Why it's Okay to Love Discussing Comic Book Fights

There's no need to use words you normally wouldn't use in an attempt to sound more intelligent

Sounds like a certain Charlie Sheen'ish guy.....

Thinking "character A" beats "character B" doesn't mean you hate character B. So if you see someone saying a character you really like loses a fight, don't immediately think they're saying that because they dislike the character or anything like that (sure, some do, but a majority of us are way more open-minded than that... or at least that's what I hope)

Sounds like a certain Rob Liefeld'ish guy....

Well said.

This is the truest part:

First and foremost, everyone needs to remember that talking about comic book fights with other people isn't about "winning" the discussion. You probably go into a thread with the verdict already in mind, but unless you're 100% certain that you're an expert on all of the characters involved, it's important to keep an open mind. Hell, even if you are confident in your knowledge of both characters, it's still critical to keep an open mind.

I don't know Marvel (or other) characters nearly as well as I know DC characters. I'm not always keen to read the comic books of the Marvel characters I do like, or at least not at the time of a a battle.

Still, often enough I know enough to engage in an interesting debate. I may and probably will lose, but so what? I will have learned something in the process and hopefully made some interesting points.

Still, I often lack motivation to debate more due to the amount of people who:

• Suggest someone does not even attempt to battle as they don't have enough knowledge.
• Insist one one or two feats make their entire argument and get insulting if those feats are questioned.
• Have double standards, denying feats someone will submit while being very forgiving of their own*. That's directly a result of the competitive mindset, and it's a shame so many have it.
• Not being nice. There is never a need to initiate insults, it only brings the thread downhill. If someone is being irrational, learn to ignore them. As hard as it might be when they insist something you feel is ridiculous.

I love talking about battles. It's such an interesting strategy game, comparing feats and personalities and testing different situations and scenarios. I really, really wish there were some decent guidelines on when to consider something PIS or not or even to do away with that concept and have every feat count. That brings many battle threads down as well. No one is going to agree on a result if they can't even agree on the terms of the debate.

Other forums have become better for this given just how many people only want to "win" as opposed to supporting their arguments or replying to well reasoned arguments. Still, hope it gets better. I have my first CaV at the moment which I am looking forward to very much.

*I'm talking about you, cap fans.

This article is more about how to get into the battle forums, rather than its overall importance on the comic fandom, which is what the title would suggest. Because of this way of thinking (battle forum logic) there are good stories such as New 52 Wonder Woman being unfairly criticised, while series with poor stories such as Lobdell's Superman are being promoted for example. People say if you don't like the battle forums, don't go there but the battle forum logic in creeping into everything on the vine, whether it's feats being placed in higher importance over a story or those "this character is overrated" on general discussion which appear regularly and more like likely refer to their battle forum performance rather than their actual appeal and storytelling.

@super_soldierxii: That's because your dad's Dr. J

Awesome article, I'm really glad you mentioned that people need to remember that they are discussing things with another human being. So like you said, take a deep breath, compose your thoughts and think how you'd like to be treated before replying to someone.

Although I'm not too sure about that Yoda quote....

I'm not interested in fights - well, that's just me ^__^

- TAS

Okay? More like the best thing to do.

@lvenger said:

@serrure said:

@lvenger said:

You really are getting into my good books with your brilliant articles Gregg. First a "Why Superman isn't a Boring Powerhouse" piece, now an article on the value and appeal of comic book fight discussions. I couldn't agree more with what you've said, wish the battle forums were more like how you describe a comic book battle discussion to be.

Still, there are always Challenge a Viner threads to bring back respectability, critical thinking and discussion to battle forum debates.

but Superman is boring. now Hyperion and Gladiator those are some cool people

:P :P :P :P

I always wondered what a jimmy was..

@jonny_anonymous said:

@lvenger said:

@serrure said:

@lvenger said:

You really are getting into my good books with your brilliant articles Gregg. First a "Why Superman isn't a Boring Powerhouse" piece, now an article on the value and appeal of comic book fight discussions. I couldn't agree more with what you've said, wish the battle forums were more like how you describe a comic book battle discussion to be.

