Before the Fourth Shinobi World War Arc, we knew Madara as a god. He was one of the coolest characters in the manga. He was the most powerful Uchiha and second only to Hashirama. Now, I can only see him as a sore loser. When the flashbacks started, sure it was bad ass that he fused the Kyuubi and the Susano'o. It was cool when the Susano'o cut the Bijuu bomb. He seemed pretty decent as a kid but this most recent chapter ruined my image of him. I thought he would have remained true to his word and stayed friends with Hashirama instead of just walking off. After he leaves with his dad and Izuna we go forward in time and see him get owned time after time by the Senju. The last panel is what sealed the deal for me. Madara telling Hashirama to kill himself or his brother to be 'equal.' Hashirama and Madara played by the same rules their whole life and Madara just happened to be the loser. He reminds me of the one kid everyone knows who throws temper tantrums after you beat him in a game of Halo. Madara went from a the top down to the bottom of my list of great shinobi. None of his actions are admirable and his character is poor.
Based on what I just read, this all happened before Madara and Hashirama's final battle where he fused Kurama with Susano'o. I'm not really seeing how Kishi ruined Madara's image at all. You say HE got owned as if the Uchiha and the Senju weren't all fighting together. Izuna isn't stronger than Tobirama. And Hashirama was stronger than Madara back then. So things were unequal as hell for the Uchiha. The Senju as a whole were more powerful than the Uchiha clan.
You're upset that Madara just walked away, but what other choice did he have? He made the decision that he had to make. While Hashirama was his friend, his clan... his family comes before EVERYTHING else. He couldn't turn his back on his own clan in a time where they needed him the most. If you ask me, Madara was the STRONGEST shinobi in the Uchiha Clan based on Izuna being surprised that there was anyone out there stronger than he was.
If anything was disappointing, it was how pitiful the Uchiha Clan members were. To turn their backs on the now Leader who could've done the same to them when he was a child is pathetic. By the looks of it in the last two pages, Madara had to be fighting by himself against Hashirama and the other Senju, otherwise they all wouldn't be gathered around when Madara was lying on his back in defeat. I still think Madara's a boss and disagree with your statement of his character being poor. He went through traumatic experiences just like everyone else had to. He didn't act the way he acted because he was a sore loser... he acted that way because he felt as an Uchiha he was doing what he was supposed to do. Remember, he lost his father, and all of his brothers throughout that war... If you think he isn't admirable now, then what would you have thought if Madara allowed the deaths of his loved ones to be for nothing... all in vain?
