Category Archives: Versus

We continue our "Versus" series of probing intellectual questions with the following:

I expect this entire series of polls will form the basis of a hard-hitting PBS series any day now.

Anyway, on to our very erudite and cerebral analysis. With laser guns, PEW-PEW!

On the one hand, the Empire has Sith warriors who can read minds and throw lightning and wield light sabers (sometimes two at once!). A big chunk of the Cylons are human enough that the Force would work on them, which means they're vulnerable to Dark Side powers.

On the other hand, the Empire is made up of 99% regular ol' people, not Sith, all of whom are vulnerable to being replaced by humanoid Cylons themselves. It's hard to win a war when an unknown percentage of the people manning your guns and driving your impressive array of ships work for the other guy.

The Cylons have a record of highly successful coups, almost completely annihilating their human adversaries. The Empire, on the other hand, got its ass kicked by teddy bears and only came to power through clever voting techniques in the Senate. The Senate! So we've got a bunch of underhanded bureaucrats versus bloody-handed genocidal robot people. Yeah.

Given that, I'd probably vote for the Cylons. Plus there'd likely be a cool scene where Darth Vader discovers he's actually the Father of the Cylons, which would be awesome.

Who do you think would win, and why?

I'm enjoying the discussion on these "Versus" polls, so this week we're going with:

A lot of the debate, I feel sure, will center around which version of each side we're talking about. Silver Age Superman was basically God in a cape, and could do pretty much anything he wanted. Any version of the X-Men would probably get wiped out in seconds by that guy. Unless they had Magik (Illyana Rasputin) on the roster. Given Silver Age Superman's vulnerability to magic, that could be a bit more interesting. I'm not totally familiar with Magik's powers, so if you can think of a way she could level the playing field enough for her teammates to have a chance, let us know.

If we're talking post-Crisis Superman (when his power set was knocked down quite a few pegs), things get interesting. Which X-Men roster are we talking about? If we're stuck with the likes of Jubilee and Cannonball, well, that again probably won't last long. But Phoenix was a world-class power back in the day and I think could knock Supes around quite a bit. If Rogue could get close enough, that's a major game-changer right there. Plus, given their teamwork tactics, I think they'd have a real shot.

The main guy left out, of course, is Wolverine, since adamantium can't cut through Kryptonian skin, I wouldn't think.

So head to comments and make your case, folks, I look forward to the discussing and the analyzing and the frothing and the hoo-hoo and the hey-hey!

(Image via Geek Force Five, where they had a round-robin tournament a couple of years ago. They had the X-Men winning, by the way.)

With help from Facebook Nation, we're returning to the lethal simplicity of the head-to-head matchup, this time in the realm of the dark wizards:

Both have magical-type powers (one from literal magic, the other from the Force). Both have mechanical aids (wands vs. light sabers). Both have vast resources of minions on whom they can call for support. And both are complete bastards.

So who would win?

(Image via "EpicShowdowns.blogspot.com", which had this exact conflict featured last year!)

You hear this sort of question all the time as it relates to professional sports, the idea that if you had to start a new franchise with just one star, who would you choose? Only this time, we're doing it comic-book style:

I started thinking about this in relation to "Invincible" and "Hellboy", both characters that were completely unknown but who eventually staked out an entire comic book line of very successful follow-on characters. But few of us have the raw creative power of a Kirkman or Mignola, so it seems like it'd be better to start out with a known commodity.

The question is, which known commodity? Let's explore the options:
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We turn our regard this week to that indispensable member of the comic book fraternity -- The Girlfriend:

Let's examine the options, shall we?

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With a tip-of-the-cap to Mark Engblom's "Comic Coverage" for many of the graphics and the general idea, I present to you our weekly geeky conundrum:

Discussion to follow!
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It's a simple question, Doctor:

{democracy:180}

Make your case for the winner in comments. I'll sum them up from my perspective:

• Wolverine is basically immortal and one of the elite fighters on the entire planet.
• Batman can beat Superman.

Discuss.

(Image via.)

Last week we took a look at who your favorite comic book super-hero is, someone who may or may not be considered "the greatest" by some segment of fandom, but who nonetheless holds the premier spot in your heart. Shockingly, Batman won.

This week I want to ask you the same question, but about villains:

Remember, this isn't about who the baddest of the bad-asses is or who the greatest villain EVAR is -- it's about your personal favorite, the one who you maybe like against all odds and even knowing maybe it's kind of stupid. But that's your guy! Last week the ones you all added were mostly very good, so I'll once again leave that option open this week. I appreciate in advance your continued self-editing!

Discussion to follow ...

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We've been spending a lot of time talking about "Greatest Evers" in the course of the superhero genre. But we all have a soft spot for a character that we know might not be "The Greatest", yet whom we love anyway. For me, it's The Flash. I know he's kind of a one-trick pony, and I know the history of the men who've worn the suit is spotty at best. Nonetheless, something about the combination of costume, the time in my life when I was reading them, and the simplicity of Barry Allen combined to make him my favorite.

That's what this poll is about -- the character who might not, in some abstract sense, be "The Greatest" but who is still your favorite anyway.

I'm leaving it open for you to add your own answers if you like, but please don't abuse them or I'll have to (again) delete the response.

Tell us who you picked and why they're your favorite!

("Power Lightning Vomit GO!!" image © DC Comics.)