A to Z Challenge Reflections: Celebrity Deathmatch! Round 1

I did my A to Z Challenge about a year early just for the hell of it.  And I'm also doing my reflection well in advance.  A few people visited and one stayed throughout the challenge pretty much, so that's always nice.  A few others checked in once or twice.  Like most blogging activities, I mostly do this for my own entertainment, so if I entertain anyone else that's just gravy.

Anyway, in 2022 I did Marvel Legends figures and in 2023 I did DC Multiverse figures, so then I thought, who would win in a fight for each entry?  So let's do it!

A:  Azrael vs. Ant-Man

Azrael is a kick-ass assassin but Ant-Man can shrink or go giant, so he could stomp Azrael or crawl up into his butt or whatever.

Winner:  Ant-Man

B:  Bats vs. Black Panther

Black Panther and Batman/Batgirl/Batwoman/Batwing/Batman Beyond are smart and have really cool tech.  But obviously Batman wins--because he's Batman!  And there are a lot more Bats.

Winner:  Bats

C:  Cyborg vs. Captain America

Cyborg also has some really cool tech but Captain America's shield could take his head off, though Cyborg could probably create a force field.  Still, you know Cap could do this all day while Cyborg would probably need to charge his batteries

Winner:  Captain America

D:  Dr. Manhattan/Dr. Fate vs. Deadpool

Deadpool is able to heal quickly, which makes him hard to kill.  But Dr. Fate has magic and Dr. Manhattan is basically a god.  They could probably just twist reality so Deadpool would no longer exist or send him to another dimension or something.

Winner:  The DC Doctors

E:  Etrigan, The Demon vs. Eel

Etrigan is a pretty much immortal demon.  Eel is some dude with electric powers.

Winner:  Etrigan, The Demon

F:  Flash vs. Firestar

Kind of a fun matchup as Firestar can fly and uses flame powers while the Flash runs really fast.  I'm sure the Flash could eventually find a way to get to Firestar while it would be hard for her to hit him with her flames.

Winner:  Flash

G:  Green Lanterns vs the Gwens

Green Lanterns can use their will to make all kinds of things.  Gwen Stacy and Gwenpool I don't think really have any powers.  Spider-Gwen basically has Spider-Man's skillset.  And the Green Lanterns are a whole Corps so there's lots of them.

Winner:  Green Lanterns

H:  Hawks vs. Hulk

The Hawks can fly, but there's no way they can beat the Hulk.  And Hawk of Hawk & Dove would probably get broken in half in seconds because he has basically no powers.

Winner:  Hulk

I:  Impulse vs Iron Man

Impulse is a young speedster who comes from the future.  While I think he's a genius, Tony Stark really is a genius and older and more experienced.  And rich.  So I think he could find some way to contain Impulse's speed.  Also, his movie franchise was hugely popular; he's basically the patron saint of the MCU.

Winner:  Iron Man

J:  J'onn Jonnz vs. Jean-Grey

This would be a really cool matchup as they both have psychic powers.  The caveat here is which Jean-Grey we use.  Regular Jean-Grey would probably lose to Martian Manhunter.  Dark Phoenix Jean-Grey is much more powerful and so would win.

Winner:  J'onn Jonnz* (unless it's Dark Phoenix Jean)

K:  Katana vs. Kamala Khan

It's sword-wielding ninja vs. Muslim girl with stretchy powers!  While Kamala has a healing factor, Katana's cursed blade could probably steal her soul.  I mean, I think so; I haven't read a ton of Katana comics.

Winner:  Katana

L:  Lex Luthor vs. Loki

This would be a really fun matchup in comics.  Two scheming villains fighting each other!  But while Luthor is smart and has cool tech, Loki is a god with magic.  Don't put it past Luthor to find a way to beat him though.

Winner:  Loki (but if it hasn't been done, someone please write this comic)

M:  Mera & Atlanteans vs Miles Morales

On her own I don't think Mera could beat Miles Morales, who is like Spider-Man only with some additional powers.  Since I threw in other Atlanteans like Aquaman and Ocean Master, that would give them an edge.  Still, that feels kind of like cheating.

Winner:  Miles Morales

N:  Nightwing vs. Nico Minoru

So Nightwing is an acrobat and Nico is a Goth girl with some kind of magic.  I'd say magic trumps acrobatics even if I don't know what kind of magic it is.  But another of those matchups I don't feel great about.

Winner:  Nico Minoru (I guess)

O:  Ozymandias vs. Okoye

The World's Smartest Man vs the head of the Dora Milaje.  It's a weird matchup.  Okoye has better fighting skills--and a cool spear--while Ozymandias has a big brain and lots of money.

