed Marvel went toe to toe with Supes, with mortal results. After bashing each other about for quite a few pages, the victor, when the smoke cleared (quite literally) was Superman, although not by much. I spare you the details, as I highly recommend it as mighty fine reading. It's available in trade paperback somewhere or other.
I also recall that after one of their first team-ups, they had a go at a friendly game of arm-wrestling. I believe they're still at it to this day.
2006-10-05 23:14:50 · answer #3 · answered by James V 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One or both would need to have been Brain-f'd in order for a fight to the death to occur.
My money is always on Superman to win, but as the proverb states, "When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers."
2006-10-05 23:56:24 · answer #4 · answered by janssen411 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They've fought more then once one time in Kingdom Come and in Justice League Cartoon both times Superman one. Take note that in Kingdom Come.
SPOILERS
He kills himself to save everyone else.
2006-10-05 23:06:45 · answer #5 · answered by Jambi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