Winter Soldier VS Red Hood ( Marvel Comics VS DC )

“The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect.” — Peter A. Levine

Once young and colorful sidekicks of one of their universes' greatest heroes ( Captain America and Batman ) before being notably killed off in an explosion, staying dead for decades before eventually being resurrected as gun-toting villains turned anti-heroes. Both characters were resurrected and donned their current personas at almost the same time, not just returning in the same year, but also a month apart from each other (Bucky as the Winter Soldier debuted in January 2005, while Jason as Red Hood later debuted that February).

Red Hood, the Fallen Robin, reborn again. 

Winter Soldier, Captain America’s left hand, turned deadly assassin.

Happy Valentine's Day! Today is the day of romance and love, and also a lot of failed confessions. I am unironically excited to see the chaos. Thus what better way to celebrate love than the love of forgiveness, bonds remended, and family!... Maybe not that last one.

Anyways, we’re back with another street tier fight. This one was personally voted for by my friends to be the first blog of this year — so I hope you all enjoy it. I had a lot of fun writing this, due in part to the longer time frame I had to develop this blog further, and there are a lot more things I could cover this time around. Although, I do have a craving to have more than just 5 projects to look forward to doing. We’ll have to see.

Without further ado…

 

Fanart: “Red Winter” 

Red Hood: 

It wasn't a good night for Batman. He had been battling against the crime on the streets for decades by now, but for the first time in forever, his son was no longer fighting alongside him. Dick Grayson had graduated from the mantle of Robin to become his own hero, the Nightwing, meaning Bruce Wayne fought alone once more. Following a night of patrol, Batman is about to return to the Manor when he found that someone had pried the wheels off the batmobile, and that someone – was standing right there, wrench in hand. 

Jason Peter Todd was a young orphan, surviving on the street and resorting to petty crime for money. He was the son of Willis Todd and Sheila Haywood, who separated shortly after his birth; thus he was raised by his father and his step-mother, Catherine. His father was a low-level crook, and was presumed dead following an encounter with Two-Face. His step-mother too suffered a cruel fate, dying of illness.

He was going down a dark path, and Bruce knew what this meant. He couldn’t let the kid suffer his same fate, and he couldn’t leave Jason like this. The kid needed a home, and Batman needed a robin; And thus the kid became.

Soon, Jason succeeded Dick Grayson and became the next Robin, and served dutifully for years. He showed great potential, although his defiance began to grow. He started getting angrier. Instead of bruises, he left broken bones and left criminals bloody on the floor .He stopped holding back, and Batman was not pleased . His impulsiveness would result in his downfall, and get him captured by the Joker. The Joker would beat him to near death with a crowbar, and finish him off in an explosion, dying in Bruce's arms. 

This is not the end of the story, for it had merely just begun. Following a reality-warping event caused by the villian, Superboy Prime, a lot of random distortions shook around the DC Universe. Crashing out of his coffin and tearing through the dirt above, Jason Todd was revived, and he was furious. His death had been largely inconsequential in his eyes. Gotham was still the same, Batman had a new Robin, and his murderer was still alive. Swearing vengeance and pledging violence, he promised to purge Gotham. He would get rid of the criminals hiding in the allies, he would finish off the Joker, and he would be better than the batman, unattached to his vow. 

That night the second Robin truly died, and the Red Hood was born.

He tore through the criminals of Gotham, be them influential crime bosses or petty criminals. He battled against those who used to be his family, and fought for his ideal world tainted by his vendetta. He would clash numerous times against the dark knight, pushing forward his vision. 

Red Hood is a skilled and experienced member of the Bat-family, dueling with the most skilled members of his universe. Clashing against Nightwing and Deathstroke and even competing against Batman, his skill is nothing to scoff at. He does have a few flaws. He is the most emotional and transparent of the Bat-family.

This often leads him to act irrationally and impulsively. While he is up there with the best of them, he is a tier below characters like Bruce & Dick. However it is this very flaw that became his strongest asset. Over time….over a long time, Jason had a change of heart. He started taking therapy with Harley Quinn, started mending his relationships with the Bat-family, and found new homes with the Titans and the Outlaws. He even vowed to put away his firearms.