Winner:  Okoye

P:  Palmer, Ray vs Paladin

So we have DC's shrinking guy (who unlike Ant-Man does not turn huge) vs...some mercenary man.  Obviously Ray Palmer could shrink down to avoid Paladin's gold guns and stuff.

Winner:  Palmer, Ray

Q:  Quinn, Harley vs. Quill, Peter

In a real-world battle Peter Quill would easily kill Harley Quinn because he has laser blasters and a jet pack or whatever and she has...a baseball bat or mallet.  But despite being played by Chris Pratt, Peter Quill is still basically a secondary character who can't even hold down his own title while Harley Quinn went from a one-off henchwoman in Batman the Animated Series to one of DC's most popular characters.  Much to my chagrin, no one is killing her off.

Winner:  Quinn, Harley (I don't feel good about that)

R:  Robins vs. Red Guardian

Robins have been Batman's sidekick since 1940.  Red Guardian is the Soviet version of Captain America.  In terms of raw power, obviously Red Guardian wins.  But there are several Robins and they have a lot more finesse.

Winner:  Robins

S:  Supers vs. Spiders

This would be a matchup for the ages!  In the Slugfest documentary on the Roku Channel it talked about this matchup in the 70s:  Superman vs. Spider-Man!  It was all negotiated so that neither would look bad.  The thing is, in real(ish) life, Kryptonians could pretty easily just snap Spider-Man/Woman/Girl in half or roast him with heat vision.  Even Spidey's danger sense could only help him so much.  Since Spidey's webbing isn't magic or made of Kryptonite or anything, Superman/girl could break it pretty easily.  Where Spider-Man does win at this point is in popularity; I mean, check out his movie sales vs. Superman's.

Winner:  Supers (But it'd be easy to write an upset)

T:  Talon/Trevor, Steve/Thomas Wayne/Two-Face/Titans vs. Thors

Talon is an assassin basically like the Winter Soldier in that he's unthawed as need.  Then I threw in Steve Trevor, who's just some ordinary dude; Flashpoint Batman, who isn't the master strategist his son is; and Two-Face, who is maimed and evil but doesn't have any superpowers.  At nearly the last minute I included the new Titans set which would add Raven and her magic.  But still it's the God of Thunder.  And Goddess of Thunder in Jane Foster Thor.  And Beta Ray Bill.  That all makes it pretty easy.

Winner:  Thors

U:  Ultraman & the Crime Syndicate vs. Union Jack

Ultraman is an evil mirror universe Superman.  Union Jack is some guy with a gun and a British flag on his chest.  Ultraman wouldn't even need the rest of the Crime Syndicate for this one.

Winner:  Ultraman

V:  Vixen vs. Venom

Vixen can summon mystical animals and crap, but Venom has sticky black stuff that can change shape and do lots of cool stuff--whatever the writers need.  Plus Venom could engulf Vixen and make her into a Venom.  And he's way, way more popular.

Winner:  Venom

W:  Wonder Woman vs. Wolverine

Another great matchup I'd love to see in comics.  Wonder Woman is sometimes a god or sometimes a demigod.  But Wolverine has that healing factor.  So I tend to think Wonder Woman would exhaust herself trying to kill him and he could use his claws to cut her head off or something.  He is the best at what he does, after all.  And his movies have been way more popular.  His comics have probably been more popular for a while too.

Winner:  Wolverine

X:  Task Force X vs X-23

Task Force X is the Suicide Squad, who have a variety of abilities.  But X-23 is basically Wolverine's female clone with all his powers.

Winner:  X-23

Y:  Young Heroes vs. Yondu

Like X and T, I just sort threw something together for the DC one.  I used the Shazam family, Spoiler, and the Ray.  They could easily beat Yondu, who has that stick thing he controls by whistling and a gun or two.  But I wouldn't feel good making DC the winner on this when it's not even a real entry.

Winner:  Yondu (default)

Z:  Zod vs. Zemo

Zod is a Kryptonian like Superman with far fewer qualms about killing and stuff.  Zemo is basically just some rich guy with a ski mask and a gun.

Winner:  Zod (Kneel before him!)

So there you go.  Some of the matchups would be awesome to see in comics or movies or whatever.  Some are pretty crappy.  The ones where I had to fudge the entry (especially with DC) really make it kind of suck.

Tallying it, I did actually come out with 13 DC wins and 13 Marvel wins.  That has an asterisk as a couple could go another way, like Jean-Grey would beat Martian Manhunter if we're using Dark Phoenix Jean.   And DC could maybe win the Y match if I'd had a real entry to make it fair.  

Still, it wound up pretty much even as a lot of fanboys would not expect.  And I'm sure they'd fault my logic (or lack thereof) and comics knowledge.  But that's part of the fun, right?

I was just going to do one round, but why not do a whole tournament?  Because I can.  And I'm bored.  So there.