Love the old "flying bathtub" too-- to me, that'll always be the Fantasticar--as well as Spider-Man's "dropping in" in the last panel.

Monday feels like a long way away.

I've lost track of which issue this series was supposed to start after.

···

GREAT!! I hope you keep us here for the rest of our lives... or until Putin decides otherwise.

Agreed in terms of Colossus' back-and-forth transformation ability.

But I always thought his main selling point in contrast to the other big toughs was his durability.

Thing might be a little stronger, but Colossus' body can take more damage ala the elements, blunt trauma, beam energy, concussive whammies, etc.

I only read Secret Wars once (back when it first came out & I was in my teens, so I may have this wrong due to time and the effects of old-man-brain), but I vaguely remember something about Doom setting off some kind of explosion in the superheroes' camp, and the only things left that weren't completely atomized were Cap's shield and Colossus' dead (armored) body.  So his overall durability sets him a few notches above the majority of other Marvel strongmen.

This puts me in mind of one of the other age-old debates --- whether or not Wolverine could cut through Colossus.

I think the definitive, canonized proof is right there on the cover of UNCANNY #115  ---  he can scrape him and set off a few metal-on-metal sparks, but he doesn't have the strength to actually slice through him.   Doc Sampson or Thing with adamantium claws might be able to ---  (much like JB's take on Thor/Superman -- regular guys/sledgehammer) ---  but the Wolverine/Colossus strength ratio is probably akin to a 5 year old with a straight razor trying to cut through a 25 year old man; he has neither the strength nor the time to sit there and saw through him without Colossus smacking him.

Better not tell that to some current writer/artists, though.   They seem to get off on drawing Wolverine cutting through Colossus with BLOOD spurting out...  as if they somehow forgot (or never knew) that Colossus is solid steel.

They also seem to get him confused with Luke Cage and the whole "steel skin" baloney.

There should be some sort of prerequisite in comics that before you're allowed to write for the comic, you should know the characters.

Isn't that a willful transformation enacted by their conscious effort?  No consciousness, no power.