The battles heated up in the Sweet Sixteen round of the March Madness Super-Animal Showdown! We are now down to our Elite Eight — and here are the headlines!

Favorties Advance!

Krypto, Gorilla Grodd, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all won by wide margins, surprising no one in their march to their regional finals. Rallying from his narrow overtime victory in the first round, Comet had little trouble in stomping Streaky (at last he has Supergirl all to himself!).

let it go, Comet … it can never be!

One-Vote Winners!

Two matches game down to a single vote this round, although in both cases the higher seed advanced. Howard the Duck barely beat out a very game Thunder Frog, while Devil Dinosaur hung on by his tiny little arms to defeat the evil Mr. Mind.

Devil Dinosaur has an edge thanks to his ace corner-man, Moon Boy!

Day of the Underdog!

The biggest “upset” of the round saw Lockjaw blowing out Ace the Bat-Hound by 34 points … but that probably just means that I’d over-seeded Ace (because Batman). Lockjaw now wears Cinderella’s slippers as the lowest surviving seed in the tournament at #11 … and I have to say that I like the Inhuman pup’s chances in the quarterfinals against those Heroes on the Half-Shell!

Lockjaw’s coming on like gangbusters, all right!

And so we have our Elite Eight — two dogs, one horse, one duck, one gorilla, one raccoon, one T-Rex, four turtles, and one Moon Boy tagging along for good measure!

WHO WILL WIN THROUGH TO THE FINAL FOUR?

As always, your votes will determine the winners!

Vote now in these four Super-Animal Showdowns!

It’s a Legion of Super-Pets grudge match as Krypto (d. Gnort, 84-16) battles Comet (d. Streaky 60-40)

Sarcasm vs. Super-Intelligence as Howard the Duck (d. Throg 51-49) confronts Gorilla Grodd (d. Beppo 71-29)

Firepower vs. pre-historic fury as Rocket Raccoon (d. Det. Chimp 60-40) fights Devil Dinosaur (d. Mr. Mind 51-49)

And #3 seed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (d. Spider-Ham 72-28) can’t afford to stay in their shells against the belle of the ball, Lockjaw! (d. Ace the Bat-Hound 67-33)

You have one week, more-or-less, to cast your votes! Join me back here on Monday, April 6th for the Final Four … and cheer on your favorites in the comments section, below!