#MakeThisBattle Feedback - April 27th

Hola! EpicLloyd has been looking through your matchup suggestions for this latest round of MakeThisBattle. Let's see if your ideas were a hit or a miss! 

Here is what he had to say...

Ramses II vs Moctezuma II [submitted by theformerprez & Belle the Fiend & Kanye West]

This sort of looks good on paper but once you start digging into it, it falls apart for me.  Mostly because of Moctezuma. My research is admittedly thin but from what I remember he kinda just got beaten by the Spanish. And now is known for poop revenge jokes. But Ramses II seems like a no-brainer. Perhaps the greatest pharaoh in history and expanded his kingdom and enjoyed great success. Seems like we should find a better opponent.

Mary Poppins vs Beetlejuice [submitted by FoxDoc]

I'm insulted. Saying the name Mary f*&king Poppins in the same sentence as my man Beetlejuice is a misdemeanour at best and likely should be a felony. This is a big no.

George W. Bush vs Saladin [submitted by Too Many People]

I'd be very eager to get Saladin into a rap battle. It's so crazy how narrow my history education was in high school and even college. We learned almost nothing about anyone who wasn't either American or European and this guy is one of the biggest tragedies of that system. What a boss character! That said, I do not think G.W. Bush is the right match-up at all. He was never very dominant in anything. The conflicts he was involved in were contested and protested and now he's most known for rubbing elbows with Michelle Obama and creating cute paintings. Not really a fair fight. Saladin would crush him.

Homer The Poet vs Dante Alighieri [submitted by Cheske & Swan]

This is pretty dope. We'd need to take some deep research dives and do a lot of reading but as far history goes these two made plenty of it and should hold a place in the rap battle circle. Challenges would be making this not too dry and bringing the worlds each created come alive. Could be a great opportunity for a mixed media background and stuff a la Dr. Seuss.  

Frodo vs Bigfoot [submitted by Byron Morales-Beza]

Bwahahahaha. This is really funny on paper. Maybe just funny enough....but likely not. Frodo does seem a little overdue but we've already done Gandalf and Tolkien so I imagine it will be a while before another LOTR character. Bigfoot has always had a fun place in my heart but I would have to root for Chewbacca as the match-up. No idea how they would talk. Maybe that's the fun.

Henry VIII vs John F. Kennedy [submitted by Paddy]

This I like a lot actually. We did Henry VIII already but it ended as you may have seen it never really landed where i wanted it. JFK is a character I've been a fan of for years. A womanizer (albeit not a murderer) yet a successful leader. Lots of great connections, and tons of colorful character details. I dig it.

King Arthur vs Professor X [submitted by SactoTed]

Interesting. I like that this match-up doesn't rely on the two characters be in a wheelchair or be bald which is what we get a lot for Professor X. There's certainly a ton of details for each to bring against the other and plenty of fun lore each is connected to. I think we'd need to see a lot of the characters that surround these two guys in order to bring this battle to life.  That might make the production expensive but I think the name recognition would be a big draw and make it worth it.

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Some thoughts from our manager HeadMonk...

It was a nice range of ideas this month. Lots of flavour. Sorry if your idea didn't get selected. We do only select seven choices but there were many that were unlucky not to make the cut. 

Ramses II is in my view the best Pharaoh for us to use in an ERB. But, King Tut will never stop being requested and has bigger name value for sure. But Ramses is certainly my preference. And I do dig the idea of making it a Aztecs vs Egyptians vibe. It's solid.

Mary Poppins vs Beetlejuice reminds me of Elsa vs Sub Zero. It's a similar setup. And the connection makes sense to me. Mary lovingly looks after a family. Beetlejuice try's to chase people away. I've not really liked many Poppins concepts before so I do think this is decent.

I actually like aspects of the other five matchups too. I am impressed.

King Arthur and Professor X would be great with cameos from the Round Table and X Men. Henry VIII vs JFK feels like a classic ERB style matchup. Homer vs Dante would need a lot of hydration and love but it could be great. Frodo vs Bigfoot is probably only Flash In The Pan material but again its a very nice idea. And then we have the much requested Bush vs Saladin - which is an interesting one and I think a nice way to use Bush in a battle. Modern West vs Medieval East. Two 'crusaders' of very different flavors. 

Excellent work this month. I will be interested to see which of these ideas wins the poll. Make sure you vote for your favorite!

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As one door closes, another opens! Yes, a new round of MakeThisBattle begins now!

The theme this time is "The Living Dead". No, its not horror based. We are simply looking for matchups which contain one character who is dead and one who is currently still living. EG: Bush vs Saladin or Mozart vs Skrillex

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

Same rules apply. Seven match-ups in total will be selected. 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... 5pm PT on Sunday 16th May