In Marvel and DC’s history, these two are certainly the most deadly heavy hitters… But In a Death Battle who Prevails?
The Incredible Hulk is one of Marvel’s most powerful characters, but could he hold his own against Doomsday, DC’s most deadly brute? Each character has accomplished near-impossible exploits, and each has even battled Superman (but only one defeated him). Both are formidable opponents, but who will emerge victoriously?
The Hulk initially appeared in Stan Lee’s 1962 series The Incredible Hulk, in which scientist Bruce Banner was drenched with huge doses of gamma radiation. When he is sufficiently enraged, he turns into the Hulk, a musclebound monster lacking Banner’s intellect but ultimately noble (although his actions often come with a copious amount of collateral damage).
Doomsday, on the other hand, didn’t make his appearance until 1993. The origin of Doomsday is different and full of death: a scientist constructed a lifeform and abandoned it on prehistoric Krypton, where it was swiftly murdered by the wildlife. The scientist cloned the remnants and repeated the process until Doomsday was powerful enough to kill the scientist, seize his ship, and rampage across many planets until he reached Earth, kicking off the famed Death of Superman tale.
Doomsday isn’t something to be taken lightly. For hundreds of thousands of years, he’s survived on numerous worlds, destroying and demolishing everything in his path. Outside of hate, rage, and a drive to battle – and win – he has few feelings or desires. He can fight for at least a week without tiring, and his toughness is legendary: the Justice League only scratched his skin once. But Doomsday is best known for doing something no other supervillain has done in over 50 years: canonically murdering Superman. Doomsday died in the horrific battle, but his remnants were recovered and replicated, as usual, making him furthermore resistant to Kryptonians.
The Hulk is no slouch when it comes to strength. In the comics, the Hulk’s intelligence has gradually improved to the point where he can distinguish between friends and foes and follow tactical orders. Even without them, the Hulk is a formidable opponent. He can lift tanks, buildings, and, most notably, 150 billion tons of a fallen mountain during Secret Wars. The Hulk, like Doomsday, can endure practically any blow and, unlike Doomsday, has incredible regenerating abilities. But the most dangerous feature of the Hulk is not the Hulk himself, but his actual self, Bruce Banner. Banner is one of Marvel’s greatest scientists, and he could very definitely devise a weapon to nullify Doomsday’s abilities, or at the very least send him into space. Doomsday is only intelligent enough to find a foe and fights them to death, whereas Banner is the Hulk’s most dangerous weapon.
This hypothetical fight may be unjust if Banner’s intelligence is factored in, but even if he isn’t, Hulk would still have the upper hand. The gamma-irradiated Hulk has faced numerous entities similar to Doomsday – gigantic creatures with no other goal than to kill – and has always triumphed. Although The Incredible Hulk isn’t a genetically built killing machine like Doomsday, he is smart enough to defeat him.
With the presence of a god, high-tech armoured suit guy and a super-enhanced character, Clint Barton sure does not rate highly in the Marvel Universe. As a mercenary good with the bow and arrow coupled with raw strength, you feel the Black widow still has a slight edge over this character.
But the Hawkeye series sure answers some questions that we may have had about the future of Clint Barton.
After his no-show in the Avengers: Infinity war, we see at the beginning of Endgame where Clint loses his family as a result of the Infinity stone and is devastated and then take on the identity of the Ronin to kill those he thinks are not worthy to be alive.
This past seems to have hunt him later in the future, after he had gotten his family back and everything seemed to be getting to normal. The Hawkeye sure helps us see him in a different light and the possibility of his successor in Kate Bishop. Here are some of the things we learnt from the series;
How Clint Barton deals with events after Endgame
The Hawkeye series is set about 5 years after the Avengers:Endgame in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and being a survivor, Clint Barton had to deal with the survivors’ guilt after he gets his family at the expense of his best friend. We do see that he is reminded again of her in the musical display in Episode 1 and he is not quite happy/comfortable and therefore had to turn his ear aid off.
