Rumble Pants IV: Final Four
What is Rumble Pants? Well, the Panteon has decided to play at god once more. We take a few select comic characters and pit them against one another for our amusement, but we figured why keep the fun all to ourselves? So we decided on a format that would require your participation and will hopefully provide amusement for you at the same time. The format is a single elimination tournament with weekly rounds decided by you, the reader. Just keep reading to help decide the ultimate fate of some of your favorite comic characters!
As always, just vote in each of the Villain Division match-ups and each of the Hero Division match-ups to keep your favorites in the tournament. In the second round, it’s DC villains lining up to take on Marvel heroes, and the Joker/Iron Fist prediction is looking ever closer… but will there be a Catwoman or Spider-Woman upset?
Remember, this isn’t just about who would be most likely win in each fight; it’s about who you want to win each fight and advance to the next round. Click the bracket thumbnail above to the side to see how the tournament has progressed so far. These polls will close just after midnight on Sunday, September 2nd.
Villain Division
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Hero Division
I was right about the winners going into this one, save for Iron Fist — thought Widow’d take him.
Go, Joker!
(First post! (Or is this exclamation discouraged here?))
27 Aug 2007 at 5:53 am
QuoteThe loss of Captain Cold saddens me, he was the only one who could take down the Joker. Go Iron Fist!
27 Aug 2007 at 6:42 am
QuoteThe Joker is overrated as a villain. He is honestly a one-note show. Bring on the more fun, more ambiguous Catwoman!
28 Aug 2007 at 11:27 am
QuoteI would have loved to see Captain Cold in the final four. I just read Ed Brubaker’s Catwoman so I went with her, though I doubt she’ll beat the Joker.
Also, I love that Suicide Squad cover in the new background.
28 Aug 2007 at 1:23 pm
QuoteShiva, Huntress, and Black Canary all out in the first round? No accounting for taste. Gail Simone would be very cross with you.
28 Aug 2007 at 2:08 pm
Quotethink catwoman vs. iron fist
28 Aug 2007 at 2:56 pm
QuoteYep, it’s definitely a classic.
Hey, it’s not me… it’s who folks voted for. I mean, I voted for, uh… Elektra, Black Widow and Iron Fist. Hmm. OK, it is me.
I’m thinking it as hard as I can, Lauren, but it’s not looking too likely at this point.
28 Aug 2007 at 4:29 pm
QuoteThe Joker is a one-note villain, it’s just a note that I happen to find a lot of fun. Maybe it’s because Jack Nicholson’s portrayal came out when I was eleven, or maybe it’s because I’m Cesar Romero’s illegetimate son from a brief period late in his life when he was questioning himself. At any rate, I’m glad The Joker is in the lead.
28 Aug 2007 at 6:44 pm
QuoteTO elaborate on the thinking here - May I point out that both Catwoman and Iron Fist have had comics series that lasted longer than the Joker’s series? Proving that in terms of popularity, either one should kick his ass!
Randy, thanks for the thinking, at least the Iron Fist part is working.
Boo to the Joker over Catwoman. However I will point out that if the contest featured the Cesar Romer Joker specifically, I would have voted for him
30 Aug 2007 at 6:54 pm
QuoteAh, but this brings up an issue I hadn’t thought about. Iron Fist vs. Catwoman would be pitting the stars of two well-regarded Ed Brubaker series against one another. Doesn’t that cause a timestream rip of some kind?
Or is the co-writing of Fraction on Iron Fist enough to save us from such a dire fate?
30 Aug 2007 at 8:57 pm
QuoteCould any of you give me one Catwoman story that has the impact of Death in the Family, The Killing Joke, or Arkham Assylum? I’d also, just for kicks, throw in the last page of Year 1 and the Joker storyline in Dark Knight Returns. Catwoman is a nice villian, and I especially loved the Cooke/Pulido runs of the Catwoman series, but she’s no Joker.
01 Sep 2007 at 8:41 pm
QuoteSorry, double post
01 Sep 2007 at 8:42 pm
QuoteSure. Almost any of the Brubaker story arcs, but I’d particularly mention volume three, Relentless, which features Brubaker and Cameron Stewart at the height of their collaboration. Tragedy and sacrifice, great action, beautiful art… in my opinion, it’s easily superior to Death in the Family and Arkham Asylum, and arguably equal to Killing Joke. But then, I find all three stories a bit overrated, good but flawed. Arkham Asylum is ambitiously weird, but doesn’t always make a lot of sense… Killing Joke features a take on Batman I’m not all that fond of, even though the Bolland art is beautiful… and Death in the Family is a bit too much shock value, not enough story for me.
01 Sep 2007 at 11:16 pm
QuoteEven if I were to concede that those stories are superior (I don’t, but it’s not the argument I want to make), none of them had any long-term impact on the Batman mythos, and all of them will be ignored and overwritten by the inevitable next take on Catwoman. But the three stories I mentioned have echoed through the Batman continuity, even when continuity was restarted, ever since. Killing Jason Todd, crippling Barbara Gordon, establishing the psychosis that is necessarily part of the Batman character, these are things that are truly cannon now for Batman. No Catwoman story I can think of ever had that kind of impact on Batman mythology.
And, just for the record, there is a series in panels in Relentless that I think may be the most beautiful piece of sequential art I’ve ever seen. It was so discouraging when they handed that book back to a cheesecake artist. No offense to the guy, but there was something really unique with the initial tone that was lost as soon as they went back to standard art. Hmmm … now that I think about it, I’ve got to dig that series back out.
02 Sep 2007 at 9:47 pm
QuoteAh, I misunderstood… you’re talking about continuity ramifications stuff. I’d quibble with Arkham Asylum, in that case, as I don’t think it was as formative as Miller’s work in terms of “Batman’s a crazy”… but as you say, not really the argument.
There’s also the argument over whether psychosis is part of the Batman character. I’d argue that despite that being a part of his characterization since the ’80s, it is actually destructive to him as an interesting character, but I’ve had that discussion on these boards before.
And at any rate, the majority opinion and longevity of Batman’s a crazy would argue in your favor in terms of impact.
In that case, I’m forced to concede your point, that Joker has been in more stories that had more of an impact on Batman’s continuity long-term. Although you could certainly argue that the Batman/Catwoman “will they/won’t they?” is part and parcel of the character, and thus she’s as important (if not moreso) to the character than Joker.
Either way, I still think Joker is less interesting as a character than Catwoman. Certainly Catwoman has more depth that allows her to have a solo series… I have a hard time imagining a Joker solo series running for 60-some issues.
02 Sep 2007 at 11:28 pm
QuoteI can’t imagine a 60 issue Joker series either. And they are definitely both charter members of Batman’s rogues gallery. Joker, Catwoman, Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin. After that, you’re definitely down a level. (I may be missing one or two, but those seem like the big five to me.)
04 Sep 2007 at 11:38 am
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