The Predator vs. Wolverine

The Predator

“They're bigger than us, stronger, but also heavier…” –Royce (Predators)

“There's something out there waiting for us, and it ain't no man. We're all gonna die.” –Billy (Predator)

“Leave it. He didn't kill you because you weren't armed. What a sport.” –Dutch (Predator)

"You have to understand the mindset of the Hunters, and the honor they place on facing a worthy opponent on an equal footing... a kill is the end result, but it's not the point of a hunt....”

-Machiko Noguchi (Aliens vs Predator: Three World War Comic)

Species: Predator or Yautja or Hish

Height: ~7’4”

Weight: ~280 lbs

Weapons

--- Wrist plasma launcher: shoots a single bolt of plasma at a time

--- Razor whip: segmented hand-held bullwhip that wraps around a target, and once pulled taut is capable of cutting it in half.  Probably made from the tail of a Xenomorph (Alien)

--- Shoulder cannon: a plasma gun that uses a targeting system linked to the Predator’s helmet, often accompanied by a laser beam that forms 3 red dots on the target. It is fired either from the wrist control panel or from a trigger in the helmet

--- Combistick: a telescopic weapon that is about 2’ – 2’6” when it is closed and around 6-8 ft when fully extended.  It can be used like a spear or thrown like a javelin

--- Shuriken: A small disc when closed, with the push of a button, five razor sharp flared blades are extended.  A gyroscopic system inside returns it to the Predator after it is thrown

--- Dagger: ceremonial dagger used for skinning prey that can also be thrown

--- Wrist blades: the signature weapon of the Predator, these blades extend from the right wrist and can be up to a few feet long.  Depending on the Predator, they may have one, two or three blades (though two is most common)

--- Self-destruct: wrist panel controlled explosion that destroys the Predator’s remains and anything nearby

Armor

--- Made from a strong, light metal that does not correspond with any known element on Earth.  It is capable of stopping bullets and melts slowly enough from Xenomorph acid to be removed without harm to the wearer

--- The armor consists of grieves on the lower legs; wrist gauntlets on the forearms, the left arm also functions as a control panel; tassets which hang from the waist and protect the thighs; codpiece to protect the groin; breastplate that only protects the left side of the upper torso and back, leaving the abdomen and right side exposed; mask/helmet

--- Underneath the armor is a mesh suit that is part of the active camouflage technology

Equipment

--- Helmet/ mask: acts as a respirator; can record/ playback audio and visual; has multiple vision modes including infrared, ultraviolet, electromagnetic fields, and neuro-vision, a mode to determine the health of prey; a sound amplifier; zoom function; targeting and tracking system connected to the shoulder mounted plasma cannon

--- Active camouflage: controlled by the wrist-mounted computer; bends light around the Predator projecting a mirror image of what is on the other side; upon close inspection the Predator’s outline can be seen and it looks something like a heat shimmer; not effective when wet; bright lights (like fire) can also make the Predator more visible when using this technology

Wolverine

“I'm the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn't very nice.” –Wolverine

“You were sentenced to death for decapitating a senior officer. Your sentence was carried out by a firing squad at ten hundred hours. How'd that go?” –William Stryker

“It tickled.” –Wolverine

“Wolverine could be killed if his head becomes separated from his body… but because of the Adamantium-laced skeleton, the idea seems very unlikely…” –Charles Xavier

Species: Human mutant

Affiliation: the X-Men & the Avengers

Height: 5’3”

Weight: 300 lbs (with adamantium skeleton and 195 lbs without)

Weapons

--- Triple-bladed retractable 12” adamantium claws

--- Adamantium bonded to full skeleton

Powers/ Abilities

--- Rapid regenerative healing factor: allows his body to recover from basically any injury (he has survived a nuclear explosion) at an extremely accelerated rate

--- Heightened sense of hearing, smell, sight and abnormally fast reflexes

--- Prodigious strength: due to his healing ability he can push his muscles far beyond what an extremely physically fit human could do and his adamantium skeleton allows him to perform feats a normal skeleton could not withstand

--- Superhuman stamina: the healing factor makes him immune to lactic acid buildup and naturally heals his muscles as he exerts himself, making him capable of extreme feats of endurance

--- Berserker rage: when angered he can go into an animalistic rage that makes him even more impervious to pain as well as making him faster, albeit with less thought put into his actions

--- Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant: trained in many different kinds of martial arts, the samurai sword, knife fighting

--- Master military and espionage tactician

Gandalf the White vs Darth Sidious - The Breakdown

           After reading the Lord of the Rings relatively recently, I must admit that Gandalf the White is much more powerful than I thought he was.  Only having watched the movies before that, I was not really that impressed with his powers.  I did not understand why if he is this big bad wizard guy, why doesn’t he just walk into Mordor alone, the One Ring in hand and toss it into the fires of Mt. Doom.  In the books, though probably more from the Lost Tales and the Silmarillion, we learn about Gandalf and where he comes from and thus the rules restricting what he can and cannot do.  Those quotes I put at the beginning of Gandalf’s summary struck me quite powerfully when reading the books.

            Most of Gandalf’s power is implied rather than actually shown or explained.  What I wrote before about Tolkien’s understanding of the realm of faerie and magic shows why we never see Gandalf’s powers in full.  It makes him seem more powerful if everyone is sort of in awe of him.  It lets people’s imaginations fill in the blanks.  It is kind of like horror movies, especially older ones, where the evil creature or monster is always more scary before you see it.  Not showcasing all of Gandalf’s powers creates an aura around him that is only limited by a reader’s imagination.

            This makes him an especially tricky character to figure out for this kind of scenario.  It would not be fair to grant him powers we never see, but at the same time it would not be fair to limit his powers to only what we see when we know he has more.  I did not include powers he uses in the movie, but does not show in the book because I was only using the character that Tolkien created, not the one Peter Jackson did.  Thus, Gandalf does not have that shield he possessed when he fought the Balrog in the movie.

            As I have heard before when discussing this fight with people, they point that as Gandalf the Grey, when less powerful than after he is resurrected, he defeated the Balrog called Durin’s Bane.  His defeat of the Balrog in the books is even more impressive than in the movies, when one considers the amount of effort involved with the chase and length of the battle.  In the books, once again, Tolkien gives us few details to work with, letting the reader’s imagination create the imagery of this fantastic battle, taking place on a mountaintop shrouded in clouds and “those that looked up from afar thought the mountain was crowned with storm.  Thunder they heard, and lightning, they said, smote upon Celebdil, [the mountain] and leaped back broken into tongues of fire.”

            In the First Age, before Gandalf arrived in Middle-Earth, there were seven Balrogs.  The elves Ecthelion the Fountain and Glorfindel each killed a Balrog during the Fall of Gondolin during the first age.  Balrogs were once Maiar, just like Gandalf, and it seems fair to assume that their powers in Middle-Earth might be comparable to one another.  That would mean Gandalf was not overmatched against a Balrog, as the elves that killed them before certainly were.  So if Gandalf was more powerful than those highly skilled elves, he should theoretically have been able to defeat a Balrog more easily than the elves did and not have ended up dying; especially if it is considered that Glorfindel slew the leader and most fearsome of the Balrogs, Gothmog.

            No matter how much I downplay the defeat of the Balrog, it is still a badass accomplishment.  There is no denying that Gandalf the White is powerful.  I think in the end though, Gandalf’s powers are far more limited than Darth Sidious’.  Gandalf himself admitted that he did not know whether he could defeat the Witch King of Angmar, Leader of the Nazgul.

            Darth Sidious was the most powerful Sith Lord ever.  It is hard to explain exactly what that means if you do not understand a lot of Star Wars Expanded Universe lore, but let me put it this way: there were Sith capable of making a star go supernova.  Darth Sidious had the power to create a Force Storm capable of ripping the space-time continuum.  Gandalf came nowhere near to possessing that kind of power.  Granted, in a one-on-one fight, Darth Sidious wouldn’t use that kind of power, but it gives you an idea of what he is capable of.

            Darth Sidious is bringing a more powerful arsenal of known powers to the fight.  As I said with Gandalf, it would be unfair to give him powers we don’t know about, but unfair to restrict it to what he has if we know he has more powers than we have seen.  The fact that Sidious had invented dark side powers is pretty impressive in and of itself.  Sidious had created creatures as large and vicious as a Balrog, or pretty damn close anyway.

            Looking at the powers we do know about (Force telekinesis, Force choke/grip, Sith Lightning, Force-enhanced speed, etc.) I think it is easy to see that Gandalf is overmatched in a fight based on powers alone.  I can definitely understand the reasoning of some people who say there is no way to know which of them is more powerful when using the Force and magic, simply because we do not know the true extent of either of their powers.  I admit that I disagree with that argument, because I think that if Sidious’ known powers are greater than Gandalf’s, their unknown powers would yield the same outcome.