He still loved his family, and held eternal respect and gratitude for them. It took a long time, but he made amends, and his family made amends with him; and he is always on the front lines to protect those he loves.  

Thus to the criminals and crooks of Gotham, be wary. For when a dark shadow looms over you in the corner of an alley, pray that it was the Batman who had come, and not the Red Hood.

Winter Soldier: 

In the decades during and following the cold war, a rumor arose. The tale told of a man, with an arm of metal and a face covered with a mask, who would tear through hoards of people before disappearing without a trace. A man defined by his intimidation and his cruel efficiency. They called him the Winter Soldier. No pictures, nor sightings, only the bodies of their former allies who lay dead in the snow, their wounds telling of a story. Little did they know… that there would be so much more to the story. 

World War 2 — The time of revolution and courage. The years of horror with death unprecedented; It is in these times where hope shines the clearest. Meet a boy from Indiana, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes was an orphan since young. He was a child of courage and optimism, driven by an earnest want for the world to be free and to honor his late father. Needless to say, he was exactly what America needed. 

He joined the battle against the Nazis, and quickly rose through the ranks in the hope of a better tomorrow. It was during his training in which he would meet the man who would define the rest of his life. America’s greatest hero, Captain America. Upon accidentally stumbling upon Steve’s secret identity and being sworn to secrecy, Bucky joined Captain America as his sidekick to help Allied Forces in Europe. 

However, his journey would end soon. On his final mission against the Russians, he inadvertently held onto an airplane rigged with explosives… they never found the body. Captain America would suffer a similar fate at the end of his story, crashing a plane into the ice, sacrificing himself to win the war.

However, that was not the end of the story, for it had merely just begun. Long after World War Two, the Russian navy found a body in the ocean, one preserved deep in the ice. Its body was strong and in perfect condition, well… besides a missing arm. There Russia found the test experiment they were looking for. He was brought into Department X, enhanced with the Infinity Formula, a serum that prolongs one’s lifespan and grants them enchanted strength. He was further brainwashed and trained with elite-level fighters, and cryogenically frozen to preserve his age. Slowly but surely, He became the Soviet’s undetectable weapon.

For decades, he hunted, and continued his assassinations that would shape the change of history. Until one fateful day, when he would be set up against an opponent he taught he would never see again; Captain America. After months of pursuing, finally with  the cosmic cube, Captain America reset Bucky’s memories and brought back his old friend from the brainwashing. 

The Winter Soldier is one of the finest Marvel has to offer. Trained by the soviets, his skill rivals that of the greatest. He has matched up against Daredevil and Black Widow, and continuously faces against his former mentor. The Infinity Formula does him wonders, allowing to effortlessly plow through even martial arts masters like Shang Chi. 

However, his memories came back at a great cost. All his sins he had committed as the Winter Soldier, though he was mind-controlled, was his doing — and he knew it. Under S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers, he used his lifetime of experience for a new cause. He slowly grew to be one of their most reliable agents and friends, and he made amends with all those he wronged. He even had the privilege of taking up the Captain America mantle when Steve was presumed dead. 

So despite all of the misfortunates that befell him, Bucky Barnes has proven himself time and time again to forever be the hero he always dreamed of becoming all those years ago.  

Ground Rules: 

No outside help will be given, and no non-standard gear. They will act in character and will be given their high-end feats in line with what makes sense for their character. 

They will be given only canon material. For DC, we will feature content from Infinite Frontier, which means Jason has excess to all the gear and experiences he has had over his long history. Marvel will have something similar; We will use Bucky Barnes from Earth 616, the prime earth.

Content like the MCU and other media that is not connected to the Prime Canon of the Comics will not be considered. For instance, Winter Soldier has the Super Soldier Serum in the MCU. In the comics he has no such thing. 

Power:

Marvel and DC characters have an infamous history of rivalries – from Superman VS Hulk to Wonder Woman VS Thor – and this goes true for their street levelers as well. 

Captain America VS Batman, Green Arrow VS Hawkeye, Marvel and DC are often seen as equals to one another – and for good reason too. 

Red Hood and Winter Soldier, and all of their street level allies, are largely comparable in statistics almost across the board, neck-in-neck across the range of all their feats. 

