The Great Hero Showdown (First Round Voting Results Up!)

[Dark Jezter]

Now that Gomez's brilliant villian showdown is drawing to a close, I thought I'd take the liberty of starting up a Hero showdown thread.

Here are the rules.

- You will nominate a hero.
- Please post their name, a short bio, and a picture(s).
- Individual beings only; no groups.
- You may nominate as many heroes as you wish.
- The hero can be from any media source: books, movies, radio, television, and movies.
- No real life heroes.
- When you nomiate a hero please post what number he/she/it is.
- Once we have 128 hero then the nomination period will close.
- From these 128 hero we will start a head to head voting brackets to reduce the hero pool to 64 and then to 32, etc. until we have the final Ultimate hero.
- I will be the moderator (although if Gomez wishes, I'll add him as a moderator since this is based on his idea) and will rule on any questions or problems that crop up during the game.

Feel free to post any questions you have here.

I will post the first hero to get things rolling. Have fun, and may the best hero win!

First Round Bracket Results (Thanks to drothgery for tallying all the votes)

1. Conan the Cimmerian (Robert Howard's novels, Conan movies) defeats Parksenarion (Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarion) 33-6
2. Batman (Batman comics, Batman movies) defeats Alice (Alice in Wonderland) 37-3
3. Captain Marvel (comics) defeats Hong Kong Phooey 23-15
4. The Shadow defeats Dudley Do-Right (The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show) 25-11
5. Super Mario (Mario Brothers video games) defeats Sethra Lavode (Steven Brust's Dragaera novels) 23-11
6. Luke Skywalker (Star Wars) defeats The Punisher (comics, movie) 36-4
7. Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) slays John Carter of Mars 27-12
8. Captain America defeats Miles Vorkosigan (Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan novels) 31-5
9. Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones movies) defeats Tarzan 34-6
10. Superman defeats Aragorn (Lord of the Rings) 23-15
11. Gandalf the Grey (Lord of the Rings) defeats Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly) 24-13
12. John Sheridan (Babylon 5) defeats Croaker (Glen Cook's Black Company novels) 17-12
13. Sam Vimes (Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels) defeats Rincewind (Discworld) 16-8
14. Samwise Gamgee (Lord of the Rings) defeats The Man with No Name (Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy) 23-15
15. The Phantom defeats Gamera 23-12
16. Thrall (Warcraft) defeats Delenn (Babylon 5) 17-15
17. Corwin of Amber (Roger Zelany's Amber novels) defeats Trinity (Matrix) 19-17
18. Solomon Kane defeats Richard Sharpe 19-12
19. Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories) defeats Yoda (Star Wars) 28-12
20. Maui defeats El Borak 11-7
21. CuChulainn (Celtic mythology) defeats Granny Weatherwax (Discworld) 23-13
22. The Doctor (Doctor Who) defeats Godzilla (movies) 28-10
23. Flash Gordon versus defeats Marty McFly (Back to the Future) 28-10
24. Connor MacLeod (Highlander) defeats John Crichton (Babylon 5) 23-13
25. Thor (Norse mythology, Marvel comics) defeats Aeryn Sun 31-7
26. Arthur Dent (Hitchhiker's Guide) defeats Ozymandias 28-9
27. Wonder Woman (comics, TV show) defeats Rorschach 28-10
28. The Hulk defeats Superboy (comics) 31-8
29. The Tick (comics, tv shows) defeats Agent Dale Cooper 24-11
30. Captain Adama (the new Battlestar Galactica) defeats Nolin Benholm 21-6
31. Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) defeats Jackie Chan 20-14
32. James Bond (movies, Ian Fleming's stories) defeats Link (Legend of Zelda) 31-10
33. The Terminator (Terminator 2) defeats Leto II (Children of Dune) 28-8
34. Beowulf (mythology) defeats Wesley (The Princess Bride) 22-19
35. Rocky Balboa (Rocky movies) defeats Jen the Gelfling (The Dark Crystal) 21-15
36. Ellen Ripley (Alien) defeats Perseus (Greek mythology) 27-13
37. Robin Hood (mythology, movies) defeats Duncan Idaho (Dune) 35-6
38. Sir Lancelot (Arthurian mythology) defeats Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) 22-17
39. Drizzt Do'Urden (Forgotten Realms novels) defeats Nathan Kiklu 22-9
40. Spider-Man (comics, movies, TV shows) defeats Sir Galahad (Arthurian mythology) 32-8
41. Hercules (mythology, movies, TV show) defeats Gilgamesh (mythology) 29-12
42. Frodo Baggins (Lord of the Rings) defeats Wicket (Return of the Jedi) 32-9
43. Gordon Freeman defeats Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) 19-16
44. Hellboy (comics, movie) defeats Vlad Taltos (Steven Brust's Dragaera novels) 28-8
45. King Arthur (mythology, various novels) defeats Ralph Hinkley 38-2
46. Paladin - The Man in Black (Have Gun Will Travel) defeats Harry Keogh 20-5
47. Han Solo (Star Wars) defeats John Rambo (Rambo movies) 38-2
48. Speed Racer (TV series) defeats Severain the Torturer 16-12
49. Austin Powers (movies) defeats Sam Emerson (The Lost Boys) 26-10
50. Wolverine (X-men and other comics, X-men movies) defeats Professor Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter) 26-14
51. Neo (Matrix) defeast Jack Bauer (24) 27-10
52. Captain James T. Kirk (Star Trek) defeats Professor X (X-men and other comics, X-men movies) 27-14
53. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation) defeats the Wraith 35-5
54. Ash (Army of Darkness) scrapes by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars) 21-20
55. Honor Harrington (David Weber's novels) defeats Spongebob Squarepants (tv show) 17-14
56. Mad Max defeats Carl Kolchak 25-12
57. Optimus Prime (Transformers) defeats Captain Benjamin Sisko (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) 28-12
58. Odysseus (mythology) defeats He-Man (comics, tv shows) 26-14
59. Don Quixote defeats Haru, the Great White Ninja 35-5
60. Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel) defeats B.A. Baracus (A-Team) 21-19
61. The Lone Ranger defeats Jack O'Neill 27-11
62. RoboCop defeats Wesley Wyndham Pryce (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel) 23-14
63. Elminster (Forgotten Realms novels) defeats Mack Bolan (The Executioner) 20-7
64. Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride) defeats Doc Savage 25-15

