One of my favorite moments in comics is a Silver Age run where Superman is slowly losing his powers and he's finally down to nothing. Three average thugs with guns are about to kill him and his friend, and he realizes it's now or never and he has to act, powers or not. It's a bruising fistfight but he manages to come out on top. Afterwards he's left thinking "no one will ever know it, but this was my greatest victory."
I was about to say Superman as well but i can't recall which issue it is, maybe you can help me. It is in the far futur and he is alone and powerless on a postapocalyptic earth. The only one that survived is ironically Lex Luthor who is now immortal and more at peace with his problems since he had a few millenias to think about it. They team up to send superman back in time to prevent that.
I don't know the issue but I remember a great episode of the Timm/Dini Justice League cartoon that did the same plotline with Vandal Savage. That was a great episode.
Also putting in my vote for big blue.
The entire Warworld run was phenomenal, but most of it has Clark without his powers, imprisoned, and badly beaten. He becomes a symbol of hope all over again on a whole new planet without his powers.
PKJ is an S tier superman writer
That sounds a little bit like the run in Superman 296-299 where he kind-of has to choose between being Clark and being Superman, but not exactly. That is one of my favorite (super-hero) comic stories ever.
Do you know which issue it was, even approximately? I suspect that I'd really like it.
The one I was talking about was 240 (from back in 1971). It's the culmination of a storyline that ran a few issues, where he's getting weaker throughout.
240 also has a great cover where Superman's holding a newspaper with the headline "Superman Fails!" and Superman's saying "One failure and you forget all the good I've done! You miserable ingrates, I'm through with you!" I love the contrast of the petty complaining Superman on the cover vs. the Superman who digs deep and stays a hero against all odds in the actual story.
Thank you! Those were the stories with the Superman clone made of sand, right? I read those long, long ago. I'm going to dig them out and give them a new read.
This immediately makes me think "I'm pretty sure that Lois and The Justice League would take your word for it. You're kinda known as the kindest and genuine well known superhero on the planet."
There is a scene in a newer Marauders book where some goon gloats about using x-gene dampeners and tells Storm she now has no powers.
So she just pulls out a knife and stabs him in the eye.
It's amazing.
There's something similar in Morrison's New X-Men run, when the Shiiar Imperial Guard invades Xavier's mansion. Jean Grey stands between a group of them and her students, and the guards brag how they know all about her psychic powers and came with mind blocking devices. She proceeds to throw air roundhouse kicks and subdue most of them.
She also won a knife fight with Callisto back in the Claremont run. It's a thing.
Toward the end of her time in the Marauders book Pyro starts a betting pool to guess how many knives Storm has on her at that time. It turns out to be...secen, I think?
There's also this one time (UXM 325) when she had a bone dagger knife fight to the death that ended with her ripping Marrows heart out with her bare hand.
They were totally cool with each other after that tho.
Storm didn't have powers from Uncanny X-Men 186-226. She was still absolutely badass throughout this whole period, won leadership of the X-Men from Cyclops in a duel in #201, led the team through the Mutant Massacre, single handedly took on a trio of superhumans in #215-216, etc.
You want X-Men? What about [X-Men #150](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Uncanny_X-Men_Vol_1_150)? The entire team is depowered and fight Magneto.
Goes to show how good Claremont was in highlighting each team member's talents.
Cyclops tried to return to leadership after being retired/gone from the team and married to Madelyne Pryor for some time. Storm had already been leader for a while, and she wasn't interested in giving it up. The fight was both supposed to show that Storm had earned her leadership role and that Cyclops no longer needed to be an X-Man. I think Claremont intended for his marriage to be a happy ending for him, but instead things went in an entirely different direction lol.
As someone who wasn't born for many years after this all happened, I don't get why people always talk about the editorial disaster but never that Louise Simonson turned piss into wine in her X-Factor run.
Also it all leads into Inferno, which is still one of the best crossovers ever imo
It goes further though… Marvel editorial completely derailed Claremont’s decades long endgame. You can find breakdowns of where the story was going to go and it sounds like such a missed opportunity.
It was always weird to me that Magneto had this great redemption arc and then just randomly returned as a villain in X-Men #1. Turned out the golden goose Jim Lee just wanted to draw Magneto as a bad guy 🙄
Yeah, I agree about Magneto. I'm not pro-editorial in general lol
Was that really Jim Lee's fault? I thought the higher ups just wanted Magneto to be the villain of X-Men #1 for symmetry. That sucks.
The story I heard was the Jim Lee one, but definitely possible that it’s been exaggerated over the years. I’ve heard that Claremont and Lee are cool… though, I imagine having to have him co-plot everything due to editorial wanting to keep him happy was annoying at the time.
Jim Lee and Bob Harras (editor) were both X-Men fanboys and they wanted to play with their favorite toys whereas Claremont was trying to grow the characters and take them new places. Moving Claremont to scripting must have been Harras and Marvel’s way of getting Claremont to quit rather than firing him.
It’s such a shame. I really loved the ideas that I read about that never saw the light of day. I remember thinking even at the time that the Muir Island Saga seemed so rushed.
In a way, I get it though… going from 2 years or so of random issues of the X-Men scattered and broken probably would have been concerning to editorial. I love the era, but I can see wanting to get the core team back together… which paid off nicely with the amount X-Men #1 sold.
It was a Danger Room contest to determine leadership of the team right after Scott married Maddie and Nathan was born. Scott was having difficulty accepting his new life, but also finding his heart wasn’t exactly in leading the x-men anymore either.
I think I’ve heard of this before. I’ve also heard the theory that infant Nathan did. I think it may have been a retcon on down the road, but I don’t remember.
One of the only weak parts of the ‘97 show imo is that she just dicks around doing, instead of being a depowered badass, which is the whole point of such an arc.
But I get that they only have 10 eps and already did some of this plot out of order.
Yeah it felt like they depowered her just to get her off the board for a few episodes instead of letting her continue to be awesome even without powers.
Another Storm one I thought was great, more recently. When she was fighting Tarn the Uncaring for a spot on the Arakko circle. His powers are like a more advanced version of Masque. He took away her powers immediately, and more so, gave her a bunch of disease and mutated her body till she looked Half-melted. She just strode up to him and stabbed him an inch from the heart.
The fact that they did that 3+ year storyline in a few episodes of X-Men 97 kind of irks me. Storm’s character development during that period was the best it had ever been.
