#MakeThisBattle Feedback - April 14th

We've selected a bunch of the match-ups from all your submissions and here is Lloyd with some feedback. Prepare yourself for a little rejection folks, but do remember we often change our minds on things. :) 

Ash Williams vs Ellen Ripley (submitted by Tony Rigatoni)

I actually really love this. Not sure if it's because of the match-up or just because of how dope these two characters are. They seem like the perfect combo for one another as both of them kick so much ass in their own way. So many quotes and moments and things to argue about. I see these two loving to hate one another. I could see these two actual people dating one another if they were in the same movie. Bruce Campbell could have totally played Pvt. Hudson if Bill Paxton wasn't around. Now that said, I sadly think it might be a long shot to actually ever seeing this made into an ERB. The two movies are too close and don't cover enough different cross-sections of fandom. The names are also a little tough. Like too normal almost. People would be like "Who?". You'd have to really sell it as "Ash from the Evil Dead vs Ripley from Aliens". Now granted if you're reading this, it's likely that doesn't apply to YOU ;) Anyways, I'll dream about this one and am sure it will get better and better for me. Grade: WHAT'S UP BIIIITCHES!

Louis Pasteur vs Typhoid Mary (submitted by Dr Bray)

I've only a basic knowledge of these characters which is always a bad sign to start with. Initial thoughts are...fun but thin. Kinda like a cookie. First crunch is great but it all kinda falls apart after that. Pasteur holds up way better than Typhoid Mary and deserves solid credit for his contributions to the medical world. Folks like him make me think that a medical cavalcade should maybe be the next multi-character battle we do. There are too many great contributors to narrow it down to just 1 or 2. On the other hand, Typhoid Mary was stubborn maybe, but more accurately a fall guy for a whole virus. That really sucks and it is a pretty sad story and a specific one at that. Maybe they could hang their hats on how the medical industry treats people and stuff but it's a really long chew for a very medium bite. Grade:  WHAT'S UP BIITCHES!

Beetlejuice vs Buffy (submitted by Niiue)

It's a good title. Rather specific but maybe for Halloween one year. That's the only way I could see this going down. I wasn't a big Buffy fan but it doesn't strike me as nostalgic enough to carry a battle by itself. I might be wrong, I didn't watch it much. Good title though and I know exactly what is coming. Vampires are always cool and that teen romance world has legs for sure. Same with Beetlejuice although he is slightly stronger for me. Definitely because of how memorable Michael Keaton's performance was for me personally as a little boy. Me and my Dad would always do impressions of him at the dinner table. The character looks really great too. Some real fun ideas you could dream up for backgrounds and dimensional crosses. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Grade: WHAT'S UP BIIIITCHES!

Rod Serling vs H.P. Lovecraft (submitted by mblpns & Niiue)

This hurts my head just reading it but I like a good twist. I love the Twilight Zone and that whole genre of twisted sci-fi. With the popularity of Black Mirror and the Twilight Zone reboot I think there's a lot of ears open to that stuff as well. Could make for a reeeeeally cool set up for the battle. Having it all unfold at the end somehow and/or set in that classic black and white camera footage. Lovecraft, I know far less about but I think he's the root of many things I like today. I see this battle as a cult hit and ripe for guest stars or at least one.  We'd have to work hard not to make it TOO weird or out there and really define the differences in their bodies of work. The background reading on Lovecraft to research him, would be a big challenge for me and might make me baulk if push came to shove; but the bones of a great match up are all here. Grade: WHAT'S UP BIIIIITCHES!

Alex DeLarge vs Billy the Kid (submitted by ithinkitsdivine)

I just don't see it. Billy the Kid for sure is worthy and I believe one day we'll give him a slot.  But, Alex DeLarge is just way too niche. Clockwork Orange is one movie and it was 50 years ago. I know more about the movie as a whole, than I do about the actual guy and I couldn't even rattle off one quote from that script. Sorry y'all. This one is just not for me. Grade: WHAT'S UP BITCHES!

