10 Comic Book Heroes Taken Down In Just One Hit!

Nearly every fan of comic books loves to see a good fight unfold on their pages. Those huge epic, knock-down, drag-out battles between the forces of good and evil to decide the fate of the world, or even the universe - fights that can sometimes last for a whole issue or more.

Sometimes, as in the classic case of Marvel's two Civil War events, we have fellow heroes duking it out, splitting fanbases in two as everyone waits to see if their favourite hero will be the lucky one who comes out on top.

However, not every comic book fight is destined to become an epic showdown between good and evil. Sometimes, a cocky young hero takes on a villain much too powerful for them to handle, or a villain blindsides a hero with an unknown new ability. Other times, a hero might just strike up an argument with the wrong former ally, or may have been transported to a world they don't understand, or maybe they're just having a bad day.

In the above scenarios, things can often get a little embarrassing, or in the worst cases, deadly, for the hero on the wrong end of the conflict.

Following the events of DC's classic Crisis On Infinite Earths, the former Justice League of America expands its membership to include heroes from around the world, becoming Justice League International. One of the new members is Guy Gardner, Earth's second Green Lantern, who had been recruited into the Green Lantern Corps during the Crisis.

Gardner - arrogant and overconfident about his new abilities - almost immediately alienates his teammates, and regularly clashes with Batman, the League's leader at the time. The simmering tension between the two boils over in Justice League International #5, when Gardner challenges Batman to a fight for leadership of the team.

Batman responds by knocking out Gardner with just one punch, then leaves the room, leaving Guy in the care of their delighted teammates. In a further blow to the Green Lantern's ego, when Batman does leave the team, he passes leadership to Martian Manhunter.

Batman's One Punch - sometimes referred to as 'The slap heard 'round the world' by fans - remains one of the most iconic moments DC history. Don't feel too bad for poor Guy, though. In a future timeline, he scores his own one punch knock-out on an unfortunate alien known as Bolphunga the Unrelenting.