10 Best Comic Book Stories

10 Best Comic Book Stories:

Comic books usually come out monthly and though reading them from month to month gives us a really great saga of stories to look forward to, I would argue that the best stories are those that stand alone. The rules for this list aren't too specific. If it's generally sold as a trade paperback novel and well known enough to make it onto this list then it counts. In no particular order, lets get started.

PLANET HULK:
Written by Greg Pak, the premise of this Hulk story is as follows:
 Tony Stark, Reed Richards and the other smart people of the Marvel Universe send the Hulk away for his, (and everyone else's well-being). They kidnap Bruce Banner, lock him in a rocket, and send him to a deserted planet. But things go wrong (as if they weren't already), when Hulk breaks the navigation system in a rage and crash lands upon a planet where he is forced to fight other aliens gladiator style. This is great because we see a side of Hulk that we don't normally see and that is just the Hulk. Bruce doesn't make many appearances because he is Hulk all the time. Never fear, he does talk and it's actually an affecting comic. One for the shelves.

ALL STAR SUPERMAN:
Written by comic book legend Grant Morrison and analogous to the insane, All Star Batman and Robin, this story chronicles the last days of Superman. When he saves the first manned mission to the sun from a crash, he is exposed to so much solar energy that his powers are tripled, yet his body starts to deteriorate. These are the last days of Superman on the planet. This one is really affecting because Superman is no longer as "invincible" as he seems. You really get the feelings that he has for humanity, his friends and Lois Lane all in this great comic.

WATCHMEN:
Set in a universe where superheros have more or less been outlawed unless registered with the United States Government. We follow the exploits of Rorschach, Nite Owl, Dr. Manhatten, The Comedian, Ozymandius, and the Silk Spectre. These "ordinary humans who have taken the extraordinary step of becoming costumed vigilantes", (Cinefix), find out that somebody is killing off all the old Minutemen, (an old team of superheroes). They band together to find out who is killing the heroes and find a plan much bigger than they imagined. I didn't really sell this comic very well but it's truly one of the greatest. You know it's good however when it has been critically acclaimed as the best graphic novel of all time and has not gone out of print since it's release. The author, Alan Moore really did a fantastic job with this story and it is a very essential book.

THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA:
Acclaimed as one of the best X-men story-lines of all time, this story follows Jean Grey becoming exposed to a radioactive solar flare which allows her to reach full potential as a telepath. When she arrives back on earth she has becoming an ultimate being of power, one that she tries to restrain. But when The Mastermind makes her think that she is actually "Lady Grey" of the Hellfire Club she believes she is evil and it is up to the X-men to stop her, including the love of her life. Cyclops. The writer, Chris Claremont presents a unique view of the X-men's relationship with Jean Grey and how hard it is on them for her to become the entity known as the Phoenix.

THE KILLING JOKE:
Once again, Alan Moore brings something spectacular to the table. This harrowing Batman tale chronicles the events that led to the Joker becoming who he is now and the present day story of the Joker endlessly torturing Commissioner Gordon almost to the point of insanity. It's a grave tale for the Batman family and even more chilling when we find out how the Joker came to be. All of Alan Moore's work is excellent but this is a truly stellar work of art and narrative.

SECRET WAR (2005):
Not to be confused with Secret Wars, Writer Brian Michael Bendis brought us the story line of Secret War. When a bunch of B-List supervillians are superpowered and under the orders of the country of Latveria, it's up to the likes of Nick Fury, Captain America, Daredevil, Spiderman, Luke Cage, Wolverine, and Black Widow to quietly overthrow Lucia Von Bardas, the cyborg leader of Latveria. World crises ensue and it's up to the heroes to fix things.

BLACKEST NIGHT:
Geoff Johns, major DC writer introduced Green Lantern as a major principal character in the sea of Justice Leaguers. In this story we see a new type of Lantern Corps arrive in the Universe, the Black Lanterns. These lanterns deal specifically with reanimating the dead and eating all life. Not only does this story deal with those problems but it explains the rest of the Lantern's emotional spectrum from red to violet. It's fun to see so many heroes all joining together especially in a cosmic adventure as good as this.

V FOR VENDETTA:
The last of Alan Moore's comics on this list, V for Vendetta is a epic look at a dystopian 1997 in England. The government has taken the joy and freedom from the people and it becomes a truly dismal and sad state. Until a mysterious anarchist name V starts a ruckus in the civilization and what happens results in a very good story that not only comic book fans can enjoy. It really shows that people should not be afraid to speak up and their government cannot keep them stifled.

CIVIL WAR:
Soon to be adapted in movie form, this landmark event in the Marvel Universe, this story shows what would happen if every superhero were divided on their stance. A tragic accident kills many innocent people and the government steps in to ensure it never happens again. They start to register superheroes in order to know who is good or bad, vigilante or executive. The main pioneers for each cause being Ironman and Captain America. Mark Millar hits it out of the park with this stunning and shocking story that rocked the Marvel universe for years.

