Pop Culture Fight Club II
Tournaments featuring pop culture icons are often little more than popularity contests. Regardless of the medium, characters with wildly disparate power sets are pitted against one another and more often than not the most overpowered character takes the crown. Inside Beat has decided to go a different route, once again eschewing gods and supermen for a more street-level set. We’ve collected some of the most famous heroes from film, TV, video games, books and comics to bring you our second Pop Culture Fight Club. For the rest of the semester, you’ll be able to go to dailytargum.com/inside_beat to vote for who would really win in a no-holds-barred brawl between these fictitious fighters. Be sure to Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @InsideBeat for updates and voting times!
Katniss Everdeen vs. Captain America —
After taking her sister’s place in The Hunger Games, a nationwide competition fought to the death by teenagers, Katniss applied her hunting and archery skills in combat in order to survive.
A World War II super soldier frozen in ice for decades, Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, is Marvel’s paradigmatic hero, with one of the most famous weapons in comics — a shield with unique metallic capabilities.
Captain Kirk vs. Dirty Harry —
As captain of the USS Enterprise, James Tiberius Kirk has forded the final frontier and boldly gone where no man has gone before. Along the way, he’s won no-win scenarios, bedded green women and from time to time has had to set his phaser from stun to kill.
Wielding a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, Harry, a quintessential loose cannon cop doesn’t play by the rules and sometimes forgets if he fired five shots or six.
Ryu vs. Link —
The marquee character of every major Street Fighter game, Ryu is the world’s preeminent martial artist, adept Hadoken user, and no stranger to crossover fighting tournaments.
Link, the champion of more than a dozen Legend of Zelda games, bears the Master Sword, Hookshot and enough bombs to get himself onto a few government watch lists.
Gordon Freeman vs. Spike Spiegel —
The silent protagonist of Valve’s Half-Life series, this former Black Mesa employee is in possession of the gravity gun, a weapon capable of lifting and projecting almost any object. And when that doesn’t work, there’s always his crowbar.
As for Spike Siegel, being the leader of a team of space-faring bounty hunters from Cowboy Bebop, indicates a mastery of gunplay and close combat, as well as sleight of hand and stealth.
White Ranger vs. Ash Williams — He may not have been the leader of the Power Rangers, but he was definitely the coolest. With his dark past, talking saber and golden shoulder pads, the White Ranger easily eclipsed his colorful compatriots.
Ash Williams, the zombie-slaying hero of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy, is literally armed with a chainsaw on his right hand while wielding his 12-gauge “boomstick” in the other.
Beatrix Kiddo vs. Lisbeth Salander —
Kill Bill’s vengeance-seeking former assassin is a master of kung fu, swordsmanship and the notorious Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.
However, Sweden’s foremost computer hacker and star of the Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander also specializes in torture and pyrotechnics.
Sora vs. Sookie Stackhouse —
The young hero of Kingdom Hearts may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but what he lacks in cunning he makes up for with courage, heart and Keyblade expertise.
A telepathic Southern waitress descended from an ancient mystical race, Sookie, however, is able to contend with vampires, werewolves, witches and an incompetent older brother.
Spider-Man vs. Lee —
With the ability to do whatever a spider can, scientific genius Peter Parker has battled countless other animalistic metahumans with his specially designed web shooters and other unique gadgets.
Bruce Lee’s character from Enter the Dragon might not have a memorable name, but his unrivaled martial arts fortitude and nunchaku proficiency have been immortalized on-screen.
