FNF (Semifinals): M1 result and Semifinal M2 combatants

Semifinals Match 1


So for the first time in this entire tournament, I must lament a tragic miscarriage of justice.  The readers (whose judgment I committed to respect) have picked Black Crow as the winner.  I whole-heartedly disagree and would offer the following reasoning:

One of the premises of this fight series is that we're judging the combatants based on how they performed in specified issues.  Despite his more expansive and impressive-sounding power set, the only thing I saw Black Crow do in Civil War #6 - 7 was take a vicious backhand from the Taskmaster.

Meanwhile, Ion fights off the Chemo-Golem along with a varied assortment of other super-villains and henchmen in MOST #1. Ion may be unknown, but he deserved this win.  Oh well, I guess that's politics for ya.  Better luck next time, kid.

 

FNF (Round 2): M5 result and M6 combatants

Round 2, Match 5 results

Yet again, the oldies prove their mettle. Despite the fact that Captain Boomerang is a seasoned villain/anti-hero who's given the Flash (no slouch himself) trouble on numerous occasions, he's typically (at least as far as I know) done so in the company of the Rogues.  There's  no such "gang" to help him out here.

In a straight-up mano-a-mano fight with the Voice, I just can't see how some specialty boomerangs are going to off-set a guy who can: start a landslide or shatter a house with his voice.  Even if we grant that the Cap'n might come up with a weirdo "laryngitis-rang" (but really...does that sound like a standard piece of equipment?) in a straight up fight, the Voice has been depicted beating down multiple opponents simultaneously.  I don't recall anything similar for Boomerang.

On top of all this, the referenced adventure also depicts the Voice exercising telepathy and carrying a sidearm.  Sorry, C.B. you're just out of your league here.  The Voice goes to round three!

FNF (Round 1): M12 results and Vigilante (DC) vs. Inspector Von Ghoul

Round 1, Match 12 results

This was another difficult call.  Regardless of how tough the Face is, however, I think we need to acknowledge that a whole lot of his fighting edge came from "shock value" arising from his grotesque mask.  Is there much reason to think that would have much of an effect on the Prowler?  This guy has been running around with Puma and Sandman, so I rather doubt it.

Both guys are most stealth-type heroes.  Given the fight-ring setting, that wouldn't seem to benefit either of them.  While Prowler has a variety of non-lethal gadgetry amplifying his suit, the Face carries a side-arm and seems to have no hesitancy to bust a cap in an opponent. 

Thus, in the end this is largely a coin-toss.  About the only tie-breaker I can see is the durability of Prowler's outfit.  Given the time he operated and the level of attention given to his costume construction, I'm assuming it's pretty kevlar-heavy.  That would seem to mitigate against the "punch power" of Face's handgun.  Face, for his part, appears to be wearing regular dress.  So I'm going to have to give the win to Prowler by the slightest of edges.

 

 

FNF (Round 1): M11 results and the Face vs. Prowler (Marvel)

Round 1, Match 11 results

This one was a real challenge.  Honestly, I would've preferred having more feedback from others to help settle the thing.  Essentially, we have a fight between two combat-savvy spy-types.  Under optimum conditions, I'd assume their fighting skills were roughly equivalent, and so would (at the risk of being accused a chauvinist) give the win to Nemesis simply on the assumption that he'd be physically stronger.

However these conditions aren't optimum...at least for Nemesis. In the specified title for him (Suicide Squad #13) Nemesis has just been busted out of a Russian prison.  You gotta assume he was unarmed in the political pokey.  He's probably suffering from a bit of...less-than-adequate nutritional care.

In contrast, in specified issue for Mockingbird (West Coast Avengers #40) she demonstrates her street-fighting chops by taking down a vastly physically stronger opponent (Digger) with relative ease.

Mockingbird goes to the next round!