Awesome Arena Tournament of Champions Pool - Win Prizes!
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Okay kids, I’ve teamed up with Mike Haynes of Panels of Awesome for the first contest to win some stuff.Here’s the deal. Readers of POA will be familiar with his “Awesome Arena” series of posts where he comes up with a dream-fight between two characters, usually heroes, and everyone discusses who will win and votes in a poll. Until recently, that was the end of the concept.
Yesterday, Mike set up a concept called Tournament of Champions, similar in execution to the NCAA March Madness and Final Four tournament. Two combatants enter an arena, everyone votes for one week, and the winning combatant moves on to the next round to battle another victor. This time around, we have four rounds, including the championship round.
This is where the contest comes in. Mike has posted a bracket, also similar to those used in the March Madness tournaments. Are you starting to see a pattern here? Good, because the contest will be similar to the office pools that people dump money into every year, except there’s no buy-in for this one, other than your time and attention.
Here’s the rules.
- Each week, Mike will post the week’s battles (this week is Batman versus Iron Man) and I will post the current standings.
- Within that week, you will post a comment to each of our posts telling us who you think will win and why as well as voting in the poll in Mike’s post. The poll is also essential because it determines who wins. For this week, this post will serve as my standings post and Mike’s bracket post and announcement of the Batman/Iron Man battle will serve as… exactly what it is, the announcement of a battle.
- Correct predictions in the first round will earn you 1 point each. Correct predictions in the second round will earn you two points each. In the third round, you will earn 3 points for each correct prediction. In the Championship Round, you will earn four points.
- Bonus points can be earned by spreading the word around via your own blog, Myspace, Facebook, forums, whatever you like. Just tell everyone about the contest and make sure you link back to both my blog and Mike’s. Mike has an announcement on his site as well, so feel free to paste either of our posts verbatim, just make sure to link us both. To make sure you receive your points, email me at crackerbob@fortheloveofcomics.com with a link to the post/comment/bulletin/whatever.
- Finally, four rounds means 15 battles means 15 weeks. We realize this is a bit of a time investment for you all, so we’re working on some good prizes and a method of how to distribute them. We haven’t completely decided if it will be winner take-all or first place, second place, and all that. I welcome your input on that one and we’ll let you know as we decide. We just wanted to make sure to give everyone a chance to jump in as soon as possible.
One prize that we will definitely be giving is my copy of Atomik Mike #1b. This is a CGC and Comics Price Guide exclusive. It has received a CGC rating of 9.9 and is worth $28, if you’re concerned with that type of thing. I’ll be posting my review of the first Atomik Mike trade sometime tonight or tomorrow.
Again, more prizes will be announced as well as how we will distribute them as those decisions are made. For now…
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Update: To sweeten the pot, I’m throwing in the vol. 1 trades of both The Boys and Alias, Mike will be announcing his prize contributions soon. This is where you pimping this contest starts to benefit you - I’m still holding back prizes and may or may not throw them into the pot depending on our participation level. So start pimping, kids.
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[...] For The Love of Comics blog and Panels of Awesome website are running this interesting Comic pool that is similar to the NCAA March Madness & Final Four Tournament. Go to For The Love of Comics blog here for all the details: http://www.fortheloveofcomics.com/2008/03/11/awesome-arena-tournament-of-champions-pool-win-prizes/ [...]
I pimped this out on my blog for all the three ppl that read it. Hopefully one of the three win something. 
This is gonna be awesome!
This week is pretty tough, I’m not gonna lie. And, CrackerBob, while I know you’re a Batfan…I gotta give the win to Tony on this one.
Okay, so they’re both millionaress, and have access to alot of equipment, so it would be pretty evenly matched. However, Iron Man gets the one up, and heres why
a) his suit is more protective that Batmans. If Tony took a Batarang or whatever to the face, his shielding/armor would most likely save him. All Stark’s gotta do is zap Batty with a plasma weapon once to incapacitate him, at the least.
b) If it were too the death, who would crack first and take a life? My bet is on Stark for that one.
c) If it is a deathmatch, all Stark would have to do was stun Bruce, grab him, and fly up into the atmosphere. Batman would be fucked!
So week one? Goes to Iron Man.
Hmmm… fair enough, make sure to head over to http://www.panelsofawesome.com/2008/03/10/awesome-arena-toc-round-1/ to vote in the poll, comment, and lock in your (losing =op) vote!
We shall see. I’ll give you this… my favorite characters are not going to be winners when this tournament ends.
