blogs_blog_1374

With Twilight, I am just going to say that the books are better than the movies. And for the area of competition...

If we can't have both, then Gandalf.

Area of competition: Let's face it. Twilight sucks. The resolution to the giant conflict at the end of the series is some deus ex machina guy who corrects everyone and they all go home and the status quo is 100% preserved. Now imagine that the deus ex machina guy was replaced by someone completely different, something epic.

 

This is where Gandalf and Beethoven come in. Gandalf is epic. Between him and the two brooding boys in the series, I'd be team Gandalf. Yet, Beethoven is perhaps the greatest musician of all time. Imagine if he had appeared at the end and resolved all the conflict with his awesomeness (instead of the lameness of the other deus ex machina guy) and composed the film score. Granted, it would tarnish their good names, but then there would actually be something redeeming about Twilight. Which would give the last Twilight have at least a snowball's chance at being cool?

 

Just so that the last theme won't be forgotten. Anyway, the new match-off:

 

Gandalf vs. Jean Valjean

 

Area of Competition: Significance within literary history

 

24601

Interesting comparison. I'd say that Jean Valjean is probably more significant on account of the stage production rather than the book. Gandalf, as well as the entirety of Lord of the Rings, is also a much more accessible piece of fiction than Les Misérables. For that reason I'm going to say Gandalf, but it's easily debatable.

 

I also have not read/seen/watched any version of Les Misérables, so that may bias my answer.

Well, I have no clue who the other guy is so I'm voting Gandalf.

Uninformed voters...I am sighing. This response centers primarily around your use of the word "accessible" and what I assume you meant:

 

Actually, Les Misérables is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and insightful looks into humanity ever written. Jean Valjean was significant for a long time before the stage production and the book and its characters are considered to be very accessible. To suggest otherwise seems an oxymoron.

 

It's funny, though, because both works are famous for being very dry reads. From my experience, as I am reading through both of them, Les Miserables is actually easier to get through.

 

24601

Jean Valjean!

Sorry, I appreciate Jean Valjean and he certainly has a better singing voice. But I still personally prefer Gandalf and his methods for inducing change in Middle Earth.

 

Well, it looks like one of those elections. Unfortunately I had a very, very specific meaning in mind when I first expressed the poorly-worded category of comparison, and the comparison was unrelated to coolness but rather pertained to some rather complex art philosophy of mine that I spent forever debating elsewhere and still couldn't fully express my views. I realize now that people simply aren't seeing things the way I am.

 

Anyway, it looks to be one of those elections. Gandalf won the popular vote, but Valjean won the electoral college. His name is just written all over it.

 

So the next round I'm just going to divide Valjean up and face him off against himelf.

 

Colm Wilkinson vs. Alfie Boe

 

Area of Competition: Who's the real Valjean?

 

24601

Colm Wilkinson, hands down. Alfie Boe has a fantastic voice, but he's not Jean Valjean in the way that Wilkinson is. Oh my -gosh- Colm is amazing.

 

For those that don't know: Colm Wilkinson=original Broadway Jean Valjean, and the Valjean for the 10th Anniversary Edition; Alfie Boe is the 25th Anniversary Edition's Valjean.

While Colm does a good job, He cannot match the emphasis Alfie makes (seriously, if I was voting for which Valjean's singing I'd match I'd vote for Colm, since I'm about as bad at adding emphatic emotion as he is). What Have I Done decided it for me: Alfie's version sounded like a piercing cry from the heart (I have finally found music that matches my emotions at times!) and fits well the phrase "...Nothing remains but the cries of my hate" while Colm's version sounded like a stunned murmur, although not bad. But Alfie's pierced to the heart, while Colm only cut through a few of the outer layers.

 

So yeah:

 

#team alfie

 

Zarayna

Alright, so I listened to multiple songs sung by both performancers, so as to not base my answer on one performance. With the kind of music they were performing, I prefer to hear the emotion the lyrics are meant to bring and be able to connect to the music, but only one did that for me. I enjoyed the other voice as well, because it was a deeper voice, but that doesn't work with all the songs I listened to, which is probably why I couldn't feel the emotion and connect. So my vote is for Colm Wilkinson! Thank you!

*Kraggh fistpumps the air*

 

Alright, just for giggles, I'm going to do something completely unfair...

 

Colm Wilkinson vs. Justin Bieber

 

Area fo competition: singing

 

24601

I know pretty much nothing about both of these people....

 

My vote goes to Ellen McClain.

Colm Wilkinson, obviously.

totally the Biebs. he's such a heartthrob. <3

I like Bieber's song Never Say Never, but that is the only one I really know. My vote will be Colm! Good thing it wasn't based on looks.

Colm Wilkinson vs. Christopher Reeves

 

Area of Competition: Who's harder to replace for their respective iconic roles. (And in case you can't tell, I absolutely love both.)

 

24601

Christopher Reeves.

Colm Wilkinson.

Christopher Walken.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE!

This is it, guys. This will be my final entry for this beloved and wonderfully popular quasi-daily Versus game. I always wanted to go out with a bang, and so I've saved the best and the ultimate pair-off for the last.

 

Superman vs. Batman!

 

Area of comparison: Everything. Just argue the heck out of which character you like more, which has a greater meaning, which is cooler, which is the crown jewel of DC, which you aspire more to be like, etc.

 

24601

Superman. Hands down. To quote Mak, the only powers he doesn't have are things he hasn't tried yet.

I'm just going to say, there was once this animated movie about Superman and Batman. I can't remember what they were doing, but both characters got into an argument about the case, and both were meeting each other for the first time. When Superman learns that Batman is someone who goes around the law to get the job done, he at first sees him as a villain, and punches him, slamming the bat into the wall.

 

Batman gets up a little, Superman approaches. Batman holds his head cause he's a little dizzy, maybe a little concerned at the power of this guy.

 

Then he reaches into his utility belt, and takes out the smallest plastic bag, that holds a very small piece of Kryptonite.

 

Superman backs away, defeated.

 

Batman says, "It doesn't take much, does it?"

Batman is a villain. He's just an anti-villain who functions as a necessary evil.

 

24601