 

[Dark Jezter]

1. Conan the Cimmerian

Name: Conan the Cimmerian

Biography: The most popular creation of pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, Conan the Cimmerian appeared in a series of sword & sorcery stories published in the magazine Weird Tales during the early 1930s. After Howard's suicide in 1935, the character of Conan retained his popularity, and in the 1960s and 1970s the character was introduced to a new generation of sword & sorcery fans when Howard's stories (along with completely new tales written by various other authors) were published in a series of paperback novels by Ace/Lancer. Since then, Conan has been featured in comic books, role-playing games, two features films staring Arnold Shwarzenegger, video games, and television series. He has become one of the most recognizable and enduring fantasy heroes of all time, and because of this I nominte him as a great hero.

Regardless of the medium, the story of Conan's life usually opens with his humble beginnings as a young thief in Zamora. Over the years, he'll have many adventures, fight in countless battles, triumph over evil sorcerers and hideous monsters, and woo many beautiful women before ultimately becoming the king of Aqualonia. But even after winning his crown, his reign is usually far from peaceful.

Even today, 70 years after Howard's death, the popularity of Conan keeps going: The original Conan short stories are being published again completely unedited, and there's also a Conan MMORPG in development. Rumors have also been circulating of a future Conan movie to be directed by Robert Rodriguez of Sin City fame.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

2. Batman, the Dark Knight

Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne who, as a child, witnessed the murder of his parents. He then set out to avenge their deaths by learning an amazing array of crime-fighting techniques. How many other heroes learned hunting from Australian Aborigines and combat from ninjas, let alone received educations from the Sorbonne and Oxford. The Dark Knight is a brilliant techinician and an incomparable martial artist who knows more than 127 fighting styles. Not only does this hero fight crime, by day he is also an irresponsible, superficial playboy who helps victims of crime through his Wayne Foundation. All of this in Gotham City, a seedy, dark city teeming with the refuse of human existence.