            But lets say for a second that their powers, known and unknown, are comparable and equal, yielding a draw in that category.  Then it comes down to skill with a blade.  In this case, there is no arguing that Sidious would not simply bash the living crap out of Gandalf.  Assuming that the blade of Gandalf’s magical, Elven-made sword is not sliced instantly through by the Sith Lord’s lightsaber, (a power I granted it for the sake of entertainment,) you have a weight and maneuverability factor.  The blade of a lightsaber has no mass and is very easy to wield at high speed and with great dexterity.  A steel sword, even a magical one, is still heavy and would tire the wielder much faster than a lightsaber.  Sure, Gandalf has some skill with a bladed weapon, but in the books he uses his sword nowhere near as much as he does in the movies.  Darth Sidious on the other hand is one of the most skilled lightsaber duelists of all time.  He beat Yoda in a lightsaber battle and it is questionable if Mace Windu truly beat him or whether he let Windu beat him as a part of the plan to turn Anakin to the Dark Side of the Force.  He was a master of every form of lightsaber combat and could mix and change styles during battle, throwing off his opponent’s understanding of his moves and strategy.  If Gandalf was fighting with a staff in one hand and a sword in the other, his sword would be used less effectively because his staff would be in the way at times.  If he doesn’t use his staff in battle, Sidious could use the Force against him and without his staff I think it is unlikely he could do anything against Force powers, which Sidious would certainly utilize.  All of those things rolled into one duel, make it look impossible for Gandalf to be victorious.

            In my mind, Darth Sidious’ Force power outmatches Gandalf’s magic by a long shot.  I see why this is not necessarily verifiable and some people would argue vehemently against my belief.  But as I said before, no legitimate argument could be made for Gandalf defeating the Emperor in an armed fight.  So if Gandalf was not killed by Sidious’ Force powers alone, he would die at the edge or the tip of a crimson-bladed lightsaber. 

Gandalf the White vs Darth Sidious - The Battle

            The Emperor sat in the cushioned seat of his shuttle as his pilot announced their approach of the planet.  He closed his eyes and let in the darkness.  He felt the overwhelming power of a dark presence on the surface from afar and when his curiosity had gotten the better of him, he decided to investigate.  The spacecraft set down with a jolt and a loud hiss filled the air as the landing ramp lowered.  The Dark Lord of the Sith stood at the top of the ramp, pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, partially covering his face…

            Gandalf the White sat atop his horse, Shadowfax, as the strange ship floated towards the ground out of the sky.  His brow was furrowed and his eyes narrowed as he watched the ship settle upon the ground.  Jets of steam issued forth and a ramp began to drop from the bottom of the ship.  A cloaked and hooded figure in a robe of black made his way slowly downwards and out into the dark and cloudy day.  He raised his head and glared at Gandalf across the wide meadow…

            Gandalf could feel the darkness emanating from the hooded creature and knew it must be some unknown servant of Sauron.  He would destroy the creature and then the armies of Gondor and Rohan would face one less enemy when the time came.  A rumble of thunder sounded and Gandalf reared his horse as it let out a loud cry.  Then he spurred the noble horse forward and at full gallop threw back the grey cloak covering him.  It seemed as if the clouds thinned and world grew brighter.  He raised his staff and a powerful beam of light blasted at his enemy, who raised his hand to cover his face and staggered backwards a few paces and Gandalf charged towards him…

            The light blasted him in the face and he felt as if some powerful force was hammering him back.  With the hand not shielding his eyes he reached forward and let the Force flow through him.  Blue lightning coursed from his arm and he could feel the power flowing from him as it struck the horse, causing it to fall forward and throw its rider off its back…

            Gandalf hit the ground hard, rolling several times before stopping.  He began to stand, gripping his staff in his hand when he was pushed backwards by an unseen force.  From his back he looked at his enemy, who laughed manically.  Gandalf gritted his teeth and returned to his feet, raising his staff at his enemy as he did so and was ready this time when he felt the power coming through his foe.  He countered with his own magic and felt his own power pushing against the power of his enemy, as if the two were in a wrestling match attempting to fling the one another out of the ring.  The power grew so strong he could barely hold it any longer.  With one final push of everything he had, the energy building between them loosed and both combatants were sent flying in opposite directions…

            Darth Sidious slammed hard into the grass-covered earth and he growled in frustration.  He rose to his feet and watched his enemy rise as well, halfway across the large field.  Sidious crouched down and leaped nearly the entire distance between them, landing only a few yards from his adversary.  Gandalf raised his staff and shouted something in Elvish.  A lightning bolt came cracking through the sky as Sidious raised his hands skyward.  It was as if the lightning forked and blasted into his open palms.  Blasts of sparks exploded in every direction and the Sith Lord seemed to sink slightly under the blast.  He turned toward the white-clad sorcerer and blasted his own blue lightning at him….

            Gandalf held out his staff, pointing it towards his sinister opponent.  The lighting seemed to break around him, like an ocean wave crashing against a rocky shore.  The electricity blasted past him on all sides, before the Sith Lord desisted.  Gandalf took the opportunity and slammed his staff down with both hands, sending a wave of power in a circle outwards from himself.  The Sith Lord shot upwards and backwards into the air, and Gandalf was shocked when in midair, his enemy back flipped and came down on his feet.

            “You have no power over me, you old fool!” Sidious shouted and laughed.

            “Do I not?” Gandalf shouted in response.  “Be gone from this place!  Take your dark ways with you and be gone!”

            Sidious was taken aback.  He felt a great urge to do as the White Wizard demanded of him.  There was an internal struggle raging and he would have appeared to an observer to have a slight twitch.  Then his internal constitution found some strength and he let out another evil sounding laugh…

            “You sly old man, you believed me beaten?  But your power is nothing next to mine!  Nothing!” he screamed.

            “Your taunts mean nothing to me.  You cannot begin to understand my power and a comparison to your own is nothing but a waste of your breath,” he replied with a look of anger on his face.

            Darth Sidious bared his teeth as he let out a blast of Force lightning.  Once more, the wizard thrust forth his staff, and the lightning broke around him.  This continued for a moment, Sidious laughing as he shot forth the blue energy from his hands.  He watched as the wizard appeared to struggle to hold back his power.  Sidious put even more power into his lightning and the white-robed man skidded backwards, though never moving, as if he were a statue being pulled back by harnessed beasts.  Gandalf then waved his staff around and above his head, almost as if he were holding some kind of two-handed whip.  White flames burst forth from the end of the staff now pointed at Sidious.  The two powers, fire and lightning met midway between the adversaries…

            A look of intense concentration was on the face of each duelist.  Both stood for a moment, blasting their great powers at one another, the brightness of the place where their two spells met growing with each instant.  Until finally, the energy became too great and both arcane masters were blasted from their feet and flew backwards, arms and legs flailing wildly.  Each slammed into the ground and tumbled backwards several times before coming to rest.  Sidious was on his feet before Gandalf, but not by much.  He snarled as he once again flew through the air toward his foe, extending his crimson-bladed lightsaber as he did so…

            Upon his enemy’s landing, Gandalf felt himself pulled towards the Sith as if gripped by an invisible fist.  He held forth his staff and sent his enemy floundering before landing back on the ground himself.  He drew his sword Glamdring from its scabbard and ran at his rival.  The Dark Lord rose, igniting his weapon once more.  He sprinted at Gandalf with incredible speed…

            When the two warriors met, their blades clashed together, sending sparks flying from where they collided.  With a whir of his blade, Darth Sidious began to slash left and right, Gandalf countering his attacks any way he could.  Eventually, seeing an opening, he struck out with his staff and smacked his enemy on the shoulder, dashing him to the ground.  From the ground, the Sith reached out with the Force and grabbed a nearby tree.  He pulled it and though its roots were strong, he ripped it from the ground and sent it flying towards the wizard…

            Gandalf turned as he heard the tree torn from the earth.  He held up his staff, but couldn’t stop the tree from moving.  It slowed a bit, giving him enough time to jump spryly out of harm’s way.  He recovered quickly and glared at his enemy as he snarled in frustration at the wizard.  Once more, the combatants leaped at one another, clashing blades…

            A few quick strokes and slashes and suddenly Sidious’s blade sliced through Gandalf’s staff.  Gandalf appeared stunned, but quickly cast the piece he still held aside.  The two swordsmen crossed blades and began to hack and thrust at one another.  Sidious jumped high into the air, spinning as he did so and when he came to the ground on the opposite side of his enemy, he slashed and his blade collided with Gandalf’s wrist.  The blade did not penetrate, but bounced off, as if it were a small stone thrown against a giant tree.  He was stunned to see this and stood still for a moment in complete shock…

            Gandalf used this opportunity and raised his arms over his head, clutching Glamdring in both hands, he came down with his blade at his foe’s head.  Sidious swung his blade in time to block the blow, but the blade of Gandalf’s sword seemed to glow brilliantly bright.  When the weapons met, the blade of Sidious’ lightsaber exploded, turning into millions of red sparks.  Stunned, the Sith Lord jumped backwards, spinning as he went…

            The handle of his lightsaber was suddenly hot to the touch and his fingers recoiled from the heat and it fell to the ground.  The White Wizard suddenly jumped forth, his blade arcing above his head, coming at the Sith Lord.  He ducked the blade, but already his enemy was coming in for a second attack.  He stretched out his hand and let out a barrage of Force lightning as the blade met his wrist, severing his hand.  He screamed in agony and stumbled back away from his enemy, who had also fallen backwards when hit by the blue lightning…

            Gandalf stood and watched as the Sith Lord clutched his stump of a wrist in pain.  The same blood now flowing from the wrist of the man was dripping down the blade of his sword…

            “You are finished!  Return to your world of shadow and dust!” Gandalf cried.

