Batman had the month off (come on, the dude needs some rest) and while he's taking some well-earned R&R, a hero or villain close to him will step up to the plate in this monthly segment. The latest one to engage in a fight with someone they've never met before is the marksman Deadshot. We placed him against the agile and explosive X-Man Gambit and had fun speculating who would come out on top. After a week of voting and debate, the Comic Vine crowd has declared a clear winner. According to them, this is a battle Floyd Lawton will eventually lose.
Gambit's sporting some superb agility and reflexes, so that alone means he won't be an easy target for Deadshot. Remy LeBeau's regularly danced around projectiles and even deflected them with his bo staff on multiple occasions, so the dude is no stranger to being in someone's crosshairs. Even though Deadshot's incredibly gifted with his aim, Gambit's swift nature will serve him well when the bullets immediately begin to fly. On top of that, there's no denying the sheer power behind Gambit's attacks. His ability to send explosive cards flying -- accurately, too -- is certain to be a pain for Floyd, especially if Remy decides to make items in the environment detonate as well.
Remy also has the edge in close quarters combat thanks to being skilled in savate and stick fighting. Plus, he has the option of detonating Floyd's armor as a last resort. That said, the poll was close and understandable so. Even though Gambit has no problem with most gunmen, Deadshot is hardly just another guy with a firearm. His accuracy is superb and he's proven he can shoot down Green Arrow's projectiles -- which means he can potentially tag cards out of the air -- and even ricochet his shots. Deadshot also has a no-nonsense attitude, so unlike with Batman, he has no reason to pull his shots are go for non-lethal ones. He's not holding back. The same can't be said for Gambit. On top of that, his attire means he'll be able to endure a moderate amount of damage before potentially going down for the count. No matter who wins, Deadshot is absolutely going to keep his nimble enemy on his toes. It just so happens that a majority of Viners value Gambit's explosive cards, agility and reflexes more than Deadshot's lack of morals and deadly accuracy. Let's take a look at some of the standout posts that were made in the debate.
Viner Post for Gambit is by Wolverine08
"Incredible match up right here.
On a first glance, I'm leaning towards Gambit for a slight majority when it's all said and done. He's working with the avoidance capabilities to avoid Deadshot for a decent amount of time while he's also trying to set up his offense. He's often rated as being enhanced or straight up superhuman in most official handbooks in regards to his agility, and the aforementioned agility is great enough that he's been able to more or less stalemate Daredevil on a rooftop battle through his combination of agility and skill with Savate. That right there is enough to show that Remy is one of Marvel street level's premier avoidance guys .The guy has caught mini grenade after they have been fired, he's blocked machine gun fire with his bo staff, and dodged rubber bullets with no warning. Simply, Remy is fast. Granted, one could make the argument that Pre 52 Deadshot has tagged and killed foes faster than Remy like speedsters, I wouldn't say those speedsters were working with the avoidance skill that Gambit has at his disposal, and they didn't have the offensive skill to throw Floyd off. That offensive output lies in Remy's cards and his marksmanship. He's able to charge the cards hard enough to be more or less grenade level bombs, and while Deadshot has tanked bullets with his armor, getting hit with one of them would at least stun him. Remy is also working with the marksmanship to give Floyd problems. No, he isn't on Deadshot's level, but he's been able to throw his cards down Sabretooth's throat, and even intercepted Spider-Man's webbing(Which has caught bullets with its speed) using well timed throwing of his cards. Gambit is resourceful with his kinetic energy charging to boot. Back during Fabian Nicieza's Gambit run, Remy charged a piece of gum in his mouth, and used it as a weapon, and he's charged things with his eyes, and other objects in the environment as well. The cards are the main offensive weapon, but he's not limited to them, and that is something that will probably surprise Deadshot. I think the big questions lies in that can Deadshot effectively keep tabs on this guy with great avoidance while also avoiding his damage output that he knows how to use? I don't think Floyd can do so for a majority."