KINGDOM COME:
Alex Ross teams up with Mark Waid to bring yet another incredible comic. The original Justice League gives up their mantles after a hero by the name of Magog enters the public eye, who is not afraid to kill. Once Magog battles the Parasite it leaves the entire mid-west of America devastated and damaging America's food supply. Wonder Woman urges Superman to reform the Justice League in order to stop this. In these efforts there is a dichotomy between the league: Kill all those who oppose or reform the murderers. It's a cool look at all the superheroes in their old age, fighting one last battle paralleling the book of Revelations and the End of the World.

Batman v. Ironman: Dawn of Debates

Batman v. Ironman

One of the questions that I receive most is, "Who would win in a fight, Batman or Ironman?" It makes sense, they are both rich guys who have taken drastically different approaches at pursuing a life of fighting crime. This post is bound to be met with much debate and argument, but here's the thing, it's just my opinion. My opinion that is also based on hard facts. So this is how this will go, I'm going to first analyse the two, and then speculate how a fight between them would go and who would actually win. Bear in mind that comic book characters have many re-imaginings and versions to their character. So to keep this less confusing these heroes will be in their prime iteration. Also, we will stage these fights as if these two have never met each other before and they will fight accordingly, (Meaning Batman would aim to incapacitate, Ironman would go for the kill). With that said, lets get started.

Batman:

Background: Batman has traveled the world for twenty years mastering the art of man-hunting, deductive reasoning, martial arts, expert driving, archery, and a stack of others. In the DC Universe he is "The Worlds Greatest Detective" and loosely speaking he is the second best at everything else, (He is also one of the smartest, second only to Lex Luthor). He has reached peak human perfection, (without the use of a super soldier serum), he prepares for every eventuality and holds a seat on the Justice League, essentially an organization of gods.

Arsenal: Batman has personally engineered a suit capable of advanced stealth and combat functionality, a utility belt equipped with a Kryptonite Ring, a grappling gun, standard issue batarangs, propulsion grenades, (pretty much a grenade with a rocket that will propel you), a high frequency sonic emitter, explosive plastique gel, and whatever else the plot needs him to have. Not only that but he has built a suit capable of withstanding a fight with Superman, (left), and a suit capable of taking on the Justice League, (right). He has a plane, a car, a boat, and a tank, (like a really big tank). His cape allows him to glide through the air. His cowl has infrared detectors and night vision. He has smoke bombs, and all sorts of nonlethal guns that fire rubber bullets. Not only that but he engineered and built all of this for himself.

Hindrances: Bruce Wayne doesn't have many. Though nobody is without fault. He is only human, and his parents are a particular weak point, as is anybody who he has let close to him. Some may say that this isn't a bad thing but he is too driven and is too stubborn to even let anybody help him. Since he is only human, simply shooting him in that mouth gap is a big weakness, also tan lines.

Ironman:

Background: Tony Stark was captured and held in a cave where he was forced to built a metal suit in order to escape. Through this he stopped manufacturing arms for the country and started ending the conflicts around the world based upon engineering a suit that is literally a flying tank that can also punch you in the face. He is also the fifth smartest person in the Marvel Universe, which is still pretty cool considering the next four are overpowered geniuses.

Arsenal: Tony's arsenal is limited only to what he can outfit his suit with. He has multiple suits but in a battle like this he is most likely wearing whatever is standard issue, (same with Batman). His armor typically has a chest and hand repulsion, hand lasers that have been known to just cut anything in half, shoulder guns and rocket boots. He is also sometimes equipped with and EMP blast and often has missiles he can fire from his shoulders or back. He's a walking armory and he is very mobile and one punch would certainly send a man to the hospital or to the grave. 

Hindrances: As I said, no man is perfect, especially not Tony. He is a self proclaimed narcissist, an alcoholic and tends to just forget about people he even kind of likes. (Minus Jarvis and Pepper). He is kind of a daredevil and a hothead, but it's not necessarily a bad thing if he knew how to use it in combat and when the risk is not fatal.

Who Would Win?

Lets say we start these two off in an open field. They have never met each other. Batman has his usual suit, Tony has his usual suit. They perceive that one another is a threat, and they fight it out. Right off the bat I think that Tony would lift his face mask, smirk and say, "This guy is dressed like a bat? He's dressed like a bat!" then Batman would test the waters, throw a batarang right at his face. I suppose Tony would close his face mask and the batarang might perhaps shatter or bounce away letting Batman know right away how strong this suit actually is.