            The wizard was surprised when the hideous man, if he even was a man any more, stood before him and began to laugh.

            “You haven’t beaten me!” he laughed as he raised his hand and pointed at Gandalf.

            Suddenly, Gandalf heard the hum of a lightsaber behind him and spun on the spot.  Darth Sidious' lightsaber was floating in the air and swung at him.  Gandalf deflected the first blow, the second and the third.  The lightsaber tried to stab him and he dodged aside…

            Darth Sidious jumped forward, blood trailing from where his missing hand should have been, and grabbed the lightsaber as it spun halfway around so that the blade was facing away from him.  Still in the air, he buried the lightsaber in his enemy’s chest, who fell back with the force of the attack.  When they landed, Gandalf fell backwards over himself, while Darth Sidious landed on his feet.  The lightsaber hummed as it retracted back into the handle.  Sidious put it into his robes and stared down at the now coughing figure lying before him.  He watched as the wizard tried to rise to his feet several times, before lying on the ground gasping for breath.  Sidious raised his hand and Gandalf floated into the air as if standing, but his feet a few inches from the ground…

            “You old fool!  How could you ever hope to defeat me?” he asked, almost chuckling as he did so.  “I am a Dark Lord of the Sith!”

            And with that, his extended hand balled into a fist and Gandalf’s chest seemed to implode and his body fell to the ground limp and broken…

            Sidious walked towards his shuttle, thinking about this dark presence he felt.  He remembered back to what the wizard had first thought upon seeing him.  So the creature he was looking for was called Sauron….

Gandalf the White vs Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine)

Gandalf the White

“No blame to you and no harm done to me.  Indeed my friends, none of you have any weapon that could hurt me.”  -Gandalf the White (to Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli) in The Two Towers

“‘Dangerous!’ cried Gandalf.  ‘And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord…”  -The Two Towers

Species: Maiar of Valinor in semi-mortal form

Affiliation: Istari

Height: “he seemed the least, less tall than the others” in reference to his stature compared with the other Istari (from Unfinished Tales)

Weapons

--- Magical staff: allows him to use his more powerful magical combat abilities

--- Glamdring: Elven-made sword that glows white near orcs, goblins and demons; inscribed with runes that protect the hands of the wielder if struck during battle

--- Narya: Elven-made Ring of Power, also known as the Ring of Fire; has the power to help resist temptation, tyranny, domination and despair

Abilities

--- Magical telekinesis 

--- Illumination/ Blinding Light – both from his staff and from his person

--- Lightning strike – able to cause a bolt of magical lightning to strike a foe

--- Fire/ heat – able to light objects on fire or make them heat up if not flammable

--- Destructive blast – slamming his staff on the ground and creating a powerful blast of magical energy and white fire (this power destroyed his staff when he battled the Balrog)

--- Magically imbued weapon strength (as demonstrated during his battle with the Balrog when he destroys its giant fire wreathed sword)

--- Magically enhanced persuasive speech

--- Surprising physical strength and speed for appearance

Gandalf's Background

One of the Maiar of Valinor, (Tolkein's version of the Greek Olympus or Norse Asgard,) he originally helped shape the world with the Valar after it was created by the Iluvitar.  Five Maia spirits were chosen to be sent to Middle Earth during the Third Age in the guise of old men, yet wielding powers no man possessed.  In this form they were considerably weakened from their former selves; needing to be sustained by food, shelter and warmth; though they did not age and possessed various degrees of magical powers.  They became the Order of the Istari and thus Olorin became Gandalf (or Mithrandir as the elves called him).  They were sent to aid men and elves in their fight against Sauron, one of the servants of Melkor (also called Morgoth,) but were forbidden to dominate the peoples of Middle Earth or to match Sauron's power with their own.  Gandalf was not as powerful as Saruman (previously Curumo) but when Saruman disobeyed the mandate given by the Valar he was cast out of the order of Istari and forever forbidden from returning to Valinor.  Gandalf sacrificed himself doing his duty to aid the free peoples of Middle Earth in the defeat of Sauron when he fought the Balrog.  When his spirit returned to Valinor after more than 2000 years in Middle Earth, he was warmly received by the Valar.  They chose to send him back with more power than before, and he replaced Saruman as the head of the Order of Istari, though at that point Gandalf was the only one that had stayed true to his mission.  

“‘Yes, I am white now,’ said Gandalf.  ‘Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been.’”  -The Two Towers

Tolkien on Faerie and Magic
     Tolkien wrote an essay titled "On Fairy-Stories" basically attempting (though also recognizing it as impossible) to define what a fairy tale is and the necessary elements of the story to be qualified as one.  The realm of faerie is of great importance and within that realm is magic and the use of magic.  Tolkien states, "but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso: if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in the story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away."

     He explains that magic cannot be used too frequently because it diminishes the power, respect and allure of it.  Thus in his stories, he limits the use of magic.  He intentionally does not explain Gandalf's powers and does not define their limits.  Again, quoting his essay he says, "faerie cannot be caught in a net of words; for it is one of its qualities to be indescribable, though not imperceptible. It has many ingredients, but analysis will not necessarily discover the secret of the whole."  Understanding this, we realize that while we see Gandalf's powers in the book, we do not truly see his full arsenal of magical powers.

Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine)

“Flesh does not easily support this great power!”  -Darth Sidious (about himself)

"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." -Darth Sidious

Species: Human

Affiliation: Dark Lord of the Sith/ Galactic Emperor

Height: 5’ 8”

Weapons

--- Crimson bladed lightsaber

Abilities

--- Force Lightning (able to control the level of damage done from almost nothing to near-death)

--- Force Telekinesis

--- Force Storm creation: dark side power that creates hyperspace wormholes able to displace objects across vast distances and tear apart the surfaces of entire planets

--- Force Grip/ Choke

--- Master of all seven forms of lightsaber combat; considered one of the greatest Sith Swordmasters ever

--- Ambidextrous lightsaber fighter

--- Force speed: increased speed of the user enables him to see the world and the entities around him in slow motion, allowing him to dodge attacks easily and attack quicker with greater accuracy

--- Force Flight: power of telekinetic levitation taken to an extreme degree

--- Sith Alchemy: could be used to enhance the strength of objects, genetically engineer living beings to make them more dangerous and easy to control, able to alter image of user perceived by others

--- Transfer spirit/ essence from one body to another: allowed him to survive death on two separate occasions

--- Power to channel the collective life essences of billions to sustain himself

--- Force mind control: more powerful than normal mind tricks, it combined a hypnotic lull with his voice to make even the strong minded-bend to his will

--- Powerful Force seer in his ability to see the future

--- Force Stealth: able to mask alignment with the Force or even the user's Force aptitude from others (and possibly even their presence with enough skill)

On Darth Sidious' powers:

"Upon spending decades immersing himself in the many facets of the Force, it was believed that Palpatine had a mastery over all known powers, previously unknown powers, and could create new abilities on a whim."  -Dark Empire Sourcebook by Michael Horne

The novelization of Revenge of the Sith states that Darth Sidious was the most powerful Sith Lord in the history of the Order.

"Darth Sidious was incredibly skilled in lightsaber combat, one of the greatest duelists of all time."  -Wookieepedia

Darth Maul vs Drizzt Do'Urden - The Breakdown

           Another interesting match up of two similar, yet very different characters.  Both characters are incredibly skilled warriors with a blade and both choose to wield two blades simultaneously.  To better understand the characters and better understand the battle, let’s look at each a little more closely.