Kilotons of TnT; 

Wolverine takes the explosion of a nuclear weapon at 21.7 Kilotons of TnT. Comparatively , Deathstroke took a submarine to the face thrown by Legacy at 8.7 Kilotons of TnT .

Megatons of TnT ;

Hawkeye has an Exploding Arrow worth 30 Megatons of TnT ( 30 Megatons of TnT, duh )

Midnighter took a sonic shout that leveled a city ( 39.25 Megatons of TnT. )

Gigatons of TnT;

Winter Soldier's own showing of taking an Antimatter Blast ( 2.53 Gigatons of TnT ) is matched evenly with Midnighter taking a huge explosion. ( 2.70 Gigatons of TnT. ) 

Even the best feats are roughly on par, with Fireball's Gotham-destroying Explosion ( 6.9 Gigatons of TnT ) ( Nice ) & Deadpool's Satellite Missile Launch ( 9.6 Gigatons of TnT ) are roughly in the same ballpark. 

However, thanks to the Infinity Formula, Winter Soldier is a level above the rest of his peers. Time over time again, he is shown battling against the Super Soldier Captain America — be it a causal spar or a battle to death. 

Winter Soldier is about 3 times weaker and slower, but given what Captain America is capable of, that's still nothing to scoff at. 

Steve managed to withstand a crash from a relativistic spaceship, yielding about 45.9 Teratons of TnT ! That is 6500 times greater than what Red Hood is comparable to.  

But that still lends the power advantage comfortably in the Winter Soldier’s arms… arm?… no arms work too. 

Speed :

Speed is thankfully much easier. Both Winter Soldier and Red Hood have companions that reacted to light before.

At their peak, James and Jason both kept pace with Daredevil and Deathstroke respectively. 

They both have moved in nanoseconds, reaching from 3-5 times light speed. Others like Black Canary and Cyclops too can react in nanoseconds, so it isn't too far fetched. 

Abilities:

You know, for 2 characters known for their use of firearms, I have barely mentioned any of them. Both Winter Soldier and Red Hood have accumulated a wide variety of guns and weapons throughout the years. That's a good place to start. 

*Both characters have used numerous weapons throughout the years, but not all of them are made equal. For instance, Winter Soldier’s Intratec TEC-38 wouldn't be a tide-turner — Red Hood deals with such weaponry on a daily basis. Thus I'll bring up only the most important ones. 

^

Red Hood tends to dual wield pistols. His favorites are a modified IWI Jericho 941s and Modified M1911 Pistols — with extra picatinny rails and mini red-dot sights. He has taken many lives with them.

Jason too often uses many machine guns and shotguns in his gearset, with rocket launchers to obliterate his opponents if need be. 

Marvel oddly names a lot more of the guns Winter Soldier uses. The SIG-Sauer P220ST and Barrett M82A1M are Bucky’s main pistol and sniper rifle of choice. With them, he can take a life within a heartbeat. Along the list of basic S.H.I.E.L.D weapons; Colt M4A1 with a M203 Grenade Launcher

With his special Kazurr Sniper Rifle, he has enough range to hit shots from moons away, and he even has a few vibranium rounds. 

He has a missile launcher that can take out Crimson Dynamo, an Ironman villain, and a modified Luger Pistol that can injure Red Hulk and Ares. 

In close range combat, Bucky tends to favor knives at close range. His favorite is the Gerber Mark II Combat Knife, used commonly during Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Alongside that, he has a Gerber Yari II Tanto, which takes inspiration from the Tanto, a classic Japanese knife. He also has a Benchmade SOCP Dagger, and a Bayonet Knife. He also has a knife conveniently in his arm. 

He has explosive charges that can destroy Moon Knight’s spaceship ( Yes, he has a spaceship ), amongst other grenades, including heavily modified versions of ball grenades — "Ручная Граната Наступательная” , used by the Soviets. 

His Domino Mask allows him to locate opponents using S.O.N.A.R. , similar to Daredevil. His grappling hook lets him jump off cliffs and he has holograms to fool opponents. 

And what is Winter Soldier without his infamous metal arm? It isn't clear what exactly Bucky’s Bionic arm is made of, it has remained vague in the comics, although time over again it has traded blows with Captain America’s shield.  

