Luther Strode, the hyper-violent hero from Image, or Sabretooth, the savage villain from Marvel? That's exactly what we asked on Monday and the community had five days to think it over, debate it out and vote. There was an impressive amount of solid posts (seriously, great job), and, in the end, one character took a firm lead in the poll. Over 200 Viners voted and it turns out a majority of them are siding with Luther Strode. Well, at least we all know Wolverine will be happy with the verdict.
Strode earned an impressive 56% of the votes and Victor Creed received 38%. 6% thought this one is too close to call. It's pretty easy to understand why so many people would immediately side with Strode. The impressive artwork by Tradd Moore makes Strode seem crazy fast, when really, his speed feats are on par with what we've seen high end street levelers do. It just has the advantage of being illustrated in an amazingly energetic fashion. For example, Creed has been dubbed faster than Wolverine on occasion and he too has been described as a blur numerous times and too fast for the human eye to follow -- it just wasn't presented in such a frenetic manner. Now, this isn't to say Creed is faster than Strode, but the gap isn't as significant as some may think.
Their other stats are pretty close, too. Strode's striking power is able to devastate regular humans, meanwhile Creed can literally crush a barbell like it's tin foil and has even knocked out Rogue with ease. Both are capable of taking an absurd amount of damage, but a key difference here could be how they operate in combat. Creed's arrogant and tends to enjoy making his opponent suffer. Luther, on the other hand, is more prone to go for the winning attack as soon as possible as opposed to taunting and such. Creed has far more experience and has faced a wider array of enemies, but Strode's pre-cog abilities and the two massive threats he has faced (The Librarian, Jack the Ripper) should help balance that factor out as well. A big thing working against Creed is how terrible some of his modern era showings have been. That said, it can be speculated some of those were clones, and more importantly, one should also take into account all of his showings prior to those as well.
A good case can be made for either side and, truth be told, I'd side slightly with Luther, but at the end of the day, there's just no denying how vicious this fight would be. As stated above, there were some honestly impressive posts made throughout the week. There were A LOT of great arguments, so if you took the time to make an elaborate post, it's definitely appreciated and likely helped sway potential voters. So, give yourself a pat on the back and treat yourself to a cookie of your choosing. Seeing as so many commendable arguments were made, let's go ahead and take a look at two of them. It's tempting to highlight every single good argument, but then this article would be ridiculously drawn-out and no one wants that.
Viner Argument of the Week for Luther Strode is by CadenceV2
"This is an even fight as one can get. Healing, Super Strength, Speed, Durability, and both seem to have skill showings of the same quality.
On one hand you have Sabertooth. A guy who has beaten a younger Wolverine like a meaner older brother all the time. Sabertooth strength is great enough to crumple barbells , overpower Wolverine, and even KO Rogue with a few hits. He also possesses Razor Claws that add to his damage output with his immense strength. This guy when not jobbing has beaten people like Wolverine, Psylock, and even a Wendigo in a straight up fight. Something Wolverine has trouble doing.
With all this said, Luther would win IMO. Luther Strode powers look near same, but IMO his stats are slightly higher. Luther strength for example is shown to punch holes in people all the time. He has loped off limbs with his bare hands due to his strength with speed. He even wrecked an entire large room by slamming Jack the Ripper. Speed is something IMO Luther is greater in too. His speed feats show him weaving between AR gunfire which is Mach 2+ bullets. He has shown consistently in just about every fight to be faster than any human can react. He also kept up with the insane fast Jack the Ripper. The next thing Luther is superior in is his Healing Factor. Creed has one too, but unlike Creed, Luther has shown to use his Haling Factor like a weapon. He has used his Intestines to choke out super strong foes. He has commanded his body to lock up attacks, and thus disarming, or leaving his enemies wide open for counter attack. I have never seen a comic character use their organs as a weapon. Creed would depend on his close combat claw action and find his hands stuck in Luther’s body! One final thing to add in Luther’s favor is his precognition. This Precog allows Luther to see up to 1000 possibilities. He can more than stay ahead of Sabertooth best hits while countering with his own.
I love this match with Sabertooth, I really wish they make more mini series with him, against Image’s top street leveler. It would be a bloody epic fight, but in the end I can see Luther pulling more wins than Sabertooth. Slight Majority to Luther Strode."
