Sunday, June 16, 2019

Season X Playoffs, Round 1: Ahsoka's Acrobatic Assassins vs. Striders of Rohan

Ahsoka’s Acrobatic Assassins are: Ethan Hunt w/Indigo Lantern Ring, Salaak, Dr. Manhattan, Sauron, Father of Mortis, Son of Mortis, Martian Manhunter, Miss Martian, Poseidon, Witch King of Angmar on his Fell Beast, Franklin Richards, Reverse Flash, Quicksilver, 12 Guardian Knights as Dragonstorm, Geonosian Spy in Geonosian Starship, Geonosian Drone in Geonosian Starship, Geonosian Soldier in Geonosian Starship, Freddy Kreuger, Chief, Mento, Elasti-Girl, Robot Man, Negative Man, Beast Boy, Elf #1, and Zombies #1-2.
Striders of Rohan are: Cyborg Superman w/Yellow Lantern Ring, Odin w/White Lantern Ring, Star Lord and Gamora in Star Lord’s Ship, Rocket Raccoon in Anakin’s Starfighter, Yondu and Kraglin in First Order Command Shuttle, Drax, Groot, Nebula, Mantis, John Stewart, Supreme Leader Snoke in Executrix, Kylo Ren w/Red Lantern Ring, Seaworms #1-9, Sandworms #19-20, Apocalypse, Captain Marvel, Balrog of Moria, Gandalf the White, King Kong, Black Flash, Adam Warlock, Circuit Breaker, Ghost Rider, Fremen #5 and #7-20, Xenomorph Aliens #8-15, Gondor Soldiers #1-15, and Goblins #1-4. It’s high noon on the Playoff Planet. The members of each team choose their battlefields, gather their courage, and are transported to the fight. [The City] (Assassins: Ethan, Manhattan, Franklin, Reverse Flash, Quicksilver, Chief, Mento, Elasti-Girl, Robot Man, Negative Man, Zombies) (Striders: CyberSupes, Drax, Nebula, Mantis, Black Flash, Warlock, Circuit Breaker, Ghost Rider) “I’m telling you guys, it was SO AWFUL! It smelled like sulfur and… and burnt pork chops. And the screaming, and their hands, clawing up at me, begging me to pull them out, it was just-” “Ethan, Jesus Christ. Here.” Quicksilver zips away and back in an instant, handing Ethan Hunt a candy bar. “Eat a Snickers.” “Why?” “Because, you’re kind of a weepy b**** when you’re hungry.” Ethan enjoys the delicious caramel, nougat, and peanuts of his Snickers brand candy bar, available in stores everywhere. His misty eyes steeled up. “Thanks Quicksilver, that’s better. Now I’m ready to not even look back at explosions. Praise Xenu!” A strong handful of the Assassins walk along the streets of the city, with the exception of Chief Niles Caulder, who rolls along. “If my calculations are correct,” he said, “the Striders will likely send their best straight into the city.” Reverse Flash rolled his eyes. “If MY calculations are correct, I’d say your only power is stating the obvious. Why are you here?” “I don’t know, I wish I had stayed in bed. I miss my legs.” Doctor Manhattan, in the lead, holds up a hand to silence his group. “Wait. It’s time.” A heavy laser blast crashes toward him, barely leaving him time to create a gap in his body to avoid destruction. It passes through him and in to Chief, who is reduced to a pair of smoldering legs atop a sizzling wheelchair seat. Cyborg Superman floats down from above. “Well, that was an impressive dodge, Smurf boy. How many more teammates are you gonna let me kill to save yourself?” Manhattan is unfazed. “How many teammates are you going to hide instead of facing us head on? Let me see… seven, correct? It’s a shame they aren’t more valuable combatants.” Superman shoots an icy glare at Manhattan, turns back, and says “You hear that, everyone? Big Blue doesn’t think you’re valuable.” His allies appear from side alleys and buildings, filing in behind him. “This is entirely untrue,” Drax declares, “I’ve been told exactly how much I’d be worth in a slave market, or if I were to sell off my organs.” Quicksilver does a quick headcount. “I see six, you said seven. Where’s number seven?” A moment later his head is on backwards, and Reverse Flash’s head flies off from the maxilla upward. Black Flash comes to a stop next to Cyborg Superman, grinning past his thin, decaying lips. A terrified Franklin Richards begins to scream, “No no no no NO!” A wave of energy ripples through the city, and Black Flash begins to move into action. His speed, however, has been reduced to a mere jog, as Franklin’s powers have capped off the speed of the Striders. Without the Speed Force, Black Flash was only a fitness enthusiast zombie, and his rotten joints fell apart as soon as he ran. Despite being slowed, Cyborg Superman’s ring fed on Franklin’s fear, and he blasts back the Assassins with a screaming burst of yellow light. Manhattan remains standing and attempts to tear Cyborg Superman apart. His Kryptonian physiology is tough for even Manhattan to unravel, and the two struggle against each other’s superhuman power as their remaining teammates charge to the fray. [The Skies] (Assassins: Salaak, Martian Manhunter, Miss Martian, Geonosians) (Striders: Star Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Yondu, Kraglin, John Stewart, Snoke, Captain Marvel) High above the planet, the Striders patrol in search of airborne foes. The skies are quiet and things