It gives Bucky enhanced strength, has Stabilization Sensors to improve his aim and lets objects bounce back to him, and can automatically reload weaponry. His guns are also equipped with palm-sensors that explode if anyone other than himself uses his guns. 

He has a multitude of electrical attacks from his arm, including Electromagnetic Pulses and just bolts of electricity. Additionally, if need be, a flamethrower. 

( His arm can function separately from his body. That's not creepy at all. )

Before we talk about Jason Todd's gear, let's talk about the basic Bat-family gear set… their utility belt. Because if you don't have an entire shopping mall worth of weapons in your arsenal, are you really a part of the Bat family? 

Jason has access to numerous weapons, including but not limited to Bolas, Knockout Gas, Tear Gas, Grappling Guns, EMPs, Holograms and Hacking Devices. 

His suit allows him to see not only infrared and ultraviolet light, but all known spectrums of light. He can also just see through objects. Batman can also use S.O.N.A.R. to echolocate his enemies.

His scanners allow him to analyze for his opponent's weaknesses, and read their biology down to the cellular level. 

He can fire out explosives, taser shocks and energy blasts.

 

Not to mention the ultimate swiss army knife, the Batarang. The base variation can knock people out in a single hit. Variations include explosive, electrified, fire, magnetic, acidic, and sonic. 

( I don't think the writers knew this, but decibels work on a logarithmic scale. 1,100 Decibels is enough energy to destroy the universe; 1,000,000 decibels is about 10⁹⁰⁹ times that, or a centillion cubed. Probably just a lapse in judgment, but still funny. )

Beyond that, Jason has his own equipment. Such as Arm Blades, Tasers , Swords, Lasers, and electric Gliding Wings he uses to well… glide, duh. 

Jason also carries an assortment of knives and guns to use in battle. While specific types have barely been mentioned, he does have a liking to Kris Daggers. 

Although Jason is trying to stop his usage of lethal weapons, opting for a pair of electric crowbars. 

( I… I don't think that's much better. )

He even has a taser in his chest, with enough potency to temporarily knock out Batman. 

Although through all of his equipment, none are more unique than the All Blades. A pair of Copped Mystical Blades designed to kill magic-based threats. They are powered by the soul of the wielder and serve basically as more effective against Magic-based threats. 

Of course, we have Jason's Helmet; The Red Hood itself.  While it weirdly is less impressive than Batman's own cowl, it still acts as protection against attacks. If need be, it can also act as an explosive. 

Both Bucky and Jason have physical enhancing equipment, although they function very differently. 

The Infinity Formula is an inferior, diluted variant of the Elixir of Life, developed by Issac Newton. (Yes, Sir Isaac Newton himself. Welcome to comics.) It gives prolonged life and stamina, and enhanced strength. 

Meanwhile, Jason has access to Venom, which increases one's strength tenfold. Originally based on Hourman's Miraclo formula, the drug known as " Venom " was an extremely potent steroidal compound that would instantly transform someone into a hulking mass of unbridled physical strength for 12 hours. However, he has since stopped using Venom due to its addictive nature reminding him of his mother. 

Counters:

Looking through the list of equipment, it is no surprise that Red Hood has a wider arsenal than the Winter Soldier. Winter Soldier has a wide range of weaponry, with guns and knives galore.  However, that is simply not going to compare with the Ultimate Deus Ex Machina Swiss Army Knife which is the Bat-family Utility belt. 

( I love this so much. Why would you need this? Why would anyone ever need this to fight crime? ) 

Although, a lot of weapons here are going to be useless or inconsequential. Red Hood's Kris Dagger or Winter Soldier’s Ball Grenades aren't changing the tides. Many of their tasers and explosives cancel out. Their stealth roughly cancels out.  So what is important here? 

With all of Jason's Scanners and hacking devices, a solid argument can be made that he could disable Bucky's Bionic Arm, and give himself a better chance to take Bucky down. The Infinity Formula comes from the Elixir of Life, a magical serum belonging to the Red Death used to extend the lifespans of her servants. That technically means that Winter Soldier's powers have magical origins, meaning that the All-blades would be extra effective. 

