#MakeThisBattle Feedback - February 8th

Hello, I'm Nice Peter and welcome to another edition of "my neck hurts from sitting this way while I type up another edition of MakeThisBattle"! :)

Ah, that's better. Let's get down to business...

Crazy Horse vs Pancho Villa [submitted by Crabcakes125]

I feel like this suggestion has always been there, but I don't know if I've actually ever seen it before. That's a good sign. It feels right. I've always liked Crazy Horse since reading a book about him and Custer a few years ago. A Native American rep in an ERB would be good. Crazy Horse or Sitting Bull are the common suggestions. Our challenge is casting. We found some great Native American rappers on YouTube but they felt very serious. I think Lloyd has more recently discovered a few great candidates though, and I think Rob Rico could come back to play Pancho Villa. I like it. I like it all. Solid A grade suggestion.

Iron Man vs Ned Kelly [submitted by ithinkitsdivine]

I started reading a book about Ned Kelly at the Patreon's suggestion, and then got distracted by my new obsession, General Ulysses S Grant. So, I haven't explored Ned fully. But I will try again. One big issue is that Ned is not very well known here in US, not saying that makes him off limits, but it is something we have to keep in mind. That said, he seems to be an omnipresent figure in Australian pop culture, so that's always good. But, Iron Man is a hard no from me. The costume makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it. 

Ho Chi Minh vs Ulysses S Grant [submitted by mblpns]

This suggestion came up this week in a sudden Discord chat session. And I love it. I love it. But I need to delve deeper into Ho Chi Minh. I started reading a book about him, (can I call him Ho?) last night, so I'll dive into it further and see if it is a good fit for Grant. Obviously casting for Ho is gonna be challenging in these pandemic times, but not at all impossible. 

Hunchback of Notre Dame vs Phantom of the Opera [submitted by The Bird Connection]

Hmmmm... this is fun! I like both the characters a lot, cool looks, cool connection, fun stories that people know. I really like this, very fun and different kind of suggestion. We need more ideas like this one. Its simplicity is it's strength. A+

Charlemagne vs Suleiman the Magnificent [submitted by AlexKnight002]

I've never really understood Charlemagne, that period of European history is so murky for me. I'll have to learn more to make a more educated response to this, but at first glance this matchup seems too nerdy, even for our nerdiest of ERB fans. I have to google Suleiman... one sec...okay yeah, that guy, great costume, that's for certain. Did these two square off against each other in real life? Googling...  Oh I see... connected but not in same time.. interesting. I actually like this one, if only because it gives me homework, I should know more about these two, and I don't yet. I'll look into them.

David Bowie vs Elton John [submitted by Lemon]

Well, it sure would be fabulous. This isn't my favorite, I just think Prince is the way to go against David Bowie, if we ever did either, which I don't really want to do. But when has that mattered, really? I do like Elton John, a lot. David Bowie has never meant as much to me personally but obviously he's a giant character so is totally on the table. I have to give this matchup a B-, it looks like it should feel great and be exciting, but I'm not personally excited.

King Henry VIII vs King Louis XIV [submitted by Clue]

Too many Roman numerals, disqualified. ;) But, man it sure would look great, and be fun. I like that we're talking openly about giving Henry VIII another shot at an ERB. Shay did a good job but Henry has not been given justice in an ERB yet, I don't believe. Louis the XIV doesn't do it for me, unfortunately.  In general I just don't think he's epic.  He's floofy. Epic Floof Battles of History, Louis XIV vs... Liberace? David Copperfield revisited? On a side note, Lloyd's "you billowy bitch" line pops into my head nearly every day.

I hope you have enjoyed this gathering of the minds, and I look forward to seeing you next time. From a couch covered in assorted splatters, not that kind you filthy animal, adios! -np

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Monk's Hot Takes - our manager HeadMonk offers a few second opinions...

Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse. I'm down with either. We certainly need at least one of them one day. Maybe they could tag team? Probably not. But I'd consider it. We need cowboys. We need Native Americans. Both bring oodles of fun for Morgan to explore costume wise. 

Hunchback vs Phantom sounds like a hoot but I dunno how much material is gonna be there once you dig down. But again they both bring great iconic looks and costumes and are characters people know by name (even if they don't know too much) so it's great in that sense.

David Bowie vs Elton John are the flamboyant type of musician that could work perfectly in an ERB. Actually got a musician friend who's adamant he'd love to portray Bowie. And I could certainly see Lloyd as Elton John with the shades and feather scarf. There's so many great musicians out there that it feels strange we haven't covered more of them.

King Henry VIII needs to be in an ERB. And we need to forget the botched Hillary version. Absolute bucket loads of material in Henry. English Kings and Queens have certainly not been given much of a look in in past ERB's! We should rectify that. And Henry is the guy we need cos there's loads of options for opponents. Louis XIV is a decent pick. I dig it. Louis might be too fluffy for Pete but I think he's very worthy for an ERB.

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Another round of MTB over. Please remember to vote in the poll that's just been uploaded. Now we must turn our attention to a new round of MTB. So we need a new theme!

The theme for the new round is "Girls N Boys"!

Very simple concept. We are looking for match-ups that feature a female character vs a male character. Can be fictional or historical. Wacky or straight laced. Whatever you want.

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 Friday 19th February.