Rumble Pants V: Sweet Sixteen
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, we’re starting at the Sweet Sixteen stage. This time out, something a little different… it’s our first indie round, featuring characters from a variety of Image, Dark Horse and smaller publishers’ comics. If you’re not sure who these characters are, do a quick Wikipedia search… it’s worth looking into most of them.
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 9th.
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Well, that was slightly humbling. Some the characters I haven’t read in anything and others I haven’t even heard of.
As a result the only result I really care about is the first one. Samaritan must win, if only for having been the focus of “A Day In The Life”.
05 Sep 2007 at 1:25 pm
QuoteMike, I highly suggest a little Google and Wikipedia searching. Not necessarily for voting in Rumble Pants, but to find some damn fine comics you may not be familiar with. With one notable exception (and I’ll bet anyone who knows my tastes can guess which it is), I’d recommend every single one of the comics these characters come from.
In fact, I know some of these books have free first issues available online. Godland springs to mind, but I’m sure there are others? Anybody want to throw some links to free sampler issues of some of these indy gems in the comments?
05 Sep 2007 at 1:54 pm
QuoteNo fair! It looks like I am going to have to choose between Invincible and Adam Archer in the second round. That’s like having to choose your favorite kid! How I voted:
1. Invincible-definately my fave in the field
2. Adam Archer-cause he can go all glowy
3. Hellboy-Ron Perlman rules!
4. The Goon-I have always been a big fan of people with “the” in their name
5. Judge Dredd-mostly cause I have to vote for someone
6. Grendel-Matt Wagner is awesome
7. Usagi Yojimbo-my second fave choice-who doesn’t love a bunny with a sword?
8.TMNT-This was a tough one, but I went with the turtles because I grew up with them.
05 Sep 2007 at 1:59 pm
QuoteAwesome match-ups this time guys! I’m just sad that Kevin Matchstick is getting trounced by Grendel. (Maybe Matchstick should have been up against Prince Valiant.)
05 Sep 2007 at 2:28 pm
QuoteCome on, Randy, even Spawn has had some good stories. I think.
To help people out, here’s a short guide:
Invincible: Invincible
Samaritan: Astro City
Nexus: Nexus
Adam Archer: Godland
Hellboy: Hellboy
Spawn: Spawn
Marv: Sin City
The Goon: The Goon
Grimjack: Grimjack
Judge Dredd: 2000 AD
Grendel: Grendel
Kevin Matchstick: Mage
Usagi Yojimbo: Usagi Yojimbo
Conan: Conan
Mouse Guard: Mouse Guard
TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Or maybe that wasn’t much help, since most of them have the same title as the character.
05 Sep 2007 at 2:42 pm
QuoteMy votes
Samaritan Like Mike, for the excellent “Day in the Life Story”
Nexus, I do like Godland, but I had to give Steve “the dude” Rude his props.
Hellboy I like Hellboy, but this one was a no brainer for me. I’d pick Disco Hustler over Spawn.
Marv another no brainer for me. I’ve dug Sin City since it first came out, The Hard Goodbye is my favorite story and I can’t recall ever reading an issue of the Goon.
Grimjack I haven’t read much of either book so I went with the Ostrander character.
Grendel Hunter Rose is the $#!%
Conan This match up was the toughest one for me, but in the end I had to go with Conan, though I was thinking of R.E. Howard’s version over any of the the pastiches or comics.
Mouseguard I liked the first series and I’ve never cared for the Turtles.
05 Sep 2007 at 2:59 pm
QuoteChris, you’ve never read Grimjack? You must check it out at some point, it’s one of my favorites. Basically, it’s Conan meets Bogart in a trans-dimensional city. Aliens, detective stories, demon invasions, swords, guns, magic, technology, evil robots… it is truly cool and varied. And features great writing by John Ostrander and art by Tim Truman.
05 Sep 2007 at 3:07 pm
QuoteI predict that the finals will be Hellboy Vs. Grendel.
Good fight.
05 Sep 2007 at 3:19 pm
QuoteThis is the most enjoyable Rumble Pants you’ve put together. And, I too will be surprised if it’s not Hellboy and Grendel from how these early match ups are looking.
05 Sep 2007 at 4:10 pm
QuoteSome tough choices (except for voting against Spawn)! I was somewhat torn on the Invincible vs. Samaritan bracket, but I had to pick Invincible since there’s only been a couple of Astro City stories focused on Samaritan while Invincible knocks it out of the park every month.
I’m kind of surprised to see Usagi handily beating Conan. I would’ve thought the Cimmerian would’ve taken it on broader name recognition alone.