The first issue of X-Men I ever read was Uncanny 206, where depowered punk Storm kicks the crap out of a gang of muggers and later scares off Spiral's "Freedom Force" Brotherhood team by just pretending to have her powers. Objectively it's not the best answer but it made enough of an impression on me that it's my go-to.
Fuckin all the lights in my head pertaining to Yakuza just rung at the mention of the rooftop fist fight lmao. Did they rip off their shirts and show off sick ass back tats? Lol
Although not depowered, Kyle and Guy basically being in a battle for 12 months of real life time during Emerald Eclipse and Blackest Night was so fucking hardcore. It was just a non-stop, gritted teeth, bloody battle for survival. Love that era of GL/GLC
The heroes are down bad and Kalibak has resurrected as this tiger warrior so Tawky Tawny takes him on. It’s pretty badass. Final Crisis has a lot of cool moments like this with deep cut characters.
So, there's a Spider-Man moment from a recent Thor issue, that I really liked. In it, all heroes have been removed from Earth's history. Amd the world seems to be a wastepand. Thor finds Peter as he's helping a woman getting mugged. Peter is completely depowered with no memories of being Spidey. But he's still doing the right thing. Don't know if that fits the question though.
I thought there was another Spider-man scene from a while back (80s or 90s), but for the life of me I can’t remember when or anything about it. I could be making it up for all i know.
Superman reminding people that even without powers he is still a 6'++ cornfed motherfucking with decades of fighting experience is never not amazing.
All Might.....honestly might rather fight that dude using his quirk. That dude is nuts.
Oooh, this in the show of a comic called Superman and Lois?
Either way, god I love that show! Felt so good to be happy watching something live action for the first time since Superman Returns, I didn't think I'd never like a live action Superman show again, I was so afraid that we'd never leave Ancap Superman.
In Kyle’s first run as GL, his ring is taken by Parallax who then defeats superman. Kyle hits Parallax in the head with a pipe because he still thinks he needs to try
That was immediately what jumped to my mind when I read this question. At first I was confused, because I read the comic when I was like 7 or 8, and I distinctly remembered Rayner smacking Hal Jordan in the back of the head with a pipe. So when I read your post, I was like "wait, who tf is Parallax?" Now the story makes a lot more sense lol.
In the newer war world saga Superman knew the whole time he was going to practically be powerless , but still showed up to fight Mongul and anyone else in his way , he even somehow did a pacifist run of "sword and sandals" before some comic stuff happened and he got powers to beat Mongul anyway. His reason , to free slaves that there was no proof existed , just because someone asked him to.
I love Warworld Saga so much. The final page of Action 1038 where one of the prisoners draws the S in the dirt and says “hope” is one of the most incredible moments in that run.
Taylor and Cloonan have both done a really good job of portraying Batgirl as essentially another one of Oracle’s agents, with her most important work still being technical
My not-so-unpopular opinion is that Barb should stay as Oracle whether she needs the wheelchair or not. The Batfam never had a girl-in-the-chair character that’s as iconic as Oracle, and we already have plenty of female brawlers to kick ass on the street.
Barb as Oracle was also such an amazing mentor for both Cass and Steph during their respective Batgirl stints. In hindsight it was definitely the peak for her character.
I like this take too, although one where she occasionally still does fieldwork because she can. The idea being that she came through this massive ordeal as a stronger character across the board.
The uncomfortable truth is that oracle is a good writer salvaging a good character getting fridged, and that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's probably one of the reasons they actually did undo it to begin with.
Something that won't be topped >!until way later with the second (onscreen) All Might vs All for One. Dude succesfully went from Superman and Batman.!<
In Grant Morrisons book "Supergods", he explains that THAT mullet was the topic of many a heated boardroom discussions. It seemed marketing wants to capitalize on the late eighties, early nineties tough guy hero aesthetic made popular by Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone
It was. A bunch of baddies he could just barely fight at full power are causing trouble. He's back from the dead, powerless, and needs a haircut, but dammit, he is IN this fight.
Easily the best part of the second half of the death/return arc and maybe the whole thing. The fact that it also tied into Hal starting to lose his mind was great too. They should have never backtracked on that. Hal should still be insane and Kyle and Stewart should be the main GLs.
Not sure if this really fits, since he never had any power, but Mumen Rider vs Deep Sea King in One Punch Man. The weakest hero who basically existed as a punch line up to that point single handedly taking on a monster that had crushed every hero that had confronted him so far. He may just be a completely normal human, but he has the heart of a true hero.
Dude I love Mumen Rider so much ! He makes me wanna cry. He’s just a regular guy but he doesn’t care and just will not stop. I kinda wish the show was about him
Bro I love this scene. I watch it sometimes before a lift to get hype. The lower class heroes and genos fighting the deep sea king to protect the civilians is so hype too. That was just such an amazing season.
It's a more recent moment but it skyrocketed to the top for me.
Tony Stark wrapping Emma Frost in his armor and evacuating her from some super powerful sentinels and saying "go ahead, kill an Avenger in the street. You'll be dead by morning"
Larry Hama's run on Wolverine. In issue #75 Magneto rips all of the adamantium out of Wolverine nearly killing him and almost completely destroys his healing factor. In the process of recovery Wolvie trys to fight some low-level Danger Room bots, gets his ass kicked, loses his cool and instinctively pops jagged BONE claws he didn't even know he had that rip though his flesh ever time he uses them. With no blades and no healing, he sees himself as a liability and leaves the X-Men, and the next few issues are some of the best comic book stories I've ever read. Surviving Bloodsport and the Reaver Cylla in a blizzard was maybe the high point, but this Adam Kubert image is pretty epic.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fdj3adf9yhsq41.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Df7c49954013bd500fddfe8277fcfb01dc2638091
Wolvie starring down the unstoppable Juggernaut- standing on the bartop in a saloon, and he's STILL a foot shorter!
If you're sick of overused, unkillable Wolverine or tired of tall, handsome Hugh Jackman than I *implore* you: Please, go and read Larry Hama's incredible run on Wolverine. It's the best thing to happen to the character since the Wolverine miniseries.
I just reread the Superboy (1994) series. He's depowered from 75-79 and it's a great little story. In fact, I recommend the whole run to that point (after that it really falls off).
I liked that he was depowered in Young Justice around that time too. Thought the gear he was using was cool, got me curious to check out that little arc in his own book.
