Voting and debate is now over for the first 'Comic Vine Battle of the Week' between two massively heavy hitters! Arkillo was Sinestro's second in command for a reason. He's an incredibly formidable and fearsome character and had no problem slaughtering numerous Green Lanterns and giving Kilowog all kinds of hell during the Sinestro Corps War. Eventually, it took crushing him with a gigantic aircraft carrier and then hitting him with a blast to keep him down for the count. But Hulk is especially notorious for being incredibly difficult to put down as well, and as you know, the longer he's in the fight, the more devastating his smashing will become. So, who did the Comic Vine community think would win if these two strong characters (current versions) went head-to-head in an unpopulated city? According to 64% of them, the Green Goliath would knock Arkillo out.
The current leader of the Sinestro Corps earned 34% of the votes and 2% -- including myself -- thought it was too close to call. Despite Arkillo's potential with his ring, the community favors Hulk's raw physical might and the fact he'll grow stronger and stronger over time. In turn, this renders him much more difficult to defeat, too. Additionally, Arkillo's mindset is an immediate disadvantage when fighting someone like the Hulk. As seen in his numerous fights with Kilowog, Arkillo's a brutal and arrogant brawler. He seems to relish a physical challenge and, despite using his ring for an assortment of projectiles and melee weapons in combat, he isn't prone to immediately using it for more complex and tactical options which would be really effective in this scenario. This could be a huge mistake against the Jade Giant and when he does eventually reach a conclusion he needs to focus more on using his ring and keeping a distance between the two, Hulk may be too strong at that point and shatter the constructs. Honestly, I think a rational argument can be made for either character in this case and just don't see either winning with ease.
Viner Argument of the Week for the Hulk is by Extremis:
"I think Hulk takes this. Barely though as this would be one hell of a fight. Arkillo could simply BFR, but judging on the character it's more within him to want to go toe to toe with hulk on land like he did with Wog before even thinking about BFR. He'd hang in for quite a bit, using constructs and what not but ultimately I don't think he'd expect the Hulk to be so durable; not for his strength to grow so significantly. I think by the time Arkillo realizes his strength is bested (which he wouldn't openly believe as he is a beast character) Hulk would be too angry, too strong and Arkillo's chances of removing Hulk in a construct become very very slim. Hulk could probably easily break such a construct at that point as not only for his increased rage and strength, but because Arkillo's power ring charge would surely be waning.
Hulk wins by a nose, and basically Arkillo's hubris, in a fight for the ages. If this was a more thought out lantern, this would be a completely different story as BFR would easily take this. Someone like Hal, Sinestro or Kilowog would pull this out. Ultimately though, that makes this a great battle choice!"
What does Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero, Editor-in-Chief of CV, think about Arkillo vs. Hulk?
"Batman wins."
What about fellow staff writer, Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring?
"Which Hulk are we using here? Maestro Hulk, World War Hulk, Planet Hulk, Grey Hulk, Red Hulk, Hulk Kababobs, Hulk Creole, Hulk Gumbo, Pan-fried, deep-fried, stir-fried, pineapple Hulk, lemon Hulk, coconut Hulk, cave Hulk, Hulk stew, or Old Man Logan Hulk? Either way, I give this one to Hulk because the more you hurt him, the angrier he gets and he's has a lot more time with his powers. Akrillo is still relatively new to his powers. What I'm saying is that I like Hulk more and logic be darned!"
And finally, what about Mark Waid, the writer of INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK?
"Hulk doesn't need jewelry to fight."
Last but certainly not least, here's a tease for next week's battle! Have fun guessing and check the homepage on Monday to see who the characters are. Keep in mind, I never stated this feature would be only Marvel vs. DC battles!
Previous 'Comic Vine Battle of the Week' results
- Daredevil vs. Nightwing (Winner: Daredevil)
- Ultimate Captain America vs. Deathstroke (Winner: Deathstroke)
Gregg Katzman is a freelance writer for Comic Vine and IGN Entertainment. This is the part where he shamelessly plugs his Twitter page in hopes of getting a new follower or two.
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