#MakeThisBattle Feedback - 1st May 2024 (Patreon)

Well now, what has it been, ages? I blame myself, and you should too. Hi, I'm Nice Peter and I've got seven matchups here submitted by patrons. I'm hoping for some golden ideas!

So, let’s dive in and think about maybe making these battles!

Galileo vs Ada Lovelace [Submitted by MarblePipes]

This one sticks out as solid off the bat. I see Ada Lovelace pop up consistently in ERB suggestions and museum gift shop children’s books. I’ve learned about her before, I hesitantly believe she is the first computer programmer? Confirmed, thank you Google. Ada was a math wizard. Galileo is equally wizard-y. (My soon to be 6 year old and I are four chapters away from finishing Prisoner of Azkaban btw, very exciting!)

I like this one for a lot of reasons. Like seriously, I genuinely believe this is the kind of suggestion that the series needs to listen to more often as a guiding star. This is thick legit history that everyone should know more about. It’s a Ford vs Marx type battle. It’s got computers and math. I just looked at Galileo - what a great look. Ada costume is grand. I need somebody to tell me why we shouldn’t make this battle?

Predator vs Geralt Of Rivia [Submitted by Crabcakes]

Ha. That’s my first honest response. I wanted to hate this, I started rolling my eyes and deciding to type some snarky brief response like “no” and then move on. But, there is value here, there is something to learn. This Geralt dude - he’s got a lot of material. Games, shows, actors. There is a lot of commonly known (at least to those who would know) stuff to joke about Geralt. I have never played any of the games or seen any of the shows and I could still come up with a few bangers.

Predator - obviously is awesome! Vocally there’s some fun to be had exploring (want some candy?!”) Two amazing movies to reference, everything else to pretend doesn’t exist. Actually they share some similarity there too, besides just the monster hunter thing I just had to Google because I didn’t understand how these two were connected. These are both great creative characters who have shined and shat on screen. It’s weird, but I like it. I’d watch it.

Spock vs Diogenes [Submitted by Violet]

No. Sorry. Just no.

Paul Atreides vs Ramesses II [Submitted by fishbulb]

Oooooohhh! Oh man I want to like this, and I give many points for creativity. This is a clever match-up between a currently hot classic character and a nice juicy history man. I couldn’t stomach Paul Atreides. I liked the movies. But that kind of simmering stew of dramatic tension character feels tiresome. It would need a real light counter balance and I don’t know if Ramesses can come in for chuckles. Bond worked as a simmering stew tension bubble because Austin Powers could consistently pop it. I think in order to do this properly Ramesses would have to be very flamboyant, but I think the expectation from the audience would be for Ramesses to be a powerful stoic badass with some simmering violence.

Megatron vs Benito Mussolini [Submitted by PinkFlare]

Yes. In all seriousness this is great. I mean it’s terrible... but it’s also so great. You continue to amaze me with this kind of suggestion. It just feels right, almost like it was always meant to be. I read this and think “duh, that’s awesome”. I've looked online and there’s even a 3D model for Megatron! I want to try looking more into this one. I’ll bring this up to Lloyd and Zach. It’s very funny to me.

Neil Armstrong & Buzz Aldrin vs Frodo & Sam [Submitted by Primeval]

Another brain tickler. My instant reaction is I like it, there’s a lot of lovability here. Although I’m kind of permanently turned off by Neil Armstrong because of my emotional experience of trying to watch that movie which dealt with his daughter dying, so there’s that. But, objectively I recognize he’s a giant figure of known history. Frodo and Sam feel goofy next to these two. A lot to love there too but I think the big group pairing just doesn’t quite click. Buzz Aldrin in the title also feels… a flimsy extra. Like adding Scotty Pippen to Michael Jordan. I do like where this suggestion is trying to explore, but I’m not going.

The Mask vs Beetlejuice [Submitted by Lopez]

Very fun. Very fun. Very fun. I don’t like it as much as Jane Goodall vs Ace Ventura. But I do like it. I wish it could just happen in real life though, you know? These characters are both so big and specific… it would just be such a showcase of impression I think. God I would love to watch this though. This feels like the kind of battle that someone needs to write and then squeeze out of computers, like so much AI toothpaste. I'm not sure it'd work for us as an ERB.

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This concludes another mind blowing episode of #MakeThisBattle. My mind is actually in fact blown by how much I like "Galileo vs Lovelace" and "Megatron vs Mussolini". Mmmmmm that last one just roooolllllls off the tongue. You can even switch it…. "Muuuuuussoliniiiiii vs Megatron".

Ada Lovelace vs Galileo is a tougher uphill climb. But it feels worth it. That one feels like the kind of “this will help me win a game of trivia in 6 years” type of battle that gives the series’ name a little bit of street cred. I want it to work, let’s see if that’s enough -nice peter

Here are some extra thoughts from our manager HeadMonk...

Mussolini vs Megatron leapt off the screen when I saw it. It's kinda silly of course. But I could see us making it one day. I loved Transformers as a kid. And I do think Mussolini would be a great role for Lloyd to portray.

I also like Atreides vs Ramesses - I think the latter could be flamboyant and a badass! I would really love to get a Pharaoh in to an ERB and whilst I do find Atreides a bit of a flimsy character, Dune is such a big IP at the moment. Its a nice pairing that could work.

With Spock vs Diogenes I do understand Peter's dislike for it. But, its an interesting concept. with logic vs cynicism obviously at its core. I'm just not sure you could make 2 or 3 verses out of it. Maybe those characters could work in a royale setup? I dunno who with.

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And so a new round of MTB kicks off!

The theme this time around is "Put the twerk in quirk".

Let's focus down on a few wacky ideas. Things that may seem bizarre to many but have some real magic juice to some. Things that maybe shouldn't happen but YOU want to see happen!

You can of course always ignore the theme completely if you prefer. But, when selecting the match-ups for feedback we will select 2 or more suggestions that suit the theme.

Same rules apply. Seven match-ups in total will be selected. A maximum of three suggestions per person. You can post them in the comments below, email them to erbpatreon@gmail.com or post them on the dedicated channel on the ERB Discord.

Deadline for submissions is... 5pm PT on Monday 20th May.

Talk soon! -HM