are fairly boring, until Captain Marvel taps on the window Star Lord’s ship. Starlord “Carol? Is something wrong out there?” “Maybe, hard to say. I think you guys are gonna want to hear what we’re up against.” Carol boards the ship in silence. “So…? What’s this big bad threat?” She smiles. “Me.” Miss Martian drops the disguise, and before Star Lord and Gamora can draw their weapons, she shatters their minds and drops them to the floor. Stepping over their bodies, she takes control of the ship. Across the sky, Martian Manhunter has phased into the Command Shuttle and taken it from Yondu and Kraglin, and together the two fly their ships in a pincer attack on Rocket’s ship, phasing out before the fatal impact. “Excellent work, M’Gann. Let us end this quickly.” They fly off in unison toward the Executrix. John Stewart and Captain Marvel have just seen the horrific explosion and made their way toward the fight, and Salaak flies between them. “Stop right there, Stewart! I can’t allow you to-” Captain Marvel smacks Salaak away like a fly as they proceed, and his shattered body spins out into the void. They nearly reach the Executrix, but the Geonosian Starships swing around the side of the tremendous spacecraft and unload suppressing fire on them. Captain Marvel goes down, but John Stewart won’t be stopped and uses his ring to bash all three ships as they circle him. He boards the Executrix, only to see the Martians standing over a slaughtered Snoke. They turn to see him, and before they can react he flies off through the ship. They chase him down, all the way to the ship’s engine room. Cornered and facing impending destruction, he begins to smash wildly into the engines, unleashing a tremendous fireball. The Martians light up like paper, burning to ash. The Executrix blows apart like a string of firecrackers, but as the smoke and debris clears, a bubble of shielding Green Light is flung from the ship and goes plummeting through the planet’s atmosphere. [The Ocean] Poseidon stands proud in the waters, treading water, surrounded by 9 dead Seaworms. “PITIFUL MORTALS”, he shouts, “HAVE YOU NO GREATER CHALLENGE TO OFFER THE MIGHTY POSEIDON?” His call is met with nothing but the sound of splashing waves. “...Anyone?” [The Desert] (Assassins: Son of Mortis, Freddy Kreuger, Father of Mortis) (Striders: Kylo Ren, Sandworms, Apocalypse, Balrog, Fremen) Son and Father have sensed Kylo Ren’s powerful Force and tracked him to the desert where he and Apocalypse waited in a sandstone fortress formed by the powerful mutant. Kylo, too, sensed the approach of these god-like Force users. As they arrive at the fortress, accompanied by Freddy Kreuger, the Fremen and Sandworms begin to swarm them while Kylo and Apocalypse look down from the fort wall. The Sandworms erupt from the ground and surround the Assassins, but together, Father and Son unleash a wild storm of force lightning, destroying the full crowd. They turn to the wary Fremen, and Father waves a hand at them. “Sleep now” he commands, and they stumble and fall to the ground asleep. Freddy flashes a wicked smile and clacks his claws. “Now we’re talking!” He vanishes momentary, and in moments the Fremen are all mutilated in various creative ways that would take too long to detail individually. Son shouts up to Kylo “Now, little coward, come face the TRUE power of the Dark Side!” Kylo’s ring flashes and he snarls back at Son, “Face THIS, you fool!” The Balrog bursts through the wall of the fort, and crashes a whip down, slashing Son and Freddy into the sand. Father lifts his hand to the Balrog and brings it to its knees. He raises another hand, brings them together in fists, and quickly snap them apart. As he does, the Balrog’s head tears off from its body, its flames extinguished. Enraged, Kylo jumps down from his perch to prove his dark powers against the embodiment of the Force’s balance. He swings his lightsaber, but Father catches it with a bare hand. Kylo screams with anger, and as his ring reaches peak charge, he spews a torrent of acid bile from his mouth. Father melts away, but Kylo isn’t a true Red Lantern, and the burning vomit destroys his body as it emerges. Apocalypse chuckles and turns his sights toward the distant city. [The Forest] (Assassins: Sauron, Witch King of Angmar on his Fell Beast, Dragonstorm, Beast Boy, Elf #1) (Striders: Odin, Groot, Gandalf The White, King Kong, Xenomorphs, Gondor Soldiers, Goblins) In the forest, chaos has taken over as trees turn and fall to the forest floor. As Groot skewers the Goblins attempting to chop him down with their little axes, King Kong charges Dragonstorm with a giant tree he’s uprooted. Though he batters mighty Transformer, his fleshy gorilla body can’t withstand a direct blow from Dragonstorm’s axe. The Transformer looks down to the little tree-man fighting below him, and takes him out with a quick upward swing, slicing him down the middle. The Xenomorphs of the Striders swarm Dragonstorm, climbing up its body