The Purple Tux
With just enough education to perform.Wednesday, September 18, 2002
The greatest one-on-one battles/showdowns/rivalries ever told.
Kou Uraki Vs. Anavel Gato (from Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory)- The young upstart ace against the legendary veteran. The Full Burner Gundam against the Physalis Gundam. The Gundam Dendrobium Stamen with Orchiss Battle Platform versus Zeon Mobile Armor Neue Ziel. After Amuro Vs. Char, this is quite possibly the greatest rivalry in any Gundam series. Uraki and Gato, two men on different sides linked inextricably by coincidence or fate.
Batman Vs. The Joker- The Dark Knight versus the Clown Prince of Crime. The Joker is hopelessly insane, but does that matter? He's the one who has most often hit Batman the hardest. His insanity only makes him more unpredictable.
Optimus Prime Vs. Megatron- Anyone who grew up in the '80s will know where it's at. By the way, pick up the new comics from Dreamwave... GREAT stuff.
Mario Vs. Bowser- The quintessential classic videogame matchup. Without these two, the world's greatest franchise would have been... uh... not as great, probably. I mean, Mario can only jump on koopas for so long. Good thing there's King Koopa. Honorable mention here goes to Sonic Vs. Robotnik.
Max Sterling Vs. Miriya Parino (from Robotech: The Macross Saga)- The Robotech Defense Force's greatest pilot ever against the Zentraedi's greatest pilot. Their first duel between Veritech and Quadrono Power Armor only established the prowess of their individual skills and revealed the intensity in their souls. Sure, somehow they eventually got married after Miriya tried to assassinate Max, but at least it's an interesting way to start a relationship.
Ralph Vs. Jack (from The Lord Of The Flies)- Probably the most savage story anyone is forced to read in high school. All right, so "Ralph" and "Jack" are generic names... The moral of the story is, little kids are monsters.
Ryu Vs. Sagat (from Street Fighter)- Though Street Fighter is chock full of exciting rivalries, I'd have to rank Ryu Vs. Sagat as my favorite in the series, even more than Ryu Vs. Ken, Guile Vs. Bison, Gen Vs. Akuma, and the like. Ryu Vs. Sagat is the original great Street Fighter rivalry, and possibly the deepest and most complex. Here you have Sagat, a man desperately seeking vengeance against Ryu, a younger warrior whose brief flirtation with a higher, but evil, power allowed him to win their initial battle. As time goes on and they cross paths with each other, we find both men discovering new things about themselves and their souls, and their rivalry becomes an honorable one.
Daredevil Vs. Bullseye- I was thinking of Daredevil Vs. The Kingpin, but in the end, I like Bullseye better. He's one of the deadliest hitmen ever, but basically, he killed Elektra. In the long run, Kingpin may be DD's greatest enemy, but when the DD movie comes out, just watch Bullseye.
Snake Eyes Vs. Storm Shadow- Two of the greatest ninjas ever. They have the storied past and everything (fought in Vietnam together and trained under the same ninja master), compounded by the fact that Snake Eyes is a member of GI Joe and Storm Shadow is now a member (though probably brainwashed) of Cobra. Pick up issue 9 of the current GI Joe comic and get blown away by one of the best fights in comics today.
Kyo Kusanagi Vs. Iori Yagami- Even though I don't know much about King Of Fighters, I thought that these two have an awesome rivalry. Just take a look at their specials in the games, and their fighting styles- kind of diametrically opposed. The Sun Vs. The Moon, that's Kyo Vs. Iori.
Silver Surfer Vs. Mephisto- Silver Surfer, one of the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel Universe, is a noble man to his core. Mephisto, on the other hand, is the deceiving hellspawn. Seeking to trick and tempt the Surfer away from the path of righteousness, their battles have always left the Surfer shaken.
Kento of Hardrock (aka Shu Lai Fung) Vs. Dais, the Dark Warlord of Illusion(aka his original name escapes me) (from Ronin Warriors, aka Yoroiden Samurai Troopers)- Each of the warriors had his own warlord nemesis, but I've always enjoyed these two the most. It's basically hard reality versus lies and deception.
