Claws, blades, bullets and grenades... no matter who's left standing, this is sure to be a bloodbath. This week, we placed the fan favorite ninja from G.I. Joe against the incredibly deadly X-23. As always, the community had five days to present an argument, read the debate and then cast a hopefully educated vote. Well, the results are in and it's large percentage of Comic Viners were in agreement. X-23 took a whopping 65% of the votes. Meanwhile, 31% voted for Snake Eyes and only 4% thought it was too close to call.
It's clear the community valued power over technique in this case. While Snake Eyes is indeed more talented than X-23 (not to discredit her own abilities, X-23 is quite skilled as well), her healing factor is a massive factor. She's kept fighting after a bullet to the head, remained conscious after a large explosion and has kept her head in the game while enduring numerous other kinds of attacks. It's reasonable to think Snake Eyes could land the first volley of hits, but it's totally logical to believe X-23 could take them and eventually dish out attacks of her own, too. And if those adamantium claws do indeed connect, it's sure to spell trouble for Snake Eyes. Additionally, her foot claw could serve as a rather big wild card and very unfortunate surprise for her enemy if used properly.
While I think that's a fairly accurate review of how the popular vote views this one, I'd give a veeeeeeeeeeery small edge of Snake Eyes. I believe his skill combined with his very impressive reflexes and speed would allow him to overcome Laura's healing factor and incapacitate her. It wouldn't be easy by any measure, but I think it could happen in due time. Regardless, I'm clearly part of the minority in this one! Let's see what everyone else has to say.
Viner Argument of the Week for X-23 is by TheAcidSkull
"This is a very close call, and if it weren't or some seriously important factors, I might have even chosen snake eyes, but in the end, I’ll give x-23 a slight edge.
Both of them are very skilled, and when I say very I do mean VERY. In terms of speed, I think snake eyes Is a bit faster than Laura, which will give snake eyes a slight advantage, and even that is debatable, but ultimately, it will be futile . See Laura is not only skilled, but she is also a living weapon, everything about her leads towards a killing machine, she has all the qualities of snake eyes( maybe some not as good), and an insane healing factor to go along with all of it.
And that’s where the line is drawn, while this fight will last for a LONG time, Laura won’t get tired, her healing factor will keep her going, and so will her pain tolerance. It might not seem much but this is an important factor that will ensure Laura’s victory. Keep in Mind that she has commented on wolverine healing factor, saying that he “Heals to Slow”. And while I think snake eyes is more experienced, Laura has fought many skilled people, wolverine being one (He did however hold back), Daken was another example, He even comments on her amazing skills, saying that she is indeed a superb assassin.
Also Snake eyes won’t be able to put her down, not only because of her healing factor, but also because she is very tolerant to pain, to the point where she rarely even notice’s it. She had her arm cut clean off with chainsaw and x-23 barely batted an eye, and then there was the incident with the bomb, where her skin was burnt off and she was still standing along with Daken.
She’s not sloppy with strategy either, she managed to observe lady deathstrikes and flat out own her, while pretending to be beaten during the battle.
Like I said, snake eyes is going to be a real pain, but in the end, while the battle of course will be glorious , x-23’s healing factor and amazing skills will earn her a definite win."
Robert Atkins, SNAKE EYES artist
"The established perimeters of the fight already play against Snake Eyes' strengths a bit. If they are in visual contact to begin with that makes it harder for Snake Eyes to utilize his stealth ninja training. Even with X-23's enhanced senses, I think Snake Eyes would be able to mask his scent enough to get the drop on her. As it stands, a full head to head battle, I think Snake Eyes draws the first blood. At 50 paces, while ninja trained, he is a commando and will use guns and grenades for distance weapons. He's as skilled at this as he is with a blade. So before the hand to hand fight starts, you have to realize X-23 is already riddled with bullets from Snake Eyes' UZI and possibly shrapnel from well placed grenades."