And rules are rules…I need the link to your myspace post. If you’d rather not have the link all over the place, feel free to e-mail it to crackerbob@fortheloveofcomics.com
Yeah, that could be hard to link…hmmm…. friend myspace.com/fuh_queue so I can see it really quick?
I totally believe you, but if I just take your word, then I have to take everyone else’s word….
Ok, bonus point for AJ, which brings us to a tie between RJP and AJ so far.
BUT!!! AJ and RJP have opposing viewpoints on Round 1, which means this tie WILL! BE! BROKEN!!
The tension is killing me. =op
Hah, the tension is quite…tense.
On another note, you know what would be awesome? If, when a round ended, either you or Mike (you could alternate week by week) wrote up a mock battle report, taking into account all the pros/cons of each contestant that were discussed in the blog comments.
For example, when Iron Man makes his inevitable comeback in Round 1, one of you writes up the story of how he lays the smackdown on Batboy.
I think writing up the details of how Batman drove Tony Stark back to his martinis is an excellent idea - I’ll get with Mike and arm-wrestle him to see who gets to do it.
Sweet!
And for whoever wins, thats an easy assignment. Batman drove Tony Stark back to his martinis in the Batmobile, cause Iron Man whooped his ass and made him is bitch.
Iron Man whipped Tony Stark’s ass and made him his bitch, too? Tony had a rough day, it was very nice of Batman to drive Tony to the bar after whipping his ass.
Okay Fox News…don’t you think you’re reaching when you have to resort to twisting my words to support your clearly wrong point of view?
=P
(PS - I decided to blogulate it too http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=126725421&blogID=366090674)
Ok, that Fox News thing was just low. I’m not the one using pages from Rove’s playbook by blatantly lying. =op
I’ll have you know, Emperor Palp…uh…I mean…Mr. Rove…is a great man and a patriot! God bless his soul and may the Force be with him.
*snicker*
I really really REALLY need to put together a post about why the rise of Palpatine and Vader was the fault of the Jedi Council.
This is true, I really just need to set aside the time to type it.
And I’m glad that we agree on that, at least.
[...] can win prizes while you’re at it. The full details can be found either here, on POA, or on For The Love of Comics, who is also presenting this contest to the masses. It’s guaranteed to be a fun time if [...]
As I said on POA; Batman, hands down. It might be a close fight but Batman is an extremely resilient character. Iron Man relies only on his gadgets and his skills as a strategist, Batman has both of these qualities at his disposal and an arsenal more. Maybe he’ll force Stark off the Wagon by using some Johnny Walker Black as bait, lol.
http://www.panelsofawesome.com/2008/03/10/awesome-arena-toc-round-1/#comment-677
Just linking a new comment I made about this fight on POA.
http://www.comicvine.com/myvine/MidKnight/blog/&blogId=27832
Link to my comicvine blog telling people about the tournament. would’ve have posted it in my last comment but sadly i didn’t think to do it until after i had posted the previous one =S
Bah, you kids and your Batman!
Question. Which fight will be next? Is it a secret till next week, or are you going down/across the rows?
A link to the tourny is also on my Facebook as it imports rss feeds from my blog as “Notes”. Don’t know if that counts as one post or two.
How do you set that RSS thing up, Robert?
The next fight is really Mike’s call, but I think the plan is to go down the left side, then the right, making Martian Manhunter vs Flash the next battle.
But, like I said, that’s really Mike’s call.
Also, since the only way to really share on facebook would be to put it in notes, I’m going to make a judgement call and award the extra point.
Robert is now in the lead.
That’s theoretically possible, though I don’t think it’s happened before. Would you like to enter the pool with that as your vote?
If that is permissable it would come in handy. There are a few fights up there I really can’t decide on a winner for. One that I’m looking forward to is Sentry vs. Superman I honestly have no idea with that one. Yeah I know a lot of you are saying Superman hands down blah blah blah…. But Sentry, as much of a new character he is, has the power of a million exploding suns at his disposal. Sure he’s pretty messed up in the head but I think he might have a really good chance when I look back at some of the issues he has appeared in. I mean come on he damn near destroyed The Hulk. I feel that anyone who can do that can go toe to toe with Supes……..
…Oh wait Batman hasn’t bitch slapped Iron Man yet (Don’t lie to yourselves Iron Fans, you all know in your hearts it will happen true.) So I am getting way ahead of myself, sorry. =)
Dude, the Sentry/Supes battle is definitely the fight I’m anticipating most out of this whole event. (That’s actually why I asked fighting order, cause I didn’t want that to be last, haha). I’m going to save my discussion of each match for when the match happens though, so that each debate won’t lose flavor.
