#MakeThisBattle Feedback - May 4th (Patreon)

What time is it? It's MTB time! :) We narrowed down all your suggestions to a magnificent seven and I have tasked Lloyd to offer up his views on them. So, let's see what he thought!

Roald Dahl vs Hugh Hefner [submitted by Padsdemic]

Hugh Hefner is a must for me at some point. James Bond vs Hefner was a big player back in the day but we covered Bond with Powers, so I'm not sure who the right match for him would be now. I don't think it's Roald Dahl. But I THINK I get the connection in that apparently Dahl was a big playboy himself. I'm following you on how it's funny that such an iconic children's author would slay so much in the bedroom; but I don't think the connection nor the backstory of those two characters line up well enough to justify that match up in a battle.  

Malcolm X vs Leon Trotsky [submitted by Evan Powell]

This is interesting. Revolutionary's revolting against one another. Both assassinated. Both sort of unrealized in their true potential. It's heady and not too fun, but I see why they both deserve a spot in the annals. My issue with this one is that I don't feel like these two guys would have a real beef with one another. Not sure how Russians felt, or would feel about African Americans (would Trotsky be a huge racist?) at the time but never the less, we could give it a "who's the best revolter" type style and just have them pick one another apart.  

Judge Dredd vs Hammurabi [submitted by Erik Bell]

I like Hammurabi a lot. He's ancient. He's from a part of the world that we don't often cover.  He has a lot of known things and many information titbits that would be discoverable.  I think finding a cool rapper to portray him would be a great opportunity to give some untapped potential some shine. Judge Dredd feels like a decent balance for eyeballs and internet popularity. I get the connection and it's fun. Sadly the only connection i make to the Dredd character is the Sly Stallone movie; but I suspect the story and details go far deeper than that. I think it'd be fun to find them out.  

Jane Goodall vs Tarzan [submitted by Medichistes]

I love this! We have been trying to do Goodall for a while and this feels like the perfect set up.  I think these two might not like each other much at all. Tarzan is one of the apes and would much prefer to just be left alone by humans. Goodall, while in the right spirit might just be causing more harm than good by trying to study these animals. Great visuals.  Popular characters. And monkeys!!! Well done. I can see this battle taking shape sooner than later. 

Fidel Castro vs Mao Zedong [submitted by Swegmaster]

Yup. I'm with this one big time. I see this as another Teddy vs Churchill but from different parts of the world, and with characters slightly less wholesome. I really enjoy the different looks and that both are from parts of the world outside the US and Europe. It just reeks of epic right from the start. I think you could find conflict and contradictions all over each of these characters. They did some awful things but in the name of a cause that they felt passionately was best for their country. This is another match up I could realistically see happening within the next batch of battles. Rad.

Jigsaw vs Kevin McCallister [submitted by GlenOck]

It's pretty cute. Booby trap battle! I do like the idea of another child being portrayed in a battle and "Home Alone" is a classic wholesome movie. I think millions of people would enjoy seeing Kevin in a battle. It'd also be fun to cast a young YouTube talent to come rip it up as Kev.  Lots of quotes. Lots of easy to access moment from both movies. Jigsaw is so brutal and bloody and horrific, that the contrast between the two sides would be a really fun dichotomy. I think Kevin would have to walk away the hero if we wanted the battle to fly.  I don't mean letting him win on purpose but probably he'd go last and leave the video on a real positive note, rather than a dark one. Especially if we uploaded this one around Christmas time. But does Ho-ho-horror really vibe?

Nelson Mandela vs Richard Nixon [submitted by KaibaLord236 & Tony Rigatoni]

Two massive characters, check. Two big personalities, check. Two pages from history that deserve to be covered, check. Two characters that should be matched up together...not so much. I love the idea of seeing these guys in an ERB but I see it as a waste of time for each of them to match them up together because the connection is pretty thin and it leaves no room to explore other tangential aspects of their histories. You'd have to spend most of the first verse kinda explaining why they are in the same battle together. Seems like you'd be missing an opportunity on both sides to match these people with opponents that complimented their pasts rather than one that would leech energy from it.  

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"Pete's Hot Takes!" - Nice Peter chips in with some thoughts!

Hi there! I missed you, Lloyd I hope you don't mind if I weigh in a little. Baby is sleeping, toddler is sleeping, I've got some magical raps to pour over, but first I've got to share some thoughts on this MTB.

My favorite on this list is Nelson Mandela vs Richard Nixon. This is excellent and I don't even know why. Maybe because Richard Nixon was totally a racist who played to the racist undertones of the American voters. Maybe it's because Morgan Freeman is such a stud in that "Invictus" movie about rugby. However you slice it, I think this would be really fun to watch, and also to write, A+

My least favorite on this list, by a mile, is Jane Goodall vs Tarzan. That may surprise you, seeing as dear old Jane has made it to the top of my list recently, at least as far as the plebes on the YouTube live stream know. I just think Tarzan is a dork. Does he even talk?  Isn't he mono-syllabic?  I'd rather watch Jane Goodall vs one of those really smart African Grey parrots. At least they do killer impressions. With Tarzan all I can think of is that poster from the recent movie where his man-boobs are too flappy.   

"Monk's Hot Takes" - our manager HeadMonk offers a few thoughts...

I do love how this feedback from Lloyd and Pete demonstrates how we all have very different ideas about match-ups. There is no 'right' answer that's for sure. One day a character can be out in the cold. Next day they are front of the queue. After Rod Serling vs H.P. Lovecraft won the last MTB poll I went out and bought a collection of Lovecraft's stories and I'll be reading through them this month. So, this whole makethisbattle process is certainly having a big positive effect on the characters we look into it.

From the match-up selection this time Hammurabi is a name that interests me simply because it does seem pretty damn cool to delve that far back into history (1750 BC). I have always loved the idea of Richard Nixon in an ERB, probably more so than any other President. But, I think I'd prefer to see Nixon go up against another notorious 'villainous' type character. No matter who is opponent - he's certainly gotta feature one day - right? Whilst I agree with Lloyd that the connection in Roald Dahl vs Hugh Hefner is a little thin, the more I think about it - it does strike me as just a guaranteed fun time. Likewise, Jigsaw vs Kevin McCallister sounds like a freaking hoot! I love the Saw movies and I think pairing Jigsaw with someone much more light-hearted sounds like the way to go.

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We are now accepting your submissions for a new round of MakeThisBattle. :)

The theme this time is "Dance Like Nobody Is Watching" - we are looking for characters that did great things in their life, but without any great fanfare or perhaps without getting the recognition they actually deserved during their lives. Maybe they are now revered. Maybe they still go overlooked. We'd like to see what characters which fit this theme, you feel could be worthy of recognition in an ERB.

Appropriately the name of this theme comes from a quote "You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth.” Which when you read it for the first time, sounds rather grand. It's often attributed to Mark Twain, Satchel Paige or William Purkey; but it is actually derived from lyrics from a little known country music song.

As ever... you can ignore this theme completely if you wish!

Same rules apply. Three suggestions per person. You can post them in the comments below, email them to erbpatreon@gmail.com or post them on the Discord server in the dedicated '#make-this-battle' channel.

Deadline for submissions is... 9am PT on Wednesday 13th May.