He also became a target for Yelena(Florence Pugh), Natasha’s adopted sister and a fellow black widow, who believed Clint had killed her sister. It is later explained and Yelena understands her sister’s sacrifice.
Clint Barton being a Mentor/Role model
At the beginning of the Hawkeye series, we see Clint Barton saving Kate Bishop’s home from complete destruction, and Kate seeing this is inspired and from then on sees him as her hero. But Clint does not see himself as a role model, probably because of his past. But over the cause of the series, we see Clint teach Kate Bishop some tricks including his coin trick. We see their relationship of Mentor/mentee bud over Season 1.
Clint Barton Possible Retirement
The Hawkeye being a proper family man, had always wanted to retire but had to come out to help his friends prevent world destruction, but in the wake of losing his family, he had to take up a new identity. With everything probably back to normal and almost completely clearing his name, he does consider his retirement due. At the end of Season 1 Episode 6, he burns the Ronin costume, wanting to have nothing to do with the identity again. In Kate Bishop, he sure has an able successor.
Conclusion
The MCU is assembling a group of young avengers and Kate Bishop might just be its latest addition. In the Comics though, the Hawkeye(Clint Barton) is said to lead these group of avengers, but how this plays out in the Marvel universe we are not sure.
Would there be a Season 2 of Hawkeye and would Clint Barton return as the star cast?, this we hope to find out later.
A special holiday comic issue released by American DC comics, the makers of your favourite comic DC superhero comics has let the cat out of the bag on the question every kid and adult’s been asking every Christmas season; How’s Santa able to get around hundreds of homes in just one night. We’ll see.
In the brief story comic written by Bobby Moynihan who once worked as an SNL cast member and artist Pop Mhan, we see this Santa’s secret out in the open as the comic proves that Santa Claus is a better speedster than the flash. The story “Tis the Season To Be Freezin’ #1, features Captain Cold and The Flash in their attempt to save Central City’s Christmas, set aside their differences although it seems Flash is not a speedster at all when compared with Big Ol’ Santa in delivering various gifts to the many children counting on it.
Looking into “Christmas: Cold and Fast” we see a truckload full of toys which Captain Cold had initially wanted to sell in the market for a nice Christmas profit, Flash gets to come in contact with him and Captain Cold tells him in a confession that he wants to give the less privileged kids in the city a memorable Christmas morning by delivering the toys to them instead. This shows that not all heroes wear capes and Captain Cold has a good heart. Flash eventually convinces him to do something extra by refreezing Central City’s Ice rink which had shut down following the massive heatwave that occurred in the city.
The duo eventually agrees to work together to save Christmas for the kids. Captain Cold conditionally refreezes the ice rink and makes the season complete with the snow falling, while Flash does dress-up as Santa Claus to bring the toys to the kids. It’s all in the Christmas season as we see how different individuals, no matter association or creed or race set aside their differences and work together for the common good. However, the closing point brings up the “Big Man in Red” with his eight reindeer and sledge with a speed that can be rivalled, if not surpassable to The Flash’s speed force. Well, it might seem that way due to his ability to deliver toys to a lot of homes on the night of Christmas Eve. Bringing us to the thought of who would prevail between the two if they were put to the test, say a big race. It’s a very funny way to bring the story to a close, but does this now suggest that Big Ol’ Santa is a mighty speedster and can function in the same capacity as The Flash looking at his speed force?
Overall, the comic issue’s a big one for the yuletide holidays and even more memorable due to this Flash v Santa discussion as in the buildup to putting smiles on faces, we see The Flash’s speed as one of the many abilities he brings to the table in saving the world. Don’t you just love the Christmas season? Would you like to see this two faceoff in one big race? (I sure would) who do you think would win? Would like to know what you think about it.
You can’t call one of the tops and trending new generation animes and not mention black clover if am not wrong. The series has had a fantastic run since its debut in 2017. The series sees a young boy Asta and his rival Yuno who are on the quest to become the wizard king. Set in the era where magic is everything, Asta faced so many challenges being born without magic, and not relenting, he obtains the power of anti-magic which we found what gives him that later in the series. In his mission to become the wizard king, he later joined the black bulls magic knight squad which keeps him one step further to accomplishing his goal.