Sorry all, I thought “draw” WAS an option for some reason, but I guess a draw would make it kind of hard to advance.
Besides, putting your money on “draw” would be throwing a point just as surely as putting it on Iron Man. =op
Also, I’m dying to see this side wager.
Depends, what do you have in mind?
Also, I posted about it over at the View Askew Message Boards (I’m totally gay for Kevin Smith)
Here’s the link if ya want it - http://www.viewaskew.com/theboard/viewtopic.php?p=2848278#2848278
Another bonus point for AJ and we’re back to a tie!
Also, kiss my ass, we’re TOTALLY original! Except when we’re, you know, participating in an activity that is as old as comics itself. But with a new and awesome twist!
Oh well, at least you know that this is where the cool kids hang out.
*goes back to reading and writing reviews*
How’s this: If (When) Batman wins you MUST create an entry in your blog, or web-site, or here if you do not have either of those. It must be in essay form, at least 1000 words and it must be about why Batman is truly the better character than Iron Man and about how wrong you were to believe in a false prophet lol. You must provide evidence to prove your statements (That won’t be hard.) as well you must apologize to your opponent (me) for doubting their superiority.
Vice versa if Iron Man win. The essay must be written before the end of the following fight, that’s 7 days to do it. A Link to said essay must be provided on both POA and For the Love of Comics.
lol man I could just imagine a lame PPV commercial for this,”In a world of Batmen who fight Iron Men, two bitter enemies will fight for their beliefs! Who will win? Who will lose? Who will SHARPEN THEIR PENCIL?!
[...] Of ‘course my money was on the Bat… I mean come on, its BATMAN everyone! Round II is starting up really soon so go here and get involved: http://www.fortheloveofcomics.com/2008/03/11/awesome-arena-tournament-of-champions-pool-win-prizes/Â… [...]
[...] all the excitement over the Tournament of Champions trash-talking, I almost forgot what tonight is - the return of FRIDAY! NIGHT! [...]
Reitterating Argument for how and why Batman should (and will) win this fight):
HE’S FREAKING BATMAN! That is all…
No, but seriously. Batman is a genius first and foremost, a phenom(sp?) Detective. Expert Strategist with a contingency plan for just about everything. Billionaire who can buy anything you can imagine. Works best when it appears he has the disadvantage. And he has time to prepare for this fight (Yeah I said I wasn’t going to use that argument but w/e). Not only will Batman win this fight but he will also move on to the final round.
Oh yeah, before you say it, I know Iron Man shares some of these qualities but keep in mind: His greatest strength AND his greatest weakness is how much he relies on his armor. With no armor there is no Iron Man but Batman’s arsenal is vast in it’s entirety.
I agree with you other than making it to the final round. It’s possible that he’ll make it through the next round, but he’d definitely drop in the round after that, if that opponent is who I think it will be.
That’s Fair Crackerbob and I think I know which opponent you were referring to. But keep in mind even he can be defeated.
Probably, but I’m not sure that Batman could do it.
I mean, does a god have a technological weakness for Batman to exploit? It’s not like Superman, who can be taken out with Kryptonite.
Anyway, we’ll get to that when it comes time to discuss him.
I actually need to do a little research on a few combatants to make sure I understand all their strengths and weaknesses.
That’s why I said at the beginning of this on POA that I was a bit sad that my favorites would not be making it to the end of this thing.
Hmmm… I wonder if Batman would be worthy pf picking up you know what if you know who had dropped it in an odd turn of events. He’d be able to win then.
I’m a bit rusty on the mechanics of it all, but if he picked up you know what, wouldn’t he, in effect, become you know who?
Also, do you really think anyone is fooled and doesn’t know who we’re talking about?
No, I don’t think anyone is fooled. At least..I’m not. Or I’m so fooled I think I’m not fooled.
And as far as I remember, if Batman picked up you know what, no, he wouldn’t become you know who, he would just gain some of the powers.
You could be right.
But honestly, I don’t think Batman could pick it up anyway; he doesn’t embody those qualities.
AJ is right he would merely inherit you know who’s powers but about not having the qualities of picking it up. I’ll do a little research and get back to you.
and yeah I think we are being very obvious but lets keep this up until the round when you know who will fight Batman then we can all realize we are all talking about different people and be like O. M. G.
That would be funny… but if we’re talking about different people, I’d be wondering what y’all mean by you-know-what. =op
Hah, well it won’t matter anyway, cause if either of the two current fighters made it to that round, it would be Iron Man.
And he couldn’t pick you know what up either.
