You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

[AdamLeisemann]

I apologize if this thread has already been done, but it seemed like an interesting exercise.

 

I remember in magazines lik Wizard that they used to have mini-articles in which two superheroes from any comics universe would find themselves in combat with each other (ex: Spiderman vs. Batman (I think there was one match like that in Wizard)).

 

Well, as a possible character exercise, here's what to do:

 

Take one of your characters, and then select an established comics character from any era. This works best if they are thematically similar, but this is not a requirement. Give each character a profile detailing strengths and weaknesses relevant to the combat.

 

Give a synopsis of a comic book scenerio to bring these two characters into conflict.

 

Tell how your character would win against the opposing hero.

 

Then tell how the established hero would win against your character.

 

Good Luck!

[Powerhouse]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

I'd need some time to figure out how they would all go. I will go ahead with a list and it just makes me kinda sad that I'm so unoriginal that close matches are so easy to come by:

 

1. Lady Silver vs Doctor Strange or Clea

2. Nova vs Starfire

3. Starknight vs Green Lantern (Guy Gardner if only for the conversation between the two of them)

4. Tyr, Norse god of justice and ware vs Thor, Norse god of storms

5. Sentinel vs Captain America

6. Titan vs Iron Man

7. Speed Demon vs Flash or Quicksilver

[OddHat]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Flesh Gordon versus Jonni Future.

 

Best. Comic. Ever.

[Killer Shrike]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Well...I usually GM, but I have played a few supers over the years...here's the ones I can think of quickly:

 

Hype vs.Quicksilver

 

Major Savage vs Iron Man (would have to be a version of Iron Man that was not godlike)

 

HARM vs Magnus, Robot Fighter

 

Hothead vs Human Torch

 

Ki vs ? (tough match up...not a lot of match ups for a super martial artist with Chi based energy projection)

 

Tar vs Nightcrawler or Cloak...or both at the same time since he would outclass either

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Flesh Gordon versus Jonni Future.

 

Best. Comic. Ever.

 

Okay I didn't need that mental image.

 

 

Black Cat vs Karate Kid.

It would happend as a crosstime training duel, with each of them finally finding another martial artist that they don't have to hold back on, being able to go full bore. Cat would win by a smidgen (I convered the first ed DC heroes KK with the old AC conversion matrix (you know the one that had Superman with a 150 STR) - Cat has a slight edge in Damage and versitility (she does ranged Ch'i stuff), Val in Speed & CV - if this were a real game fight, it would all come down to the rolls.

[Metaphysician]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Hmm. . . the problem is, Hermes is a bit pokey by speedster standards ( max normal speed currently is about mach 12 ), though his reflexes are reasonably par, and he's got better durability than most speedsters seem to have. Against speedsters in the Flash range, he's screwed, but against people more in the Quicksilver range, they are screwed.

 

Science skills wise, Hermes is a genius, but has a lower tech base to work from, and less of the "gadgeteer" knack.

 

So, I can't think of a good pairing.

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Well, for those who have a hard time thinking of pairing for battle, the matching power-sets are not mandatory, and Thematically Similar do not quite say "Identical powers." Wizard once did a Spiderman vs. Batman, and those two aren't really all that connect to one-another.

 

Of course, I'm still looking at what kinds of pairs to use.

[Doc Samson]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Take one of your characters, and then select an established comics character from any era. This works best if they are thematically similar, but this is not a requirement. Give each character a profile detailing strengths and weaknesses relevant to the combat.

 

Biohazard (link) vs. The Hulk

Biohazard: What Biohazard lacks in strength compared to the Hulk, he makes up for in cunning and a willingness to fight dirty to win. His greatest strength is also his biggest weakness, he never backs down from a fight.

The Hulk: The Hulk's ever increasing strength is his biggest asset in a straight up slugfest. His weakness may be his overconfidence that his strength alone is enough to win any battle (as seen when he lost to the Juggernaut).

 

Give a synopsis of a comic book scenerio to bring these two characters into conflict.

 

The set up would be simple matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Two attitudes this bad in the same area would have to clash. Perhaps the Hulk is on a rampage and Bio's newfound conscience tells him that this is his big chance to do something right.

 

Tell how your character would win against the opposing hero.

 

Though out of his league, Biohazard would simply refuse to lay down. The Hulk's conscience would eventually worry him that he might have to kill his opponent to win (as when he fought Thor without his hammer) and Biohazard would take advantage of the situation to take the hulk out with a cheap shot.

 

Then tell how the established hero would win against your character.

 

After a much longer battle then anyone would have anticipated (even Bio), the Hulk's raw strength finally proves to be too much and Bio goes down for the count. Even though he lost, Biohazard's reputation is elevated to the big time for being able to hold his own for so long against the "strongest one there is".

 

A tie!

 

The two behemoths slug it out, demolishing several city blocks until multiple groups of heroes arrive to break up the brawl. Biohazard walks away at the end of the fight barely able to stand exclaiming "I told ya nobody can beat me, I don't back down from noone!" and then falls flat on his face and lays there for several minutes (shades of Thing vs. Champion).

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Rep for presenting the first fight.

[OzMike]

Re: You against Them: Battle of the Superheroes!

 

Snapback vs Bullseye

 

Snapback

Some know him as The Chosen One, Saviour Of Us All. Some know him as Eric Johnston, ex-Special Paranormal Forces operative who's team encountered something in the South American jungle. Some know him as troubleshooter and equalizer, a person to turn to when you need help and no one is listening. And some know him as a crazy trigger-happy killer.