Before joining the black bulls, he finds out he has to surpass the nine magic knight squad captains before he can reach the level of the 28th wizard king, Julius Novachrono, and also surpass him too. These captains of the magic knight are the closest in strength to the wizard king and I will be looking at five captains who have more potential in filling his shoes or let me put it like this, is stronger.
1/5
Captain Sisgoleon
Mereoleona Vermillion popularly known as Captain Sisgoleon (by Yami) is no doubt very strong. She replaced her brother as the captain of the crimson lion kings and was also the captain of the royal magic knights squad. Her intense and fierce magic can be scary at times. She has indeed shown us her strength especially during the battle with Raia the disloyal where he acknowledges her. She is a battle queen and a fierce warrior who has honed her mana zone over the years. I feel we have not seen the best of her.
2/5
Captain Yami Sukehiro
Our boss and undoubtedly one of fans’ favourite captains, we have no other person than the Captain of the black bulls, Yami. A foreigner with a rare power to control dark magic, Yami has shown tremendous strength throughout the series. One thing that keeps him strong is his willingness to change fate and “surpass his limits”. From the show, we can see that his quote isn’t all talk. His only weakness is his inability to keep a cigarette off his mouth. In my opinion, his quote makes him one of the strongest as no one knows how exactly a match can go if his will spirit to grow stronger keeps striving just like the lead character, Asta. His battles with the leader of the eye of the midnight sun, litch, and the third are just few of the times Yami has shown us what he’s capable of. His dimension slash is an example of a power born from his quote. Never a dull moment or battle with this guy. That’s just captain Yami for you.
3/5
Captain William Vangeance
A befitting Rival to captain Yami, we have the captain of the golden dawn, William Vangeance. Vangeance is not just powerful because of his insane tree magic and healing powers, but because of his ability to still absorb other people’s mana which ranks him high in this list. Him and his squad have always been rumoured to be closest to the wizard king and it’s been seen that the Captain is respected by the wizard king. His arcane power and enhance healing power also makes him unique being able to revive someone from the brink of death.
4/5
Captain Dorothy Unsworth
Just like the queen of witches, Dorothy sure represents well. She is the captain of the coral peacock squad and is seen most of the time to be sleeping. But you don’t want to go up against her when she opens those eyes and gets serious. one might say her dream magic and ability to put people in her dimension which gives her ultimate control should have ranked her higher. But Yami got out and I think the above captains have more magical powers than her.
5/5
Captain Fuegoleon Vermillion
Younger brother to the Captain of the royal knights, Mereoleona Vermillion. We have the original captain of the crimson lion kings, Fuegoleon Vermillion. He came back stronger after his first encounter with litch (the leader of the eye of the midnight sun). His intense fire magic should be one of the reasons the salamander spirit chose him. His foresight to see potential in people and the encouraging words he gives make people follow and respect him. He has a calm personality even during alarming moments and thinks of the best solution which makes him a good strategist and much respected among the other Captains. One might say, he’s the Captain of the captain’s. Not bad.
Final Thoughts
Who is supposed to be here, remember these are my thoughts, we all have our own, kindly drop your thoughts in the comment section below. Am interested, well manga readers aren’t that far ahead of us series watchers and a lot can happen in the later parts to come.
James Bond is a fictional character created by the British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. The character is a British secret service agent for MI6 with the code number 007 (double-oh-seven).
James Bond’s introduction in the cinema was marked by the movie Dr. No in 1962, with Sean Connery spotlighted as Agent 007. This project was overseen by Eon Productions, a movie company owned by Harry Saltzman and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. Since then, the character has attracted and garnered considerable fandom and attention. As of 2021, James Bond is among the most popular and talked about movie characters.
Between 1962 and 2021, six actors have been cast as James Bond in the Eon Productions films. These thespians include Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.