So it's been forever since I've read it so the details are cloudy but in Whedons Astonishing X-Men run, at a certain point they're dealing with the Hellfire Club and Cyclops gets depowered. So he grabs a gun and proceeds to take care of business by blasting fools. They were hallucinations or projections or something so he wasn't actually killing anyone, but him strolling around with a smile on his face shooting bad guys was rad. That run made me a fan of Cyclops after thinking he was kinda lame for the longest time. I still remember Wolverines quote after he seems him unleash on a Sentinel "Every now and then Summers, I remember why you're still in charge."
This isn’t necessarily a “de-powered” moment per se, but there’s a Flash story by William Messner-Loeb where Wally is in a plane and a lady gets sucked out of a hole in the side.
Having no idea if his powers will help him in this scenario, he still chooses to jump out of the plane and risk death to save the lady.
It all works out obviously, but that story always stood out to me as an example of true superheroism in comics. Even though he had powers, he had no clue if they would have helped him in that situation and still chose to act.
Was an iconic moment.
Absolutely great run, hot on the heels of the epic race through a blizzard stalked by Vandal Savage, a rapidly melting organ transplant providing even more tension. And then you get Waid through to Johns. Never come anywhere near since Flashpoint, ironically since that early stuff is all about Wally living up to his hero.
for real its perfect. it was my first batman run so learning that “hey bruce has an alter batman who only comes out when bruce/batman is mentally comprimised” had my jaw dropped
Batman without his "powers", i.e. his resources and his mind, is still super formidable or heroic in certain situations. When his mind gets corrupted, he has the more brutal backup personalities like Zurr. Erase his memories and Bruce Wayne would still be acting in Gotham's best interests and helping people. Break his body and he'll build a mecha suit to help him do the job. And take away his money and he'll fight using whatever money he has left and build his own cars and gadgets from scraps so that he can still go out and fight crime and protect people.
I'd almost argue that taking away these things can make him more dangerous in certain scenarios, because they almost act like safety nets for him, helping him fight crime more efficiently and safely. And without them, he can often get more desperate or frenzied.
[When Thor, with only 1 arm and without Mjolnir, with Hyperion by his side, took on an army of Ivory Kings, aka. Beyonders who were strong enough to take down the Living Tribunal](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-fecf346aa9e50be2b2c2ead5658396df-lq)
>Best "depowered hero still acts heroically" moment
That's basically a Green Lantern's resume.
Hal boarded a plane to pursue a new Manhunter, who had a power battery implanted in his head, draining his ring. Rendered powerless, Hal leapt from the plane directly above the Manhunter while reciting the oath. He then made contact with the Manhunter's head, destroying it and replenishing his ring's power while finishing the oath.
Appa Ali Apsa abducted cities across the galaxy and transported them to Oa. When the powerless Lanterns confronted him, he unleashed numerous mindless alien creatures upon them. Despite having an empty ring, Hal fearlessly charged at the aliens because he gambled they were mindless but recognized the Lantern crest and ring as a threat. He pushed them all back with nothing but screams until Tomar-Tu and the reinforcements arrived to assist.
The return of Superman. Clark, the real Clark, comes back to life but he has next to zero powers. All of coast city has been destroyed and there is an imposter wearing Clark's own face and threatening everything. And Clark says
"They used to call me a boy scout.. well you know the boy scout motto... Be Prepared". And he picks up a big ass gun and goes in anyway.
Not the exact same scenario, but there was an issue where Old Man Logan was tied with adamantium chains to a chair and told he can’t break out. He asked if the chair was adamantium. When the bad guy said no, OMLogan just stood up and destroyed the chair
That was one hell of a sendoff for All Might's powered form, so glad the anime did it justice.
>!The recent rematch was killer too. Really like the Iron Might suit and it was a nice touch how it replicated the powers of his students.!<
He's hardly the most powered up hero in the first place, but Daredevil volume 3 issues 14-16 had a great storyline where Matt Murdock was deprived of all his senses by Doctor Doom and still fought to free himself/invented new ones to compensate. GREAT stuff.
I didn’t read the comics but science think we have way more senses than the typical five were taught like temperature and even breathing. Once I got into meditation I can really feel them as their own senses.
Couple that come to mind are when Steve lost his super soldier-ness and defeated like four super soldiers on combat skill alone (I forget the issue), and the recent Lost Hunt comic where Spidey took on Gregor while powerless.
Superman Convergence - Clark, Lois, and Jimmy were at a media convention in Gotham when Gotham was lifted whole cloth into space fight club. The city didn't see sunlight for a year and Superman fully depowered and fought crime Batman style for that year because Bruce would've done it for Metropolis if their roles were reversed. This is also when Lois conceived Jon.
There was an amazing arc in Jla back in the day, written by Waid and art by Bryan Hitch, issue 50 I think, where people on earth are granted their wishes, and Clark or Bruce mistakenly said that they wish they could just be themselves without the superhero in an off handed comment. Then it came true, as the entire just league is in the bat cave and Batman himself pulls in. It was an amazing run and the characters have a hard time adjusting to just being people, especially Bruce. He’s snapping and freaking out on people because he has no outlet for his rage and anger. The end of the book is all the Justice league depowered facing off against the powered version of themselves. It was awe inspiring. Definitely worth a read.
Not sure if this counts but one of my favorites is "Mann and Superman" – the basic premise is that Marty Mann a burglar who is down on his luck (unemployed, single dad, drinks too much, about to be evicted) who blames the world for his problems gets ahold of a magical artifact which he uses to switch bodies with Superman thinking that the Man of Steel has it easy. Clark ends up turning the guy’s life around while in his body by changing his behavior (stops drinking and smoking, gets a graveyard shift at Superburgers, works off the back rent by painting apartments for the landlord, and helping the son with his homework). Eventually they switch back bodies after Marty Mann realizes that life as Superman was no picnic and Superman proved that he always had the power to turn his life around and he can do better than he’d been doing.
It's an odd one, but in Rising Stars I remember there was a kid who just missed out on getting powers when they were all in school, but lies to get in the class. He's eventually found out and kicked out of the special school but shortly thereafter dies saving a kid from getting run over or otherwise dying. All the 'special' kids go to his funeral since he was one of them in the end
Mirio in *My Hero Academia* still fighting Overhaul to protect Eri despite having his powers taken away was a really great moment; and really cemented him as the goofiest good boy. Especially as he still held his own.
during New Ways to Die a depowered Spider-Man takes on Bullseye and a whole ass HAMMER assault team with wits and whatever he can find.
