Category Archives: Versus

Two cowled, other-worldly menaces from the biggest movie (and book) franchises in modern history face off in this week's "Versus". Each have one foot in the material plane and the other firmly planted in something closely resembling Hell. Both give our heroes a run for their money and serve a master of evil. At some point, they've all been mistaken for curtains. So who would win in a fight?

A dementor's main power is to suck the soul from its target, which raises the first question of whether or not Nazgûl even have souls. From the reading I've done, I think they do -- they're still mortals, just with their lives stretched far beyond that of normal men by the power of the Ring. There is something for the dementors to eat, therefore.

The Nazgûl have some powerful magic of their own, of course, including their own rings of power. Would those have any effect on dementors?

I don't know, that's why I am asking you! Sound off in the comments about which of these evil henchmen would defeat the other in an all-out battle.

This week we pit two cartoons that shaped the mind of young people in my generation -- He Man versus the Thundercats! I loved both of these shows as a kid, and I wondered what would happen if they went up against each other. Also, I would pay cash money to see the initial confrontation, when the Thundercats realize that He-Man is riding one of their relatives like a pony. I can't imagine that would end well. At least, that was the case at my last family reunion. Not fun.

So sound off in the comments and lay it out for us! Who would win, and why? I'll post my reasoning after the jump so I don't unduly influence anyone.

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Our Versus this week features two prominent back-up characters from two of the starriest of science fiction franchises:

On one hand, this is about the race of Klingons vs. the race of Wookies. Both cultures revere strong warriors, but Klingons have (I think) been more overtly warlike. Wookies are stronger and bigger, but Klingons aren't exactly slouches.

On the other hand, this is about this specific Klingon and this specific Wookie. And let's be honest, Worf hasn't exactly covered himself in glory when push comes to shove. We haven't seen Chewbacca do much in combat (at least in the movies) besides fire his crossbow and yell a lot, so it's hard to say what his real track record is. Still, I tend to side with whoever is fighting Worf, since his main role appears to be "He Who Gets Crushed By The Villain Du Jour". At least Chewie's resume is relatively clear of getting his hat handed to him.

You also have to factor in the relative tech levels of their universes. I'd say on the level of the individual, the two seem roughly equivalent. So that's sort of a wash.

I'm going to go with Chewie on this one, but I'm curious as to who you'd pick and why. Sound off in the comments!

Two teched-up bad-ass guys going man-to-man. Two walk in, one walks out. Who will that one be, and why?

I leave it up to you, intrepid creators! Vote, then lay out your case in the comments as to why everyone ought to agree with you. Aaaaand ... FIGHT!

We're going old-school DC vs. Marvel in this week's matchup, featuring two of the most powerful female heroes in each universe:

Each character has had a somewhat hit-or-miss history. Wonder Woman's had her powers taken away, been dressed up in a white bell bottom pantsuit, tied up and spanked by pretty much everyone, gone from passive secretary to mighty goddess and back again, and more. She-Hulk's gone from a joke to a lawyer to a pinup bikini model to the most fearful creature in the Marvel Universe.

In her private life, Wonder Woman is a princess, though I bet she's the only one with bullet-deflecting bracelets. In her private life, She-Hulk's a lawyer. I know which one of those *I* am more scared of.

At the meta level, Wonder Woman is one of the Big Three at DC, while She-Hulk's always been more of a sideline.

In terms of powers, I'd probably give She-Hulk the edge in strength since that's sort of her thing, but Wonder Woman is a trained warrior with the power of strength, toughness, and flight.

At the end of the day I'll go with the more popular character and say Wonder Woman would win an all-out brawl between the two. But what do you think>

My apologies for the late time of this posting. I was in L.A. all morning in meetings, upon whose completion I immediately had to rush to the airport (where there's no free Wi-Fi, those bastards!). I've since been in the air or eating until now, when I finally have a chance to post our Versus poll from the friendly confines of the Denver International Airport. Namely:

I enjoyed the Batman versus Batman discussion last week, so I went to the well again in light of the recent Spider-Man flick. Also, I ignored my long-standing "no nerd fights on the Internet" rule and got involved in a bit of an imbroglio on a prominent super-hero site about the alleged deficiencies of "The Amazing Spider-Man" and its titular star.

So I turn it over to you, gentle readers, as I duck beneath a hastily-erected barrier sure to be proof against the ravages of Nerd Spittle. Who is the superior Spider-Man, the character portrayed by Tobey Maguire, or the more recent Andrew Garfield?

Have at thee!

Since Wolverine wins every poll he's in, and Batman wins every poll HE's in, I am going to short-circuit the geek hive mind and pit them against each other. Genius!

To make it more interesting, I'm going with the movie versions of each, particularly since I think an argument can be made that the X-Men and Nolan Batman series are fundamentally compatible in a way that, for instance, neither is with the world of the Superman films.

So you've got the standard Wolverine ferocity and healing powers against the Batman's strategic superiority and tech base. Both are trained in martial arts and both are deadly fighters. Batman is used to fighting guys with swords, so if he survives the first slice-and-dice that shows his armor to be ineffectual, I think he could adapt and stay away from the sharp ends.

I don't think either character is the combat master they're portrayed as in the comics. With Wolverine, I get the sense that he's more of a Rocky style "takes a licking and keeps on ticking" sort of outlast-them fighter. More of a pugilist than a martial artist. Batman, of course, very much is the martial artist, but does that matter much against a guy who can regenerate?

I see the fight as being either a quick Wolverine victory (his unexpected speed and ferocity, not to mention unstoppable claws, catch Bats before he can prepare), or Batman survives the initial assault and picks him apart over the long term.

What do you think, who would win and why?

Every time Batman is an option in a poll, he wins no matter how freakish the odds. I can't blame you for going that way since DC Comics apparently agrees, having had the Caped Crusader destroy the likes of Superman and Darkseid in the past. We're basically left with a situation like this, though, with Bats playing the part of "rock":

That's right, nothing beats Batman. That's just how it is. So instead, I bring you the ultimate matchup:

Irresistible force meets unmovable object! Suck on that, Bat-fans!

The two worlds of these alternate Batmen are fairly similar -- dark, dangerous, and as realistic as their genres allow. I mean, this isn't "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" level of Bat-badness. Both characters are smart, ruthless, and effective.

I can't wait to see your reasoning as to who would win here! I just hope the internal conflict isn't so massive that it causes a rift in the space-time geek continuum.

It's time for a good old-fashioned Marvel-vs-DC showdown, folks!

Both are bouncy, martial-artist types, more used to shadows and skullduggery than outright bad-assitude. Spider-Man would win in feats of strength, because come on, what's Dick Grayson got, the proportional strength of a robin? Please.

Nightwing has the edge in actual martial arts training, though. You don't study under the GD Batman for that many years without getting pretty darn good.

Both can invent clever gadgets to help in the fight, and both have plenty of real-world experience mixing it up hand-to-hand.

Spidey has the enormous advantage of his Spider-Sense, though if it happens in a karaoke bar, you'd have to think Nightwing's Robin's Song would come in handy. If only that existed, right?

At the end of the day, though, I have to go with costume design, and on that score, Nightwing wins. I always dug the cool black and dark blue motif. Had he kept the doofy ponytail, I'd dock points, but he seems to have come to his follicle senses in time and gone clean.

But that's just me, who would you choose?

A classic comic book gambit is to pit two heroes against each other for a short, introductory fight. Imagine that's happened here, that these two vampire hunters happen to meet and go at it in an all-out battle. Who do you think would win, and why?