At present, the seventh actor that will play James Bond for Eon Productions is under deliberation. The movie company board currently has some actors in mind. However, they are yet to conclude.
In this piece, we’d be citing the actors who are most likely to give an adequate portrayal of James Bond on screen. This list may contain some actors presently under the considerations of Eons Productions and other performers who the company hasn’t expressed interest in featuring as the next James Bond.
5 Actors Who Will Portray Agent 007 on Screen Most Adequately
For a successful portrayal of the character, the next Bond actor has to come considerably close to Ian Fleming’s James Bond. In this light, Ian Fleming’s James Bond is British, 183 cm (6 ft) tall, weighs 76 kilograms, possesses a slim build, blue-eyed, cruelly handsome, and dark-haired in physical appearance. In terms of character, he’s a charismatic, classy, Martini-loving, heavily smoking, peerless, womanizing, gambling-addicted, and strong fellow.
Indeed, one may argue that no past Bond actor has met all these features. Nonetheless, we can all agree that the successful Bond actors fulfilled a significant fraction of these elements.
Having said that, let’s take a look at 5 actors that may follow the footsteps of other successful Bond actors or even give a better portrayal of James Bond on screen.
5. Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Blue eyes, slim build, good looks, dark brown hair, Cillian Murphy has some of the primary physical attributes of Ian Fleming’s Bond. The Irish actor has played several posh roles, such as his young businessman role in the American sci-fi thriller movie Inception and the charismatic gang leader Thomas Shelby in the British crime drama series Peaky Blinders. These characterizations suggest he could easily conform to the stylishness and charisma of James Bond.
Murphy has also shown his grasp of action in some movies and TV shows. For instance, his action roles in the sequel of the horror thriller movie A Quiet Place and his role as Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders. It wouldn’t also be difficult for him to exhibit the strong, heavily smoking, alcoholic, and women-magnetic aspects of Bond since these elements constituted Thomas Shelby.
On the minus side, Cillian Murphy isn’t as tall as Fleming’s Bond. He stands at 173 cm against the 183 cm of James Bond. Consequently, if he’s cast as Bond, he’d be the Bond actor with the least height. Still, Barbara Broccoli and other key members of Eons Productions may choose to overlook this drawback and concentrate on the other criteria for a suitable James Bond, which he fulfills tremendously.
4. Richard Madden
Richard Madden
Who remembers Robb Stark from the fantasy drama series Game of Thrones? Before the character’s tragic and unexpected death in the Red Wedding, it was said that he never lost a war. Now, imagine Robb Stark in a tuxedo, with dark hair, wielding a gun instead of a sword. That remodeled version of Robb Stark is James Bond.
Richard Madden, the Scottish actor who played Robb Stark, has the right build, blue eyes, strength, and charm to star as the next James Bond. The actor’s role as a bodyguard in the British political thriller series Bodyguard, for which he won several awards, including a Golden Globe Award as the Best Actor in a drama series, proves that he can adequately and effortlessly portray the most prominent fictional MI6 agent on the screens.
Additionally, Madden is a stylish young man. He has been recognized as one of the most stylish men by Hugo Boss. This virtue will facilitate his illustration of James Bond. Similarly, he can spend quite some time playing James Bond in the movies since he’s just 35 years old, as of 2021.
3. Christian Bale
Christian Bale
There’s hardly any English actor who rocks a tuxedo better than Christian Bale and there’s barely any movie character who renders a better meaning to tuxedoes than James Bond. Bale is 6-foot tall, highly fashionable, physically fit, very masculine, and experienced in acting. These remarkable features make him capable of properly representing Ian Fleming’s Bond in a movie.
Bale’s incredible portrayal of Bruce Wayne (Batman) in The Dark Knight Trilogy speaks highly of his adequacy and sophistication to be the next Bond actor. In addition, his well-played role in the American horror film American Psycho indicates that he’d do even better if his character is “licensed to kill”.
