Oliver Queen: a man who's incredibly skilled with a bow, has a plethora of trick arrows and a whole lot of talent. Frank Castle: a dude who can endure an absurd amount of pain, is beyond talented with firearms and has no problem fighting dirty. No matter who walks away from this one, it's sure to be epic. The winner will likely be in need of a band-aid or two, that's for sure.
Would Oliver's accuracy and trick arrows keep Marvel's brutal anti-hero down for the count, or would Frank overcome the archer? Voting and debate was open all week and result is clear: the Comic Vine community sides with Punisher in this brawl. 54% think Castle has what it takes to win, while 38% think DC's hero will triumph. A mere 7% think it's just too close to call, meaning they basically have an equal shot at winning.
It's easy to root for the Emerald Archer based on how excellent his current run is (thanks to Jeff Lemire/Andrea Sorrentino/Marcelo Maiolo), but in the end, the majority has a hefty amount of logic and reason on their side. There's no denying the combination of Oliver's accuracy and trick arrows is a huge wild card and he certainly has plenty of experience dealing with gunmen. One solid use of a trick arrow absolutely holds the potential to pave the way to victory, but Frank's combination of incredible pain tolerance (an arrow to the thigh, shoulder, wrist or even abdomen won't slow him down that much), skill (both armed and unarmed) and tactics should let him win after a good battle.
Frank has the accuracy and means to pose a threat at a distance and the combination of his sharp mind and pain tolerance should allow him to eventually close the gap. It's unlikely he'll go for fatal shots since he can tell he's possibly fighting a fellow hero, but even when holding back, Frank possess the skill and tenacity to be just as effective while going non-lethal. His shots could be used to manipulate Ollie's movements in combat and he knows where to tag if he doesn't want to end his enemy's life. If it comes down to close range -- which is definitely probable in this scenario -- Ollie can give him hell (especially with proper use of an electric arrow or other trick arrows in close proximity), but Frank's ruthless close combat methods and more than formidable degree of skill should allow him to overcome, even if he takes numerous arrows and hits in the process. It should be a spectacular battle, but ultimately, Frank does indeed have what it takes to earn a small majority.
Viner Argument of the Week for Punisher is by specialmonkey7
"The Punisher, hands down. It would be an amazing fight with bullets and arrows peppering the air. Blood would flow on both ends but when it really comes down to it; Ollie Queen doesn't have the fire in his heart that Frank Castle does. Sure, he has the spirit, he has the drive to do good but Frank Castle is a machine at this point. He is the angel of death and his mission is the destruction of crime in general and he can't let anything stand in his way. Though he wouldn't kill Ollie, Frank would make sure that he stayed down before it was over. Ollie knows arrows, Frank knows almost everything else AND arrows...."
Corey Schroeder, Comic Vine writer
"If they weren't both aware of each other at the outset, I'd say Punisher had this locked up easily. Since they start out facing each other, it seems likely they'd fire at almost the same instant, but Ollie's thinking two steps ahead and fired his arrow down the barrel of Frank's rifle causing the triggering mechanism to break. Another arrow impacts Castle's chest, but his body armor takes most of it as he quickly realizes he can't win this fight at a distance and charges forward.
Ollie slams his bow across Castle's head, but the spec ops soldier has had worse hangovers than this headache and closes the remaining distance. Now it's where Queen doesn't want to be, he's in a place where his trick arrows can't help him AND he's outmatched in terms of his close combat skills. After taking a couple of solid hits to the jaw and abdomen, it becomes clear he's not winning this fight, so he takes the one arrow out that might save him and detonates it. A cloud of smoke fills the area and Ollie flees into the cityscape, but Castle's right behind him, only losing him for a few minutes. Long enough for Ollie to set up a decoy and lie in wait, catching his breath and waiting for his moment.
The flash of a skull is all he needs to see before firing an incendiary arrow, lighting up the empty vest as Castle wraps a massive arm around Ollie's neck. "Didn't work for Charlie. Doesn't work for you," is the last thing he hears before losing consciousness."
Ladies and gentlemen, there's no teaser image because next week will be an all-new BATMAN BATTLE OF THE MONTH (throws e-confetti)! Who will the Dark Knight square off against next? Thor? Stilt-Man? Carl Grimes? Check the homepage on Monday to find out!
Previous 'Comic Vine Battle of the Week' results
- Daredevil vs. Nightwing (Winner: Daredevil)
- Ultimate Captain America vs. Deathstroke (Winner: Deathstroke)
- Arkillo vs. Hulk (Winner: Hulk)
- Snake Eyes vs. X-23 (Winner: X-23)
- Moon Knight vs. Red Hood (Winner: Moon Knight)
- Catman/Deadshot vs. Bullseye/Punisher (Winner: Bullseye/Punisher)
- Aquaman vs. Thing (Winner: Aquaman)
- Deadpool vs. TMNT (Winner: Too close to call)
- Movie Black Widow vs. TV Green Arrow (Winner: TV Green Arrow)
- Movie Batman vs. Movie Dredd (Winner: Movie Dredd)
- Predator vs. Boba Fett (Winner: Predator)
- Luke Cage/Iron Fist vs. Scarlet Spider/Venom (Winner: Scarlet Spider/Venom)
- Cardiac vs. Hobgoblin (Winner: Hobgoblin)
- Gambit vs. Nightcrawler (Winner: Nightcrawler)
- Sinestro vs. Wonder Woman (Winner: Wonder Woman)
Want to suggest a Battle of the Week? Feel free to comment below or send it to Gregg via Twitter. It doesn't have to be Marvel or DC!
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