That Time The Puppet Master Knocked The Vision Out With Karate!

CBR

By Brian Cronin

Published Nov 20, 2019

In their latest look at 'bad' superhero fights, CSBG spotlights the time that Puppet Master knocked the vision out with a swift kick!

In "The Wrong Side," I examine comic book fights that were particularly notable in the wrong side winning (or at least that the fight wasn't won the "right" way). This really isn't a big deal, of course, as it doesn't really matter if the "wrong" person won a fight. But it's fun to talk about! Here are our past editions of the feature.

If you want to suggest a fight for future inclusion in this feature, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com. Don't suggest a fight in the comments!

Today, we look at the Puppet Master's bizarre takedown of the Vision.

As always, the first thing we do is determine the power level of the people involved in this discussion to set up the fight and then we look at the fight. The way we check their power levels is usually to see how well they do when they fight Spider-Man, as he is so strong that he beat up Firelord and the X-Men, all by himself!

Spider-Man has come up against the Puppet Master a few times over the years, but he has never actually physically fought him. However, in a non-continuity comic book, Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #23 (by Paul Tobin and Rob DiSalvo), we get to see Spider-Man express the simple and obvious fact when it comes to a confrontation with the Puppet Master...he's just some old guy...

This was born out in the Puppet Master's first appearance, in Fantastic Four #8 (by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and Dick Ayers), where he is literally taken out by his blind step-daughter, Alicia Masters...

Look at even the Mad Thinker smacking him around in Marvel Team-Up #6 (by Gerry Conway, Gil Kane and Mike Esposito)...

Now the Vision, on the other hand, is, well, one of the toughest superheroes around. Look what happened when a bad guy took control of the Vision's body in Marvel Team-Up #130 (by J.M. DeMatteis, Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito). He just beats the heck out of Spider-Man...

This makes it clear, then, that the Vision could beat up both Firelord and the X-Men.

Anyhow, in Marvel Team-Up #5 (by Conway, Kane and Esposito), the Vision's mind is being messed up through a plot by the Puppet Master to take control of a Kree Sentry to attack the Fantastic Four (the frequencies used to control the Kree Sentry are interfering with the Vision's mind)...

Okay, so let's note that the Vision is suffering headaches from the Kree Sentry messing with his mind, but still, when he's attacked, he is able to turn intangible (he avoids an attack by the Kree Sentry this way). Until, of course, he runs across the Puppet Master, who then karate kicks him and knocks him out cold!