Viner Post for Deadshot is by Saren (and it's a direct reply to Wolverine08's post)
"More or less" is a kind way of putting it ---- if memory serves, that fight was more Gambit and Daredevil hopping around on a rooftop than actual combat. Aforementioned agility was also great enough that Gambit was casually wrecked by Bullseye, someone Daredevil has stomped on at least 4 separate occasions. I don't get how the fact that Floyd has tagged people faster than Remy (and people like Captain Boomerang are better "avoiders" than Gambit by a country mile) doesn't matter, but the fact that Remy has avoided shots from people without Floyd's marksmanship seems to. Has Gambit been dodging shots from people who can identify weaknesses in his body and movements with one look? Who can ricochet shots off multiple surfaces and fire backwards, forwards, upside down and blindfolded and god knows what else? In a regular morals battle where Gambit doesn't know who he's fighting, what they're capable of, or what kind of protection they have, there's no reason he'd employ firepower any greater than he did against Moon Knight, Bullseye, Forge, Captain America, Neo and about two dozen other people he's fought, all of whom have taken hits from his cards and a lot of the time not even been stunned. It's in his nature to test the waters. It's not in Floyd's, and he's actually carrying around mini-RPG's with him as well.
The big question is how long Gambit has to test the waters until he figures out the amount of firepower and ability necessary to take out Floyd --- and the problem with that question is that Floyd doesn't like wasting time."
Fellow Comic Vine writer Corey "Undeadpool" Schroeder also wanted to chime in on this match-up
"A contract on the head of the Thieve's Guild. Not exactly the most shocking of contracts. They've probably pissed off at least half of any given square mile you'd care to name, but he wasn't leaving his island fortress, and the people who lived nearby weren't exactly forthcoming with info. Even after some "enhanced persuasion," no one was giving this guy up. This wasn't exactly Floyd's specialty, information retrieval. He was used to GETTING the contract, knowing they were out, and going...
"'ey, mon frer! You care for a quick game? Heh, look like you could use it!" Floyd was in his "casual" wear, but still had his eyepiece in and he looked over to the man playing a three-card monte game. He wore a tattered cloak and grinned a stubbly grin from beneath it, "Ya look bored. Care for a game?"
"No thanks. I prefer my games of chance not rigged..."
"I ain't no cheat! Just skill! C'mon! I'll double whatcha bet!"
"I don't need cash...I need information..."
"Information I got too, whatcha wanna know?"
..."The Thief King. How do I get to him?"
"Gotta play to win, even info."
Deadshot cocked his wrist gun and aimed directly at the beggar.
"Just play, mon frer, no need for that...you win, I tell ya exactly whatcha wanna know. I win, you leave. Simple?"
Floyd rolled his eyes. He was never precisely a man of his word and saw literally nothing to lose, "Fine..."
The shark was good. Damn good. He shuffled the cards with incredible speed and precision, but true to his word he actually didn't cheat. But Lawton followed easily, his eyes darting back and forth, never leaving the Red Queen and finally he picked it when the cards stopped.
The beggar revealed the queen, "Well done, true to my word..." he stood and tore the cloak off, "Just take two steps forward and there he is!" the card suddenly glowed and he tossed it forward. Lawton fired, but that merely detonated it early. The explosion rocked him back and his vision blurred as he fired at the shape that darted and dodged in his field of view. Lawton was just that good, however, and one of the shots caught Gambit in his abdomen, causing him to twist and roll back. Lawton readied both wrist guns, his vision finally clearing as he stalked about the alleys between the buildings, his ears still ringing, but not so loud he didn't hear the crafty Cajun sneaking up behind him.
Gambit swung his staff hard, but Lawton leaned into it, his profeciency in close-quarters wasn't to be underestimated, and he wrapped his arm around the staff, pulling it to one side and smashing Gambit into the side of the building, firing again, catching him in the shoulder. Gambit slid down and Deadshot took final aim. "Good. But not good en-" Gambit grabbed the staff Lawton still held and it surged with the same energy as before. Lawton was blown back and Gambit smashed the staff into the back of his head. He disarmed him, smashing his guns and, as the assassin slowly came to before a gathering crowd heard Remy say 'Lesse how dese people treat you after how you treated dem, huh?'"
Agree? Disagree? Speak your mind below. Seeing as Spider-Man has been declared the "Character of the Month," it's very possible the next Batman Battle of the Month will find a way to incorporate a Spider-Man character or two. Who will it be? Will it be possible to create an even match even though Spidey has such a physical edge? All shall be revealed when we post the next match on May 26! In the meantime, you're welcome to make suggestions right here in the comments, in the official thread, or via Twitter.
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