The Justice League and the Avengers have gone head-to-head in the past, but one fight between two versions of the teams was particularly shocking... mainly in how the brutal encounter took a heartwarming twist. That fight came in the pages of the incredibly influential The Authority.
The Authority was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch in 1999. Made up of analogues of famous Justice League members, the Authority took a thoroughly modern approach to superhero comics. Instead of weightless punch-ups with some supervillain-of-the-month or other, the members of the Authority tore through Jim Lee’s Wildstorm universe in big, widescreen panels depicting scenes of destruction right out of a Michael Bay movie. The title also pushed boundaries in other ways, such as the team’s “take-no-prisoners” attitude, or the portrayal of the Authority's Batman and Superman analogues Midnighter and Apollo as a couple. The overall impact of The Authority can be felt all the way to the superhero films of today.
Starting with The Authority #13, the new creative team of Mark Millar and Frank Quitely took over the book, and transitioned the super-team in a decidedly more extreme direction. Not content to merely save the world from extra-normal threats, the team decides to get involved in world events, taking out corrupt dictators and upsetting the global order. This brings them into conflict with the covert black-ops team the Americans, a pretty thinly-veiled pastiche of the Avengers. The two teams come to blows in Singapore, where they compete to acquire the infant Jenny Quantum, the newly-born reincarnation of former team leader Jenny Sparks. Free from the constraints imposed on mainstream superhero comics, Millar and Quitely hold nothing back in their depiction of two groups of super-powered individuals laying waste to each other in a densely-populated city. But then, amidst all the wanton brutality, the fight takes a rather unexpected turn.
At one point during the encounter, Midnighter becomes trapped beneath a pile of rubble. He’s approached by Tank Man, who from his armored appearance is clearly meant to be the Americans’ version of Iron Man. Just as Tank Man is about to fry him beneath the rubble, Midnighter turns the tables on his assailant in a rather unexpected fashion. “I know what it’s like to be in one of those black-ops units where you can’t even remember your own name,” Midnighter says, relating his own shady past in Wildstorm's government superhuman ops. “Nobody cares if you live or die. If anything happens to you, they’ll just make another one.” Midnighter’s gamble pays off - instead of killing him, Tank Man instead frees him from the rubble and the two share a hug on the battlefield. Later on, after the Authority saves the day and successfully recovers baby Jenny Quantum, Midnighter receives a letter from the reformed Tank Man, telling him that he’s found a better life with a new family. For a title that often courted controversy for its extreme violence and subject matter, it’s a surprisingly sweet turn for the story to take.
The Authority was so popular it eventually led to Marvel Comics hiring Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch to revamp the Avengers in The Ultimates, and made artist Frank Quitely an industry superstar virtually overnight. The team hasn’t yet reached the name recognition of Justice League and the Avengers outside of comics, but the Authority will always hold a special place in superhero history.