Viner Argument of the Week for Sabretooth is by TheDarkPacman (despite voting otherwise!)
"Luther is still an adolescent and, while experienced, is still getting used to the fact that he can survive stab wounds and intestine spillage. Luther winces and cringes too much to be able to handle the pain; he can take a punch, but stabbing him usually slows him down. And Sabretooth has claws, so stabbing no problem, especially if you believe their speeds are matched. Also, back to the pain-handling bit, Sabretooth has been around for a while. He's got the healing factor, which is way more advanced than Luther's, and is more experienced with dealing with pain. If Luther punches him in the stomach or something and doesn't manage to burst through Creed's chest (i know Luther's strength but not Sabretooth's defensive capabilitites; can he take that sort of punch?), Creed could get off a nice, clean slash to the gut and freakin' behead Strode. Luther can't survive that. Also, if you're taking hiding and the shadows and all that into consideration, Luther's not doesn't show himself as stealthy but more as menacing, so if he does hide at all, Sbare's got the heightened senses and all that, so he would hear/smell him coming. If they do end up going full out blow for blow, they both have good reflexes and can hold out for pretty long periods of time. but once again, if Luther gets cut, he gets disoriented because it still hurts him in a way he's used to being hurt and he will falter, giving Sabretooth an opening. Lastly, Luther's pre-cog that others have been mentioning isnt mastered at all, it just happens randomly, like when he gets really angry. Basically if he gets angry before getting cut, that could give him an edge.
Now, if you think me basing the fight on Luther getting cut or stabbed, well, just reread the Jack the Ripper fights and you'll see what i mean. Those were normal knives, Sabretooth's got mutant bone claws.
All in all, i'll shamefully admit i love Luther as a character more and voted for him (sheepish) but i do believe Sabretooth's got a slightly better chance with his, uh, "weaponry" if you will.
The fight would be freakin' awesome, though."
Next week will be a team battle! The image for it has already been prepared and below is a nice little teaser for you. Can you tell which two teams are being used? Could it be the Great Lakes Avengers vs. the Justice League? Have fun guessing below and be sure to visit the homepage on Monday to see the reveal.
Previous 'Comic Vine Battle of the Week' results
- Daredevil vs. Nightwing (Winner: Daredevil)
- Ultimate Captain America vs. Deathstroke (Winner: Deathstroke)
- Arkillo vs. Hulk (Winner: Hulk)
- Snake Eyes vs. X-23 (Winner: X-23)
- Moon Knight vs. Red Hood (Winner: Moon Knight)
- Catman/Deadshot vs. Bullseye/Punisher (Winner: Bullseye/Punisher)
- Aquaman vs. Thing (Winner: Aquaman)
- Deadpool vs. TMNT (Winner: Too close to call)
- Movie Black Widow vs. TV Green Arrow (Winner: TV Green Arrow)
- Movie Batman vs. Movie Dredd (Winner: Movie Dredd)
- Predator vs. Boba Fett (Winner: Predator)
- Luke Cage/Iron Fist vs. Scarlet Spider/Venom (Winner: Scarlet Spider/Venom)
- Cardiac vs. Hobgoblin (Winner: Hobgoblin)
- Gambit vs. Nightcrawler (Winner: Nightcrawler)
- Sinestro vs. Wonder Woman (Winner: Wonder Woman)
- Zombie Apocalypse Scenario (Winner: Deathstroke)
- Superior Spider-Man/Hobgoblin vs. Wolverine/Omega Red (Winner:Wolverine/Omega Red)
- Marvel vs. DC Dodgeball Scenario (Winner: Marvel)
- Bloodshot vs. Daredevil (Winner: Bloodshot)
- Movie Faora vs. Movie Thor (Winner: Thor)
- Elektra vs. Shredder (Winner: Shredder)
- Marvel vs. DC Paintball Scenario (Winner: Marvel)
- Animated Versions: Batman/Katana vs. TMNT (Winner: TMNT)
Want to suggest a Battle of the Week? Feel free to comment below or send it to Gregg via Twitter. Keep in mind, it doesn't have to be Marvel or DC only, but it must be comic related!