Still, there are always Challenge a Viner threads to bring back respectability, critical thinking and discussion to battle forum debates.

but Superman is boring. now Hyperion and Gladiator those are some cool people

:P :P :P :P

I always wondered what a jimmy was..

I think it's got more to do with feelings than a gorilla tbh :P

@lvenger said:

@jonny_anonymous said:

@lvenger said:

@serrure said:

@lvenger said:

You really are getting into my good books with your brilliant articles Gregg. First a "Why Superman isn't a Boring Powerhouse" piece, now an article on the value and appeal of comic book fight discussions. I couldn't agree more with what you've said, wish the battle forums were more like how you describe a comic book battle discussion to be.

Still, there are always Challenge a Viner threads to bring back respectability, critical thinking and discussion to battle forum debates.

but Superman is boring. now Hyperion and Gladiator those are some cool people

:P :P :P :P

I always wondered what a jimmy was..

I think it's got more to do with feelings than a gorilla tbh :P

But gorillas are cool

@jonny_anonymous said:

@lvenger said:

@jonny_anonymous said:

@lvenger said:

@serrure said:

@lvenger said:

You really are getting into my good books with your brilliant articles Gregg. First a "Why Superman isn't a Boring Powerhouse" piece, now an article on the value and appeal of comic book fight discussions. I couldn't agree more with what you've said, wish the battle forums were more like how you describe a comic book battle discussion to be.

Still, there are always Challenge a Viner threads to bring back respectability, critical thinking and discussion to battle forum debates.

but Superman is boring. now Hyperion and Gladiator those are some cool people

:P :P :P :P

I always wondered what a jimmy was..

I think it's got more to do with feelings than a gorilla tbh :P

But gorillas are cool

Yeah they are. Being 20 times stronger than a human makes them scary too though.

@lvenger said:

@serrure said:

@lvenger said:

You really are getting into my good books with your brilliant articles Gregg. First a "Why Superman isn't a Boring Powerhouse" piece, now an article on the value and appeal of comic book fight discussions. I couldn't agree more with what you've said, wish the battle forums were more like how you describe a comic book battle discussion to be.

Still, there are always Challenge a Viner threads to bring back respectability, critical thinking and discussion to battle forum debates.

but Superman is boring. now Hyperion and Gladiator those are some cool people

:P :P :P :P

lol but you know me im actually into Adam Warlock. thats my defining character. im just looking for someone to use Superman to take him on.

Pretty good article though honestly I kind of disagree with it. Based on my experience in the battle forums it's clearly not okay to discuss hypothetical comic book battles. I've tried to bring some class and objectivity to those threads but to no avail. At some point it almost always devolves into a popularity contest and it gets old fast. Just a string of single sentence posts and you'll be lucky if it's a complete sentence. I don't think I've ever had a good time interacting with those forums. Sure there are users you might consider more reasonable than others but not enough to make comic book battles anything more than a passing curiosity for me. Thank you and good day.

It's a deleted scene. Sorry for not including that information in the article!

I like the point of the articles and in general people should be a lot more open and interested in another person's views. Instead of making fun of a statement or admittedly go for their throats instead ask why do they think as they do or let them elaborated their opinions then argue against their points in a polity civic manner. I'm not saying I'm a saint and I can't be too aggressive. This isn't only a topic for battle debates but the internet in generally. The only way to make it better is by starting with your self. Are you starting on a positive note towards others you will most likely get a positive answers rather than a snarky one. I'm however not that interested in debating battles. I personally like to discus how the characters work mentally.

This is wonderful

Can we upvote an article? Because I really want to right now

Very nice work

Well said. Havent seen a better written post in some time. I wish i could tweet this.

Just saw these comments. Thank you so much for the kind words.

Their creative but at the end of the day fanboys opinions wont decide a true winner. So it is kind of pointless seeing as how the writers of these fictional characters decide things. Still kills time though