and tearing at its chassis. Sauron towers over his forces, commanding them from the rear. He orders the Witch King to strike down the Xenomorphs crawling on Dragonstorm, but as he does their acid blood seeps into the amalgamate of transformers and fries his circuits to a mass of goop. Gandalf rallies the Gondor soldiers to charge the Dark Lord, as the Witch King flies in to challenge Gandalf himself. Sauron erects a magical shield against his assailant, but the Witch King refuses to relent. Odin, meanwhile, takes out the mighty green bear known as Beast Boy and runs to Gandalf’s aid. He drives his spear through the Fell Beast’s throat, throwing the Witch King to the ground. As Gandalf drops his shield, an arrow flies from across the field. In a distant tree beside Sauron, a single Elven ranger sniper has taken aim and shot down the powerful wizard. The fifteen Gondor Soldiers have surrounded Sauron, but he effortlessly smashes them down one by one with his mace. Odin begins to charge him, when suddenly, a huge green orb smashes into the ground like a meteor. Both parties look on in surprise as John Stewart rises to his feet in the crater. The Witch King attempts to approach him, but Stewart reacts quickly and guns down with green machine gun fire. Sauron finishes the last of the Gondor Soldiers pestering him, points his mace to the sky, and summons a hail of meteors from the sky. Stewart throws up a shield of light above himself and Odin. Odin raises his spear high, imbuing it with the white light of his ring, and calls out “Odin OWNS you, writhing specter!” He flings Gungnir at Sauron and it pierces through the Dark Lord’s armor, pinning him to the ground. The Elf, still hiding from the tree, blows another arrow through John Stewart as he focuses on blocking the last of the meteors while Sauron’s body burns away with white light. Odin runs for his spear, dodging the continued flurry of arrows. As he pulls it from Sauron, another arrow flies toward his face. Gungnir’s runes glow as he lifts it, and he sweeps the spear in the air, knocking the arrow away. He gives it another toss, piercing the sniper and dropping him from the treetop. [Back in the City] Cyborg Superman has broken free of Manhattan’s grip, but Franklin has still slowed the Striders, making it difficult for the Cyborg to land a blow on the matter manipulator. Negative Man has emerged in his shadow form, leaving his body inert behind a dumpster. He creeps up on Franklin, hoping to blow him apart, but suddenly the shade shudders and blinks out of existence. Behind the dumpster, the Assassins’ own zombies have found the unconscious Negative Man and gone to town on his brains. Circuit Breaker makes an attempt on Manhattan, but the lost member of the Blue Man Group has acute awareness and transforms him into a toaster. Drax and Adam Warlock have torn apart Elasti-Girl and Robot Man, but Mento has telekinetically dismantled Nebula. Mantis crawls on to Ethan Hunt, but the overwhelming guilt he feels for his actions last match are still buried beneath his mind despite the chewy, satisfying Snickers candy bar. Her mind overloads from his feelings and she goes down in a grand maul seizure. Cyborg Superman gives up on Doctor Manhattan for the time, instead charging for Franklin Richards, the boy’s fear fueling his yellow lantern ring. Doctor Manhattan, his mind racing at supercomputer speed, rearranges the neurotransmitters in Franklin’s brain, effectively curing him of his terror. In that instant of perfect clarity, Franklin encases himself in a shell of kryptonite. Superman has no time to react as he collides with Franklin, his body withering and shutting down. However, the kryptonite doesn’t block Ghost Rider’s Hellfire as it brings the terror right back to Franklin, consuming his fragile young soul. The remaining Striders in the city stand no chance against Manhattan as he begins to dissolve them atom by atom. As Drax, Warlock, and Ghost Rider all begin to unravel, Gungnir flies through the air. Manhattan catches the spear and turns to see Odin and Apocalypse. “What an amusing little trick,” Apocalypse muses “I wonder how easy it is.” Apocalypse points to Manhattan, and he turns back into a normal, nude, flesh colored man as his body turns to mush. Odin strides up, retrieves his spear, and casually approaches the defenseless remainder of the Assassins. [Back in the Ocean] Poseidon floats on his back, staring at the sky, a sad look upon his face. “Does anyone even worship me anymore? I think they’ve all forgotten me…” A strange smell and a greasy feeling hit the despondent deity, and he notices the water has been turned to oil. On the shore, Apocalypse fires a laser from his eyes, boiling the sea of peanut oil he’s created. Poseidon and the marine life alike are all flash fried. Odin takes a deep whiff. “Thank you friend, it’s been some time since I’ve enjoyed a good fish fry… wait. Are those our sea worms and some sort of giant floating out there?”