            Darth Maul, apprentice to one of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time, was crafted as a weapon with the purpose of bringing down the Jedi Order.  From the time he was a child he received cruel and painful training at the hands of his master and was taught only hatred.  Through his training and due to the natural characteristics of his species, Darth Maul was incredibly resistant to pain.  He was instructed in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force and schooled in many forms of combat.  Maul prided himself in his ability to vanquish his enemies using only his physical prowess in battle.  Though he was a Dark Lord of the Sith and was fully capable of dispatching his enemies with his ability to manipulate the Force, he preferred to use his lightsaber instead.  The skills he possessed made him arrogant, which is what eventually led to his demise at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi – not viewing his enemy as a threat once he believed Kenobi defeated.  His arrogance as well as his desire to dominate his enemy without using the Force is what lost him the fight against Drizzt Do’Urden.

            Much like Darth Maul, he was raised in a world of hatred and deceit.  The Drow are a cruel race and Drizzt was raised by his older sister, who beat him regularly for the smallest of infractions.  He was taught to fight by the most skilled weapons master in his home city and eventually surpassed his teacher in his skill with a blade.  When Drizzt was old enough, he attended Melee Magthere, the combat academy of the Drow city, where he was the top ranking student in his class and possibly the most skilled graduate of the school ever.  Despite his cruel upbringing, Drizzt retained a conscience, and eventually fled the harsh world in which he was raised.  After several years spent outside the city in the dangerous passageways of the Underdark, he traveled to the surface with his magical panther Guenhwyvar.  There he became a ranger in the service to the goddess of the woodlands, attempting to rid the world of evil creatures such as orcs, trolls and goblins.

            What makes these characters similar and different is the upbringing they received.  Both were born into and raised in a world of hatred, deceit and evil.  Darth Maul accepted this world as his own because it was virtually the only thing he knew.  Drizzt Do’Urden was shown compassion and even love from Zaknafein Do’Urden, his father and weapons instructor.  This little ray of light in his life saved Drizzt and gave him the strength to flee what he knew was a terrible world rather than to accept his fate and become a part of it.  Does this in any way translate into strength on the battlefield for either of them?  I don’t think it does, or at least isn’t contrastable.  Neither of them gains an advantage over the other from this, but it just makes them more interesting to pit against one another.

            When first looking at the two characters I was completely expecting that Darth Maul would walk away the victor, but after looking into their psyche’s a bit, I began to understand that the way Darth Maul actually died was because of his arrogance, not because Obi-Wan was more powerful.  Even in his battle against two powerful Jedi, Maul barely utilized his impressive arsenal of Force powers.  Despite that, I presume he would use his powers if faced with the need to (assuming he saw the need.)  Thus, having one warrior be able to hold the other in the air and choke him to death did not seem like it would make for a very good pairing.  That was the reason I decided to allow Guenhwyvar as part of Drizzt’s arsenal.  At first it seemed unfair to allow one warrior to essentially be able to add another into the arena on his side, but then I considered that against the advantage of Darth Maul’s Force abilities.  I thought the two powers were close to balancing each other out, though not directly comparable.  The difference was that Drizzt is not opposed to using Guenhwyvar to the cat’s full potential, whereas Maul heavily restricts his use of the Force in combat.  Speaking in terms of skill with a blade, Drizzt is possibly superior, but that would be difficult to say considering the skill Maul possessed with his double-bladed lightsaber, especially when coupled with his use of the Force.

            What puts Drizzt just past Darth Maul and allows him to claim the victory was the state into which he can sink when angered or frightened beyond control, becoming “the Hunter.”  At the absolute apex of his skill, Drizzt is unquestioningly superior in physical combat to Darth Maul and with Maul’s seeming need to finish a fight with only his skill, he underestimates his opponent and ensures his own defeat.

            It made sense to me that Darth Maul would die in this fight in much the same way he did in The Phantom Menace.  Just as Obi-Wan became angered by the death of Qui-Gon Jinn and skirted on the edges of the Dark Side for power against his Sith opponent, so did Drizzt when he believed Guenhwyvar dead.  The anger made them lose control to an extent, while Maul had learned to use his anger and focus it long before.  Thus, Maul gained the upper hand, but in his arrogance believed his enemy defeated and refused to finish them off quickly as he should have.  Had he not had the need to defeat his enemy in physical combat, he would have most certainly been the victor.

Darth Maul vs Drizzt Do'Urden - The Battle

            Drizzt Do’Urden sat at his campsite on the border of the forest overlooking a valley from the top of a cliff face.  He looked out as the sun began to set over the distant mountains and smelled the savory venison cut cooking over his campfire.  He reclined against his pack resting against the ground, but listened intently to all the sounds around him.  Some one – or some thing – had been following him the last several days as he made his way across the landscape.  Earlier he had gotten a glimpse of a robed and hooded figure in the distance before it disappeared into the bush, but he could not tell how large it was, or even what it was for that matter…

            Darth Maul pulled his macrobinoculars up to face and looked towards the edge of the forest.  From the hilltop where he laid on his stomach, he flipped a switch on his macrobinoculars and they switched to heat vision mode.  He saw a bright glow and noticed a somewhat lesser glow right next to it – his prey next to a fire.  He stood up and walked back to his speeder bike and hopped on…

            Drizzt heard a strange humming sound far off that seemed to grow louder rather quickly.  He wondered if it was the creature that was following him.  He stood up quickly, walked to the edge of the forest, crouched low and pulled the hood of his green cloak over his head.  He watched a trail of dust rising across the scrublands before him, getting closer, fast…

            Maul’s speeder crested the last hill and came to the edge of the forest just seconds later.  He jumped off, high into the air and twisted once before landing right in the middle of the sparse campsite.  He immediately scanned around him, not seeing anyone right away.  He closed his eyes and reached out with the Force…

            Drizzt watched in amazement as the hooded figure jumped high into the air off the loud and strange looking beast it rode and spun before landing on his feet.  The creature looked around but did not see Drizzt crouched in the bushes.  The creature pulled back his hood and Drizzt stared in astonishment at the creature.  He did not know what it was, but it certainly looked evil.  He did not want to judge the nature of the creature too quickly, for he too was feared merely when sighted by most others.  He couldn’t be too cautious either – the horns on his head and the red and black markings all over the creature’s face were very sinister looking.  He notched an arrow onto his bow, took aim and slowly stood up…

            Maul sensed the movement right ahead of him through the Force and opened his eyes.  He stood looking as the silhouette of a figure pointing a bow at him slowly rose from the bushes.  For a second he contemplated his prey and then raised his arm, pointing it at his target and fired the lanvarok on his forearm, the disc flying away…

            Drizzt saw the disc flying at him and tucked and rolled to the side as it flew at him.  He recovered to a standing position to see a second disc flying at him, but could tell it was off its mark and he did not need to move to avoid it and simultaneously raised his bow at his opponent.  The disc suddenly changed direction and he barely moved his head aside in time.  The flying disc scraped along his cheek and sliced his ear nearly in half.  He fired his bow; his arrow was true and went straight for his enemy’s heart…

            Maul sensed the arrow coming at him and clapped his hands together and caught it just before it would have slammed into his chest.  He let the arrow fall to the ground and threw off his cloak; it would only slow him down.  He pulled out his lightsaber and sprang at the elf, igniting his weapon in mid-air…

            Drizzt threw down his apparently useless bow and drew both of his scimitars as his opponent made an impossibly long jump towards him.  He dove out of the bushes and rolled into a crouched position.  His enemy landed just feet from him.  He quickly surveyed his opponent’s weapon.  It seemed like some kind of magical sword where the enchanted and glowing blades sprang out from both sides of the long hilt in the middle.  He had never seen anything like it and hoped his own weapons would be strong enough to defend against it…

            Maul spun his lightsaber in a whirring motion above his head as he stepped towards his enemy.  The energy beam smashed into the dark elf’s scimitar but did not slice it in half as he expected it would.  These were no ordinary weapons this warrior carried.  The other scimitar came at him blindingly fast and the other beam of his lightsaber barely moved fast enough to deflect it.  He stepped back to recover himself, understanding his enemy better and giving him the respect he should have from the beginning.  He lunged at his enemy again, this time ready for battle…

            Drizzt twirled his swords blindingly fast, weaving them together gracefully for perfect attacks that were blocked and countered every time.  The Gods would have stared in wonder at the speed at which the two opponents fought.  Both warriors were at the limit of their skills, every attack in their arsenals were used up.  Drizzt’s enemy jumped away and Drizzt was grateful for the respite.  He used the opportunity to cast both of his spells upon his enemy, simultaneously covering him in harmless purple flames and surrounding him in a sphere of complete darkness.  His enemy jumped back in fear, but quickly recovered himself.  Drizzt could only see the purple flames surrounding his enemy, not his enemy himself, but watched as his enemy raised an arm in his direction…

