#MakeThisBattle Feedback - 14th June 2022 (Patreon)

Ladies and gentlemen of the Patreon… I'm Nice Peter and today marks the 50th edition of this heralded event we have come to know as "Make This Battle". Please accept my gratitude and praise for your continued creativity, enthusiasm, and heart.

Your suggestions, ideas, and contributions have been a steadying force, as well as a consistent propellant. You are the booster and the tail fins. The engine and the air in the tires. Bravo. Now please imagine Shania Twain singing “You're Still The One” softly in the background as we all hold hands. Who’s crying? 

Without further Mountain Dew, let’s dig down into your latest suggestions...

J Edgar Hoover vs Mystery Inc [submitted by Fishbulb]

Ha. You Scooby Do fans just won’t quit. That’s good, I don’t think Scooby would want you to quit. Is this suggesting one man vs the entire crew? That seems odd to me. Also I think I’d prefer to see an opposing criminality, as in, some bad guys against Mystery Inc.  That said, I think history has shown J Edgar Hoover to be a pretty bad dude, after all. I think including all of the Mystery Inc characters is a bit much, but I’m warming every day to some sort of Scooby or Shaggy appearance.

Naruto vs Hercules [submitted by RockyRallyXD397]

My daughter runs like Naruto. At least what the internet has told me Naruto runs like.  Remember when that was a thing? A group of people trying to Naruto run into Area 51? As for this matchup, I dig it. I like Naruto and I’ve always been wanting to have a reason to get Hercules in there. To me, the challenge with Hercules is that we’ve done Zeus so completely. I know Hercules has his own stories, but they all feel a little “supporting cast” after doing the King Pin himself.  It’s like having a Stormtrooper have his own battle after Darth Vader. (That said, I guess Boba Fett was fun) Nevertheless, the inclusion of Naruto makes it work, somehow. I would enjoy the research, the visuals, the music. My name is Nice Peter, and I support this matchup!

Charlie Chaplin vs Willy Wonka [submitted by Oscar72]

If there’s two fandoms I always enjoy disappointing, it’s Saw fans and Mr Bean fans. I feel like with this matchup, we could anger them both. I love this. I don’t know why I love it, but I don’t know why I love hot sauce either, I just do. This feels fun, historical, challenging, click-worthy. We could have a Charlie Chaplin silent section, instead of trying to pull together some sort of entire silent battle. He could get behind some old microphones and start talking like he did in “The Great Dictator”.  Both characters have so much in common, but also so much to argue about. It’s an odd pairing, but it works. I say let’s do it. Take a hike, Rowan Atkinson. And you too, torture cancer guy.

Captain America vs John F. Kennedy [submitted by Rev690]

Ewww, this one feels icky for some reason. Too sugary? Too syrupy. Something about it rubs me the right way for too long, until it becomes the wrong way. In general I’ve always veered away from John F Kennedy.  If I’m being honest I think it’s because Lloyd thinks he can pull him off and I don’t think he can. It’s not an argument I feel like having, and there’s not many, if any characters, that I don’t believe Lloyd can pull off, so it makes me want to trust my instincts. But I also want to trust my partner, it’s a paradox of ick. Captain America is fun, if you don’t really like fun that much. He just seems too bland to me for ERB. He’s the Tom Brady of super heroes.

Kratos vs Hellboy [submitted by GW]

Now this is more like it. Give me the big guys, the big characters larger than life and hopping off the screen to yell in your face. This is fun. I never got too into Hellboy but I know people love it and I know I like red face paint, so I’m sold. For Kratos we already have a silvery white muscle suit waiting in our storage room, it’s just waiting for the signal. It gives me an excuse to watch movies my wife won’t like and play video games with juicy violence all under the umbrella of “'I'm doing work”!  What’s not to like? Bravo on this one, it’s got big red painted balls.

Kim Kardashian vs Barbie [submitted by HCISIAOW]

Lol. Well it definitely made me laugh. I’m truly surprised at how much staying power Kim Kardashian seems to have in ERB suggestions. She’s been a top suggestion for years now! I don’t think this specific matchup has the goods, as Barbie strikes me as even more vapid and materialistic than Kim, but this may very well be the suggestion that makes me stop resisting Kim Kardashian and just go with it. I think she’s going to be in a battle someday. It feels like it would be hard to resist Kanye trying to take it over, and then Pete Davidson coming in to back up Kim. Maybe that’s just fine, maybe….

Doctor Strange vs Rick Sanchez [submitted by GlenOck]

I do think Rick Sanchez brought to real life with a costume and a blue wig could be really funny. But it would certainly be a challenge. And his voice might be super annoying in a rap format. Is the connection just time traveling egos? Or am I missing something deeper. Either way, it’s fun, and you know I’ve always wanted to bring Doctor Strange into ERB. I don’t really know if Rick is the way forward or not. But, its a solid matchup idea, that I think the wider fanbase would certainly enjoy. 

So, those are the seven matchups in this 50th edition of MTB! Here’s to fifty more! As it was the 50th round, HeadMonk asked me to pick my favorite idea from these seven matchups and that lucky person is gonna receive some ERB memorabilia. 

Tough choice. But, I'm gonna  select "Wonka vs Chaplin". So, well done to "Oscar72"! We will be in touch with you soon. Well done for picking a great matchup! :)

Thanks again to all the other patrons who submitted ideas. Don’t ever stop being as creative and wonderful as you all are. On behalf of all of us here at ERB, make more popsicles at home, and eat them often. - nice peter

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Our manager HeadMonk offers his own thoughts on a couple of the match-ups...

Naruto vs Hercules is an intriguing idea. I was always a big fan of reading about ancient mythology growing up. Hercules is certainly deserving of an ERB appearance and I like the contrast of putting him up against a manga character. Hercules has his trials. Naruto goes on missions. There could be terrific action sequences. I don't know if it's just my own truth seeking balls talking, but I think this could be a great matchup. Unlike Peter I have zero concerns about us having done Zeus already. Hercules rocks.

Equally Chaplin vs Wonka certainly hits those name recognition bells. I can see them bouncing off one another very well in ERB. I can already visualise the thumbnail. The hats, the canes, the suits, the comedic personas. The innate desire to want to out do one another whilst riding the glass elevator. Chaplin is certainly one Charlie that Wonka wouldn't want causing mayhem in his factory. Willy Wonka actors Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp were both strongly influenced by Chaplin because he had an ability to do “very funny things, in a very serious tone”. 

Kratos vs Hellboy continues this list of characters who with just one name, you instantly know who we are talking about. Kratos has been a popular suggestion in recent years and there is a new God Of War game coming out next year. I know the most recent Hellboy move was a flop. but I'm gonna order some Hellboy comics just to dig a bit deeper into this idea.

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Another round of MTB begins! 

For the theme let's go with "Break The Chains".

We all often get lost worrying about connections between characters. But you don't always need complex links to create a good pairing. So, for this round of MTB lets see what we you come up with without worrying about specific links or connections. Just pick characters that feel interesting when paired together.

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 particularly 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 ERB Discord server in the dedicated '#make-this-battle' channel.

Deadline for submissions is... 5pm PT on Sunday 26th June.