Welcome one and all to the Tournament of Evil! What better way to celebrate the one year anniversary of Panels of Awesome than with the kick off of the greatest tournament in the history of everything? In this week’s battles, we’ve got Ultron taking on Black Adam in the opening fight of the Awesome Arena: Tournament of Evil. Next, we’ll see Marvel’s Venom taking on the mastermind himself, Lex Luthor! Wondering how the rest of the tournament breaks down? Click here to check out the full ladder! As for this week, let’s get right into it. Let the tournament begin!
Tournament of Evil: Round #1 - Battle #1
Ultron (Marvel Comics) vs. Black Adam (DC Comics)
Combatant #1 - Ultron
Comic Debut:
Avengers #54 (July 1968)
Background:
Ultron was created by Henry “Hank” Pym to serve as a sidekick while he took on the role of Goliath. Ultron’s mind was mapped after Pym’s own which meant that his level of intelligence nearly matched that of his maker. Pym’s original plans backfired when Ultron became self-aware and rebelled against Hank and even grew to hate him. Though he’s gone through many different versions, complete with upgrades, over the years, he remains one of the Avengers greatest foes.
Why He’s Here:
In addition to waging war against both the Avengers as well as anything else that stood in his way, Ultron has created other machines that carried out his bidding as well including The Vision, Jocasta and Alkhema. Ultron is a creation of pure evil and hated that has even been able to pass those traits on to some of his own diabolical creations.
Powers / Abilities:
- Superior artificial intelligence and tactics, Computer/IT Interfacing
- A robotic body, usually built out of Adamantium, capable of numerous functions and varied armaments
- Superhuman strength, durability, senses, and speed/reflexes
- Brilliant engineer of weapons, crafts, devices, and other powerful androids
- Encephalo-Ray (barraging the neurons of a sentient opponent with a quasi-psionic blast resulting in daze/sleep, suggestion, domination, coma, or even death)
Combatant #2 - Black Adam
Comic Debut:
The Marvel Family #1 (December 1945)
Background:
Black Adam, originally known as Teth-Adam, was chosen by the wizard Shazam to be the bearer of his power by becoming his successor. After being given such a great deal of power, Adam’s thoughts turned to those of world domination, at which point Shazam then gave him the name of “Black Adam” and banished him to the farthest reaches of the universe. He spent the next 5000 years flying back to Earth where he would battle many heroes in the DCU but most notably, his apparent replacement, Captain Marvel.
Why He’s Here:
The events of the 52 crossover World War III speak volumes about Adam’s true intentions and character. After witnessing the death of his wife and brother, Adam takes his fury out on the many heroes of the DCU know stand in his way. During the fit of aggression, Adam kills two members of the Teen Titans along with many innocent people who just happen to be in the vicinity of his hate-filled outbursts.
Powers / Abilities:
- Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, physical and magical invulnerability, flight, fearlessness, and vast wisdom/enhanced mental perception
- Enhanced senses
- The ability to heal himself through magically empowered lightning
VOTING FOR THIS BATTLE HAS NOW CLOSED!
Tournament of Evil: Round #1 - Battle #2
Venom (Marvel Comics) vs. Lex Luthor (DC Comics)
Combatant #1 - Venom (Eddie Brock)
Comic Debut:
Amazing Spider-Man #299 (April 1988)
Background:
Once a co-worker of Peter Parker’s at the Daily Bugle, Eddie Brock always seemed to have things a little bit harder than the rest of the world. After Spider-Man rejected the alien symbiote, the costume found Brock and chose him as it’s host and the pair became known simply as Venom. With both Brock and the symbiote harboring a grudge for the webslinger for their own personal reasons, the collective hatred that the two had for Spider-Man helped fuel Venom’s desire to destroy him once and for all.
Why He’s Here:
Over the past couple years, Venom became much more of an anti-hero and even an ally of Spider-Man but many forget that earlier in his career as a villain, Venom would devour the brains of innocent people in order to feed the bloodthirsty symbiote. Sounds pretty evil to me.
Powers / Abilities:
- Superhuman strength, stamina, speed, agility, reflexes, equilibrium and durability
- Ability to cling to most surfaces
- Ability to shape-shift
- A regenerative healing factor
Combatant #2 - Lex Luthor
Comic Debut:
Action Comics #23 (April 1940)
Background:
Lex Luthor was abused as a child and raised in a very rough area of Metropolis. His view of living and of the world was extremely distorted because of his horrible upbringing which lead to the ultimate murder of his parents at his own hands by sabotaging the brakes of their car. Lex then lived with his relatives until he was old enough to receive the money that his parents were insured for. Years later, angry and bitter at the world, Lex built his LexCorp empire and, upon the first appearance of Superman, began his crusade to destroy the Man of Steel at nearly any cost.
Why He’s Here:
Well, for starters, Lex murdered his own parents. If that wasn’t enough, he’s cloned himself and waged war against Superman for nearly fifty years. He’s been made President of United States and was then removed from office by a number of heroes after he ordered the murder of Bruce Wayne’s lover, Vesper Fairchild. Lex Luthor is pure evil.
Powers / Abilities:
- Genius-level intellect
- Vast resources and personal wealth
- Access to advanced technology
- Expert level Machiavellian (Manipulation)
VOTING FOR THIS BATTLE HAS NOW CLOSED!
If you’re new to Panels of Awesome and the Awesome Arena, you can learn all you need right here! Can’t vote and don’t know why? You need to register! Here’s a quick reminder of what’s at stake.
The Prizes:
WHAT'S NEXT?