FNF (Semifinals): M1 result and Semifinal M2 combatants

Semifinals Match 1


So for the first time in this entire tournament, I must lament a tragic miscarriage of justice.  The readers (whose judgment I committed to respect) have picked Black Crow as the winner.  I whole-heartedly disagree and would offer the following reasoning:

One of the premises of this fight series is that we're judging the combatants based on how they performed in specified issues.  Despite his more expansive and impressive-sounding power set, the only thing I saw Black Crow do in Civil War #6 - 7 was take a vicious backhand from the Taskmaster.

Meanwhile, Ion fights off the Chemo-Golem along with a varied assortment of other super-villains and henchmen in MOST #1. Ion may be unknown, but he deserved this win.  Oh well, I guess that's politics for ya.  Better luck next time, kid.

 

FNF (Quarterfinals): M3 result and Semifinal M1 combatants

Quarterfinals Match 3

First, my apologies for being over a week late with this post.  I've experienced a lot of internet disruptions recently, but they are (hopefully) now resolved.

Second, calling this fight was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. Maybe readers felt similarly conflicted, because this was the first time in a while that I received no reader feedback.

Ultimately for me, this one boiled down to a literal coin toss. Thus the winnah and last semifinalist is:  THE PROWLER!

FNF (Round 2): M3 result and M4 combatants

Round 2, Match 3 results

This is another fight that was hard to call...not so much because the winner is doubt.  I just don't like the outcome.

The Veiled Avenger clearly has the advantage in hand-to-hand combat skill.  She's pretty masterful with that whip.  She's repeatedly used it to keep larger physically-imposing males at a distance--even when they're armed with pistols!  If any ever do close in on her, she's demonstrated hand-to-hand skills that are at least as formidable as Ion's.

The core problem is simply the power differential.  First, the fight takes place out doors.  Consequently, there's nothing to stop Ion from taking full advantage of his flight ability. Second, even when he closes in on the Avenger--and even if her reflexes are fast enough to lash out at him with her whip--it apparently takes quite a lot to penetrate his force-field.  Though it's never defined precisely how much, I've got to believe it's more than a bullwhip, no matter how skillfully wielded.  At the end of the day, even when the Avenger brings her A-game, I'd think Ion just wears her down.  (And the kid has demonstrated the guts to take a punch and carry on the fight, so I'd have no doubts about Ion's grit.)

Apparently, the voters agree.  It's unanimous, Ion goes to the third round!

FNF (Round 2): M2 result and M3 combatants

Round 2, Match 2 results

Despite being a fan of Cutthroat, by popular acclaim--and I honestly can't disagree--he gets his clock cleaned by the old-timer Wizard!  But really, I don't care how sharp your knife is, when you're going up against a guy who can casually swing around yard arms from a 19th century sea-going vessel, you're just out of luck.  Wizard wins!

 

FNF (Round 1): M5 results and The Veiled Avenger vs. "the heroine"

Round 1, Match 5 results

Ion vs. Mad Dog

As I see it, the outcome of this fight would probably come down to an issue of whether Mad Dog could seize the element of surprise. 

Both the combatants have super strength...but Ion is a teenager, whereas Buzz Baxter is a former Air Force colonel.  In terms of raw fighting skill, then, I'd have to assume Mad Dog's superiority.  You might argue that his insanity reduces this advantage, but the legendary battlefield prowess of the Viking berserkers blunts (if it doesn't completely invalidate) that argument.

If Mad Dog gets the jump on Ion, the next critical question would be whether he could pierce the teen's forcefield (especially with his fang venom). It's difficult to determine this. According to Wikipedia, Mad Dog has bionically strengthened jaw muscles to increase his biting strength, so that might make you think the Mad Dog could take him down if he could get into a close-quarter row. On the other hand, though, Ion's forcefield has been demonstrated to be powerful enough that a baseball bat cracks over it without hurting him. Even a point-blank blast from a gatling gun does nothing more than "leave a welt."
Thus, even though Mad Dog theoretically could puncture Ion's forcefield, the fact that there's nothing in the specified text of Solo Avengers #9 that would seem to demonstrate his bite power, whereas MOST Comics #1 does show us a super-robust forcefield for Ion.