Poor Kevin Matchstick. I keep hoping Wagner will get around to doing the final part of Mage, but I guess there’s probably about as much chance of that as Frank Miller doing a new book that doesn’t have hookers in it.
05 Sep 2007 at 4:13 pm
QuoteOh yeah, like that sounds interesting!
Also, I am kinda suprised that my beloved Invincible is now tied with the Samaritan (no disrespect for Samaritan.) I just thought us crazy Kirkman fans would catapult him to the top.
05 Sep 2007 at 4:25 pm
QuoteI am inclined to say that Grendel, given time to prepare, would beat everyone here. Even the godlike ones.
Unless Argent shows up.
05 Sep 2007 at 5:48 pm
QuoteWow, I never thought I’d see a Rumble Pants where I like nearly every character! And you’ve actually put in someone from Astro City!
Cruel of you though to pit Matt Wagner’s creations against each other….since doing so leaves Kevin Matchstick completely helpless
And my man Usagi better get damn far! At least he’s beating Conan, which is a good sign!
05 Sep 2007 at 6:14 pm
Quoteclearly the best match ups ever
Go Hellboy!
05 Sep 2007 at 6:15 pm
Quoteguys, next time you can do just one round like Elijah Snow vs. Everybody in comics.. And he’ll win.
05 Sep 2007 at 6:16 pm
QuoteIf you count the animated series, he sure does.
05 Sep 2007 at 6:23 pm
QuoteSamaritan - Age and experience wins out there.
Nexus - Experience
Spawn - I love Hellboy, but I can’t help but think Spawn has a wider array of abilities.
The Goon - No sideshow retard can compete wit’ da’ Goon!
Judge Dredd - Tough choice, but as much as I love Grimjack, it was a choice between beret or helmet. Helmet wins.
Grendal - More skill than Matchstick’s power can handle.
Conan - Good writers show how clever he is also. More power, equal wit. Conan wins out.
TMNT - Dude, kowabunga! (Although the original Eastman and Laird comics didn’t have the annoying surfer speak, but unfortunately it’s indelibly marked on the Turtles.
05 Sep 2007 at 6:50 pm
QuoteI haven’t had the pleasure of Mouse Guard, despite the raves and desire to get the trade, but the Turtles are so commercialized and kiddied that they aren’t the same as the ones I got the early issues of….gotta side with the critical acclaim.
And there have been good Spawn stories, especially the animated series, which is what got my vote over the Hellboy movie, which I also liked, mind you. When I finally get some Hellboy trades, I’m sure I’ll regret the choice, but my vote isn’t going to change the result.
05 Sep 2007 at 7:09 pm
QuoteKind of surprised Marv is beating the Goon.
05 Sep 2007 at 7:31 pm
QuoteI’m a little embarassed at how woefully ignorant I am regarding some of these characters. I’m very intrigued by this rumble. Based on the posts above, it looks like I’m going to have to pick up a lot of new reading the next time I stop in the comics shop.
05 Sep 2007 at 8:35 pm
QuoteWhen I did not know, I did not vote. Thought it unfair.
Glad Hellboy is kickin’ butt. I see Hellboy and Usagi maybe being the final two. That would be a story that I would read.
A suggestion for a future indie rumble, a great swordsman would be Asukai Shiro from Samurai Heaven & Earth.
What about an all sidekick or all supporting cast rumble. JJJ vs. Perry White, some bouts like that.
05 Sep 2007 at 9:22 pm
QuoteI think you could be right, but I can easily see the Turtles, Usagi, Dredd, Nexus, Invincible *or* Samaritan making it to the final round, the way things are going. I like that the fights in this round are closer (for the most part) than a lot of past Rumble Pants have been, except for the two you mention, where Grendel and Hellboy are just running away with it.
I’m also really glad to see so much enthusiasm for these characters.
I’m kind of surprised to see Usagi winning against Conan too. But glad… he was my vote.
Hah! I bet we see the last part of Mage inside of the next… I’m gonna say 10 years. I mean, nobody thought we’d ever see Mage II, and that actually came out and got collected into a hardcover. Stranger things have happened.
But there will be whores in whatever Frank Miller writes from now on, that’s true.
I can’t argue too hard against that, actually. Although I think Marv would have a pretty good shot at it. I mean, Grendel would keep stabbing him with the pitchfork, and Marv would just growl “Is that the best you got, you pansy?,” bleed colorful red blood all over the floor and keep coming.