However, even without his arm and with Red Hood's Venom, Bucky is still stronger. His firepower is notably also a lot more powerful.  His Luger Pistol is the best short-range weapon here, being able to injure Red Hulk and Ares the God of War. His Kazurr Sniper Rifle with Vibranium rounds would one-shot Red Hood — his helmet isn't stopping Vibranium. He has landed shots from moons away, that is far better range than Jason has. 

Tertiary factors : 

Some things are obvious. Red Hood is smarter because he is trained under the Bat-family , where it's basically a commonality to be a genius. Winter Soldier is more experienced, because he is older… a lot older. 

However between Experience and Intellect, Skill is going to be the most important tertiary factor. At their core, Red Hood and Winter Soldier are still street-tier heroes, who earn their position and jobs with their skills and strength. The debate over skill is always going to be the most important.  

When discussing skill funnily enough, things somehow always whine back to…

Captain America VS Batman; 

The Captain against the Dark Knight, who is more skilled? Bucky and Jason's respective mentors consistently serve as the peak of skill in their respective universes, and comparing them should give a good idea of how both universes compare. 

Captain America: 

Let’s start with the Sentinel of Liberty first. Captain America is often undersold in his combat expertise, often being chalked up to a superhuman with a shield. That isn't any further from the truth, as Steve has been repeatedly referred to as the Greatest Tactician on earth. 

He is the best trained combat fighter in the world; Adept in every form of hand to hand combat. He can learn decades of skill in a new field of combat in just a few minutes , and master any weapon imaginable in seconds.

His accomplishments are nothing to scoff at, as he constantly defeats martial art experts left and right; Including foes who know every martial art. 

He has defeated Batroc the Leaper, an expert in martial arts, enough so that Taskmaster saw it worthy enough to copy his fighting style.

Speaking of Taskmaster, Captain America managed to outskill him even with being injured and poisoned. Taskmaster is a master assassin, no doubt for his ability to copy the skill set of any opponent he means, and keep that knowledge indefinitely – with fighting styles from  Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, and Captain America himself, having been copied.  

He has fought toe-to-toe with other top tier street heroes as well; Such as Black Panther, Iron Fist and Shang Chi. Shang Chi is directly stated to be the world's greatest martial artist, with Captain America being the world's greatest soldier. 

Shang Chi is skilled enough to even take on a member of Thanos's elite Black Order member, the Black Dwarf. 

In fact, Captain America is good enough to be able to fight against Spiderman when he was wearing the Iron Spider suit. Peter even admits that he could never be as skilled as the Good Captain.

^ Albeit, there are many conditions and circumstances surrounding this fight and I'll go through that later. Still, for Peter to admit that he is completely outclassed in skill, it is a very impressive showing. 

Steve is one of the most skilled and experienced fighters in Marvel, and even the villains recognise him as one of the hardest to take down. He is the greatest tactical mind on earth, and is seasoned in the martial arts. 

Batman: 

Now, what about the Caped Crusader? Everyone knows how great a fighter Batman is, but not even DC themselves know the full list of everything Bruce has trained and studied. In practice, he practically knows it all.

Some of his trainers include :

Ted Grant: the hero Wildcat of the Justice Society, the best boxer in the world.  

Giovanni Zatara: One of the most proficient magic users in all of DC 

Kirigi: The Trainer of the League of Assassins, some of the finest assassins in the world 

He also has had encounters with all of the Cain Family including: 

David Cain: One of the world's premier Assassins, often given the task to eliminate some of the world's most dangerous individuals. 

Cassandra Cain: Son of David Cain and Lady Shiva, the most skilled of the Batfamily. 

Lady Shiva: The Literal Deadliest Woman Alive.

Batman is one of the few in the world that can even compete against Lady Shiva, let alone beat her. Batman has also defeated Deathstroke the terminator. 

Which makes sense after all. This is the Batman we speak of. He is not only a master of every fighting style, but a master of almost every violent art there is. 

 

He can recognise ancient fighting styles without having seen them before. He has knowledge of pressure point fighting styles that can kill a person with a single finger, and he can craft strategies to counter another's fighting style with ease. 

He has even made his own fighting style called “ Bam Pow''. 