 

All of these are true. No of these are true.

 

Snapback's combat strengths are numerous. He is a brilliant gunman, and is able to 'summon' seemingly innumerable handguns with a variety of ammunition and special effect types. He is incredibly fast and agile, approaching superhuman levels. He is an experienced and flexible battefield operative, and always uses the terrain to his advantage against stronger and tougher opponents. He has the gift of the gab, and constantly manages to put his opponents off through his use of banter, chatter and irreverent sarcasm. He is also unnaturally lucky and unlucky, being drawn into conflict time and time again and yet somehow escaping relatively unharmed. Finally, some would say Snapback's greatest asset is his ability to heal quickly - he can go from 'near death' to 'up and about' in a couple of minutes at the most, and heals almost instantly from most wounds damage.

 

Bullseye

Bullseye's combat strengths are also numerous. He can use almost any object as a lethal projectile. He has exceptional agility, reflexes and speed that approach superhuman levels. His skeleton has been re-inforced with strips of adamantium, making them practically unbreakable. He studies his target's histories obsessively, allowing him to anticipate their moves in combat. Finally he is an excellent martial artist and is talented in the use edged weapons and conventional firearms.

 

Synopsis

Snapback discovers that Bullseye has been hired to murder Jenny Wu, a female private eye working in San Francisco's Chinese community, because she is getting too close to finding things out about the Kingpin's business. Snapback aims to stop that happening.

 

What he doesn't realise is that his knowledge of the plot is bait - Snapback has disrupted the Kingpin's plans once too often, and Bullseye aims to take him down AND kill the PI. But first, he needs food and goes to Burger Town to have a pre-kill feed.

 

As luck would have it, Snapback is also grabbing a burger. He'd already called Jenny Wu to tell her to keep a low profile and why, had broken into her office and set up a bow-up Oral Jamie doll as a decoy 'just in case' with an extra special note for Bullseye advising what he could do to himself, and now he is hungry. He'll go and shoot Bullseye later. For now - cheese fries.

 

The conflict starts as each sits in a booth in Burger Town, a place for the costumed to eat, with their respective purchases. They notice each other but keep eating, taking bites that seem to challenge each other. The framing zooms in every other shot to their eyes, narrowed, as they eat. It's a classic western showdown. They finish their burgers, and Snapback takes one last suck on his drink as Bullseye licks his fingers. They both stand simultaneuosly and slowly walk outside. Bullseye has a handful of straws and napkins, Snapback has nothing.

 

"I'm going to enjoy killing you," Bullseye says, fingering his plastic and paper weapons of choice.

 

"I'm not," replies Snapback and with an impossibly fast blur of motion draws a gun from nowhere.

 

The fight ranges far and wide over the city, with both Snapback and Bullseye having the upper hand at times. They fight on top of trolley cars, they fight on the back of big rigs, they fight on a ferris wheel. The combat consists of dodging much of each other's attacks. But not all. In the end, Snapback's ability to heal is the edge that breaks it.

 

His clothes in tatters, Snapback finally faces down Bullseye on top of the Golden Gate Bridge. Both are gasping for breath, but Snapback is unscratched and Bullseye, despite his agility, despite his adamantium-laced bones, is bleeding but laughing. Another standoff.

 

"You won't kill me. You're not a killer," Bullseye gasps, feeling one of his teeth loosening. That will do, he thinks.

 

"But I will kill you all the same, so shut the f$%^ up and settle the f@#$ down pal," Snapback snarls. This psycho had nearly killed about 200 people tonight and didn't even care. He wants to shoot him, but he is trying not to do that so much anymore. "Let's just wait for the nice policemen to come and take you away and no one else will get hurt, ok?"

 

Bullseye spits more blood and wipes his mouth, palming the tooth ready to deliver. "I don't think so..."

 

Snapback wins

BLAM.

 

The force of the impact throws Bullseye's body backward off the bridge, his throat a bloody hole, his eyes wide with surprise. How could anyone move so fast?

 

It's a long way down. Snapback doesn't watch. He takes out stick of gum and chews to remove the taste of bile.

 

"Why don't they ever choose the cops?" he asks himself, and then begins the long climb down.

 

Bullseye wins

SHNIT!

 

Snapback looks at Bullseye, bewildered. A small bloody hole is in the middle of his forehead. He reaches up, touching, and looks at his bloodied fingers. Bullseye remains where he is, crouched, ready to move, his fingers still in flicking position.

 

Snapback, staggering, makes to draw a gun, but then Bullseye is on him and snaps his arm with a sickening crack. He follows with a rib-breaking knee strike and grins as Snapback coughs up blood. Bullseye grabs Snapback's head by the hair and pulls it back, grinning.

 

"Payback," Bullseye says, and pounds it into the metal. He keeps the damage up, not giving Snapback time to recover, to heal. Finally he picks him up by the throat, crushing Snapback's larynx, and tosses him off the bridge.

 

"You talked too much anyway."

 

It's a long way down. Bullseye watches the whole way. He's worked up an appetite - time for some cheese fries.

 

Epilogue (both)

Neither are dead. Both will recover, although Bullseye will need a new voicebox or will simply not talk. Snapback and Jenny Wu investigate the cult of the Dragon and save the world, and get together for a time. But it doesn't work out. It never does.

 

THE END