Ares should win but it wouln't be easy. They're pretty close strength wise and Ares' firearms would only be good for a distraction. On panel Balder seems way more acrobatic in combat but that's a minor advantage. If it's axe versus sword I think Ares definately comes out on top but Balder's no slouch and it would be a long fight.
Sometimes it feels like Balder is just there to be rescued or to keep Thor from pulling off easy victories (see recent Doom fight). On the other hand, Ares gets his butt handed to him on a regular basis but maybe that's cause he often takes on much tougher opponents. Going with Ares, he has a minor to medium advantage with medievel type wepons but a massive advantage if it's hand to hand.
Originally posted by JakeTheBankI think Balder's oft-forgotten light powers are cool too, but I don't think they'd be of much value here. Ares has been set on fire and catapulted into a horde of invading masses that were threatening to overthrow Olympus... and beat them.
I would like to see Balder use his light based powers soon, for one.