Scarbearer

@k4tzm4n You more or less nailed my feelings perfectly. As someone that has a deep adbiding love of the Green Arrow, as someone who's favorite version was the Pre52 version, who I felt had so many great stories in him... I came to terms that on Arrow, he wasn't neccessarily going to be /my/ Ollie.. but I enjoyed how over the past 3 seasons, he started off as something of a Batman Knock-off (much as the Green Arrow simple was when he was first created in Comics) and watching him evolve into a character that while markedly different from the Ollie I know and love, but still true to his spirit in many ways.

Hell I was even willing to forgive is stupidly quick recovery, because I have some crazy tinfoil hat theories on what was really going on there. But then the last episode happened, and I feel like all of that got snatched away from me. Like the creators got scared and decided, "Ok lets play it safe.. lets tell a Batman story because we know people love that shit!"

Man I've been agonizing over this all week, and I realized I am putting my .02 too late to change anyone's mind, but after a lot of agonizing I have to go with Daredevil for this fight. Plenty of people have made the point that DD can take out his Venom supply and use that against him. I've tried to think a way around this for the big guy, but honestly, I think DD's Radar sense will make it too easy for him to figure out what that is and what effect it is having on him.

Honestly, I think if this match had been with Bane /after/ he's kicked his Venom addiction, I think he pulls ahead and out of ever 100 fights would take a slight majority. I firmly believe that Pre52 Bane has better showings in all areas save raw strength after he stops using Venom. Even then I think he has feats to put him on a level where he is clearly stronger than DD, and far more nimble than other bruisers like Kingpin that Matt mixes it up with. It'd never be an easy fight, but very winnable.

But since we are talking the version of Bane that is using Venom, I think he ultimately looses this fight more than he wins it.

Not a big fan of the wrist spikes. I feel like that's used way to much as a potential weapon and i liked her better with the lasso or the sword and shield. That gripe asside though I really like the outfit!

This was a really good match and I think perhaps much much closer than the percentages seem to indicate. I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of us that voted for x23 felt like I did that she'd basical be beaten pillar to post but just outlast Shiva due to endurance and healing factor.

I'm still holding out hope for a Bane vs Kingpin match one week, but Katz made a great point about Shiva/Elektra. So Bane/Kingpin might be two characters that are just little /too/ similar to be an interesting debate, much to my sadness. Still that's a fight I'd love to see.

Man.... I feel a little dirty admitting this, but I think a Random Encounter favors X-23.

I think Lady Shiva is by a pretty significant margin the more skilled fighter of the two. But I think X-23 is just good enough, that with her claws and healing factor she'll eventually outlast Lady Shiva. I'm almost tempted to vote too close to call, but I think the randomness gives X-23 the victory by a very narrow margin.

I'm really looking forward to this and I hope we get a good Bane battle! I'm in the minority here I realize but I loved that character. I'm also of the opinion that the Pre New-52, Post Venom Addiction version of the character is far and away the best!

My pick for for a fight would be Bane:

Versus: Kingpin

Game on!

@vinomonster: Thanks for the answers, like the TC I'm really confused on what's going on with Convergence. So it's basically an event primarily just effecting Earth-2 and the other 'alternate' realities and We think it's whiping them out or destroying most of them?

@k4tzm4n: I have a bit of a crazy theory on why Ollie recovered so fast, and I will admit... it's a little tin foil hatty and very convoluted so I won't try and list the whole theory here, but it hinges on this:

I think Maseo took Oliver and dipped him in a Lazarus pool before taking him to Tatsu to help him finish healing/recovering. And I think he might be part of a plan that Ra's has him playing his part in.

@gokuss4z: For whatever it's worth, I don't hate Felicity now. I think that she's coming to the conclusion I've had for a very long time. Despite how cute they are, a relationship between her and Oliver ends with her being a woman in a fridge. Whatever she feels for him, there is no way that a relationship between them ends in any other way than disaster. I think her actions are as much her coming to this really pretty terrible realization and not just a start swing in character for her.

@capshield: I'm holding onto some slim hope that Ben will be very important and have a some great fights and 'big damn hero' moments in the upcoming Secret Wars. Not enough hope that I'd be willing to hold my breath, but if there's an environment where the writers can take the gloves off and can really have fun with him, it's that.

And before someone says it, yes I know it's most likely that Ben will be used to 'put over' some new threat as the new top bad-ass on the block like an aging wrestler a few years from retiring, but just don't burst my bubble. It's warm in here and I brought cookies!