            Maul reached out with the Force, finding his target and then sent him flying backwards.  He slammed into a tree and slid down, dropping both scimitars.  Darth Maul charged toward him with only the Force to guide his movements.  He sensed the danger and dived sideways as the dagger spun through the air towards him.  He had not reacted fast enough and the blade sunk into his flesh just below his collarbone.  He tore it out and threw it back at his now standing opponent, who casually flicked his sword and knocked it from the air.  Maul growled in anger and raised his arm again, this time unleashing a barrage of Force lightning upon his enemy…

            Drizzt had never felt pain like it before.  It was as if every inch of his body was being stabbed over and over again.  He writhed on the ground in agony, not seeing anything but a blinding blue light.  It stopped almost as suddenly as it began and Drizzt opened his eyes to see the purple outline of his enemy flying through the air towards him, red-blades prepared to strike.  He felt one of his scimitars lying on the ground next to him and picked it up as he rolled out of the way of his enemy’s blade.  He swung his sword at the Sith’s legs, but he jumped over the blade.  From the ground Drizzt blocked several attacks and then landed a kick behind his enemy’s knee, knocking him off balance…

            He felt his knee give way under him and Maul took several steps forward to stop himself from falling over.  He turned around, still unable to see, but sensed the presence of his enemy and swung his lightsaber in time to catch the attack just before it would have struck his neck.  He countered and his blade cut into the elf’s leg just above his knee.  It was not a deep cut and would not bleed since it had been instantly cauterized, but it would still hurt.  The elf stumbled backwards slightly and Maul unleashed another barrage of Force lightning.  It hit his enemy square in the chest, sending him flying backwards onto the ground.  Maul let the electricity flow from his fingertips for a few more seconds and then stopped.  He did not want to kill his enemy this way; he wanted to defeat him in physical combat…

            The dark elf rolled over and groaned.  He felt drained of energy, but knew he was fighting for his life and quickly stood up, gripping his scimitars.  The small cut on his knee was in pain, but he ground his teeth and stood up.  To his amazement, his enemy was standing, with a twisted smile on his face, apparently waiting for Drizzt to rise.  He took up a fighting stance as his opponent dashed at him.  He swung his sword Twinkle in an arc and connected with the incoming blade, then swung Icingdeath towards the torso of the Sith Lord.  His blade was parried again and he spun away from his opponent, but quickly lunged back at him, both swords swinging at different parts of his enemy – one at his head, one at his chest.  Instead of being blocked by blades he felt himself fly backwards again as his enemy stretched out his hand…

            The spells Drizzt had cast wore off and Maul watched as his enemy flew backwards and slammed into the ground, sliding on his back for a few yards before coming to a halt in the dirt.  He could feel the anger rise in himself.  His opponent was the most skilled swordsman he had ever fought, besides his own Master.  He was not able to block the last move his enemy tried, so he sent him flying instead, but he did not like it.  He wanted to prove he was the better swordsman and resolved himself to limit his use of the Force in the fight only to when it was necessary.  His enemy pulled something from a pouch and whispered something to it.  A cloud of swirling black smoke suddenly appeared in front of him, and for a second Maul thought his enemy was using magic to escape.  Then from nowhere an enormous black panther appeared and looked sideways at Maul, taking him in.  It raised its hackles at him and let out a ferocious snarl, and lowered its body as if preparing for battle…

            Drizzt stood up behind Guenhwyvar, and gazed into the eyes of his opponent.  He hoped the appearance of the mighty panther might be enough to discourage his opponent from continuing the battle, but he did not really hold out much hope for this possibility.  His opponent raised his hand again and Drizzt was afraid he was about to receive another barrage of lightning or a push backwards.  He felt the air around him seem to move or sway in some way, but nothing happened.  His enemy gave a look of surprise that slowly twisted into a gruesome smile.  Then he lunged forward in a high arc and Guenhwyvar jumped to meet him…

            Maul flew through the air and watched as the powerful cat jumped at him, maw agape and claws extended.  He rotated in mid-air, just over the cat’s head as it tried to swipe at him.  His lightsaber blades made contact with the cat’s back as he came around, leaving deep gouges along his flank.  Once he landed, his lightsaber blades met the blindingly fast scimitars of Drizzt Do’Urden.  The blades twirled and slammed against one another and suddenly Maul felt a blade slice his arm and leave a gash beneath his bicep.  It was an odd sensation: the pain from the blade felt like a normal cut at first, but then suddenly felt as if there was ice against the wound.  It transformed from a feeling of coolness to one of somebody pressing a chunk of frozen snow very hard against his arm.  The great cat was bounding towards him, snarling as it came, and he reached out with the Force as it leaped into the air…

            Drizzt again felt the sensation of being flung as if by an invisible hand and then felt a huge mass slam into him.  He hit the ground and spots of blackness interrupted his vision and then the weight came down on top of him.  He felt the air being pressed from his lungs and felt the pain from the gashes that had been torn into his side. Guenhwyvar quickly rolled off of him and he gasped for air as his vision began to return.  The great cat hissed and snarled beside him.  He sensed his friend did not want to leave his side until he recovered and he appreciated that…

            Drizzt slowly stood up behind the massive black beast and Maul watched with pleasure as his enemy appeared to be struggling to stand.  He was glad he had not had that cat just take him down; it looked painful.  The dark elf patted the panther on the back and it sprang at Darth Maul again.  He waited until the cat was right in front of him and then sidestepped, swinging his lightsaber as he did so.  The blade sliced along the side of the cat’s face and neck.  The cat stopped just ahead of him and began to turn around.  Maul was much smaller and spun quicker, plunging his blade into Guenhwyvar’s stomach.  He pulled it out and plunged it in again right next to the first wound.  The cat let out a sound that was halfway between a growl and a whimper.  It reached out with its giant paw and swung it around, slicing open Maul’s back and sending him flying at the same time…

            Drizzt watched in horror as his friend was stabbed twice in the abdomen, swatted away the evil creature that did it and then collapsed onto its side.  He rushed forward and knelt beside his friend, stroking his hand along the spine of the great cat.  It whimpered and purred at the same time, resting its wounded head on the ground and taking rapid wheezy breaths.  Drizzt felt the anger rise up in him.  He stood and turned on the spot, drawing his dagger.  He sighted his enemy, rising and clutching his back.  He threw the dagger through the air and as he turned it sunk into the flesh of his enemy’s pelvis, just where it joins the leg.  His enemy grimaced and fell over.  Drizzt picked up his swords from where he had laid them on the ground and rushed towards his downed enemy…

            Maul pulled the dagger from his pelvis and looked up to see the dark figure of the elf barreling towards him.  He raised his arm and let out a barrage of Force lightning, knocking his opponent to the ground.  Maul began to rise and saw his opponent running at him again already.  He ignited his lightsaber blades, but knew with his new wounds, he could not likely compete with the elf in direct battle.  He reached out with the Force and grabbed the elf, swinging his arm over his head in an arc and watched as the elf followed through the air.  There was a dull thud when Drizzt slammed into the ground.  Maul picked him up again and gripped him in mid air, then focused on the dark elf’s neck, slowly constricting it.  He watched as Drizzt squirmed in the air, legs flailing as he clutched his neck, trying futilely to break free of the hold.  Maul watched with pleasure as his enemy writhed, gasping for air.  Maul wanted to make him struggle a bit, allowing him enough air to breath a little, but he could feel his victim slowly slipping towards unconsciousness.  Then he felt a presence behind him and looked back just in time to see the great panther leap at him.  He was forced to drop his hold on Drizzt to get out of the way of the incoming panther…

            Drizzt fell back to the ground clutching his throat.  He was gasping for air, but looked up to see his enemy recovering from his dodge out of the way of the path of Guenhwyvar.  The cat was very visibly struggling to stand, but managed another jump at the black and red tattooed creature.  Drizzt again watched in horror as his enemy sidestepped the cat’s attack and thrust his blade into the side of the immense panther. Guenhwyvar collapsed as he pulled his blade out of the cat’s chest and disappeared in a cloud of swirling smoke.  Anger welled up inside Drizzt Do’Urden past the point of control and he let in the Hunter…

            Unexpectedly, Darth Maul was struck by a presence of absolute hatred and anger, something he had only felt once before.  He could sense that his foe was suddenly more dangerous than before and knew he needed to end this fight quickly if he was to survive.  He raised his arm and released a barrage of Force lightning.  It hit Drizzt full on, but to Maul’s amazement the elf kept running at him.  When Drizzt reached him, their blades connected and sparks exploded where the blades connected.  The hum of the lightsaber and the whir of scimitars was music to the ears of any master swordsman, the two great warriors locked in mortal combat…