Unfortunately, Christian Bale has revealed his unwillingness to take a James Bond role and even turned down a contract because he isn’t very fond of the character. Nevertheless, it’ll be wonderful if he changes his mind.
2. Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy
Although Tom Hardy earned his breakthrough role in 2010 as Eames in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Inception, he has been a creative actor for a considerable period. The English actor’s handsomeness, eloquence, blue-green eyes, dress sense, acting skills, and portrayal of charismatic characters, such as the Jewish gangster leader Alfie Solomons in the British crime drama Peaky Blinders, make him suitable for the role of James Bond.
Furthermore, Hardy has performed greatly in action roles, notably in the 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road. It’s noteworthy that if he’s eventually chosen to play James Bond, the character wouldn’t be the first British agent he’d be portraying on the screens. Earlier in 2012, he supported Gary Oldman as a British field agent in the thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Though Tom Hardy is slightly taller than his Inception and Peaky Blinders co-star Cillian Murphy, at 175 cm, his height may not disqualify him from playing Bond. In his role as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Hardy wore padded shoes which enabled him to fairly measure up to Christian Bale in height. He could do the same in his potential James Bond roles if the opportunity is presented to him.
1. Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill
What would happen if Superman decides to be James Bond? Wouldn’t the outcome give rise to a “Super Bond“? Henry Cavill was once the director Martin Campbell’s preferred choice to play James Bond. However, Daniel Craig was chosen instead because Cavill was too young to portray Agent 007 since he was just 22 years old then.
Henry Cavill is British, 183 cm, blue-eyed, dark-haired, sufficiently built, incredibly tough-looking, charming, very masculine, and insanely handsome. Thus, he meets all the crucial physical characteristics of Ian Fleming’s Bond.
Cavill has starred in action spy films, such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E and Mission Impossible: Fallout. In the former, he technically had a Bond-like character and Bond-worthy performance. Again, he showed his ability to enthrall women in Showtime’s historical drama series The Tudors.
Concerning these realities, in 2020, an artificial intelligence device chose Henry Cavill as the optimal successor to Daniel Craig following the latter’s retirement from the James Bond franchise. Since Cavill is 38 years old as of 2021, he may portray Bond on screen for a significant period.
Final Thoughts
Any of these actors mentioned above are likely to give an ample portrayal of James Bond in the cinema. Still, if you’ve got someone else in mind fit to occupy the spot, feel free to air your view in the comment section.
In today’s battleground, we’re having Thor, an Avenger and the god of Lightning going up against Ikaris, An Eternal. Who Prevails? Read on to see how this battle plays out.
Ikaris
Ikaris is certainly the most powerful Eternal. This is practically shown all through the movie. It took 3 Eternals to hold him back, and of course, he made a show of them. He was able to easily toss them around during their fight. From the movie, it is also clear that Ikaris is pretty durable. He sustained absolutely no scratch or injury even after his fight with his fellow Eternals, and those monster creatures. Another interesting feature of Ikaris is his eye blasts. These blasts fries deviants like they are nothing. The blast was even able to slice the Eternal ship in half. Ikaris is also fast, maybe not as fast as Makkari the Eternal Speedster, but could pounce on deviants and other Eternals in the blink of an eye.
Although Ikaris may be the most powerful Eternal, He is not more powerful than Thor.
Thor
Thor has an insane strength, if he could take on tough opponents like the hulk, Thanos, then Ikaris won’t be much of a problem. Thor was even able to take the power stone, and withstand the full force of a star. So, Ikaris eye blasts would be easy to handle. It doesn’t take much for Thor to change things in a fight if he merely shows up. Even Dr. Doom, one of the most unrespected villains in Marvel history, respected him in the first series of Marvel Secret Wars, and Doom normally doesn’t respect anyone. All of these characters have fought against Thor in some capacity. His recurring sparring partners are a veritable who’s who of Marvel villains, and he always comes out on top.
The only thing Ikaris has on Thor is speed, and of course Thor can handle this by just throwing lightning around. Not to mention, the infinity gauntlet, and his overpowering thrusty battle axe.
