Thor VS The Sentry (In a Sword Fight)

Originally posted by JakeTheBank
It matters to the point that the skill Thor has clearly dwarfs anything Sentry is capable of. It also gives him the win here.

My point is there is only 20 maybe 30 years of experience that actually matters there.

So saying centuries is just blowing hot air.

Does it give Thor the win though? Debatable.

Bernard Hopkins is/was certainly more technically sound and airtight in defense than say, Roy Jones Jr. That didn't stop the far more physically gifted RJJ from beating Hopkins though.

Speed matters. A lot. I know we like to have this romanticized view of technique over all, but sometimes pure physical gifts are enough to overcome them even with sloppy technique/form--and Sentry's speed advantage is certainly very notable.

Originally posted by CosmicComet
An entirely fundamental, factual, truthful statement based on reality.

Not surprising that you could not digest it however.

I get it, your anus, it's still sore but let's set the butt hurt aside for a moment. Yes there are only so many ways one can move a weapon until more experience becomes redundant, for lack of a better word, in regards to technical skill but your post implies that Sentry himself had some sort of notable skill -that we can gauge- which makes Thor's greater experience matter less. But as far as I know, Sentry has never used a sword in a fight and as such, Thor's experience and intimate knowledge of handling a blade will be a huge asset. So huge as a matter of fact that he'd utterly wreck Sentry in a contest of swordsmanship.

In short, saying that Thor having centuries of skill doesn't matter is stupid. Incredibly stupid as a matter of fact.

I'd also like to point out that we're discussing comic characters and as we've seen consistently over the decades, sufficient skill is enough to trump a speed advantage.

Sore from what? That would imply that you've done something to me before?

And, read the post just above yours, thank you.

Originally posted by CosmicComet
Sore from what? That would imply that you've done something to me before?

And, read the post just above yours, thank you.

You tell me. Looking at your immediate response, I'm guessing I have a nice penthouse in your head.

I'd give you the same advice. Thor is vastly more skilled, arguing that it doesn't matter is stupid. At least if you've read comic books consistently.

For the record, Sentry's speed advantage wouldn't even be that large in a regular battle. Thor would hang just fine.

Sentry wins. Speed skills.

Originally posted by Rage.Of.Olympus

I'd also like to point out that we're discussing comic characters and as we've seen consistently over the decades, sufficient skill is enough to trump a speed advantage.

Unfortunately, there is an instrinsic physical pre-requisite in place there.

Someone with greater technical know-how can beat someone who is faster than them, but that requires them to have reflexes/reaction times good enough to compensate for the speed advantage in the first place.

Going back to my analogue;
Hopkins was fast enough to react to RJJ enough to not be completely demolished, but not enough to beat him.

Of course, the difference in skill between Thor and Sentry is greater than the difference in skill between the above, but the difference in speed between the two is also greater than the difference in speed above, this time going the opposite way in Sentry's favor.

And fortunately for Sentry, its not like there's a whole lot to know about sword fighting. You thrust, you slash, you use two hands for more power and one hand for greater reach, you avoid sword on sword contact when you can and block with certain parts of the blade when you can't avoid collisions.

And the first few of those things are simply intuitive anyway.

Is Thor's great experience and decent speed enough to overcome Sentry's non-experience but phenomenal speed for a majority? Obviously Thor has the feats to say he can react, but can he do so consistently enough to win? It is arguably not clear.

Did you just say that there wasn't a lot to know about sword fighting?

Yes, just as in boxing or any other combat techniques, there is only a small pool of applicable fundamentals.

The rest all comes from the individual's gifts or lack thereof.

The human body can only move so many ways, that's why different fighting techniques across the centuries of civilizations that had no known contact at the time, still had techniques that were practically identical to things from other, foreign styles. There is only so many ways to throw a punch, throw a kick, or feint etc.

Tell that to Lei Sheng

Originally posted by CosmicComet
Unfortunately, there is an instrinsic physical pre-requisite in place there.

Someone with greater technical know-how can beat someone who is faster than them, but that requires them to have reflexes/reaction times good enough to compensate for the speed advantage in the first place.