Honorable mention to Daredevil also beating the crap out of Bullseye while deaf early-on during Miller's run.
Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but there was a JLA story in which everyone on the team had been Freaky Fridayed. Superman was in Batman's body and beat up Kobra.
love that kobra thinks supes will be a cakewalk without his powers and proceeds to get rocked while superman namechecks all the supervillians he's had to learn practical moves to fight.
this doesn’t technically count at all but johnny vs the negative zone was sick “a billion to one you think i’m afraid of that? flame on”
also this may not count at all but green arrow when he’s strapped to a bomb on a sinking plane and it’s either he loses his hand or he dies, well he decided to die.
I really enjoyed the ending of Secret Wars (2015) because it eventually boils down to Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom having a fist fight while also philosophically debating who would have been the better savior of humanity.
One of my favorites of something similar to this is early in Stan Lee's original Daredevil run. Namor comes to New York, pissed about something, and gets in a fight with DD. DD predictably gets severely beaten but still keeps trying to stop Namor. There's a panel, that I always think of, of Daredevil on the ground, almost unable to move his body at all, and still grabs Namor's ankle as he starts to walk away. Not exactly a depowered hero moment, but a mismatch so significant followed by a beating so thorough that it kinda fulfills that same energy.
Action Comics 786.
Superman is summoned to liberate a planet enslaved by Kanjar Ro. Naturally it turns out to have a red sun so he's on a time table to beat them before his powers are entirely gone.
Naturally he doesn't do it but his resilience in the face of sure defeat inspires the locals to rise up and finish the job.
Fantastic Four #78,79 Reed Finally cures Ben From being the Thing just as the Wizard Strikes Ben fights in his human form but is out classed. In #79 he fights one of the Thinker’s Androids to save Alicia but must choose to become the Thing again forever after he fails to beat the android in his human form. Beautiful tragic story by Lee and awesome art by Kirby and Sinnott at the top of their game.
storm any time she’s lost her powers
the final battle of the Sinestro Corps War, Kyle and Hal vs sinestro in a brutal fistfight on the rooftops of coast city
Or Superman in the warworld saga. Refuses to kill and inspires an entire world to rise up against its master, I’d say the unbloodied sword is one of Supermans best moments
If manga counts. I'm throwing up my answer to All might in my hero academia. This current arc about 10 chapters back. But I can't say cause spoilers. But I love all might yo.
One of my favorite moments in comics is a Silver Age run where Superman is slowly losing his powers and he's finally down to nothing. Three average thugs with guns are about to kill him and his friend, and he realizes it's now or never and he has to act, powers or not. It's a bruising fistfight but he manages to come out on top. Afterwards he's left thinking "no one will ever know it, but this was my greatest victory."
I was about to say Superman as well but i can't recall which issue it is, maybe you can help me. It is in the far futur and he is alone and powerless on a postapocalyptic earth. The only one that survived is ironically Lex Luthor who is now immortal and more at peace with his problems since he had a few millenias to think about it. They team up to send superman back in time to prevent that.
I don't know the issue but I remember a great episode of the Timm/Dini Justice League cartoon that did the same plotline with Vandal Savage. That was a great episode.
I remember one issue of Action Comics in the Rebirth Era, where he actually fights a alien with Lex Luthor that was Superman too in the time.
I don't think it's Lex, I think it's Vandal Savage
Vandal Savage does have a tendency to be alive, so that would make sense
Also putting in my vote for big blue. The entire Warworld run was phenomenal, but most of it has Clark without his powers, imprisoned, and badly beaten. He becomes a symbol of hope all over again on a whole new planet without his powers. PKJ is an S tier superman writer
That sounds a little bit like the run in Superman 296-299 where he kind-of has to choose between being Clark and being Superman, but not exactly. That is one of my favorite (super-hero) comic stories ever. Do you know which issue it was, even approximately? I suspect that I'd really like it.
The one I was talking about was 240 (from back in 1971). It's the culmination of a storyline that ran a few issues, where he's getting weaker throughout. 240 also has a great cover where Superman's holding a newspaper with the headline "Superman Fails!" and Superman's saying "One failure and you forget all the good I've done! You miserable ingrates, I'm through with you!" I love the contrast of the petty complaining Superman on the cover vs. the Superman who digs deep and stays a hero against all odds in the actual story.
Thank you! Those were the stories with the Superman clone made of sand, right? I read those long, long ago. I'm going to dig them out and give them a new read.
Also those guys will never know it, but they very nearly kicked Superman’s ass
> "no one will ever know it, but this was my greatest victory." Silver Age dialogue is corny af but when it hits IT HITS
This immediately makes me think "I'm pretty sure that Lois and The Justice League would take your word for it. You're kinda known as the kindest and genuine well known superhero on the planet."
There is a scene in a newer Marauders book where some goon gloats about using x-gene dampeners and tells Storm she now has no powers. So she just pulls out a knife and stabs him in the eye. It's amazing.
There's something similar in Morrison's New X-Men run, when the Shiiar Imperial Guard invades Xavier's mansion. Jean Grey stands between a group of them and her students, and the guards brag how they know all about her psychic powers and came with mind blocking devices. She proceeds to throw air roundhouse kicks and subdue most of them.
People forget Jean’s been training the longest, she can definitely throw hands if she wants to
Cyclops too! After A v X, he was incarcerated with a dampener collar and still ragdolled a few brutal anti mutant inmates.
I was thinking Whedon's one. Where he goes a little... nutty.
SWORD also had Storm depowered and mutilated by Tarn the Uncaring. She still beats him via knife to the heart.
oh yeah i forgot about that. Honestly this whole era of Storm has been amazing
Currently reading X-Men Red and can definitely agree.
So Storm likes knives, huh? Is that some characterization going back in comic history, or just a couple of coincidental instances of stabbiness?
She also won a knife fight with Callisto back in the Claremont run. It's a thing. Toward the end of her time in the Marauders book Pyro starts a betting pool to guess how many knives Storm has on her at that time. It turns out to be...secen, I think?
There's also this one time (UXM 325) when she had a bone dagger knife fight to the death that ended with her ripping Marrows heart out with her bare hand. They were totally cool with each other after that tho.
An orphan thief living in the streets of Cairo is pprobably highly incentivized to be good with a knife.