( Like the Bam Pow onomatopoeia common in old comic books? That's a cute little in-joke. )

He even has defeated Karate Kid before. Karate Kid is one of the most skilled individuals in the DC Omniverse, with skill that is great enough to fight against kryptonians like Superman. 

Skill:

( I’m pulling out all of my Batman and Captain America artworks for this one. )

All in all, Captain America and Batman appear to be roughly relative in skill. They are both masters of nearly every martial art, are treated as the pinnacles of combat, and can defeat people far above their weight class. 

It's no secret that Winter Soldier is an equal to Captain America in many ways, not least of which is skill. Not only has Bucky fought and even beaten Steve before, he has also defeated many in his skill class. 

Such as the Black Widow. He was her mentor all the way back in the Red Room. 

To give perspective of how incredibly skilled Black Widow is, the Red Room was designed specifically to create a Superhuman assassin that could kill Captain America. Natasha Romanoff was their success, and she's skilled to the point that Taskmaster didn't even want to challenge her. 

Meanwhile , in spite of Red Hood’s many fights against the Dark Knight, it is quite clear that Batman is more skilled. When Batman is really trying, Bruce has shown time and time again to be a level above Jason.

Deathstroke, who at this point had been shot, tased , poisoned and beaten up, was still confident in defeating Jason Todd. Batman comparatively has stalemated the Terminator before in 2020.

Most recently in Dark Crisis, the first robin now Nightwing fought against Slade. Nightwing is injured and tired, having taken a bomb to the face and could barely walk. The Terminator was not only healthy, but also completely willing to kill Dick Grayson. Yet in spite of all of that…

 

Nightwing was victorious. Jason being a tier lower than Dick and Bruce is actually supported by Batman Writer Tom King, who gave this ranking when questioned on the skill level of the Bat Family. He placed Jason at 7th Place, even below that of Robin , Batwoman and Huntress — Far below Batman, Nightwing and Orphan.

He is the most emotional after all. It is often used against him. 

Yet again, Red Hood does seem to have better training, having guidance from both the Court of Owls and League of Assassins, boasting numerous members that give even Batman a hard time. 

They do seem to be around the same ballpark, though if I'm pressed, I do have to lean towards Barnes here. 

FAQs: 

Island Level FTL Street Tiers? Aren’t these characters humans? 

An argument often made against characters of this caliber is that they’re still technically humans in the story. Peak human? Yes; But Superhuman? Definitely not. Thus it wouldn’t make sense if characters on this tier are this powerful… to which I can see their point. Island Level Batman and Country Level Captain America do sound weird upon hearing. 

My reply would be simply that… they’re fictional characters. Yeah, that’s a little bit of a cop out, but it’s true. They’re fictional characters in a made-up scenario living within a fake universe — drawing the line at human limitations is short-sighted. We’re dealing with grown martial art experts in a Bat-spandex and a massive letter A on their forehead after all. 

It is established, however, that the street tier weirdly tends to operate on a different tier even in the lore. Cassandra Cain, a regular human, is documented as a metahuman level threat by the government.

Crazy strong “regular” humans are just a commonality in both DC and Marvel. A physically unamped mutant, Kade — a literal child — took the recoil of a gun that shot out marble-sized neutron stars. When Batman literally falls from space, and walks it off without a scratch, that seems rather reasonable. 

Crossovers:

I would be remiss if I did not bring up the many Marvel and DC crossovers. For those who are unaware, Marvel and DC has had many crossovers throughout its long history where characters from their respective universes would get to meet each other. For instance, the JLA/Avengers limited crossover series that was published from 2003 to 2004. 

While these comics do have extremely dubious canonity at best, their events have been referred to even after the crossover event actually ended by both Marvel and DC. 

In it, we see the First Avenger take on the Dark Knight to a standstill. They clash their best blows, complementing each other’s skills, and putting their conflict aside for a greater cause. 

( I love how respectful this fight is… and also how comedically short it is. They fight for less than 2 pages, only to immediately give up and call it even.  )

In addition, we also see Batman taking out Batroc and Captain America taking out Prometheus. Prometheus and Batroc have pressured Batman and Captain America respectively in the past, implying that both Batman and Captain America would roughly be on the same tier. Steve and Bruce both represent the top of the street tier, so most of the street tier would supposedly be evenly matched against each other. 

