^ Didn't you say no gimmicks? I'd think Multiple Man's powers would be prohibited by the spirit of this thread because it's supposed to be a straight-up fight. Without thinking too hard about it, I suppose I'd agree that his stats are high-meta. But Bang's supposed to be a normal human, or peak human.
It's just that his mastery of the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist is such that he is easily capable of high-meta feats, maybe beyond. There's stuff he's done that I'd be hard-pressed to see certain high metas perform.
I suppose there's no distinction worth a difference. Bang just operates at that level.
^ Ok, so no gimmicks because this is supposed to be a fair fight. I honestly can't come up with a long list of comic characters that could beat Bang in a straight up fight with no gimmicks on those terms.
Monsterized Garou defeated Bang because he also mastered Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. Anybody else who fought Bang had their own physical attacks turned aside almost effortlessly or straight-up turned against them to disastrous effect.
So let's say Thor used a standard swing w/ Mjolnir or Superman threw a casual left-hook at Bang, Bang would just divert those strikes back into their own faces. And they'd probably be knocked out.
On-panel, you could make an argument that you'd need someone who could master Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist and other techniques beyond in a nigh instantaneous manner to beat Bang. In a straight-up fight at least.
Yeah I think the issue is that Carver wants a fight that preserves Bang’s gimmick but removes any other kind of gimmick. Or is Bang also being gimped for this fight?
I wouldn't consider Bang's skill as a gimmick. It isn't so much a superpower that is unique as it is a martial arts style that has been honed to ridiculous degree. For instance, Monsterized Garou technically mastered the style. And Bang's brother, Bomb, could probably master it too if he wasn't focused on his own style of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist. It's not exclusive to Bang. So I could see Bang existing in, and operating by, an American comic's rules. He's just that skilled in his style. It's not a "gimmick" because another martial arts master could feasibly learn it and replicate it.
Karate Kid at his most broken incarnations? That's more a "gimmick" because it simply cannot be replicated. But this is semantics and parsing term use and I won't presume what you mean when you use the term "gimmicky".
Either way, there's a short list of characters that I have trouble compiling that could defeat current Bang w/ Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist straight up in H2H.
And the only character that has beaten Bang so far -- Monsterized Garou -- used Bang's own style (and beyond?) to defeat Bang. Bang didn't even use the Exploding Heart Release Fist -- which is arguably more potent. Bang renounced that style. Keep in mind that the Exploding Heart Release Fist (a body-control technique to release concussive force) is arguably a style that is easier to analogize to techniques in American comics than Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist (using the flow of energy/momentum to maximize defense/offense) is.
I appreciate your point of view but ultimately there’s just no difference between these two things (hence this thread): “martial arts style honed to a ridiculous degree” is just a superpower by another name.
Superpowers aren’t defined by their uniqueness, nor by their ability to be learned. After all, Mr Sinister honed the study of genetics to a ridiculous degree just so he could replicate every superpower under the sun. And anybody in Marvel with the resources and knowhow could make an Iron Man suit.
^ Ain't nobody like Karate Kid in his most broken incarnations though, right? Batman gave Lightning Saga Karate Kid the business.
A bunch of OPM characters can give Bang a pure H2H physical fight, if not win. At least two other OPM characters can almost certainly match/exceed Bang skill-wise. Beyond that, there are definitely a few OPM characters who could outright wreck Bang in a H2H fight.
OPM "power-scaling" is arguably notorious according to the community's vocal minority. I personally think it's very consistent with few outliers (which are more for fun than anything). There has only been a pair of OPM creators that have arguably remained consistent across 150+ issues. At least comparatively speaking when contrasting with the many American comics I've read.
I think people who have read all of OPM would object to Bang's skill being characterized as a gimmick. Especially because he's one of the more straight-forward characters.
Plastic Man has no chance unless we take him at his highest and Bang at his lowest.
I’m sure that it’s not a gimmick within the OPM universe. But this is a forum mishmash of every universe so it’s all a bunch of gimmicks. The Force isn’t a gimmick in Star Wars but I am sure Carver would object to using a Jedi in this thread (even if it wasn’t limited to Marvel/DC).
How does Bang beat Plastic Man? And of course we take PM at his best; full capacity rule, etc.
^ It's just that Bang is a pure H2H fighter. And other universes have pure H2H fighters too. So it's a fair question to ask and shouldn't necessarily be dismissed with, "Well Bang's skill is just a gimmick and we should dismiss this hypothetical out of hand." I don't think plopping Barry Allen w/ Speedforce into the OPM universe is really analogous to plopping Bang w/ Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist into the DC universe. The former is a broken plot device gimmick. The latter isn't. But I actually don't disagree with your statement as written. So we're arguing semantics.
Bang beats the crap out of Plastic Man. But I'm too drunk to argue why. Consider it a flippant statement and let it pass.
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Jul 6th, 2022 11:54 AM