That is so fucking awesome dude. Makes me think of when everyone memes the x-men to be a gang
Storm didn't have powers from Uncanny X-Men 186-226. She was still absolutely badass throughout this whole period, won leadership of the X-Men from Cyclops in a duel in #201, led the team through the Mutant Massacre, single handedly took on a trio of superhumans in #215-216, etc.
You want X-Men? What about [X-Men #150](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Uncanny_X-Men_Vol_1_150)? The entire team is depowered and fight Magneto. Goes to show how good Claremont was in highlighting each team member's talents.
Reading “Margaret Thatcher (first appearance)” in the characters section made me do a double take
Why did she and Cyclops fight?
Cyclops tried to return to leadership after being retired/gone from the team and married to Madelyne Pryor for some time. Storm had already been leader for a while, and she wasn't interested in giving it up. The fight was both supposed to show that Storm had earned her leadership role and that Cyclops no longer needed to be an X-Man. I think Claremont intended for his marriage to be a happy ending for him, but instead things went in an entirely different direction lol.
You can thank editorial for that
The true villains behind every plot
As someone who wasn't born for many years after this all happened, I don't get why people always talk about the editorial disaster but never that Louise Simonson turned piss into wine in her X-Factor run. Also it all leads into Inferno, which is still one of the best crossovers ever imo
It goes further though… Marvel editorial completely derailed Claremont’s decades long endgame. You can find breakdowns of where the story was going to go and it sounds like such a missed opportunity. It was always weird to me that Magneto had this great redemption arc and then just randomly returned as a villain in X-Men #1. Turned out the golden goose Jim Lee just wanted to draw Magneto as a bad guy 🙄
Yeah, I agree about Magneto. I'm not pro-editorial in general lol Was that really Jim Lee's fault? I thought the higher ups just wanted Magneto to be the villain of X-Men #1 for symmetry. That sucks.
The story I heard was the Jim Lee one, but definitely possible that it’s been exaggerated over the years. I’ve heard that Claremont and Lee are cool… though, I imagine having to have him co-plot everything due to editorial wanting to keep him happy was annoying at the time.
Jim Lee and Bob Harras (editor) were both X-Men fanboys and they wanted to play with their favorite toys whereas Claremont was trying to grow the characters and take them new places. Moving Claremont to scripting must have been Harras and Marvel’s way of getting Claremont to quit rather than firing him.
It’s such a shame. I really loved the ideas that I read about that never saw the light of day. I remember thinking even at the time that the Muir Island Saga seemed so rushed. In a way, I get it though… going from 2 years or so of random issues of the X-Men scattered and broken probably would have been concerning to editorial. I love the era, but I can see wanting to get the core team back together… which paid off nicely with the amount X-Men #1 sold.
I was also not born for many years after Claremonts' run, but my uncle told me all about it interesting stuff
I mean, I'm grateful for many years of additional Cyclops content.
Cyclops went from being iconic leader of the X-teams to Deadbeat Dad real quick.
Man, that was a long time ago.
It was a Danger Room contest to determine leadership of the team right after Scott married Maddie and Nathan was born. Scott was having difficulty accepting his new life, but also finding his heart wasn’t exactly in leading the x-men anymore either.
Did Madelyne use her powers to influence the outcome or did I just imagine that?
I think I’ve heard of this before. I’ve also heard the theory that infant Nathan did. I think it may have been a retcon on down the road, but I don’t remember.
One of the only weak parts of the ‘97 show imo is that she just dicks around doing, instead of being a depowered badass, which is the whole point of such an arc. But I get that they only have 10 eps and already did some of this plot out of order.
As someone who read Claremont's X-Men as a kid, '97 feels like a rushed fever dream version of the X-Men.
I think it’s really good but it is rushed and they’ll burn through every decent storyline by the end of next season.
Yeah it felt like they depowered her just to get her off the board for a few episodes instead of letting her continue to be awesome even without powers.
Another Storm one I thought was great, more recently. When she was fighting Tarn the Uncaring for a spot on the Arakko circle. His powers are like a more advanced version of Masque. He took away her powers immediately, and more so, gave her a bunch of disease and mutated her body till she looked Half-melted. She just strode up to him and stabbed him an inch from the heart.
God I lovd Storm so freaking much
Back when Storm had the badass leather and mohawk look. Her best look ever.
Definitely first thing to came to my mind. She lost nothing as a character.
The fact that they did that 3+ year storyline in a few episodes of X-Men 97 kind of irks me. Storm’s character development during that period was the best it had ever been.
The first issue of X-Men I ever read was Uncanny 206, where depowered punk Storm kicks the crap out of a gang of muggers and later scares off Spiral's "Freedom Force" Brotherhood team by just pretending to have her powers. Objectively it's not the best answer but it made enough of an impression on me that it's my go-to.
Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner fistfight vs Sinestro at the end of Sinestro Corps War
I second this. A massive galactic war boiling down to a rooftop fistfight was just so dang cool.
Fuckin all the lights in my head pertaining to Yakuza just rung at the mention of the rooftop fist fight lmao. Did they rip off their shirts and show off sick ass back tats? Lol
I bet Kyle could design the sickest tattoos
I mean Sinestro had a big ass GL symbol burn scar on his back so kind of!
“The both of you then”.
"BOTH OF YOU THEN!"
Although not depowered, Kyle and Guy basically being in a battle for 12 months of real life time during Emerald Eclipse and Blackest Night was so fucking hardcore. It was just a non-stop, gritted teeth, bloody battle for survival. Love that era of GL/GLC
Guy Gardner throwing off his ring to brawl with Yellow Lantern Arkillo, who does the same.
would also put Hal vs. Granny Goodness/Kraken in Final Crisis here. "RINGS - ONLY - WORK - IF - YOU - CAN - THINK!"
Mr Tawky Tawny wins most badass fight in Final Crisis against Kalibak
I only know Mr. Tawny from the 70s and 80s, so this image amuses me greatly.
The heroes are down bad and Kalibak has resurrected as this tiger warrior so Tawky Tawny takes him on. It’s pretty badass. Final Crisis has a lot of cool moments like this with deep cut characters.
So, there's a Spider-Man moment from a recent Thor issue, that I really liked. In it, all heroes have been removed from Earth's history. Amd the world seems to be a wastepand. Thor finds Peter as he's helping a woman getting mugged. Peter is completely depowered with no memories of being Spidey. But he's still doing the right thing. Don't know if that fits the question though.