            Drizzt barely knew what he was doing; the anger in him was so powerful.  It was almost as if he were detached from what his body was doing.  Twinkle arced down and sliced through the hilt of his enemy’s weapon as his kick hit Maul in the chest.  His enemy fell backwards and Drizzt lunged, but was sent backwards in mid air by the invisible hand.  He went nearly straight up into the air and then fell back toward the ground.  The evil creature was already standing when Drizzt landed back on both feet.  Twinkle flew from his hand as the lightsaber struck it.  Drizzt swung Icingdeath at his opponent and it was deflected.  Both warriors moved with astounding speed and the series of thrusts, parries, slashes and dodges that followed were incredible to behold.  Drizzt swung his sword at Maul’s side and underneath the parry Maul used.  He doubled back and sliced the hilt of the sword where the blade met it and the glowing red blade disappeared…

            Darth Maul jumped backwards in surprise as his enemy completely disarmed him.  Maul did not fear his opponent.  A Sith does not have fear, he told himself.  Drizzt swung the sword and Maul moved with incredible speed as he jumped forward and grabbed his enemy’s sword arm.  He twisted, rotating behind Drizzt’s back, manipulating the joint until the elf dropped the sword.  Maul twisted again and broke the elbow at the same time he low kicked, taking Drizzt’s feet out from under him.  The Drow lay on the ground in front of him, his sword lying on the ground a few feet behind his head.  Maul extended his hand towards the sword, using the Force to call it to him…

            The reflexes of the Hunter caused Drizzt to reach into the air with his good arm as the sword flew over his head.  He caught it and sitting up as he did so, swung and sliced it through both shins of his enemy.  As his enemy was falling to the ground, the sword was already twirling around and came down with a thud just after the Sith Lord hit the ground.  The horned head rolled twice before resting in the dust…

            Drizzt limped back to his campfire, pulled out the figurine from his pouch and inspected it.  It did not appear to be damaged and he smiled.  He sat down and leaned against his pack.  He pulled the venison from the fire and sank his teeth into the juicy and delicious meat, as the sun disappeared beyond the horizon.

Darth Maul vs Drizzt Do'Urden

Darth Maul

Species: Zabrak

Home planet: Dathimor

Affiliation: Dark Lord of the Sith

Height: 5’9”

Weapons

--- Double-bladed crimson lightsaber

--- Sith Lanvarok

Abilities

--- Force telekenisis

--- Force lightning

--- Resistance to force lightning

--- Force choke/grip

--- Force assisted jump

--- Force mind control

--- Teras Kasi master - “Steel Hand” martial art

--- Master of Niman – Form VI lightsaber combat

--- Master of Jar’Kai lightsaber technique - dual wielding

--- Master of Juyo – Form VII lightsaber combat

--- Master of Sith lanvarok

--- Top physical condition

--- Incredible resistance to pain – both from training and naturally from species

           

           

Drizzt Do’Urden

Species: Drow Elf

Home city: Menzoberranzan (city in the Underdark of Faerun)

Affiliation: Drow warrior / Ranger in the service to Mielikki, the Goddess of Nature

Height: 5’4”

Weight: 130 lbs

Weapons

--- Icingdeath: scimitar with the power of ice and cold, enchanted to keep its diamond edge always sharp and to make it more likely to strike true

--- Twinkle: elf-made scimitar enchanted to make its edge reform after strikes, making it always sharp; enchantment also makes it more likely to strike its target and defend against opponents’ strikes more effectively

--- Three daggers – one in each boot, one horizontally on belt behind back

--- Longbow with quiver of arrows

Armor

--- Dwarven-crafted mithral chainmail armor – twice as strong as steel and half the weight

--- Bracers of the Blinding Strike – ankle bracelets that magically increase foot speed

Abilities

--- Globe of Darkness spell – able to place a sphere of complete darkness around any object or creature and follows the object or creature if it moves

--- Faerie’s Fire spell – a harmless glow of purple flames surrounds an object or creature, illuminating it in the darkness or if it becomes invisible

--- Infravision/ Darkvision – power to see in complete non-magical induced darkness

--- Master in the art of dual wielding

--- Master of thrown weapons

--- Well-trained archer

--- Top physical condition

--- Incredibly fast reflexes and nimbleness of Elven species

--- “the Hunter” – an almost bestial state in which anger and instinct take over and Drizzt barely has control of his actions.  When he does this, he is at the apex of his potential, but he does not like to fall into this state for fear of what he will become

Guenhwyvar

--- Giant black panther (600 lbs) called from another plane of existence by speaking its name aloud to the small figurine Drizzt carries in a pouch

--- Invulnerable to magical attacks

--- Can only spend six hours every two days on our plane of existence

--- Can heal from practically any injury when returned to its own plane of existence for long enough

Batman vs Boba Fett - The Breakdown

    I chose this as the first fight for two reasons.  The first is a great appreciation for both characters in their respective series and the second is the uniqueness of the match up itself.  The two characters are extremely similar in many ways but there are a few fundamental differences that separate them, making Boba Fett and Batman possibly the best match up I could dream up.
    Let’s look at Batman first.  Batman is the secret identity of the man Bruce Wayne, who uses his alter ego to fight crime in his home city of Gotham (and sometimes beyond.)  Bruce Wayne came from a wealthy background, but was struck by tragedy early in life when a thief gunned down his parents right before his eyes.  As he grew older he was trained as a ninja and became a highly skilled detective.  With his vast fortune he was able to acquire all the necessary equipment, armor and weapons he needed to become the worst nightmare of all the criminals poisoning the city he called home.
    Despite his zealous quest to fight crime in the city and his often brutal nature, he never stooped to the level of killing criminals if he could help it.  He believed in justice as the law dictated it, wanting to be more than just a hyped-up vigilante.  He never let his horrific introduction with crime destroy him, though it certainly must have darkened his heart a bit and formed him into the man he became.
    One trait that also sets Bruce Wayne (Batman) apart from others is his intelligence.  Batman is perhaps the most skilled detective ever seen in fiction.  He uses logical reasoning and deduction to help him solve crimes.  His understanding of how people behave and think allows him to gain insight into the minds of his opponents and often allows him to stay several steps ahead of his enemy.  Coupled with his physical prowess and extensive monetary assets, his intellect makes him what Superman dubs, “The most dangerous man on Earth.”
    Batman is often lumped into the category of superheroes, though he technically has no super powers and is thus not a superhero.  He would more appropriately be called a masked- or costumed-crime fighter.  While he is indeed very smart, very rich, and one of the most skilled hand-to-hand combat fighters ever to walk this planet, he is still an ordinary human being.  I would argue this makes him far more interesting.  He is a more entertaining character to follow because he has human weaknesses and could theoretically be killed by anyone.  Not only this, but this mortal man often goes toe-to-toe with characters that do possess super powers and is victorious more often than not.  He once very nearly beat the Man of Steel (Superman) in single combat – now that’s saying something.
    Boba Fett on the other hand is a cold-hearted killer.  An unaltered clone of the notorious bounty hunter Jango Fett, he was trained by his father during the first ten years of his life on the necessary skills of a Mandalorian warrior.  The Mandalorians were considered to be one of the most, if not the most, elite warrior societies known in the Star Wars Universe.  His training was quite literally cut short by the lightsaber of Mace Windu as it lopped off his father’s head in a pitched battle on Geonosis.  Just like Bruce Wayne, Fett watched the death of his only parent as a child; though unlike Wayne, he had nobody to turn to and was forced into a cruel world alone at a very young age.  He did the only thing he knew and became a bounty hunter.
    His hatred for the Jedi after his father’s death flowed through his veins.  As a teenager he learned from experience what combat was like and due to his youth was unable to physically compete with many opponents, thus he discovered that it was often easier to outsmart your enemies than to attempt to engage them in combat.  Just like Bruce Wayne, his intelligence became perhaps his most powerful weapon.  As he grew older though, he did become an incredibly skilled and dangerous warrior, firmly upholding the title of the Mandalorians.
    As an intelligent and deadly warrior, Fett began to hunt down and kill beings with powers equitable to superheroes – the Jedi.  He collected several lightsaber trophies from Jedi he dispatched and even went as far as to practice enough with them to develop some skills, despite his lack of any Force abilities.  At one point in his career Fett entered into single combat with none other than Darth Vader.  Considering the number of enemies that have fallen victim to Vader, one would expect a mere bounty hunter would stand no chance.  Fett very nearly defeated Vader, and in fact could have, but chose not to fire his weapon at the last second because of the aggravation he thought it would cause him when the Empire discovered who Vader’s killer was.  Fett then kicked the cask they had been fighting over into a river of lava, depriving Vader of his goal.  Darth Vader never forgot that fight and granted Fett a respect he reserved for very few others in the galaxy.
    During his career, Fett went on to hunt down and either kill or capture more beings than probably anyone else before or after him.  One of his favorite methods of disposal was the use of a Disruptor, which breaks down objects to a molecular level – in essence, disintegrating them.  Fett was a brutal and effective killer in every way.  The only mark ever able to escape him several times was Han Solo, though he was able to detain and deliver him to Jabba the Hutt the very first time he was sent to capture him.  At one point, Fett broke into an Imperial bunker and single handedly wiped out an entire battalion of stormtroopers.  Through his work as a highly paid bounty hunter, he amassed a fortune greater than that of some small planets and was able to put this to use on many of his jobs in the form of equipment, weapons and armor (just as Batman did.)