I have a few issues with this scaling however. 

1. It’s inconsistent.

With an event as massive as DC/Marvel , there are bound to be inconsistencies, especially when it comes to powerscalong. In this case, there are quite a lot. These crossovers are obviously heavily edited by both Marvel and DC to best respect their characters, and thus there are bound to be weird things here and there. A lot of things need to be sidelined and ignored for the sake of plot, pleasing the companies, and giving the fans what they want to see.

( Which leads to stuff like Spiderman defeating a member of the Superman Family. )

2. Characters have changed since then. 

Characters grow massively over time, even in the short span of a few decades. They are always improving on their craft, be it in strength or skill. 

They are always improving, and that is what makes them so revolutionary. It keeps them in the game. Lady Shiva even states that she could literally bully a version of herself from just a year prior. 

Even in the span of 20 years, the dynamic will completely change from their previous fight. ( If it was even canon )

3. It doesn't change too much. 

As I've already established in the Tertiary Factors section, both Batman and Captain America are already of near equal skill. The Crossover would only cement that further. At most, it'll close the strength gap ( which has changed over the years anyways ). 

Also it’s just kind of lame and boring. Ignoring all of a character’s feats and scalings because they punched each other once in an old comic book dulls me, so I rather not. Sue me. 

Spiderman? 

( This man keeps making his way into every Marvel Blog — This needs to be stopped! He's a menace!  )

Spiderman is one of the most influential characters when talking about the Street tier. His sheer strength and might far eclipses that of even his strongest peers. He is almost universally respected, by men and by gods, for his courage and his powers — and it is hard not to see why. From withstanding blasts from the phoenix force that destroyed the mountain, to standing after a hit great enough to sink the Island Continent of Atlantis, Spiderman brings along an entire different tier of power! He is important enough to bring up. 

Earlier, I had brought up Steve's confrontation with Peter during the skill section. Let’s inspect the history of Captain America VS Spiderman again under a more detailed lens,because there is more than meets the eye. Spiderman and Captain America have had many little interactions and light scuffles throughout the years — they have even had one recently, where Peter used Steve’s shield against him.

However, throughout their history, they have had 2 truly serious one on one fights. 

Spiderman VS Captain America — 1978

— The Amazing Spider-man #187 —

This fight is the less notable of their 2 confrontations. Peter battles Steve, exchanging blows and leaving before a conclusive winner. 

This fight isn't super important, especially since there is no winner and it's almost half a century old at this point. There are some interesting points to note though, with Captain America being more skilled and Spiderman being stronger. 

Pay attention to this panel. It'll be important as context for any Spiderman and Captain America confrontation.

“Showing little concern for personal safety, he races ahead… knowing full well he may have to sacrifice himself so that others may live. For more than thirty years, he has put his life on the line time and time again…He is Captain America. And there is no better.” – Spiderman 

Spiderman VS Captain America — 1999

— The Amazing Spider-man #534 —

This is their big fight, and the one most people remember outside of their MCU fight in Civil War. Weird how their most memorable fights are from Civil War. It's one of my favorite fights in Civil War. 

In this fight, Captain America does fantastic against Spiderman. In this confrontation, Spiderman doesn't actually get a single hit in, only cutting Steve with one of his Iron Spider Arms. Meanwhile Cap gets 3 hits in 10 seconds while being hesitant to hurt Spiderman. Seems like a clear display of Captain America's skill and strength being comparable to that of the Web slinger. 

But let's look at that under more scrutiny. Firstly, the context of Marvel's Civil War. Spiderman was going through a weird time ( as always ) trying to figure out where he stands in the conflict.

Secondly, the characters grow overtime. I mentioned this earlier, but Spiderman is a notable example. In the years after Civil War, Spiderman even went under training with Shang Chi to gain his own unique martial art, the Way of the Spider. 

Lastly, the context of Spiderman and Captain America as a whole; the relationship they hold. Spiderman holds immense respect and admiration for Captain America. Cap was the symbol of the country, and his childhood hero.

It stands to reason that Spiderman would be holding back. Even then, Spiderman holds back so much to the point that he does not even know that he is holding back. He just does it unconsciously after so many years. 