To give X-23 credit, she is incredibly tough and willing to fight through the pain as her body begins to heal rapidly. If Snake Eyes knows about her healing factor ahead of time, he'll know to keep going at her and inflicting as many wounds as possible to reduce her healing factor or negate it completely. We've
seen many times where Wolverine's healing is so taxed he can be defeated and unconscious. Remember this isn't necessarily a fight to the death. Incapacitation counts as a loss as well. I'm sure I'm more than a little biased, but Snake Eyes' training and fighting ability is unprecedented in the GI Joe universe. How that crosses over to he Marvel, he is on par with Shang Chi, Iron Fist, or DC Universe's Lady Shiva. So if you're comparing hand to hand abilities, Snake Eyes is more trained and experienced than X-23.
What X-23 has in her favor is the adamantium claws and healing factor. The longer this fight takes, the more it's in X-23's favor. But I think with the opening salvo of bullets and grenades to throw her off, and Snake Eyes' superior fighting ability and speed he would be able to incapacitate X-23 enough to with the initial battle. How quickly X-23 recovers is a determining factor for winning a fight to the death."
Marjorie Liu, X-23 writer
"Let's face it, my friends...X-23 is a superb warrior, a born killer, with a healing factor that can resurrect her, no matter the injury. Hand-to-hand, it would be a stalemate -- but what would tip the scales in her favor? What she lacks in finesse (which I'll give to Snake Eyes) she gains in sheer, awesome, raw, stubbornness. This is a girl who will NEVER give up, not when she's decided to finish (and win) a fight. She'll crawl to the ends of the earth -- right through hell -- to finish what she started, and that determination is something that Snake Eyes can't battle, no matter how many decades of experience he has. X-23 would eventually wear him out."
Arune Singh, Marvel's Director of Communications, Publishing & Digital Media
"I love Marvel and I love Wolverine—we’re both Canadian born after all—so I’m pre-disposed to love X-23. My wife used to cosplay as her. My dear friend Marjorie Liu wrote an incredible X-23 series.
But here’s the thing—Snake Eyes isn’t just the best at what he does…he’s the best, period.
X-23 can heal, she’s a killing machine, but Snake Eyes is a master ninja with decades of experience fighting everything from terrorists to Cthulu to even Transformers. He doesn’t have to heal because he won’t get touched. And if that fails, he has Timber as his secret weapon.”
Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder, Comic Vine Staffer
"I can't imagine a scenario that Snake-Eyes takes this one. The two of them are evenly matched in terms of their stealth capabilities, with the difference being that with Laura's heightened senses, Snake-Eyes is going to have a hard time catching her flat-footed. Her weapons also have the advantage of being impossible to separate her from, while Snake-Eyes can be disarmed or even have them broken. Sure, he's got guns and kunai, but unless those are going to kill or incapacitate quickly (they're not), X-23's healing factor takes care of them. Plus, unless her trigger scent is somewhere nearby, Laura actually has a keen tactical mind. Remember that when she first fought Wolverine, she was actually able to take him down by outsmarting him rather than outfighting him. X-23 wins handily whether they're sparring or playing for keeps."
Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring, Comic Vine Staffer
"Let's see... an over-rated ninja versus female Wolverine. While Snake Eyes is without a doubt a cooler character with a much more interesting back story, X-23's powers may put her over the top. When I say "may" I mean it truly puts her over the top. Sure, she doesn't have that adamantium skeleton that her genetic father does, but her healing factor is strong. While it's true that Snake Eyes has had more training than X-23, X-23's powers are what give her a big edge. This isn't a curbstomp, by any means, but X-23 gets a big edge here. GIRL POWER! If only someone would photoshop X-23 with the Spice Girls, it would truly slam this point home. Girl power>Ninjas."
Sara 'Babs' Lima, Comic Vine Staffer
"SNAKE EYES!"
And finally, here's a tease for next week's battle! Be sure to check the homepage on Monday to see who they are!
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)
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