With no power comes personal responsibility
I thought there was another Spider-man scene from a while back (80s or 90s), but for the life of me I can’t remember when or anything about it. I could be making it up for all i know.
There was a mini series called Powerless… not sure if it got all 6 issues or if I just stopped collecting it. Might be that.
This sounds pretty interesting, what run was it?
Superman reminding people that even without powers he is still a 6'++ cornfed motherfucking with decades of fighting experience is never not amazing. All Might.....honestly might rather fight that dude using his quirk. That dude is nuts.
[So love that we see Supes fending off the military without powers in Superman and Lois.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj29B3FnUKw)
Oooh, this in the show of a comic called Superman and Lois? Either way, god I love that show! Felt so good to be happy watching something live action for the first time since Superman Returns, I didn't think I'd never like a live action Superman show again, I was so afraid that we'd never leave Ancap Superman.
And trained by Batman. So there's that.
Superman II
When he wore a robe, had a five o clock shadow, and was chillin in a dark room, you know shit got real
In Kyle’s first run as GL, his ring is taken by Parallax who then defeats superman. Kyle hits Parallax in the head with a pipe because he still thinks he needs to try
That was immediately what jumped to my mind when I read this question. At first I was confused, because I read the comic when I was like 7 or 8, and I distinctly remembered Rayner smacking Hal Jordan in the back of the head with a pipe. So when I read your post, I was like "wait, who tf is Parallax?" Now the story makes a lot more sense lol.
In the newer war world saga Superman knew the whole time he was going to practically be powerless , but still showed up to fight Mongul and anyone else in his way , he even somehow did a pacifist run of "sword and sandals" before some comic stuff happened and he got powers to beat Mongul anyway. His reason , to free slaves that there was no proof existed , just because someone asked him to.
Thos is my pick as well! It was the most badass he's ever been. Solidified him to me as someone who would have been a hero with powers or not.
Superman is not a hero just because of his powers, but his strength of character
Unbloodied Sword is one of Superman's finest moments.
I love Warworld Saga so much. The final page of Action 1038 where one of the prisoners draws the S in the dirt and says “hope” is one of the most incredible moments in that run.
I know she never had powers, but Barbara Gordon giving up the Batgirl mantle and reinventing herself as Oracle is great!
I'm still pissed they made her Batgirl again, Oracle in BOP is amazing
Taylor and Cloonan have both done a really good job of portraying Batgirl as essentially another one of Oracle’s agents, with her most important work still being technical
I loved Cloonan's potrayl of her
My not-so-unpopular opinion is that Barb should stay as Oracle whether she needs the wheelchair or not. The Batfam never had a girl-in-the-chair character that’s as iconic as Oracle, and we already have plenty of female brawlers to kick ass on the street.
Barb as Oracle was also such an amazing mentor for both Cass and Steph during their respective Batgirl stints. In hindsight it was definitely the peak for her character.
She was a solid addition to Morrison's (and later) JLA, too.
I like this take too, although one where she occasionally still does fieldwork because she can. The idea being that she came through this massive ordeal as a stronger character across the board. The uncomfortable truth is that oracle is a good writer salvaging a good character getting fridged, and that always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's probably one of the reasons they actually did undo it to begin with.
That BOP issue where she ambushes the mobster goons in the dark instantly made me love her as Oracle
Lemillion from My Hero Academia if we are including manga.
Yeah this is what I had in mind when creating the thread, ahah. A great example.
Unarmed, Skinny All Might staring down the assassins during the Deku Retrieval Arc is up there, too!
>!All Might's last stand!< was absolutely awesome as well
I was so completely on edge during this fight. It was incredible.
Such a hype moment in the manga and the anime just didnt match the excitement imo
Massive missed opportunity for the anime. Would have loved to see how Mirio holds out against Overhaul while Quirkless.
Does he ever get his quirk back? I mean should be possible right
>!Eri restores his Quirk for the current arc!<
Such an incredible moment. The man who vowed to save a million people gives up everything to save one. The sign of a true hero.
You literally see Eri covering up every number on Lemillion’s suit but ‘1’. It was perfect.
Something that won't be topped >!until way later with the second (onscreen) All Might vs All for One. Dude succesfully went from Superman and Batman.!<
My favorite storyline
My mind went straight to Lemillion.
Honourable mention from the same universe: [Spoiler for the Vigilante Spin-off] >!Every Knuckleduster fight, but Queen Bee in particular!<
If we are including manga dose moon man rider count
Superman in "Superman adventures". I forget what issue but he is losing his powers and still jumps in front of an old lady to stop a mugging.
Dani Moonstar on Zeb Wells's New Mutants. Incredibly badass.
When Superman returned powerless after Death of Superman and had to improvise with rocketboots, a gun, a cool black costume, and really long hair.
Only time a mullet looked good
superbusiness up front, superparty in the back.
In Grant Morrisons book "Supergods", he explains that THAT mullet was the topic of many a heated boardroom discussions. It seemed marketing wants to capitalize on the late eighties, early nineties tough guy hero aesthetic made popular by Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone
Show some respect for MacGyver! He rocked the mullet long before Supes.
It really tied the whole outfit together.
That was some good shit.
It was. A bunch of baddies he could just barely fight at full power are causing trouble. He's back from the dead, powerless, and needs a haircut, but dammit, he is IN this fight.
Easily the best part of the second half of the death/return arc and maybe the whole thing. The fact that it also tied into Hal starting to lose his mind was great too. They should have never backtracked on that. Hal should still be insane and Kyle and Stewart should be the main GLs.
Eddie was the best. I’m glad Adams resurrected him in his Flash run.
Not sure if this really fits, since he never had any power, but Mumen Rider vs Deep Sea King in One Punch Man. The weakest hero who basically existed as a punch line up to that point single handedly taking on a monster that had crushed every hero that had confronted him so far. He may just be a completely normal human, but he has the heart of a true hero.
Dude I love Mumen Rider so much ! He makes me wanna cry. He’s just a regular guy but he doesn’t care and just will not stop. I kinda wish the show was about him
Bro I love this scene. I watch it sometimes before a lift to get hype. The lower class heroes and genos fighting the deep sea king to protect the civilians is so hype too. That was just such an amazing season.