What makes this "Caped Crusader" stand out from other heroes? He is a normal human without any special superpowers. He has acheived his abilities through rigorous training and at the expense of much of his abundant personal wealth. He has designed and produced, through his Wayne Industries, countless gadgets and crime fighting items. His arsenal places him among the most well-stocked heroes. This "World's Greatest Detective" has teamed up with Sherlock Holmes and was the founder of "The Justice League of America."

 

[DarrenGMiller]

3. Hong Kong Phooey

For most of his life, he was the mild-mannered Penrod Pooch, who worked as the janitor in the local police station, but when trouble arose, he jumped into his file cabinet, changed into his crime-fighting gearslid down the attached chute and jumped into his Phooeymobile. Hong Kong Phooey learned martial arts and crimefighting techniques through a correspondance course and often consulted the book from that course, The Hong Kong Book of Kung Fu during combat. His faithful sidekick was a cat named Spot.

 

[Mad Hatter]

4. Dudley Do-Right

Biography (from wikipedia.com): Dudley Do-Right was the eponymous hero of a segment on The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show which parodied early 20th century melodrama and silent film. Dudley Do-Right was a Canadian Mountie who was always trying to catch his nemesis Snidely Whiplash, whom he never seemed to be able to catch. He romantically pursued Nell Fenwick, the daughter of the head of the Mountie station. However, a running gag throughout the series was Nell's interest in his horse, to the point that she scarcely noticed Dudley's interest.

He was honest and brave and he did foil many a villainous plan. (I had to submit him since we got Wile E. Coyote last round.)

 

[drothgery]

5. Sethra Lavode
Steven Bursts's Dragaera novels

The Dark Lady of Dzur Mountain has been considered an evil enchantress nearly as often as hero in the Dragaeran Empire, but she -- with Iceflame in her hand -- is probably the single most important force protecting that Empire (and the rest of the world she lives in) from the Jenoine.

What can I tell you about Sethra Lavode? Those who believe in her say she has lived ten thousand years (some say twenty). Others say she is a myth. Call her life unnatural, feel her undead breath. Color her black for sorcery, color her gray for death.

- From Jhereg​

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

6. Luke Skywalker

The path of a Jedi is often difficult, filled with conflict and pain. Luke Skywalker's life which began as a simple farmboy and saw him become the greatest hero the galaxy has ever known is an amazing example of this. Skywalker spent his restless childhood on the backwater desert planet of Tatooine, toiling away on his uncle's moisture farm. His guardians, Beru and Owen Lars, never told Luke of his true heritage. While Luke believed his father to have been a navigator on a spice freighter, he never suspected that Anakin Skywalker was once a famed Jedi Knight and incredible starpilot.

 

[Mad Hatter]

7. Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer

Biography: "One girl in all the world chosen to blah, blah, blah." She fought the forces of evil since she was 15. She's had to send her lover to hell, fought The Master, Dracula (a panty waist version, but still he fit with the world), a Hell God, a giant snake, her best friend, her sister slayer, a weird demon/human hybrid, and The First Evil to name a few. And she did it all with pinache and with good fashion sense (sometimes, she's had some weird, funky clothes). She's created that plans that resulted in the destruction of two school, an underground military base, and turned an entire town into a crater. If that ain't a superhero, then paint me confoozled.

 

[drothgery]

8. Miles Vorkosigan
Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga

An attempt on his parents' life led to Miles' reaching an adult height of only 4' 9" and having very fragile, but Miles intended to reach an admirality at a younger age than his father had in space service of his militaristic homeworld despite that. He didn't manage that, but what he did accomplish -- as mercenary, spy, diplomat, and whatever else Emperor Gregor needed his cousin for -- was probably even more impressive.

 

[Dark Jezter]

9. Indiana Jones

Name: Indiana Jones.

Bio: To his students and colleagues, Dr. Henry Jones Junior is a quiet, somewhat nerdy professor of archaeology. Little do they suspect that when adventure calls, he dons a fedora and a bullwhip to become the heroic treasure hunter Indiana Jones. From his childhood in Utah where he tried to save Coronado's gold to his adult life where he saved a village in India from a sinister cult and foiled more than one Nazi plot, Indy's life has been one of constant adventure.