In comic books, characters who are vastly out matched in speed have consistently used greater skill to overcome the disparity. It's reached the point that great enough skill can even simulate such speed.

Batman, Captain America and tons of other streets have entire chunks of their careers devoted to those ideas.

Originally posted by CosmicComet
Going back to my analogue;
Hopkins was fast enough to react to RJJ enough to not be completely demolished, but not enough to beat him.

Of course, the difference in skill between Thor and Sentry is greater than the difference in skill between the above, but the difference in speed between the two is also greater than the difference in speed above, this time going the opposite way in Sentry's favor.

And fortunately for Sentry, its not like there's a whole lot to know about sword fighting. You thrust, you slash, you use two hands for more power and one hand for greater reach, you avoid sword on sword contact when you can and block with certain parts of the blade when you can't avoid collisions.

And the first few of those things are simply intuitive anyway.

Is Thor's great experience and decent speed enough to overcome Sentry's non-experience but phenomenal speed for a majority? Obviously Thor has the feats to say he can react, but can he do so consistently enough to win? It is arguably not clear.

Did you really just say that there isn't a whole lot to know about sword fighting? You can't honestly believe that.

Sentry is faster than Thor but unfortunately it won't be a large enough advantage to overcome Thor's vastly superior swordsmanship. Sentry isn't the Flash whose entire method of battling Thor revolves around speed. The Odinson will handle Sentry's speed just fine without even using great skill. The fact that Thor will rely on great skill will by the nature of the medium most likely create a bigger gap in raw speed but I'm comfortable when I say it won't be big enough. If for no reason other than Sentry is inept more often than Thor is outclassed against such opponents in terms of speed.

Thor might have his low showings in comparison to Superman-like bricks as he has no established day to day speed but it's been made pretty clear over the years, that if a character is powerful enough in other venues, he can and will fight them on their level comfortably no matter the speed edge. Call it mental blocks, comic book politics or whatever you want but it is what it is.

Sentry gets pissed and throws the sword away and then continues to beat Thor to death with his bare hands.

He already tried that, didn't go well for him:
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/R-O-G/Thor/DefeatsSentry1.jpg
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy73/R-O-G/Thor/DefeatsSentry2.jpg

Originally posted by tkitna
Sentry gets pissed and throws the sword away and then continues to beat Thor to death with his bare hands.

This is a sword fight, throwing your sword away would be the same as forfeiting.

Originally posted by CosmicComet
Yes, just as in boxing or any other combat techniques, there is only a small pool of applicable fundamentals.

The rest all comes from the individual's gifts or lack thereof.

The human body can only move so many ways, that's why different fighting techniques across the centuries of civilizations that had no known contact at the time, still had techniques that were practically identical to things from other, foreign styles. There is only so many ways to throw a punch, throw a kick, or feint etc.

better not let em ninja samurai guys hear you say that, dey wil killz u! 😛

cosmiccomet does have a point, some martial arts have a lot of techniques but not all are actually applicable in real battle.

though the thousand years argument to master his swordsmanship sill does hold water. after learning all the techniques, the body is then honed to react automatically. which is why, stupid as it may seem, most martial arts practice their techniques over and over again so that the body can learn the moves and be able to react automatically. this is how reflex is trained.

and thor's reflex is good enough and he can move fast enough to counter really fast shit. i'd say his body is moving and already reacting without having the need to think of what to do.

this is also the reason why i think many street levelers such as batman are able to dodge bullets and shit like that. he see's gun, and his body knows by looking at how the shooter is aiming how to react. presto, bullet dodging time.

Originally posted by tkitna
Sentry gets pissed and throws the sword away and then continues to beat Thor to death with his bare hands.

too bad sentry is a pussy thus the tactic backfires and thor beats sentry to death.

If this was a sword skill contest Thor would clearly dominate. But this fight comes down to "who stabs whom first" and Sentry having a speed advantage should be able to do it regardless of his sword skills. Kinda like if Quicksilver fought Wolverine. Who's better with a sword? Logan clearly. Who would get the hit first. QS. IMO that's how it is.

Originally posted by Silent Master
This is a sword fight, throwing your sword away would be the same as forfeiting.

Again, This is a sword fight, throwing your sword away would be the same as forfeiting.