George W Bush vs Vito Corleone (submitted by Dragonsblood23)

Now that I have John Adams & John Quincy Adams vs George Bush & George W. Bush in my brain, anything that even proposes one or both of the Bush boys has to absolutely knock that tag-team idea off the hill and this one isn't close. We've put Presidents in slightly goofy match-ups before, but this one doesn't fit right to me. Chuck Norris was hugely popular on the internet at the time of the Lincoln vs Norris battle. With Bush vs Corleone the time periods are different but not that far apart; so the potential visuals become less exciting too. George W. was also fairly recent which gives the match up an odd kind of political vibe which is misplaced right now. End of the day, it's a big no on this one as a 1vs1, or as a 2vs2 with George HW and Michael Corleone. Grade: WHAT'S UP BIITCHES!

The Sex Pistols Vs The Beatles (submitted by Buster)

Out of aaaaaaaaallllll the bands we could choose to go up against the Beatles, I can't say the Sex Pistols would be my vote. I agree it should be another band. But the popularity of these two groups just don't exist in the same stratosphere. There's really no comparison in my book when it comes to success and impact and reach and all those categories you measure greatness by. And I don't even really like the Beatles that much. For the band vs band battle I think you'd need to put the Beatles up against another MASSIVE boy band type group. BTS is a great choice...but they might fizzle out in two years so it's hard to tell.  The fleetingness of a boy band; that's the trouble with this decision. If this was 8 years ago it'd be One Direction vs the Beatles and where are those guys now? Six months from now BTS could be forgotten. Regardless, Sex pistols aren't the...shot...to take on this one. Grade:  WHAT'S UP BIITCHES!

======

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

Alex DeLarge vs Billy The Kid: Clockwork Orange stands head and shoulders above most movies of that era and the look of DeLarge is iconic as hell. Can that be turned into a ERB character - I'd like to think so - but I'm just not sure. Likewise I love cowboy movies. Billy The Kid is a big iconic name that often gets brought up in match-up discussion. I guess my hot take would be he seems to leap frog a lot more worthy characters on name alone; as reading about him there's not exactly a huge amount of interesting stuff. I can't help but think if we're gonna feature someone from the Wild West we might be best to look at Wild Bill Hickok. There is also Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Butch Cassidy etc etc - guys with maybe a bit more meat on their bones than young Billy. I guess it depends if we need an 'outlaw' or just a general rep for the Wild West.

The Sex Pistols vs The Beatles: Maybe it's because I'm British; but the Sex Pistols sound like the perfect foil for the Beatles. They'd really, really hate each other. Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious would explode onto screen in an ERB. If you want a fun band battle use the Sex Pistols. Anger is an energy after all. If we want to snooze our way through a battle pick BTS or One Direction or which ever nondescript band is big news at the time. Alternatively, I know there's a lot of chatter about NWA and on paper it works well; but I am not overly convinced about featuring a rap group in ERB. But, NWA is miles more exciting than BTS. Casting for any battle featuring 4vs4 or more would be a pain in the ass. So, unless we come across the perfect setup, I think we should skip the band battle idea and just look to do some great musician based 1vs1's like Bowie vs Prince or Dylan vs Cobain or whatever.

PS Out of the seven options I think I prefer Beetlejuice vs Buffy. Its fun. Its got solid name recognition. It would make for a exciting video visually. Similarly Williams vs Ripley has got a lot going for it. But let's see what you all vote for. :)

======

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

The theme this time is "Life's A Prison". We are looking for characters that are were imprisoned whether rightly or wrongly at some point in their lifetime, or people who famously locked people away. They could be criminals. They could be activists. They could be slaves. They could be lawmen. They could be kings & queens who liked chaining folk up. They can be fictional or historical. The theme is pretty loose. Note: We are not interested in modern day real life murderers and we don't really need a hundred Nelson Mandela suggestions either :)

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

Same rules apply as normal. 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 Sunday 26th April.