Despite being a knock-down drag out, given the issues cited above I'd give the slim advantage to Ion.

 

MOST: a webcomic review

Synopsis Review

MOST  (updated each Monday) is the odd title of a webcomic written, drawn, colored, etc. by eighteen-year-old Richard Nyquist.

Before you ask, I've searched in vain for an explanation of the name, but so far haven't really received one.  I suppose the basic idea is that just as "most" is a superlative word, the two teenage superheroes (Ion and Echo) upon whom the comic focuses are also superlative.  

Nyquist makes clear that his protagonists are fairly new to the super-gig, describing his work as "kind of a coming-of-age type story."  The first two issues seem to be tracing an arc of how the boys will handle  being "left in charge" of crime-fighting in Skyhill City, when its premiere superhero Safeguard departs to "another corner of this galaxy" to intercept an emerging (but unspecified) planetary threat. 

In addition to shared Christian convictions that come through in the wholesomeness of his work, another thing I appreciate about Nyquist is his homage to the classic comics format.  A prime example is his inclusion of a "letters page" following his first issue.  Yes, it's nothing but a reformatting of emails and blog post comments...but there's just something about it that warms my heart and takes me back to being that little kid who had the world at his fingertips and hours of fun ahead of him anytime his parents dropped a mere 75 cents for an escape into superherodom.

MOST is a colorful, fun adventure with bombastic battle sequences between our bantering heroes and their dastardly foes. And while Ion and Echo aren’t the most skilled or powerful guys on the block, they’re not going to let that stop them!

If you're looking for a light, fun, wholesome superhero comic this is a good option.  This comic is available to everyone for free, but it does cost time and money to produce. If you find something you like here, consider tossing a few shekels into Nyquist's Patreon account in gratitude.
 

Sustainability - 2

Despite the fact that the comic is only about seven months old, Nyquist has kept up a pretty consistent posting schedule.  This leads me to believe the sustainability of this comic at least deserves the original rating I gave to Miss Melee. 

Language - 5

Thanks (I assume) to Nyquist's Christian convictions, the language in Most is very clean and kid-friendly.

Violence - 5

The "violence" in here is so mild and cartoon-y I don't really think it's worth worrying about. (Nyquist's homage to the old Comics Code Authority seal--inset in the upper right corner of the cover image--proclaims itself a "graphic novel without graphic violence." Unless you thought the old Filmation stuff like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was too violent, you won't find anything objectionable here. 

Sexuality - 5

Again, I can see no reason to worry about inappropriate sexual themes/imagery here.  I'd have no hesitancy about letting my kids read this.

Political Leanings - 3

Though two issues may not be enough to get a full picture, thus far Nyquist doesn't appear to be pushing any identifiable political position.

Morality - 3

I feel like the "3" rating here deserves some explanation.  It's not that there's any bad morals being promoted in Nyquist's work.  Rather, it's just that there's not a lot of overtly-expressed moral messages.  Personally, I much prefer that to clumsy self-righteous moralizing.  This is a sensitive area and one in which "less-is-more" is a solid rule of thumb.  

Bottom line:  I appreciate Nyquist's light touch here. 

Artwork - 1

The sole weak spot of Most is the artwork.  I hesitate to write that sentence, as Nyquist is doing everything himself (and his artwork is still a sight better than anything I could produce).  Doing it all alone and maintaining a weekly posting schedule could very well be creating constraints that keep him from bringing his "A game."  My unsolicited advice would be that Nyquist look for an artist to bring on board, allowing him to focus his energies more in terms of crafting his story arc. 

Storytelling - 2

With the caveat that I'm evaluating the storytelling with only one issue complete, I can say that it's acceptable...but not great.  Honestly, that may be coming...especially if (as it appears) Nyquist's adopting the model of unrolling stories slowly over an arc, it could well be that the richness of his tale simply hasn't been revealed yet. 

Overall Rating: 3.0