Coupled with a brilliant mind and a phenomenal Notebook to eradicate crime, Light was sure on his way to creating his ‘new world’ where evil would have been non existent, while people began to see him as the saviour, the police headed by genius-mind L saw him as a threat. The face-off between L and Kira sets the stage for this interesting series. It offered thrilling moments from its very begining.
This fictional series saw the development of its characters. Many of us enjoyed it till the end, while most of us were not so pleased with its ending. I felt the killing of Kira at the end of the series was not necessary and there could have been better ways it could have ended with Kira coming out victorious. Here are some of the ways the series should have ended;
Light Wins
Although, the animation aligns with its manga where Light dies after his name is written by Ryuk, you felt this could all have been avoided and Light could have built his ‘new world’. Becoming the new L means that he had no more obstacle to his goal(Should in case the Kira Task force where insistent on catching him, he could just stall any investigation). Being the new L should have meant that he was untouchable and therefore free to do what he wants.
L’s Death should have ended the series
No doubt that L was the most worthy opponent against Light. He meticulously investigated him, bringing him in to the investigation to watch his moves and was on several occasions very close to catching him that Light had to give the book away to lose his memory of it so he does not reveal his identity. If anyone should have caught Kira, it should have been L. Bringing up a successor (Mello and Near) was completely unnecessary. L’s death should have shown Light’s victory and brought a perfect end to this intriguing anime.
Teru Mikami dies as Kira
With Mikami operating just the way Light did and is equally smart could have found a way to prevent Kira’s death. Teru sees Kira as his ‘god’ and shares the same principle with him. He was a religious follower of Light and at the end had still tried to kill himself to afford Kira a diversion to escape. If they could have proved him as Kira, then Light would have had a safe escape although this might not have guaranteed the end of the series.
Conclusion
There are probably better ways Death Note could have ended without necessarily killing off our best character although we understand the anime’s need to follow its manga but sometimes a happy ending is not always so bad and finding a satisfying ending could be good for everyone.
Movie lovers around the world especially ones who are diehard comic book fans of different superhero universes usually like to draw comparisons between Heros and villains across their universes. Some of such comparisons are carried out between DC comic universe and the Marvel comic universe ranking each character according to their ability to win in a death match. So, I’ll just go with the flow and take a look at two Lords of magic in this article who seem to be masters of both the good and dark arts; Dr Stephen Strange and John Constantine.
Dr Strange
Dr Stephen V. Strange is actually a surgeon-turned Sorcerer supreme, who was a gifted doctor till an accident caused him to lose the use of his hands. Having tried everything thinkable in modern medicine, he found use again in Tibet where he regained the use of his hands after being trained by The Ancient One. After learning magic, he became sorcerer supreme and eventually Earth’s defender against any mystical or wicked forces.
John Constantine
John Constantine is a warlock and an infamous con man well versed in sorcery and the dark arts. He walks the fine line between being the bad guy and the good guy, hence making him a worthy anti hero. Notable for his powerful spells and deals with the lords of darkness, eventually tricking them, he prefers to use cunning over magic when dealing with them. He is also a genius in and of himself.
Comparing the two protagonists in a fight to the death
If these two characters were to engage in a death match, a variety of factors would come into play, including their intellect, physical stamina, sense of right and wrong, etc. Considering some of these factors, it’s difficult to predict who will emerge victorious, given that both are masters of their craft and both have daring back stories. All is fair in love and war. May the best sorcerer win. Lol.
Wits.
Looking at who’s wittier, although Dr Strange is sorcerer supreme due to his numerous training exercises in magic and spells and probably his skill as a former doctor( which is probably why he’s good with hand movements.. my opinion though), Constantine is kind of like a cunning individual added to the fact that he’s also a pretty good magician. We can see this from his trickery in dealing with demons and devils, to cheating death and sometimes discovering loopholes in the smallest and biggest possible ways. I’d say Constantine is likely to win from this angle.
Skill.