The Gender Neutral Midgets vs. Barkley's Turrible Decisions

Midgets: Magneto, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Yoda w/ White Lantern Ring, Vampire Batman, Omega Supreme, Emperor Palpatine w/ Orange Lantern Ring, Neo w/ 2 White Lightsabers, Han Solo (pilot), Chewbacca (co-pilot), Peppy Hare (gunner), Slippy Toad (gunner) in Outlaw, Lando Calrissean (pilot), Nien Numb (co-pilot), Lobot (gunner), Falco (gunner) in Y-1300 Light Freighter, Achilles, Queen Aga’po, Luminara Unduli w/ Green Lantern Ring, Barriss Offee w/ Blue Lantern Ring, Black Lantern Batman, Indigo One, Monk, Sinestro w/ Yellow and Green Lantern Rings, Darth Maul w/ Red Lantern Ring, Star Wolf w/ Double Red Lightsaber in Sith Fighter, Star Fox w/ Blue Lightsaber in Z-95 Headhunter, X-23 w/ Red Lightsaber, James Madison w/ Speed Ring in AT-RT, James Monroe w/ Darksaber on Nazgul #9’s Mordor Horse

Barkley: Batman, Robin, and Alfred w/ Green Lightsaber in Modern Age Batmobile, Boba Fett and Kwisatz Haderach Duncan Idaho in SLave 1, Mace Windu, Deadpool, Star Sapphire, Yellow Lantern #1-2, Guy Gardner, Alan Scott, Fortress Maximus,  Fortress Maximus’ Head, Fortress Maximus’ Head’s Head, Q, Q2, Lady Q, q, Colonel Q, Quinn, Tom Bombadil, Smaug, Treebeard, Ents #1-2, Balrogs #1-5, Spectre

Well, before I even start this match, let’s just point out...HOLY SHIT Josh, how many lightsabers do you have? You’d have to kill more padawans than Bad Anakin to get that many. He also has enough lantern rings to start his own corp. Dave does have a good amount of the Q Continuum on his side, that has to be worth something.