Likewise, Captain America too has great fondness for Peter. Spiderman in general has earned a reputation amongst his peers as the best of them, even from the most isolated like Daredevil and Wolverine. 

 

According to the time traveler Cable, he becomes the greatest hero of them all. Steve sees him as a literal protege, like he had with Bucky Barnes before. 

“ The best of all of us.” 

They're close friends, having a mentor and protege relationship. It stands to reason that they would not be at their full strength even in a serious fight. In fact, Peter was completely torn after Captain America's death during Civil War. 

Neither are giving their all in this fight, and while it is one of the most influential moments in Civil War, it isn't really a fair assessment of who is truly stronger. 

There is one occurrence though, with a different Spiderman. 

Spiderman VS Captain America — 2017

— Secret Empire #7 —

Context: This fight occurred during the Secret Empire event following Civil War 2. The Inhuman Precog Ulysses Cain shared a vision of Miles Morales killing Captain America. Afterwards, following the events of Civil War 2, Captain America was revealed to have been a brainwashed spy ( Long story ), and proceeded to overtake the world under Hydra. Miles shows up in front of the white house to finish the prophecy. Black Widow attempts to protect Miles by intervening at the last second, sacrificing her life. 

The proceeding fight is brief, but very, VERY conclusive. 

The gap in power is pretty clear. 

Final Verdict : 

Winter Soldier;

+ Vastly superior physically

+ Slightly stronger at worst

+ Decades of experience over Jason

+ Equal or Greater Skill

+ Far more lethal arsenal

+ Better Counters

= Roughly equivalent speed

- Old, crusty, and musty (maybe dusty)

- Came back looking emo lol

+ He came out first, twice. 

+ Came back a badass tbf

+ Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

 

Red Hood; 

+ More versatility and better gear

+ Better trained

+ More analytical and intelligent

+ Has better stealth

+ Venom can help close the gap but…

= Roughly equivalent speed

- Venom would impair his thinking

- His emotions has been used against him

- Crowbars

- Fans literally voted to kill him lmao 

+ Came back a fan favorite tbf 

+ Batman: Under the Red Hood

As to be expected, this fight is really close. Winter Soldier and Red Hood are largely equivalent in many ways, matching blow to blow outside of a few small advantages. For instance, they both operate at roughly the same speed. 

With Bucky’s gear and his own assassin origins, Jason’s stealth can be easily countered — Just use his greater experience or his scanners to find Red Hood. However, the inverse is also true, with Jason being able to locate Winter Soldier whenever he needs to. 

Bucky’s more lethal arsenal isn't too significant of an advantage either. A large quantity of his lethal gear — guns, knives, grenades — are all things Jason deals with on a daily basis across his entire career. However, vice versa, a lot of Jason's gear isn't potent enough to defeat Bucky.

Being smarter or older isn't going to change the fight, especially since they are minor advantages at best. Their EMPs cancel out, most of their basic weapons cancel out — there isn't a clear conclusion that can be drawn here. No, the victor lies in the big advantages. 

Jason's Utility Belt means that he is always going to have something up his sleeve , even when pressed. He's always going to have something to attack with, be it poison gas or an electric batarang. His electric taser in his chest that knocked out Batman could be effective, although I doubt they would impact the Winter Soldier. 

His best shot would be to use either the All-blades or Venom. Although as I covered earlier, they wouldn't be too effective against Winter Soldier. 

That's thanks to Bucky’s overwhelming power. The Infinity Formula puts him potentially thousands of times above the strength of the second robin, and completely disregards things like Venom. 

From there, Winter Soldier is more skilled and more level-headed. Jason is going to have a tough time even matching Bucky in hand to hand. Combine that with Bucky having the better shot, and he now has superiority against the violent vigilante regardless of the range. 

This is an extremely close fight. Jason Todd is a terrifying foe and would give Bucky Barnes a run for his money; But Winter Soldier's more lethal gear, greater skill, and raw power would seize the threat of the rogue second Robin.

Winner: Winter Soldier

Next Time:

“Guardians of Ohana”

Rocket Raccoon VS Stitch ( Marvel Comics VS Lilo & Stitch)