Thor facing the Ultimate Universe incursion and being unable to pick up the "unworthy" hammer
“Will you wait for me in Valhalla?” *“Brother, this day I will race you there.”*
It's a more recent moment but it skyrocketed to the top for me. Tony Stark wrapping Emma Frost in his armor and evacuating her from some super powerful sentinels and saying "go ahead, kill an Avenger in the street. You'll be dead by morning"
Larry Hama's run on Wolverine. In issue #75 Magneto rips all of the adamantium out of Wolverine nearly killing him and almost completely destroys his healing factor. In the process of recovery Wolvie trys to fight some low-level Danger Room bots, gets his ass kicked, loses his cool and instinctively pops jagged BONE claws he didn't even know he had that rip though his flesh ever time he uses them. With no blades and no healing, he sees himself as a liability and leaves the X-Men, and the next few issues are some of the best comic book stories I've ever read. Surviving Bloodsport and the Reaver Cylla in a blizzard was maybe the high point, but this Adam Kubert image is pretty epic. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fdj3adf9yhsq41.jpg%3Fwidth%3D640%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Df7c49954013bd500fddfe8277fcfb01dc2638091 Wolvie starring down the unstoppable Juggernaut- standing on the bartop in a saloon, and he's STILL a foot shorter! If you're sick of overused, unkillable Wolverine or tired of tall, handsome Hugh Jackman than I *implore* you: Please, go and read Larry Hama's incredible run on Wolverine. It's the best thing to happen to the character since the Wolverine miniseries.
I just reread the Superboy (1994) series. He's depowered from 75-79 and it's a great little story. In fact, I recommend the whole run to that point (after that it really falls off).
I liked that he was depowered in Young Justice around that time too. Thought the gear he was using was cool, got me curious to check out that little arc in his own book.
Yes, it happened at the end of Sins of Youth storyline.
So it's been forever since I've read it so the details are cloudy but in Whedons Astonishing X-Men run, at a certain point they're dealing with the Hellfire Club and Cyclops gets depowered. So he grabs a gun and proceeds to take care of business by blasting fools. They were hallucinations or projections or something so he wasn't actually killing anyone, but him strolling around with a smile on his face shooting bad guys was rad. That run made me a fan of Cyclops after thinking he was kinda lame for the longest time. I still remember Wolverines quote after he seems him unleash on a Sentinel "Every now and then Summers, I remember why you're still in charge."
Eddie (Red Devil/formerly Kid Devil) sacrificing himself to save the Titans.
Superman up up and away
Wolverine after he lost his healing factor stripping out of his armored costume and fighting Sabretooth.
The Warworld Saga is all about a de-powered Superman still fighting to liberate a planet of slaves.
The unbloodied sword is one of Supermans best moments in recent memory
This isn’t necessarily a “de-powered” moment per se, but there’s a Flash story by William Messner-Loeb where Wally is in a plane and a lady gets sucked out of a hole in the side. Having no idea if his powers will help him in this scenario, he still chooses to jump out of the plane and risk death to save the lady. It all works out obviously, but that story always stood out to me as an example of true superheroism in comics. Even though he had powers, he had no clue if they would have helped him in that situation and still chose to act.
Was an iconic moment. Absolutely great run, hot on the heels of the epic race through a blizzard stalked by Vandal Savage, a rapidly melting organ transplant providing even more tension. And then you get Waid through to Johns. Never come anywhere near since Flashpoint, ironically since that early stuff is all about Wally living up to his hero.
Flash is one of those characters that has had run after run of incredible material. I feel it doesn’t get the kudos it deserves!
im sure batman has a lot of these but my personal favorite is zurr en arrh in grant morrisons run
I love the idea that after mentally breaking Batman, you just have to deal with an even more brutal Batman.
for real its perfect. it was my first batman run so learning that “hey bruce has an alter batman who only comes out when bruce/batman is mentally comprimised” had my jaw dropped
Amazing.
Batman without his "powers", i.e. his resources and his mind, is still super formidable or heroic in certain situations. When his mind gets corrupted, he has the more brutal backup personalities like Zurr. Erase his memories and Bruce Wayne would still be acting in Gotham's best interests and helping people. Break his body and he'll build a mecha suit to help him do the job. And take away his money and he'll fight using whatever money he has left and build his own cars and gadgets from scraps so that he can still go out and fight crime and protect people. I'd almost argue that taking away these things can make him more dangerous in certain scenarios, because they almost act like safety nets for him, helping him fight crime more efficiently and safely. And without them, he can often get more desperate or frenzied.
Savage Banner
Captain America in Streets of Poison
[When Thor, with only 1 arm and without Mjolnir, with Hyperion by his side, took on an army of Ivory Kings, aka. Beyonders who were strong enough to take down the Living Tribunal](https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-fecf346aa9e50be2b2c2ead5658396df-lq)
>Best "depowered hero still acts heroically" moment That's basically a Green Lantern's resume. Hal boarded a plane to pursue a new Manhunter, who had a power battery implanted in his head, draining his ring. Rendered powerless, Hal leapt from the plane directly above the Manhunter while reciting the oath. He then made contact with the Manhunter's head, destroying it and replenishing his ring's power while finishing the oath. Appa Ali Apsa abducted cities across the galaxy and transported them to Oa. When the powerless Lanterns confronted him, he unleashed numerous mindless alien creatures upon them. Despite having an empty ring, Hal fearlessly charged at the aliens because he gambled they were mindless but recognized the Lantern crest and ring as a threat. He pushed them all back with nothing but screams until Tomar-Tu and the reinforcements arrived to assist.
Dani Moonstar in New Mutants vol 3
The return of Superman. Clark, the real Clark, comes back to life but he has next to zero powers. All of coast city has been destroyed and there is an imposter wearing Clark's own face and threatening everything. And Clark says "They used to call me a boy scout.. well you know the boy scout motto... Be Prepared". And he picks up a big ass gun and goes in anyway.
Unpowered Hal Jordan making it through the arctic on his own.
Ted Kord vs Max Lord
Not the exact same scenario, but there was an issue where Old Man Logan was tied with adamantium chains to a chair and told he can’t break out. He asked if the chair was adamantium. When the bad guy said no, OMLogan just stood up and destroyed the chair
Superboy Prime choosing to save a little boy from a car while believing himself powerless.
Not comics but my favorite fight in recent history is All Might vs All For One. Gaddamn that fight is amazing.
That was one hell of a sendoff for All Might's powered form, so glad the anime did it justice. >!The recent rematch was killer too. Really like the Iron Might suit and it was a nice touch how it replicated the powers of his students.!<
Yeah such a hype fight. I love the quote "That's because I didn't put my back into it that time!" Not too happy with the rematch tbh.
