This Punch-Out Homage Makes It Seem like Superman Had It Easy

The case has been made that, without his freeze breath, super-speed or invulnerability, Superman really ain’t that tough. In the famous 1978 Superman vs. Muhammad Ali comic, a de-powered Kal-El had to face up against The Greatest of All Time and got smacked around by the champion. But, when you compare Ali to Little Mac’s final opponent in the NES classic, it sure seems like Superman got off lucky.

Now, I’m not saying that Tyson was a better fighter than Ali—I’m not stupid enough to open that can of worms—but Iron Mike was presented as damn near unstoppable in the home console version of Punch-Out. Not to mention Mac had to fight multiple pugilists on his way to that last battle. Superman? Hell, Ali helped train him in that comic.

But this artistic homage to Neal Adams’ classic cover is still a great parallel to comics’ biggest squared circle showdown. “The Battle of the Century ” is by artist Rusty Shackles, from over at Insert Quarter-Bin. The site’s got a slew of similarly clever and funny comics-and-games mash-up in their archive, too, so check those out.

[ViaInsert Quarter-Bin]