    After looking at the two characters more closely, it is easy to see that in many ways they are almost the same character.  One of the big differences is their level of brutality.  Batman refused to kill his enemies, believing that detaining them and sending them through a fair justice system was preferable and more honorable.  Boba Fett on the other hand was more than willing to kill his victims (and to do it solely for profit.)
    In many ways, that fact alone is why Fett won the battle; he came into the match prepared to kill.  His weapons and equipment were designed with the purpose of killing in mind and he is armed to the teeth in almost every way one could think of.  There is also the fact that the weapons he brought to the fight were vastly superior from a technological standpoint.  Batman’s weapons were instead designed to harm an opponent, and could possibly kill if used correctly.  I say 'could kill' because his weapons have the potential to kill but are virtually useless against an adversary as heavily armored as Fett was – it’s like shooting a slingshot at a knight in full plate armor.  Fett’s choice of armaments had no problem blasting through Batman’s armor, but Batman’s deadliest weapons were barely capable of putting a scratch in his enemy’s.
    To make the fight a bit more entertaining (and a little closer to fair), I left out the use of Fett’s Disruptor rifle.  I figured having Batman get vaporized at the outbreak of the battle would not be as interesting and would inherently prohibit the showcasing of the rest of their arsenals and how they would match up against each other.  I also gave Batman every single weapon or gadget he has used, despite that he could not realistically carry all of the equipment I gave him.  (But who cares since it’s all made up anyways, right?)
    Obviously there are people out there who will whole-heartedly disagree with my conclusion – especially big Batman fans.  I feel I should remind readers that I hold both of these characters in very high regard.  Batman is unquestionably the most interesting ‘superhero’ in my mind and Boba Fett the coolest character in Star Wars.  I did my best not to favor one character over the other and attempted to look at the facts and the history of both characters as objectively as possible before determining whom the winner of the fight would be.

