Sooner Or Later, Ronan Will Plant That Hammer Upside Your Face

Four and a half years ago, I wrote a little post about Annihilation #3, mostly focused on what I considered a pretty poor showing by Ronan the Accuser. He'd been fighting Ravenous, a powerful lackey of Annihilus', and was pretty soundly trounced. I felt he should have done better based on a story from Steve Engelhart's Silver Surfer run.

I hoped that Ronan would get a rematch to show what he could do, and two issues later, he did. Things went a lot better for him. He even took my advice about remembering that it may be a Universal Weapon, but it's also a giant hammer (see the panel at the left from Annihilation #5, drawn by Andrea DiVito).

I was reminded of that scene by Annihilators #2. Ronan got kind of a raw deal in the first issue. Ikon suggesting he was the weakest member of the team, and scared because of it. He was the first one Ikon dropped when she attacked (though Quasar got decked in the most embarrassing manner). Beta Ray Bill got some digs in on him, and then Ronan chose to confront Doctor Dredd alone. Dredd had already killed several SpaceKnights. He'd managed to escape the cage Quasar surrounded him with, chop through space and time to go where he chose, and even cut the Silver Surfer, all without breaking a sweat. Even Ronan's teammates thought he was outclassed and were rushing to help. Then Ronan used the Universal Weapon (which had likely been analyzing Dredd's abilities from the start) to block the villain's powers, and then he used it like the giant hammer it is. I don't have an image of that hit. Sorry.

It makes Ronan feel very Silver Age to me. In a lot of the older comics I've read, the hero confronts a villain, and in the first go-round, the villain wins. They thump the hero convincingly, or at least escape without much difficulty. Spider-Man for example, in his first battles with the Vulture, Doc Ock, and Sandman, lost the initial encounter*. I think this was pretty common in those days, since it does establish the villain's abilities, and that they're a challenge for the hero. Of course, by the end of the issue, the hero has confronted the villain again, figured out how to cope with their skills, and triumphs.

Ronan's a lot like that. If he can't beat you the first time, he'll have the Universal Weapon figure out what you did to win, and develop a way to counter it. The next time, things won't go so well for you.

* Vulture swooped behind him, kicked him in the head, and threw him in a water tower. Ock pinned him with his metal arms, then walked up and slapped him a few times. Sandman beat him handily, tearing his mask so Spidey had to break off or risk losing his secret identity.