Before the teams even meet to start fighting, Slave 1 drops two seismic charges on top of its teammate, Mace Windu. Sorry Dave, looks like Boba is still pretty mad about his dad.

There are some necessary rivalries to go down in this matchup of midgets and turrible decisions. Big robot vs. big robot, Han Solo vs. Boba Fett, Queen Aga’po vs. Star Sapphire, Batman and his posse vs. 2 Batmans and Monk? Oh boy, this is one matchup I’m glad to witness, folks.

Q takes charge of his team quickly, as he is clearly intellectually superior to them. He starts it slow, sending in Ents #1-2, Balrogs #1-5, and Treebeard. Yoda, known for his wisdom and his natural height fitting perfectly into the team’s name, takes charge of his group of misunderstood shorties and retaliates with Luminara, Barriss, and Darth Maul to tear things up with their flashy sticks. Maul, from a distance, tosses his double edged saber like a badass slicing up Ents #1-2. Treebeard is infuriated with the loss of his ancient buds, takes one fell sweep and kicks Barriss into a cement wall, instantly smashing her skull. Luminara, unfazed by the loss of her padawan since she was accepting to lose her before she even got her, makes way towards the Balrogs. They are mighty foes, but nowhere in size comparison to the mighty Balrog of Moria (which sadly isn’t here today, but we’ll just have to make due). Quick work is made of Balrog #1 and 3-5, but #2 is on his last life and is ready to go in style. He grabs Luminara with his whip, and with his breath of flame, conjures up so much heat inside his body, that he implodes and takes her along with him. Maul is so enraged he didn’t get to kill the two jedis, that, with his Red Lantern Ring, he projects a blast of rage in which Treebeard cannot withstand and it over shoots also taking out Yellow Lantern #2.

Yoda decides to one up this Q guy and sends out Omega Supreme. You don’t even have to see this bad boy to know, he’s one big ass dude just from hearing the name. Unexpected from the midgets, Turrible Decisions sends forth Fortress Maximus. Now this guy’s so big, he has a head for his head. Oh wait...Magneto just came and took all the fun away, crushing the metal beast, Fortress Maximus, to one big clump and throwing him away like the wrapper of a Taco Bell loaded griller. You know Magneto, sometimes you should just let things play out, have a huge guy fight, and it’ll be a cool story, but stopping it before it happens works, too. Deadpool disapproves of this non-cinematic dude and slices his head clean off before he can even react to stop the incoming metal sword.

Hmm, weird, Gotham just happens to be a city on this luxurious playoff planet, how convenient. Now the batmans-batmen? I don’t know which way is correct, but it’s one of them. Now they can have their fun. The Modern Age Batmobile zooms across the streets in search for these other lurking Batmen, I’m gonna go with Batmen, who stalk from the shadows. At the least expected moment, Black Lantern Batman jumps at the Batmobile, but Batman quickly reacts and shoots him out of the air. Black Lantern Batman lose both arms, but regains both due to the power of the ring. Astonished, passengers of the Batmobile don’t notice Vampire Batman sneak behind and drop two grenades obliterating the Batmobile, but of course Batman, Robin, and Alfred escape in a fashionable way. Deadpool approves, that was cinematic. Vampire Batman needs to feed, he’s getting weak, but he doesn’t want to suck the life of his beloved butler. Alfred has had enough, and like the badass he is slices Vampire Batman to shreds. Black Lantern Batman, on the contrary, doesn’t give a crap about his past life before the ring and completely destroys Alfred. With the combined power of Batman and his trustee sidekick Robin, they take down the malevolent being, finally letting him rest.

