4 Most Unfair Fights in Marvel History

In the storied history of the Marvel Universe, some battles have shaken the very foundations of reality. In addition, some smaller skirmishes may not literally rock the world, but that doesn’t make them less impactful on our favorite characters.

A common theme through though: unfairness.

There’s a long paper trail of scuffles that have given a new meaning to the term lopsided. Let’s examine a few other fables of flying fisticuffs where the balance fell more than a bit off kilter.

Captain America vs. The Punisher

The Punisher’s about as bad as they come, but this stands as one instance that really solidifies the old adage of “a knife to a gunfight.”

During the latter days of Civil War, Frank Castle shacked up with Captain America’s Secret Avengers in a bizarre alliance. With some incoming intelligence delivered by Plunderer and Goldbug, the tipping point for the resistance could well have been on the way, but with two bullets, The Punisher showed why he’s not exactly the team building type.  Cap addressed this infraction by beating the holy heck out of Castle until he realized that the Punisher would not fight back, supposedly out of respect.

Now, we won’t go on record and say Punisher couldn’t fight back, however, sans guns and toe-to-toe with a genuine super soldier, he didn’t have a prayer.

Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six

Question: What’s worse than tangling with one super villain? Answer: Dealing with six super villains at the same time!

Spider-Man has never been a stranger to adversity, but even the wall-crawler got a healthy dose of enough is enough when Doctor Octopus got the gang back together. Fresh out of prison, and with a lineup that featured the Hobgoblin and a newly un-reformed Sandman, the Sinister Six waged war on the web-slinger pushing him almost to the brink. If not for some help from some pretty super powered friends and Doc Ock’s own narcissism, Spidey could have been down for the count permanently.

Spider-Man vs. Firelord

Of course Spider-Man makes another appearance on this list, because when it comes to underdogs and biting off more than one can chew, he wears the title like a champ. 

When the herald of Galactus showed up in New York, everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood hero welcomed him with open arms. By that, of course we mean “showed up and nearly got his backside handed to him by a planet eater’s right hand man.”

Slowing down the cosmic criminal by tossing his staff in a river, Spidey ambled for backup. With the Fantastic Four M.I.A., he faced this threat alone, managing to hold his own. The threat of Firelord remained one heck of a tall order though, one Spider-Man wouldn’t soon forget.

The Hulk vs. Starfox

When the Hulk’s enraged it’s best to either get out of his way or bring a few small armies. Starfox went with the latter but his best did not quite equal good enough.

With a militia of heroes including Iron Fist, The Human Torch, Scarlet Witch, and a host of others in tow, Starfox attempted to use his pheromone powers to soothe The Hulk. With Dr. Banner being beyond the point of relaxation, “the other guy” proceeded to pummel the Titan-born hero to bits in one of the most sideways face-offs of all time.