Isamu Dyson Vs. Guld (from Macross Plus)- It's basically the same old tune of two rivals with a storied past involving a babe they both love. But the Valkyrie dogfights these men fought are some of the greatest moments of action animation history ever.
Superman Vs. Lex Luthor- And I'm not talking about Smallville here. Luthor is a man with almost infinite resources and an intelligent and patient mind; plus, he's president of the USA (in the DC universe, that is). Superman may be one of the strongest and most powerful beings in the world, but when it comes to mind games, he's no Batman. Or Nightwing. Or even Robin.
Link Vs. Gannon- Every Mario has his Bowser and every Link has his Gannon. Okay, even though Gannon doesn't appear in every single Legend of Zelda game, he still appears in the most important ones. The two N64 Zelda games still rank as two of the greatest works of art ever born.
Breetai Tul Vs. The Invid Regent (from Robotech: The Sentinels)- The two leaders of two different alien races (Zentraedi and Invid) finally meet face-to-face in battle after decades of hatred and hostility. Their climactic battle was a costly fight for the Sentinels and the Invid.
Ryu Vs. Kyo Kusanagi- What else do you think of when you think of Capcom Vs. SNK? Both companies' flagship characters going at each other, of course. And then there's Ken Vs. Iori, Guile Vs. Terry, Bison Vs. Geese, Chun Li Vs. Mai, Akuma Vs. Rugal, et al.
Shinji Ikari Vs. Gendo Ikari (from Neon Genesis Evangelion)- One of the greatest son versus father stories of all time. What's even cooler is how the conflict is mostly psychological and indirect; they never actually really come to blows with one another (though they come close, and many a harsh word is exchanged). However, there's always a feeling of animosity between the two that cannot be shaken.
Spider-Man Vs. Venom- Though the Green Goblin may be considered Spidey's deadliest villain, it's Venom who comes to mind when it comes to Spider-Man's greatest rivalry. After all, what better enemy than your own shade? Venom's got all of Spidey's powers and then some, plus a twisted sense of reality to boot.
Cloud Strife Vs. Sephiroth (from Final Fantasy VII)- Don't you just love swords? And hi-octane melodrama? And intense emotional angst? Yeah, I know you do.
Spike Spiegel Vs. Vicious (from Cowboy Bebop)- Cowboy Bebop is definitely one of the most fascinating animes to come out in the past couple years. One standout quality (though there are many high points) of the show is the exquisitely animated and superbly directed action sequences. When bullets are fired, when punches and kicks are thrown, when blades slice- animation has never felt this furious. Spike and Vicious' rivalry makes for excellent storytelling and wicked rad fight scenes.
Solid Snake Vs. Liquid Snake (from Metal Gear Solid)- MGS, one of the greatest games of the 32-bit era. Who can forget the climactic fist fight on top of the smouldering ruins of the Metal Gear Rex? And then there was the jeep chase! Not to mention Liquid's manipulation of Snake by posing as his former mentor...
Wolverine Vs. Sabertooth- The most popular X-Man has to have a nemesis. Both have similar powers and abilities and bad tempers to boot. Plus they served on the same side back in the day during the Weapon X project.
Ender Wiggin Vs. The Hive Queen (from Ender's Game)- Beyond precocious, Ender is mankind's last hope for survival. Manipulated into finishing a war he didn't start, he works wonders in space combat military strategy against the alien Buggers, eventually almost destroying their entire race in the final battle. Impressive, since the Hive Queen's drones are basically extensions of her own self. Not bad for a pre-adolescent boy, huh?
I don't know why I wrote all this.
Monday, September 16, 2002
Just been so busy haven't had time and haven't been able to make time to post. Spent most of last week in Davis, hanging out in the new place. We didn't have internet yet. But that's okay. I am here now. I think I'll have more to type later. Too many instant messages right now. I guess I must be too popular or something. Hah.