Let’s take a look to the sky where we see Slave 1 try to hold off Outlaw, Y-1300 Light Freighter, Sith Fighter, and Z-95 Headhunter. Slave 1 is able to take out Z-95 Headhunter, but not long before Outlaw shoots it right out of the sky. As it’s crashing to the ground, it hits Y-1300 Light Freighter and they hit the ground in one big explosion. Achilles, sadly is hit and is instantly burned to the bone and dead. Smaug decides to take a leave from his overly rich mountain to help the Turrible Decisions and takes one big bite of the Sith Fighter, causing a crash landing. Deadpool is loving the action, prefers a bit more swearing and comedy, but is spot on with the violence. Smaug turns to take out the Outlaw, but is stopped in his tracks by James Madison in his AT-RT take shots at the impenetrable scales of the beast. Unfazed by the attack, Smaug takes one deep breath and sends his fiery breath destroying the former president. Han Solo noticed a gap in the scales when Smaug took his deep breath. Being a fast shooter, takes the Outlaw into position and fires. He landed the shot perfectly and the beast explodes from the shot.

Q has had enough of this senseless violence, he has seen all and experienced everything in the universe. He has no motivation to live any longer because there is simply nothing left for hi  to do. So therefore he kills himself, which throws the entire Q Continuum off balance. This off balance created weapons of destruction that could even kill a Q and damaged subspace to the extent of Q no longer having their powers and immortality. This leaves Q2, Lady Q, q, Colonel Q, and Quinn back into mortal forms.

Yoda sees this imbalance, and immediately jumps to his advantage. He sends in Neo, Queen Aga’po, Indigo One, and Sinestro. Neo makes quick time, doing his fun superman thingy. Queen Aga’po and Indigo One get stopped by Star Sapphire and Yellow Lantern #1. Sinestro is cut short by Alan Scott and Guy Gardner. Neo is able to easily take down the 5 remaining Q since they’re mere mortals to The One. Sinestro thinks he can feed off the two Green Lanterns fear to strengthen himself, but the two have too much will for him to conquer. Guy Gardner and Alan Scott work together in the Green Lantern way, and take down the man who followed the wrong path. Unlike her valiant teammates, Star Sapphire is not enough with the help of Yellow Lantern #1 to take down the two purple colored gem wielders. Indigo One and Queen Aga’po over take the weak common and Star Sapphire.

Yoda decides to now send in the rest of the lanterns, unaware what Turrible Decisions has in store. Darth Maul, Indigo One, Queen Aga’po, and Emperor Palpatine travel forward, curious of who is left to greet them. The two Greenies, Alan Scott and Guy Gardner, step forward, closely followed by Batman, Robin, Tom Bombadil, and Spectre. Monk sees Batman come forth and quickly comes to the battlefield to face is enemy. Tom Bombadil starts singing:
Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!.....”
The song conjures forces unknown to the knowledge of lantern bearers. Monk becomes entangled in roots and is strangled to death. A bubble of a vacuum is created around Maul’s head, strippping him of oxygen and soon dies. The two Green Lanterns make a quick attack of the purple gem holders. Caught off guard, Indigo One is taken down with no problem, But Queen Aga’po is too powerful and Guy Gardner’s ring must now find a new host. Before she can take Alan Scott too, the powerful song gathers enough water from the nearby lake and engulfs the Queen, and drowns her. Before the song takes hold of Emperor Palpatine, he tries a Starkiller move, but does not execute perfectly, so instead of surviving, he sends a force blast that vaporizes himself, Tom Bombadil, Alan Scott, James Monroe, and Robin.

Batman is horrified to see his sidekick dead, and becomes a man on a mission. He goes after Neo and outmaneuvers him enough to send a batarang right into his neck, killing the blind God of a human. X-23 is not far behind her teammate and slices Batman in half with her adamantium claw. Deadpool doesn’t like this copycat of Wolverine and decides to finally intervene. In quick movements, the hysterical contract killer cuts X-23’s head clean off, just like he did in the after credits to himself in Deadpool 2.

Spectre, being just an all powerful universe destroyer, as Conner would say, is able to easily take out Omega Supreme and the Outlaw form the sky. All that is left is Spectre and Deadpool versus Yoda and Mr. Mxyzptlk. In a glorious battle, the outcome is Yoda killing Deadpool, Spectre killing Yoda, and Mr Mxyzptlk killing Spectre.