Well I’d say Dr Strange wins on this one. Here why I say so. Although Constantine is a powerful sorcerer, he needs time to chant and create these spells, which in normal life-death situations would likely leave him susceptible to attacks from his enemies. Dr Strange on the other hand needs only perform hand movements and he gets the party started. Dr Strange, most times doesn’t need to chant or recite or even make markings on the floor. Which makes this situation a kind of prevailing one.
Acquaintances.
Constantine is a magical expert in many schools of the dark arts. During battles, he might probably need to call some acquaintances irrespective of whether they are a demon or not. Dr Strange mostly is on the side of morality and although he has powerful friends, thoughts of calling on the powerful ones yet below are sort of an unthinkable option. In battles, friends especially powerful ones are usually a plus in order to tip the scales in one’s favor. I think Constantine has this one.
From this, I think we know who prevails considering these factors. Before you eat me raw, these are my opinion though there are many other factors to consider. I know you think differently, so why do you think the opposite. Try me.
The year 2018 saw millions of TV series lovers around the world saying goodbye to one of the most-watched TV shows ever, Game of Thrones. The HBO show is reputable as one of the most loved and highly rated TV series on Earth and was even claimed to be seen by the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, herself.
Game of Thrones is an American fantasy TV show based on the synonymous book and other books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. The eight-season long TV show is centered on the Iron Throne which is the supreme monarchy seat of the Seven Kingdoms.
Relatively recently, the producers of Game of Thrones announced that a prequel to Game of Thrones was set to be released in 2022. The prequel which was christened “House of the Dragon” will be based on the book Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin.
House of the Dragon follows the events that occurred about 200 years before Game of Thrones, particularly the Targaryen Civil War that led to the fall of the great House Targaryen.
Even though the spin-off is highly anticipated and will feature stars such as Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, and Paddy Considine, I think that it won’t measure up to its predecessor. Perhaps, House of the Dragon may end up being a great show, however, it’s unlikely that it’ll be a match for GOT. We’ve seen other terrific prequel spin-offs like Better Call Saul. Still, one thing they’ve got in common is that the original TV show outshines them most of the time.
Why House of the Dragon Will Be No Match for Game of Thrones
Several elements determine the success of a spin-off show over the original show. When considering these factors, it appears implausible for House of the Dragon to outdo Game of Thrones.
The bases for this assertion are:
1. House of the Dragon Has an Expected End
One reason Game of Thrones was highly successful and gained substantial viewership was its unpredictability. Right from the beginning of the show to its end, it was difficult or rather impossible to foresee the potential events. Who foresaw the decapitation of the lead role Eddard “Ned” Stark in the very first season? Who expected Brandon “Bran” Stark to end up as the King of Westeros in the final season of the show?
Nevertheless, in the case of House of the Dragon, we already know what’s gonna happen at the end of the show. Regardless of the stunts the producer tries to throw into the plot, we realize where the story is leading ultimately. The Targaryens end up being usurped from the thrones and their dragons end up being reduced to almost nothing. So, the series will be less suspenseful and thrilling than Game of Thrones.
2. House of the Dragon has Fewer Characters and a Thinner Storyline Than Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones has to be among the TV shows with the most numerous characters. I admit that at some points when I was watching the show I found it difficult to follow the names of the numerous characters in the show. It was fascinating to see how the numerous characters in the show related to and with each other. This contributed immensely to the complexity of the show and the series’ fandom.
Again, Game of Thrones encompassed the so-called Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and Essos, myriads of houses and families, several religions and cultures, and various fantastic creatures. This complexity gave the viewers something to see in the show at all times and nothing to get bored of.
House of the Dragon is founded on House Targaryen and relatively few families making the storyline thinner and less intriguing.
3. New and Unfamiliar Characters in the Forthcoming Prequel
As Kit Harrington, the actor who played the legendary Jon Snow, stated, it will be “painful” to see new characters donning similar costumes to those in Game of Thrones. Since House of the Dragon is set 200 years before GOT, no single character from GOT is expected to be seen in the show. In this light, it will be more difficult for the viewers to connect with the unfamiliar characters. If the spin-off series were closer to the events of GOT, it’d have been more engaging.