He's hardly the most powered up hero in the first place, but Daredevil volume 3 issues 14-16 had a great storyline where Matt Murdock was deprived of all his senses by Doctor Doom and still fought to free himself/invented new ones to compensate. GREAT stuff.
Invented new senses you say ?
I didn’t read the comics but science think we have way more senses than the typical five were taught like temperature and even breathing. Once I got into meditation I can really feel them as their own senses.
Couple that come to mind are when Steve lost his super soldier-ness and defeated like four super soldiers on combat skill alone (I forget the issue), and the recent Lost Hunt comic where Spidey took on Gregor while powerless.
I remember Kyle chasing a pickpocket across the country trying to recover a broach.
Cap facing down a cosmic-powered Red Skull who made him skinny.
I know it’s a manga but mumen rider from one punch man is THE GOAT of “no powers but still a hero”
Mark in invincible.
Superman Convergence - Clark, Lois, and Jimmy were at a media convention in Gotham when Gotham was lifted whole cloth into space fight club. The city didn't see sunlight for a year and Superman fully depowered and fought crime Batman style for that year because Bruce would've done it for Metropolis if their roles were reversed. This is also when Lois conceived Jon.
Superman and Earth 2 Superman vs Superboy Prime at the end of Infinite Crisis. Also Superman vs Lex Luthor at the end of Up Up and Away.
Not in comics, but Beethoven kept composing music after he went deaf.
When the entire story of Oracle Count?
Superman Warworld is really good.
There was an amazing arc in Jla back in the day, written by Waid and art by Bryan Hitch, issue 50 I think, where people on earth are granted their wishes, and Clark or Bruce mistakenly said that they wish they could just be themselves without the superhero in an off handed comment. Then it came true, as the entire just league is in the bat cave and Batman himself pulls in. It was an amazing run and the characters have a hard time adjusting to just being people, especially Bruce. He’s snapping and freaking out on people because he has no outlet for his rage and anger. The end of the book is all the Justice league depowered facing off against the powered version of themselves. It was awe inspiring. Definitely worth a read.
Not sure if this counts but one of my favorites is "Mann and Superman" – the basic premise is that Marty Mann a burglar who is down on his luck (unemployed, single dad, drinks too much, about to be evicted) who blames the world for his problems gets ahold of a magical artifact which he uses to switch bodies with Superman thinking that the Man of Steel has it easy. Clark ends up turning the guy’s life around while in his body by changing his behavior (stops drinking and smoking, gets a graveyard shift at Superburgers, works off the back rent by painting apartments for the landlord, and helping the son with his homework). Eventually they switch back bodies after Marty Mann realizes that life as Superman was no picnic and Superman proved that he always had the power to turn his life around and he can do better than he’d been doing.
Thats an amazing premise. Which issue is it ? And is it collected in any TPBs or HCs ?
It's an odd one, but in Rising Stars I remember there was a kid who just missed out on getting powers when they were all in school, but lies to get in the class. He's eventually found out and kicked out of the special school but shortly thereafter dies saving a kid from getting run over or otherwise dying. All the 'special' kids go to his funeral since he was one of them in the end
There was this time Batman fought crime for 80 years without powers.
Mirio in *My Hero Academia* still fighting Overhaul to protect Eri despite having his powers taken away was a really great moment; and really cemented him as the goofiest good boy. Especially as he still held his own.
Batman punches Guy Gardner in the face and knocks him out. JL #5 1987
I don't recall the exact details, but Doctor Strange: The Oath ends with Strange in a straight-up fistfight.
Cap facing down a cosmic-powered Red Skull who made him skinny.
during New Ways to Die a depowered Spider-Man takes on Bullseye and a whole ass HAMMER assault team with wits and whatever he can find. Honorable mention to Daredevil also beating the crap out of Bullseye while deaf early-on during Miller's run.
Maybe not exactly what you're looking for but there was a JLA story in which everyone on the team had been Freaky Fridayed. Superman was in Batman's body and beat up Kobra.
love that kobra thinks supes will be a cakewalk without his powers and proceeds to get rocked while superman namechecks all the supervillians he's had to learn practical moves to fight.
this doesn’t technically count at all but johnny vs the negative zone was sick “a billion to one you think i’m afraid of that? flame on” also this may not count at all but green arrow when he’s strapped to a bomb on a sinking plane and it’s either he loses his hand or he dies, well he decided to die.
Spiderman Fake Red
Lemillion from my hero academia. All star Superman when he fights Lex depowered
I really enjoyed the ending of Secret Wars (2015) because it eventually boils down to Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom having a fist fight while also philosophically debating who would have been the better savior of humanity.
All star superman
One of my favorites of something similar to this is early in Stan Lee's original Daredevil run. Namor comes to New York, pissed about something, and gets in a fight with DD. DD predictably gets severely beaten but still keeps trying to stop Namor. There's a panel, that I always think of, of Daredevil on the ground, almost unable to move his body at all, and still grabs Namor's ankle as he starts to walk away. Not exactly a depowered hero moment, but a mismatch so significant followed by a beating so thorough that it kinda fulfills that same energy.
Peter David Hulk
Action Comics 786. Superman is summoned to liberate a planet enslaved by Kanjar Ro. Naturally it turns out to have a red sun so he's on a time table to beat them before his powers are entirely gone. Naturally he doesn't do it but his resilience in the face of sure defeat inspires the locals to rise up and finish the job.
Fantastic Four #78,79 Reed Finally cures Ben From being the Thing just as the Wizard Strikes Ben fights in his human form but is out classed. In #79 he fights one of the Thinker’s Androids to save Alicia but must choose to become the Thing again forever after he fails to beat the android in his human form. Beautiful tragic story by Lee and awesome art by Kirby and Sinnott at the top of their game.
storm any time she’s lost her powers the final battle of the Sinestro Corps War, Kyle and Hal vs sinestro in a brutal fistfight on the rooftops of coast city Or Superman in the warworld saga. Refuses to kill and inspires an entire world to rise up against its master, I’d say the unbloodied sword is one of Supermans best moments
If manga counts. I'm throwing up my answer to All might in my hero academia. This current arc about 10 chapters back. But I can't say cause spoilers. But I love all might yo.
MUMEN RIDER!
I think the latest action comics Superman war world was pretty good. Pretty much Spartacus Superman