Fantasy Character Death Match!

[Steerpike]

OK...we've got some general threads going on Aes Seda v. Jedi, or Potter v. Jedi. Time for a fantasy character death match. I'll start the match tomorrow, but right now I need nominations for characters that should be part of the contest. Please give your recommendation, as well as the work they are from. Right now I have:

Quick Ben (Malazan Books, Steven Erikson)
Harry Potter (Harry Potter Books, JK Rowling)
Darth Vader (Star Wars series, George Lucas)
Rand (Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan)
Elric of Melnibone (Elric series, Michael Moorcock)
Conan the Barbarian (Conan stories, Robert E. Howard)
Gandalf (Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien)
Logen Ninefingers (First Law series, Joe Abercrombie)

Initial pairings will be random. Who should I add to the list? I'd like to stick with one character per series, so we don't have a bunch of Wheel of Time characters, or a bunch of Malazan characters, many of whom would be quite well-suited for the death match.

 

[Sheilawisz]

I suggest Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter, not Harry himself. Gandalf must be part of the contest, and instead of Darth Vader, why not Mace Windu??

 

[Steerpike]

I might put in Dumbledore instead of Potter. Vader was stronger in the Force than Windu, and I think would be able to beat him. Vader usually shows up in the top two or three of Sith, whereas Windu doesn't make the top 5 (he's number six in the list I saw) of good Jedi.

 

[Steerpike]

I'm also adding Puss In Boots, since I just watched that and he has the power of "cute eyes."

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Hmm...

I would add either Waylander or Druss (or Skilganon) from Gemmel's Drenai series (preferably Waylander)
Possibly Drizz't (Legacy of the Drow, etc. R.A. Salvatore)
Raistlin (Dragonlance, Weiss and Hickman)
Kelsier (Mistborn, Sanderson)

EDIT: Although it hardly seems fair to match completely normal people (like Logen Ninefingers) with jedi, etc. What does The Bloody Nine do when Vader's lightsaber slices straight through his sword?

 

[Sheilawisz]

Then include Anakin Skywalker instead of Vader, since Vader's powers were diminished because of the massive damage suffered by his body... Another suggestion would be Edward Elric from the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist, and why not Edward Cullen from Twilight??

 

[Steerpike]

Elder:

Great recommendations. I think I'll go with Waylander, though Waylander v. Druss...hmmm...tough.
Drizz't definitely goes in, as does Raistlin. I don't know Kelsier. He's pretty tough?

 

[Steerpike]

Sheila: True, Anakin was stronger before the injury. I will change to the pre-Vader version. I'll have to think about the other two

 

[Steerpike]

OK list so far:

Quick Ben (Malazan Books, Steven Erikson)
Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter Books, JK Rowling)
Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars series, George Lucas)
Rand (Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan)
Elric of Melnibone (Elric series, Michael Moorcock)
Conan the Barbarian (Conan stories, Robert E. Howard)
Gandalf (Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien)
Logen Ninefingers (First Law series, Joe Abercrombie)
Waylander (David Gemmell series)
Puss in Boots (Shrek and his own movies)
Drizz't do'Urden (Dark elf books, RA Salvatore)
Raistlin Majere (Dragonlance books, Weiss and Hickman)
Gotrek Gurnisson (Gotrek and Felix books, William King & Nathan Long)
Edward Cullen (Twilight, Stephanie Meyer)

Need at least six more.

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Elder:

Great recommendations. I think I'll go with Waylander, though Waylander v. Druss...hmmm...tough.
Drizz't definitely goes in, as does Raistlin. I don't know Kelsier. He's pretty tough?

On Waylander/Druss: It would be an awesome fight but I think Waylander's skill set is more useful in these circumstances. More versatile, and he's just a straight killer. Still, wouldn't want to take Druss on.


On Kelsier: yeah, although it would be really hard to project his skill set into these fights. Still, I think he belongs. Also, you might want to check out Mistborn. I'm usually a fan of more traditional fantasy, but I thought it was pretty awesome.

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

If this ends up in a poll, why do I have a feeling Eddie Cullen gets destroyed in the first round?

 

[Steerpike]

You're making me want to read Legend again!

I've been meaning to read Mistborn. I liked Elantris a lot. Not sure why I haven't moved to the other books.

I'll add Kelsier to the list!

 

[Steerpike]

If this ends up in a poll, why do I have a feeling Eddie Cullen gets destroyed in the first round?

LOL Yeah. Could be worse, it could be Bella.

I'm going to set up brackets, and then each round people can vote on who they think will win the match-up in each bracket

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

I'm really enjoying this. Surprised I can't think of more though.

EDIT: Also, I don't see how Drizz't wouldn't win. No matter how hard you tried to kill him off, Wizards of the Coast wouldn't allow it. They would just bring him back. If nothing else, all the others are going to die of old age first

 

[Steerpike]

I'm really enjoying this. Surprised I can't think of more though.

Yeah. I felt that way when I came up with the initial list. Then you guys started adding some and I was like /facepalm. Should have thought of that!

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Yeah. I forgot about this when I was responding to you earlier, but I just went back and read Waylander while I was waiting for the rest of the First Law Trilogy to get to my house. I might reread Legend again when I finish Before They Are Hanged, The Last Argument of Kings, The Well of Ascension, and The Way of Kings, which make up my current reading queue.

 

[Sheilawisz]

It would make little difference if you choose Edward Cullen or Bella for the Death Matches, they stand no chance anyway =)

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

(Thinking: oooh I'm gonna get so much s*** for this...)*tentatively* I mean I guess we could throw eragon in there...

Someone from Chronicles of Narnia? I never read them all so someone else could throw somebody out there. Would Aslan count? He's kinda like supposed to be god though right?

If you want to go old school could we throw in Hector or Achilles? Beowulf? Certainly both stories had fantastical elements.

 

[Steerpike]

Ok, I added Eragon, and I picked one of the mythical figures (Beowulf, since he's my favorite). I also added Harry Dresden. Just need a couple more at this point.

I thought about Aslan, but thought the same thing you did - if he's supposed to be 'god' it seemed like it wouldn't work too well.

 

[Mindfire]

I might put in Dumbledore instead of Potter. Vader was stronger in the Force than Windu, and I think would be able to beat him. Vader usually shows up in the top two or three of Sith, whereas Windu doesn't make the top 5 (he's number six in the list I saw) of good Jedi.

I would say use Yoda, Luke, Or Palpatine instead of Vader. Vader was powerful, but after he turned into a Cyborg, he lost a lot of that power.

I'd add the following:

Gaius Octavian aka Gaius Tavarus Magnus (Lord Wolverine the Great) from the Codex Alera books by Jim Butcher. He was born a muggle, but grew up to become easily the most powerful furycrafter in the entire history of Alera, plus because he grew up lacking magical powers, he learned to think in very clever and unconventional ways, which was the source of his many victories.

A young adult-aged Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books by Rick Riordan. He's a greek demigod son of Poseidon with power over water, sea animals, horses, and pretty much anything else governed by Poseidon. His track record includes defeating various monsters, gods, and even titans. I think he's easily a match for Harry Potter. He might even be able to shrug off something like Avada Kedavra if he still has the Curse of Achilles.

Carter and Sadie Kane from Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles working as a tag-team. They're young and inexperienced magicians, yes, but they're also extremely talented and powerful because of their ability to host two major Egyptian gods: Horus and Isis, and call on the cat warrior goddess Bast for help.

And while we're at it, why don't we add characters like Eragon and Edward Cullen so we can watch them die and laugh.