Perhaps, we may have seen the Young Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon, and John Arryn.
Another spin-off prequel Better Call Saul solved these potential drawbacks by featuring two supporting characters ( Saul Goodman and Michael “ Mike” Ehrmantraut) from the original show Breaking Bad as its main roles.
4. Game of Thrones Had Better Source Materials
Usually, the key to making a good movie or TV show is to employ sufficient source materials when writing the plot. In the case of GOT and HOTD, the source materials are books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Although Game of Thrones doesn’t follow the books faithfully, it draws its influences from multiple books in the series. Meanwhile, HOTD is based on a single book, Fire and Blood, written by Martin in 2018.
Though Fire and Blood is a fine book, all the books GOT is based on have higher Goodreads ratings. This factor also makes it unlikely for HOTD to measure up to GOT.
5. Game of Thrones Simply Set the Bar Too High
What are the odds that HOTD will be placed side-to-side to a show with an IMDB rating over 9/10, one of the most followed shows of all time, a show where we watched both the actors and characters age gracefully, a show that was a perfect mixture of politics, wars, love, family affairs, sex, philosophy, betrayals, power, fantasy, and drama? You’d agree with me that the odds are pretty high.
Game of Thrones placed the bar so high that no other identical show has been able to reach till now.
Bottom Line
I’m not insinuating that House of the Dragon would be a bad show. Of course, the show could turn out to be a wonderful show. Rather, I’m skeptical that the show would be able to meet or surpass the legacy of Game of Thrones.
The Arcane movie has everything every movie and game lover would like to see. It has a thrilling effect on its viewers and also has a flair for developing its characters properly.
Game adaptions seem to be difficult to pull in recent times but this one seems to hold its own. It sure deserves its high ratings and is gaining ground as the most streamed show on Netflix.
It features a lot of epic scenes and moments which kept us glued to our screens. The death of Vander sure set the tone for this movie as it allowed Silco to become the undercity ruler and separates the two sisters. While Piltover continues in its bloom which is further improved by the discovery of the hex core, an attack on their facility makes them unsettled and want to go to war with Zaun. They find a way to settle their dispute. Piltover is going to give Zaun the independence it had fought for so long, but in exchange, they wanted Silco to hand over Jinx who he sees as an adopted daughter as they know that she is the major culprit behind the attacks.
This led to a series of events that would decide the fate of both sides with jinx (by far the most unstable character) at the centre of it all. The ending left the viewers with various questions and some of these questions are;
Who Now Rules Zaun?
When Jinx believes in her head that Silco will give her up, she kidnaps him with her sister and ends up killing Silco. This leaves the leadership of Zaun vacant. There are only a few probable candidates than Vi. As the adopted and respected daughter of Vander, she sure has the respect of the people.
Another interesting candidate would be Ekko, who had already gathered several dedicated followers and had fought for the same cause Vander fought for.
Does anyone survive at the Council?
In the end just before the credits start rolling, Jinx launches a missile towards the council just before they were about to approve Zaun as an independent nation. But Jinx is angry at Piltover which is why she wants to eliminate them. If she hits her target people at the council might die but we hope that some of our favourite characters like Jayce and his newfound love interest Mel would at least survive. And even if anyone survives, would Zaun still be granted its independence? This could lead to a full-blown war between Piltover and the undercity which Vander wanted to avoid since the beginning and which Silco later discovered that he could avoid.
Conclusion
Jinx is like a ticking bomb and any major event in the show hinges on her every move. Her character is said to be built like the uncertain and probably unstable Harley Quinn of the Suicide squad. Even if independence is granted and Vi rules Zaun, she is not sure to have a peaceful country.
The end of Season 1 sure leaves a lot to be anticipated and the season 2 should sure answer our never ending questions. Did you enjoy arcane? What do you think would happen in season 2?
