With thanks to LogosGal for the question in our last "Sharing Day" thread, I present to you our almost-too-late Poll Position this week!
I'm leaving this one open to your entries, so please be responsible with any responses you add to it. Discussion to follow ... after the jump!
Here's the initial lineup, along with a few words about why I put them on the list. But really, I want to hear what you have to say about it all.
The main issue really is the nature of the threat to the universe. Some problems can't be solved with guts, while others can't be resolved by raw physical strength. So it seems to me you have to get someone who can cover a lot of bases.
- Batman: Duh. He's Batman. According to most of comics geekdom (particularly High Bat Priest Chris Simms), no problem including the universe is too big to resist the awesome power of the Bat Snarl. Personally, you have to admit the guy's about as potent as a regular guy can be. Plus, you know he cares about humanity and would do his utmost to save it.
- Captain America: Pretty much the same argument as Batman, assuming we're talking about Steve Rogers here, though with less snarling. He doesn't have Bruce Wayne's low animal cunning or brilliant mind, but he's a far more inspirational leader. Assuming rallying people will help in the face of universal collapse.
- Doctor Manhattan: Incredibly powerful, possibly to the point of being able to actually create universes. So in the event of a nonrecoverable fatal error at the universe level, he could in theory just replicate the whole thing all over again, including exact duplicates of all of us. On the other hand, he's a jerk who doesn't really understand humanity any more, so he might just watch us all die as an interesting diversion for a few hours.
- Dr. Strange: He's proven to be incredibly durable, mentally flexible, magically powerful, and physically imposing. He's smart, driven, wise, and learned. He can defend against purely physical challenges as well as mystical ones. And he's indisputably human, unlikely to leave us all high and dry.
- The Doctor from Doctor Who: I confess I'm not a big Doctor Who fan, but LogosGal chose him and that's a good enough reason to put him on the list. I leave it to his fans to explain why he's the best choice in the comments.
- Odin: On the other hand, I personally chose Odin when the question was asked of me. He's got a history of protecting humanity (not always in the gentlest way, mind you), he's got an entire pantheon of ass-kicking Asgardians on whom he can call, and he's a freaking god.
- Reed Richards: If worst comes to worse and the smartest guy on the rock can't figure out how to pull our fannies from the fire, he can always call on his son to make a new universe for us. Handy, that.
- Q from ST:TNG: I only put him on here because he's omnipotent. But he's also an even bigger jerk than Doctor Manhattan and probably won't be bothered to help unless a suave bald-pated stud of French descent were to talk him into it. Hey, wait, that's me!
- Superman: No explanation really needed here. He's freaking Superman.
- Thor: Like Odin, only more tied to humanity. Plus he's used to fighting on his own and is young, whereas Odin's kind of showing his age a bit.
So there are the initial choices, folks, which sounds the most appealing to you? Personally I think I might change my vote from Odin to Reed Richards. It's awfully nice having Franklin in his back pocket.
