THE CONTEST: FIRESTORM versus SHE-HULK
It had to happen! The Grandmaster has watched the Secret Wars on
Infinite Earths for many years and now he comes with a challenge: I must
select 12 heroes & villains from the DC Universe to do battle
against his Champions of the Marvel Universe! Grandmaster's team
competed in the first Contest of Champions and set an allowance of 5000pts based on fixed Fight Club Rankings. Each battle will be decided by you in fantasy fight polls held on Twitter, Facebook and Patreon!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: She-Hulk 5 (Super-Human)Intelligence: She-Hulk 3 (Straight A)
Speed: She-Hulk 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: She-Hulk 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Firestorm 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: She-Hulk 4 (Trained)
Energy: Firestorm 6 (Mass Destruction)
Total: Firestorm 24 (Champion)
The scores are tied as we head into the final four and The Grandmaster is making his move! He has a 949pt spending advantage after relying on unranked characters in many of the earlier rounds, including the last. Now he's dropping a whopping 808pts on a powerhouse player with plenty of topical appeal!
She-Hulk brings considerable raw power to the fight: possessing similarly gamma irradiated muscle to her famous cousin The Hulk!
For a long time she was distinguished by her ability to transform at will, while also retaining the intellect of her law practicing alter-ego, Jennifer Walters. That helped her outwit and outfight Champion of the Universe in the now-classic boxing rematch seen in She-Hulk #8!
"Shulkie" was always double-tough, but these days she's looking even more like her brawny cousin -- with a bigger punch to boot! Of course, with great gamma power comes a volatile mental state, which has forced the likes of Iron Man to stop her savage rampages in battles like Avengers #501.
In today's battle I'm going to propose it doesn't matter which version of She-Hulk shows up!
I'm planning to turn her gamma strength into a weakness by calling upon a criminally under-valued hero who's only going to cost me 29pts: Firestorm!
The Nuclear Man in question is Ronnie Raymond, whose exploits on the site have been limited to battles with Brimstone in Legends #1 and #2. In those cases he shared the Firestorm Matrix with Professor Martin Stein, whose mentoring made Ronnie Raymond a formidable hero able to exploit his abilities to fire energy blasts, and transmute matter on a molecular level!
Traditionally Firestorm cannot use his transmutation powers on organic life, but he certainly can safely siphon off radiation -- which I'm proposing is the perfect skill to sap She-Hulk of her super-strength. He might weaken her enough to deliver a finishing blast, or even trigger her transformation back to an easily detained Jennifer Walters!
The Verdict...
It was another battle of two very different opponents who create an ambitious and complex chemical equation. I thought I'd found a clever way to solve it with the nuclear powers of Firestorm, but my argument didn't really come into play as opinions developed over the course of a wildly swinging vote.
She-Hulk brings considerable raw power to the fight: possessing similarly gamma irradiated muscle to her famous cousin The Hulk!
For a long time she was distinguished by her ability to transform at will, while also retaining the intellect of her law practicing alter-ego, Jennifer Walters. That helped her outwit and outfight Champion of the Universe in the now-classic boxing rematch seen in She-Hulk #8!
"Shulkie" was always double-tough, but these days she's looking even more like her brawny cousin -- with a bigger punch to boot! Of course, with great gamma power comes a volatile mental state, which has forced the likes of Iron Man to stop her savage rampages in battles like Avengers #501.
In today's battle I'm going to propose it doesn't matter which version of She-Hulk shows up!
I'm planning to turn her gamma strength into a weakness by calling upon a criminally under-valued hero who's only going to cost me 29pts: Firestorm!The Nuclear Man in question is Ronnie Raymond, whose exploits on the site have been limited to battles with Brimstone in Legends #1 and #2. In those cases he shared the Firestorm Matrix with Professor Martin Stein, whose mentoring made Ronnie Raymond a formidable hero able to exploit his abilities to fire energy blasts, and transmute matter on a molecular level!
Traditionally Firestorm cannot use his transmutation powers on organic life, but he certainly can safely siphon off radiation -- which I'm proposing is the perfect skill to sap She-Hulk of her super-strength. He might weaken her enough to deliver a finishing blast, or even trigger her transformation back to an easily detained Jennifer Walters!
The Verdict...
It was another battle of two very different opponents who create an ambitious and complex chemical equation. I thought I'd found a clever way to solve it with the nuclear powers of Firestorm, but my argument didn't really come into play as opinions developed over the course of a wildly swinging vote.
Michael Wagner was one of the initial swell of voters who went with She-Hulk, citing recent developments in comics to speak succinctly to the unshakeable endurance of gamma-irradiated heroes: "Hulks are Immortal".
Nazar Talk Comics saw a complicated match-up, but ultimately came down in favour of She-Hulk as well: "Ahh this is really complicated. I don't think Firestorm has any chance if we take into account the Bryne feats/powers. She-Hulk would one shot." He added "Ronnie definitely has the speed thing covered, he does however lack the right power to defeat her. Although he could incapacitate her in something where she won't be able to fight back. That is quite possible too."
Firestorm Fan didn't need convincing, seeing a similar conclusion with range playing a major factor: "She-Hulk is a great character, but Firestorm can attack from a distance with Molecule Man like powers. Firestorm’s got this."
Lester Medina Lopez looked to the recent Doomsday Clock series to put Firestorm's potential power into perspective: "Even Dr. Manhattan said he was one of the most powerful characters in DC."
A late influx of Firestorm votes flipped the Twitter result mid-way, buoying Firestorm to a strong 62.5% win. Technical problems continue to prevent the creation of Facebook polls.
That means Round 9 goes to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths!
We'll be back for Round 10 sometime soon! Keep your eyes on The Contest for the latest fantasy fights and previous results. Be sure to visit Twitter, Facebook, and Patreon for even more updates & polling options. You can also weigh-in on this result, or share your thoughts right here in the comments.
Winner: Firestorm
The Grandmaster: - 4 (2051pts)
Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: - 5 (1888pts)
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