My votes, for those who are curious:
1. Invincible - I just like the kid, and I also think he’d keep pounding on Samaritan and save the angsting for later, while Samaritan would be too focused on the angst mid-fight
2. Adam Archer - Nexus is probably the more powerful choice, but I just love Godland so very much
3. Hellboy - Because c’mon
4. The Goon - Marv’s mean, but he hasn’t ever fought any zombies, nor does he have a psychotic knife-wielding sidekick. Weirdness advantage: Goon.
5. Grimjack - Yeah, Dredd’s tough, but Grimjack is tough and smart. Of course, being a noir character, he loses a lot, so yeah, Dredd would probably win this one
6. Grendel - Matchstick’s got power and heart, but Grendel’s smart and skilled
7. Usagi Yojimbo - Because while Conan’s an icon, so is Usagi, and he’s probably killed more dudes than the Marvel, movie and Dark Horse incarnations of Conan combined
8. Mouse Guard - Just because Mouse Guard is awesome. Although this fight could go either way and I’d be OK with it
05 Sep 2007 at 9:31 pm
QuoteSupporting Cast Rumble Pants is definitely in the works… I think we’ve even got the match-ups pretty much set.
05 Sep 2007 at 10:21 pm
QuoteWhat I want to know is where the heck is Madman?
05 Sep 2007 at 10:25 pm
QuoteMadman? Why, he’s in indy round two, with fifteen other contestants.
It’s already ready to go, although we’ll probably give a break of one or two rounds before we break out the second round.
05 Sep 2007 at 11:26 pm
QuoteAnd I am unsurprised to find, as our tastes on these particular books are pretty close, that I voted the same as Randy.
05 Sep 2007 at 11:32 pm
QuoteOddly enough, I voted pretty much the same with the exception of choosing the Turtles over Mouse Guard.
It’s not that I dislike Mouse Guard (I actually am really loving the book) but when you pit them against the Turtles, especially the early badass Eastman and Laird turtles, the end result is an easy call for me.
05 Sep 2007 at 11:43 pm
QuoteWow! I find that I like these head-to-head way more than their predecessors. You see (regular) super-guys fight it out everywhere, but indie-characters??? A stroke of genius!!!
Interesting characters and interesting matches you guys found.
Some I found easy (as Conan against Usagi: I mean it is a hare, really, Conan guts him and then has him for dinner!!), but folks think otherwise.
However, the Winner is already clear: Hellboy (I’ll see to that!)
He already stomps (the I admit lame) Spawn -never understood what people like about that character??
Next up: Marv or the Goon? No real threat!!
06 Sep 2007 at 7:47 am
QuoteThanks a lot for doing some interesting indie characters. I only know about half of the ones in this Rumble Pants. You’ve given me some good stuff to look for next time I’m at the comic store!
06 Sep 2007 at 7:57 am
QuoteIs it just me or the responses for these “Indie” characters more passionate than the responses for the “mainstream” characters? If it’s just me feel free to point and laugh.
06 Sep 2007 at 8:36 am
QuoteWow, these are the closest races as a whole than any other contest, I think. I don’t think there have been this many white knuckle contests in one round, have there? Sure there are some in each but most tend to be shoe-ins. These, though. Yeesh. I have picked the underdog for many and was surprised that it was so! Goon and Grimjack I am sad for, so far. But I was really surprised about Mouse Guard and TMNT being so close. Good to see Samaritan holding his own with Invincible. Though I voted for the latter, it was a tough choice. I think the fact that the latter is a regular book and the former is a rarely used character any more made the decision easier.
Glad to hear Madman is in the second run! I predict he is fighting Flaming Carrot, but you never know. I wonder if it shouldn’t have been Bone vs. Usagi and Conan vs. Dunk the Lunk instead, though?
06 Sep 2007 at 8:56 am
QuoteNexus Vs. Adam Archer? Actually, since Joe Casey is a huge Baron and Rude fan, I’m shocked that Nexus/G0dland hasn’t happened yet.
06 Sep 2007 at 9:24 am
Quotere: previous round -
I was pleased (and surprised) to see Iron Fist take down the Joker.
re: this round
I’ll echo many of the prior comments to say that I love a lot of these match-ups. However, I’ll be deeply disappointed if Mouseguard goes down to the over-exposed Turtles.
06 Sep 2007 at 10:21 am
Quotenot feeling a lot of love for dredd out there - is it cause of the dodgy stallone pic ??? go dredd !!!
06 Sep 2007 at 11:46 am
QuoteAn anthropomorphic rabbit is beating the king of Aquilonia?
Crom! You’re all mad!
06 Sep 2007 at 2:20 pm
QuoteWoW! Lots of close races. The only one apparently having their ass handed to them is Spawn. Nice.
06 Sep 2007 at 3:44 pm
Quote