Worthiness: As the inscription says, one must be worthy to wield You Know What. In fact, an unworthy being cannot even pick it up, even if that being has the strength of the Hulk. The You Know Who’s Father decides who is worthy. On rare occasions, beings other than You know who have used You Know What
BUT
Power of Recall: When You Know Who throws You Know What, it returns to his hand with irresistable force. In the same way, he can summon it to himself even if it has not been thrown.
In other words: Batman would have to act really fast with powerful force before You Know Who recalls it. But I’m not sure if the Power of Recall is still applicable if Someone else is in possesion of You Know What. I’ll keep digging and get back to you on this.
This is all according to http://en.marveldatabase.com/Main_Page
Searched under You know Who’s, You Know What.
Others known to have picked up You Know What:
Earth-616 reality
* You Know Who’s deformed Rip-Off
* You Know Who’s Daddy
* Red Norvell
* Steve Rogers operating as US Agent
* Thunderstrike Eric Masterson.
* Superman [1]
* Wonder Man [2]
Alternate Reality (Non-canon)
* Conan the Barbarian[3]
* Crusader (Sarah Rogers) from Earth-9811[4]
* Dargo Ktor
* Hulk[5]
* You Know Who’s son.
* You Know who’s Other Son from the Guardians of the Galaxy (Earth-691) future.
* Tiwaz
* Wonder Woman[6]
Again from http://en.marveldatabase.com/Main_Page Searched under You Know Who’s, You Know What.
I’ve only known of two people to wield you-know-what, and both are very noble, old-school knight types, not street-level, gritty dark knight types.
By that definition, Batman isn’t “worthy”
I also thought that maybe if Batman had destroyed You Know What he could take away You Know Who’s Powers so I searched some more and found this on Wikipedia searched yet again under, You Know Who’s, You Know What.
Limitations
Although an incredibly powerful weapon, You Know What is not indestructible. It has been damaged several times over the years:
* Molecule Man shattered the atomic bonds between the You Know What’s molecules, vaporizing it.
* A force beam from the Destroyer sliced it in two.[40]
* You Know Who shattered You Know What after channeling an incredible amount of energy at the Celestial Exitar.[41]
* Perrikus cut the You Know What in half with a magical scythe.[42]
* You Know What was shattered when it collided with the uru weapons of You Know Who’s Step-Brother Storm Giant followers, resulting in an atomic-scale explosion.[43]
* You Know What exploded upon impact when attempting to breach the N-Zone wall during the Annihilation Conquest.
It seems as though magic can have an effect of You Know Who’s, You Know What. So maybe if Batman got a little help from Zatanna….
Perhaps, but it’s a one-on-one fight.
I don’t like it, but it doesn’t seem like Batman can win this one.
Meh, it’s more of a Batman obsession thean anything for me I guess/hope not to mention I have that bet with Aj and I can’t wait for him to write me that essay. And he better use proper grammar damnit!
Well I know it’s a one on one fight but since it’s no holds barred maybe Zatanna can make him a weapon to use against You Know Who.
It will be freaking glorious, Crackerbob. I think you should devote a whole section of For the Love of Comics to it. And you should title it, “AJ’s Remorse.”
If Wikipedia was a man, and I was gay, and I met Wikipedia at a truckstop, and he had just driven for eighteen hours straight, and I hadn’t had sex in four months…well….you get the idea.
Yeah, I’m definitely a fan. I wonder if there’s a way to set up a default for those who don’t have gravatars…
Oh yeah i’ve been meaning to post a link to this since i decided to enter the pool. I know we’ve probably all seen it but it’s just so fitting for this.
Don’t worry about why I was at a truckstop in that hypothetical scenario.
Anyway, “AJ’s Remorse”? Not going to happen. “Midknight’s Remorse” maybe. I forgot, when does the first week come to an end? Is it tommorow night or Tuesday?
And finally…how do I get my own gravatar?
I’ll have to consult with Mike, but I believe today is the final day of week one.
To get your own gravatar, go sign up at http://www.gravatar.com . It’s easy and free!
[...] you were planning on participating in Tournament of Champions Pool, you have until 7pm this evening, Central Time, to get your vote in on POA and claim your points on [...]
[...] forget to tip your waitress!!Cracka’s Note: During the craziness of the first week of the Awesome Arena Tournament of Champions battle between Batman and Iron Man, MidKnight and AJ placed a bet on who would win. MidKnight supported - of course - The Dark Knight. [...]
[...] can win prizes while you’re at it. The full details can be found either here, on POA, or on For The Love of Comics, who is also presenting this contest to the masses. It’s guaranteed to be a fun time if [...]
[...] Continue reading this great post here [...]