 Ironman flies into the air right at Batman, going straight for a punch. Batman dodges out of the way, quick and nimble as he is, Tony turns right around for a followup punch, in which Batman triggers an EMP which, (if Tony has built his suit correctly), shouldn't work against the Ironman suit. Tony laughs it off and goes for another punch, or perhaps a laser blast from his hands, Batman leaps out of the way, maybe it singes his cape.

 Tony goes for another flyby, and Batman places a propulsion grenade on Ironman's back without him knowing. The Propulsion grenade sends Tony straight into the ground, Batman dashes over and starts trying to tear away at the suit, any piece he can leverage off, he probably doesn't get very far. Ironman shakes Batman right off. Batman pulls out his high frequency sonic emitter and fries Ironman's ears, who goes down to the ground. Batman, learning from his mistakes, tethers him to the ground with the grappling gun, as Ironman tries to fly away he goes straight into the ground again. 

Batman calls in his Batplane, which bears down heavily on Ironman, (bear in mind that the Batplane can incapacitate heavy artillery vehicles). Ironman probably activates the many missiles he has in his suit to shoot the batplane down, crashing it into the field, then he probably cuts the cable. But while he was doing this, Batman places plastique on the boots of Ironman, blowing it while he's midair disabling his rocket boots and bringing him to the ground permanently. 

At this point Batman has probably pinpointed just exactly what powers the suit, that being the arc reactor in Tony's chest. Tony is enraged at this point, a seeming psychopath dressed as a bat just grounded him, he's not going to show off anymore. Repulsors and punches will with the day for Ironman, if only he could hit Batman who quickly works his way straight up to Ironman. Ironman starts to punch, Batman redirecting the hits and using Ironman's momentum against him flipping him about onto the ground. Batman reaches towards the reactor, punching the casing and twisting the reactor disabling the connection to the suit, then tears the chest plate off and replaces the arc reaction into Tony's chest, keeping him alive. Tony is now pinned to the ground in an Ironman suit without power. 

Lets say Ironman has safety precautions in case this were to happen and the suit uses backup power to launch Batman off of him and breaks off in pieces as Tony stands up in nothing but his under armor or suit or whatever he wears under the Ironman suit. Remember, Tony is just a guy, he doesn't really have any combat training, and at this point he is just another thug to Batman who proceeds to just beat the crap out of him. 

For the sake of drawing this out even longer, lets say that Tony call's in the Hulkbuster suit as seen in Age of Ultron and a bunch of other comics. Jarvis has it shipped to Tony immediatly, but it still takes a little bit and Tony is running around the field throwing whatever he has left at Batman, (which isn't a lot). The suit finally arrives.The Hulkbuster suit is equipped with adamantium tipped suppression needles and rocket propelled fists. It can also get punched really hard. Tony is now in a giant mech suit and Batman is left standing beneath this towering hunk of metal. One punch would kill Batman. To escelate this further lets say Batman call in the Batcopter carrying his Justice League defense suit (used to defend against the Justice League). While that's taking it's time to get to Batman he nimbly dodges away from Ironman, perhaps hopping on the back of the Hulkbuster suit and trying to tear out whatever wires or plating there could be, (probably in the neck region of the suit). Maybe he does some damage, but that Ironman suit is tough. 

Finally Batman's mech armor arrives, equipped with blades, ice slick, rocket propelled fists with miniature red dwarf suns in the knuckles (courtesy of Dr. Ray Palmer), Powdered magnesium carbonate foam, guns, and rocket boots. By now they are both sick of each other and they go all out throwing punches, needles, guns, rockets. But regardless I think the red sun's in the fists of Batman take out this armor exoskeleton fairly quickly. Tony is then left with just a regular Ironman suit. Batman just quickly takes that one out too, maybe they fly around for a bit before that. 

Lastly, for sake of Tony, he keeps calling in one suit after the other while slowly being tired out as the fight drags on. In the end of it all I think it just comes down to whether Batman can defend against all of Tony's suits longer than Tony can stay standing after all of the fighting. I'll let you decide that, (with the evidence presented).

Conclusion:

But really, these debates will never end. . At the end of the day it just depends on who is writing the comic book, who knows more about each character and who inevitably wants them to win. I tried to be as unbiased as possible, but as I said, there are a million people who will probably disagree, and that's fine I guess. 

In my opinion. Batman wins. It just really comes down to how well prepared Batman is for every eventuality in a fight. He has fought "ironmen" before, he has fought even the likes of Superman before. Batman has reached the peak of humanity and has trained to be the second best at everything, even metal suit making. Ironman is a formidable foe when in the suit, but when out of it there is no competition. To really understand this fight one must get to the core of each character. Strip them of their suits, their toys, their money, and their tech and Bruce win's simply because Bruce's ideals are purer, he has shown undying loyalty to his friends, (the few friends that he has), and will never give up on a fight, even if the outcome is fatal for him. Plus he's a ninja with or without the suit.

If anything, this whole debate shows that money is the best superpower.