Batman vs Boba Fett - The Battle

    Batman crouches inside the twenty-second level of a building under construction in the city of Gotham.  There is a loud roar and a rumble as the building shakes and dust falls from the ceiling.  Batman switches on his infrared vision and is able to tell there is a large source of heat now resting atop the building.  He sits silently; waiting in the darkness for whatever or whomever just sent all the dust into the air…
    Boba Fett lands Slave I atop a building in the city of Gotham and descends the ramp onto the rooftop.  He looks around, his scanners whirring with information about this new environment.  He picks up a life reading only five floors below, believing he has found his assassination target: the Batman…
    Batman knows that the city’s mob bosses hired a particularly deadly mercenary to hunt him down and kill him.  He knows little about his new opponent, though he heard his adversary’s technology might be even more advanced than his own.  Batman is not worried though; he does not fear this new enemy, knowing he has defeated many worthy opponents in the past.  Suddenly his infrared vision picks up a new signal descending through the building and he hears a roar of thrusters.  When it ceases, on the floor above him he can see the outline of a human figure, the heat of a jetpack still glowing on its back…
    Fett walks over to the staircase-to-be and looks down the twenty seven-story long hole.  He thinks about what the crime lords of the city told him about his prey.  He knows his target is unparalleled in hand-to-hand combat ability and heard stories of his lightning speed and brute strength.  His strategy is to not let the masked warrior get within physical striking range and to take him out from a distance.  He does not fear his opponent, but still fully respects the abilities he is rumored to possess.  He jumps down the hole, igniting his jetpack to slow him down and lands on the floor above his target.  The bounty hunter targets the vigilante in his helmet and raises his arm, taking aim at the floor directly above his target.  The missile fires and launches from his wrist, speeding towards the ground and exploding against the concrete just above Batman’s head…
    The streak of light seen through the infrared goggles alerts the Caped Crusader of what is about to happen.  The explosion shakes the building as Batman rolls and dives across the floor, away from the flying concrete that lands where he had only just been crouching.  He spins around onto his back just in time to see his adversary drop through the hole in the ceiling.  A barrage of fire issues from his gun and Batman rolls out of the way just in time.  He throws a Batarang that hits his opponent squarely in the face.  The clang of the thrown weapon on his enemy’s helmet echoes throughout the building.  Batman pulls out his grappling gun as he jumps back onto his feet and takes aim through the darkness…
    Fett recoils slightly from the clash of metal against his helmet.  He aims his blaster rifle once again and fires.  Just as he does so, he feels the pull of a rope around his feet as Batman dives out of the way of his shot again.  His world twirls as he falls to the ground and onto his back.  By the time he looks up, his adversary is already racing towards him.  He attempts to fire another shot as he rolls, but it soars just over his attacker’s head.  Batman flies through the air and his knees and arm slam against the ground where Fett had just been lying, cracking the concrete.  Sensing the next oncoming attack, Fett raises his arm to block Batman’s swing, but his blaster rifle takes the hit instead.  It is flung out of his grasp and across the floor, far beyond his reach.  Batman’s next punch hits him directly on the side of his helmet and the computer displays in his helmet flicker from the impact…
    Having delivered a powerful blow to Fett’s head, Batman raises his other arm to strike his opponent’s chest with the hope of cracking a few ribs underneath his body armor.  As his arm begins to come down, he feels a sharp pain on his side as he is knocked over.  As Fett’s knee had collided with his lower back, he simultaneously launched an explosive dart from his kneepad only inches from Batman’s armor.  As Batman takes the blow and rolls to a standing position he feels the burns now on his back singe with pain.  He grits his teeth, crouches down and reaches for his utility belt…
    Fett knows he has injured his opponent, but also knows it is not enough to give him any real advantage in the fight.  He springs to his feet and draws his blaster pistol with one swift motion.  He aims down the site and fires, again only just missing the other combatant.  Another shuriken comes flying through the air and this time manages to hit Fett in an area where his armor is not as thick.  It slices open the back of his gloved hand before hitting his wrist guard and bouncing off, sliding along the floor.  He drops his pistol as the blade slices his tendon, causing his finger to jerk.  Suddenly, a blast of light and loud bang go off directly in front of him.  His helmet is unable to compensate for the abrupt change of light quickly enough and his worldview becomes drastically brighter…
    The flash-bang grenade goes off exactly as Batman hopes and with his eyes covered, the grenade has no effect on him.  He raises his head to see his opponent look around, apparently dazed.  He does not know if his enemy’s helmet saved his vision from the blast, but he sees a momentary hesitation and rushes to take advantage of it.  Within a second he is leaping towards his opponent and delivers a flying kick into his chest.  Fett is hurled by the impact and slams against the ground, sent skidding across the cement floor.  Batman leaps forward again, hoping to strike his enemy with a more powerful blow in a less protected area.  Midway there, the man sprawled on the ground swings his arm up and sprays out a cone of fire.  Batman spins around, using his cape to protect himself from the flames.  The heat against his back is intense as the flames lick around him.  He tucks and rolls away to regain a better tactical position…
    The fire emitting from his wrist only just saved him and Fett realizes this fight needs to end quickly if he hopes to escape without any further injuries.  As his opponent retreats to outside the range of his flamethrower, he douses the erupting flames.  The bounty hunter returns to a standing position and for a moment the two combatants lock into one another’s gazes, as Fett’s vision returns to normal.  Each is completely still, waiting to see what the other will do.  Again, Fett raises his arm and fires a shot from the blaster mounted on his wrist gauntlet.  The first one blows a hole in Batman’s cape, but misses as he dives to the side. Fett’s next shot finally makes contact with his opponent.  The blast hits Batman in the shoulder and he stumbles backward slightly…
    The pain is intense as the shot connects with his shoulder.  His armor dampened the blast, but Batman understands his opponent’s technology is superior to his own.  These are no ordinary firearms he is fighting with.  Batman also knows that this is no ordinary assassin, but one much more skilled in the art of combat than is traditionally sent his way.  He grabs a smoke grenade from his belt and pulls the pin, dropping it at his feet as he spins around.  He sprints for the edge of the building at top speed and leaps off the edge into the night…
    The smoke grenade Batman laid at his feet does nothing to Fett’s view of him.  His helmet tracks him as he spins and begins running for the edge of the building.  Fett reacts with superb reflexes and begins sprinting after his opponent.  He watches as Batman hurdles off the edge of the building and begins to drop towards the ground.  Before Fett even reaches the edge, he sees Batman gliding away, his cape extended out like a hang glider.  As Fett reaches the edge and jumps outwards, he ignites his jetpack and instantly begins gaining distance on his opponent gliding away towards a lower rooftop…
    Batman is gliding silently through the darkness when he hears the roar of the jetpack again.  He judges the growing volume and turns sharply at exactly the right moment and watches his opponent zoom narrowly past him.  He looks sideways as Fett banks and turns towards him.  The bounty hunter raises his arm up again and fires several shots at Batman, who instantly folds in his wings, tucking into a dive for a few meters to avoid the shots.  Once again spreading his wings to continue to glide, Batman quickly looks around, attempting to relocate Fett.  The roar is suddenly in his ears as he feels the mass of a fast moving object strike him.  Fett has grabbed onto him and the combined weight causes the wings of his cape to fly upward like an umbrella in an intense gale…
    Fett clings to Batman from behind as the two freefall towards the ground.  Batman’s elbow slams into his side and the two begin to spin as they plummet towards the ground.  Fett slams his helmet against the back of Batman’s head and feels the vibration from the reinforced neck brace in the Batsuit.  He feels himself flung from Batman’s back as the fist flies next to Batman’s head and over his shoulder to collide with his own helmet.  Batman’s cape again goes rigid and fills with air, but the speed of the fall is too great for him to sufficiently slow down enough before smashing into the ground.  Boba reignites his jetpack and the intense power is enough to allow him to land squarely upright on the ground…
    Batman collides with the ground but has his fall broken by a parked car.  The roof slams inward and the windows shatter, sending shards of glass in all directions.  He groans in pain and can taste blood in his mouth.  He rolls over and sees Fett land gracefully across the street.  He quickly hops off the car and onto the pavement, feeling a throbbing pain as he does so in his ribs, at least one of which is probably broken.  His leg is also in pain, but he limps only slightly as he spreads his legs for balance.  He cracks his neck and moves into a fighting stance, waiting to see what his opponent will do next…
    Fett looks at Batman, knowing he must be in great physical pain and is impressed by his enemy’s resolve.  He stares for a moment to see if he can detect a weakness, but his opponent shows no signs of pain.  Fett locks onto the smashed car sitting behind Batman with his rangefinder and fires his homing missile mounted on his jetpack.  Batman looks up as it flies away from Fett’s back and spins down toward him.  He dives away from the car, but the size of the explosion flings him forward, slamming him onto his back and across the wet pavement…
    Fett takes a step toward his motionless opponent lying on the ground.  Suddenly, Batman rolls over and throws a line around Fett’s feet and pulls.  Batman sees his adversary’s feet fly into the air and watches as he slams onto the ground.  He then sends an electric current through the cord and Fett shakes violently from the shock and then goes limp.  Batman stands, wary in case his foe is playing a trick.  He stays crouched until enough time passes that he believes his opponent to be unconscious.  He pulls the handcuffs from his utility belt and steps toward the comatose figure.  As looks carefully once more to be sure this is no ploy, and begins bending over the body.  He clasps one wrist into the handcuffs and grabs the other…
    Fett lies silently motionless, pretending to be out cold as Batman locks the first cuff around his wrist.  Sensing his moment of opportunity as Batman reaches for the other, he swings his arm forward, grabbing Batman’s wrist instead.  He pulls the surprised vigilante towards him as he lifts his legs, still bound together, and drives a powerful kick into Batman’s abdomen.  He then swings his legs and hits Batman at the knees, knocking him to the ground.  Fett rolls the other direction as Batman stumbles and falls to the pavement.  Fett reaches down and pulls off the cord wrapped around his ankles as Batman recovers from the hit and is again on his feet…
    Batman reaches down and pulls from his belt an oddly shaped metal box.  He hastily unfolds it with expert hands into a gun shaped object.  He raised it at Fett, but holds his fire.  He squints at his enemy and speaks.
    “Leave now and no more harm will come to you; but stay and you will force me to break my only rule,” he says in a gravely voice.
    “You will die tonight.  You can be sure of that,” Fett replies.
    “There is no need for this fight.  I have no quarrel with you.  Why don’t we both just walk away?” Batman asks.
    “You cannot be serious?  You are nearly defeated.  I will have your head before the night is over,” Fett proclaims.
    “Fine!” yells Batman as he fires his weapon.
    Fett dives sideways as a blast of foam shoots past him.  He rolls into a crouching position and raises his arm to spray his flamethrower, but a blast of foam hits him directly in the chest, knocking him backwards with enough force to land him on his back once again.  Though Batman is slowed by his multiple injuries, Fett sees him quickly soaring through the air.  Fett extends the vibroblades from his wrist gauntlets and only narrowly blocks Batman’s spiked forearm from colliding with his face.  Their forearms locked together, Fett punches Batman in the gut and has the gesture immediately returned.  Fett rolls over, putting Batman on the bottom of the scuffle and slams his helmet into Batman’s face…
    The blow to his face jars the caped warrior and he feels his nose begin to bleed.  As Fett takes another jab at his torso, Batman reaches up and grabs his arm right on the bicep, stopping the blow from landing.  He then squeezes tightly and flings the mercenary off of him and against the parked car, causing the alarm to begin blaring.  He rises to his feet again just ahead of his opponent and delivers a powerful punch to the helmet of Boba Fett.  The blow actually lifts Fett off his feet and sends him crashing into the parked car again, his jetpack smashing the driver’s window…
    Reeling from the mighty blow delivered to his face, Fett looks up in time to see Batman’s leg coming in for a kick.  He catches the leg enough to slow the blow, but not to stop it and he slams into the car again.  He feels Batman grab his arm and swing him around.  The kick delivered to his back and the simultaneous pull on his arm force his shoulder to dislocate as he flies through the air and lands face first on the pavement.  The pain is incredible as the energy of hitting the ground shoves his joint back into place…
    Batman swoops down and grabs his opponent’s helmet and smashes the face into the ground repeatedly.  He hears the faceplate crack and then punches the back of his opponent’s head for good measure.  Suddenly, his opponent’s uninjured hand is reaching back and grasps his neck.  With surprising strength his foe pulls him forward, over his own head, landing Batman on his back.  He rolls over and still in the process of standing up, slams his body into Fett’s, sending them both hurtling to the ground…
    Slamming into the ground, Fett aims a punch at his face, but Batman’s agility allows him to counter the blow, grabbing Fett around the wrist.  Batman slams his arm down and Fett lets out a yell of pain as his adversary further strains his injured arm.  He sees Batman pull something from his utility belt and catches a glint in the moonlight as he raises it above him.  Fett reacts quickly enough and swats the tranquilizer dart from Batman’s grip.  He looks at the Batman through his cracked faceplate and swings his good arm up at Batman’s face.  As expected, his opponent catches his arm, but this time, Fett’s arm is strong enough to hold back Batman.  He struggles for a few seconds until his arm is perfectly aligned and then with a smile under his cracked visor, he unleashes a blast from his wrist-mounted flamethrower right into Batman’s face…
    For a second, he doesn’t know what is happening, and then he feels the intense heat and unbearable pain as the flames cover the unprotected part of his face.  He falls backwards onto the ground, clutching his charred flesh in anguish.  The fire must have damaged the lenses on his cowl too because his vision is completely warped.  He breathes and feels a sharp pain in his lungs and coughs.  He can taste blood and feels it wet his lips when he coughs.  He feels a spiked boot slam into his back where the explosive dart burned him previously and he recoils in pain.  He hears a cold voice speak to him and knows his enemy is standing next to him…
    “As I told you Batman, I would have your head before the night is over.  You were a worthy opponent, unmatched in physical combat, but alas, I am the better.”
    Fett stared down at his opponent, moaning in pain.  He held nothing against the man; in fact he admired him greatly.  He was a man with a strong sense of justice and an unshakable moral code.  Fett saw much of himself in the masked vigilante, though he did not understand his unwillingness to kill.  That is one difference that set them apart Fett thought, as he raised his weak arm, supported by the other, and pointed it at Batman’s head…
    Fett stands silently over the corpse of Batman, a smoking hole where only a second before his face had been.  Fett looks down at the corpse for a moment, his foot resting on his dead enemy’s chest.  He turns his head skyward as Slave I descends towards the street.  With a whoosh, the ship comes to rest on the asphalt street.  Fett grabs the body by the foot and begins dragging it towards the cargo hold doors as the ramp lowers with a hiss from the hydraulics.  Sirens are growing louder as the police draw nearer, but they are of no concern.  Fett knows he will be long gone when they arrive, on his way to claim the bounty for killing the Batman…